News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Open Letter to Obama and Congress – Restrict the Surveillance

by cgrotke | Business

It appears that spying on citizens is impacting bottom lines. Today, major tech companies released the following letter.

….

Dear Mr. President and Members of Congress,

We understand that governments have a duty to protect their citizens. But this summer’s revelations highlighted the urgent need to reform government surveillance practices worldwide. The balance in many countries has tipped too far in favor of the state and away from the rights of the individual — rights that are enshrined in our Constitution. This undermines the freedoms we all cherish. It’s time for a change.

Hit and Run Fatality Friday Western Ave near Union Hill

by Rolf | Police & Fire

Brattleboro Police are looking for the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian on Western Avenue near Union Street around 7:00 Friday night. The vehicle involved had left the scene before emergency crews arrived. The name of the victim has not yet been released. Anyone with information is urged to contact police at 257-7950 or the TIPSLINE at 251-8188.

Christmas Tree Tips from Brattleboro Rotary

by Not Signed In | Business

Vermont-grown Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes are currently for sale by the Brattleboro Rotary Club in front of Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road. Sale hours are Monday-Thursday 11-7; Friday 11-6 and Saturday-Sunday 10-6.

All trees are $40 with proceeds supporting the club’s annual local student scholarship awards.

The Brattleboro Rotary Club offers the following tips to keep your Christmas tree fresh.

• Once you and your Christmas tree have safely returned home, make a fresh cut across the bottom of the trunk, to open up the pores in the wood, allowing it to absorb water readily

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meetings – FY14 Budget

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 11:00am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Sunday, December 15, 2013 at 2:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

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

Public Invited to ‘Trail Talk’ To Be Held For I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the first on-site “Trail Talk” for the Public on Saturday, December 14, 2013. These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and will provide participants the opportunity to learn about the construction and ask questions.

The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The first trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

2014 Brattleboro Budget In The Black

by FAKElkins | Other

[Brattleboro, 1,000 years ago]

LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER KING DICK YIELDED THE MUNICIPALITY TO SIR DAVID: THE ONCE FEARSOME, FIRE-BREATHING BUDGET-DRAGON WAS SLAIN, THANKS TO AN IBRATTLEBORO POLL. 

SOME SAY THE POLL HAD BEEN HACKED. BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT ONLY THE WOODEN FLAGPOLE IN FRONT OF THE IBRATTLEBORO COMPLEX HAD BEEN HACKED BY SOME KID WHO JUST HAD TO TRY OUT THE NEW HATCHET HE RECEIVED AS A GIFT FOR HIS 10TH BIRTHDAY. 

Yet Another Telemarking Scam

by Andie | Other

I just received a new twist on the medical alert obnoxious telemarketing calls.  This one showed up in the caller ID as being from “Alert” so when I picked up, I just listened, didn’t say anything.  A robo call came on saying that a system had already been paid for, including shipping (“perhaps by a friend or relative”), and all I needed to do was press one to arrange for delivery.  I didn’t go down that road, but to be so bold as to say it is already paid for will undoubtedly get some people to respond.  How despicable can thes telemarketers get?  Please don’t answer!!  I ask that rhetorically.  I’m sure your responses would be just as nasty as the thoughts going through my head!

Selectboard Meeting Notes: Board Eyes Farm Fund For Tax Relief; Energy Audits On Hold

by cgrotke | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard took up issues of farming, energy audits, and downtown improvements at Tuesday’s regular meeting. 

The tax stabilization rate for farms was discussed and formalized, but a debate is now brewing over $95,000 in a little-used but popular loan fund for farms. The Selectboard has eyes on it as a way to reduce taxes.

A request to look for ways to save money was tabled, putting the issue of energy audits for municipal buildings on hold for the moment.

Vermont’s downtown program was described in detail, and the BaBB budget and workplan were approved for presentation at Representative Town Meeting.

