About 700 people marched in Brattleboro on May 1 to protest Trump, and to fight for workers' rights. May 1 is Labor Day in China, India, Europe, Russia, most of Africa, and all of Latin America. In the US in the 1930s, and globally for as long as there have been workers, strikes have been used to create a middle class, help end apartheid in South Africa, and achieve many other victories for democracy. The Brattleboro march was organized by the groups Indivisible, 505051, and others.

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In the Pioneer Valley town of Westfield, environmental activists are celebrating. On April 25, a Texas corporation bowed to pressure from protesters in the Pioneer Valley and canceled its plan to build a giant battery facility in Westfield. “Failure to provide adequate manpower, training, and equipment needed to respond effectively to potential emergencies, including the risk of thermal-runaway events involving fire, explosion, and release of harmful chemicals, leaves all of us more vulnerable to avoidable risk.” That's according to this web page, owned by a Pioneer Valley group:

https://nabunited.org/issues/safety

A study of the environmental pros and cons of large scale battery facilities discusses “the negative environmental impacts of batteries, particularly during the manufacturing phase, which involves undesirable emissions. Health risks associated with water and metal pollution during battery manufacturing and disposal are also addressed.” The study is at:

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737823000287

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On April 23, Mike Mrowicki, a member of the Vermont state legislature from Dummerston (which borders Brattleboro) and the neighboring town of Putney, was among 14 or so other members of the state legislature, and the Vermont lieutenant governor, at an event at the statehouse with leaders of the Abenaki, a Native American nation from the area now known as Vermont. The Valley Post asked Mrowicki about the event and he referred questions to Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe. On April 26, Stevens told the Valley Post, “Most of the coverage by VPR (Vermont Public Radio) and VTDigger (a local news web site) have been biased towards Odanak overall.... We stand up for our people and reject others trying to assert authority over our tribes. No Abenaki tribe can assert sole authority over an entire nation of Abenaki. Our tribe is more about education on our lived experiences and uplifting our communities. We work well with the state and almost all legislators. We do not agree with H.362 or with Rep. Headrick who has never even sat down and talked with any of the Vermont Chiefs. If you want to know why we are being attacked by our Canadian counterparts, check out the land claims documents here:

www.abenakialliance.org/resources

As for genealogy, we had to submit that with our recognition petition to the state, which is not public record because of attacks. However, as Chief, I posted a bit of mine to show we are Abenaki Indian. Look at the Nulhegan history document and the American-Canadian Genealogy peer reviewed paper of my great great grandmother Delia Phillips. Same link as above.”