‘Something to Crow About’

I feel encouraged and inspired when I read about Seven Days’ Super Readers. You proudly listed nearly 70 brand-new Super Readers in your January 7 issue [“Welcome, New Super Readers!”]. That’s really something to crow about!

After 30 years of publication, you sure have earned your supportive following. Seven Days is clearly beloved, respected and valued by your community of readers.

We are living in a time of threats to free speech, media freedom, truthful reporting and public trust. Seven Days is one of Vermont’s most reliable sources of current information and truthful reporting. Readers, let’s continue to show how much we value it!

Support Independent Media

In the September 17, 2025, issue, Seven Days ran a blank centerfold to show what the news would look like without an independent, free press. It would look like No News.

At the time, Congress was stripping public broadcasting of its federal funding in the hope that it would just fade into nonexistence. Since then, more local, independent media have been taking a beating as the mainstream media are gobbled up by billionaires who homogenize voices, opinions, ideas and stories to narrow and blur what we get to read and hear.

Now, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, whom President Donald Trump appointed in 2017 and who wears a Trump lapel pin, is threatening to mess with licensing while he seeks to limit free-speech protections. He told senators in a recent hearing that it should be no surprise that he is aligned with Trump on policy. And when a senator pointed out that the FCC’s website described it as an “independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress,” the website was suddenly changed and the word “independent” removed from its mission statement.

Where does that leave the public? No independent, nonpartisan FCC; more corporate-owned markets; fewer diverse, independent media outlets; and more AI. This should have us all in a panic.

But with so many urgent Trump-generated distractions hitting the headlines every day, it’s easy to lose sight of what is quietly disappearing behind the scenes. Speak out for public, independent media.

Essay ‘Rings Hollow’

[Re “Farm Porch Politics: An Essay on Pleasantries, Plurality and a Path Forward,” January 7]: To tell a story holding up neighborliness as a cure for division, yet omitting any mention of the issues dividing us, rings hollow in this time when we are seeing more clearly than ever how some people are denied the right to even be neighbors on equal footing.

Yes, we need relationships across differences. But good relationships require respect and understanding in both directions. Tell me a story about your neighbor who supports President Donald Trump defending his trans nephew’s right to own a gun. About your neighbor chewing out his son’s buddies for writing slurs on a Black family’s mailbox. About your neighbor hosting his cousin’s daughter from Texas so she can get an abortion. About your neighbor helping the Afghan family down the street dig a hole to bury their beloved dog.

We have a common enemy: Trump and the rest of the ultrarich who squeeze more and more profit from regular folk and provoke us into fighting each other over the scraps. But as long as your neighbor believes Trump that our collective problems are the fault of the immigrants, or the trans people, or the liberals, a majority of Vermonters are in danger.

Having an identity separate from politics is the privilege of those who are not being politically persecuted for who they are. Author Lucas Farrell sounds like a wonderful neighbor, but please don’t add his voice to the long, long list of white men asking the rest of us to play nice as we are stripped of our rights.

‘Real Neighborliness’

[Re “Farm Porch Politics: An Essay on Pleasantries, Plurality and a Path Forward,” January 7]: Why is it that calls for finding common ground, reaching across the aisle and “neighborliness” are always about accommodating supporters of President Donald Trump? Where are the essays about white neighbors listening to Black neighbors fearful of hate crimes, or to immigrants fearful of deportation?

The author claims to uplift “eclectic” voices yet names only business owners, teachers and doctors — no LGBTQIA, BIPOC or other folks explicitly targeted by Trump.

Pleasantries can build trust, I agree. But if they never lead to grappling with real conflict, they simply reinforce the status quo. The author’s claim that we merely inhabit “different realities” falsely equates conspiracy theories and lies with facts. These are not equal narratives. As journalist Maria Ressa reminds us: Without facts there is no truth. Without truth, no trust; without trust, no democracy. The internet has deepened divisions, but it has also supercharged misinformation — central to Trump’s movement — through algorithms that profit from fear and rage.

