I thought I was so environmentally virtuous by working from home and sending my words out into cyberspace. But a reader who responded to my recent piece about the carbon footprint of road building [“Our roads, at what cost?,” Column, May 10] burst that bubble.
She called my attention “to the huge (and very much neglected) toll that the internet imposes on the environment.” She backed this dire news with a link to a peer-reviewed article published by the MIT Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC).
“The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud,” by anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate, is an eye-opening read. It includes stories from his five years of ethnographic fieldwork and clear explanations about how the Cloud is an ecological force - and not a benign one.
* * *...
A bill is introduced in a state to tax citizens to support the teaching of the Christian religion. Opponents circulate a petition opposing the measure. The petition's author says that no politician is a competent judge of religious truth, that every citizen has the right to religious freedom according...
Many gun advocates say, “Guns don't kill; it's people who kill people.” They say that the problem with an epidemic of mass shootings in this country is a mental health issue, and that is not a reason to restrict gun ownership. If we are being honest with ourselves, as...
The Westminster Cares Garden Tour celebrates its 20th anniversary this year on Saturday and Sunday, July 8 and 9. The centerpiece of the tour is Gordon and Mary Hayward's garden in Westminster West. The Westminster Center School garden, Hope Roots Flower Farm, and a very special private garden in Putney will also be on the tour, held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. Tickets are $16, or $30 for two, and are good for both days of the...
Folksinger and finger-style guitarist Pat Daddona is promoting her new crowd-funded digital album, Roads, with a matinee at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge St., on Sunday, June 18, at 3 p.m. Roads was crowdfunded on Kickstarter by her fans, and a team of New England-based musicians and sound engineers performed on and produced it. Daddona, a social worker by day and late-blooming songwriter the rest of the time, says on her Kickstarter page, “I write songs that celebrate the spirit...
The (1)Vernon Historians Museum, located at 4201 Fort Bridgman Road, will be open Sundays, from 2 to 4 p.m., through Sept. 17. It will be closed on July 2, Aug. 6, and Sept. 3. The main museum building, formerly Vernon's District Schoolhouse #4, has a new exhibit, featuring clothing from their archival collection and replicas. Those who have visited the museum in the past will discover a revamped display space this year. The museum also features a farm kitchen, a...
“Look at this,” says Brooks Memorial Library Director Starr LaTronica as she holds up a well-preserved leather bucket. “This is one of my favorite items in the library.” The object, about 25 inches in length, has a name inscribed in gold on the front - J. Goodhue - along with the numeral 2. LaTronica smiles with the delight of a history lover. Some firefighters told her about one object - “one of the original Brattleboro Fire Department buckets. Each home...
College news • The following local students recently earned associate degrees from Community College of Vermont at its 2023 spring commencement: Melissa R. French and Laurel Es Salter-Dimma of Bellows Falls, Christina Leigh Howe and Myllasa Riggins of Brattleboro, Denny Ray Hughes of Guilford, Emma Paige Lane of Jamaica, Paige Rohane of Putney, Haley Jean Brown of South Newfane, Tiffany Marie Allen and Emily Ann Maturo of Wardsboro, Alexis Grisales and Hannah Faith Hoffman of West Dover, Zachary Miles Condon...
The Mountain Towns Housing Project (MTHP) says it is making great progress building the Bob Perry Lane House, an affordable, modest, single-family home off Hells Peak Road in Londonderry. In partnership with the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust since January 2022, MTHP recently announced the start of Phase 2 of the project and the launch of a community fundraising campaign. “The shell of the house is being installed now, and once installed, it will be a completely enclosed structure with...
Grace Cottage hosts community forum on new clinic GRAFTON - Grace Cottage Hospital will unveil plans for their new primary care clinic building at a public forum on Thursday, June 15, at 4 p.m. at The Grafton Brick Meeting House, (1)2 Main St. All are welcome. The current clinic operates out of two adjoining houses built in the 1850s. According to a news release, “with more than 31,000 patient visits annually (up from 20,000 in 2018), it is essential that...
Members of the Vermont Glass Guild will participate in “Vermont Blown Away,” a friendly glassblowing competition inspired by the Netflix series Blown Away, on Saturday, June 17, at 2 p.m., at Fire Arts Vermont, 485 West River Rd. (Route 30). “Vermont Blown Away” is presented in connection with “Glasstastic 2023,” a bi-annual Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) exhibition of glass art based on children's drawings of imaginary creatures. On view at BMAC from June 24 through Oct. 9, “Glasstastic...
After 24 years of successful ownership, management, and major rehabilitation and renovation of the old 1840s farmhouse and barn that has served as Wardsboro's public library since 1991, the Friends of the Wardsboro Library have gifted the property and building to the town. The town agreed to accept the gift by means of a special ballot held on Nov 8, 2022. “Twenty-three years ago, there were many who doubted that such a small group of determined citizens could sustain public...
Brattleboro Music Center (BMC), 72 Blanche Moyse Way, continues its Season Guest Series Thursday, June 15, with a performance by Ensemble Amphion Baroque. Ensemble Amphion Baroque is made up of world-class musicians who use historically informed techniques and instruments of the period, aspiring to capture the true spirit and sounds of the 18th century, “music of passion and style,” they say. The performance will be a musical journey through 17th and 18th century Europe, including works by Cima, Purcell, Telemann,
Leland & Gray entered their Division IV softball semifinal on June 6 against top-seeded West Rutland confident about their chances of advancing to the championship game. And when the fifth-seeded Rebels found themselves with a 4-2 lead over the defending state champions heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, it looked like that confidence was not misplaced. By the end of the West Rutland fifth, the visiting Rebels were left dazed and wondering what had just hit them as...
