The first edition of Valley Post Radio aired on WVEW Brattleboro Community Radio on July 21. Eesha Williams interviewed Ellen Schwartz, a public school teacher, activist, and long-time resident of downtown Brattleboro. Schwartz spoke about the recent police crackdown on people -- especially young people -- hanging out in downtown Brattleboro. Police began issuing $50 tickets for "loitering" following a drug-related murder on Elliot Street on June 15.

These photos were taken in July in Putney, Vermont, near Brattleboro. They show hikers on Putney Mountain, and common mergansers in the Connecticut river. These common mergansers probably spend their winters in Mexico. One bird expert said she thought this photo is of a mother with her teenage ducklings. Male mergansers make a low croaking sound. Females say "carrrrrr." photos by Eesha Williams

This video shows pigs at the New Leaf CSA farm in Dummerston, Vermont, near Brattleboro. Most pigs in the U.S. – including organically grown ones -- live in barns and never get to be on grass. Pigs prefer to have access to grass. With their noses, they can turn over large areas of sod in a short amount of time. This video was filmed in the late morning on July 16, a hot and sunny day. The pigs reserve a small area of pasture as their bathroom. Pigs don't smell bad.

This photo, taken on July 12, shows the Scott Farm in Dummerston, Vermont in the foreground, New Hampshire's Mount Wantastiquet in the distance, and Brattleboro in-between. (To make the photo bigger please click on it, then scroll down and click, "See full size image.") photo by Eesha Williams

Charlie King will perform a benefit concert for the Valley Post on August 1, just outside Brattleboro. Pete Seeger said, "Charlie King is one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time."

World famous singers Lori McKenna www.myspace.com/lorimckenna and Mark Erelli www.markerelli.com played a public concert on June 26 in Putney, Vermont, about 10 minutes from Brattleboro. The concert was produced by www.twilightmusic.org which has more concerts coming up in the Valley. video by Eesha Williams

After weeks of cool, rainy weather, summer has finally arrived in New England. On June 25, temperatures hit the mid-80s and a swimmer enjoyed the cool water of the Connecticut river in Brattleboro. That night, there was heat lightening, and hundreds of fireflies could be seen. (To make the photo bigger, please click on it.) photo by Eesha Williams

Pisgah State Park is the biggest state park in New Hampshire. It's a 10 minute drive from both Brattleboro and Keene, and is just a few miles from Massachusetts. On June 8, the New Hampshire Parks Advisory Council released a proposed plan that placed Pisgah State Park in a class which, among other choices for alternative management, includes "disposal," the so-called “C” list.

There will be public hearings, but not in Keene. The closest is in Peterborough:

June 23, 4 p.m.

Peterborough Town Hall
1 Grove Street
Peterborough, NH

There is also the opportunity for written comment:

Negotiations between the Northampton teachers and the school board are heating up. The teachers belong to a union www.nea.org Mayor Clare Higgins asked the workers to forgo previously negotiated pay raises for next year.

On June 16, voters in Northampton will decide on the so-called “Proposition 2½ override,” which will affect the city’s budget.

The National Priorities Project www.nationalpriorities.org is a nation-wide non-profit based in Northampton. According to the group’s web site, the Iraq war had cost American taxpayers $790 billion as of October 2008.

Misty Bassi, 33, was killed while riding her bicycle in Amherst around 10:30 a.m. on May 25. The motorist fled the scene, but police caught them. The punishment for someone who kills a person with their car is usually much weaker than when a gun is used. Bassi was a janitor at UMass. The driver of the vehicle that killed Bassi was Parvin Niroomand.