It’s ironic that the author invokes Simone Weil and Hannah Arendt — both fierce critics of fascism. Arendt’s warning about the “banality of evil” is especially relevant: In fascism, harm toward the marginalized is enabled by people who do not look like monsters or villains but are nonetheless complicit in the erosion of democratic norms, the normalization of political violence and the targeting of vulnerable communities.

If we want real neighborliness — and a functioning democracy — we must build deeper, more honest connections and coalitions, especially with those most at risk, and move forward together.

Schools Are Community Centers

[Re “Lawmakers Plan to Tackle Education Reform, Health Care,” January 6]: Instead of closing rural schools, what if we open them? In these times, we need more community interaction. What if, like Hardwick’s Civic Standard, we work to build ways to get people together?

What if rural school buildings become multiage community centers? Kids wouldn’t have to spend hours on buses; older folks could read and discuss Goodnight Moon or Shakespeare, whittle, and crochet.

Rather than closing low-enrollment schools, let’s make them stronger. Imagine a community center for everyone! Imagine activities, educational opportunities and supportive programs for all. Our rural schools could receive broader financial support and become vibrant centers in our small towns.

I can hear the chorus of “no” and warnings of insurance, policies and regulations. But what if we turned those noes into yeses?

Imagine transforming space without spending millions. Close one door, open another. Imagine transforming our schools into multiage community centers.

Let’s not destroy the schools we spent decades building.

Think of your communities and the incredible resources we have here. Imagine the possibilities. Have fun; get together! Make that list of ideas! A child and senior daycare center, Friday night jam sessions, Saturday morning coffee and cartoons, Meals on Wheels, lawn mower and generator maintenance workshops … School buses are last-mile transport.

Community is about building and opening, sharing and bonding. It is not about closing our rural schools. Don’t throw away the jillions of dollars and jillions of hours invested. Open up. Dream big!

No-Phone Zone for Councilors

Whether legal or not, the fact that Burlington’s Democratic city councilors were texting with each other during a meeting is unprofessional and alarming. They were caught by Seven Days reporter Courtney Lamdin [Backstory: “Best Seat in the House,” December 24, 2025; “On Message? Democrats on the Burlington City Council Talked Business — and Gossiped — in a Group Text Chain,” March 26, 2025].

I propose Burlington city councilors turn over their cellphones and tablets to a lockbox before the meeting, just as many students are required to do, so that they can pay attention to what they are there for.

‘Shopping Around’

So, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont says Vermonters have a “personal responsibility” to become “savvier consumers” in light of Vermont’s “health care affordability crisis” [“Manage Your Care: To Lower Health Costs, Vermont’s Largest Insurance Company Is Urging Patients to Shop Around,” January 14].

How odd to think that responsibility for the affordability crisis falls on the 600,000-plus individual Vermonters who actually pay for every single health care dollar through premiums, taxes and out-of-pocket payments. What about the several institutions that comprise and control health care — the hospitals, the insurance companies, the regulators, the legislators?

And let’s see an example of what health care shopping might look like for a patient who needs some nonemergency surgery.

Drive 35 miles from home to get the cheapest blood work at hospital A. Drive back home. Next day, drive 20 miles to hospital B for the cheapest lung X-ray. Drive back home. Next week, drive 70 miles to hospital C for the cheapest surgery’s pre-op exam. Drive back home. Next week, drive 70 miles to hospital C for the surgery. Drive home after recovery.

That’s 390 miles round trip, assuming you don’t need to return to hospital C for problems or follow-up. Add in the hours spent locating the best “value” for each procedure. Add in the fact that there is no electronic records connection between hospitals A, B and C.

If that’s the solution, we are doomed. We need one of the universal care systems operating elsewhere around the planet. My preference is for a single-payer system.

Don’t Trust BCBS

[Re “Manage Your Care: To Lower Health Costs, Vermont’s Largest Insurance Company Is Urging Patients to Shop Around,” January 14]: Urging Vermonters to compare health costs is an excellent recommendation, but the company encouraging this activity cannot be trusted. Blue Cross Blue Shield is highly biased to urge lower-cost care; it pays for the medical care. It is unlikely BCBS cares about patients’ finances over its own economic issues.

