Activism

Right now, there are children involved in the Windham County Family Court who need your help. They don’t need your money – just your time and attention. In some cases, these children have been abused, neglected or caught in the middle of a custody dispute – but they all have the same need: to have a judge-appointed advocate who will look out for their best interest. To be a Guardian ad Litem, you needn’t have any specialized experience – just a willingness to volunteer your free time, strong interpersonal and communication skills, a passion for helping vulnerable children and the ability to think critically, be assertive, work with others effectively, and use sound judgment. Training is provided, and the personal reward is immeasurable.

“We applaud Entergy’s decision to shut down an aging nuclear power plant, rather than to push it past its limits. We appreciate their commitment for planning for a safe and orderly shutdown. We will remain vigilant to ensure that the decommissioning is done responsibly and in the safest way possible. Today, we celebrate this milestone in our work to end nuclear power generation in the Northeast and to foster a renewable energy future. This is a win for the people. Their relentless work has made the closure of Vermont Yankee possible. We thank all who have worked to make this day happen, especially the state of Vermont for its perseverance on this issue.”

Petition language:

The undersigned petitioners call on the Government of the United States to govern and regulate the law enforcement and civilian use of Tasers as well as other stun guns in the exact same manner it governs and regulates the law enforcement and civilian use of firearms and other lethal weapons.

Read petition background and consider signing on, .

Press release– Presenting: TIPPING POINT: The Age of the Oil Sands a CBC documentary film

Wednesday, August 21 @ 6 pm
All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church West Brattleboro
(West Village Meeting House)
Sponsored by All Souls Church and Vermont Interfaith Power and Light

The film showing will be followed by a discussion which will include information on the pipeline that passes through the Northeast Kingdom

Tar Sands Oil: How You Can STOP It!

“Tipping
Point: The Age of the Oil Sands” a  CBC documentary film about the environmental issue of the proposed pipeline through the Northeast Kingdom. Sponsored by All Souls Church and Vermont Interfaith Power and Light. To be shown at All Souls Church, West Brattleboro on Wednesday, August 21^st at 6pm. 

Discussion and light refreshments after the film. A free-will offering to benefit Vermont Interfaith Power and Light will be collected. 

For further information please contact: Betsy Hardy at 802-434-3397 or email: info@vtipl.org.

Drop off your non-perishable groceries ahead of time at BS&L! Leave them with me (Brandie Starr) and they will be some of the first to fill the seats of the Latchis Theater. BS&L will accept groceries today until 5pm, and Monday 9-5!! email or call me at 275.3985 for more details.

http://wkvt.com/load-the-latchis/

Brattleboro area students are sending an important message to their peers this summer – stay Above the Influence – with the launch of the. ATI 802 features the faces and voices of Brattleboro area youth and showcases each individual student’s choice to rise above the influences of negative pressures to drink, do drugs or anything that goes against who you are in order to fit in.

The launch of this positive message media campaign is timed to reach youth during the summer break, when more free time and less adult supervision can increase the likelihood of exposure to dangers and substance use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, more teens start drinking and smoking cigarettes and marijuana in June and July than any other months of the year.

Ledgewood Heights FREE summer meals program is looking for someone to serve meals twice a day, 5 days a week. This is a great opportunity for community service & includes the following duties: tracking meals in &
out, serving meals (all meals are delivered ready to go with minimal volunteer preparation needed), and clean up. Yes, that’s IT! Breakfast is served from 9-9:30am and lunch is from 12-1pm.

Join Flotilla 2013! Saturday, August 10^th, 11am (rain date: Sunday August 11^th, 11am). Prospect Street Boat Launch in Hindsdale, NH

The Entergy Corporation continues to pollute the Connecticut River by dumping hundreds of millions of gallons of heated water every day from the Vermont Yankee nuclear facility. This “thermal pollution” destroys aquatic life. Because of high water temperature and low river volume, Entergy was forced to use its cooling towers to cool its reactor last summer. In fact, Entergy has the ability to use those towers continually. Instead, Entergy chooses to pollute our river. This is not acceptable.

BRATTLEBORO – Brattleboro’s Continuum of Care group is conducting a Tent and Sleeping Bag Drive in response to anticipated increases in people experiencing homelessness. July 1st marks another round of budget cuts by the Vermont Legislature, reducing services for General Assistance emergency temporary housing statewide. The last-resort program, which provides limited emergency motel vouchers for elderly and disabled homeless individuals and homeless families with young children, continues to experience cuts. This year, it means many families and individuals who currently qualify will be ineligible for services starting July 1st, and those who do qualify will see the length of their motel stay drastically reduced.

