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Human Life, the Novel

by spinoza | Creative

For those who’ve acquired the taste and skill, there’s a uniquely rewarding pleasure in a book’s well executed ending. In great works, themes are introduced, developed or hidden, and in the end, a masterful author pulls it together in a way we didn’t see coming. But in retrospect the unfolding was altogether obvious and inevitable. This may come in the form of a plot twist, a revelation, a reversal of fortune…Whatever the mechanism…if the ending is compelling, and launches the reader into a new realm of contemplation or appreciation, it’s a thing of beauty.

I-91 Pothole Repair on Saturday

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The project team will be repairing potholes in both the northbound and southbound lanes of I-91 in the workzone (between Exits 2 and 3) on Saturday morning, February 22, during low traffic periods. Minor traffic delays are possible while the potholes are being repaired.

Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee – Public Viewing and Comments of Plans

by Not Signed In | Town News

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.  It is anticipated that the Committee will recess at approximately 5:30pm to attend the public viewing of the design plans for three buildings in the Selectboard meeting room, and then reconvene at approximately 6:00pm to take public comment on the plans.

What are the Benefits that Lawmakers Give to Themselves?

by Vidda | Op/Ed

Sixteen Senators and what do you get? “Another day older and deeper in debt. Senators Sanders and Leahy don’t you call me cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company (stole).”

We spend a broken record’s worth of time in repetitive cadence about the vagaries of entitlements, the disabled, the plight of the elder poor, the kids, and then just your general poor people, not to mention the downtrodden middleclass.

Poet Frederico Garcia Lorca in Vermont: New Date/Time Sat Feb 22 at 3 pm

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Because of snow, Federico Garcia Lorca in Vermont was rescheduled to Saturday, Feb. 22, at 3:00 p.m. in the meeting room.

Please join independent scholar, Patricia Billingsley for a richly illustrated slide talk with vintage photos, maps, and other related images about the friendship between Spanish poet Federico García Lorca and Vermont poet Philip Cummings.

Downsizing Brattleboro

by Lise | Op/Ed

Here’s what I got out of the budget discussion at Tuesday’s Selectboard meeting:  “We’re broke.  Must close library, sell parks.”  Now I know that they didn’t actually advocate for any of these draconian changes, but these items were mentioned, and somehow that became my takeaway from the meeting.  Unnecessary frills may have to be eliminated because important things like police and fire facilities must be built and next year we’ll need a new grader.

Welcome to the new reality, folks: Towns can no longer afford themselves.  

Hamlet at the Latchis

by BusyMom | Arts

Hamlet, performed live at the Latchis, 7:00pm Thursday, February 20.

Just realized this wasn’t in the calendar!

Truly Live at the Latchis, don’t miss this production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a collaboration of  two Tony Award winning companies, The Guthrie Theatre and The Acting Company. Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, the play dramatizes the revenge Prince Hamlet exacts for his father’s murder, setting him on a journey seeking personal meaning and coming to grips with his own mortality. Published between 1601 and 1603, many believe that Hamlet is the best of Shakespeare’s works and the perfect play. It is certainly one of his most well-known and oft-quoted plays.

Sanders Welcomes White House Decision to Protect Social Security

by Not Signed In | Politics

BURLINGTON, Vt., Feb. 20 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today welcomed White House assurances that President Barack Obama will not call for cuts in Social Security benefits as part of a budget blueprint that he will submit to Congress on March 4.

“I applaud President Obama for his important decision to protect Social Security,” Sanders said. “With the middle class struggling and more people living in poverty than ever before, we cannot afford to make life even more difficult for seniors and some of the most vulnerable people in America.  I look forward to working with the president to support the needs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor.”  

Happy 11th Birthday, iBrattleboro

by cgrotke | iBrattleboro

Happy Birthday everyone. iBrattleboro is now 11 years old That means we’re all heading toward our exciting teen years, but still retaining our youthful charm and innocence, right?

Lise and I are your guides and enablers, but the site remains yours. You decide what’s important, you write the stories, and you provide the commentary. There are no reporters or editors.

