Apr 22-28, 2015
Meet Vermont’s “King of Cheese” Peter Dixon; Policing Student ‘Hoods; “Fun House” Scores in New York City; Farm Share: Jericho Settlers Farm
Cover Story
Meet Vermont’s ‘King of Cheese,’ Peter Dixon
Peter Dixon leans over the textbook he wrote, Farmstead Cheesemaking Collection, and peers at his calculations. “How thick are the mycelium?” he asks his student, a Jersey cow farmer. “You look at that chart and see how powerful each of these mold cultures are.” This may sound like white-coat science, but Dixon’s analysis is taking…
Obituary: Kim R. Montgomery, 1948-2015, Cornwall
Kim R. Montgomery, aged 66, died in Middlebury on Thursday, April 23, 2015 after having suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease over several years. That morning his room was filled with family and friends, including his granddaughter and a dog. Kim was a graduate of Williams College (1970), and the University of Pennsylvania Dental School (1974). It…
Obituary: William Howard Nedde, Jr., 1934-2015, Colchester
William H. Nedde Jr., 80, passed away on Monday, April 13, 2015. Bill was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. on December 10, 1934. He attended Springfield College where he was part of an undefeated football team. During his years at Springfield, he met and fell in love with Betty Raymond. They were married in 1957. In…
A Violent Sex Offender Is Released Into the Public Spotlight
One week after completing a 23-year prison sentence for a violent sexual assault, Richard Laws walked through downtown Burlington on a sun-drenched afternoon — a “free” man. Major media outlets had covered his release on April 9, and television crews filmed a state van dropping him off in Vermont’s largest city. In anticipation, police in Burlington…
![Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home on Broadway [SIV396]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/episode396.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home on Broadway [SIV396]
4/17/15: Vermont cartoonist Alison Bechdel published her graphic novel Fun Home in 2006. The best-selling book told the tale of the author’s tumultuous childhood in rural Pennsylvania and the complex events that lead to the tragic death of her closeted father. In 2013, a musical adaptation of Fun Home was mounted at The Public Theater…
In the ‘Hood With Burlington’s Party Patrol
A University of Vermont student relieved himself on the side of a house on North Union Street last Thursday night as two friends stood by. Late as it was, his timing was poor. Detective Richard Volp stepped out of his cruiser and approached as the student hastily zipped up. Volp asked the young man how…
Art Review: “Back to Nature,” Vermont Metro Gallery
In Vermont Metro Gallery’s new exhibit, curator Kerri Macon has once again grouped a handful of talented local artists with varied styles and mediums around a unifying theme. As the title “Back to Nature” suggests, the works celebrate the state’s natural beauty. There’s certainly nothing new or cutting edge about Vermont landscape painting, yet only…
Death, N.E.W.
(Tryangle Records / Drag City Records, cassette, CD, digital download, vinyl) There’s a revealing song couplet toward the end of Death’s new record, N.E.W., the band’s first album of new material since the 1970s. Almost buried on the album’s B-side — if you’re listening to the vinyl version, that is — it begins with “Who…
I Don’t Think My Wife is Pretty Anymore
Dear Athena, I have been married for more than 20 years, and I’m not attracted to my wife anymore. Quite frankly, I don’t think she is pretty. She has been an amazing wife and mother to our children — going above and beyond, as I traveled a lot in my job and she took care…
Gang of Thieves, Mantra
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Funk-rock groovers Gang of Thieves can’t — and won’t — slow down. Save for the time it took to record and release their 2014 full-length debut, Thunderfunk, the Burlington-based band has gigged extensively, logging up to nine months on the road each year since its 2009 formation. Now in the midst…
Sick ‘Em: Paid Leave Gets a Long-Delayed Vote
Ten years after Rep. Helen Head (D-South Burlington) first introduced legislation guaranteeing paid sick leave to workers, the Vermont House is finally poised to vote on the matter Wednesday. It’s gonna be a nail-biter. “The vote count is tight, and we’re having conversations with members to make sure enough people are on board for passage,”…
Letters to the Editor (4/22/15)
Second Opinion “Record Time? Checking Vitals on Vermont’s Other Health Exchange,” [April 1] creates an incomplete picture of the important work done by Vermont Information Technology Leaders. In the last three years, VITL has accelerated the development of the Vermont Health Information Exchange, a secure network that delivers patient health information to providers. The VHIE…
In the South End’s Howard Space, Loyal Tenants Persevere
On February 1, Liz Segal got a call from a maintenance worker who informed her that an “incident” had occurred at her business, the Lamp Shop. She arrived at the building on Burlington’s Pine Street to discover that a burst pipe overhead had drenched her collection of vintage shades and light fixtures. Light bulbs were…
Middlebury’s Latest Trash Haulers Are Equine
It’s not every day that people get up early to catch a glimpse of a garbage truck, or that kids on a playground leap off their jungle gyms to wave at its drivers. But then, Pat Palmer, Nick Hammond and Amanda Morse are not your standard trash haulers, and theirs is not a normal garbage…
While We’re Young
While We’re Young isn’t Noah Baumbach’s greatest film. It’s more like a collection of his greatest hits. It revisits the nostalgia for the freedom and energy of twentysomethings that the director explored in Frances Ha (2012) and its companion piece, Mistress America, due later this year. It offers a portrait of a once-promising young man…
Theater Review: Eurydice, Lost Nation Theater
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is elemental: love, death, a desperate wish granted, then a simple human mistake that leads to permanent loss. In playwright Sarah Ruhl’s imaginative retelling, the focus is on Eurydice, and the tone is at once dreamy, funny and profound. Love and loss are universal, and Ruhl’s approach beckons audience…
