Supreme Court Voids Campaign Spending Limits

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, April 2 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today blasted a Supreme Court ruling that voided legal limits on contributions by individual donors to political campaigns.

“Freedom of speech, in my view, does not mean the freedom to buy the United States government,” Sanders said.

The ruling gives wealthy donors like the billionaires Charles and David Koch more power to influence elections. An earlier ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC resulted in a record $7 billion being spent in the 2012 election cycle, including at least $400 million by the Koch brothers alone.

BMH Offers Free Self-Management Workshops for Healthier Living

by BMH | Health

This spring, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is offering three self-management workshops to give individuals new tools to deal with chronic health issues and live a fuller, healthier life. All of the workshops are free and open to the public.

Two of the workshops are being offered in collaboration with the Brattleboro Senior Center. The first program, Healthier Living, will take place from April 15 to May 20. The second program, Healthier Living with Chronic Pain, will happen June 3 to July 8. Both workshops will meet from 9:30 AM to 12 PM every Tuesday for six weeks at the Gibson-Aiken Center.

The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage on Sunday, April 6

by Not Signed In | Music

Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening bluegrass and newgrass by The Lonely Heartstring Band and The Stockwell Brothers at Next Stage on Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 pm.

The Lonely Heartstring Band is Berklee College of Music students George Clements, Patrick M’Gonigle, Matt Witler, Gabe Hirshfeld and Charles Clements. Their music is a combination of old and new styles, melding the sounds of traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting and arranging. The band began with a common love for the music of The Beatles, bringing some of their favorite songs to life while attempting to remain true to the original arrangements.

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Town Meeting Petition Triggers Public Vote On Brattleboro Budget

by cgrotke | Town News

The registered voters of Brattleboro will have an opportunity to vote on the town budget within a few weeks. David Gartenstein told fellow Brattleboro Selectboard members that a successful petition by fifty-six Town Meeting Representatives will trigger a town-wide vote by ballot, as stipulated in the Town Charter, allowing for voters at-large to weigh in on the $16.2 million budget.

The Police Fire Facility Project committee has been requested by the board to look for additional ways to cut costs. New cell phone towers, solar arrays, skatepark location possibilities, and more were also discussed Tuesday evening.

Petition Succeeds

by spoon | Town News

56 Town meeting Member signatures were collected calling for a town-wide vote on the budget (Article 19 of the warning for Representative Town Meeting).  This exceeds the minimum requirement of 50.  The Selectboard now has 10 days to set the date for the vote which must be within 15 days thereafter.  Thus the first two if not all three of the initial steps will be concluded in April.  If the budget is defeated the Selectboard will have to call a Special Representative Town Meeting to present a new budget.

The Risk of Returning – Book Reading

by Not Signed In | Books

April Gallery Walk Book Reading, 7:15 pm on April 4th at Everyone’s Books – discussion and refreshments.

A reading and discussion with the authors of The Risk Of Returning.

An excellent new novel set in Guatemala, a society beset by the legacy of a century of American interventionist policies. Authors Rudy and Shirley Nelson of Amherst MA. will reflect on their time in Guatemala,as well as the art and labor of novel writing.

Special Day

by SK-B | Creative

I got a shut-off notice from the power company.

Then I noticed the date – April First.

So I laughed, tore it up, and threw it in the trash.

Suddenly, my lights went out.

Brn Mwr Drops Vowels

by ESchwartz | Education

Bryn Mawr Decides to Drop Vowels

April 1, 2014

Bryn Mawr College is announcing today that it is dropping the vowels from its name and questioning the use of vowels generally. The college will now be known as Brn Mwr. The move is being described as the first major initiative of the college’s new president, Kim Cassidy. A statement from Cassidy said: “This is the age of Twitter, every character counts. And really, what’s the difference, no one can pronounce our name anyway.” The college also announced plans for an academic conference related to the institution’s new skepticism of vowels. The conference is The Hegemony of the Vowel: Incontinence and Lipogrammatics.” One of the planned sessions is “The Habermasian Response: Communicative Ir-Rationality?”

