Time To Reconsider GMO’S

by RDavis | Health

A number of years ago there was controversy over the use of food that had been modified by genetic engineering. People believed we were heading into unknown territory and that if we manipulated the genes of the food we eat we might have to deal with dangerous unintended consequences. As a result, some states required the labelling of food that might be considered to be Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s).

I have been making a self-guided educational effort to understand the current revolution of genetic engineering for the past four years. There have been monumental scientific breakthroughs in genetic engineering and they revolve around something called CRISPR, an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats. The CRISPR technology allows scientists to alter the genetic makeup of cells. It is a complex process, but the bottom line is that CRISPR has the potential to change our ability to fight disease in plants, animals and humans among other processes.

Our House of Representatives

by local | Politics

House

435 members

Base pay = $174,000 + benefits

Let’s call it $200,000 each including benefits;  Speaker, majority and minority leaders make more.

435 x $200,000 = 87 million

Construction Update Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge

by Not Signed In | Hinsdale

The diesel hammer has finished driving the last pile to bedrock at the Pier 1 location, reducing the noise from the site. Crews have arrived to clean out the piles and remove the spoils from the top 90 feet before the footing can be placed. This clean out operation will continue into next week. Also scheduled for next week, crews will begin construction of the temporary support system for the steel girders that will span from abutment to abutment in the Barrows and Fisher yard near Pier 1.

BCTV Schedules – Week of November 27, 2023

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 1078 Weekly Listing for 11/27/23

Monday, November 27, 2023

5:20 am Windham World Affairs Council – America & China – From ‘Old Friends’ to The ‘New Cold War’

6:55 am Brattleboro Literary Festival – Missing– Angie Kim & Jean Kwok

8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast

9:00 am Energy Week with George Harvey – Energy Week #548 – 11/9/2023

Lee Ha on “Here We Are”

by Wendy O'Connell | History

Have a question about the history of your house, business or Brattleboro relatives?

Researcher LEE HA can help you discover and explore some of Brattleboro’s best stories, artifacts and photographs. Lee also talks about some very cool community projects that the Brattleboro Historical Society is currently involved with.

Seventh Annual Writing Workshop to Benefit Moore Free Library in Newfane

by DLL | Creative

The seventh annual Writing to the Light Writing Circle led by writer and educator Deborah Lee Luskin will take place in person on Sunday, December 10 at the Moore Free Library, 23 West Street, Newfane. The workshop will start promptly at 1 pm and end at 3:30.

At this annual end-of-year fundraiser for the Moore Free Library, writers of all kinds and all levels of experience are invited to reflect on the light in their life in a supportive writing circle. We will write to illuminate our inner light, honor our inner voice, and tell whatever stories rise to be told. Prompts and guidance for automatic writing will be provided. Collectively, we will create a safe space for those who wish to read their new words.

Golf Carts on Brattleboro Roads?

by rapjr | Questions & Answers

I’ve driven a golf cart in a community like this and it seemed like a great pollution-free way to get around.  Are golf carts allowed on the streets of Brattleboro?  Should they be?  I was struck by this quote in the article:

“Peachtree City, Ga., has roughly 13,000 households and some 11,000 registered golf carts.”

WSESD Board Meeting Minutes – Nov 14, 2023

by Not Signed In | Education

Summary:
● Student representatives spoke about bullying and inappropriate behavior that is going unaddressed in classes at BUHS, and the need to cultivate a positive and loving culture in the community.
● Superintendent Speno introduced a book, “Introduction to the Governance Code,” that Board members and administrators will read and discuss at next June’s retreat.
● Putney Central School Principal Jon Sessions and Guilford Central School Principal John Gagnon gave presentations about family and community engagement via the leadership council and parent-teacher organization.
● WSESU Business Administrator Frank Rucker gave an outline of the timeline for the budget development process over the next few months.
● The Board voted to approve pre-qualification for four firms to bid on the Oak Grove School HVAC project.
● The Board approved payrolls and warrants that included the final payment on the 22-year bond for renovations to BUHS.

Public Forum on November 29 About the Green Street at High Street Intersection

by planning | Town Plan

The Town of Brattleboro is considering improvements to the intersection of Green Street and High Street. We’ve engaged an engineering team to support this effort and are inviting you to join a public forum on the matter later this month.

This forum will be an opportunity to review the preliminary concept and offer comments or potential improvements. Please join us on November 29, 2023 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Selectboard Meeting Room.

How To Preserve Your Sanity in 2023

by RDavis | Health

Anyone who is even marginally engaged with today’s world cannot help but feel some degree of anxiety watching local and world events unfold. A lot of people have decided to either ration their contact with all forms of media or shut themselves off completely from the near-constant barrage of murder, mayhem and demeaning and hostile rhetoric.

The human species has the potential for creating a peaceful, humane and loving world but most of the activity we see does the opposite. That does not mean that there are not a lot of people who work hard to cultivate what is best in the human spirit, but their efforts are too often Sisyphean.

Hinsdale Gets $3.8 Million Bequest

by cgrotke | Hinsdale

Here’s a fun one.

Geoffrey Holt, a rather unassuming fellow from Hinsdale, died and left $3.8 million to the town. He said it can be spent on education, health, recreation and culture.

According to the Guardian “He did odd jobs for others, but rarely left town. Despite having taught high schoolers to drive, Holt had given up driving a car. He opted for a bicycle instead, and finally the mower. His mobile home was mostly empty of furniture. No TV or computer either. The legs of the bed went through the floor.”

US OK’s Bombing Children as Hamas Fights for Their Freedom from Illegal Israeli Military Occupation

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Israel maintains an illegal air, sea and land blockade on Gaza, not allowing anyone, including children, to escape being bombed to death.

The US government, providing Israel with warplanes, missiles, weapons, ammunition and political and diplomatic backing, is complicit in this ongoing genocide of bombing to death thousands of militarily confined civilians, mostly women and children .

Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting – Agenda and Notes – Nov 21, 2023

by cgrotke | Town News

Budget season is underway at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. Reports and budget requests from BDCC, SeVEDS, and the DBA are scheduled, as is the draft FY25 budget. There will also be ordinance changes, software explanations, and an update from the fire department.

You can bring up other issues not on the agenda during public participation. (Except that one issue, whatever it is, that the Chair will not allow discussion of at the meeting.)