This past year has brought opportunities and challenges to Brattleboro Community Television.
At the community access station's annual meeting on Sept. 16, Executive Director Cor Trowbridge outlined some of the year's highlights and surprises.
While the COVID-19 pandemic altered a lot of how BCTV operated, the station has seen a record amount of locally generated content.
Like most of BCTV's work since the public-health crisis unfolded in March, the annual meeting happened online.
I understand the need for housing units in Brattleboro with rents that are affordable. That means that the out-of-pocket cost to move in needs to be in line with the renter's ability to pay. First month plus last month plus security deposit pushes that move-in cost beyond the means...
A new monthly film series will crank the volume to 11. Partnering with The Peak, 101.9 and 100.7 FM, Latchis Arts kicks off its new monthly Spotlight Film Series by celebrating Rocktober. Some of the most highly acclaimed rock 'n' roll movies will screen on Thursday nights through October...
Evidence gathered in a joint project between The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Bridging Divides Initiative (BDI) at Princeton University suggests that the vast majority of the thousands of Black Lives Matter protests this summer have been peaceful, with more than 93 percent involving neither harm to people nor damage to property. In light of this data, it is especially important not to represent the violence attached to a few BLM protests (often by, yes,
Valarie Kaur's new book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto for Revolutionary Love, is a moving and expansive read for me. Valarie's life experience as an American woman of color has much to offer all of us who are willing to listen. She asks: “What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb? What if our America is not dead but a country that is waiting to be born? What if...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present their sixth socially distanced, outdoor concert with roots, old-time, and Americana sextet The Mammals (featuring Mike and Ruthy), plus Billy Wylder (solo), on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m., at Cooper Field. Rain date for the concert is Sunday, Oct. 4. The Mammals describes itself as “a warm-blooded party band with a conscience,” led by songwriting multi-instrumentalists Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar, with drummer Konrad Meissner, Will Bryant, and Brandon Morrison. Lee...
Vermont Workers' Center march joins National Week of Action BELLOWS FALLS - Members of the Vermont Workers' Center will hold a “March for Medicaid” in town on Saturday, Oct. 3. Vermont's March for Medicaid will begin at noon at the Rockingham Health Center at 1 Hospital Ct. and will end with a rally “highlighting people's stories of being denied the care they need from Vermont's private health insurance companies and underfunded Medicaid program,” according to a news release. Marchers are...
Brooks Memorial Library will again partner with the Vermont Humanities Council to present the 2020-21 season of the First Wednesdays lecture series. However, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the October, November, and December 2020 talks in the series will only be offered online, via Zoom. The first Brattleboro lecture, “Merely Bystanders: The Psychology of Courage and Inaction,” is set for 7 p.m. on Oct. 7. Catherine Sanderson, Amherst College psychology professor and author of The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to...
College news • The following local students were honored for academic achievement at Northern Vermont University in the spring 2020 semester: Emmalee Waite of Brattleboro, Kaylee Gargett of Jamaica, Samantha Palmer of Newfane, and Michael Johnson of Stratton were all named to the President's List for achieving a 4.0 semester grade average. Named to the Dean's List for achieving a 3.50 to 3.99 semester grade average were Bradley Tallent and Jillian Woodard of Bellows Falls, Rachael Trill of Brattleboro, Haley...
As the saying goes, the third time's the charm. Rescheduled twice - first, due to the coronavirus pandemic and then to the technical challenges of livestreaming a one-person electric guitar ensemble from the Vermont woods - “Roger Clark Miller: Four Dream Interpretations” will take place on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom and Facebook Live. Presented by the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC), the performance will be followed by a discussion with musician and artist Roger Clark...
The local chapter of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute lecture series, affiliated with the University of Vermont, has suspended its in-person offerings in town until further notice due to the pandemic. In its place, organizers recommend the UVM Distinguished Speaker lecture series offered via Zoom on Wednesdays from Oct. 7 to Nov. 18. • Oct. 7, 1 to 2:30 p.m.: “Reflecting with the Fleming Museum: Legacies of Colonialism and Racism in the Museum,” with Alice Boone, curator at the Fleming...
As a current resident of Westminster and a part of the Putney community for 30 years, I want to thank community members and the Putney Selectboard for the decision to paint a Black Lives Matter sign on the road in front of Putney Central School. The “BLM is racist” painted on Route 5 in Putney in July was a gut punch. Black Lives Matter was created by three Black women following the murder of an innocent Black teenager whose white...
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Ferdinand are among the guests on Yellow Barn Patio Noise, moderated by Artistic Director Seth Knopp. Taking a look back at Yellow Barn's July 25 concert stream, which included performances on Yellow Barn Music Haul at the Grammar School's playground in Putney, musicians will talk with audience members and one another about the program inspired by children's books, and the child in all of us. “Researchers hypothesize that 'musicality may have...
A letter in last week's Commons was written to reflect the views of the entire congregation of the Putney Friends, to which it was properly attributed. We also identified the person who sent the letter as the agent of the organization who signed it. He was clearly displeased. So contributors should take note: • When a letter is submitted on behalf of a collective entity - a board of directors, a congregation of a faith community, a municipal board -
I write to address the proposal for a Black Lives Matter mural in Putney, on the roadway in front of the school. We are in the midst of a time of trials in our world, and our lovely small Vermont villages are not immune. How will we respond? Who do we want to be? In particular, we white people who have long felt entitled to be comfortable and to enjoy all the rights and privileges that our area has to...
