Pore over the meticulously detailed court filings of the recent law enforcement action against the Rainbow Therapeutic Spa, and several things will jump out at you.
For starters, it becomes obvious that a sting like this one is part of a larger law-enforcement effort - a fact that Detective Lieutenant Michael Studin of the Vermont State Police readily confirmed to The Commons on Aug. 15.
“Vermont is just one stop amongst many in the country, and Brattleboro is just one of the stops of a few within Vermont itself,” he said.
Beyond that, the detective needed to remain circumspect about details about the broader scope of actions against illegal massage businesses, which Polaris, a nonprofit organization that spreads awareness about human trafficking and works to combat it in multiple contexts, describes as “fronts for selling commercial sex - spread across every state in the United States.”...
Sitting at tables under a large tent that provides cover from a strong sun on this summer Saturday, a group of young artists excitedly but quietly work with markers, paint, and other art supplies. Several teens paint on three sturdy wood panels where the stark outlines of large, plain...
Editor's note: Thanks to the Ethiopian Community Development Council, the nonprofit organization responsible for administering the Afghan refugee resettlement program, we present a series of Voices contributions about the herculean efforts to bring 100 people from across the world to shelter and safety. We had hoped to present these...
For Rich Holschuh, the inclusion of technology to let people hear his pronunciation of indigenous words on interpretive signs along the Sibosen Trail “deepens and expands the story.” As director of the Atowi Project at the Retreat Farm on Route 30, Holschuh now works full time helping people see and understand the Native community and its proud heritage here, in the place that was Wantastegok (“At the River Where Something Is Lost”) long before anyone ever called the same land...
It would have been easy - so, so easy - to find any rationale or excuse to avoid publishing Mindy Haskins Rogers' piece, which shines light on the behavior of Robert (Zeke) Hecker, a longtime English teacher at Brattleboro Union High School, a playwright, and a musician. I don't want to ruffle feathers. I don't want to upset the arts community. I don't want to disrupt lives in a small town. I don't want the obvious collateral damage - this...
Kate Barry starts opening the first of a stack of cardboard boxes on the bar, her smile broadening into a grin. “These are our light fixtures,” she says excitedly, as her husband, Bruce Hunt, tools in hand, looks on, and their 3-year-old daughter, Juniper, sits on a barstool momentarily entranced by a solitary Lincoln log that she found here, somewhere in the space that will become The Collective. “All of this is new,” Barry says, gesturing to a gleaming array...
For too many people, holidays are already fraught with complexity and difficulties. A global health catastrophe is the last thing they need to add to the mix. For so many of us, the recent words of urgency from Gov. Phil Scott have created a gargantuan conflict. We want to see family for the holidays. We need to see them. Our hearts ache for grandkids we haven't hugged. We sense the time passing for older relatives who aren't well. Many of...
The vibe of the small crowd gathered on Oct. 3 was subdued - perhaps for many, an expression of dumbstruck disbelief that this day had actually arrived. They came - masked and distanced, of course - to observe the dedication of the Perseverance Skatepark on this brilliant autumn Saturday morning, in a quick ceremony. As the ceremony marked the opening of the long-awaited park, it also symbolized the end of a roundabout - and, for many, agonizing - journey of...