WTSA News For Your Thursday, March 9th:
The Brattleboro Selectboard will hold a Special Meeting today at 5:30 in the Selectboard Meeting Room at the Municipal Center. The Board is expected to enter immediately into executive session to discuss contracts and labor relations with employees. Upon completion of the executive session the Board is expected to immediately adjourn. No action will be taken in executive session.
Eve Nolan, Robin Morgan, Kim Price, and Ruby Mcadoo have been elected to the Windham Southeast District School Board. Voting took place in Brattleboro, Dummerston Guilford and Putney on Tuesday. Nolan and Morgan had faced contested races, while the opponent for Price had dropped out.
Former Brattleboro Town Manager Peter Elwell has joined the Groundworks staff as Interim Deputy Executive Director. Elwell’s will assist the Groundworks team as they continue to navigate a period of significant transition coming out of the pandemic. Elwell joined the Groundworks Board of Directors in October 2022. He will take a leave of absence from the Board during his service as a member of Groundworks’ staff.
Fewer covid 19 cases in Vermont, but hospitalizations are up slightly. The Vermont Health Department reported 346 new positive covid tests in the week ending March 4 with 43 new hospital admissions. So far this month, Vermont has not seen any covid related deaths.
Governor Phil Scott says communities can apply for energy grants, in the first phase of a 45-million-dollar program. Cities, towns, fire districts, and incorporated villages may apply for up to $4,000 from these Community Capacity Building Mini-Grants. The mini-grants are one of many opportunities, including up to $500,000 for energy efficiency and resilience improvements to municipal buildings to increase comfort and reduce operational costs while decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and expanding reliable access to critical services for Vermonters. The program is based on the highly successful State Energy Management Program that has been accelerating the efficiency state-owned buildings for nearly a decade, reducing over 21,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions and $4.6M in avoided energy costs.
Vermont’s energy infrastructure needs work. In a recent report card, the American Society for Civil Engineers gave the state’s energy sector a “C+”– down from a “B-” in 2019. They highlight Vermont’s lack of in-state renewable generation compared to the energy the state consumes. They say Vermont consumes three times the energy it produces and that leads to energy costs that are higher than the national average. Another big problem, they say, is the state’s lack of reliable transmission. In one bright spot, the report found Vermont households use less energy than 80% of other states.
LOTTERY NUMBERS:
TRI STATE PICK 3 5-9-3
TRI STATE PICK 4 2-5-7-0
TRI STATE GIMME 5 6-11-18-21-39
TRI STATE MEGABUCKS 1-11-28-31-38 MEGA BALL 1
POWERBALL 26-27-43-61-69 POWERBALL 4
MASS CASH 4-7-20-23-33
WTSA SPORTS:
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, as the Celtics bounce back from losing three straight by beating Portland Wednesday night, 115-93. Boston visits Atlanta Saturday night, tip-off is at 7:30.
The Bruins host Edmonton tonight, puck drops at 7:30.