Apr 25 – May 1, 2018
A Father’s Struggle to Care for His Mentally Troubled Son; Former Leahy Aide Oversees Mueller Investigation; Dinner Diaries From Vermont Restaurant Week
Cover Story
Committed: A Son’s Mental Illness, a Father’s Fight
Francis offered up a stuffed Yoshi toy and a Coke as he poked his head into a white-walled room last August at Brattleboro Retreat. He found his son, Simon, sitting hunched over on a hospital bed. Instead of greeting his dad, the 22-year-old patient glared menacingly at the man who had just driven two and…
The Parmelee Post: Record Number of Fans Ask to Get In Free to Waking Windows
Waking Windows has hit an impressive new milestone, just days before the eighth installment of the popular music festival gets under way in downtown Winooski this weekend. “We are proud to announce we have now reached a record-breaking number of people asking us to provide them with the opportunity to see nearly 200 performers absolutely free…
Burlington’s Beloved Penny Cluse Turns 20
The first ticket arrived in the kitchen at 8:04 on a recent Sunday morning, four minutes after Penny Cluse Café opened for its busy breakfast. Customer No. 1, who was first in line on the steps, ordered tofu with ranchero sauce. He wanted his corn tortillas on a separate plate and Earl Grey tea to…
The Northeast Kingdom Supperclub Kicks Off
A $100 supper is coming to the Northeast Kingdom with a May 31 meal called “The Hero’s Journey,” the seasonal kickoff of the NEK Supperclub. The meal and concept are a collaboration of Beana Bern, the club’s creative director, and chef Liz Chadwick. Both women live in the Kingdom, where Bern is a business coach…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: Tax-and-Regulate Goes Bust — for Now
A bid for full cannabis legalization in Vermont flamed out on Friday. Hours after a group of Vermont lawmakers revived the dormant idea of a taxed-and-regulated cannabis market, the House quickly shot it down. Rep. Diana Gonzalez (P/D-Winooski) proposed the amendment to H.167 on Thursday, but by Friday morning, the House voted 106 to 28…
![Sammy’s Wish [SIV529]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/episode529-4.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Sammy’s Wish [SIV529]
4/16/18: Samuel Johnson is eleven years old and has undergone two surgeries to remove a benign brain tumor. Supported by his family and community in Manchester, Sammy dreamt of visiting Legoland in Florida. And thanks to Make-A-Wish Vermont, the Johnsons headed south last Monday. A big fan of the Star Wars films, Sammy and his…
Fable Farm Release First Grape Wine
After working primarily with apple-based ciders and wines for many years, Barnard’s Fable Farm Fermentory will release its first grape wines on Saturday, May 5. Red, white and other varieties come from naturally fermented Vermont-grown fruit harvested in 2016 and 2017. The portfolio tasting on Saturday will also include a honey wine — made with…
New Music Series Amp Up Vermont’s Classical Scene
New developments in Vermont’s classical music scene are always cropping up, but three recent ones merit particular mention for the long-term enrichment they promise. Two are new concert series: Artemis Concert Series in the Northeast Kingdom and the Spruce Peak Chamber Music Society in Stowe. The third is the weekend-long Middlebury Song Fest, which its…
Free Will Astrology (4/25/18)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “The Simpsons” is the longest-running American TV sitcom and animated series. But it had a rough start. In the fall of 1989, when producers staged a private prerelease screening of the first episode, they realized the animation was mediocre. They worked hard to redo it, replacing 70 percent of the original…
In Manchester, Billsville House Concerts Create Community
When Rachael & Vilray reached the end of “Do Friends Fall in Love,” the duo lovingly locked eyes on the final, closely harmonized notes. As their dulcet tones evaporated into the ether, a hushed pause took over the room. Then, from an older gentleman in the back, came an audible whisper: “Holy fuck.” Everyone in…
‘Passing’ Dances the Veil Between This World and Next
Dancer Tamara Hurwitz Pullman’s 91-year-old father died in her arms in a Los Angeles art gallery in 2012. It “was incredibly fitting, because he was an art educator and a painter,” says Pullman’s close friend and artistic collaborator Tracy Penfield. “He loved this art in LA.” Because ambulances in that city district could not legally…
Protection Sought for Medical Marijuana Users Who Need an Organ Transplant
