Randi Solin, left, and Natalie Blake of Fire Arts Vermont were presented with the Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
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Chamber awards salute the creative economy

BACC honors the achievements of three young entities: HatchSpace, Fire Arts Vermont, and Next Stage Arts

BRATTLEBORO-It was a night to honor the creative economy as the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) shined a spotlight on that sector in its annual awards ceremony on Sept. 11 at the Brattleboro Country Club.

Tom Bodett, co-founder of HatchSpace, was presented with BACC's Person of the Year award, while Randi Solin and Natalie Blake of Fire Arts Vermont were named BACC's Entrepreneurs of the Year and Next Stage Arts in Putney was honored as BACC's Member of the Year.

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News

New round of motel evictions leave residents scrambling

-Ernest Martin prepared to leave the Hilltop Inn in Berlin on Sunday morning, uncertain about what could come next. The 58-year-old said a friend would let him stay at her home for "a week or two," but after that, "I have no clue." Martin, who suffered a traumatic brain injury after a hit-and-run several years ago, had been living at the motel since February. That morning, he had called the state at 8 o'clock sharp, hoping to secure his room...

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PCB removal work expands at BFUHS

BELLOWS FALLS-The Bellows Falls Union High School Board has approved moving ahead with its initial PCB cleanup plans in the school's gym area. The cleanup will focus on two utility rooms diagonally opposite each other off two corners of the gym. Engineers believe that the rooms could be the major source of PCB contamination in this area of the building. The remediation is included in the $9 million of major BFUHS projects in the works. Topping the list of projects...

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State treasurer hits the road with unclaimed funds

BRATTLEBORO-The sun had just set when a lone car pulled into the partially hidden and empty parking lot of the Brattleboro Collision Center on Old Ferry Road. Out popped State Treasurer Michael Pieciak, who was on a mission to return $5,150 in unclaimed funds to Todd DeAngelis, who owns the business. All in all, Pieciak returned $150,000 of unclaimed property to businesses, nonprofits, and service providers across Vermont's 14 counties on Sept. 9 and 10. This Unclaimed Property Road Tour...

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The mean streets of Brattleboro

BRATTLEBORO-A great tsunami of pain is coming toward us, and there's no getting out of the way. Oh, sorry. False alarm. It's already here. I'm talking about homelessness. We see some piece of the situation every day. On the streets, camped by the river, in the library, panhandling near the supermarkets. Every day we see people who are vulnerable, exposed, and hungry. Vulnerable to violence, to theft, to all sorts of criminality. Exposed. So exposed. Imagine not ever having a...

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Brattleboro police face paradox in steering their top 20 to help

BRATTLEBORO-When local police studied the nearly 29,000 calls they've received in the past three years, they discovered the 20 people most cited for problems accounted for 1,700 - or 6% - of all complaints. That was only the first surprise. Most calls about the top 20 didn't involve criminal behavior, but disorderly conduct, disputes, and disturbances often linked to alcohol and drug use or mental health issues, municipal statistics show. But when authorities identified the offenders to area social service...

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For Balint, chaos, hope, and a looming budget showdown

BRATTLEBORO-There have been highs, there have been lows, and then there was the Democratic National Convention. "Ebullient" would be the best word to describe Vermont U.S. Rep. Becca Balint going into the event, which was held in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22 to formally nominate Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as the Democrats' candidates in the November election. "It felt like the roof was being blown off the top of the convention center by the...

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Two diplomats discuss a complex, changing world

BRATTLEBORO-With wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza, plus a very uncertain presidential race in the United States, the Windham World Affairs Council's annual Galbraith Lecture featured a wide-ranging and candid discussion that touched on Afghanistan, Cuba, Ukraine, the Leahy Amendment as it applies to Hamas and Israel, and other hot foreign policy issues. "A Meeting of the Minds: Peter Galbraith and Tim Rieser Discuss What Lies Ahead - U.S. Foreign Policy Today and After the Election" featured two long-time insiders:

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Special Focus Issue: Struggle for Solutions

NEWS FEATURES BY ELLEN PRATTA helping handCas Clarke's first job with the Brauleboro Food Co-op required him to address shoplifting. The safety and outreach manager note tries to positively change the lives and struggles of people on the street. Housing solutions are few, while the need is greatWith a housing market that is out of reach of practically everybody, three people in the state’s General Assistance Emergency Housing Program look to a future without shelter Taking it to the streetsNew...

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