Vermont Jazz Center Presents: Renee Rosnes Quartet

by Not Signed In | Music

Pianist Renee Rosnes will perform at the Vermont Jazz Center on April 16th at 8:00 PM with her world-class quartet including vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Lewis Nash. Cited as “one of the finest pianists in jazz,” Rosnes has recorded and toured with a veritable who’s who of jazz including legends Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, J.J. Johnson, James Moody, Buster Williams and Bobby Hutcherson.

Rosnes demonstrates brilliance in her approach to jazz standards and has dedicated albums to playing these classic songs (her recording A Time For Love is a good example), but it is her esteemed work as a composer whose focused ability to choose a complex concept and express it through music that further elevates her reputation. In a review of her most recent recording, Written in the Rocks, Downbeat magazine claims “Rosnes is a virtuoso jazz composer…advanced yet accessible, complex but never ostentatious, this is as good as writing can get in this setting.”

Weekend Creativity Series: Chuck Jones

by cgrotke | Creative

One of my creative mentors is Chuck Jones, one of the best directors to work with Bugs Bunny. I met him first through Saturday morning cartoons, then later as part of the animation program we were running at the children’s museum in DC.

Above my desk is a drawing of the coyote and road runner that he drew as part of a class at the museum. I can still remember him drawing it, explaining each line as he went along. It reminds me of him, and of the types of conversations he liked having. He was extremely well-read and drew from a lifetime of paying attention to little details.

New Scam

by tomaidh | Other

I have received this 3 times

A robocall informing me that the IRS has me under investigation. They give a number to call for more info.

The IRS doesn’t work this way.

The Brattleboro Historical Society Presents: This Week in Brattleboro History Podcast – H.P. Lovecraft

by reginaldwam3 | History

It was 86 years ago this week that the writer HP Lovecraft was home in Providence, Rhode Island creating his story, “The Whisperer in Darkness”. Lovecraft was a self-described writer of “weird tales” which often blended fantasy, horror and science fiction. “The Whisperer in Darkness” is one of those weird tales set in a fictionalized Vermont in an area much like our own Brattleboro.

Town of Brattleboro Spring Leaf Collection Schedule

by Not Signed In | Town News

The following dates have been scheduled for Brattleboro’s curbside Spring Leaf Collection. Whereas in the past leaf pickup was determined by scheduled day of rubbish pickup, all locations will be picked up each Friday:

Leaf Pick Up Date

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, April 22, 2016

ALL RESIDENTS Friday, May 6, 2016

All leaves and clippings must be in brown paper leaf bags and at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on scheduled leaf collection days. Acceptable waste…leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, twigs, no branches larger than 1″ in diameter and 2 feet long. No other household trash is to be included.

Portion of Harmony Lot Closed Monday

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

As part of the Green Street Retaining Wall Project, the WEST side of the Harmony Parking lot will be closed on Monday, April 11, 2016 from 6:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Steve Barrett, Director of Public Works, at the Brattleboro Department of Public Works at (802) 254-4255.

Town of Brattleboro
Department of Public Works

Mixed Media Assemblages by Lauren Pollaro at MGFA

by Mitchell • Giddings FIne Arts | Arts

Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts is pleased to present Color & Construct, an exhibit featuring the mixed media assemblages of Lauren Pollaro. The show opens with a receptionThursday, April 21, at 5pm and continues through May 29. An Artist Talk is scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at 5pm.

 Lauren was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1962, and comes from a family of accomplished artists. Her father, Paul Pollaro, taught, served as Assistant Director of the MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, and has exhibited nationally over a hugely successful and lengthy career.

Brattleboro Committee Meetings and Agendas

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Monday, April 11, 2016, at 5:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Arts Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Tree Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 7:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Brattleboro: Safer Streets Forum

by acharkes | Town News

Are you interested in the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians on Brattleboro’s roads?

Are you interested in road projects in Brattleboro that relate to bicyclists and pedestrians?

If so, please plan to come to Brattleboro: Safer Streets Forum on Thursday, May 5th at the River Garden from 5-7:30. 

The goals of the forum are three-fold:

Annette Spaulding Presents West River Petroglyph Find at the Vermont History Museum

by reginaldwam3 | History

In the spring of 1909, the completion of a new hydro-electric dam in Vernon created at 28 mile long lake, from Vermont’s southern boarder with Massachusetts to Bellows Falls, as waters began to back up and subsume much of the river-adjacent countryside. On average, the water level rose 30 feet and eventually flooded more than 150 farms. Among the lands subsumed by permanent flood waters were a series of petroglyphs sites near the confluence of the West River and Connecticut River dating from a precolonial epoch, in the lands now known as Brattleboro, Vermont.

 

Vermont Community Foundation Awards Grant to HCRS

by Grasshopper.Lane | State News

Award will support HCRS’ work to help the severely disabled

Springfield, VT, April 8, 2016 – , the second largest community mental health center in Vermont, announced today that the Small and Inspiring grant program has awarded HCRS a $2,500 grant.  The award recognizes HCRS’ mission to provide creative, collaborative, and compassionate health care services and will support its Shared Living Providers program, which provides homes for clients with developmental disabilities.

