News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Predictive Policing – A Closer Look at Looking Closely with i2 Software

by cgrotke | Police & Fire

According to a recent report to the Brattleboro Selectboard, the Brattleboro Police are using i2 software to help predict and prevent crimes. While the police and the board may know what the software is capable of, the public hasn’t been given much information about how it is used, or what it is capable of doing.

The first thing to know about i2 is that it is a suite of software packages that can be tailored to specific uses in law enforcement, banking, defense, health care, insurance, and even retail. IBM sells custom packages and add-on functionality so users can purchase and use the tools most suited to their purposes. 

India Palace Closing, To Expand?

by CarlyC | Business

Last night Bunti from India Palace told my sister they are closing today. I had no idea! He said they’ll expand the store.

I really like the people there and will miss being able to get Indian food without having to cook it!  

Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee Meeting Agenda, Site Visit

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 27, 2013.  There will be a site visit at the intersection of Putney Road and Harris Avenue at 8:00am.  Following the site visit, the regular business meeting will reconvene at approximately 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Unmentioned Police Surveillance Powers, Delinquent Taxes Increase

by cgrotke | Town News

Some news from Tuesday night’s Selectboard meeting wasn’t mentioned at all during the meeting. In the written departmental report from the Brattleboro Police to the Selectboard were listed two items that neither the Police nor the Selectboard spoke about during the presentation to the board: powerful software to gather and evaluate intelligence of potential criminal activity, and live, remote access to private video systems in town.

From the Finance Director we learned that delinquent taxes increased by $100,000 in 2013. The Police Fire Project gained a Construction Management firm, the swimming pool will get some much-needed attention, and angels will begin appearing around Brattleboro in September.

Read on for full details.

Deconstruction Still an Option in Brattleboro VT

by ewkruger | Business

With the closing last month of ReNew Building Materials & Salvage, some may be under the impression that building materials reuse has gone back to the informal economy.  And while this is true for sourcing used materials, it need not be for building deconstruction and salvage services. 

Slowly and quietly deconstruction is alive, in the form of Deconstruction Works, a start-up firm hoping to create a niche as an employee-owned cooperative in the next few years.  While Deconstruction Works is currently a sole proprietorship, as work grows- so will the team. 

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – August 20, 2013

by cgrotke | Town News

The Waste Water Treatment Plant is substantially complete. So the Brattleboro Selectboard will hear at their next regularly scheduled Tuesday meeting at the Municipal Center on Main Street. The pump stations still need a bit of work, but work the main facility is at the finish line.

Also on the agenda: the Police Fire Facility Project committee will make a recommendation for “construction management services,” we’ll learn of plans to fix the swimming pool at Living memorial Park, the board will hear about a new public art project, there will be a report from the Brattleboro Police Department, the board will accept and approve some grants, and they will create a PACE district in Brattleboro by adopting a resolution that allows VEIC to manage the program.

All this and more at Tuesday’s meeting. You can watch on BCTV, on TV or online, and read all about it here the day after.

Brattleboro Taxes and Utilities Due

by Not Signed In | Town News

The first installment of the 2013 Real Estate and Personal Property Taxes will be due on August 15th, 2013. Payments made after August 15th, 2013 will have an additional 1% interest added to the unpaid balance.

The utility billing is also due on August 15th, 2013. Payments made after August 15th, 2013 will have an additional 1% interest, as well as an 8% penalty added to the unpaid balance.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – Contractual Matter

by Not Signed In | Town News

A special meeting of the Brattleboro Selectboard is scheduled on Thursday, August 15, 2013 at 2:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session to discuss a contractual matter.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Operation Northwoods Revisited

by tomaidh | Other

So. what is/was Operation Northwoods? This article will take you up to speed: “Declassified:Joint
Chiefs approved false flag attack on America” at 

Excerpt:

A Department of Defense document declassified in 1997 shows that the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces had drafted and approved a plan to attack and kill Americans and to blame it on Cuba. The original document is stored at the National Security Archives at George Washington University in Washington,
DC, and is available here at 

Ask-a-Cop: License Plate Readers

by BrattPoliceDept | Police & Fire

“Can the police tell us a bit more about how the new license plate reader is being used?

What data does a license plate scanner collect? How many license plate scans have been done since the Brattleboro Police purchased the scanner? How many of those were “hits” associated with crimes or wrongdoings?

Are these records stored? For how long?”

……

Our license plate reader has been installed, but is not yet being used.  There were recently some changes in the law regarding their use and BPD officers have not been trained in those changes.

Renovations Begin in the Latchis -Theatre Fund Raising Goal Only $62,000 Away

by Not Signed In | Town News

The theatre is dark, the Earth is bare and Latchis Arts is reaching for the Heavens.  

The main theatre of the Latchis complex closed for renovations on August 1 and on that day, all 750 seats in the theatre were cleared from the auditorium.  Day 2 brought New England Scaffolding Co. to begin the task of filling the 30 foot high void with scaffolding high enough to reach the signs of the zodiac residing in the Heavens.  “We are thrilled that the seats and ceiling project is underway,” said Latchis Arts managing director Gail Nunziata.  “Months of planning with architect Jeremy Coleman and fund raising for the Campaign for The Heavens and The Earth by board and committee members have brought us to this moment.”

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Rink Repairs, SeVEDS Second Payment, and a Town Clerk Update

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard had no problems guiding the town at their first regular meeting without an official Town Manager at the helm. They even did it without their Chair, too.

The board navigated concerns about downtown sidewalks, skateboarders, and homeless people in the parks. They heard an update on the SeVEDS program and gave them a second check for $25,000. They received an overview of the Town Clerk’s office, and debated skating rink compressor options once again. 

The board discussed becoming another online news source for Brattleboro, and how best to prepare to hire locally for municipal projects with big budgets.

Invitation to Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast – “Networking for Sustainable Energy”

by RobertOeser | Town News

Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast – Networking for Sustainable Energy

The next “Brattleboro Citizens’ Breakfast” will take place on Friday,  August 16, 2013 at the Gibson Aiken Center, downstairs, hosted by Senior Meals. Doors open at 7:30am.

Jonathan Morse will hold a conversation on the Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON)  ~ it’s purpose, past programs, and plans for the future. SEON is a “networking organization, passionately committed to the promotion of sustainable energy for the benefit of the public, businesses, educational institutions, and public sector organizations.