Dec 26, 2018 – Jan 8, 2019
Backstories: Seven Days Reporters Reveal How they Nailed the News; Remembering Vermonters We Lost in 2018; The Year in Vermont Food: A Recap; Kisonak and Harrison Talk Bests and Worsts in Film This Year
Obituary: Alyson Leigh Kretzer, 1986-2019
Alyson Leigh Kretzer passed away unexpectedly on January 2, 2019. Aly was loved by her family and friends for her adventurous spirit and unfailing kindness. Aly was born and raised in Vermont. After high school, her wanderlust led her to travel the country, experiencing new places, friends and music. Before leaving Vermont, Aly met her…
Obituary: Joshua Lawrence Bridgman, 1967-2018
Vermont got a little less weird with the passing of poet/playwright/filmmaker and Kafka-in-the-Booth Joshua (Josh) Bridgman, 51, who died from a heart attack in his home in Burlington, Vt. Josh was predeceased by his mother, Pamela (Wetherbee) Tzimokas. He is survived by his father, Torrey Bridgman; his sister Mehitabel (Bridgman) Chiott; his uncle Benjamin Bridgman;…
Obituary: R. Avery Hall, 1932-2018
May 10, 1932-December 20, 2018 Avery Hall died peacefully on December 20 after 10 years of mishaps and memory loss. Born in 1932, he lived his early childhood in the manse of the Charlotte Congregational Church, where his father was the pastor. When the family moved to Burlington, he attended Burlington schools and graduated from…
Obituary: Matthew Grant Thorsen, 1967-2019
Matthew Grant Thorsen was called home to the gates of Valhalla on New Year’s Day 2019, at the age of 51. He passed away peacefully at his home in Essex Junction, Vt., with the love of his life, Diane Sullivan, and his rescue cat Darkness by his side. He was a world-renowned photographer, Renaissance man…
Obituary: Jerry Weinberg, 1939-2019
Jerome Harold Weinberg — owner of Burlington’s beloved former restaurant Five Spice Café, Brooklyn boy, lover of poetry, dumpling maker, storyteller, collector of jokes, owner of several definitely-not-fat cats, justice seeker, slingshotter of squirrels, movie fan, radio-show caller, teacher, writer, labor organizer, iconoclast, profanity spewer, lover of jazz, generous spirit, righter of wrongs, aspiring cartoonist,…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: California Dreamin’ — or Nightmare?
One year in, cannabis legalization does not appear to be the boon that California had hoped. Legal sales fell by half a billion dollars in 2018 compared to 2017, when only medical cannabis was offered. Meanwhile, the state is producing about 15.5 million pounds of weed — and consuming just 2.5 million pounds. The surplus…
Memoriam: Stephen A Ham-Ellis
In Loving Memory of Stephen A Ham-Ellis June 10, 1987-December 27, 2013 “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” (Author unknown) Miss you, the “Fam damily”
Birth Announcement: Adena Rose Bright
Adena Rose Bright was delivered of her baby girl at 10:08pm on December 19th, 2018, at the private home of the Bright family. Jamie Bonnar Bright, proud father and husband, witnessed and certified the date and exact time and place of the birth of his daughter which was attended by our blessed team of 2…
Seriously: Greatest Hits 2018
In this episode, Bryan compiles some of the best hit news songs of past year. Featuring: Conor Lastowka, Nichole Magoon and Ash Diggs. CREDITS Written, filmed and edited by: Bryan Parmelee Artwork/photography by: Luke Eastman, Diane Sullivan, James Buck, Paul Heintz, Sophie MacMillan, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Alicia Freese, Josh Kuckens, Taylor Dobbs, Bryan Parmelee, Dreamstime Logo/art…
Obituary: Suzanne Adrian Paris (Klarich), 1970-2018
Aka Ethiopia October 22nd, 1970 – December 11th, 2018 Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring. -Marilyn Monroe- Suzanne lived by these words. She was outspoken, loud, opinionated, exuberant, passionate about almost everything and had a sense of humor and laugh that were infectious. She loved…
Backstory: Best Tour Guide
Some elected officials can get so worn down by public criticism that they lose enthusiasm for the places they represent. That was decidedly not the case with Plattsburgh Mayor Colin Read when I interviewed him in late July for a profile about his first 18 months in office. Frankly, I was expecting someone a little…
Letter to the Editor (12/26/18)
