Police Indifference

by tomaidh | Op/Ed

Every morning, my room-mate Jake and I go for a walk.

Sometimes, we witness behavior that seems suspicious. For example, a carful of people pulls up to a house, a person gets out, knocks on the door and is admitted. Within about a minute, the person exits, gets in the car, and the gang drives away.

When we see this happening frequently, it appears that something is going on. Maybe they’re borrowing a few eggs for breakfast, but I think it’s drugs.

After a few days, this seems to stop happening, only to begin again in a few weeks.

Third Quarter Brattleboro Tax and Utilities Due February 18

by Not Signed In | Town News

The third installment of the 2013 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on February 18th, 2014. Payments made after February 18th, 2014 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

The utility billing is also due on February 18th, 2014. Payments made after February 18th, 2014 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

Got Tweens & Teens? Free Parenting Teens Wisely Class – March 3rd

by BAPC | Family

Do you want to learn how to problem-solve with your teen, encourage cooperation, how to listen and be heard, and to develop fair and effective discipline skills? On Monday, March 3rd from 6 to 9 PM a FREE
Parenting Teens Wisely class will be offered by the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition at the Marlboro College Graduate Center in Brattleboro.

This free 3-hour workshop teaches parents skills and techniques to help them better understand and deal with their children ages 10 to 19.

Strolling of the Heifers Launches 2014 Culinary Competition: Bread Pudding!

by MartinLangeveld | Food

Amateur and professional chefs, tie on your aprons! It’s time to gear up for the Stroll’s annual culinary competition, this year featuring that good old-fashioned comfort food, bread pudding!

Now’s the time to start perfecting your bread pudding recipe, whether it’s a family heirloom handed down from your great-grandmother, or something you dreamed up and perfected yourself, and get it ready to enter in the Strolling of the Heifers Great New England Bread Pudding Bake-Off.

This year’s event will showcase bread pudding as an easy, economical and delicious dessert, and as a healthy alternative to processed commercial desserts. Contest finals will happen at the Stroll’s new home at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, downtown Brattleboro.

150 Years Ago (1864 2/14)

by BusyMom | History

Feb. 14th. I have had a hard spell of the head ache. I have got to go to work. Shall go on dress parade this afternoon and go on guard as corporal of the guard. Shall not have to stand guard. There are two corporals detailed every day and one Sergeant. The corporals have to post the guards, but one is up at a time in the night, so it is not very hard and there is a chance to learn something. I tell you, there is a great deal to learn sometimes. I think I shall never be able to get through with it. There are others that think if they can explain a right face they are ready for an examination, but to go through it in shape will require a great deal of study and pains taking.

WPTZ News: “Shumlin On Heroin”

by Norsehorse | Media

If one is in need of a good laugh, check out the caption under the overlaid image of Governor Peter Shumlin reportedly aired recently on (Burlington, VT/Plattsburgh, NY: i.e., “Shumlin on Heroin”), via Haik Bedrosian, .

Either the folks at WPTZ must know something the rest of us don’t or they’re just plain dopey.

(smile)

GMCFit is having a Membership Drive during February.

by derekgladding | Health

Green Mountain Community Fitness is the perfect place for small group trainings in downtown Brattleboro at 80 Flat St.

Start a new membership during February and your first month is only $75 (a savings of $50).

GMCFit offers a variety of trainings including Boot Camp, Cardio blasting INSANITY, BEAST Boot Camp, P90X, POWER Pilates, and Zumba.

Nutritional Couseling and personal training sessions are also available.

All levels are welcome. Are you ready for a change?!?

Strength • Wellness • Community

www.gmcfit.com

First Major Test Hurdled for Paid Sick Day Legislation

by spoon | State News

The Paid Sick Day (H.208) legislation that would require all employers to permit employees to earn up to five paid sick days per year has passed it’s first major hurdle.  It was voted out of its first committee appearance (Housing and Military Affairs, and don’t ask me why there) by a strong 6-1 margin.  It has now moved to the House Appropriations Committee.  

Bill to Hinder Info Gathering in Vermont

by spoon | State News

A few weeks ago, January 28th, four Vt House legislators introduced a bill to hinder information gathering in Vermont.  

There are four sponsors from four perspectives:  Rep Davis-Hatch Progressive from the NE Kingdom, Rep Zagar, Dem from Windsor, Rep Komline, Repub from Rutland and W. Stevens, Ind. from Addison.  The bill’s number is H.732.  It will not have time to get through this session and will have to be re-introduced next year (the slate is wiped clean at the end of every biennium) if the sponsors or others choose.  Here is the link.

http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2014/bills/Intro/H-732.pdf

Brattleboro Music Center Launches 
New “Healthy” Adult Daytime Programs

by Pam Lierle | Music

In March, the Brattleboro Music Center will begin offering a new series of adult education programs during the day. The adult daytime series launches with monthly music appreciation gatherings, a chorus for seniors, and a beginning adult violin class.

The launch of the BMC’s new adult daytime track is a direct response to the region’s decidedly older adult population, and the mounting evidence that engagement in music as we age has significant positive health benefits.

Zero Energy Homes Presentation

by Not Signed In | Home & Garden

Interested in home energy efficiency? A net Zero Energy Home is one that generates as much renewable energy as it uses. Existing homes can become Zero Energy Homes with recent innovations in heating systems and cost-competitive renewable energy options. Efficiency Vermont’s Li Ling Young will talk about this year’s pilot program to support Zero Energy Homes. For many homes, investing in radical efficiency and a renewable energy system is the most economical way to operate the home. If you have been waiting for a chance to do something about your home energy use, the time is now. Take advantage of Efficiency Vermont’s expertise to make your home what all homes should be: gracious guests on planet Earth.