BCBS recently dropped Medicare Vermont Blue Advantage for most of the state’s counties, leaving older Vermonters scrambling for health care. BCBS didn’t care about Medicare patients.  

My husband, with brain cancer, has had many MRIs. As a physician, I trust all Vermont medical centers for imaging. We go to UVM Health, as his oncologist works there. But I do not trust BCBS expressing “concerns” about patients. It is all about money to them.

Drinking Problems

I really liked Colin Flanders’ reflective article about drinking [Backstory: “Biggest Eye-Opener,” December 24, 2025; “Vermont’s Hangover: The Green Mountain State Has Long Had a Drinking Problem. It’s Time to Talk About It,” March 19, 2025].

I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about my drinking habits. Twelve years ago, a friend told me that they weren’t drinking for a month in order to prepare for a running race. I remember thinking to myself, I could never do that — and it wasn’t about the running part. It was actually the motivation I needed to start experimenting — first, for a few days; later, a week; etc.

Unlike Flanders, it took me a few years to be able to forgo alcohol for an entire month. I definitely appreciate the achievability of a short-term health-promoting goal, like Dry (or dryish) January, and most years I participate in that goal.

My longer-term goal is to improve my skill at estimating how many U.S. standard drinks I’m consuming. Dietary guidelines used to say no more than one per day for women — which strikes me both as pretty low and really hard to estimate without servings somehow listed on labels or menus.

As long as you know the number of ounces in your cup and the alcohol by volume of your drink, you can calculate it, but many times we don’t have those two pieces of information. Other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom label standard drinks per container, which seems like a logical way to help people make informed choices about their drinking.

Why don’t we do the same here?

Pro Tip for Border Crossers

Last week’s “Dividing Line” [January 21] has a picture of a U.S. Border Patrol officer with an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, in violation of 23 V.S.A.1125, which prohibits placing anything on or over transparent parts of a car’s windshield, except the rearview mirror itself or specific items like inspection stickers or toll transponders.

This may be a minor point, but violation of said statute is often used as a pretext for a traffic stop. If you are at all concerned or have friends who should be concerned about being stopped, hang your air freshener, fuzzy dice or whatever somewhere else.

More Affordable Nest

In theory your Nest supplement [January 21] sounds nice. Warm, fuzzy, possibly some great ideas. However, what I’ve witnessed are articles about people with six-digit incomes able to hire their own architects and potters who make teapots that sell for $180 to $250 [“World Cuppa: Getting the Tea on a Globally Brewed Beverage and Locally Crafted Pots,” January 21].

Come on, Seven Days! Aren’t you aware that these are things the average Vermonter can’t afford? What about some articles about affordable things we can do to spruce up our own nests? What about interviewing people with more realistic incomes that have done cool things with their homes on a budget?

So far, your Nest issue reads more for the likes of Stowe than it does for the rest of us. In the last issue, all we could do personally is “For the Birds,” and I guess that says it all.

Advice for Brewers

Thanks for the insightful cover story [“New Beer Resolutions,” January 7]. Just to add what I hope is a reassuring note: For better or for worse, the food and beverage industries are subject to the same market dynamics and whims as the worlds of fashion, automobiles, technology and tobacco.

I cut my teeth in the microbrewery industry, promoting beer and cider brands that were mostly unknown in the Boston area and beyond. Budweiser was king; dry beer and Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers were on their upward swing; Jim Koch of Samuel Adams and Boston Beer was himself conducting beer tastings in 80-seat restaurants; and Harpoon Brewery had just invested in a used bottling line in South Boston, while Catamount Brewery invested in all-new brewing equipment for its plant in White River Junction, since purchased by Harpoon.

Fortunately, there are now more adventurists willing to try new products, but we are still outnumbered by those who prefer to go with the latest popular wave: “I’ll have what they’re having.”

Keep your flagship going while innovating on new fronts to meet changing tastes and the next generation of consumers. Looking at mass-market analogies from the past — even our grandparents’ No. 1 beer brand, Schlitz, fell flat. Don’t abandon classic Coke for the New Coke.

