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March 2025 Precipitation Report

by local | Nature

A warmer first half of the month and a rainy second half totaling 3.61″ of moisture compared to a NOAA normal of 3.62″.  Only recorded 0.2″ of snow all month.  Earlier in the winter many were saying what a snowy winter we are having, but the season total so far is 51.8″ compared to my average of 62.5″.   Most all snow was melted by the middle of March.  Still possible to receive snow in April.

For the calendar year, total moisture is 9.92″ compared to the average of 10.12″.  Very close to normal.  All numbers are from my home in the S.E. corner of Brattleboro and do vary by location.

The Power of Vitamins

by RDavis | Health

During my college years I took a nutrition course that taught me a lesson that I have carried throughout my adult life. As the importance of vitamins to the proper functioning of the human body was spelled out it became clear to me that very few people would be able to take in an optimum amount of vitamins on a daily basis.

When you are young you tend to think you are immortal, but I felt like I could use a little help with my immortality so I started taking a daily multivitamin. Over 50 years later I am still taking vitamins and I continue to believe that they have made a difference in my life. The reason that I am thinking about this now is because I read a study that has revealed some very credible new information about the benefit of vitamins.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part V – Fischer-Spassky 1992 Game 4

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1992 Fischer-Spassky match in UN-sanctioned Yugoslavia was highly consequential to the sport of chess.  At five million dollars with the winner taking two-thirds, the purse was was astronomical.  No chess event in history has offered anything close to this prize, and it rivalled that of the best-paid sportsmen of the time:  Bobby Bonilla had recently signed for six million dollars a year to become baseball’s richest player, and Michael Jordan’s salary during his second championship season was $3.25 million.

More importantly, Fischer’s clock revolutionized gameplay with the abolishment of adjournments.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part IV

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

Later in his career Spassky produced a sparkling gem during the 1988 Bundesliga against that year’s French Champion Gilles Andruet.

The first two dozen moves are as conventional as can be with measured development focused on the center followed by the major pieces attending to the half-open files.   Spassky’s 16th move initiated pressure on the kingside which led to inaccuracies by White several moves later.   The final coup de grâce forcing mate is a superior example of brilliance bright and rare.

Brattleboro District 9 Forum

by fidel | Activism

Brattleboro residents of District 9 are invited to attend a District 9 forum where we will hear your questions and concerns in advance of Brattleboro’s Representative Town Meeting; District 9 RTM members are encouraged to attend to hear from their constituents. The forum, organized by Robert Oeser and David Levenbach, will be held in the Community Room of Brooks Memorial Library at 6:30 pm on Wednesday 19 March. (The Community Room is on the third, top floor of the library, near the Children’s Reading Room. There is an entrance to that area from the Municipal Building parking lot and attendees might find that a more convenient way in light of another event to be held in the Main Reading Room that evening.)

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part III – Match of the Century Game 11

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

The 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavik saw Spassky’s early two-game lead become a three-game deficit after Fischer won games 3, 5, 6, 8 and 10.    In the face of such dire straits, Spassky chose to enter Fischer’s beloved Poisoned Pawn variation despite the Challenger having a +5=4-0 record with the Black pieces.

Spassky uncorked a novelty on his 14th move; soon after, Fischer began to play inaccurately while Spassky’s relentless precision soon allowed him to win the wayward Black queen.   At its midpoint the outcome of the match was again in doubt.

Death By Medicaid Cuts

by RDavis | Activism

Cutting social support programs that help the most vulnerable in our society has always been a Republican blood sport. Most of those rich old white men have contempt for “those people” who live on handouts because they deem them too lazy to help themselves. It is an old trope. But now things have gotten worse.

The current Republican budget plan which looks likely to pass includes massive cuts to the Medicaid program.

Here is some context from the Center for American Progress. “Last week, House Republicans passed a budget resolution directing Congress to make cuts that would slash Medicaid funding and threaten health care access for millions in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. Medicaid is the largest single health insurance program in the United States and covers 72 million Americans, including low-income kids and adults, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities.”

