Call on Federal Government to Regulate Stun Guns

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, .


PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Public Information Session Sept. 4

How can homeowners afford to insulate their homes or install solar electric systems in today’s economy? Many people want to “do the right thing,” but lack the money to finance energy-efficiency projects or install renewable energy systems in their homes. This hurdle has prevented many people from taking advantage of new technologies that would reduce their energy costs substantially and save them money in the long run.


Solar Powering your Community: Fall Workshop Opportunity

Is your community considering solar power as an option for a local power source? Do you have questions about the Vermont’s Sustainably Priced Energy Development program (SPEED)?  Wondering what group net-metering is? Then, are you available Friday, September 6th from 8:30am to 12:30pm?

This fall the four southern Vermont regional planning commissions (Windham, Rutland, Bennington and Southern Windsor) are pairing with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to bring a SunShot Solar Workshop to Vermont.  The workshop is designed to provide actionable information on overcoming local-level barriers to solar, addressing soft costs, and implementing a successful local solar program in your community.  Southern Vermont town officials, businesses and local leaders interested in learning more about solar development in the region are invited to attend this free workshop with national and local experts.


Vermont Exchange Information Session

One of the newly hired navigators for Vermont Health Connect, Peter Sterling working on state-wide enrollment, will provide an overview of Vermont’s new health care exchange on Wednesday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. in Conference Room Two at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.

Beginning in 2014 radical changes will be occurring for Vermonters eligible for public health care programs. Catamount and VHAP are being eliminated and about 25,000 of the enrollees in these programs and thousands more who are eligible but not enrolled will for the first time be able to enroll in Medicaid at no cost!


CRVBL Mourns Claremont Cardinal Player, Fatally Injured Hours After Championship Game

The joy of winning the Connecticut River Valley Baseball League championship for the second straight year turned to shock and sadness for the Claremont Cardinals and the rest of the league as Cardinal catcher Jon Ferrero was fatally injured and outfielder Justin Pierce was seriously injured in a pickup truck crash in the players’ hometown of Woodstock, Vt. The accident occurred just hours after the Cardinals defeated the Walpole Wild Blue to win the CRVBL Cup.

“The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League is so saddened by this accident up in Woodstock, ” said Gary Dennis, league coordinator for the CRVBL and manager of the Walpole Wild Blue. “The Cardinals are a bunch of great guys and good ball players. It was our honor to play against them on Sunday…our hearts go out to Jon and Justin’s friends and families and the rest of the Claremont ball club.”


Searching for a Holistic Veterinarian

I am trying trying to find a holistic veterinarian for my dog. Here are the possibilities I have uncovered. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with these veterinarians, or any additional suggestions. Thanks.


August 14th Was SeVWA’s Fifth, and Next-to-Last, River Monitoring Day for the 2013 Season

Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance’s (SeVWA’s) water quality monitoring program was begun about 10 years ago. At that time, the organization was known as West River Watershed Alliance (WRWA). In 2013 there are 24 river and stream sites that SeVWA is monitoring and those sites are in the West River and Williams River watersheds and along the Saxtons River and Whetstone Brook.  21 volunteers sample at those sites every 2 weeks during the summer, with 7 additional volunteers filling-in for the “regulars” on occasional days during the


Tipping Point – The Age of the Oil Sands

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


Want To REALLY Make A Difference? An Appeal To Our Community

Four Years ago my wife Beverly Beane, a resident of Guilford, was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Failure.  

We ask your help in finding a compatible live kidney donor – someone with type O blood, under 60 and healthy.  It takes a village . . .   Please take six minutes to watch the video.  If you can’t help, please share. 

Please contact Ed Liebfried for more information.  ed.liebfried@gmail.com  A wealth of info is also available through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock transplant center. 


Olinguito?

What do you get when you cross a Teddy Bear with a Housecat?

You get a 2-pound, big-eyed, tree-dwelling carnivore from South America and it is called an olinguito.

The Smithsonian Institute the first such species to be discovered in the American continents in 35 years. It is a native of the cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia.


Four Teams to Chase CRVBL Cup this Weekend

The Connecticut River Valley Baseball League will crown its 2013 champion this weekend as the four town teams that won first round playoff series will face off at the Walpole baseball complex. The semi-final 9-inning games start on Saturday at 1:00 as the regular season leader Chester/Saxtons Crush play the defending champion Claremont Cardinals, while the league’s newest team, the Sunapee Old Lakers, take on the Walpole Wild Blue. The winners of the 9-inning semifinals will meet Sunday at 1:00 for the CRVBL Cup.


Lucite Embedment

Was wondering if anyone out there can refer me to a source selling “do it yourself” Lucite or Acrylic embedment kits I can order to preserve a dried specimen in a clear, translucent block maybe 2″ thick x3″ wide and  6′ long. The found object, a crayfish is very fragile but completely dried out. Is this a difficult process with mixing exact proportions while trying to beat the clock before it sets up and how do you avoid air bubbles, is it expensive and what accessories do you need to complete a project?? Thanks if you can help


A Genuine Hero

The following is a brief excerpt from a story by Rebecca Stolnit. I found it on a website called TomDispatch, dated July 18th. For me Snowden is one of the few people who truly define the word hero. He gave up everything and now has the most powerful country on earth trying, vainly so far, to get its hands on him. He did what he believed was right knowing that his government would kill him in a heartbeat. He did what he did without knowing if anyone in the world would or could protect him. He gives meaning to the word courage.

Dear Edward Snowden,

Billions of us, from prime ministers to hackers, are watching a live espionage movie in which you are the protagonist and perhaps the sacrifice. Your way forward is clear to no one, least of all, I’m sure, you.


Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Main Entrance Re-Opens

The Main Entrance of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital re-opened to the public on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, and the new ambulatory entrance for the Emergency Department opened the following day. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital is expanding and renovating the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin and U.S. Congressional Representative Peter Welch were at the hospital on Monday to help cut the ribbon on the new Hospital and Emergency Department Entrances. Both praised BMH for its leadership and efforts to advance access to high-quality, affordable healthcare in the community.