Brattleboro President’s Day Closures

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of President’s Day, all Town offices will be closed on Monday, February 17, 2014, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday and Monday, February 16 and February 17. All other violations, including extended parking will be enforced.

Brooks Memorial Library will be closed on Sunday, February 16 and Monday, February 17, 2014.

Welch: 62 Lawmakers Call on President to Reveal Top Line Intelligence Spending Levels in FY2015 Budget

by Not Signed In | Politics

Spending levels at 16 intelligence agencies are currently treated as classified information

WASHINGTON DC (February 12th, 2014)— Led by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a bipartisan group of 62 House lawmakers sent a letter today to President Obama calling on him to disclose in his fiscal year 2015 budget the top line spending levels at the 16 federal agencies known to conduct intelligence activities. The President is expected to deliver his budget to Congress on March 4.

According to the lawmakers, “The current practice of providing no specificity whatsoever regarding the overall budget requests for each intelligence agency falls woefully short of basic accountability requirements… As you develop your fiscal year 2015 budget, we strongly urge you to take a simple step toward much needed transparency by including the total amount requested for each of the sixteen intelligence agencies. We believe the top line number for each agency should be made public, with no risk to national security, for comparative purposes across all federal government agencies.”

Federal Workers to Get a Minimum Wage Boost

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today praised President Barack Obama for signing an executive order raising the minimum wage for workers employed by federal contractors.

“President Obama is taking a very important first step by giving a raise to hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers for federal contractors,” said Sanders, who was invited to this afternoon’s White House signing ceremony. “The president’s action adds momentum to the push in Congress to raise the minimum wage for every worker in this country to at least $10.10 an hour,” Sanders added.

Sanders last Sept. 25 sent Obama a letter, signed by 14 other senators, urging the president to issue an executive order setting a minimum wage at $10.10 an hour for federal contractors.

Winter Carnival Murder Mystery Dinner

by DonInGuilford | Entertainment

My Guilford friend Belinda, who’s a prime mover for Brattleboro Winter Carnival, asked me to help get the word out about this evemt, so of course I immediately tuned into ibrattleboro. dm

What happens at the Legion, stays at the Legion… well at least when this year’s theme is ‘Murder in Las Vegas’! Take a roll of the dice and see if you can figure out who the murderer is before all is revealed! You can bet it’s going to be a great dinner, with lots of friends and a fabulous show! The Vermont Theater Company will be our entertainment and dinner will be served by Brattleboro’s One and Only BMH Ladies Auxiliary. Get your tickets early to be sure you get a seat for this evening of fun, you won’t want to miss it!!

Sanders Statement on Vermont Ranking No. 1 in Solar Power Jobs per Capita

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who serves on the Senate energy and environment committees, issued the following statement today after The Solar Foundation reported that Vermont employs more workers in solar power jobs per capita than any other state:

“We have a bold vision in Vermont for an energy transformation phasing fossil fuels out as quickly as possible in favor of clean, renewable energy. Solar energy is a central part of that vision. A dramatic expansion of solar power is a clean and economical way to help break our dependence on foreign oil, reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, and create good-paying manufacturing and installation jobs in Vermont and across the United States.”

Today We Fight Back

by cgrotke | Activism

You may have noticed a new banner at the bottom of the page. Today, we’re using the site to help protest NSA spying on innocent Americans, weakening of encryption standards, being generally creepy without oversight, and making the internet less fun and less useful. It’s all a part of a day of action to let legislators know that they should work on reforms. You are invited and encouraged to participate.

150 Years Ago (1864 2/11)

by BusyMom | History

U. S. Barracks, Brattleboro, Vt. Feb.
11, 1864.

Dearest wife –

I shall endeavor to write you a longer letter than the last, you need not count that anything. Of news I have none. It is very quiet here. The recruits have all left, or nearly all. There are a few for the 9th, 7th, 8th, and the Batteries here. I have not been in town until last night. It is all still and quiet here. I started to go and see Mrs. Richard Chaplin, but she had got better and gone to a Mr. Miller’s to board in town. Started to hunt up the place: got into the wrong pew, the wrong Mr. Miller, but it was good luck. They were related to Jesse Miller of Coventry, acquainted with the Wrights, Baldwin’s, Berry’s, Thrasher’s, Flander’s, etc. etc.

The Intercept – First Look Media’s 1st ‘Digital Magazine’ Is Launched!

by Nan Stefanik | Media

Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill have launched The Intercept, the first ‘digital magazine’ to be published by First Look Media. Here’s the link:

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/

Greenwald & Scahill’s first article is “The NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program” and is based on first-hand accounts from a ‘former drone operator’ as well as previously unreleased Snowden documents. 

Guilford Pre-Town Meeting Feb. 20

by DonInGuilford | Guilford

Broad Brook Grange will hold its annual Guilford Pre-Town Meeting on Thursday, February 20, 7:00 pm at the Grange hall. 

This is the only opportunity for voters to hear details of the articles which will be presented at the Town and School District Meetings, and to meet and discuss issues with the selectboard and school board all in one evening, in advance of Town Meeting.  

In addition, candidates for town and school board offices are urged to attend to introduce themselves to the voters.  State law prevents any “campaigning” by candidates at Town Meeting, when an Australian ballot is used, as in this instance.  So this is the only time before the vote for the public to meet and hear the candidates all at once.