At the University of Vermont Medical Center, the only hospital in the state where kidney transplants are performed, potential recipients undergo a rigorous screening to get a shot at the life-changing operation. Among the factors that Dr. Carlos Marroquin, the chief of transplant surgery, considers is whether a patient uses marijuana, including medical cannabis. “Because…
April Surprise: Governor Waits Until Closing Days to Unveil School Funding Plan
Gov. Phil Scott convened an education summit at Norwich University in December to discuss the perennial problem of paying for public education in Vermont. “My administration will propose a plan to address the shortfall in the education fund in the coming legislative session,” Scott said in his opening remarks. We’ve been waiting ever since. But…
Letters to the Editor (4/25/18)
I Can Taste It! [Re Side Dishes: “Noodle Bar(re),” April 18]: I always love reading that Sally Pollak and Hannah Palmer Egan are out there, getting to taste and then report on new, as well as already established, dining spots. But I also want to help, because I can’t help myself! I have a correction…
Water Quality Rules Could Generate Trouble at Green River Reservoir
Superior Court Judge Thomas Walsh peered through the window of a covered bridge over the Green River on April 13, studying the rain-swollen flow below. Around him huddled a cadre of lawyers from both sides of a fight over the little river’s future. Attorneys for Morrisville Water & Light had spent the previous two weeks…
Tyler Doggett Brings Philosophy to Everyday Life
Name: Tyler Doggett Town: Burlington Job: Associate professor of philosophy, University of Vermont Tyler Doggett likes to ask questions — many of them questions that people have pondered for millennia. “For me, this is a great thing about philosophy,” said the University of Vermont associate professor, 41. “It puts me in touch with thinkers from…
A Former Leahy Aide Steers the Mueller Probe
Overseeing the most important legal proceeding in America — the grand jury probe of President Donald Trump’s Russian connections — is a little-known federal judge with ties to Vermont who spent a decade advising Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Though Trump hasn’t tweeted about her yet, Judge Beryl Howell could shape the future of his presidency. According…
A Smartphone App Connects Green Up Day Vermont Volunteers
Sure, the rest of the world celebrates Earth Day each spring, but Green Up Day is pure Green Mountain State. Since 1970, some 22,000 Vermonters each year join friends and neighbors to pick up trash in their communities on the first Saturday of May. The 48th edition has a very 2018 twist: There’s a smartphone…
Album Review: The Giant Peach, ‘Pulling Teeth’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) After a significant breakup, it’s natural to want to be surrounded by friends. Sure, some prefer to go it alone until the last teardrop falls, but many folks want a cadre of besties to distract them until their broken heart’s stitches dissolve. The Giant Peach’s multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and front man, Harrison…
Scarlett Letters: I’d Rather Divorce Than Be Unfaithful
Dear Scarlett, My wife and I have been married for almost five years. She is my second marriage, and I’m her third. She told me that both her previous husbands were unfaithful, and that is what caused the divorces. We waited for marriage to be intimate. I made it clear, however, that I have a…
Art Educator Jonathan Silverman Lauds the Power of Creativity
Jonathan Silverman has lived a life of creative engagement — not as a lone artist but as a prolific proponent for the role of art in life and learning. After completing his doctoral studies in aesthetic education at the University of Vermont, Silverman became a professor at Saint Michael’s College in 1995, where he is…
Soundbites: I Heard a Rumor
A couple of weeks ago, I dispelled the rumors that Higher Ground was planning to open a new venue in a city or town near you. We got the straight dope right from the source. HG cofounder Alex Crothers told us unambiguously that, while he has spent several years looking into an expansion, there’s nothing…
Album Review: Two Cents in the Till, ‘Greenland’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Two Cents in the Till are a folk quartet from the Montpelier area who take their homegrown aesthetic seriously. Their debut LP, Greenland, eschews familiar covers and traditional favorites to deliver a set of original songs, composed by a rotating cast of three singer-songwriters. The result is a confident and surprisingly…
WTF: Why does the Legislature Vote Twice on Bills?
