In Greenfield about 60 people attended a rally to call on Biden and congress to stop funding Israel's war in Palestine. The November 4 rally was organized by a group that has a web site at www.traprock.org.
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Thanks to the work of environmental and affordable housing activists, 15 new apartments will soon be for rent in downtown Brattleboro. The apartments are at 47 Flat Street.
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On October 4, 2023 eleven peace protesters were arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience at Bernie Sanders's Washington office. In Brattleboro, peace protesters presented Sanders with a petition on August 10, 2023. The October protest was over Ukraine and was organized by a group that has a web site at www.CodePink.org. The Brattleboro action was over Yemen and was organized by a group that has a web site at www.ActionCorps.org.
With 4 percent of the world's population, the USA spends as much money on war as the rest of the world combined.
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About 100 people attended a rally in Springfield on July 17. Nurses are asking the community to join them in protesting corporate moves to make health care in the region worse. Nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) union (www.MassNurses.org) held an informational picket outside the hospital on July 17 in response to Mercy's owner Trinity Health Corporation recently closing 20 intermediate care beds, “temporarily” closing other essential services without any indication they will be re-opened, and creating a staffing and patient care crisis.
A labor rally is set for July 17 in Springfield. Nurses are asking the community to join them in protesting corporate moves to make health care in the region worse. Nurses at Mercy Medical Center, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association union (www.MassNurses.org) will hold an informational picket outside the hospital on July 17 in response to Mercy's owner Trinity Health Corporation recently closing 20 intermediate care beds, “temporarily” closing other essential services without any indication they will be re-opened, and creating a staffing and patient care crisis.
About 500 people attended a rally at the Greenfield town common on May 25. They were protesting cuts in school funding. Julie Carew was at the rally. She runs a group called Strings for Kids, which is a partnership between the Greenfield public schools and Artspace Community Arts Center in Greenfield. Carew told the Valley Post, "I was at both city council meetings... This is a slap in the face from the mayor who was 'virtually' in attendance at both meetings where it was made crystal clear that the numbers the councilors were trying to meet were counting on that $365,000 from the mayor....
More than 100 people attended an abortion rights rally in Greenfield on May 13. The number one cause of climate change is overpopulation. Susan Triolo told the Valley Post that information about abortion rights will soon be at www.indivisible.org. Triolo was one of the organizers of the Greenfield rally. From the north Greenfield exit to the southern Brattleboro exit on Interstate 91 takes 15 minutes by car, according to Google Maps. Amtrak and Greyhound run between Greenfield and Brattleboro.
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In Ashfield, Massachusetts, 150 acres of open space has been permanently protected from development. Ashfield is near Northampton and Greenfield. “The plan is for the Franklin Land Trust to embark upon an eco-restoration project to transform Edge Hill (golf course) into high-quality wetland and shrub-land habitat for species such as bobolinks,” Sebastian LaMontagne told the Valley Post. He works for Franklin Land Trust, which saved the land. “Otters are frequently seen playing in a small pond on the property.
About 40 teachers marched in Greenfield on December 21. They were calling on the school board to negotiate a fair union contract. On December 22 the teachers posted a photo of their march at:
The average worker in the USA who belongs to a union makes $191 more per week than the average non-union worker. Reducing inequality is good for democracy since billionaires buy politicians.
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About 50 people attended a rally in Greenfield on September 7. They were calling on the mayor and city council to fire the police chief. Rachel Gordon organized the rally. On September 8 she told the Valley Post that the people at the rally were “very energized. I’m really happy with how it went. We protested in front of city hall for a while and then moved to the Main Street/ Federal Street intersection for a while. A lot of cars honked at us in support.”
About 85 people attended an abortion rights rally in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Bellows Falls is on the Connecticut river, and is in the same county as Brattleboro. Leslie Goldman is a member of the Vermont legislature. She told the Valley Post she was at the rally. Jeanette Staley was one of the event organizers. She told the Valley Post that Goldman “spoke eloquently at the rally.” The rally was on August 19.
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