Apr 25 – May 1, 2012
Is Burlington Ready to Become a Theater Town?; Burlington’s Bike Path Bumps; Canoe Chronicles on the Way to James Bay; Alison Bechdel’s new Memoir
Cover Story
Councilors Question Carleton as Burlington City Attorney Pick
Could Miro Weinberger’s honeymoon be over so soon? When Burlington’s new mayor nominated friend and political adviser Ian Carleton to the post of city attorney two weeks ago, he called on the city council to vote on the appointment this Monday. But instead of getting a new job Monday night, Carleton got a grilling from…
Share the Restaurant Week Fun!
It’s now day four of Vermont Restaurant Week. We hope that by now you’ve had the chance to enjoy the fare as much as we have! If you’ve simply been working too hard to make it out of the office, may we recommend a work-day lunch? Remember, Restaurant Week menus are available through Friday, so…
Video: Sweet Start Smackdown
Missed out on the Smackdown? Watch a recap of Thursday’s dessert battle at Higher Ground by Seven Days multimedia producer, Eva Sollberger.
Do you Instagram?
How often do you see photos of food that make your mouth water? Photos that make you so hungry, you rummage through your kitchen looking for something to satisfy your craving? Don’t worry, it happens to all of us. Foodies everywhere are constantly posting photos of the food they eat to social media channels, in…
People and Pastries Pack Higher Ground for the Sweet Start Smackdown
Seven Days sponsored the first-ever Sweet Start Smackdown last night at Higher Ground.The event kicked off the 3rd annual Vermont Restaurant Week, which begins today. Nearly 450 hungry diners crowded into the big ballroom to taste small bites from 10 of Vermont’s top pastry chefs, all of whom were competing for the “Signature Sweet of…
Movies You Missed 36: Pariah
This week in movies you missed: a lesbian coming-of-age story with broad appeal. What You Missed When Meryl Streep accepted her Golden Globe for The Iron Lady last winter, she used her speech to mention some lesser-known actresses she thought deserved recognition, including Adepero Oduye (pictured), star of Pariah. Now audiences everywhere can see what…
Champlain Parkway Wins Act 250 Approval — But Not a Permit
Burlington’s long-stalled Champlain Parkway project took a big step toward reality today. In a 63-page ruling issued this morning, the District #4 Environmental Commission of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources has found that the South End highway project “will not cause or result in a detriment to public health, safety or general welfare” under…
Workers’ Memorial to Be Dedicated in Battery Park
Burlington’s newest monument, which is also one of the city’s simplest and most moving, commemorates all the Vermonters who have been killed or injured while doing their jobs. The tombstone-like granite memorial is inscribed with a paraphrase of the famous exhortation of pioneering American labor organizer Mary Harris Mother Jones: “Pray for the dead and…
In Senate Smackdown, Lawmakers Say “No Way, Jose” to Shumlin Merger Deal
**Updated below with results of Friday’s House vote** Despite a reputation for discord and disorganization, the Vermont Senate on Thursday summoned unity from chaos and delivered a mighty spanking to Gov. Peter Shumlin and the utility merger he supports. It was a spanking heard ’round the Statehouse. By a lopsided vote of 27 to 3,…
Lobbying Disclosure: Bruce Lisman Put More Than $200,000 Into Campaign for Vermont
Retired Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman has sunk $212,343 from his personal fortune into Campaign for Vermont, the supposedly nonpartisan “policy campaign” he launched last year. Lisman (pictured) voluntarily announced the figures ahead of yesterday’s filing deadline for quarterly lobbying reports. According to a press release, between January 1 and March 31, Campaign for Vermont…
Menu Posted: New Moon
People love Burlington’s New Moon café for lots of reasons. In the morning, it’s an oasis of espresso, omelets and amazing pastries. And lunchers get to choose from dozens of ingredients for customized salads that they pair alongside sandwiches and fresh soups. During Restaurant Week, that spirit of creativity continues. For $10 lunch, diners pick…
![One Earth Day [265]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/episode265.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
One Earth Day [265]
4/22/12: What better way to celebrate Earth Day than digging in the dirt with people from around the world. The Vermont Council on World Affairs in conjunction with The Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program welcomed 19 international representatives from 18 different countries to the Green Mountains last week. To celebrate Earth Day,…
Menus Posted: Sweetwaters & Trader Duke’s
