Not In Your History Books

by RLElkins | History

Interviewer [RLElkins]: “Where did you derive your historical knowledge about the origin of the sales tax in Vermont?”

Interviewee [Unidentified]: “As a college intern majoring in political science with unrestricted access to the inner workings of the Vermont Statehouse from 1968 through 1970. Unbeknownst to my legislative benefactors, a detail journal of the briefings, hearings, and confidential discussions in Montpelier, some that the press did not have access too, were dictated into a tape recorder every night and later transcribed onto Eaton Typing Paper for my college thesis.”

“What was the title of your college thesis?”

“Vermont Sales Tax – The Dazzling New Legislative Toothpaste for Budget Decay.”

“What grade did you receive?”

“A++”

Brattleboro Time Trade Listings – Week of Feb. 22nd

by Brattleboro Time Trade | Activism

This week’s listings, arranged in geomorphic layers:

RECENT REQUESTS:
Food Prep for weight Loss
Need haircut
Help Install Interior 2-Way Cat Flap Door
Drip, Drip, Drip! – help dealing with a leaky ceiling and falling plaster
Baked Goods Needed For Fundraising Table at CSA/Gardening Event
Homemade Salad Dressing
Help Shopping for Health Insurance

Brattleboro Farmers Market Seeks New Members

by Not Signed In | Business

The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is now accepting applications for new members to vend their products at the Saturday and/or Wednesday Markets. The Farmers’ Market is the region’s largest and oldest open-air Market and supports local agriculture, prepared foods and crafts. The Market features over 50 diverse vendors from the local area and attracts thousands of visitors annually.

The Brattleboro Area Farmers’ Market is a not-for-profit, membership organization and welcomes applications from those who grow and/or create their own high-quality products, especially those working with local ingredients/materials to bring variety to the Market’s offerings.

Brattleboro Town Clerk Election Hours

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office will be open Saturday, March 1 from 9 a.m. to noon for early voting in the Annual Town and Town School District elections. The Town Clerk’s office will be closed Tuesday, March 4. Staff will be conducting elections in the B.U.H.S. gym on Fairground Road. Polling hours are 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Annette L. Cappy
Brattleboro Town Clerk
230 Main Street, Suite 108
Brattleboro. VT 05301

acappy@brattleboro.org
ph 802-251-8129

Uncleared Sidewalks = Broken Bones

by Rolf | Op/Ed

Humans are not like penguins. We are not designed to walk on the ice. My father, who is in his 70’s, was walking in his hometown. The sidwalk was not cleared, and he slipped and fell on his side with a sickening cracking and terrible pain.This simple fall resulted in 6 broken ribs. He is in much pain, can hardly move, and even breathing is hard for him.

On my street, here in Brattleboro, I have noticed that again and again and again, some people clear their sidewalks, and some do not. South Main should be passable all the way from one end to the other.

Right now, there is slush, and tonight, the slush may well freeze, bumpy and slippery.

Human Life, the Novel

by spinoza | Creative

For those who’ve acquired the taste and skill, there’s a uniquely rewarding pleasure in a book’s well executed ending. In great works, themes are introduced, developed or hidden, and in the end, a masterful author pulls it together in a way we didn’t see coming. But in retrospect the unfolding was altogether obvious and inevitable. This may come in the form of a plot twist, a revelation, a reversal of fortune…Whatever the mechanism…if the ending is compelling, and launches the reader into a new realm of contemplation or appreciation, it’s a thing of beauty.

I-91 Pothole Repair on Saturday

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The project team will be repairing potholes in both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-91 in the workzone (between Exits 2 and 3) on Saturday morning, February 22, during low traffic periods. Minor traffic delays are possible while the potholes are being repaired.

Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee – Public Viewing and Comments of Plans

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.  It is anticipated that the Committee will recess at approximately 5:30pm to attend the public viewing of the design plans for three buildings in the Selectboard meeting room, and then reconvene at approximately 6:00pm to take public comment on the plans.

