Apr 7-13, 2021
As Vaccinations Progress, Writers — and a Cartoonist — Reflect on Reentry Anxiety; Vermont Considers How to Bridge the Digital Divide; Joe Bossen’s Entrepreneurial Journey Into Bean Burgers, Tortillas and Balance
Cover Story
Bracing for Impact: As Vaccinations Progress, Writers — and a Cartoonist — Reflect on Reentry Anxiety
My partner got her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine the other day. She sat anxiously in a plastic chair in a makeshift curtained cubicle next to the Polar seltzer cooler in the back of a CVS Pharmacy in Rutland. Instead of wincing in pain when the nurse jabbed her, she had an entirely…
Obituary: Anne Adoian Nalbandian Bemis, 1933-2021
Polio survivor lived a long and accomplished life full of laughter
Obituary: Sandra Lee (Bailey) Wooster, 1942-2021
Churchgoer and community volunteer found joy in song
In Memoriam: Alexa Rose Cioffi, 1985-2016
In loving memory of Alexa Rose Cioffi 11/21/1985-04/09/16 You are always and forever in our hearts. Allourhearts.com/alexa-rose-cioffi
Obituary: Stephen Crevoshay, 1944-2021
Former owner of Newport Natural Foods helped weave community across the Northeast Kingdom
Obituary: Britt Vitols, 1955-2021
Tae kwon do “grand master” was a ferocious competitor and generous teacher
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, April 8 to 14
1. Marriage Story “The funny thing about marriage over time,” jokes performance artist Sara Juli in her one-person show Burnt-Out Wife, “is I was very focused on locking it in, and now I just feel locked in.” Blending music, dance and comedy, Juli explores what happens when a once-sweet union goes sour. KCP Presents and…
All Eyes Are on a Consultant Reviewing Burlington’s Police Department
Last June, hundreds of people called in to public meetings to demand that the City of Burlington reduce its reliance on police officers and instead invest in other public safety measures. City councilors listened, voting 9-3 to reduce the police force by 30 percent, through attrition. They also ordered up a study to answer a…
Letters to the Editor (4/7/21)
EZ-ier Still [Re “EZ Does It,” March 31]: Your article about the company EZ-Probate stated: “The estate can cover any legal fees, but the assets are often tied up in property that has to be vacated or sold. And outstanding debts can sometimes wipe out what little money an estate has, leaving families to pay…
The Holy Sprint: A Vermont Church Reads the Bible in 24 Hours
In a hammer-shaped church not far from the waters of Island Pond, a pilgrimage of faith was under way on Saturday. The journey followed a familiar course, from creation to revelation, but promised to conclude in time for Sunday brunch. At 8 a.m., Pastor Neal Perry stood on the sanctuary stage, opened his Holman Christian…
Bottom Line: Through the Pandemic, Oh My Dog Keeps the Pups at Play
Whitney Troy-Vowell was watching through the front door of Oh My Dog in South Burlington last week as a blue pickup truck pulled into the parking lot. “Gracie B, please,” Troy-Vowell called to one of his employees. She retrieved the retriever, a golden with silky hair and a jolly disposition, from the play yard in…
Author Seth Steinzor Reflects on His Now-Complete Trilogy Inspired by ‘The Divine Comedy’
South Burlington poet Seth Steinzor recently completed a 17-year project: writing a modern, personalized version of Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. Steinzor’s three books — To Join the Lost, Among the Lost and Once Was Lost — take their form from Dante’s Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, respectively, using the same structure of 100 cantos written…
Free Will Astrology (4/7/21)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Author Susan Sontag defined “mad people” as those who “stand alone and burn.” She said she was drawn to them because they inspired her to do the same. What do you think she meant by the descriptor “stand alone and burn”? I suspect she was referring to strong-willed people devoted to…
Vermont Filmmakers Document Life Under the F-35 Flight Path
The callers are variously angry, sad, resigned, fearful. They report babies being woken from naps, dogs being frightened, blood pressure rising, houses shaking, peace shattered. One lone caller suggests we should just get over it. “You really think you’re going to go up against the military or the National Guard? Fucking good luck.” They’re all…
How Do I Tell My Friend That I’m Not Comfortable Attending Her Bridal Shower Without Hurting Her Feelings?
