Mastodawn

It's important to remember that land area is not the same thing as population density.

More people live in urban areas than in suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas, and even in many of the areas outside urban cores, there are pockets of density in which it is easy to live without a car, provided you choose a home, a place of employment, and a school that are within a population center.

I live in such an area, car-free in #Brattleboro #Vermont #VT for almost 5 years (~7350 ppl, 1750 ppl/mi^2).

Gemma Seymour 1d ago

Spring has definitely Sprung in #Brattleboro. It's 71°F in my kitchen right now. My furnace is set to 64°F. My weather app says it's 79°F outside. #Vermont #VT #weather #climate

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Gemma Seymour 1d ago

Meanwhile, all three of the #Brattleboro delegation to the #VTHouse voted to pass H.772, a bill that eviscerates tenant protections in #Vermont, which are meager eough as they stand. H.772 is a huge giveaway to #landlords.

I am extremely disappointed in Ian Goodnow (Windham-9), Molly Burke (Windham-8), and Emilie Kornheiser (Windham-7), today.

This past weekend, Rep. Burke announced her retirement. She will not seek re-election this November.

#Vtpol #VTpoli #VT

https://vtlegalaid.org/news/h772-and-tenant-protections

Vermont H. 772, A Bill That Would Destroy Critical Tenant Protections | Vermont Legal Aid

As written, this bill guts tenants’ procedural due process rights in a variety of ways.

Gemma Seymour 2d ago

alt text: "Stop drifting: build homes for people who live here, grow real cities and strong villages on purpose, welcome working families, tax speculation instead of residency, fix rules that block building, right-size government for a small aging state, and make Vermont a place that actually works—not a museum or playground, but a future we choose."

#Brattleboro #Vermont #VT #VTpol #VTpoli #VTDems #VTGOP #VTProgressives

Gemma Seymour 3d ago

A friend asked me at Town Meeting why there were armed police present. She felt intimidated by the police presence. I pointed out to her that they were there to protect us, and I meant that seriously.

One of the foundational rules of our democracy is that the people are forbidden to bring weapons to a polling place (13 VSA §4027, 17 V.S.A. § 2510), and a #TownMeeting in #Vermont #VT law qualifies. Furthermore, our Town Meeting takes place at #Brattleboro Union High School … #VTpol #VTpoli

Gemma Seymour 3d ago

My speech regarding the #Brattleboro #Vermont #VT Human Services budget, at #TownMeeting 2026, from 5:20:07 through 5:24:18. My actual motion to amend Article 8 to raise the Human Services budget from $1 back to the originally allocated $482,665, is at 5:53:25, which after some confusion over the wording, eventually passed 144-101. The vote is at 6:19:56. #VTpol #VTpoli

https://www.youtube.com/live/XlXxtNJynRM?t=19207

2026 Brattleboro Open Town Meeting 4/11/26

YouTube

Alan Lewis 6d ago

: #brattleboro #brattleboronews #vermont #vermontnews @vermont.masto.host :

IN CASE YOU MISSED this Brattleboro Reformer news post

Gemma Seymour Apr 8

While I opposed the vote in #Brattleboro to rescind the representative form of town meeting, and while I do not believe that the vote and its consequences have been handled in legally correct fashion—that by #VT law, RTM must stay in place until and unless the #Vermont Legislature ratifies the charter change—because of the necessity of focusing on the larger argument, there was unfortunately no opportunity to debate questions of whether or not RTM needed any kind of reform. … #VTpol #VTpoli

Gemma Seymour Apr 7

RE: https://social.joelle.us/@joelle/116364581446325937

Are you listening, #Brattleboro #Vermont #VT?

Alan Lewis Apr 7

: #blakeblockbrattleboro #brattleboro #brattleborohistory #vermont #vermonthistory @vermont.masto.host :

BLAKE BLOCK
MAIN STREET, BRATTLEBORO
Mastodon Post

The attached picture shows the Blake Block on Main Street in Brattleboro. Strange to say, the driveway to the left of the building seems to be Elliot Street.(!) This illustration was posted by Facebook's I Grew Up in Vermont group. The Blake Block may be my favorite historic Brattleboro building. It seems to have been a part of the early commercial development along Main Street that eventually led to moving the Town Hall from the West Village (West Brattleboro) to the East Village.

As far as can be told from a quick search online, Elliot Street was not significantly widened until the time of Harry Truman's presidency.(!)

The Smithsonian museum of American art has a depiction of the Blake Block right after the very destructive fire in 1869, which leveled buildings from Elliot to High Street.