“Small and Inspiring projects remind us of the importance of community,” said Jen Peterson, vice president for program and grants at the Community Foundation. “As we are confronted daily with news stories that incite feelings of fear and distrust, we are honored to support work that brings us together and nourishes the social fabric of our Vermont communities.”

Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee Vacancy Announced

by Not Signed In | Police & Fire

On April 5, the Selectboard reconstituted the Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee and announced a vacancy on the committee. If you are interested in serving on the committee, please submit your application on-line, or send an e-mail to the Town Manager’s office – tmsecretary@brattleboro.org, or mail or deliver the application to: Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office, Attn: Police-Fire Committee, 230 Main Street, Suite 208, Brattleboro, VT 05301.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Police-Fire Next Steps, No Promo For Now

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard put off the formation of a new promotion committee. It was a suggestion of the Arts Committee and got mixed reactions from the board.

The Town Manager outlined a series of current and next steps for the police and fire facilities projects, currently moving full steam ahead. The board played a version of Match(ing Grant) Game with the Bradley House project, the end of weekly trash bag pickup was previewed, and more.

Kill the Messenger (2014 film) – Mena, Arkansas, and the Crack Cocaine Epidemic, According to Journalist Gary Webb

by JohnWilmerding | Politics

http://tinyurl.com/eyewitnessaccounts

‘Kill the Messenger’ is a 2014 film based on a true story, the work of journalist Gary Webb in uncovering the circumstances behind the CIA’s, Nicaraguan Contras’, and organized crime’s roles in massive drug trafficking, leading to the early 1980s crack cocaine epidemic. This in turn led to the USA’s over-incarceration binge, which has imprisoned black Americans in numbers vastly out of proportion to their percentage of the general population.

[Gary Webb’s original journalistic revelations in these matters were originally published in the San Jose (CA) Mercury News, and he later compiled them into his 1998-99 book ‘Dark Alliance: the CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion’.]

Theater Camp this August in Guilford

by DonInGuilford | Education

Guilford Free Library and Guilford Center Stage are collaborating on Stage & Stream, a new, weeklong theater and library camp this August 15-19.  The session will be open to 5th-8th graders, and will be FREE to Guilford kids.  Those from other towns may attend for a fee of $50 for the week.

The camp day will run Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm at a pair of adjacent 1890’s venues in the village of Guilford Center.

National Healthcare Decision Day is April 16th

by Not Signed In | Education

TAKING STEPS BRATTTLEBORO is pleased to join in the nationwide celebration of the right of all adults to think about, talk about and make decisions about Advance Planning. Projects are underway in every state to help people truly consider their personal beliefs and wishes regarding health care options at times of serious accidents or illness.

In recognition of National Health Care Decision Day, TAKING STEPS BRATTTLEBORO is opening its volunteer facilitator training to the general community. Interested community members are encouraged to call to find out more about becoming a part of the Taking Steps Brattleboro team of volunteer Advance Care Planning Facilitators.

Way of Council Training, May 7 and May 21

by Not Signed In | Education

Open a space for every voice in the room. Practice leading by listening from the heart. Gain experience & confidence in group facilitation.

Join us for this experiential course in the art of council facilitation, led by two masters in the field, Paul LeVasseur and Kirstin Edelglass. Council is a dialogic process that stimulates compassionate understanding, deeper self-awareness, community building, collective decision-making, conflict transformation, and shared leadership. It is used worldwide in a variety of contexts including public schools, universities, prisons, social service agencies, faith-based communities, families, wilderness programs, non-profit organizations, and businesses.

WVEW-lp Biannual Meeting April 13th

by WVEW-lpfm | Media

VT Earth Works, Inc, the 501(c)(3) non-profit which manages WVEW-lp, Brattleboro’s Community Radio Station, invites all levels of its membership, as well as interested members of the public, to WVEW’s Bi-annual Meeting (and Potluck!), to be held on Wednesday April 13th, 2016, starting at 6pm.

There will be a vote to confirm an appointment to the Board, and a vote for new Board Members. Please be aware that in order to vote you must be a currently paid-up Full Member (now $75.00/year). The meeting will include a discussion of the station’s no-tolerance policy on profanity, and whether or not to allow adult language in adult hours as permitted by the FCC’s ‘safe harbor’ regulations. (That policy allows profanity – but not obscenity – between the hours of 10pm and 6am.)

Sometimes It Snows In April

by cgrotke | Nature

We should probably note for the on-going record that it is currently snowing in Brattleboro, and there is close to an inch of the stuff piled up on the ground. What makes this somewhat unusual is that we’ve had almost no snow in March, the temperatures were warmer than average, and everything had melted. 

Spring was well on its way, with snowdrops, crocuses, and daffodils starting to blossom, leaves on some bushes and trees starting to bud, and birds returning from their migrations. Many humans had begun yard clean-up and spring cleaning. Now it is all put on pause until it watms back up.