Why do the state’s Senate and House of Representatives vote twice on a given bill before it can move on to either the other chamber or the governor’s desk? Isn’t one trip through the legislative sausage grinder sufficient to smooth out the unpalatable gristle and satisfy the principles of representative democracy? Short answer to the…
Theater Review: ‘Tigers Be Still,’ Vermont Stage
A comedy should leave the audience floating on air. Playwright Kim Rosenstock does just that with Tigers Be Still, chiefly by sticking her emotionally realistic characters in oddly unrealistic circumstances. And she does it while putting them up against serious depression. In Vermont Stage’s production, a cast of four works as a tight ensemble to…
Frog Hollow Says Farewell to Director Rob Hunter
On a recent afternoon at Frog Hollow Vermont Craft Gallery in Burlington, director Rob Hunter pointed out things he had built or helped refurbish: shelves, fixtures, display tables and even a wide gallery partition that doubles as storage space. In 2012, he and Burlington artist Aaron Stein tackled the gallery’s beaten floor and managed to…
Eat This Week, April 25 to May 1, 2018: Drinks Afoot
It’s spring at last and time for a booze-centric stroll around downtown Burlington. After convening at the Gryphon for finger snacks and a cocktail featuring Aqua ViTea’s kombucha vodka, walkers head to Pascolo Ristorante and Juniper for more locally sourced craft beverages, small bites and revelry. Cocktail Walk: Thursday, April 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m., the Gryphon,…
Plattsburgh’s Famous Letter Writer on the Poetry of Pop
Truly defining pop music has long proved an elusive task. Michael Jackson declared himself the King of it, Radiohead swore it was dead and Andy Warhol wanted to channel it into art. Michael Devine, the lead singer and lyricist of Plattsburgh, N.Y.’s Famous Letter Writer, has spent a lot of time ruminating on what, exactly,…
Chef Michael Bates-Walsh Joins Manchester’s Copper Grouse
In Manchester, chef Michael Bates-Walsh replaced chef Vanessa Davis at the Copper Grouse earlier this month. The move marks Bates-Walsh’s return to Vermont; he spent several years in the kitchen of Manchester’s Equinox Golf Resort & Spa earlier in his career, then worked at a number of other high-end New England resorts. Bates-Walsh is currently…
Movie Review: Amy Schumer’s ‘I Feel Pretty’ Doesn’t Believe Its Own Message
Product placement alert: You can’t beat a New York Times digital subscription. For pennies a day, you support vital reporting and avoid freezing your fanny off dashing outside at the crack of dawn. The morning after I saw Amy Schumer’s new comedy, I clicked through the day’s paperless paper and found something that left me…
Theater Review: ‘Silent Sky,’ Lost Nation Theater
Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky dramatizes the story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, whose discoveries made the measurement of galaxies possible. The play also shows why you’ve likely never heard of Henrietta, obscured by her gender, not her achievements. In Lost Nation Theater’s production, Gunderson’s reflective script shows that the science required to study the universe is…
Movie Review: Blumhouse Dares You to Watch the Tepid Horror Thriller ‘Truth or Dare’
It doesn’t speak well for a movie when its most redeeming quality is how it ends. The latest from low-budget, high-profile horror studio Blumhouse Productions (Insidious, Get Out, Paranormal Activity), Truth or Dare concludes with a WTF that feels like the filmmakers’ way of acknowledging the justified contempt they feel for their own creation. It’s…
Vermont Restaurant Diaries: Seven Writers Dish on Dinners
You could make a veritable scavenger hunt out of Vermont Restaurant Week’s 118 special menus. The 10-day feasting event — organized by Seven Days at eateries from Burlington to Brattleboro — began last Friday, April 20, and runs through this Sunday, April 29. The event answers a lot of questions that you may not know…
Lu•lu Ice Cream Swaps Bristol for Vergennes
Lu•lu is trading one Main Street location in Addison County for a new one. The small-batch, specialty ice cream shop, which opened in 2012 at 11 Main Street in Bristol, is moving to Vergennes. If construction continues apace, Lu•lu will open its new shop, with space for retail sales and production, at 185 Main Street…
