Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of December 7

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

NOTE: Upcoming night closure of I-91 Northbound to re-address pothole problems. This work is weather dependent. It is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday night, December 10th between 8:00 pm and 6:00 am. The actual closure date will be communicated to stakeholders at least 48 hours in advance, after the team is able to confirm forecasted weather conditions are acceptable for work to proceed.

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge. The new bridge will be 104’ wide and is designed to carry all four lanes of traffic –two northbound and two southbound.

The Simple Recipe For Town Government – Village of Brattleboro Incorporated

by cgrotke | History

In today’s paper, a Phoenix from 1858, a notice appeared requesting everyone to attend the village meeting next week in order to vote on incorporation of the village of Brattleboro.

Along side the notice was the full text of the state act authorizing incorporation. It describes the boundaries of the town, then outlines how the town is to be organized. I found it interesting to look back at our origins, so to speak, to see what we felt was the bare minimum required to operate Brattleboro on day one of incorporation.

T’was The Night Before Christmas

by RLElkins | Op/Ed

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House,
Our Legislators were stirring and beginning to grouse.
Jonathan Gruber had hung them by the media without care,
Terminating single payer before it goes anywhere.

Governor Shumlin was nestled all snug in his bed,
While visions of losing in 2016 danced in his head.
With Mama in her kerchief, and I in my cap,
Were frying our brains on medical Mary Jane crap.

When out on the porch there arose such a clatter,
It must be our state representatives spouting their ideological blather.
Away from the door I flew like a flash,
Avoiding their Montpelier tax and spend dash.

Rule of Thumb: Three Tabloid Covers

by cgrotke | Op/Ed

Rules of Thumb are those little unofficial, unscientific statements we hold to be somewhat true in a given circumstance. I use them often. A few small examples of things I’ve heard that sort of hold up:

– stay 4 seconds behind the car in front of you (or 1 car length for very 10 mph)
– an ounce of liquid is about what you pour in a count of one
– to figure out how long you’ll wait in a bank teller line, multiply the number of people ahead of you by 5 minutes, then divide by the number of open windows.

I have one of my own invention: The Tabloid Rule of Truth

The Tabloid Rule of Truth is that if a celebrity is on the cover of a tabloid for some reason, the truth of the story can be determined by how many tabloids have the same story on the cover.

Vermont Works For Women: Introduction to the Trades Workshop at Brooks Library Dec 10

by Brooks Memorial Library | Education

Save the date! Come learn about wages needed for economic security in Windham County, occupational segregation, the gender wage gap and its effects over a lifetime of earnings and hear a personal story from a local woman in manufacturing. 

Andi Waisman, Brattleboro Project Director for Vermont Works For Women (VWW) will be offering an “Intro to the Trades workshop” to inform attendees about non-traditional careers that earn a livable wage including an upcoming Brattleboro-based training in skilled manufacturing. The presentation will begin at 5 PM on Wednesday, December 10, in the library’s meeting room. 

Stacey Conn Joins the Stroll as General Manager

by MartinLangeveld | Business

Stacey Conn has joined Strolling of the Heifers as its new general manager, it was announced by Orly Munzing, Stroll founder and executive director.

Conn earned a Master’s of Business Administration degree from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College in 2014. As part of her MBA program, she visited Ghana to teach entrepreneurship skills to high school students and to prepare them for the Babson Cup, a regional business plan competition. 

She also served for a year as a Babson Board Fellow — a non-voting board member for the non-profit organization Partners for Youth with Disabilities, and created a strategic road map.

Brattleboro-West Arts Offers “Harmony: Health” Art Exhibit at BMH

by MartinLangeveld | Arts

Brattleboro-West Arts members are collaborating with Strolling of the Heifers to present an art exhibit entitled “Harmony: Health” in the hallways of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, beginning on Friday, December 5.

Expanding on the agricultural themes featured in twoshows presented by the organizations last summer, the artwork will explore pathways to better health including spiritual pursuit, engagement with the natural world, and through local agriculture.

All of the works are for sale, and proceeds will benefit Strolling of the Heifers as well as the artists.

Gallery at the Garden Presents Farmer Photos by John Nopper and Brattleboro Food Co-op

by MartinLangeveld | Town News

The December exhibit at the Gallery at the Garden (Robert H. Gibson River Garden, 157 Main Street, Brattleboro) features photographs of Vermont’s organic farming pioneers by John Nopper, along with photos from the Brattleboro Food Co-ops long-running “Producer of the Month” series.

Nopper’s photos will be accompanied by texts by Susan Harlow telling the stories of the farmers depicted. These farming pioneers started farming in the 1970s and 1980s, some as members of communes, others as new arrivals to the state looking to “get back to the land.”  

