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Brattleboro Planning Commission: Revised August 5, 2024 Agenda

by planning | Town Plan

6:15 – 6:45 Request for Land Use Regulation Amendment
Review of letter received from SIT requesting consideration of rezoning two parcels (tax map parcel 00070223.000 and 00070268.210) to allow for mixed use development with housing development. Discuss staff input, additional information needed and determine next steps.
6:45 – 7:25 2026 Town Plan
Update on recent activity since the July meeting. Review and comment on summary of the Planning Commission and staff SWOT analysis performed at the June 3 meeting.

July Rainfall

by local | Nature

For my location a dry month with 2.27″ measured compared to the NOAA normal of 4.28″.  The moisture we did receive was evenly spread across the month with 4 being the most completely dry days in a row.  You can see the effects of less rain with lawns starting to turn brown in sunny areas.  Within the CoCoRaHs network my location is the driest in the state for July. 

In Windham County there are a couple of stations reporting over 4″ for the month so many locations are not as dry.  Up north it is a different story with near record rainfall.  A station in St. Johnsbury has measured 17.73″ for the month. 

Tinkering Around The Edges

by RDavis | Health

The alarm is being sounded. Vermont’s health care system is in crisis and if we don’t take serious measures to change things the non-system we have will become financially unsustainable by 2030. According to a recent article in The Commons, “Dr. Bruce Hamory and his team were hired by the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB) in response to the Vermont Legislature passing Act 167 for health care reform. The legislation is intended to create a sustainable, affordable, and equitable future for Vermont’s 14 hospitals and health care providers in general.”

Act 167 has a few good elements and I am sure that Hamory and his team have come up with a some good ideas to make the delivery and accessibility of health care in Vermont better. At one of a number of state-wide meetings held in Brattleboro on July 17 Hamory said that we have to stop tinkering around the edges and make changes to help health care in Vermont financially viable.

But everything I heard makes me believe that all of the ideas that have been presented recently continue to tinker around the edges, as have all of the efforts of health care reform since the failure to enact a single payer system in Vermont played out during the Shumlin administration.

Myra Flynn on the Bandwagon Summer Stage

by hahrenholz | Music

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents Vermont native indie/soul singer/songwriter Myra Flynn, on Saturday, August 17 at 6:00 pm at Cooper Field, 41 Sand Hill Road, in Putney.

Singer/songwriter Myra Flynn spends her career embracing dichotomy. Half Irish and half African American, her original indie/soul songs blend soulful vocals with a lyrical delivery that doesn’t let one get too comfortable. As the New England Deli Magazine puts it, “Her vocal influences have as much in common with Ani Difranco and Shawn Colvin as they do with Rihanna and Jill Scott.”

“We love being able to present Vermont-based artists, and Myra has been on her way to building a national name for herself. As a regular at the Flynn’s Jazz Festival, Myra’s name is getting around for anyone interested in soul, funk, R&B, and beyond,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Myra’s range as an artist is a model for how Vermont artists can tackle a national stage. Her presence as part of the series is an opportunity to ensure that southern Vermont knows the power and presence of Myra Flynn.”

Brattleboro Planning Commission Meeting: August 1, 2024 at 6:00 pm

by planning | Town Plan

Update on recent activity since the July meeting. Review and comment on summary of the Planning Commission and staff SWOT analysis performed at the June 3 meeting.

6:55 – 7:25 Downtown Bike Parking
Decide the process we will use to assess bicycle parking in the downtown / UC district and to formulate recommendations for the Town. Review a proposed work plan for this project and review the 2018-2021 Downtown Brattleboro Bike Parking Inventory.

“Social Media” Vicious Attacking Rooster Block-Block-Blocking Me!

by CrisEricson2016 | Politics

Well, it’s that time again, people are voting on mail in ballots and the Vermont primary election is August 13, 2024 and instagram, twitter, tiktok and facebook are like a bunch of vicious attacking pecking roosters block, block, block, block, block, block, block, blocking me.

I have been banned from so much social media that in my sleep at night visions of notices, “you have violated community guidelines” run through my head. I am innocent. I am falsely accused.

Global South Sees U.S. Congress Hail Israeli Killer of 39,000 of Their People Mostly Women and Kids

by jay janson | Op/Ed

The Health Ministry in Gaza reports that as of the end of July, 2024, more than 39,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been slaughtered in Gaza by the Israeli military using hegemon U.S.A.’s mighty weapons of mass destruction.[1]

A good deal of people in the awakening Global South have learned that those tens of thousands precious Palestinian lives of mostly women and children were ordered taken by the criminally insane Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This week billions of majority Humanity watched on TV or heard of the obnoxious killer Netanyahu being welcomed by the assembled entire U.S. government that provides Israel with the bombs, missiles, guns, planes, tanks, ships, munitions, and diplomatic and military protection that has made the murder of those 39,000 fellow Global South men, women and children possible.[2]

Backyard Concert August 3, 7:00 P.M.

by RDavis | Music

The Glyptodons, an indie folk duo from Portland, Oregon, will present an outdoor concert on the backyard patio at 63 Cedar Street in Brattleboro on Saturday, August 3 at 7:00 p.m.. They play original as well as cover songs.

