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Do Vermonters Also Have A Right To Investigate “Dominion Voting Systems”?

by CrisEricson2016 | Op/Ed

I have been a perennial losing political candidate in Vermont for many years. One year I really thought I saw election fraud. I was watching the votes coming in, and thousands of votes for me were suddenly cut in half. I wrote a blog post about it at the time which may still be wandering the internet somewhere.

I began to think that Vermont was the testing ground for vote fraud. Vermont has a very small population and if you are a losing candidate, and you are not within a certain tiny percent of the winner, then you have no grounds, no legal cause of action to complain, if for example, you came in 4th and should
have come in 3rd.

To The Community Safety Review Committee- An Apology From Me

by Brandie Starr | Op/Ed

Today I am writing to offer an apology to The Community Safety Review Committee, and all who have been involved in their work at any level.

I would like to do so by speaking about the first Municipal Diversity and Inclusion class I participated in early on in my time on the board. Within about the first five minutes of the class, we were told by the instructor, that we were about to learn that “being fair” doesn’t mean “treating the same” and that “equal” does not mean “equitable. The rest of the session discussed the importance of raising up voices who have less power within our systems and structures to level the playing field.

Unfortunately, we forgot that training when setting the date for the topic of Police Policies and Procedures. We missed an opportunity to change the game.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – December 1, 2020

by cgrotke | Town News

Goodbye, Archery Building. At their next meeting, the Brattleboro Selectboard will be voting to tear down the old train yard building to make room for paved parking spaces.

They will also hear another first reading of the proposed Rental Housing ordinance, hear updates on community marketing and the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, consider tax exemptions for five properties, and continue with their review of the FY22 budget. If you are so inclined, you can add to the agenda by bringing up other items during public participation.

BCTV Announces Winners of the 2020 Producer Awards

by cohnpr | Media

BRATTLEBORO, VT—Brattleboro Community Television announces its producer award winners for 2020. BCTV’s annual producer awards ceremony will be held virtually on Wednesday, December 9 at 6:30 PM. 

The following organizations and individuals will be recognized for their achievements during the past year:

Community Partner Award: Next Stage Arts

Next Stage Arts in Putney partnered with BCTV to create and share a variety of excellent local content including “Fables Storytelling,” “The Quarantine Sessions,” “Cooped-Up Kids,” “Votes for All Women,” and “Rigged: A Voter Suppression Panel.” In August, Keith Marks of Next Stage organized a live multi-venue arts performance, “Arts Unite Windham,” to raise funds for local social justice organizations and to bring attention to arts venues that had been shut down for months. BCTV provided the technical backbone of this 4-hour live stream from 5 venues that ultimately raised $8000.

December 16, 2020 Brattleboro Development Review Board Agenda

by bbannon@brattleboro.org | Town Plan

AGENDA

Call to Order
Review and Approve Minutes of previous meeting.
Review of Cases/Public.
 2020-140              Barbara Gentry.; Rural Residential District; request for Plat Approval to create a new lot on East Bonnyvale Lane; Tax Map Parcel 100318.100

2020-143              Esta B. Smith Life Estate; Rural Residential District; request for Plat Approval to create a new lot on South Street; Tax Map Parcel 110231.100

VFW $12 Pot Roast Meal Curbside Pick up Saturday Dec. 19th 4pm-7pm

by LisaL | Food

Saturday Dec. 19th pot roast meal at the Brattleboro VFW located at 40 Black Mountain Road. To-go curbside pick up from 4pm-7pm. Stay in your car, pay in your car, receive your meal/meals, enjoy!

Pot roast, mashed potatoes, brown sugar carrots, gravy, roll, coleslaw and apple turnover with maple icing for $12. Please call in to reserve your meal….might be too early for people to call in actually remember that the DID call in. 802-257-0438

Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market Pivots to Curbside Service Only

by Sherry | Food

As of Saturday, November 28, the Brattleboro Winter Farmers’ Market is pivoting to CURBSIDE PICK UP SERVICE ONLY. There will not be an in-person walk up and shop market at least through the holidays. With COVID19 cases rising rapidly in Vermont and all around us, the market Steering Committee has decided that continued in-person indoor operations, while significantly modified for safety, poses too great a risk to the safety of all in our market community – our customers, market vendors, staff and volunteers. We chose not to wait until we were forced to react to the report of a positive COVID case within the market community.

But the good news is, that you will still be able to safely and conveniently shop from all of our regular market vendors in one place from the comfort of your home. Just as in the physical market, our new online ordering system puts all that our producers have to offer in one place for you to browse and choose.

Greenleaf Street Utility Work Tuesday November 24

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

On Tuesday, November 24, Utilities crews will be working on Greenleaf Street between Country Hill and the lower end of Green Meadow.  The road will be closed to through traffic in that area for most of the day.  Please seek an alternate route.  

If you have any questions or concerns, contact the Department of Public Works at 802-254-4255 or email Mike Earle at mearle@brattleboro.org

BCTV Schedules – Week of November 23, 2020

by BCTVProg | Media

BCTV Channel 8 / 1075 schedule for the week of 11/23/20

Monday, November 23, 2020

5:00 am Brattleboro Gallery Walk – Virtual Gallery Walk 11/6/20
6:40 am Earth Matters Presents – A Vigil for RBG
7:00 am All Things LGBTQ – News 11/3/20
7:54 am Poems to Live By – Train Ride – Ruth Stone
8:00 am Democracy Now! – Democracy Now! Daily Broadcast
9:00 am Brattleboro Rotary Club Speaker Series – Episode 23 – Stephen Dotson

Vermont AFL-CIO Members/Delegates Authorize Executive Board To Call For General Strike!

by David Van Deusen | Politics

Vermont AFL-CIO Empowered To Call For General Strike If Trump Seeks To Carry Out Political Coup – Vote Overwhelmingly In Support!