With a foot firmly planted in each of two canoes, figure out a way to lash them together, and be ready to pivot!

‘Order the Vermont Beer’

I want to extend a sincere thank-you to Jordan Barry for the depth of reporting behind [“New Beer Resolutions,” January 7]. The piece captures the real pressures facing breweries right now: rising costs, tariff uncertainty, shifting drinking habits and broader economic challenges. Over the past year, small breweries producing fewer than 2,000 barrels annually have experienced average raw material increases of roughly 17 percent, squeezing already-thin margins across the country and here in Vermont.

At the same time, this moment reflects a period of adjustment rather than decline, as breweries respond to changing tastes and economic realities. Barry’s reporting shows how many are doing just that — focusing on quality flagships, strengthening taproom experiences and expanding options such as nonalcoholic beer — while remaining rooted in their communities. 

In Vermont, what’s at stake is bigger than any one trend. In 2024, Vermont’s breweries generated an estimated $460 million in economic impact — the highest per capita in the nation — supporting nearly 2,800 jobs. As Barry’s reporting makes clear, breweries are also vital community spaces that support tourism and local culture. 

If this story makes you think about the last time you visited your neighborhood brewery — or the next time you’re at a restaurant deciding what to order — consider it a call to action. Buy the four-pack. Order the Vermont beer. Bring a friend to a taproom event. Those small choices matter, and they help sustain the independent breweries that contribute so much to Vermont’s culture and economy.

Can’t Read the Crossword

Could you kindly print the clues for the Seven Days crossword in larger type? Not necessarily huge, as in large-print books. The same size as the type in regular articles would suffice.

Maybe you could poll readers on their preference, if any — same type size or larger type size.

Software Crash Course

While I understand that the term “computer outage” is generally accepted vernacular, the article about the Department for Children and Families’ main data systems noted that the failure was “triggered when a system was updated” [“Computer Outage Disrupted Tracking of Children in DCF Care,” January 13, online].

The computer hardware didn’t fail; something about the update — incompatibility, perhaps, or how it was applied — caused a software crash. A more specific headline might have been: “Software Update Disrupted Tracking of Children in DCF Care.”

It would be interesting to dig into the cause a bit more. Why was the update applied? Is the antiquated hardware unable to accept OS updates? Are the technicians in charge insufficiently trained? Why couldn’t the update be immediately reversed?

The proposed $30 million to $50 million “to develop a new child welfare information system” seems like a very expensive outlay to “track adoptions, placements, and basic child and family information.” Perhaps some of this money could be better spent in more direct ways?

Weekly Bliss

When I was a kid, the newspapers all had the “funny pages.” That’s where we turned for “Peanuts” and “Beetle Bailey” and the rest of the comics, which were actually funny. Post-newspaper age, I pick up Seven Days most weeks because it’s free and the closest thing to a newspaper left. I still turn to the “Fun Stuff” first. Sadly, the comics are rarely funny. There is almost always a bitter political edge to all of them.

In the issue of January 14, Harry Bliss stepped out of the goo and gave us the dog in heaven greeting his human.

‘Made My Day’

This was such a wholesome article that made my day [True 802: “An Apple a Day,” January 14]! The idea of Chris Edmunds painting every day has inspired me to sketch every day — a practice I’ve been very inconsistent with.

But more importantly, I would love to see a gallery of all of Chris’ paintings and have a fun time finding the apple in each painting. Like an I Spy book. Would be fun.

Corrections

There were several errors in last week’s paper. The cover story, “Dividing Line,” included incorrect information from Migrant Justice about the estimated number of people who were detained by immigration authorities in Vermont in 2024. It was 10.

A news story, “Proposed Vermont Budget Could Lead to a 6 Percent Tax Hike,” misstated the size of Gov. Phil Scott’s proposed budget. It is $9.4 billion.

The review of Vermont poet laureate Bianca Stone’s new book, The Near and Distant World, headlined “No Memory Palace,” misstated where Stone lives and her role at the Ruth Stone House. She lives in Brandon and is creative director at the Ruth Stone House.

This article appears in January 28 • 2026.

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