In Guard We Trust? [Re Off Message: “Scott Defends Vermont National Guard, Says No Investigation Needed,” December 6]: Sexual harassment revealed? Cut the whistleblower’s benefits and give him a dishonorable discharge. Misuse of government equipment? Give the perp notice so he can retire before being disciplined. Brought to task for a wide range of malfeasance?…
Coming Soon: Reviewing the Films of 2018
The year 2018 is drawing to a close, and you know what that means. Yup, time for Margot and me to come up with something meaningful to say about the slate and the state of movies in this crazy American moment. This could go any number of ways. Obviously, we could opine on films that…
With Vermont Stage Gone, FlynnSpace Considers New Uses
“It’s been a traumatic year for the FlynnSpace,” says Steve MacQueen, artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. That might be the understatement of the year. The Burlington black-box theater has certainly had a trying 2018, and not for the reasons performing arts spaces typically struggle. As MacQueen puts it, “First we…
Backstory: Wildest Ride
Sen. John Rodgers (D-Essex/Orleans) toyed with the idea of running in the Democratic primary for governor, then backed out, then belatedly jumped into the race after a band of supporters launched a write-in campaign on his behalf. They were drawn to his pro-gun views and blue-collar bona fides. To get a better understanding of this…
How Can I Make My Man Orgasm From Oral?
Dear Scarlett, How can I make my man orgasm from getting a blow job? It takes so long! Signed, Connie Lingus(female, 50) Dear Connie Lingus, Blow jobs may be oral sex, but your mouth doesn’t have to do all the work! Here are four different approaches to making your man feel good — while giving…
Backstory: Best Reminder to Show Up
There’s a rule in journalism: It pays to show up. I was reminded of this in August as I huffed up a path at Vermont’s sole operating landfill in Coventry. My camera jangled from a strap around my neck. Sweat dripped down my back. This was a dump, not the Riviera. But as I surveyed…
The 2018 Local Music Scene Survey
After a year of highlighting the works of local singer-songwriters, musicians, club promoters and producers, we thought it would be enlightening to learn what some of those same people chose as their favorite albums of 2018. In addition to soliciting scenesters’ picks for both local and nonlocal releases, we also asked for their favorite tracks…
Seven Days Food Writers Look Back on a Tasty 2018
What did you eat in 2018? The question may sound trivial at the end of a year when very important congressional politicizing (ahem, Brett Kavanaugh), midterm elections, the Special Counsel investigation, and the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dominated the headlines. But here at the Seven Days food desk, eating is serious business.…
Backstory: Most Memorable Interview
I don’t actually know if reporters are allowed inside the Brattleboro Retreat; I never asked. After all, I was invited. A man we called “Francis” asked Seven Days to write about his son, “Simon,” who was hospitalized there for schizophrenia but was refusing to take psychiatric medications. He offered to take me to visit. Before…
Backstory: Most Annoying Editor
Seven Days political editor Paul Heintz is obsessive about certain news topics. If there’s a story to be done in Vermont about campaign finance, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or gun policy, you can bet Heintz is either making phone calls himself or haranguing a reporter to get on it. So on the morning of February…
Words of Wisdom: Seven Days’ Commenters Both Trolled and Consoled in 2018
As a consequence of the particularly divisive politics of 2018, wading through Seven Days’ online comments this year could occasionally inspire dread. Why? Some remarks were offensive, degrading and just outright mean. In all, our comment moderation team pulled nearly 500 remarks that violated our guidelines — more than three times the number removed in…
Backstory: Unlikeliest Bonding Experience
While reporting a story last spring about the right’s reaction to Vermont’s new gun laws, I decided to give Robby Mazza a call. The president of Colchester’s All Seasons Excavating had been a big Phil Scott supporter but had turned on the governor over the latter’s newfound support for gun control. Mazza, I soon learned,…
Backstory: Most Aerobic Interview
Seven Days reporters typically go the extra mile to profile people — we’ll take as much access as we can get. That why I agreed to join Senate Majority Leader Becca Balint (D-Windham) for her daily 6 a.m. run through Montpelier’s hilly Hubbard Park last winter. I wanted to observe her outside the Statehouse. It…