In 2003, the idea of using the world wide web for a local purpose was almost unheard of. News came from the TV set and from the newspaper or weekly news magazines. There were few blogs, no Facebook, no YouTube, nor Twitter. News outlets did not let you comment on stories other than by sending letters to the editor.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: A Reading and Discussion Series – Note New Date!

by Brooks Memorial Library | Books

Join Vermont Humanities scholar Richard Wizansky for this reading and discussion series which features the shorter works by the great Russian writer, dissident, and former Cavendish, Vermont resident and includes his most read and highly regarded novella as well as several of his famous speeches.

The 1970 Nobel Lecture; and the 1978 Harvard Class Day Address. Thursday 20 February 2014, 04:30pm – 06:00pm

Sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council. Location Brooks Library Meeting Room. Contact Info Jerry Carbone 802-254-5290 jerry@brookslibraryvt.org http://brookslibraryvt.org

Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Upgrade – Input On Designs

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee invites the public to attend a display of design plans for the renovation of the Police Department, Central Fire Station, and West Brattleboro Fire Station on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 5:30pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center, 230 Main Street.

Following the display, the Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will reconvene its meeting at 6:00pm and take public input on the design plans. For more information, contact the Town Manager’s office at 251-8151, tmsecretary@brattleboro.org.

Homelessness Marathon News, Ground Reports, Observations & Comments Open Thread

by Norsehorse | News & Information

Am initiating this  news, ground reports, observations and comments open thread in the hope that there will be those who either had been present or viewed the video coverage or otherwise listened into the audio during the broadcast and will share their observations and opinions with the rest of us.

For my part, due to various reasons (including technical difficulties and the like experienced on my end), I only managed to be able to listen in to certain portions of the broadcast and it appears news coverage might be sparse or otherwise somewhat late in coming; not to mention about how personal accounts can sometimes be more enlightening and interesting as well.

150 Years Ago (1864 2/20)

by BusyMom | History

Feb. 20. 1864. Yesterday I did not finish this, for I did not get any opportunity to write until evening. Then I had a hard head ache and turned in early. The cold weather hangs on yet, though the morning is most pleasant. I feel first rate. I was bluer yesterday than two whetstones, but my feet, head and heart are light. I feel first rate, but the heart goes out towards another that I should like to feel beating right against my own.

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of February 23rd, 2014

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

I-91

Northbound I-91 traffic has been relocated onto the southbound bridge. Traffic will remain reduced to one lane in each direction on I-91 until completion of the new bridge in the Fall of 2015.

Weather permitting, night work will be conducted Sunday night, February 23rd through Friday night, February 28th.

Route 30

The speed limit on Route 30 near the work zone has been reduced to 40 mph. This reduction will remain in effect through the Fall of 2015.

Project-related truck activity on Route 30 will continue. Route 30 will be reduced to a single lane intermittently both day and night, with flaggers regulating traffic within the work zone.

Brattleboro Town School District – Notice of Availability of Auditors’ Report

by Not Signed In | Education

Notice is hereby given that the Brattleboro Town School District Auditors’ Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, is available upon request and may be picked up at the Brattleboro Town Clerk’s office, 230 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont, or the Windham Southeast Supervisory Union (WSESU) Central Office, 53 Green Street, Brattleboro, Vermont.

Persons interested in obtaining a copy of said Auditors’ Report should contact the Brattleboro Town Clerk (251-8157) or the WSESU Central Office (254-3730). Copies are available on the WSESU website: www.wssu.k12.vt.us or for pick up, and may be transmitted electronically or sent via first class mail.

Sanders Testifies at Statehouse on Education

by Not Signed In | Education

MONTPELIER, Vt., Feb. 19 – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) provided an overview on federal education policy in testimony today at the Statehouse before the Vermont House and Senate education committees.

Sanders, a member of the Senate education committee, focused on ways to expand pre-kindergarten and make college more affordable.

“There is perhaps no issue more important than how we educate our youth,” Sanders said. “I am very concerned that, on many levels, we are failing our youth. We must do away with the archaic notion that education begins at 4 or 5 years old. For far too long, our society has undervalued the need for high-quality and widely accessible early childhood education.”