News & Information

News and information sections, from near to far

Small Business Slump Continues

by Lise | Business

In case you were wondering, the economy really did slow down again last summer.  A spike of business failures in July led to a cooling trend in August, and by September there was a discernible chill in the air.  Nowhere was this so keenly felt as in small business.

Dun & Bradstreet’s Small Business Health Index Report documents this new wave of recession in typically bland terms, but the numbers say what thousands of small business owners cannot — the second half of 2012 (and continuing into the current quarter of 2013) stunk for small business.  

PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) Info Event, February 27th – All Welcome, Especially Town Meeting Reps!

by meimar | Town Plan

To the Brattleboro Community:

The PACE (Property-Assessed Clean Energy) subcommittee of the Brattleboro Energy Committee invites all Brattleboro citizens – especially Town Meeting Reps – to an evening workshop on Wednesday, February 27 to learn about the PACE decision on the agenda of our upcoming town meeting on 3/23, and get answers to any questions you may have about this very exciting and significant new avenue to energy efficiency and renewable energy in our town.

Efficiency Vermont consultant and PACE expert Carol Weston will join us either in person or via Skype to answer your questions and describe how communities all over Vermont are in the process of implementing PACE.

River Garden Finances

by RobertOeser | Town News

Does anyone have a comprehensive file on how much public monies were invested in the Robert Gibson River Garden?  At a recent Selectboard meeting, a member of the Town Finance Committee asked the question. After some thought, the Town Manager said the Town probably could not answer that specific question. It could only account for Town funds that went into the property, not all public funds.

Brattleboro Selectboard Agenda and Notes – February 19, 2013

by cgrotke | Town News

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Brattleboro’s new Town Plan will be approved by the Selectboard at their next regular Tuesday night meeting at the Municipal Center.

If you attend in person or watch on TV, you will also hear discussions of a new gravity fed sewer line for Black Mountain, an update on progress with Brattleboro’s new skatepark design, talk of taxing your gasoline, thoughts on changing the boundaries for the Downtown Improvement District, and the parking garage committee will be dissolved.

All this and more on Tuesday night, and you can read about it in detail here the morning after.

Near Misses

by Ezie | Other

In the many years I have worried about what disaster could befall Vermont Yankee, I never imagined this one:

“…the area where the meteor exploded was 100 kilometers (60 miles) from
the Mayak nuclear storage and disposal facility, which holds dozens of
tons of weapons-grade plutonium. He said the Russian government has
underestimated potential risks of the region.

A chemical weapons disposal facility at Shchuchye in the Chelyabinsk region
contains some 6,000 tons (5,460 metric tons) of nerve agent including
sarin and VX, accounting for about 14 percent of the chemical weapons
that Russia is committed to destroy.”

Downtown Brattleboro Sidewalk Project Meeting

by Not Signed In | Town Plan

Residents and Business Owners:

The Town is planning to install new sidewalks on the east side of Main Street, starting at the Gilbert Memorial Bridge and continuing north to Walnut Street. Some sections of this sidewalk were recently replaced as part of a VTrans project. The Downtown Sidewalk Project will replace the sections that have not yet been upgraded. The project is intended to improve safety for pedestrians and create a more attractive Main Street. Two FHWA Enhancement grants and a local match in the form of a bond fund this project.

Brattleboro Town Planning Basics – Who Does What?

by cgrotke | Town Plan

Information about planning in Brattleboro and Vermont is necessary for good community discussions of planning. The information below comes from the Town’s web site, Smarth Growth Vermont, and from The Vermont Planning Information Center (VIPC). VPIC provides a great, free document from the VT Land Use Education and Training Collaborative called .