West Brattleboro Association Plans Annual Holiday Party

by WBA | Town News

On Thursday, December 12, 6:00-8:00 pm, the West Brattleboro Association (WBA) will host its annual Holiday Party at The New England House, 254 Marlboro Road. This is a time for people and businesses in West Brattleboro to get together socially and to celebrate the Association’s numerous accomplishments in this past year. The evening will feature a cash bar with hors d’oeuvres prepared by the restaurant. The WBA suggests a voluntary donation of $5 toward the food.

AIDS Day?

by Zippy | Other

“There was no excuse, in this country and in this time, for the spread of a deadly new epidemic.  For this was a time in which the United States boasted the world’s most sophisticated medicine and the world’s most extensive public health system, geared to eliminate such pestilence form our national life. When the virus appeared, the world’s richest nation housed the most lavishly financed scientific research establishments-both inside the vast governmental health bureaucracy and in other institutions – to investigate new diseases and quickly bring them under control.”

– Journalist/ Historian Randy Shilts in ‘And The Band Played On.’   

Cleaning Up Vermont Yankee 12/3/13

by Safe and Green Campaign | News & Information

The state of Vermont and Entergy are engaging in confidential negotiations about the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor (and the future of our region). As citizens we are told very little. State officials are quoted as saying they are “not dealing much with the past” and “everything is on the table.”

Because negotiations are happening behind closed doors, should we just sit back and trust Entergy and the state to make a deal? What we can do is educate ourselves best as we can, and let our state officials and Entergy know what, for instance, we do not want “on the table.” The Safe and Green Campaign is hosting “Cleaning Up Vermont Yankee,” a free educational panel, on Tuesday, December 3, to give people information about the process and the options. Three panelists will present information followed by Q&A and discussion.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – December 3 and 5, 2013

by cgrotke | Town News

Building a Better Brattleboro will come before the Brattleboro Selectboard at their next Tuesday meeting to present the downtown organization’s new budget, sans River Garden for the first time.

The board will also take up decades-old Farmland and Agricultural Land issues, look at errors and omissions to the Grand List, consider more energy audits for town buildings, hear about downtown program strategies from a state agency, and more.

If there’s something you’d like to discuss that isn’t on the agenda, there’s time for that during Public Participation. You can attend in person, watch on BCTV, or get the highlights here the day after.

Stroll Launches Brown Bag Lunch Series at River Garden; First Event Features Singer Jim Knapp

by MartinLangeveld | Town News

In the first of a planned series of “brown bag lunches” at the Robert H. Gibson River Garden, Strolling of the Heifers is presenting singer-songwriter Jim Knapp from noon to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4.

Knapp will be playing guitar on Wednesday, but he also plays banjo and mandolin.  He will be playing original Vermont songs as well as covers of country and folk songs.  He has played with the Town Hall Boys and the Bills Band and refers to himself as “the ol’ woodchuck”.

The event is free and open to the public. It is suggested that people bring their lunch to eat while they enjoy the music. Additional events in the series will be announced soon.

Eating Worms

by tomaidh | Other

I was just listening to actor George Takei (Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise) on the radio, as he related some stories of his childhood in which his family was interned in a California concentration camp.

He explained: “We (his family) were Americans. My mother was from Sacramento. My father was a San Franciscan. I and my brothers were born in Los Angeles. But because we looked like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor, they threw us into jail.”

Brattleboro Rotary Club’s 48th Annual Christmas Tree Fundraiser Begins on Saturday, November 30

by Not Signed In | Business

BRATTLEBORO, VT – The Christmas trees are coming! The Christmas trees are coming!

On Saturday, November 30, the 484th annual Brattleboro Rotary Club Christmas Tree Fundraiser officially begins.

Since 1965, the Brattleboro Rotary Club has sold Christmas trees as a fundraiser for local student scholarships, and this year is no different!

Vermont-grown trees of all shapes and sizes will be sold daily in front of Brattleboro Bowl on Putney Road from 11am to 6pm. Sales will begin the Saturday after Thanksgiving and continue until the trees are gone.

The Brattleboro Rotary Club, founded in 1950, is an active community service club of 80+ members who engage in community and human service projects both locally and internationally.