Amid all the culinary experimentation, sometimes we crave what’s comforting. In and out of Burlington, there are great Restaurant Week menus that provide just that — with a twist. Sweetwaters, right on Burlington’s Church Street, has you covered all day long. $10 lunch specials include a local-beef burger with white-truffle-Parmesan frites. Start your three-course, $25…
Menus Posted: Rí Rá Irish Pub and Morgan’s Pub & Grill at the Three Stallion Inn
During Restaurant Week, you’ll find all kinds of dining options, including some seriously tasty pub fare. At Rí Rá Irish Pub in Burlington and Morgan’s Pub & Grill at the Three Stallion Inn in Randolph, nursing a cold pint in one hand while chowing down with the other is considered de rigueur. At Rí Rá, do some…
Canoeing to Canada with the “Lost Boys” of Camp Keewaydin
From a waterfront park in the Ontario town of Hawkesbury, the armada sets off at noon under low gray clouds, steering west up the Ottawa River. Paddling under the half-mile concrete span of the Long-Sault bridge, which connects Ontario to Québec, are 10 young men steering five wood-canvas canoes. They ride high through the chop…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again When Joshua Devonshire, 19, tried to pay for gas with a debit card in Lancaster, Pa., the clerk noticed the card had her mother’s name on it. She also recognized Devonshire as someone she went to school with. He fled but was arrested the next day. “Some people,” police Sgt. Jim Alexander…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “True life is lived when tiny changes occur,” said Leo Tolstoy. I agree. It’s rare for us to undergo rapid, dramatic transformations in short periods of time. That’s why it’s delusional to be forever pining for some big magic intervention that will fix everything. The best way to alter our course…
Comics Trip
Vermont’s Alison Bechdel talks about her new book and becoming a canonical American cartoonist
Spaces to Roam
From freelancers to big companies, Vermont businesses are thinking outside the cubicle
What’s the story behind that tower at Fort Ethan Allen?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: We just had to ask…
Missing Vintages
At the Pitcher Inn, a wine list and cellar fell victim to Irene; only one has been rebuilt
Heat of History
Art Review: “Men of Fire: José Clemente Orozco and Jackson Pollock,” Hood Museum of Art
Letters to the Editor
Listen Up In Sean Hood’s March 7 review of the new First Crush release Halfway Home, he argues that the album is formulaic and disappointing. He compares First Crush to contemporary bands — some of which he likes, and some of which he doesn’t — and he describes getting bored after the first four songs.…
Meat Repeat: Another Vermont Farmer Looks to DIY Butchering
When I reported on LaPlatte River Angus Farm last week for our cover story on the local meat industry, farmer Jim Kleptz told me about plans to fire up a family-owned slaughterhouse on recently acquired land in Milton. The reason? Kleptz and his sons want complete control, from raising a calf to slaughtering the steer…
Rape Inside CCA Prisons? Brattleboro Prison Advocate Brings Shareholder Measure Seeking Stats
An editor at the Brattleboro-based Prison Legal News (PLN) is using his position as a Corrections Corporation of America shareholder to shine a light on a pervasive problem: sexual assault in America’s private, for-profit prisons. Alex Friedmann has brought a shareholder resolution to the board of CCA with the goal of forcing the nation’s largest owner and operator…
Menus Posted: The Belted Cow Bistro & Toscano Café/Bistro
There are tons of enticing Vermont Restaurant Week menus in Burlington, but even locals may want to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city. And they needn’t travel too far for a breath of fresh air and easy parking. The Belted Cow Bistro in Essex Junction is known for its upscale, contemporary American fare.…
Vermont Dems Hire Granite Stater as Executive Director
As the Vermont Democratic Party gears up for the 2012 election, it has hired a Granite State political operative to lead the party’s staff. Julia Barnes, of Bedford, N.H., was chosen Monday night by the Dems’ executive committee to serve as the party’s new executive director. “I’m very excited,” Barnes says. “When this opportunity came…
Rock Out(side): More Summer Concerts Announced
The good folks over at Higher Ground Presents announced a slew of outdoor summer shows this morning, including the headlining acts for the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival and a few choice dates at the Shelburne Museum. In chronological order, they are: July 20: Andrew Bird at the Ben & Jerry’s Concerts on the Green at Shelburne Museum.…
Menus Posted: The Farmhouse Tap & Grill and Church & Main
Local wildcrafters must be busy, because wild foods are showing up on lots of Restaurant Week menus — including on those of two downtown Burlington favorites. The Farmhouse Tap & Grill will showcase mushrooms on their $10 lunch menu in the form of a Vermont soy and mushroom burger topped with house yogurt, cabbage slaw…
