Safety Tip of the Week – Walking
Walking – you’re in charge of your own safety.
No sidewalk? Walk facing traffic. If there isn’t a sidewalk, walk on the left side of the road facing oncoming traffic. The mantra is “Walk left, ride right.”
News & Information
News and information sections, from near to far
Brattleboro Ballot Issues 2014 – Climate Change, and Adding More Sales Tax
Despite the few candidates on the ballot, there are two issues for voters this year when they get to the polls.
The first is non-binding consideration of adding a 1% sales tax to help property owners save money:
“ARTICLE II
Should the Town of Brattleboro provide property tax relief and help defray the cost of Police- Fire facilities renovations by adopting a 1% local option sales tax?
YES
NO”
Brattleboro Selectboard Has No New Candidates This Year – The List of Who Is Running
Unless something unusual happens, the same Selectboard members you see serving the town today will be the same ones serving Brattleboro in the next year. No one is challenging them this year at the polls.
David Schoales will be running for the 3 year seat. John Allen and Donna Macomber are running for the two open 1 year seats on the board.
Lawrin Crispe is the only candidate for Representative Town Meeting Moderator.
Brattleboro Selectboard Special Meeting – Annual Town Meeting Warnings
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 5:00pm in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center. It is anticipated that the Board will enter into executive session immediately following the meeting to discuss a potential litigation matter.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee Meeting and Agenda
The Brattleboro Traffic Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 8:30am in the Selectboard meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee Minutes and Agenda
The Brattleboro Citizen Police Communications Committee (CPCC) will meet on Monday, January 27, 2014 at 5:30pm at the Brooks Memorial Library in the community room.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee Meeting Scheduled
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Friday, January 31, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
First Run Video Closing
The Reformer has a headline today about First Run Video, our quite-local video rental store, making plans to close their doors. The move to the new location was costly and not all customers knew they had moved across the street, said the article. A silent partner taking a large share of profits was also cited as a reason for the store not doing well.
RedBox, Netflix, and streaming media have helped to eliminate the idea of going to a store and browsing through aisles of titles.
They’ll be closing February 6.
Ask-a-Cop: Round and Round
“It seems to me that most people dont know how to use the exit 3 traffic circle correctly. By which i mean that traffic entering the circle that will be exiting imediately stay in the right hand lane and all other traffic that wont be exiting immediately stay in the left hand lane…
This doesn’t seem to be just an out of state driver issue. I know many long time brattleboro residents who will stay in the right hand lane the full distance around the circle. My question is: Is this enforced in any way? Who is at fault if a driver in the right hand lane bypasses the immediate exit and a driver in the left hand lane exits into them causing an accident? Why is there no sign better representing how to effectively use the roundabout? It really is a systemic problem.”
AT&T To Open New Store in Brattleboro VT!
We are pleased to announce the upcoming opening of our new AT&T Authorized Retailer location at 725 Putney Rd, Brattleboro, VT. AT&T continues to lead the communications and entertainment industries, from revolutionary smartphones and tablets to next-generation Home Phone and Internet Services. Prime Communications proudly serves as one of the largest Authorized Retailers of AT&T products and services nationwide.
Selectboard Meeting Notes: Tax Relief and Town Meeting Season (For Everyone Over 18)
The Brattleboro Selectboard spent most of the regular Tuesday meeting adding things to the agenda for Representative Town Meeting in March. They also gave over $30,000 to a regional effort to develop the economy, and firmly set forth their final budget for FY15.
A number of the articles put on the warning were aimed at reducing property taxes. One thing that won’t be on the Town Meeting agenda, at least not this year, is lowering the voting age to sixteen.
In food news, the former Bickfords will become Brattleboro’s latest pizza place, a regional chain called Ramuntos Brick Oven Pizza. Read on for all the details.
Safety Tip of the Week – Driving
Driving – It’s a right, not a privilege.
Avoid distractions. Reaching for cell phones and other gadgets causes accidents. If you must make or receive a call, pull over or use a hands-free device. Texting while driving is illegal in Vermont.
Interesting Article About C&S
“The modern supermarket, with its promise of a limitless variety of food and household goods available for low prices, is the crown jewel of consumer capitalism.
The cornerstone of all retail, the supermarket holds a seemingly permanent place in the canon of American life, yet barely appears in the broader discourse, even in discussions about our food habits.
It’s not unusual to debate the ethics involved with farming and food production, or to ponder the pros and cons of nonlocal food distribution, but the fact that the products will be on the shelves tomorrow and the next day is taken for granted.
Vermont Legislative Pay
(originally posted to Vermont Watch, )
Received the following information from a legislative council staff member this morning in response to an inquiry of mine from earlier this month that included questions concerning legislative pay and the like for members of the :
icymi: Archived Video of Dreams of a Home: A Community Dialogue on Homelessness
in case you missed it (icymi), the video of the event held in late October at the Brattleboro Retreat concerning homelessness and related matters is worth viewing, fyi:
Dreams of a Home – A Community Dialogue on Homelessness
(via YouTube; posted by Brattleboro Retreat):
Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – January 21, 2014
It is agenda setting time for the Brattleboro Selectboard, and Tuesday’s regular meeting will result in a slate of issues for Town Meeting and Representative Town Meeting to consider, including a 1% local option tax, transfer of skating rink funds not used, taking money from the Unassigned Fund Balance to apply toward tax relief for 2015, and repurposing of agricultural land protection funds to apply toward tax relief in 2015.
The board will get a request from SeVEDS for about $36,000. They will also approve a liquor license for Brattleboro’s newest pizza restaurant and sign off on an FY15 General Fund budget of $16,284,625 and a Capital plan budget of $1,380,475.
Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee Meeting Scheduled
The Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting Finance Committee will meet on Friday, January 24, 2014 at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.
Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100
I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update – Week of January 19th, 2014
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 recommence on Sunday night, January 19th and continue through Friday, January 24th.
Governor Shumlin’s Budget Address 2014
Budget Address
Governor Peter Shumlin
January 15, 2014
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, members of the General Assembly, distinguished guests, and fellow Vermonters:
Good things are happening all across our great state. Vermont’s unemployment rate is the fifth lowest in America, and the lowest this side of the Mississippi. Jobs have rebounded from the depths of the recession, with over 11,000 new jobs created since I first spoke to you three years ago. In the last year alone, we have seen 2,000 jobs created in our manufacturing and professional services sectors, with our wages rising faster than inflation.
VTA Forum On Cell & Broadband To Be Held Wednesday, January 22nd From 10 – 12 Noon
Cell phone, fiber optic, and broadband infrastructure projects are vital to businesses, families and educational sites in the Windham Region. The Vermont Telecommunications Authority (VTA) will hold a public forum at the Newbrook Fire Department (698 Route 30) on Wednesday, January 22nd from 10 a.m. until noon. The Windham Regional Commission invited the VTA to explain numerous telecommunications infrastructure improvement projects already underway in the region and those planned for the future. The Vermont Council on Rural Development is also active in the Windham Region. The director of its Digital Economy Project will also be at the forum to talk about what they’re working on in the region and to answer questions.
