The workers in Windham County who deliver public and human services are much-loved unsung heroes of our towns.
On April 3, a tragic death occurred at Morningside House, the shelter run by Groundworks Collaborative.
Groundworks is one of the recipients of a few thousand dollars each year from the Town of Brattleboro. Our human services workers - at Groundworks and beyond - show up every day to provide the tough work of providing care in a fraying and violent society. If ever there were a time to support our human services workers, this would be it.
As an elected member of Brattleboro Representative Town Meeting, I was proud to vote last month for improvements to Living Memorial Park which included critical upgrades for the skating rink facility. But I'm also proud of another vote, for a much smaller budget line item: A tiny increase to the portion of the 2025 town budget for human services.
Nationally, tenants saw a 17.2% increase in their average rents in 2021 alone. In Brattleboro and beyond, out-of-state corporate landlords are kicking out existing tenants who pay their rent and follow the rules in order to jack up the rent for the tenants who follow. As I biked across...
I am excited to endorse Brattleboro's State Representatives Mollie S. Burke, Emilie Kornheiser, and Tristan Toleno for re-election to the Vermont Legislature. Over the course of my campaign for U.S. Senate in the August Democratic primary, I came to know each of our representatives better, and more fully appreciate...
I am excited to support the campaigns of Wichie Artu and Nader Hashim. These two young men have proven track records delivering results for the people of Windham County and will bring needed new energy and experience to the Vermont Senate. Both Wichie and Nader care deeply about our community. I first connected with Wichie when he, as a vice president of the Windham County NAACP, helped my husband and me obtain a Covid vaccine. He showed initiative and concern...
As voting rights are under attack nationally, Brattleboro residents voted in 2019 to go a different path and expand the right to vote in local elections to 16- and 17-year-olds. On Feb. 11, however, Gov. Phil Scott signaled he would veto this change to the town's charter. Gov. Scott has hidden behind cries for “local control” in burdening local school officials with mask policy-setting and blowback. But when it comes to expanding voting rights, apparently he has no respect for...
I respectfully disagree with Paul Capcara's conclusion that Vermont should expedite the process for forcibly medicating psychiatric patients. I watched my grandmother strapped down and injected with these drugs while she pleaded for nurses to stop. The drugs made it easier for the nurses to manage my grandmother. But to her, blurry vision, chronic dry mouth, anxiety, and intolerable restlessness were just a few of the long-lasting side effects she associated with her daily toxic regimen. As a health-care worker...