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part II

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

Spassky became the Tenth World Champion in 1969, overcoming Tigran Petrosian in a tightly-contested match.   Here the Challenger becomes Champion by exploiting minor missteps to achieve a material advantage which is then converted into a winning attack.

The Zelensky- Trump Setup

by RDavis | Activism

If you think that the shouting match that unfolded between Zelensky and Trump in the White House was some sort of spontaneous, unexpected event then I have some oceanfront property in Nebraska I can sell you for a very low price.

Trump never intended to make a deal with Ukraine’s leader so he used his usual grifter/bully tactics to stage an event that would allow him to withdraw U.S. support from Ukraine. At least in his twisted, devious mind he would now be able to throw all support behind Russia.

The entire scene in the White House was bizarre from the start. It was billed as a deal-making event where Ukraine would agree to sell rare earth minerals to the U.S. in exchange for concessions in the Russia-Ukraine war.

February 2025 Precipitation Report

by local | Nature

February was a wet, mostly snowy month.  Total moisture recorded for the month was 4.74″ compared to the NOAA average of 3.11″.  For the calendar year 6.31″ compared to the normal of 6.50″.

Snow for the month measured 26.3″ compared to my average since 1993 of 16.5″.  The most I have recorded in February is 40.0″ in 2014-15 and the least is 0.0″ in 2012-13.  For the season, snow total stands at 50.4″, about a foot below the season average of 62.5″ with March and April to go.  My snow stake out in the yard is at 14″ this morning and will vary greatly upon how much sun you receive along with how much snow has fallen.

The Games of Boris Spassky – Part I

by CCM Holland Mills | Recreation & Sports

This game, from the 1960 USSR Championship played in Leningrad, Spassky’s birthplace, was famous in its own right at the time and served as inspiration for the chess game featured in the James Bond film From Russia With Love.

While Spassky’s 15th move was later found to be technically inaccurate, Bronstein had used two hours of time at that juncture, leaving a mere half-hour for his next 26 moves.   Under time pressure even the elite stumble in the face of complexity, and  so Black’s consequent misstep allowed Spassky to finish the game with unerring precision.

Local Solutions Protect Us All – Windham County Heat Fund Benefit at Vermont Jazz Center

by RDavis | Activism

On Saturday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. the Windham County Heat Fund will hold a benefit concert in conjunction with the Vermont Jazz Center. It is 20 years since we started the fund and the need never diminishes. This concert is not so much of a celebration but more of a lamentation of the fact that the fund still needs to exist. On a hopeful note, we do not rely on any government funding for our efforts and that means our money is local and it stays local.

This has been an unusual year for the fund. Although it is still February our statistics put us at the end of the season, meaning we are very low on funds because about 100 individuals and families have been provided with $48,850 in fuel while we have received $45,503 from individual donors, local businesses, churches and grantees. The surplus we had at the end of last year has made a big difference.

Interfaith Youth Group Sets Sights on Spring Service & Learning to Asheville, NC

by Nanci Leitch | Activism

A multicultural community of idealistic teenagers and young adults, the Brattleboro Area Interfaith Youth Group comes together monthly to develop friendships, to have fun and to provide service to others. Twenty-one members of their group, ranging in age from 13 to 22, are busy fundraising to make their dream of a service and learning trip to North Carolina a reality this spring.

Brian Remer, one of the adult leaders describes the group as being made up of young people who are interested in sharing their life experiences and cultures and providing each other support while doing community service that helps others. Nearly half of the group are young newcomers from Democratic Republic of Congo, refugees who were resettled in the area in the last several years.

“We first got the idea last fall when we heard about the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene on the area surrounding Asheville, North Carolina, as it was eerily reminiscent of the damages we experienced from Hurricane Irene in the Windham County area,” Remer said.