Apr 20-26, 2022
Hopeful Vermont Cannabis Players See Green in the Coming Retail Market; A Proposed Private Airstrip for Beta CEO Kyle Clark Creates Turbulence in Lincoln; Montpelier’s PoemCity Papers the Capital in Verse
Cover Story
Betting Big on Weed: Hopeful Vermont Cannabis Players See Green in the Coming Retail Market
The flyers advertised a business luncheon, but the crowd passing between the velvet ropes and into Einstein’s Tap House in Burlington exuded a different vibe. Sporting tie-dye and tats, more than 100 people bounded into the dimly lit lounge with the giddy air of partygoers. They carried product samples, business cards and, most of all,…
Loaded With Cash and Poised to Expand, Beta Technologies Sees Clear Skies Ahead
Beta Technologies has been raking in the dough. In May 2021, the South Burlington electric aircraft pioneer landed $368 million in venture capital from Amazon and others, putting the company into a class of its own among Vermont startups. Then Beta announced last week that it had secured another $375 million in financing from investors,…
Clean: ‘Reconnecting With Self’ (4/25/22)
My shoulders were tense as I craned my neck over a wireless router in the corner of my bedroom. It was late at night, and I was struggling to remain calm and serene. I was three years sober, and my computer had just lost its connection with the internet. My service had cut out halfway…
Obituary: William H. Truex Jr. FAIA, 1937-2022
Cofounder of TruexCullins made meaningful contributions to local architecture
In Memoriam: Peggy Luhrs, 1945-2022
I met Peggy Luhrs in the early 1970s. Except for her son Justin and her former husband, I knew her the longest amount of time of her Vermont friends. With all the controversies in which she roiled with us, Peggy was a huge voice in Burlington, in Vermont and, at the end of her life,…
Obituary: Martha (Knight) Fitzgerald, 1936-2022
Professor emerita’s special talent was giving her time to others
Phantom Airwave, ‘Interstellar Transmission’
(Self-released, CD, digital) From the title of Phantom Airwave’s debut album, Interstellar Transmission, you can’t help but assume that listening to it will take you elsewhere. Indeed, from a jazzy saxophone prelude to a funky jam track to a love ballad and beyond, there are few places the band’s music doesn’t go. Phantom Airwave hop…
My Partner Stopped Mid-Screw to Smoke Weed
Dear Reverend, Me and my guy were doing it the other day, and he insisted on stopping mid-screw to take a hit from his bowl. Is that rude? A sign that he can’t do it without the weed? Even though we were “connected,” I can’t help feeling like he’s a little disconnected and selfish. Bowled…
Richard Linklater Takes a Powerful Nostalgia Trip in His New Animation, ‘Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood’
We live in a strange time, when the latest feature from an acclaimed director such as Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused) can drop on a streaming service without much fanfare. Released on Netflix on April 1, Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is Linklater’s latest experiment with animated narratives, combining the techniques of…
WTF: What Are Cannabis THC Caps, and Why Does Vermont Have Them?
As Vermont rolls out its regulated cannabis market, discussions about its implementation continue to address tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, caps. Written into statute, these caps determine what products Vermonters will find on dispensary shelves, how potent they will be and what impact they could have on consumers’ health. THC caps may also affect the profitability of…
Montpelier’s PoemCity Papers the Capital in Verse
Celeste Huck slurped Thai chicken soup straight from its container as she walked on State Street in Montpelier. Though Huck was eating her lunch from Wilaiwan’s Kitchen on the go, she paused on her way back to work to read poems posted in the window of Botanica Florals. The poetry is part of PoemCity, Montpelier’s…
Roberto Visani’s Sculptures Reconfigure Slavery in Art History
When the pandemic arrived in 2020, Roberto Visani didn’t just hole up with a new puppy or sourdough starter. He got to work on an art project that would span 19th-century history and 21st-century design technology. Over the next two years, the Brooklyn-based artist created a collection of sculptures that is nothing short of remarkable,…
Soundbites: Circle Strings Inspires Trey Anastasio; Sunday Night Mass Moves Up
I hope you’re all ready to talk about the juxtaposition of wand lore in Harry Potter and the role of fate in choosing a guitar. Hmm. Half the room just left. Was it the dork stuff or the guitar stuff? Both? Right. I’ll recalibrate. Phish! You like Phish, yeah? Well, buckle the hell up because…
Tinkerbullet, ‘Make a Scene, Goldilocks’
(Self-released, digital) Certain Vermont musicians participate in so many projects at once that it’s honestly hard to figure out what they’re up to at any given time. Kiel Alarcón is one of those. The cofounder of Windsor music collective What Doth Life, Alarcón plays in an assortment of bands, including the Pilgrims, Carton, and Derek…
A Proposed Private Runway for Beta Founder Kyle Clark Creates Turbulence in Lincoln
In December, Beta Technologies founder Kyle Clark bought a $3.5 million estate on 130 acres in the mountain town of Lincoln, 50 minutes by car from the South Burlington headquarters of his billion-dollar electric aviation company. Clark, a Vermont native who had previously lived in Underhill with his wife and four children, is an experienced…
Paul Besaw’s New Work ‘Buzz & Hum’ Reimagines Altered States of Consciousness
What happens in the mind of someone who’s dying? Where do one’s thoughts go when experiencing dementia, hallucinations, a coma or insomnia? A few years ago, Paul Besaw visited a dear friend who was dying from brain tumors. As he sat by her hospital bed, surrounded by buzzing, humming machinery, he wondered what she was…
Theater Review: ‘Monty Python’s Spamalot,’ Northern Stage
