About 150 people marched in Brattleboro on February 17, despite extreme cold and deep snow along some of the route. They were protesting Trump's policies. Emilie Kornheiser of Brattleboro chairs the Vermont House Ways and Means committee. She wants to tax the rich and help the poor. She was at the march and helped promote it.

In Springfield, Massachusetts on the same day there was a rally to protest Trump's policies. One of the groups that organized the rally is Rise Up Western Mass Indivisible. The group posted on its Facebook page photos of the rally that seem to show hundreds of people.

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About 250 workers at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital voted to form a union on February 14. Shann Sorrenti, Phlebotomy Tech and union organizing committee member, said, “We plan to negotiate for a contract that allows us to prioritize our work here instead of working two or three jobs to make ends meet. We want to improve retention and recruitment of local staff, and we look forward to working with the BMH administration to build a culture of consistency, transparency and trust. Our work conditions are our patients’ care conditions."

Deanne Thomas, Environmental Services Aide and union organizing committee member, said, “We voted yes to having a seat at the table for equal decision making, advocating for our colleagues, ourselves, and most importantly, our patients. We plan to bargain for things such as consistent policies, equitable treatment, livable wages and experience-based pay scales, work flexibility, safe staffing ratios, and more transparency and communication with our management.”

The workers have a web site at https://AFTvermont.org.

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On February 19, the New York Times published a news article with the headline, “Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Draw Up Plans for Cuts.” The article begins, “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered senior military and Defense Department officials to draw up plans to cut 8 percent from the defense budget over each of the next five years, officials said on Wednesday.” The article is at:

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/19/us/politics/hegseth-military-cuts.html

It's available for free from any public library.

The Northampton-based group the National Priorities Project has as its mission, “Fighting for a U.S. federal budget that prioritizes peace, economic security and shared prosperity.” As of February 21, the group had not replied to an email sent more than 24 hours earlier seeking comment on the Times article. The group did not immediately reply to a voicemail message.