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Medicare Threat Is Escalating

by RDavis | Health

Seniors continue to flock to enroll in Medicare Advantage plans. Most don’t know that they are helping to convert the program into just another private insurance plan. The insurance companies have been able to lure people in with low cost or no premiums and enticements that seem to good to be true.

There is a reason that the insurance industry advertising blitz has been so pervasive and relentless this year. Insurance companies are reaping higher profits from Medicare Advantage and, even though there is a high level of fraud and abuse, the companies committing these crimes simply pay fines and make it part of “just doing business”.

The Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) has been one of the few activist organizations working hard to educate the public about the threat to Medicare and to provide factual information about what is going on. They have launched a new effort to get the word out and I am extracting some of the more important points.

Brattleboro Charter Amendment Hearing – Protections for Residential Tenants

by Not Signed In | Activism

The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold two public hearings to discuss a Charter Amendment. The first public hearing will be held on Friday, February 3, 2023 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center (230 Main Street) and the second public hearing will be held during a scheduled Selectboard meeting on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 6:15pm in the Selectboard meeting room.

Brattleboro Dog and Wolf-Hybrid Licenses Available

by Not Signed In | Pets

Brattleboro dog and wolf-hybrid licenses are available for the 2023 licensing period.  Vermont dogs and wolf-hybrids 6 months of age and older must be licensed on or before April 1. 

Renewal licenses may be obtained in person at the Town Clerk’s office, by using the drop box in the Municipal Center parking lot, through the mail or online at www.brattleboro.org.   Dogs being licensed in Brattleboro for the first time will need a current rabies certificate and application form which is available on the website or at the Town Clerk’s office. 

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – January 2023

by cgrotke | Health

Here’s the January 2023 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Vermont and MA have very limited looks at what are going on these days, with weekly snapshots. NH attempts daily updates but doesn’t always give new totals. We continue to try…. : )

Guilford Park Project Embraces 60-day Race to Raise $20,000 for 2:1 Match

by Nanci Leitch | Guilford, Recreation & Sports

“On Your Mark, Set, Go!” According to the Guilford Park committee, the “starter pistol” has been fired for a 60-day race to raise $20,000 more dollars for the construction of the Guilford Community Park. The committee has been working for over a year on plans to build a park behind the Guilford Store, alongside the Guilford Community Church, in the center of Guilford’s Algiers Village. The park they envision is complete with a green spaces, a pavilion, a walking labyrinth, children’s play area with a slide and swings, a basketball half-court, net and fire pit.

If community members and businesses donate $20,000 by February 28, the park can qualify for a matching $40,000 Vermont Community Development grant, “Better Places Program” which will allow the park committee to have everything on their wish list, explained Dunham Rowley, one of the organizers.

Want Bulk Poppy Seeds, Aduki Beans, Chocolate, Pasta…?

by Dfk-b | Food

The co-op has made drastic changes to the bulk department, eliminating many products, some of my favorites, and undoubtedly many of yours, including chocolates, poppy seeds, aduki beans, pasta, spelt flour, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ… I intend to pursue this sometime soon. If you can help, or want to add to the list of purged products, please contact me. Thanks.

A Moral Mandate

by RDavis | Activism

The U.S. Department of Justice has an opportunity to show the world that this country has an understanding of how not to repeat the worst events in human history. Jack Smith has been appointed to oversee the case against the most evil President ever to sit in the oval office. I hope that he is a student of history and that he understands how it is possible for a tide of fascism and human cruelty to sweep through a society if unchecked in its early stages.

If Trump is not punished for his attempt to overthrow the government of the United States then the door will be left open for others, such as the far right wing of the Republican party, to build a movement to continue to subvert the rule of law and open the door to not only minority rule but a new brand of fascism.

False Hope and Empty Promises

by RDavis | Activism

This is the time of year when politicians at all levels make the rest of us realize that there are promises more unrealistic than New Year’s resolutions.

We hear statements about how they are going to work to close the gap between the left and the right. We hear about ambitious agendas to make life better for everyone.

Then reality sets in and those politicians pander to special interests and they make it clear that their highest priority is getting re-elected. The public statements rarely match the results of political wrangling.

There is one issue in particular that has been pushed to the back burner for a number of years. In the mid-nineties and into about 2010 there was a lot of talk about health care reform. States such as Vermont tried to make bold moves to set up model systems and it started to look like meaningful reform might happen.

Stories That Need To Be Told

by RDavis | Activism

Even though the atrocities of World War II happened nearly 80 years ago, the stories of what happened must continue to be told. We still face threats from the rising power of authoritarian regimes and that makes the recounting of history more important. Accounts of the Holocaust and the Nazi efforts to eliminate Jews and other people they considered undesirable for inclusion in the master race must continue to be presented.

There have been movies and books on these subjects. Anne Frank’s diary is well-known and the attempts of her family to stay alive have been burned into the consciousness of anyone trying to understand what happened in Europe during World War II. There is another diary, written by Leo Berman, when he was 14 years old and living in northern Italy. His first entry was an account of September 8, 1943.

Saying Good-bye to McNeill’s

by Lise | Obituaries, Town News
McNeills - iBrattleboro Night Out 11-8-2007

One of our favorite places to hang out when we first moved to Brattleboro was McNeill’s on Eliot Street. Having moved up from Boston/Cambridge, home of many gritty, grubby Irish-style pubs that were not then or ever going to be fern bars (remember those?), we were happy to grab a pint at Brattleboro’s equivalent spot whenever we had a free evening. Although many of our new Brattleboro compatriots seemed to prefer fern bars, we never found the clean scene that inspiring. Despite pressure to transfer our allegiance to places shiny and new, we continued to frequent McNeill’s, where an affordable pint was always available and the ambience was right.

Brattleboro and VT COVID-19 Regional Dashboard Summary – December 2022

by cgrotke | Health

Here’s the December 2022 dashboard summary. We continue semi-regular COVID-19 dashboard numbers from the Vermont Department of Health, and MA and NH counties that surround Brattleboro, as long as they continue providing them.  Scroll down the new comments for the latest.

Vermont and MA have very limited looks at what are going on these days, with weekly snapshots. NH attempt daily updates but doesn’t always give new totals. We continue to try…. : )

The Flu Still Needs To Be Respected

by RDavis | Health

We have reached a point where vaccine fatigue and disregard for the seriousness of COVID and seasonal influenza have taken hold. They are diseases that will never go away and we still need to take measures to protect ourselves against the morbidity and mortality they can cause.

If you want to have the most accurate information about influenza then you should look to the CDC web site. They are the experts and they keep meticulous statistics as well as providing consumers with relevant and useful information.

Here is a useful list from their web site: