Art Reception Today, 2 to 4 pm: Landscapes by Nancy Calicchio at All Souls Church

by fomag | Arts

Nancy Calicchio Shows Vermont Landscapes Through April

During March and April, Westminster West painter Nancy Calicchio is showing “Landscape Trilogy” in the foyer and other gallery spaces at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro. This exhibition features groups of three paintings of the same subject, each canvas a further interpretation of the landscape. In the larger (36”x36”) works, Nancy explores the balance between earth and sky. She invites the viewer to feel the long view of overlapping hills and the mysterious ambiguity of the far horizon as she searches to create the illusion of depth on a flat surface. Additional paintings round out her study of the earth-sky relationship.

Weekend Concert Series – Joe Jackson (and Prince)

by cgrotke | Entertainment

It’s 1982 and Joe Jackson was just releasing ‘Night and Day,’ with the soon-to-be-hits ‘Steppin’ Out’ and ‘Breaking Us In Two.’ He also had a minor hit with ‘Real Men.’

This is “the new Joe Jackson band” according to the host. The old band, responsible for ‘Look Sharp!,’ ‘I’m The Man,’ and ‘Beat Crazy’ had broken up, and Jackson had taken a break by putting out his ‘Jumpin’ Jive’ album before returning to pop hits.

Solarize?

by Will Stomp | Questions & Answers

Hey, I have heard rumors of a program starting up in Brattleboro called solarize.  The rumors say it is about bringing the cost way down for home solar electric systems.  Does anyone have information?  I can find nothing on the town website or on iBrattleboro.

Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro ADA Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, March 14, 2014 at 10:00am at Marlboro College Graduate Center in the VCIL conference room.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Monday Afternoon: Music Appreciation Gathering

by Pam Lierle | Music

Think book club for music lovers!

On Monday, the Brattleboro Music Center’s new monthly gatherings for music and discussion begin. Monday’s session will be led by accomplished pianist and Windham Orchestra director Hugh Keelan.  The Music Appreciation gathers will be held from 1:30 to 3 pm at the BMC, 38 Walnut Street in Brattleboro.  All are invited to attend, no previoius knowledge or experience needed to enjoy.  $5 suggested fee.

150 Years Ago (1864 3/7)

by BusyMom | History

Brattleboro, March 7, 1864.

Dearest Abiah,

I received your most welcome letter last night. I was in luck for I got a letter from Catherine at the same time. I was glad to hear that you were well, except for that headache. Hope that is no more than a head ache. You cannot know how anxious I am when I get a letter and how quickly I glance over its contents to see that you are all well. I am afraid that you work too hard how does the money hold out If you are like to run short, perhaps I can borrow it and not wait for pay day.

I did intend to have gone to Hinsdale today, but the mud was too deep. There is but little snow here, but plenty of mud and the road to Hinsdale looks long and besides, I wished to fill this sheet of paper with something. Yesterday morning the robins were singing, and it appeared like the right time to tap the sugar place and it was. I hear that most of the sugar places were tapped yesterday and day before and the sap has run very fast and is running now. We had a little rain last night. I felt pretty homesick yesterday morning. I expect to have many such mornings this spring, but you will not pity me I suppose. Well, I do not deserve any, but I am sick of Brattleboro.

A House Divided – Medical Marijuana Muddles Marijuana Legalization

by Vidda | Op/Ed

For years I have been warning marijuana advocates not to take the easy way out by using medical marijuana as a wedge to “soften up” public sentiment. Regrettably, many marijuana patients had this “we need our medicine now” mentality. Too many medical marijuana people were self-interested only in their needs. Some even stated to me it was more important to legalize marijuana for medical needs than it was to legalize it for all adults. The fact that millions of Americans were and are trapped in the criminal justice gulag did not matter to them, just as long as they got their meds.

As I feared, medical marijuana only muddles marijuana legalization. In the long run, the advent of pundits pushing the medical angle did so at the expense of the larger marijuana consumer population.

“Free to Good Home” Pets

by Zippy | Op/Ed

Before releasing your pets via a “Free to good home” ad, please do some research on this problem and arrange a follow up plan so you can see that your beloved pets DO recieve the care and love they deserve.  You can begin by typing “Free to good home” in Google and see the extent of risk of doing this.  Pet-abuse.com has some great articles on this.

Brattleboro District Caucus, Pre-Town Meeting Informational Meeting

by Not Signed In | Politics

Brattleboro Town Selectboard will hold a pre-town meeting information forum on Wednesday, March 12 at Academy School beginning at 7:00 PM. Prior to the forum, each district will caucus begin at 6:30 PM. Town meeting members of each district will be available to meet with constituents to offer residents an opportunity to discuss articles to be voted on at the annual meeting.