Backstory: Most Poignant Encounter Resulting From a Story
In September, I previewed “Hibakusha Stories,” a University of Vermont event featuring two Japanese atomic bomb survivors — or hibakusha as they are called in Japanese. Shigeko Sasamori, 86, and Yasuaki Yamashita, 79, had been invited to recount their experiences of surviving the nuclear blasts at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. After the story was published, I received…
Backstory: Sweetest Return Visit
Spend enough time reporting in this small state, and you’ll inevitably run into people about whom you have previously written. Certain settings reappear, too. In April 2016, I wrote about the efforts of Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux to resettle and rehabilitate a high-risk sex offender. The sheriff hired Timothy Szad to renovate a cluster…
Seven Favorite Vermont Art Shows of 2018
As always, the artistry on view across the state in 2018 was fabulously overwhelming. And not just in galleries and museums. From coffee shops to town halls, you can hardly walk into a building in Vermont that doesn’t display artwork of some kind. It’s easy to take that for granted and to overlook the fact…
Backstory: Most Hostile Reception
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) faced an unusual pair of opponents last fall. An uncle-and-nephew duo were vying to unseat her and fellow incumbent Champlain Islander Rep. Ben Joseph (D-North Hero). When the uncle, Leland Morgan, declined my interview request, I decided to attend a Grand Isle County Republican Committee meeting. I figured — rightly…
Soundbites: 2018 — The Year in Review
Greetings, music lovers. We’re just a few days away from bidding adieu to 2018. Take a moment to remember the best show you saw this year. Now think back to the worst show you saw. Which stands out more clearly, the good or the bad? For me, it’s always the good — although I did…
Backstory: Hardest-to-Reach Sources
After 10 hours at the Statehouse, I was ready to call it a day. But, driving up Interstate 89 last spring, I saw a Pennsylvania number on my iPhone and I had to take the call. I’d been waiting months for it. At the other end of the line was Kirk Wool, one of more…
Free Will Astrology (12/26/18)
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A typical fluffy white cumulus cloud weighs 216,000 pounds. A dark cumulonimbus storm cloud is 106 million pounds, almost 490 times heavier. Why? Because it’s filled with far more water than the white cloud. So which is better, the fluffy cumulus or the stormy cumulonimbus? Neither, of course. We might sometimes…
Backstory 2018: Seven Days Reporters Reveal How They Nailed the News
The challenging work of Seven Days writers is rarely dull. Each week, our reporters fan out with notebooks and cameras, driven by curiosity and a desire to tell readers what’s happening and why it’s important. Not everything that occurs in the course of reporting a story makes it into the final version. So once a…
The Best Local Recordings of 2018
Seven Days reviewed well over 100 local records in 2018. At the risk of sounding insincere, I must say that choosing the best of those was seriously difficult this year. Was there something in the air, water or local produce that caused so many creators to birth such incredible works these past 12 months? Perhaps.…
Backstory: Vermontiest Interview Subject
I had to pull three U-turns along a wooded dirt road in Norwich before I finally found Ray Royce Jr. I was in town to document the impacts of more posted land and fewer hunters on the deer herd and Vermont’s forests. Several residents referred me to Royce. If anyone could tell me about the…
Commissioning Vermonters to Do a Bunch of Cool Things
How many times have you started a sentence with “If money were no object…”? Never? Huh. Well, we did, when contemplating the opportunities of the brand-new year before us. And the rest of our sentence is this: “We would commission a bunch of Vermonters to do a bunch of cool things.” Or something like that.…
Hackie: Diablos Vamoose
Ten years ago, I didn’t even own a pair of sunglasses. Supposedly, sunlight is a source of vitamin D that can enter the body through the eyes, a process thwarted by sunglasses. Whether or not this is true, I enjoyed the unfiltered sun, and it never bothered my peepers. Well, in another of the myriad…
Backstory: Toughest Question I Had to Ask
