After the Brooks House Hotel in Brattleboro was gutted by fire, the iconic downtown building has remained empty while its owner struggles to find capital for a costly restoration. Now, a new local investment group has stepped in.

A pair of Brattleboro arts entrepreneurs have designed what they say they hope will spark "unexpected, spontaneous, creative interaction." Here's how: They want to install musical park benches in public spaces around town.

Making the streets safer in Brattleboro after some fatal traffic-related deaths. That's the focus of today's Friday Regional Report, a conversation with local editors and reporters about what's happening in their community.

Repairing and replacing crumbling walkways is costly, and officials in many cities say they just don't have the money to keep up.

Vermont towns have been grappling with the cost of clean-up and repairs from Tropical Storm Irene. They're hoping most of the tab will be paid by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but it's a slow process.

A group of bicycle enthusiasts in Brattleboro has a message to cyclists getting ready to put their bikes away for the winter. The message is, "Keep Riding."

The lights are back on at Brattleboro's iconic Latchis Theater and Hotel for the first time since Tropical Storm Irene's floods.

Patients from the flooded Vermont State Hospital have been taken in at the Brattleboro Retreat.

Police say a 52-year-old Brattleboro man has been identified as the person who died after riding his bicycle into a brook-going off a section of road washed out by flooding from Tropical Storm Irene.

Some residents of a public housing complex in West Brattleboro are up in arms about a town decision to demolish their buildings. The Brattleboro Housing Authority says there's no way to adapt the Hayes Court housing complex to meet the area's most pressing need: low-income assisted living apartments for seniors and the disabled.

Gov. Peter Shumlin is promising the Vermont government's help with reconstruction of a downtown Brattleboro landmark that was wiped out by fire.

A fire that swept through a historic building in downtown Brattleboro on Sunday was likely electrical, according to the Brattleboro Reformer, but it's still unknown where in the building the fire started.

Police in Brattleboro say there were no apparent injuries in a fire at a building with 59 residential units. The fire was reported at about 8:45 last night.

Last spring, Brattleboro's select board declined to put a Vermont Yankee question on the ballot and the town lost in court when it was challenged. It's a case that has prompted a new debate about the rights of voters.

Downtown Brattleboro is slated for some major reconstruction projects and some major disruption, starting this summer. Local business owners and boosters are looking for ways to minimize the chaos and keep the shoppers and tourists coming.

In recent years Brattleboro has become a magnet for circus performers. That's thanks in part to a school founded by two renowned trapeze artists - identical twin sisters who toured the world with Cirque du Soleil.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont is suing Brattleboro police for arresting protesters at a speech by the governor. Governor Jim Douglas was speaking at the Latchis Theater in Brattleboro last March when four audience members rose from their seats.

Brattleboro's homeless shelter is hoping to expand, and reconfigure, because of the number of families with children turning to it for help.

The Vermont Food Bank is opening a new warehouse in the old Book Press Building in Brattleboro.

A hilltop reservoir in Brattleboro dating back to the late 1800s has been listed as a high hazard by state engineers. The reservoir has been unused for more than thirty years - but not unloved, especially in the neighborhood that surrounds it.