Samirah Evans, Keene Orchestra Join Area Youth at the Kurn Hattin Jazz Invitational

by KurnHattin | Music

Kurn Hattin Homes for Children invites the public to attend its 7th Annual Jazz Invitational Wednesday, April 9th at 7:00 pm featuring special guests: the Keene Orchestra, directed by Scott Mullett, jazz singer Samirah Evans, and with Master of Ceremonies, Eugene Uman of the Vermont Jazz Center. This year’s program features youth jazz ensembles from Bellows Falls Union High School, Brattleboro Area Middle School, Northfield Mount Herman, Kurn Hattin Homes For Children, Vermont Academy, and the Vermont Jazz Center.

Sanders Welcomes Progress on VA Backlog

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, April 1– Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed significant progress by the Department of Veterans Affairs in reducing a disability claims backlog.

The VA announced today that its current backlog of claims pending more than 125 days is at its lowest point in three years. The backlog was reduced from 611,000 one year ago to 344,000 claims pending today, a 44 percent reduction. The VA also said the accuracy of the decisions on disability claims has improved.

New Take on Police/Fire Project?

by MichaelB | Op/Ed

On March 22nd Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting defeated the 1% optional sales tax and approved the FY15 budget, which includes the first interest payment on the second police/fire facilities bond.  So, what happens next?

First let’s state the obvious:  Brattleboro is in a bind.  It took many of us to get it there, myself
included.  We initially approved the police/fire facilities project and then rejected cutting the overall budget
enough to scale it back.  Meanwhile, we defeated the 1% sales tax multiple times.

Is Gov. Shumlin’s Rumored Single Payer Health Care Funding Plan Merely Fool’s Gold or Real Thing?

by Norsehorse | Politics

(cross-posted from Green Mountain Daily, ; originally posted to Vermont Watch, here)

Although one is left to wonder about whether or not it is merely fool’s gold or the real thing, there have been recent rumors about how, on condition of anonymity, a top administration official is reported to have disclosed that Governor Peter Shumlin‘s plan to fund his single payer health care initiative could potentially include instituting taxes on what currently is non-taxable food and clothing purchases.

Deadline for Government Sending Out Some Basic Information About The Affordable Care Act Was Today

by cgrotke | Health

The Healthcare deadline is today! So I hear on the radio.

As both a taxpayer and small business owner, I’ve received no written information about the Affordable Care Act. I get mail from the IRS and from the State of Vermont about all sorts of things, but not once has any information about any changes to laws regarding healthcare come my way. Not even a postcard with a website address.

Friday: BMC Presents Musicians From Marlboro

by Pam Lierle | Music

On Friday, April 4, the Brattleboro Music Center presents Musicians From Marlboro at Centre Congregational Church in Brattleboro, VT,  in the final concert of its 2013-14 Chamber Music Series.

Musicians From Marlboro, the touring extension of the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, offers exceptional young professional musicians together with seasoned artists in varied chamber music programs. The resulting ensembles offer audiences the chance to both discover seldom-heard masterworks and enjoy fresh interpretations of chamber music favorites.

Petition On The Brattleboro Town Budget

by JohnWilmerding | Politics

If you’re not a Town Representative, you might not know that there is an initiative happening right now to gather enough signatures to put the 2014-15 Town budget up for a referendum.

I support this initiative because the Town Representatives (elected representatives to Town Meeting) are not the be-all and end-all of Town politics … the people of Brattleboro ourselves are. The possibility of a referendum exists for this precise purpose; for a process to be invoked where the Town’s voters can over-rule the Town Representatives.

U.N. Issues Climate Change Warning

by Not Signed In | Politics

WASHINGTON, March 31 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said today that the latest report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is another jolting wake-up call for nations around the world.

The report by the U.N. panel said the effects of global warming already are occurring on every continent and across the world’s oceans. The scientists warned that the problem was likely to grow much worse unless greenhouse gas emissions are brought under control.

BCTV Channel 8 & 10 Schedules for the Week of 3/31/14

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Ch.8 Schedule for the week of 3-31-14

                   Monday March 31              

12:00 am      Pres. Coolidge Site Panel Discussion

1:28 am       Book Talk – Ep.1: Amy Howlett – VT Dept of Libraries

2:00 am       FSTV Overnight

4:00 am       VT Workers Center – Informational Mtg 3/16/14

Heavy Rains Delay Closing Rt. 30 for Bridge Repair Work

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Good Morning:

The heavy rains we’re getting have resulted in a slow down on the project. We now anticipate that we won’t be ready to do the work that necessitates the closing of VT RT 30 until April 9 or later. I will let everyone know as soon as we’ve set the new dates.

When it rains, it pours,