Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – July 21, 2015

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will discuss next steps for the Police-Fire facility project at their next regular Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center.

They’ll appoint a screening committee for the NEA Our Town project, accept a number of grants for projects and purchases, continue with retaining wall repairs, and more.

Note: I’m unable to cover this meeting. If anyone cares to step up and write up a few notes from this meeting for others, in any style or format, it would be greatly appreciated.

Longtime Library Director Announces Retirement – Brattleboro’s Public Library to Seek New Leader

by Not Signed In | Town News

Brattleboro VT – The Brattleboro Town Manager and the Brooks Memorial Library Board of Trustees jointly announced today that Jerry Carbone, Library Director of Brooks Memorial Library, has submitted a letter of intention to retire in December 2015.

Carbone, 64, will be stepping down after 37 years at the venerable institution, 22 as director. He is the 13th library professional to hold the post at the library that bears the name of George J. Brooks, who built and gave the original library building to the citizens of his adopted town.

The Will to Grow: Psychosynthesis Life Coach Training

by Not Signed In | Education

Local residents will have a chance to learn about becoming a nationally Board Certified Coach (BCC) as The Synthesis Center introduces its psychosynthesis classes in Brattleboro this summer. On Wednesday, July 22nd at 6:30 p.m., there will be a free presentation at the The Synthesis Center’s regional office at 73 Main Street in Brattleboro. A follow up session is scheduled for August 23rd.

Psychosynthesis is distinctive for blending Western psychology with Eastern spiritual traditions, and it has long been applied in the fields of counseling, education and the helping professions as a tool for self development. More recently, the Center has introduced this method to the emerging field of life coaching, offering tools and applied practices for creating life change.

As Greece Goes, So Go Debtors All

by Lise | Economics

Don’t mess with the powers that be. That’s the message I got from the Greek crisis currently winding down in Europe. They will wipe you out sooner than look at you if you welch on a bet – or default on a loan.

It was really quite remarkable to behold, this unraveling of Greece. Rumblings of trouble in the financial pages for months, a day of reckoning in June with banks closing country-wide, a stunning public referendum in which 60% of the citizenry voted against more austerity, and the government, just this week, caving all the same, its more idealistic finance minister resigning in, well, resignation.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of July 19

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

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.

Route 30

Night work adjacent to Route 30 will continue this week, but will not affect traffic.

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Brattleboro NEA Our Town Call For Artists – Addendum 2

by Not Signed In | Arts

BRATTLEBORO PUBLIC ARTS PROJECT(S)
CALL FOR ARTISTS/REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
ADDENDUM # 2
JULY 14, 2015

1. The Budget for the Project(s) has increased.

Additional donations have been received. The total budget for the project(s) is now $56,000.

2. What is/is not a U.S. Artist?

Family First: Brattleboro Savings & Loan Earns Gold Status as a Breastfeeding Friendly Employer

by Not Signed In | Family

BRATTLEBORO, VT. – Brattleboro Savings & Loan recently took a step toward making the bank a bit more comfortable for new moms and dads on both sides of the teller window.

This June, the bank received ‘Gold Status’ from the Breastfeeding Friendly Employer Project, joining an elite set of businesses across the country that are taking a pledge to create safe, welcoming environments for breastfeeding mothers and their children.

One’s Lure of Choice

by spinoza | Nature

It’s peak summer, buzzing abounds. I was recently struck by the correlation between bikes and flies. This article attempts to chase that down. An exercise in vernal observation and kinetic free association, admittedly esoteric.

Sitting by the side of the road, gazing with even a slight degree of critical attention, you’ll see Harleys, BMWs, Ducatis, Triumphs, and a spate of Japanese varieties, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki.  Within each company selections are offered which do specific things optimally. The Touring Bike, the Cruiser, the Racer, the Dirt Bike. Also dotting the landscape, an array of hybrids made to straddle on and off-road use, they do various tasks reasonably well. These are the Enduros, Spyders, Dual Sports, etc. It’s a vast domain, with models for every passion and taste.