Is secondhand smoke a concern to businesses in downtown Brattleboro?

Don’t miss your chance to share your opinion about secondhand smoke in the downtown Brattleboro business area by participating in a focus group on Wednesday, June 26th. This focus group is intended to gather feedback to determine if secondhand smoke is impacting the downtown business community.

Vermonters are building a resistance to extreme energy projects, and exploring how local struggles against extreme energy can support each other. On Tuesday June 25th, 7pm in the Parlor of the Centre Congregational Church, (193 Main Street, Brattleboro) Sara Mehalik of Rising Tide will make a brief presentation about pipeline projects and the Stop the Vermont Gas Pipeline campaign.

Vermont Gas Systems plans to expand a fracked gas pipeline through VT and under Lake Champlain. Landholders and community members are organizing to stop this dirty and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure, to protect the water, the climate and to build community power and resilience.

World No Tobacco Day 2013 [May 31, 2013] calls for bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship are one of the most effective ways of reducing tobacco consumption. As more countries make progress towards implementing complete bans, the tobacco industry is increasingly using tactics such as brand extension, product placement and stealth marketing to sell its products. The ultimate goal of World No Tobacco Day is to contribute to protect present and future generations not only from these devastating health consequences, but also against the social, environmental and economic scourges of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke.

I know I said I would provide updates for those who are interested called First Tuesday. They were supposed to take place on the First Tuesday ofevery month. Sorry… I really have no excuse, but rest assured I have not been idle. I have updated the deceptions website so everything is now is in one place (movie, magazine, You Tube Channel and PegMeda write up for “Pants on Fire.” Additionally I am now setup to do an ongoing blog from this site.

On May 11th, The Putney School students are available to help with yard and housework, such as raking, trimming, or painting. Money earned by Putney School students during the work day will support CHABHA, Children affected by HIV/AIDS organization in several ways including establishing a weaving workshop in Kigali. In July a group from Putney school will bring looms and yarns to Rwanda. They will teach young Rwandans to weave, giving them with a source of income to provide for their education and healthcare. Your support will make this possible.

For more information or to request students for a project go to this website: www.Tinyurl.com/bo8flrd

Film: The Invisible War, Wednesday April 17, 2013, 6:30 PM until 8:30 PM

On Wednesday, April 17, at 6:30 PM, the Womens’ Freedom Center will present a screening and discussion of The Invisible War.

Anna Mullany of the WFC will lead the discussion.

The Invisible War is a 2012 documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Audience Award. The film is nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.

AIDS Project of Southern Vermont’s 26th Walk for Life, Saturday, May 18, 2013 • 10 am to noon at the American Legion, 32 Linden Street, Brattleboro

Reflection • Music by Brendan Taaffe • Prizes • Lunch

~ This year’s Walk is in honor of Susan Bell retiring after 23 years of leadership at the AIDS Project ~

Post Oil Solutions takes great pleasure in announcing that its monthly Community Meetings will be held in the Brooks Memorial Library meeting room on the 4th Tuesday of each month.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 23, with a special focus on food security, and growing a community of gardeners in the greater Brattleboro region.

We will begin at 6:00 PM, with light refreshments and social time, followed by the meeting from 6:30-8:15 PM.

Miss the rally last weekend? Here is copy of the remarks made by Deb Katz of the Citizen’s Awareness Network.

“Leaks, Lies and Lawyers 03.30.13

Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network

This is a moment when people feel outrage, helpless, frustrated and discouraged. Yet we are at a tipping point. Why outraged?

Parade & Rally to Mark One-Year of Illegal Operation & Waste by Entergy

Bread and Puppet Theater and the SAGE Alliance will join forces to mark one year of illegal operation by Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee on Saturday, 3/30/13 at 3:30pm, with a parade through the streets of Brattleboro and a rally at the Latchis Theater.

The state of Vermont’s original operating license for Yankee expired on March 21, 2012. In blatant defiance of Vermont state law and the will of the people, Entergy continues to operate Vermont Yankee; generating additional radioactive waste, polluting the Connecticut River with thermal waste, and barraging the state of Vermont with lawsuits. It has been one year of waste.