Aug 25-31, 2010
Shay Totten on the Primaries; How Schools Keep Kids in Line; VT Colleges Offer More Culinary Classes
VIDEO: Dubie Unveils His Jobs Plan, Democrats Unleash Attack
Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie unveiled his long-awaited jobs plan at a wind turbine manufacturer in Barre this morning, calling for lower taxes and less government regulation to jump-start Vermont’s economy. In response, three Democrats who fought for the right to challenge Dubie in the November gubernatorial election summoned the press to Dealer.com in Burlington, where…
Biking With Barack
“There’s no way that was Michelle Obama.” I had to twist around so my boyfriend biking behind me could better hear the argument. The presidential vacation was the furthest thing from our minds when Tim Ashe and I left Cape Cod last Friday for a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard. We planned to cycle from…
Seven Days Hires Three Recent Grads
I just sent this press release out to various Vermont media outlets and university public relations departments, so I’m posting it here, too. You might recognize Tyler Machado (far right), deputy online editor, who has been posting a lot on this blog. He’s also been managing our Twitter and Facebook accounts, and writing the Daily…
Shumlin, Racine and Markowitz Pledge to Work Together During Recount
Heeding calls for Democratic unity, the top three finishers in the Democratic gubernatorial primary are pledging to campaign together against Republican candidate Brian Dubie while town clerks across Vermont recount 70,000-plus ballots. Peter Shumlin, Doug Racine and Deb Markowitz sent a joint email to their supporters on Sunday saying that Shumlin, who finished 197 votes…
VIDEO: Racine Asks for a Recount; Re-Tally Should Take One Week
With only 197 votes separating him from victory, Doug Racine asked for a statewide recount today to determine who won Tuesday’s Democratic gubernatorial primary. Standing outside Town Hall in his hometown of Richmond, just hours after official tallies were released, Racine told reporters that the razor-thin margin of victory tipped the scales toward a recount…
Official Tally: Shumlin Beats Racine by 197 Votes
***UPDATE: At a press conference this afternoon at the Richmond Town Hall, gubernatorial hopeful Doug Racine asked for a recount of the recent close election. Peter Shumlin bested Racine by just 197 votes, according to the latest tally. That is fewer than 1 vote per town, Racine pointed out, suggesting there could be at least…
Fringe Friday: Dennis Steele
For week three of “Fringe Friday,” we feature independent candidate for governor Dennis Steele, a burly web-preneur from the Northeast Kingdom who says Vermont must secede from the United States — or else. Fringe Friday is Seven Days’ weekly web series about the independent and minor party candidates running for governor, U.S. House and U.S.…
Racine: “There is Still Hope for a Victory!”
Doug Racine trails Peter Shumlin by almost 200 votes in the unofficial tallies, but he hasn’t given up hope that the official vote count will crown him the winner of the closest gubernatorial primary in recent memory. State elections officials are tallying vote totals from Vermont’s 246 towns as we speak and expect to finish…
Official Vote Counting Underway in Governor’s Race
For the next three days, six staffers in the Secretary of State’s office will slog through a mountain of election results to determine who won the contested Democratic primary for governor. Peter Shumlin claimed victory yesterday after Associated Press figures gave him a 190-vote unofficial lead over Doug Racine. But Racine isn’t conceding until results…
***UPDATE: Big Cats and Their Litter Boxes Return to the Champlain Valley Fair
With the recent news that the Nerger Tiger and Lion Show is returning to the Champlain Valley Fair, the Green Mountain Animal Defenders announced today that it’s spoiling for my favorite kind of fight: a cat fight. On Saturday, August 28, at 11:30 a.m., activists from GMAD, Vermont’s largest nonprofit animal advocacy group, will converge on the…
Where Do All the Lonely Ballots Go?