Pay As You Throw and the Rising Cost of Recycling

by Lise | Home & Garden

Pay As You Throw wasn’t so bad, now was it? All you have to do is spend a few extra hours (and/or dollars) a week on your trash and voila! It’s trash day and out to the curb it goes, in multiple assorted bins, to be sure, but at least it’s gone and that’s what matters. End of story, right?

Oh, how we wish. Unfortunately, now that we’re all composting, recycling, and reducing our landfill waste to little piles of plastic and metal oddments, we have a new problem. Curbside recycling is not profitable. It doesn’t even pay for itself. In many places, including Brattleboro, the recycling companies have to be propped up financially by the municipalities, costing taxpayers money (again).

iBrattleboro and The State of Local News Startups

by asegar | Media

As a long-time reader and occasional contributor to iBrattleboro, I’m interested in the changes in contribution levels and types over the years. These days the site seems to have a larger proportion of announcements and less original content/commentary than when it started.

If I’m right about this, I’m wondering about the causes of the trend.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 7/13/15

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Ch.8 schedule for the week of 7/13/15

Monday, July 13, 2015

12:35 am 2015 Green Mountain Bob Dylan Wannabe Contest

2:30 am 9/11 – The New Pearl Harbor? Pt 1

3:30 am Oral History: David Rohn, Vietnam War Era

4:25 am Vets: Civil War Memorial Day 2015 – Virginia’s Secession

5:30 am Vermont Youth Orchestra – 2015 Spring Concert

Power Outage in Brattleboro

by cgrotke | Town News

We just had a nice four hour break from electricity here at headquarters on Cedar Street. Very peaceful, except for the generator running the entire time at a nearby property.

Looks like lots of people were taken offline:

“A tree fell on a line snapping wires & poles in Brattleboro. Crews making repairs for 4500 out. Eta by 11:30 pm.” say GMP.

The TOR Big Summer Road Trip!

by EveryonesBks | Books

Everyone’s Books is pleased to present four of the most exciting Science Fiction and Fantasy authors of the modern era at The Space at 118 Elliot St. at 6pm on Saturday, July 25th.

Local author Brian Staveley‘s  second book in the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series,focuses on the three heirs to the Annurian Empire as they embark on different routes to the same goal. Adare, having discovered who killed their father, rallies the people, who believe she has been touched by a goddess; Valyn has allied with invading nomads; and Kaden, the rightful heir, has already infiltrated the capital. Read chapter one from The Emperor’s Blades here, and an excerpt from book two, The Providence of Fire, here.

Cat Box Liner And Litter Package Tested And Approved For Brattleboro’s Curbside Composting Program

by Litter-2-U | Pets

Liner converts into a clean, sealed disposal bag

Brattleboro, VT July 10, 2015, Litter-2-U is a product that gives cat owners a convenient way to dispose of cat litter in their curbside composting cart. This fast, easy and clean way to change cat litter compliments Brattleboro’s curbside composting program and diverts litter from costly, harmful landfills to usable compost.                

Litter-2-U (L2U) is a compostable plant-based liner pre filled with a 100% wood-pellet litter, which is highly absorbent and effective at odor control. The strong 2-ply liner has a jute drawstring that can later be cinched for disposal. With L2U, Brattleboro cat owners can avoid putting their litter in a costly non-compostable PAYT bag destined for the landfill. L2U is currently available online at and is delivered to your door.

Weekend Comedy Series: Norm MacDonald

by cgrotke | Entertainment

This comedy special starts with Norm’s parents convincing him to stop being a doctor and become a comedian.

This Canadian comic is seen here in HBO’s One Night Stand, at a performance in Chicago. Some say Norm is not funny (such as his boss at NBC), but I beg to differ. He is good at making uncomfortable jokes, and jokes that can make you wince, and some find this approach a bit harsh.