Sen Leahy – Do You Think We Don’t Care About Due Process?

by Nan Stefanik | Politics

As I suspected, our “leaders” in the U.S. Congress aren’t inclined to require the Obama Administration to release the “targeted kill” memo authored by David Barron before confirming his judicial appointment today.  And once again, the mainstream media got suckered by the White House’s PR machine to enable business as usual.

While I encourage all to read , here’s how bmaz, a lawyer and top-level blogger at Emptywheel blog, ends his post on the subject today:

<snip>

Buttheads – The Most Dangerous Animals on Earth

by Vidda | Op/Ed

Are you in mortal danger from a cigarette smoker? Do you think cigarette smokers are drug addicts? Are they weapons of mass destruction? However you perceive cigarette smokers they are not exactly benign harmless creatures of habit, are they? The odd thing is that some cigarette smokers agree and admit they endanger themselves and others, with less concern for their fellow man, woman and child than I like to know.

TOSCA

by Pam Lierle | Music

The Windham Orchestra and PanOpera join forces to bring “TOSCA” to the region. Performances of Puccini’s “Tosca” will be at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, Vermont on Friday, May 30 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, June 1 at 2 pm; and at the Academy of Music in Northampton, Massachusetts on Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 pm. 

“Tosca” tells the brutal truth about what drives us; our passions, and desires. It’s essential Puccini – lurid, ravishing, hugely enjoyable, and not to be missed. There are no gods or heroes, this is raw humanity on display.

“No-one needs to understand Italian or ‘know about opera’ to relate immediately and instinctively to the emotional states of the characters and the horrifying situations they are in,” explains Windham Orchestra Director Hugh Keelan. “Who has not experienced desperation in love, particularly when a loved one is in pain? Who does not know the struggle between the higher and lower self?  Who has not been helpless, overwhelmed in adversity—and tried to pretend they have it all handled?”

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – A Personnel Matter

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 12:00 noon in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 12:00 noon to discuss a personnel matter.

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

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Revised FY15 Budget Moves To Town Meeting Representatives

by cgrotke | Town News

The revised FY15 budget was adopted by the Selectboard, clearing the way for Representative Town Meeting members to weigh in next on June 2. Whether to take funds out of the reserve to further reduce municipal taxes was the only issue the board discussed in any great additional detail, and the decision was a happy surprise for John Allen.

Brattleboro is nearing the selection of a new Town Manager, with a candidate to be selected within the next two or three weeks if all goes as planned, new electric vehicle charging stations will be installed, a PAYT committee was initiated, liquor licenses were approved, and more.

Unexceptional History

by spoon | History

I noticed the item in Today in History…in 1892, new boiler installed at the Brooks House.  It’s possible, but I’m not sure, that the boiler is located under the former Frankie’s Pizza.  It may briefly see light of day in the very near future when that building is razed.  I don’t know whether the plan is to bury or remove it.  Speaking of Frankie’s, it looks like his son is opening a restaurant/bar in the old HR Block location next to the former Lawton’s.

Brattleboro Memorial Day Closings

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of Memorial Day, all Brattleboro town offices will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2014, with the exception of emergency services.

Parking is free at all metered spaces and in the pay-and-display lots on Sunday, May 25 and Monday, May 26, 2014. All other violations, including extended parking, will be enforced.

Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Town Manager Search Citizen Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 4:45pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Committee will enter into executive session at 5:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

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

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – A Personnel Matter

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 6:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session at 6:00pm to discuss a personnel matter.

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

Taxation in Brattleboro, 1881

by cgrotke | History

In 1881, Brattleboro taxes, bonds, and debts were an issue. Read on for a letter to the editor on the subject by Levi Fuller, a noted member of the Estey Organ Company and governor of Vermont.…

Taxation in Brattleboro

“What shall the tax of Brattleboro be this year?” is a question asked by many. The completion of the grand list furnishes the necessary information. An examination of the town auditor’s report (page 21) shows the expenses, outside of the reduction of debt or extraordinary repairs upon highways, to be estimated at $8,773, and for this sum the auditors report sufficient resources already provided.

Stamford and Philly Rock Brattleboro — At The Future

by Lise | Music

There’s something about hearing really good bands in tiny spaces.  The intimacy is palpable.  You’re not just watching a band play — you’re two feet away from the guitarist who has just remarked, to no one in particular, that there’s a buzz in his amp, at which half the audience rushes over to help.  And some nights, you wonder if ten years from now, you’ll be thinking “I remember when…”  That’s the calibre of group that The Future Collective is bringing to Brattleboro, and last night the twin treat came from two unlikely places — Stamford, CT and Philadelphia, PA.  Ok, admittedly, Philadelphia has some popular caché but Stamford?

Learn to Row Clinics – Sculling and Sweep with RowBOC and PRC

by BOCgoodsports | Recreation & Sports

Have you seen the rowers on the West River this spring? Brattleboro Outing Club’s RowBOC and the Putney Rowing Club have teamed up to offer a Learn to Row Clinic and they are still accepting novice rowers.

Meet other new rowers learning to row under the expert instruction of Tim Whitney, Grahame King, Thom Collins and Kristin Dawley. Clinic sessions take place on the West River and the Connecticut River at both rowing clubs.

Change at Latchis – Nunziata To Step Down

by Not Signed In | Business

Greetings.

As you may have heard, after ten years at the Latchis I will be stepping down from my position as Executive Director at the end of June. What a wonderful time it has been.

Most of the wonder comes from the support of people like you, who helped us meet every challenge, from annual appeals to capital campaigns, to facing down the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

Downtown Brattleboro Visioning Sessions : May 21st

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Dear Property Owners, Business Owners and Brattleboro Residents,

Welcome to Spring! It has been a pleasure to serve as your Downtown Coordinator with Building a Better Brattleboro (BaBB) over the past few months. Since wrapping up the holiday season, we have made strides in re-examining the focus, culture and brand of the organization, as well as to reflect upon the realities of the shifting landscape we live in.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 5/19/14

by cgrotke | Media

BCTV Ch.8 Schedule for the week of 5/19/14

Monday May 19

12:00 am      Common Good VT: Leadership Vermont 

12:55 am      Jennie’s Joint Ep.2 – Guitarists

2:00 am       FSTV Overnight

4:00 am       Book Talk Ep.6: Richard Duvall

4:35 am       Kurn Hattin 2014 Spring Jazz Festival

Yet Another UFO

by Rolf | Entertainment

Surely, 

I can’t be the only person who is not only seeing these things, but who is getting photos of them. I mean, its kind of like dousing fro water in Vermont. You would be hard pressed to douse for water and find a location that had none. With UFO’s its pretty hard to take a picture and not end up with a UFO in the frame somewhere. See what I mean ?

Agenda 21 in Brattleboro

by Not Signed In | Op/Ed

The Town of Brattleboro is deceiving its people.

Specifically, I note that, next week, the town will host a couple of “visioning” sessions for residents.

The lie is that these sessions are to hear what the people of Brattleboro want their town to look like years from now, so that this common “vision” can be implemented.

The truth is that Brattleboro is a member of ICLEI, the executive arm of the United Nations’ Agenda 21, Blueprint for Humanity, a self-described UN effort to control all human behavior and to impose “universal design” on what it refers to as all “human settlements.”