This past Tuesday, when I exercised my 19th Amendment-guaranteed right to vote, I couldn’t help but notice the surfeit of ballots offered to me. There was one for the Republican slate, one for the Progressive, and one for the Democratic. I took the three ballots, each printed on crisp card stock and, as instructed, filled…
Sanders Mad at Cow Remark
How do you make a Vermont senator mad? Compare Social Security to “a milk cow with 310 million tits.” That’s what Alan Simpson, co-chairman of President Obama’s deficit commission, wrote in an email to the director of the Older Women’s League. Sen. Bernie Sanders is fuming about it and has written Obama a letter calling…
Jail Newspaper Sues VT’s Former Prison Health Providers Over Inmate Death
Here’s a fascinating lawsuit that will test the legal boundaries of Vermont’s public-records statute. Prison Legal News (PLN), a Brattleboro-based nonprofit that publishes the nation’s largest jailhouse newspaper, filed suit today against PHS Correctional Healthcare — formerly known as Prison Health Services — seeking documents related to the August 2009 death of a female inmate at…
AARP Postpones Gubernatorial Debate
** UPDATE: The debate has been rescheduled again, this time to Sept. 26. The AARP and Vermont Public Television have postponed a gubernatorial debate scheduled for tomorrow night in South Burlington because the result of the Democratic primary isn’t settled. State Senator Peter Shumlin has declared victory, but state Senator Doug Racine, who trails Shumlin…
Shumlin Victorious? Racine and Markowitz Not Ready to Concede
With a 190-vote lead and all precincts reporting, Peter Shumlin is declaring victory in the five-way Democrat primary for governor. But rivals Doug Racine and Deb Markowitz aren’t ready to call it quits. At a Democratic unity rally at Burlington’s Union Station today, Racine and Markowitz stressed that vote tallies are unofficial and the race…
Sporting Sustainability
Work: Andrew Gardner, Coordinator for Athletic Sustainability at Middlebury College
Combo Plate: Kipling Quaff, Brookfield Bites
Kipling Quaff by Alice Levitt Fruit fans may have tasted berries from Springfield’s Cherry Hill Farm, owned by the Hingston family, without even knowing it. The business supplies raspberries and red and black currants to regional food makers including Vermont Mystic Pie Company and Walpole Creamery. The Hingston clan also produces a product line called…
Doing Away With Discipline
In today’s elementary classrooms, children aren’t punished so much as praised
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again Dallas police said Dwayne Lamont Moten, 20, hired a friend, Jacob Wheeler, 20, to shoot him, intending to blame the crime on his wife’s boyfriend so he could gain custody of his 3-year-old son. Wheeler was only supposed to wound Moten, who “drove a short distance before he realized he was shot…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Why should you work harder than everyone else? Why is it up to you to pick up the slack when others are suffering from outbreaks of laziness and incompetence? And why should you be the fearless leader who is focused on fixing the glitches and smoothing over the rough patches when…
Dem Guv Race Still Too Close to Call (UPDATE: Shumlin Claims Victory)
**** UPDATE 2 1:05 p.m. : The AP now has all precincts in, with Peter Shumlin winning by 190 votes over Doug Racine. **** UPDATE 12:22 p.m. : VPR has Peter Shumlin winning the Democratic gubernatorial primary. Shumlin is claiming victory, according the the AP. **** Looks like there’s still no winner declared in the…
Letters to the Editor
Plattsburger With Cheese I am writing in response to “Eating Plattsburgh” [July 28]. I just recently relocated to Plattsburgh, N.Y., after spending the last nine years in Burlington. I am a huge fan of dining out and have visited most of the restaurants in the Burlington area on numerous occasions. I was happy to see…
![Reflections on Basin Harbor [SIV189]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/episode189.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Reflections on Basin Harbor [SIV189]
8/20/10: Last Friday marked the 25th anniversary of Reflections on Basin Harbor. Using a variety of mediums, Vermont artists showcase the beauty of the historic Basin Harbor Club in this popular show. The Basin Harbor Club dates back to the 1700s and has been run by the Beach family for 4 generations. Show runs through…
Seven on 7: Rutland Just as the Polls Close
Final notes from the reporter’s notebook: 6:35 PM, Neshobe Elementry School in Brandon: I may have found the campaign volunteer who’s traveled the farthest to work on a statewide campaign: Drew Dunne, Matt Dunne’s 35-year-old cousin, who traveled up from New Orleans to help out his kin. Dunne the Younger has been at the polls…
Markowitz Explains Why She Thinks She’ll Win
With only two hours remaining until polls closed, Democrat Deb Markowitz swung by Edmunds Middle School in Burlington in search of every last vote in the hotly-contested five-way primary for governor. The secretary of state ended up talking more with reporters and poll workers than with the few voters that shuffled by. Markowitz wouldn’t predict…
Seven on 7: St. Albans City to Middlebury
From the reporter’s notebook: Note to self: The next time I decide to drive the length of Vermont, making frequent stops along the way to talk to voters and poll workers, it’d be best to start EARLY! I should have kicked off my journey at 7 AM. Now, I’ll be lucky to make it to…
Postcards from Primary Day: Candidates and Their Surrogates Get Out the Vote
With the longest and most expensive gubernatorial primary in Vermont history nearing its end, it was all hands on deck for the candidates at Burlington polling locations today. By midday in Burlington, voter turnout was either “steady” or “slow” depending who you asked. Burlington City Councilor Ed Adrian (pictured), who supports Deb Markowitz for governor,…
Seven on 7: The Vermont Primary From Route 7 Headed South
From the reporter’s notebook: Plan for the day: to drive from the north side of the state to the south on Route 7, checking in along the way with Vermonters at the polls. 11:15 AM: Before headed north to Swanton to officially start my trip south, I took a slight detour to cast my own…
Gube Tube
I’m the sucker who has read, and listened to, every bit of news about today’s Democratic primary for governor, summer be damned. Here are my conclusions, yearbook style: Most Congenial: Doug Racine Best Road-Trip Buddy: Peter Shumlin Most Visionary: Matt Dunne Best Organized, and Smiliest: Deb Markowitz Most Underrated: Susan Bartlett So who am I…
Vermont Primary Election Reports and Results
We won’t have election results until tonight, but here’s a place to share and comment on the day’s events. We’ll move this to the homepage of the Seven Days website later this afternoon.Vermont 2010 Primary Election Vermont 2010 Primary Election
Independents Excluded From First Post-Primary Gov Debate
The winner of today’s Democratic primary for governor will meet Republican Brian Dubie in the first general election debate this Thursday in South Burlington. Not on the invite list: the five independent and minor party candidates who earned spots on the November ballot. Debate co-host AARP is excluding the five independents because they don’t meet…