They were, in fact, reviving a way of farming that the Green Revolution had all but killed off. They learned how to grow vegetables and raise livestock in a difficult climate and topography, without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. They learned how to grow food that was good, and good-looking. 

Senate Panel Probes Exorbitant Prices for Hepatitis C Drugs

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 – The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee held a hearing today on exorbitant prices charged by drugmakers for new treatments for hepatitis C, a liver disease that claims about 15,000 lives a year in the United States.

Gilead, the leading manufacturer of the drugs, refused to testify at the hearing about the $84,000 it charges for a 12-week regimen of Sovaldi and the $94,500 price tag for a newer drug, Harvoni. The price per pill is about $1,000 for Sovaldi $1,125 for Harvoni.

Even with bulk-purchase discounts, the Department of Veterans Affairs spent $370 million in the past year on new treatments. Outlays are projected to soar by an additional $1.3 billion for the next two years.

The Costumes of Downton Abbey: First Wednesday at Brooks Library

by Brooks Memorial Library | Arts

Middlebury College artist-in-residence Jule Emerson will discuss the fashions worn by Lady Mary and her family in the popular PBS series Downton Abbey in a talk at Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro on December 3 at 7:00 pm.

Her talk, “The Costumes of Downton Abbey,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. 

Emerson has been an Artist-in-Residence, costume designer, and professor at Middlebury College since 1990. Prior to coming to Middlebury, she worked professionally as a costume artist for television, feature films, commercials, and the professional theatre.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: FY16 Budget Preliminary Proposal, West Brattleboro Fire Station An Asset To Brattleboro

by cgrotke | Town News

In one of their longer meetings to date this year, the Brattleboro Selectboard worked their way through a great deal of municipal information Tuesday evening. 

They heard a full and detailed report on the usefulness of the West Brattleboro Fire Station, No. 2, learned about work being done by the Brattleboro Energy Committee, outlined preliminary and potentially positive plans for the FY16 budget, appreciated the work of the Downtown Alliance, discussed the value of putting vague items on the agenda, and more. There were also suggestions of abandoning the Municipal Center, and getting rid of the pool, from former Chair Dick Degray.

Sanders Details Economic Agenda for America

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today outlined a progressive economic agenda to reverse a 40-year decline of the American middle class and the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else in the United States.

In a Senate floor speech, Sanders detailed measures to create millions of new jobs, raise wages, protect the environment and provide health care for all. He said the most significant question facing the American people is: “Are we prepared to take on the enormous economic and political power of the billionaire class or do we continue to slide into economic and political oligarchy?”

Flash Fiction Writers Read Their Works On The Theme of Hope Friday Dec 5th, 2014

by Rolf | Arts

Flash Fiction writers who have written pieces on the theme of hope will be reading their stories at the Blue Dot Studio in the Hooker Dunham building on Friday, Dec 5 at 7 PM. The prizewinners of Write Action’s writing contest, Anna Blackburn, Stephanie Greene and Helen Neswald will read as will other talented writers, including Olivia Howe, Jennie Reichman, Pamela Mandell, and Elayne Clift.

After these readings, there will be 20 minutes reserved for anyone who wants to read a flash fiction piece on the theme of hope. Bear in mind that all readers are limited to no more than 5 minutes to read. This is about excellence, hope, and brevity.

Sanders Wants Probe of FairPoint Service Interruptions, Calls for Company to Resume Talks with Striking Workers

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today applauded a Vermont Public Service Department request for an investigation into FairPoint Communications telephone service interruptions, including a nearly six-hour lapse in emergency 911 service on Friday.

A FairPoint equipment failure prevented 45 Vermonters from reaching emergency dispatchers at the Montpelier Police Department and the Vermont State Police in Williston, St. Albans and Middlesex. “That is simply unacceptable,” Sanders said. “FairPoint’s history of bankruptcy and poor service should be cause for real concern in terms of the company’s ability to deliver the emergency services Vermonters need, deserve and are paying for.”

The Vermont Jazz Center Presents: The Annual Big Band Gala–A Tribute to the Swing Era

by Not Signed In | Music

The Vermont Jazz Center will present its annual big band swing gala on Friday, December 5th at 8:00 PM. This year’s event celebrates the swing music of the 30s, 40s and 50s, when big band jazz served as North America’s popular music and provided the pulse for social dancing. The 17 piece Vermont Jazz Center Big Band will be joined by Rebecca Holtz and Rob Fletcher, two exquisite singers with strong affinities to Swing. For one exceptional evening, their voices will ride on the waves of the authentic big band sound, bringing to life the allure of glitter and fantasy that characterized the musical diversion we still cherish.

What Is A Quaker?

by JohnWilmerding | Activism

For my friends and acquaintances, who will frequently ask me “What’s a Quaker?” “Aren’t they something like the Amish?” and especially “Why do you always seem to speak out about things that concern you?”