What are the Benefits that Lawmakers Give to Themselves?

by Vidda | Op/Ed

Sixteen Senators and what do you get? “Another day older and deeper in debt. Senators Sanders and Leahy don’t you call me cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company (stole).”

We spend a broken record’s worth of time in repetitive cadence about the vagaries of entitlements, the disabled, the plight of the elder poor, the kids, and then just your general poor people, not to mention the downtrodden middleclass.

Poet Frederico Garcia Lorca in Vermont: New Date/Time Sat Feb 22 at 3 pm

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Because of snow, Federico Garcia Lorca in Vermont was rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 22, at 3:00 p.m. in the meeting room.

Please join independent scholar, Patricia Billingsley for a richly illustrated slide talk with vintage photos, maps, and other related images about the friendship between Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and Vermont poet Philip Cummings.

Downsizing Brattleboro

by Lise | Op/Ed

Here’s what I got out of the budget discussion at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting:  “We’re broke.  Must close library, sell parks.”  Now I know that they didn’t actually advocate for any of these draconian changes, but these items were mentioned, and somehow that became my takeaway from the meeting.  Unnecessary frills may have to be eliminated because important things like police and fire facilities must be built and next year we’ll need a new grader.

Welcome to the new reality, folks: Towns can no longer afford themselves.  

Hamlet at the Latchis

by BusyMom | Arts

Hamlet, performed live at the Latchis, 7:00pm Thursday, February 20.

Just realized this wasn’t in the calendar!

Truly Live at the Latchis, don’t miss this production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a collaboration of  two Tony Award winning companies, The Guthrie Theatre and The Acting Company. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts for his father’s murder, setting him on a journey seeking personal meaning and coming to grips with his own mortality. Published between 1601 and 1603, many believe that Hamlet is the best of Shakespeare’s works and the perfect play. It is certainly one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays.

Sanders Welcomes White House Decision to Protect Social Security

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 20 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed White House assurances that President Barack Obama will not call for cuts in Social Security benefits as part of a budget blueprint that he will submit to Congress on March 4.

“I applaud President Obama for his important decision to protect Social Security,” Sanders said. “With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we cannot afford to make life even more difficult for seniors and some of the most vulnerable people in America.  I look forward to working with the president to support the needs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.”  

Happy 11th Birthday, iBrattleboro

by cgrotke | iBrattleboro

Happy Birthday everyone. iBrattleboro is now 11 years old That means we’re all heading toward our exciting teen years, but still retaining our youthful charm and innocence, right?

Lise and I are your guides and enablers, but the site remains yours. You decide what’s important, you write the stories, and you provide the commentary. There are no reporters or editors.

In 2003, the idea of using the world wide web for a local purpose was almost unheard of. News came from the TV set and from the newspaper or weekly news magazines. There were few blogs, no Facebook, no YouTube, nor Twitter. News outlets did not let you comment on stories other than by sending letters to the editor.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: A Reading and Discussion Series – Note New Date!

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Join Vermont Humanities scholar Richard Wizansky for this reading and discussion series which features the shorter works by the great Russian writer, dissident, and former Cavendish, Vermont resident and includes his most read and highly regarded novella as well as several of his famous speeches.

The 1970 Nobel Lecture; and the 1978 Harvard Class Day Address. Thursday 20 February 2014, 04:30pm – 06:00pm

Sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council. Location Brooks Library Meeting Room. Contact Info Jerry Carbone 802-254-5290 jerry@brookslibraryvt.org http://brookslibraryvt.org

Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Upgrade – Input On Designs

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee invites the public to attend a display of design plans for the renovation of the Police Department, Central Fire Station, and West Brattleboro Fire Station on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 5:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center, 230 Main Street.

Following the display, the Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will reconvene its meeting at 6:00pm and take public input on the design plans. For more information, contact the Town Manager’s office at 251-8151, tmsecretary@brattleboro.org.