The concert is free and open to the public but donations will be accepted. All proceeds will go to the musicians. Refreshments will be available. Seating is limited so please bring a chair.

WSESD Programmatic and Performance Equity Committee Meeting Agenda July 30, 2024

by Not Signed In | Education

AGENDA
I. Call to Order / Introductions / Recognition of Visitors

II. Review of Programmatic and Performance Equity Committee mission:

a. Mission: Monitor school equity and performance, and work with district staff to develop recommendations to increase equity and performance throughout the district.

III. Committee focus / items for discussion (listed here are items that were considered in 2023/2024):

a. Food Services in the district: how can the board assess equity in food access across schools in the district?
b. Leadership Councils: how is the board doing with communications with LCs?

Construction Update Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge – July 25, 2024

by Not Signed In | Hinsdale

Formwork for sidewalks and rail copings is still being installed on the bridge deck. The installation of rebar for the bridge deck and the approach slab on the VT abutment will be completed this week. Multiple concrete placements are scheduled for next week for the bridge deck as well as the sidewalks and rail copings.

Paving of NH 119 finished earlier this week. Crews are scheduled to finish guardrail installation by the end of this week. Installation of asphalt curb and the application of pavement markings are scheduled for next week and the traffic pattern will remain as configured through these operations.

America’s Biggest Sound

by AnneODyne | Nature

I’ve got a skiff on a slip in a tight marina, and when the ebb fully hits it’s all rocks and rip-rap underneath the boat. This is especially true in the extreme negative tides of the new and full moon. Unlike the east coast which has fairly equal tides, here it’s one high high and one low low, with one lower high, and one higher low each day. Mixed diurnal. A range about fifteen feet, with maximal ebb three feet below nominal sea level. So getting in and out, timing is everything, conditions and weather notwithstanding.

But I’m not just watching the water in port. My ongoing study, more practical than academic, how water and currents move. Specifically, about twenty billion gallons. Today was breathless calm, perfect for feeling the tide. I snuck out at daybreak in the peak of ebbing, a few hours before slack, all that liquid mass rushing out to sea. Drifting with this, I was pulled seaward around 2.5 miles an hour. Do nothing- row, sail, or motor- and I’d be gone in no time. 

Brattleboro Overgrown Vegetation Warning

by Not Signed In | Town News

Please be advised. Property owners are responsible for trimming and maintaining vegetation on their property if it may interfere with the public right of way. Overgrown vegetation creates an unsafe situation for pedestrians who may have to walk in the roadway to get by. It also impacts the sight distance for vehicular traffic. Please inspect and trim your vegetation accordingly. The town ordinance reads as follows:

Hope Restored

by RDavis | Politics

It seemed like the Democrats were facing a gamble that might not be worth taking. Could Joe Biden really beat Trump after so many of his party allies called for him to step down? The problems that he displayed were clearly not going away and they provided too much fuel for a vindictive opponent to burn a candidate at the stake.

Biden did something that Trump would never do. He looked at the situation objectively and listened to a lot of people and he put his own needs aside and made a decision that was best for the country. The real embodiment of what it means to be a mensch and a true patriot.

Now we have Kamala Harris as the heir apparent. I was never really excited about the possibility of a Harris run for president but when Biden made his announcement I felt a sudden sense of relief. I felt a level of hopefulness that I have not experienced from politics in a long time. This reaction surprised me.

Peer Support Groups for People with Serious Illnesses

by EileenBAH | Health

Are you going through treatment? Feeling overwhelmed or scared? Talking with others may help.

The Serious Illness Program support groups provide a safe space for people to share personal experiences, feelings, coping strategies, and allow for shared learning.

Free, facilitated, peer support group for people who live in Windham County and neighboring NH towns who are experiencing a life-altering illness, with a focus on cancer, heart and organ diseases.

August 21, 2024 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 Hearings to be reviewed under the Brattleboro Land Use Regulations as warned on October 12, 2015.
2024-62                Stephanie Abrams; Residential Neighborhood 3600 District; request for Waiver of Dimensional Standards Approval to construct 10’ tall fence at 117 Pine Street; Tax Map Parcel #00325467.000

WSESD Social Justice and Equity Committee Meeting Minutes June 20, 2024

by Not Signed In | Education

An email was sent to highlight issues with retention, including retirement, resignation, and reasons for leaving. The focus is on analyzing the factors contributing to and impacting retention. Mikaela is examining the reasons for employee turnover and the positions that people are leaving.

Michael mentioned that our school’s turnover rate is lower than the state average. The state turnover rate is 30%, while ours is approximately 12%. In Massachusetts, the teacher turnover rate is 12%. There have been several retirements.