As I have been a landlord in Brattleboro since 1968, I have been following the discussion stimulated by the proposal of the Tenants Union of Brattleboro (TUB). I also have read Brandie Starr's commentary. I have several personal reactions. It seems that Brandie's comments are an attempt to put a guilt trip on landlords as a group and to create an us-versus-them atmosphere between landlords and tenants. In my over 50 years as a landlord, I have always believed that...
In a recent commentary, Selectboard member Brandie Starr called into question the commitment that landlords have to providing affordable housing. She asked, “Landlords, what do you want to invest in? Are you investing strictly in the property, with the highest cash value? Or are you invested in the community in Brattleboro?” We'd like to answer that question by sharing our story. Our parents were landlords in Brattleboro for 48 years. They started as renters, living in a second-floor apartment on...
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) and Groundworks Collaborative will present an online discussion, “No Place Like Home: Housing in Windham County,” on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m. Josh Davis, executive director of Groundworks Collaborative, will moderate this panel discussion of housing issues in Windham County. Expert panelists will explore local housing challenges and opportunities from different perspectives. Panelists include: • Elizabeth Bridgewater, the executive director of Windham & Windsor Housing Trust, which provides housing opportunities for residents...
It is often said that the road to ruin is paved with good intentions. When we, as a community, seek to help people through broad policy changes, we must be careful that our actions have the effect we desire. Your Selectboard is currently being asked to craft and then pass an ordinance that would limit how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit - one that would essentially make it illegal to collect last-month rent up front. Setting...
I have been surprised that there was no mention anywhere of the very well run (locally by the Brattleboro, and Vermont State Housing Authority) HUD Section 8 housing subsidy program. As a landlord, I have long appreciated the benefits of the program for both tenants and landlords, and I have made a pitch to our representatives in Washington, D.C.: “Our current global pandemic, as difficult as it is for almost everyone, is also a chance to make some long overdue...
Mitchell-Giddings Fine Arts presents “Amy Arbus, On the Street 1980-1990,” on Saturday, Oct. 10, from noon to 7 p.m., with an appearance by the artist from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition, which continues through Sunday, Nov. 22, represents “a selection of cutting edge photographs [that] singly and as a collection tap into a spirit of self-importance, idealism, and fierce individuality,” as described in a news release from the gallery. Between 1980 and 1990, more than 500 of photographer Amy...
“Land, Water and Sky,” an exhibition of oil paintings by Greg Moschetti, will be on display through Oct. 29 at the Crowell Gallery at Moore Free Library, 23 West St. The gallery will host a reception outside on Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 2 p.m. Moschetti, who lives and paints in Dummerston, came to painting relatively late in life and says he finds significant joy in the creative process and its outcomes. He feels that painting is a spiritual...
From Oct. 16 to 18, the Brattleboro Literary Festival will host 50 authors who will be featured in more than 20 events - all streaming online and free. “These authors' books embrace democracy and humanity during a time when it is needed the most,” festival organizers wrote in a news release. “Their books look at poverty, war and conflict, homelessness, corruption, climate change, single motherhood, disability, and addiction through the eyes of hope.” “Most of all, they remind us that...
Keep your hands off my uterus! That's an often-repeated placard and plea at women's marches I've attended over the past 40 years. In the U.S. and abroad, it's a common, continuing refrain because government sanctioning of abuse of women's bodies has been occurring since well before the second-wave women's movement exposed it in the 1970s. In those days, I worked in the women's health movement alongside Our Bodies, Ourselves and other national organizations. One of the myriad issues we dealt...
On Sunday morning, more than 80 people showed up outside the Putney Central School to help paint a “Black Lives Matter” mural on the road. After several weeks of tension that saw an explosion of division in community conversations about the merits and meaning of a project designed to visually display resolute support for Black people, it all happened. For every driver passing by who yelled out the window “All lives matter,” dozens more honked, waved, and flashed the thumbs-up...
So you think your vote doesn't count? Think again. As recently as 2016, two Vermont legislative races were decided by one vote. In a 1976 classic in nearby Brattleboro, Republican Sidney Nixon lost his legislative seat to Democrat Robert “Bob” Emond by one vote. Your vote is important. It's the one thing in a democracy that is yours and yours alone. Don't waste it by staying home, by saying, “I've other things to do.” In every election, your vote counts.
High school athletes got the news they've been waiting for on Sept. 22 - the fall sports season can now proceed. Education Secretary Dan French gave the green light to start the season and allow teams to play other schools, effective Sept. 26. He said the Agency of Education and the Vermont Principals Association (VPA) wanted to get the fall season started last weekend to give schools an extra day for games in a season that has already been shortened...
“I just can't imagine that tomorrow I'm waking up and not coming to work,” Vlasta Popelka said to the friends and well-wishers at Brattleboro Community Television's annual meeting. In this time of COVID-19, the longtime operations manager's retirement party happened over videoconference. While the coronavirus might have kept people apart, it could not stop Popelka from receiving the deep, heartfelt gratitude for her 18 years of service to the local public-access television station. Colleagues formally bid her bon voyage with...
This spring, with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro shut the doors to its Flat Street clubhouse. The club itself, however, stayed busy. While still operating under the state's emergency pandemic response orders, the club's staff and volunteers gave the clubhouse a spring cleaning. Over the summer, the club held three camps and partnered with the Retreat Farm to host the club's After Care program for children in kindergarten through grade 5. The...