In Brattleboro on July 14, about 150 people attended a rally that was organized by local unions and the Vermont Workers' Center. The goal was to stop a scheme announced recently by the leaders of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital to close the hospital's birthing center. The main union that organized the rally has a web site at www.aftvermont.org.

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Thanks to the work of environmental activists, the state of Massachusetts on July 15 said it would invest about $300,000 in protecting 483 acres of forest in the Pioneer Valley town of Worthington. A spokesperson for the governor also said the state will invest “$730,815 to conserve 800 acres of natural and working landscapes integral to Massachusetts' rural economy, including unfragmented forest on Stone Mountain in Colrain, and along the West Branch of the North River and tributaries in Heath. This project will leverage over $1,500,000 in private funding to achieve a 6,000+ acre conservation corridor in Franklin County.” Greenfield is in Franklin county.