On a cool and overcast June morning, Amanda Thurber led three successive groups of kindergarteners from Academy School on a tour of the dairy operation at Lilac Ridge Farm on Ames Hill Road. She guided the children around the organic farm she runs with her husband, Ross, and she took them through the whole milk production process, from cow to glass. At the end of the tour, she gave them all a sample of organic soft-serve ice cream from the...
River Gallery School of Art (RGS) has begun the search for a new executive director. The former executive director, Mary Lou Forward, announced in April she would depart the organization. In a news release, the board of directors said that they and the greater RGS community “wish to thank Forward for her positive impact at the school.” “A committee of the Board of Trustees is enacting a process of interviewing interested candidates and preparing written materials that describe the vision...
The Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro has been named the 2023 recipient of a $5,000 grant from the Athena Giving Circle, a group of area women who pool resources to support one local nonprofit organization each year. This is their fourth annual award. “We are pleased to recognize the Boys & Girls Club for their work with area youth and to encourage their on-going collaborations with many of Brattleboro's arts organizations,” Gail Nunziata, speaking for the Athena group, wrote...
Lana Dever is stepping down from the Windham Southeast School District (WSESD) school board, effective June 16. “The merged board with 10 schools is new and it is a heavy load,” the board's Brattleboro representative told The Commons of her decision to resign. “This is a job with a ton of work and minimal support done by people who care deeply,” Dever continued. “This new iteration of the board requires a massive amount of work and it isn't sustainable for...
With a new album being released in August and a multi-city national tour underway this week with her band Southern Star, harpist and singer/songwriter Mikaela Davis, 31, of Catskill, New York is garnering a lot of well-deserved attention these days. The band, which performs for the first time at the Stone Church on Thursday, June 15, includes Davis on harp and vocals, Alex Coté on drums, Cian McCarthy on guitars and vocals, Shane McCarthy on bass and vocals, and Kurt...
An unexpected consequence of sending Windham County's own Congresswoman Becca Balint, D-Vt., to Washington is that she has become a national media star. Balint went viral last week when she defended trans kids during a hearing on corporate governance. And why trans kids were being discussed during a meeting on corporate governance was exactly the reason why she went viral. The House Oversight Committee was holding a hearing on the effects of ESG (environmental, social, and governance), an investing strategy...
Author Susan Mills was recently named a finalist for the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA) in the First Novel (Over 90K Words) category for On the Wings of a Hummingbird. Published by Apprentice House Press of Loyola University Maryland in 2022, Mills's book starts in Guatemala and ends up in Providence, Rhode Island. Having studied Spanish as an undergraduate at Brown University, Mills began to learn about Central America when she worked for several years as an accredited...
Village Square Booksellers welcomes Mike Brown, a 1973 graduate of Bellows Falls Union High School, on Saturday, June 17, at 1 p.m., to read from and discuss his book, The Umpire's Bunkhouse: Baseball Stories from Cooperstown's Dreams Park. Brown, who earned varsity letters in four sports at BFUHS and graduated from St. Michael's College in Vermont with a major in journalism, has had a long career as an author, umpire, referee, and teacher. Umpires “come from all over the nation.
Private security guards will soon be patrolling the Transportation Center, Brooks Memorial Library, the Gibson-Aiken Center, and the Municipal Center following a unanimous June 6 Selectboard vote to hire the outside help. First proposed several weeks ago, the proposal to augment the local police presence came after a carjacking at knifepoint in the parking garage and residents raised a hue and cry that something be done. The decision to hire unarmed, private security to help ease public safety concern is...
The Vermont Symphony Orchestra's TD Bank Summer Festival Tour is back with a lineup of American favorites for dancing and celebrating at five stops across the state, including Monday, July 3, at Grafton Ponds. Guest jazz trumpeter Ray Vega joins the VSO and Argentinian-Italian conductor Michelle Di Russo in a concert of swing, jazz, spirituals, and marches. Di Russo is known for “her compelling interpretations, passionate musicality, and championing of contemporary music,” according to her website. In a news release,
Canal Street Art Gallery (CSAG) presents an opening reception on 3rd Friday Gallery Night in Historic Downtown Bellows Falls on June 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to join the Gallery to celebrate and meet the artists behind the fifth annual Vermont Summer Group Show, Deedee Jones's “The Ways (1)Of Water,” and Carol Keiser's Solo Spotlight show. All CSAG events are free and open to the public. The Vermont Summer Group Show, on view through Sept.
House Concerts Chez Grossman/Peel, a small private venue, will be hosting a concert on Sunday, June 18, at 7 p.m. with Peter Siegel, Amanda Witman, and friends to benefit RiverJam Romp. All proceeds from this concert will benefit RiverJam Romp's scholarship fund and help ensure a smooth second season as they transition to their permanent home at Potash Hill in Marlboro. RiverJam Romp is a local annual weekend event celebrating the music and dance traditions of Southern Vermont, the Monadnock...
I hadn't realized how frightened I'd been about the debt-ceiling situation until I found myself sleeping well the night after the House approved the deal struck between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. I wasn't sure the Senate would pass it, but this was a good sign. In the broadest sense, the really good sign was that the United States wouldn't default on its obligations and, thus, that the world's economic and political underpinnings would not - at...
Brattleboro, like much of the United States, is all too often putting the subjective feelings of the individual ahead of the rights and health of the community. I have generally voted Democrat my entire adult life. However, in recent times, a frightening portion of the left has become so extreme that it is at times on parity with the extremist right. I find the extreme right such as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump to be abhorrent. Their bigotry, lies,