Also, at that time, districts will be accepting nominations to fill town meeting member vacancies. Appointments are for one year. District 1 has 12 vacancies, District 2 has 13 vacancies and District 3 has 1 vacancy. Anyone interested in being considered for these positions should be present at Wednesday’s 6:30PM caucus. Classroom locations at Academy School for each caucus will be posted in the school lobby that evening.

Electric Fence – Saturday Night in Saxtons River

by ElectricFence | Music

Electric Fence returns to Pleasant Valley Brewing in Saxtons River for a night of rocking-acoustic-swing and rock and roll. Steve Carmichael, Howard Weiss-Tisman, Jonny Sheehan and Jeremy Holch have been playing in the area for five years.

They have developed a sound that incorporates folk, rock, swing, blues and country, bringing an original spin to covers, as well as to their original tunes. Come out and welcome mud season. Pleasant Valley Brewing is in Saxtons River. The music starts at 8.

Voices of Fukushima 2014

by Safe and Green Campaign | Education

On Tuesday, March 11 the Safe and Green Campaign invites you to join us to commemorate the beginning of a man-made permanent crisis for the entire planet: the meltdown of multiple nuclear reactors in Japan. From 6:30 – 8:30PM in the Brattleboro Food Coop Community Room, we will host “Voices of Fukushima 2014,” an evening of short documentaries on Fukushima followed by a discussion with Chiho Kaneko about her recent visit to the Fukushima region.

Last year the Safe and Green Campaign organized the first “Voices of Fukushima.” People in seven towns
around Vermont Yankee “adopted” their counterpart towns in Japan. In Brattleboro, we studied what life is like for the 21,000 residents evacuated from the town of Namie, five miles from the nuclear reactors.

Public Invited To ‘Trail Talk’ To Be Held For I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, March 8, 2014.

These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

Winter Sunshine Series at Sandglass Theater Presents the Tanglewood Marionettes

by SandglassTheater | Entertainment

The 2014 Winter Sunshine Series of Family Performances at Sandglass Theater in Putney continues on March 8th with the award-winning piece, An Arabian Adventure,  by the Tanglewood Marionettes of Massachusetts.

Told with beautifully crafted marionettes in a storybook setting, An Arabian Adventure is a swashbuckling tale set in exotic lands. A Persian prince is thrown into a dungeon because of his love for a beautiful princess. Facing danger at every turn, the courageous prince uses his wits to escape his prison, defeat the diabolical vizier and save the princess from a tragic fate. Tanglewood Marionettes received an  for this piece (one of puppetry’s highest honors!)

Kurn Hattin Celebrates 120 Years, Looks Forward to a Sustainable Future

by KurnHattin | Education

This year marks the 120th anniversary of the founding of Kurn Hattin Homes for Children. The non-profit is located in Westminster, Vermont and serves as a charitable year-round home and school for boys and girls ages 5-15, who are in need or at risk. It is the oldest childcare organization in the northeast to be continuously supported solely by philanthropic donations.

While working with homeless youth in Boston during the late 1800s, Kurn Hattin founder and Westminster native Charles Albert Dickinson developed his vision to create a place where children in need could experience the kind of childhood he himself had enjoyed in Vermont, believing that rural New England life instilled the values, skills, and character necessary to lead a successful, productive life.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Preliminary Police Fire Plans Approved

by cgrotke | Town News

Despite having major objections to aspects of the plans, the Brattleboro Selectboard unanimously approved designs for the Police and Fire facilities at their Tuesday meeting on Election Day.

The long meeting began with a string of liquor license approvals. Utility rate increases had a first reading, Brattleboro is applying for funds to install two electric vehicle charging stations at the Transportation Center, and the search for a new Town Manager begins again. Read on for all the details, and then some.

Brattleboro Town Election Results – Everybody Wins – 1% Sales Tax Squeaks By

by Lise | Town News

According to unofficial results from the Town Clerk’s office, 881 people voted in Town Elections today affirming the candidacies of everyone on the ballot. Since no one was running unopposed, no official candidates lost and everybody won. Rare when that happens. (The sole exception being Kathryn Turnas II, who was a write-in candidate for Selectboard.} The environmental question passed. The 1% Local Option Sales Tax squeaked by in a very close vote of 438 in favor and 402 against. The vote is only advisory and the number of voters low, but if the result tells us anything, it’s that there seems to be no clear concensus on this issue.

The Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Snarky Puppy

by Not Signed In | Music

Grammy Award-winning Jazz and Funk Powerhouse, SNARKY PUPPY Comes to Brattleboro, Vermont

The Vermont Jazz Center will present the Grammy Award winning band, Snarky Puppy at the Latchis Theater on March 15th at 8:00 PM. Snarky Puppy is a collective of about 30 interchangeable musicians supplementing a core group under the direction of electric bassist, Michael League. Nine of the members will be performing at the Latchis. They represent a new wave of young, smart musicians who have successfully united the trifurcated worlds of jazz, R & B and funk.