I am writing in support of Mike Mrowicki, one of our current Windham County state representatives. Mike seeks your vote at the Democratic Primary.
Because of his many years of legislative experience, his progressive values, and his collaborative style, he gets things done for all us. With so many needing help at this time, we need Mike's legislative experience to make sure that state government is working as it should.
Mike has been working overtime in the Legislature since the COVID-19 lockdown began - not just on the pandemic crisis, but also on solving other problems of critical importance in Vermont.
He has been working to pass new legislation that will improve training for police on use of force and more effective ways to interact with the communities they serve.
Yellow Barn's Summer Artist Residency concert series will be live-streamed from the Big Barn this season, starting July 10. Over the course of seven weeks, 18 resident musicians will explore 43 works of chamber music, each of which will be presented in a live stream concert. From July 10...
Susanna Gellert, executive artistic director of Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, announced last week the debut of Weston Writers, the flagship project of Weston's reimagined 2020 season. This new works initiative builds on Weston's long history of supporting playwrights and musical theater writers through retreats, workshops, the annual Weston-Ghostlight New...
Like many other arts organizations in the region and around the world, Rock River Artists has cancelled its 2020 RRA open studio tour. Organized by nearly 20 artists working in the villages of South Newfane, Williamsville, and Newfane, the Rock River Artists' Open Studio Tour has been an annual event for 27 years. In studios throughout the region, the tour offers visitors a look at work ranging from thread on fabric to pottery, inlay jewelry to painting, fine woodworking to...
Susanna Toby Huzzy, her husband James Huzzy, and their children moved to Townshend from Massachusetts. According to the census of 1810, 15 blacks lived in Townshend. Historian and author Dr. Elise A. Guyette believes it's likely the Huzzys were one of these families. Toby was born in Maine in approximately 1750. Huzzy was likely born in Massachusetts in approximately 1734. He was enslaved in Upton, Mass. The couple married in Upton in 1776. According to Guyette's research, there are no...
Now more than ever in the state of Vermont, we are forced to confront daunting issues that will impact all of our lives as well as the future of this place we love. Representation in our state government matters. We, the voters, get to decide who will be our voice in the government. Under certain circumstances the governor has the authority to appoint a representative; his choice (made for his own reasons) is not necessarily the choice of the people.
I am writing to formally endorse both Rep. Mike Mrowicki and candidate Michelle Bos-Lun as the state representatives for the Windham-4 district. Together, they would make an effective and well-balanced team. During my two-year tenure working alongside Rep. Mrowicki, he has illustrated substantial institutional knowledge across the very broad spectrum that is the state of Vermont government. Whenever I had a question during my learning process, he either had an answer or he knew where to find the answer. He...
Building Bright Futures of Southeastern Vermont, a coalition of organizations supporting the health and welfare of young children and their families, is rolling out The Basics, a research-based program that supports healthy brain development and school readiness. According to a news release, The Basics are “five fun, simple, and powerful ways that every caregiver can give every child a great start in life by developing strong relationships and strong brains.” Based on the latest research on child development, there are...
Learn about the American Red Cross's Disaster Action Teams at a virtual open house on Saturday, July 18, and learn how you can bring help and hope to your neighbors and make a difference for people in need at our virtual open house Drop in anytime between 10 a.m. and noon to chat with current Red Cross volunteers about the role, the training, and their experiences helping people in the wake of home fires and other disasters. Use this link...
I do not know the depth of suffering felt by my Black and Brown friends and neighbors in our community, but I mourn for them deeply. I can say I do know how raw and broken I felt when Christine Blasey Ford spoke for survivors like myself who never got justice and how the person who assaulted her was protected by those in power and compounded her trauma with the dismissal of her experience and questioning of her character. I...
College news • The following local students completed the Practical Nursing program in the spring 2020 semester at Vermont Technical College: Kadidjatou Diallo of Brattleboro, Kaitlin Haskins of Brattleboro, Ilana Newton of West Townshend, Dina Pacilio of Brattleboro, and Chelsie Poplawski of Brattleboro. • Meyru Catherine Bhanti of Brattleboro recently graduated with a M.S. in Geographic Information Science from Clark University in Worcester, Mass. • The following local students recently received degrees from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.: Carley Wainwright...
I deeply appreciated the special focus issue on the pandemic and the arts this past week. Brattleboro and Windham County have such an abundance of residents who are artists and presenters, many of whom are struggling, so I wanted to give a voice to one rather large group of artists that was not mentioned. It is what one might call “trad,” or traditional, musicians. It's hard to tell on a typical day in downtown Brattleboro, but the truth is that...
Yellow Barn announces the opening of Beethoven Walks, a series of trail walks with accompanying music and reproductions of Beethoven's hand-written sketches and manuscripts, created by Yellow Barn Artistic Director Seth Knopp. A project with national reach, Yellow Barn has sponsored the first two walks as a gift to its community. Located in Putney, they are free and open to the public. “These walks open in honor of Beethoven's 250th birthday, and are dedicated to the world his music shows...
Epsilon Spires will present Afrofuturist Sci-Fi, the second installment of Backlot Cinema, July 10, from 8 to 11 p.m. at 190 Main St. The outdoor event will feature films from Ethiopia, Ghana, and the African Diaspora: Crumbs (2015), directed by Miguel Llansó; Afronauts (2014), directed by Nuotama Bodomo; and Robots of Brixton (2011), directed by Kibwe Tavares. Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine will be available from A Taste of Abyssinia restaurant of Burlington. Bolanle Austen Peters describes Afrofuturism as something that...