I watched Ryan McLaren heave himself from his wheelchair into the driver’s seat of his car, collapse the chair and pull it inside. The laborious process left dirt marks on his pullover sweater. While he’d mastered the transfer from chair to car, he explained, he hadn’t yet figured out how to avoid the wheel marks.…
Backstory: Most Surprising and Unusual Honor
In June, I wrote a story that recalled the youthful adventures of noted Northeast Kingdom politico John McClaughry. He’s the founder of the Ethan Allen Institute, a conservative Vermont think tank. He was a policy adviser in the Reagan White House, a prominent Republican state legislator and a candidate for governor. He’s been the Town…
SEABA and Off Center Seek New Homes, and Growth, in 2019
Looking for space, talking to people: That describes a good share of the activity at two Burlington arts organizations at the end of 2018. Earlier this year, Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in the city’s Old North End learned that its lease would not be renewed when it ended in May 2019. Meantime, the…
Backstory: Weirdest Comments on a Story
Luis Lázaro Tijerina assured me he wasn’t a Russian troll during a September interview at a Burlington coffee shop. The 72-year-old Vermonter wrote for three Russian publications — which the New York Times linked to Kremlin interference in the 2016 U.S. election — as a creative outlet, he said. When Seven Days published the story about…
#vtpoli 2018: A More Interesting Year Than You Thought
Conventional wisdom says that 2018 was a snoozefest in Vermont politics. The November election was devoid of suspense, it drew little attention and all the favorites won. It’s true that Vermont events were overshadowed by the torrent of national news. But still, a lot happened. More than you might think. Here’s an unscientific list of…
Backstory: Most Hang-Ups for One Story
Let’s face it: Nobody wants to see their salary in print — unless it’s in Forbes’ annual list of the world’s billionaires. (Sorry, Mom. Not this year.) So I wasn’t too surprised by the reaction I got when I started reporting a story in May about Vermont’s highest nonprofit salaries. One executive director nearly begged me…
Backstory: Orneriest Subject
For years I ignored the epic group emails, though I did notice they were also going to Michael Bloomberg and New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger. Then came the voicemails — long, profanity-filled rants bad-mouthing journalists, veterinarians and Vermont college presidents. Undeterred by the five-minute time limit, Sandy Lewis would call repeatedly, leaving up to…
Backstory: Most Managed Story
Covering politics in Vermont can be challenging because nobody wants to make enemies in such a small state. No matter how harsh legislators, lobbyists and administration officials may be in off-the-record conversations over double IPAs, few are willing to put their names to candid, unvarnished observations. Actually, just one: Montpelier lobbyist Kevin Ellis. Which is…
Obituary: Mike Rogers, 1964-2018
Mike Rogers passed away on December 18, 2018, at home surrounded by his family, after a yearlong battle with an extremely rare and aggressive sinus cancer. His was the 40th case of this particular cancer ever recorded, and in some of his last moments he expressed hope that his experience might help researchers find more…
Remembering Vermonters We Lost in 2018
Aretha Franklin, Anthony Bourdain, John McCain, Stephen Hawking, Barbara and George H.W. Bush: These are a few of the celebrities and public figures who died in 2018. Stella Sławin Penzer James Larry Davio Maggie Van Duyn Lyndol Harley “Lindy” Palin Gisele Seymour Arthur Ross Shelmandine IV Janet Makaris Silic Yiel Nai The Vermonters profiled here…
Backstory: Most Trips to a Local Bar During Work Hours
Three barstools were already occupied when I visited the Olde Northender Pub for the first time on a Tuesday at 10 a.m. After my eyes adjusted to the gloom and I turned down the beer the bartender offered, I remarked to the gaggle of guys nursing Bud Lights: “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” I was not…
Obituary: Nancy Hudak, 1955-2018
On December 22, 2018, the night of the full moon, Nancy Hudak, a lifelong resident and cherished friend of so many in our community, peacefully died in the family farmhouse in which she was born on October 14, 1955. Nancy passed as she lived – full of love, strength and an awesome dignity. A fiercely…