True Story
Everyone wants their side of the story told — even, or especially, people accused of hideous crimes. So it is that the phenomenon of journalists interviewing killers has birthed a literary and cinematic subgenre. Truman Capote’s journey into the heart of darkness to write In Cold Blood inspired two film dramatizations. Janet Malcolm dissected such…
Theater Review: O, Caligula!, Saints & Poets Production Company
Watching Kevin Christopher’s musical O, Caligula!, you don’t have to be scandalized at the depraved doings of the Roman emperor and his subjects. You just have to laugh. The empire may be collapsing under the weight of gluttony and bad government, but there are no lessons to learn or personalities to probe. The musical’s deepest…
Michael Hurley Talks About His Time in Vermont
Most articles you’ll read on folk singer Michael Hurley typically begin by pointing out that you probably have no idea who Michael Hurley is. It’s a fair assumption, generally. Hurley, 73, is not a household name. He never became as famous as did many of his contemporaries in the Greenwich Village and Cambridge folk scenes…
Vermont’s White River Indie Festival Is Talkin’ Revolution
Remember when “bonus features” on DVDs were super cool? The discs’ digital technology allowed the inclusion of scenes and supplements that enriched the story of the main attraction. Now, as we approach “platform neutrality,” we fully expect that online-only clips, robust websites, even dedicated smartphone apps will supplement our favorite shows and movies. The programmers…
Watching Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home on the Great White Way
Welcome to our house on Maple Avenue, see how we polish and we shine. That’s just one of the half dozen or so lyrics still swirling in my head after seeing the musical Fun Home at New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre last weekend. My mental tape loop is also running “Ring of Keys”…
Free Will Astrology (4/22/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): If you’re stumped about what present to give someone for a special occasion, you might buy him or her a gift card. It’s a piece of plastic that can be used as cash to buy stuff at a store. The problem is, a lot of people neglect to redeem their gift…
On the Menu for August First’s Expansion
In September, we reported that August First Bakery & Café was taking over 61 Main Street in Burlington. The space that most recently held Pistou would become an extension of the bakery. At the time, co-owner Jodi Whalen hinted at major upgrades to both the sweet and savory sides of the café’s offerings. Progress has…
Judgment Day Looms for Vermont Health Connect
When the state of Connecticut was building its health insurance exchange, former Vermonter James Wadleigh was under the gun. As chief information officer for Access Health CT, the 1989 University of Vermont grad was largely responsible for the project’s success — or failure. Early in the development phase, Wadleigh made a decision that turned out…
Northern Stage’s New Theater Takes Shape
Not quite two years ago, White River Junction’s Northern Stage was on the cusp of the biggest challenge in its history: building a new state-of-the-art theater with a $7.4 million price tag and fundraising $9 million for the construction and the recapitalization of the company. With more than 100 productions to its credit and upwards…
News Quirks (4/22/15)
Firebuggery Verlin Sexton, 48, told authorities investigating a fire that destroyed his garage and damaged his house in Fremont, Ohio, that it started while he was using spray paint and a lighter as a torch to kill a mouse. He also said he went to the garage to smoke, noticed black smoke filling the garage…
WTF: What’s Up With That ‘UFO’ Painting in the Statehouse?
The Vermont Statehouse is filled with portraits of its 80 pre-Shumlin governors, along with other paintings and sculptures. But one that hangs in Room 11 — a caucus room off the Hall of Inscriptions on the first floor — has evoked a “What the…” response from many a viewer. Though it’s neither a prominent painting…
Opinion: Hillary’s Marriage Is Queer
At the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing, a bouquet of roses lay beside First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on the podium. She was pretty in pink and pearls, her blond hair falling over her shoulders — almost girlish. But she spoke forcefully. “If there is one message that echoes forth from this…
Long Shot: A Mother of Two Keeps the Gun Debate Alive
When Ann Braden was 18 months old, her father died in a plane crash. She was on the aircraft, strapped into a car seat, but came away uninjured. “Because of that, I’ve always lived in full view of how precious, and brief, life can be and how important it is to use the time you’ve…
Soundbites: Neil Young to Play VT
White Out. Young In. Last week, Jack White announced that he would be taking a long hiatus from performing live following his headlining run at Coachella. He also announced that before he did so he would do a short acoustic tour, stopping in the five states in which he had never performed. The shows would…
Obituary: Ann M. Bessette, 1937-2015, South Burlington, Vt.
Ann M. Bessette, 77, of South Burlington passed away on Sunday April 19, 2015 at Vermont Respite House surrounded by her loving family. She was born on November 6, 1937 to Wilfred and Daisy Rouille. She lovingly raised her 8 children. Ann enjoyed puzzles, board games, outdoor activities, but mostly family get-togethers. Left to cherish…
Farm Share: Transplanting Season at Jericho Settlers Farm
It’s barely 8 a.m. on a Friday and Christa Alexander is already behind. “We’re going to be here until 11 packing,” she says, balancing trays of seedlings on both arms. Normally, the day’s deliveries are packed and on the road by this time, but April means transplanting. Nearly 100,000 tiny beets, radishes, squash, onions, greens…
Pho Thai Coming to Montpelier; MLC Bakeshop Closes
Montpelier is getting a new Asian restaurant. Called Pho Thai Express and located in the former Montpelier Village Pizza space at 54 Main Street, the 18-seat restaurant will focus on noodles — including, of course, Vietnamese-style pho, as well as perhaps Thai noodles and curries. Owner Somchit “Sam” Thongjanthoug says he’s still finalizing the menu,…
