Brattleboro Selectboard Meeting January 12, 2021 – Agenda and Notes

by cgrotke | Town News

Outstanding FY22 budget issues will be discussed at the next regular meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard. How much paving should be done? Should board members get more compensation? Should one local media outlet (BCTV) be favored with funding from taxpayers? How much should Brattleboro spend on Human Services?

The board will also continue discussion of the Community Safety Review report and extend a contract for financial services. You can bring up other items not on the agenda during public participation.

Trump & Fascists Attempt Coup in DC – Unions Need To Fight

by David Van Deusen | Politics

Today [1/6/21] thousands of neo-fascist Trump loyalists converged on Washington with the aim of forcing the annulment of the November election (which Democrat Joe Biden won by seven million votes). There they were met by Donald Trump himself who addressed the mob, falsely claiming that he won, that he would never concede defeat, and encouraging them to fight to keep him in power.

Meanwhile, Inside Congress Republican Representatives and Senators from the extreme right issued formal challenges to the Electoral College vote (which also spelled overwhelming defeat for Trump). Like their neo-fascist counterparts outside the Capital Building, these anti-democratic, anti-union law makers were actively seeking to carry out a coup against the majority will of the American people.

Brattleboro Committee Vacancies

by Not Signed In | Town News

 The Town of Brattleboro is looking for citizens to serve on the following committees and boards: 

Agricultural Advisory Board 

ADA Advisory Board 

Arts Committee 

Conservation Commission 

Selectboard Meeting Notes – Community Safety Committee Presents Findings and Recommendations

by cgrotke | Town News
brattleboro selectboard jan 5 2021

Marginalized populations of Brattleboro were a common theme for the Brattleboro Selectboard at their first meeting of the new year. They struggled with Human Services funding requests, then listened to an extended overview of the Community Safety report.

Everyone is encouraged to read the full report then return next week for more discussion of this and other topics.

The Selectboard Show

by cgrotke | Entertainment

2021, for me, marks 20 years of watching the Brattleboro Selectboard. 

I first turned the show on when we moved to Brattleboro in 2001. At first, it was to learn about Brattleboro and what was going on here, but soon the experience evolved more into watching something akin to a soap opera.

The show has the regular cast of characters: Town Manager, department heads, and support staff. They stay on the show season after season with few changes, though major roles get recast from time to time. New roles have been introduced, too: the Assistant Town Manager, the Human Services Director, and the Sustainability Coordinator are examples.

2021 Brattleboro Town Meeting Election Calendar

by Not Signed In | Politics

Thursday, January 14 Last day (5:00 P. M.) to file petition requesting that an article be placed on the Warning for Annual Town and Town School District Meeting (47 days preceding election).  Approx. 469 (5%) signatures of registered Brattleboro voters required.  17 VSA 2642 

Thursday, January 21 First day to post Warning for Annual Town and Town School District (not more than 40 days preceding election)  17 VSA 2641 (a) 

Brattleboro Consent of Candidate Forms for March Elections Now Available

by Not Signed In | Politics

Consent of Candidate forms for Brattleboro Town Officers, Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) Board Members, and Town Meeting Members are now available at the Town Clerk’s office.  Please call or email our office to request the form. Due to the pandemic, petition requirements have been waived for candidates to have their names placed on the ballots for this election. Town elections will be Tuesday, March 2 at the American Legion, and the Annual Representative Town Meeting, Saturday, March 20, likely via Zoom. Consent of Candidate forms must be filed in the clerk’s office no later than 5:00 P.M. on Monday, January 25 in order to have their name placed on the ballot.

Too Much and Never Enough

by tomaidh | Politics

Clinical psychologist Mary Trump, (Donald Trump’s niece) has publicly predicted Trump’s increasingly dangerous, aberrant and delusional behavior. Her bestselling book “Too Much and Never Enough” chronicles how her uncle came to be the man he is today, and the dire, almost existential threat that he represents to the United States and the world.
Ms Trump warns that Donald Trump will only become more dangerous as Inauguration Day approaches and he faces the last days of his presidency.

Brattleboro Community Safety Review – Final Report

by cgrotke | Town News

Here’s the Executive Summary from the Community Safety Review report, followed by a pdf of the full report. You can also download this and other related materials on the Town of Brattleboro website. This report will be reviewed and discussed at the next meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard.

“It Was a Stupid War Anyone Who Went Was a Sucker” A US President Reportedly Enlightened Americans

by jay janson | Op/Ed

DESCRIPTION: Apparently, the highest official of the US government owned by wealthy investors in war inadvertently let himself be overheard making an off-hand truthful remark that contradicts what the CIA overseen criminal media tells the world in excusing America’s genocidal crimes against humanity in Vietnam. Important is how criminal media seeks to ridicule someone saying something truthful about the the war it lied about and promoted

The Vaccine Rollout – Too Many Unknowns

by RDavis | Health

World governments are trying to deal with the complexity of vaccinating enough of their populations to provide an adequate level of herd immunity to be able to declare that the COVID 19 pandemic is under control. Having a Darwinian health care system and a lack of federal leadership means the U.S. will most likely lag behind the rest of the world in vaccine rollout. Experts are guessing that anywhere from 70-90 percent of people need to be vaccinated to meet herd immunity efficacy .

One of the major problems that all countries face is the fact that no one really knows how the pandemic will play out, even under the best of vaccine rollout scenarios. In addition, there are many unknowns about how vaccines work and how the virus behaves.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda & Notes – January 5, 2021

by cgrotke | Town News

To kick off the new year, the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear a report and recommendations from the Community Safety Review Committee. The board will also consider an increase to Human Services funding, contemplate mailed ballots for Town Meeting Day, and call for volunteers to serve on committees.

WSESD Board Meeting Agenda and Minutes

by Not Signed In | Education

AGENDA

I. CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 p.m. – David Schoales, Board Chair

II. RECOGNITION OF VISITORS

III. CONSENT AGENDA

• CLERK’S REPORT – Approval of Minutes – December 16, 2020

• FINANCE

Warrants of December 1, 2020

Making Sense of 2020

by Lise | Op/Ed, Opinion

As 2020 coasts to a close, it feels unusually difficult to write a year-end essay that encapsulates all the things that happened to us this year. Even a personal essay would be too long to write, let alone read. But this sort of thing hasn’t stopped me before, so what follows are the highlights, by which I mean most memorable and important happenings of 2020 from my own perspective. Even this isn’t easy because processing experience takes time and a lot of this stuff just happened or is still going on. But here we go: Pause, rewind, and….