At today’s Vermont AFL-CIO Convention (held over zoom due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Non 21), aprx 100 Delegates, rank & File union members, and select allies converged to consider the defense of democracy should there be a Trump coup. After much discussion, the assembled delegates overwhelmingly voted to authorize their elected Executive Board to call for a Vermont General Strike if democracy comes into crisis.
This historic authorization vote makes the Vermont AFL-CIO the first State Federation in the country to be on record ready to carry out a General Strike to defend democracy if Trump refuses to leave office.

Brattleboro Women’s Chorus Hosts 25th Fall (Virtual) Concert

by bwchorus | Music

The Brattleboro Women’s Chorus will perform their 25th annual fall “singalong concert” via Zoom this Sunday, November 22 at 4 pm.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, the chorus will be singing songs about rivers, welcoming the ancestors & healing, led by Director Becky Graber. Some of the songs are very easy to join along with, and Becky will teach a song or two to all. Singers will be muted, though we will hear harmonized vocal tracks, so feel free to sing along in the comfort of your homes, if you wish.

Brattleboro COVID-19 Update – November 20, 2020

by Not Signed In | Town News

• In compliance with Governor Scott’s instructions on November 13 for offices throughout Vermont to “reinstitute, to the maximum extent possible, … telecommuting or work from home procedures,” Town office operations have transitioned this week back to the way in which we operated during the “Stay Home Stay Safe” period in March and April of 2020. Office employees are working from home most of the time. Some employees are coming into their offices occasionally when it is necessary to accomplish a particular task or to provide a needed service to a member of the public. Since Town employees and the public we serve all have learned to transact most of our business electronically or by phone, we have found that the vast majority of our Town office work can be performed at our homes. 

• Town field services also are transitioning back to the way in which they operated during last spring’s “Stay Home Stay Safe” period. For now, the way in which the public receives those services is relatively normal, but the work is being done in accordance with many special procedures required by the State of Vermont and recommended by public health officials. As we move into even more restrictive practices for the protection of employees and the public, we will identify those changes in future “COVID-19 Response Status” updates. 

Brattleboro Thanksgiving Closures

by Not Signed In | Town News

In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, all Brattleboro Town offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, 2020, with the exception of emergency services. 

Brooks Memorial Library does not allow in-person visits at this time. Curbside visits and on-line services are available. The Library will close at 5:00pm on Wednesday, November 25, and will be closed on Thursday, November 26. It will re-open for curbside pick-up between 10am and 5pm on Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28. 2020. 

Brattleboro Committee Meeting Agendas

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Human Services Review Committee will meet on Monday, November 23, 2020, at 12:00pm using Zoom (with no physical location due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19).  The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” 

The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, November 23, 2020, at 5:30pm using Zoom (with no physical location due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19).  The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.” 

Brattleboro Selectboard Meetings Have Become Too Long

by cgrotke | Op/Ed

Brattleboro Selectboard meetings have become very long. Too long, really.

It isn’t the number of items on the agenda. Even a short agenda can lead to a very long meeting.

Holding the meetings online might be part of the problem. 

First, it adds time to each meeting to explain how to participate. It adds time to invite people to speak and wait for them to work out technical issues. Almost every virtual meeting has delays due to the meeting being virtual. Sometimes they are short delays, but they add up.

Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – FY22 Budget – Police Policies and Procedures Review

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, November 24, 2020, using Zoom (with no physical location due to the ongoing social distancing requirements of COVID-19).  The Board will convene at 5:15pm and is expected to enter into executive session to discuss the negotiating or securing of real estate purchase or lease options and the appointment or employment or evaluation of a public officer or employee, and to enter into deliberative session to deliberate on the Hinsdale Bridge takings and eminent domain matter involving the lands of Tullius on Left Bank Way.  The Board will reconvene at 6:15pm for the business portion of the meeting.  The attached agenda contains information about how to access the meeting remotely, including the required “passcode.”  Information about how to connect to the meeting is also posted on the homepage of the Town’s website.  ASL interpreters will be available for deaf and hard-of-hearing community members.

It’s Not Over til the Fat Lady Sings, Pt 2

by tomaidh | Politics

The legendary “Fat Lady” was Kate Smith who had a wonderful contralto voice.

She sang “God Bless America” at the end of NY Yankee games for years.

Yankee catcher Yogi Berra changed the saying to “It’s not over till it’s over”, which is the situation we’re in right now with the presidential election.

Medicare Disadvantage

by RDavis | Health

Every year during Medicare’s open enrollment period, which is from October 15 to December 7 this year, millions of Medicare beneficiaries are bombarded by private insurance companies looking for their business. The advertising makes it sound like these benevolent companies are looking to offer you a pot of gold for free. If it sounds too good to be true then it is too good to be true.

Here’s the story. In 1997 congress authorized the creation of Medicare C which has come to be known as Medicare Advantage. It was an effort by Republicans to privatize Medicare and make it less of a government-run program. It was also a gift for the private insurance industry which continues to haul in huge profits when people switch from traditional Medicare A to Medicare C.