In his letter, Mark Tully writes: “Vermont is being flooded by COVID-19 hot-spotters looking to buy property. [...] Now, sociopath real estate agents in Brattleboro are trying to bring them into people's homes.” What is particularly odd is that Tully's most bitter complaint is that Vermont's rules include the following: “Special note about showing occupied homes: Realtors and landlords may not require occupants of a home or apartment to allow potential buyers or renters into their homes during this extraordinary...
Farmers to Families food box program resumes this week BRATTLEBORO - The Farmers to Families food box program resumed food distribution in Bennington on July 7, and will begin distribution in Brattleboro, Londonderry, and Springfield on July 8. The Bennington distributions will take place on Tuesdays in July and August. The Brattleboro, Londonderry, and Springfield distributions will take place on Wednesdays. Additional distribution sites include Wilmington and Ludlow; both will take place on July 15. Each share will include produce,
Experienced Goods, the thrift store for Brattleboro Area Hospice, reopened for business on July 7. The staff of Experienced Goods say they have been working toward creating a safe, healthy environment for shoppers, donors, and employees. “That safe environment is our top priority, and we need the help of everyone who enters the store to keep it that way,” they said in a news release. They announced a few guidelines: • They ask all people who enter the store to...
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on our families, our economy, and our elections. But Congress has the power to intervene right now. In response to safety concerns and pressure from constituents like me, Congress has already passed limited funds to expand absentee voting, online registration, and in-person early voting, but it's simply not enough. Without $4 billion for election assistance, voters may not be able to make their voices heard during one of the most important elections of our lifetime. We...
If you wonder about the state of our state, the recent pro-Trump rally at Pliny Park in Brattleboro should tell you everything you need to know. Conservatives, Republicans, and independents are not allowed a voice. They will be silenced. The rally was duly scheduled and permitted that Saturday. But the participants were overrun and out-shouted by the Black Lives Matter/Antifa crowd. They were passive-aggressive, shoving signs in our faces, in front of our cameras, butting shoulders, stepping on feet, knee-bumping...
I joined the NAACP last year to support my diverse students and children and to be a part of the conversation. I was surprised and proud to find the NAACP in our little town of Brattleboro, one of the least diverse places in the country. I knew the NAACP as a powerful voice in Washington, D.C., when I lived there years ago. I knew about the positive reforms the organization brought forth in our nation's history. Now, this piece of...
I had the distinct honor to serve with Michael Mrowicki as his district mate in the Windham-4 district for 10 years. In that time, I learned that he works hard, is imaginative in response to difficult situations, and that he earned the respect of the members of all three of the political parties in the House - Republican, Democratic, and Progressive - because of his fair and thoughtful deliberations about issues. In the upcoming Aug. 11 primary, Michael faces one...
It is time someone stood up for the governor's choice as replacement representative to complete Matthew Trieber's term in the Windham-3 district. Kelley Cota Tully is a bright, creatively thinking individual who is extremely responsive to her district. She knows and loves her community and works hard to do her homework on the current and future issues, while finding the time to speak with her constituents and contemplate the everyday hardships they deal with. At this time in our state's...
Selectboard Chair Tim Wessel recently put out some information he gained directly from Police Chief Mike Fitzgerald, which sparked my desire to look back at recent Citizen Police Communication Committee meeting notes and agendas to see if reality aligned with the information being presented. On June 12, when I went to the CPCC website on the Town of Brattleboro page and clicked through to the “2020 Minutes & Agendas” link, I discovered that the CPCC has met possibly one time...
Over the next few years, Vermonters, Vermont businesses, and Vermont's public institutions will face significant challenges at the state and national levels from the long-term effects of the global pandemic. I hope my regular online updates have been helping alleviate some of the unknowns for families and businesses. Through regular online meetings and contact I have been working to keep the district's concerns closely connected to our government. We will need hard-working, ethical leaders across our geographic and political spectrum...
While the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening in the southern and western states, Vermont has one of the lowest infection rates in the nation. Gov. Phil Scott and his administration credit their strategy of reopening the state slowly, coupled with most Vermonters wearing masks when they out in public, for keeping the coronavirus outbreak under control here. So, after weeks of waiting, the state has given the green light to Windham County's recreation departments and youth sports league to open the...
The sale of the Marlboro College campus, announced on May 28, is moving forward - slowly. An agreement to “exchange assets” with Emerson College was signed June 26, formally setting in motion the partnership between the two institutions that was announced last fall. That plan is still subject to regulatory approval, and it is contingent in no small part on the successful sale of the Marlboro campus by July 31, now under a purchase-and-sale agreement with Democracy Builders Fund (DBF),
Negro Brook. The name may have seemed banal in 1857 - the earliest mapped reference of the brook discovered so far. In 2020, however, for many community members, the word “negro” is offensive and a reminder of oppression. Evan Litwin and Alex Hazzard, two members of the Rename Negro Brook Alliance based in northern Vermont, want to change the brook's name to honor Susanna Toby, one of Townshend's early black residents who lived in the area during the 1800s [see...