The extravagant production of Monty Python’s Spamalot at Northern Stage is aimed squarely at those who’ve spent the pandemic missing dance numbers that fill the stage, silliness served by the bushel and glitter guns. A cast of 22 trots through two carefree hours of comedy, none of it stale despite a spam joke from the…
Fran Bull and Robert Black’s Festive New Exhibit Celebrates Togetherness
Exaggerated and full of life, the twisted faces in Fran Bull’s sculpture “The Halleluiah Chorus” silently shriek, exalt and exclaim. Adorned with baubles, hats, ruffled collars and animals such as macaws and banded snakes, the motley crew of clay heads is awash in every conceivable color. They look like they’re having fun. “It’s the idea…
Vermont Climate Council Translates Emails to Be More Inclusive
The Vermont Climate Council email stood out not for what it said but for in how many languages it said them. The otherwise standard announcement this month informing readers of public Zoom sessions about the state’s draft climate plan was translated into 11 tongues spoken in Vermont: Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Mandarin, French, Nepali, Russian, Somali,…
Free Will Astrology (4/20/22)
TAURUS ( Apr. 20-May 20): In 1879, Taurus-born Williamina Fleming was working as a maid for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory. Impressed with her intelligence, Pickering hired Fleming to do scientific work. By 1893, she had become a prominent, award-winning astronomer. Ultimately, she discovered the Horsehead Nebula, helped develop a system…
Now Playing in Theaters: April 20-26
new in theaters ALINE: Valérie Lemercier directed and stars in this fictionalized account of the life of Céline Dion, from her humble beginnings in Québec to international pop superstardom. With Sylvain Marcel. (126 min, PG-13. Roxy) THE BAD GUYS: A crew of animal outlaws try to convince the world they’ve reformed in this animated comedy…
Letters to the Editor (4/20/22)
‘I Can Still Hear Her Voice’ Loved the article on Ginny McGehee [“Morning Star,” April 13], who is a true northern Vermont treasure. Since I moved to Washington State, I miss her music and banter five mornings a week. Fortunately, I was taking a video of bluebirds at my feeder in the winter of 2019…
‘Eyesore: A Building Concludes’ Appears in the Made Here Film Festival
Most Vermont towns have a mystery house: a dilapidated hovel gradually crumbling into the landscape. The townspeople may tell differing stories about who lived there, why it was abandoned and whether it’s haunted. Over time, the legends might loom larger than the house itself. Filmmaker Dave Smith had a long time to contemplate such things:…
From the Publisher: Secret Stoner
My late mother was 90 when she first tried THC. It began after a simple laparoscopic procedure to remove a cyst on her liver led to full-on abdominal surgery. She lost her appetite post-op during the month she spent in the hospital and, once home, recovering, still had no interest in eating. You need proper…
Obituary: Christine Barnes, 1943-2022
Northfield woman was an educator, master gardener, guardian ad litem and environmental volunteer
Agricola Farm in Panton Expands Its Italian-Style Monti Verdi Salumi
Around the wooden farmhouse table, a small group chatted in English and Italian, sipping wine and espresso and nibbling on slices of sweet, lard-enriched pizza dolce cake and salami made with the farm’s pastured pork. Despite appearances, this recent afternoon gathering wasn’t in Italy but at Agricola Farm in Panton. Italians did outnumber Americans at…
Three Questions for Stone’s Throw Pizza Garden Manager Miranda Dalton
In its full summer glory, the garden at Stone’s Throw Pizza in Richmond overflows with potential pizza toppings: perennial herbs, hot peppers, heirloom tomatoes, loaded pear trees and rows of dinosaur kale that hang around until the snow falls. The garden isn’t large enough to produce everything Stone’s Throw needs for its three locations —…
Good Measure Brewing to Expand Next Door in Northfield
Northfield’s Good Measure Brewing is far from a hole-in-the-wall, but later this spring, the brewery’s owners will cut a hole in the wall and connect its tasting room to the restaurant next door. Good Measure partners Scott Kerner and Andrew Leichthammer have purchased Cornerstone Burger at 21 East Street from Rich McSheffrey and Keith Paxman,…
3SquaresVT Benefits Help Vermonters Grow Their Own Food
Nurseries are reopening, and racks of seeds and seedlings are popping up at local grocery stores. It’s a good time to remind Vermonters who receive 3SquaresVT benefits that they can use them not only to purchase groceries but also fruit, vegetable and herb starts, as well as seeds to grow in their backyards, containers or…
To the Head: Losing the Plot at the Vermont Growers Cup
I didn’t realize I was stoned until the woman in the clown suit started talking about her side hustle: handing out joints at corporate events. I shook my head as if a blast of feedback at a concert had startled me. The woman, who later handed me a business card identifying her as Doodles the…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, April 20-26
Renaissance Rock Stars Saturday 23 A perfectly tuned overtone can be just as thrilling as a sick guitar solo, and Grammy Award-nominated vocal ensemble Stile Antico proves as much at Greensboro’s Highland Center for the Arts. Singing unaccompanied and without a conductor, the group brings a sense of immediacy and an immaculately vibrant sound to…
Kraemer & Kin Tees Up a Permanent Home at Alburg Golf Links
Alburg Golf Links opened for the season today, and its hilltop clubhouse overlooking Lake Champlain at 230 Route 129 in Alburgh is now Kraemer & Kin’s new home. Christie, Heather and Levi Kraemer started their Grand Isle County-based microbrewery in a garage in February 2020. That summer, the trio opened a tasting room at GreenTARA Space art gallery…
‘A Star-Being’: Friends Mourn Fern Feather, a Transgender Woman Killed in Morristown
This story was updated on April 19. Fern Feather found beauty in the smallest things. She loved bugs and rocks and plants, and photographing them. A former restaurant worker, she used to serve glasses of water not with a single wedge of lemon, but with a plate of fruit arranged in mandala patterns, no two…