Dear Reverend, One of my best friends is having a bridal shower in a couple of weeks. I couldn’t be happier for her, but I’m nervous about attending. It’s a fairly small group of people, but there will be a few guests from out of state whom I don’t know at all. I’ve been told…
The Weybridge Haiku Competition Enters Year Four, Virtually
“I think Weybridge may now have more writers than cows,” speculates George Bellerose, the administrator — and multi-year winner — of the Weybridge Haiku Competition. He just might be right. According to Bellerose, the number of entries to the contest has increased by a whopping 278 percent since it began in 2018. The U.S. Census…
From the Deputy Publisher: Civics Test
On Wednesday, January 6, my wife barged into my home office. “A mob has broken into the Capitol building,” she announced with alarm. I was immediately transfixed by the violence in Washington, D.C., and spent the rest of the day watching the live coverage and news analysis. As someone who cares deeply about politics and…
Storytelling Is Power in the Mesmerizing ‘Night of the Kings’
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. This week, I watched a prison drama from Ivory Coast that was short-listed for the 2021 Academy Awards. An inventive blend of realism and fable, Night of the Kings streams through the Vermont International Film Foundation’s Virtual Cinema through April 15.…
Vermont Considers Giving Communities More Say in Building Out Broadband
Internet service was agonizingly slow when Ed and Elizabeth Childs moved into their rural Corinth home in 2012. Nearly a decade later, it’s not much better. The couple pays $75 a month for DSL service over the copper wires of their local telephone company, but it’s useless for many modern tasks. “Any kind of teleconferencing…
Soundbites: The Seven Rules of Concert Etiquette
I did something the other day that I hadn’t done in well over a year: I bought concert tickets. If all goes as planned, I’ll head down to Boston in early October to commune with British electro-soul outfit Jungle, my current favorite band to see live. I’m beyond stoked, especially because a dear old friend…
Strangled Darlings, ‘Twenty Twenty’
(Self-released, CD, digital) “Scientists are saying the future is going to be far more futuristic than they originally predicted,” Sarah Michelle Gellar’s pseudointellectual porn star character Krysta Now says in the divisive cult film Southland Tales. As philosopher Steven Shaviro points out in his 2010 book Post-Cinematic Affect, this line is (intentionally) ridiculous, since “‘futuristic’…
Spectrum’s Virtual ‘Sleep Out’ Draws Hundreds, Raises Record Amount
For the past 10 springs, Spectrum Youth & Family Services has hosted a Sleep Out to raise money for the programs it provides young people, some of whom are homeless. A large group would gather at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington at the top of Church Street. Spectrum execs and their clients would…
AliT, ‘The Makeover’
(Self-released, digital) Royalton singer-songwriter Alison “AliT” Turner is used to playing 150 shows a year. When live gigs came to a screeching halt in 2020, Turner turned her attention to songs from her catalog that she thought hadn’t been properly introduced to her listeners. Some Turner had mastered for the first time; others she rerecorded…
Pension Reform Tested Vermont Leaders. Here Are Their Grades
OK, class, it’s time to hand out grades for our graduate-level seminar, Pension Reform 560. Last Friday, House Speaker Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington) ducked and withdrew her proposal, made 10 days earlier, for closing the enormous gap of more than $3 billion between what’s on hand in the state’s pension funds and what’s needed to cover…
Obituary: John Duffy Gallagher, 1959-2021
North Ferrisburgh man was dedicated to his community and fought for workers’ rights
Pho Hong Anchors Burlington’s Old North End Restaurant District
About a year ago, Seven Days launched Good To-Go Vermont, an online directory of takeout restaurant options. It’s a pandemic-era platform designed to highlight and facilitate takeout dining. But some places, including pizzerias and Chinese restaurants, have been good to-go forever. Who can possibly count the number of Friday nights at home with a pepperoni…
Entrepreneur Joe Bossen’s Journey Into Bean Burgers, Tortillas and Balance
By noon on a recent Wednesday, the All Souls Tortilleria flour tortilla operation on Oak Street in Burlington was in full swing. Fresh balls of dough were flattened in a wedge press before heading into a carousel oven, from which they emerged puffy with air bubbles. A bite of a tortilla hot off the line…
New Top Chefs at Black Flannel, Dedalus and Pro Pig
Three established Vermont chefs have started new jobs over the past month. Trenton Endres has become executive chef at Pro Pig Restaurant and Brewery in Waterbury. Christian Kruse moved into Endres’ previous role as executive chef at Black Flannel Brewing in Essex Junction. And Micah Tavelli is the new chef de cuisine at Dedalus Wine…
Burlington Coffee Classic Muddy Waters to Reopen This Month With New Owners
The “Distance Beasts” are stirring inside Burlington’s Muddy Waters. Artist Abby Manock’s colorful creatures have been hibernating along with the coffeehouse since mid-November 2020. Now the Main Street mainstay is preparing to reopen for takeout in mid-April, and when it does, it will be under new ownership. Longtime general manager Tierney Munger has teamed up…
