Aug 31 – Sep 6, 2016
Can a Drug Dealer Be Held Accountable for Overdose Deaths?; The Impact of 1970s Back-to-the-Landers on Vermont; No Grease, Please: A Search for Local Fare at the Fair
Cover Story
Brothers’ Keeper: A Mom Wants a Dealer to Pay for Her Sons’ Overdose Deaths
Penny Thibault got up around 6 a.m. at home in Westford on June 18, 2015, and noticed that neither the air conditioner nor the fan was running in her son Sean’s bedroom. She peered inside. He wasn’t there. It wasn’t unusual for Sean, 32, to crash with his brother Dennis in Burlington. They would sometimes…
Obituary: Alexandra B. Severance, 1946-2016
Memorial Service Announcement: Unitarian Church, 152 Pearl Street, Burlington Sunday, September 25, 2016, 3 p.m. Words and Reception Feel free to come with thoughts or memories to share. All members of Alexandra’s community are welcome!
Obituary: William G. Cioffi
William G. Cioffi, Lieutenant Colonel Regular Army of the United States, (Ret.), died on Friday, September 2, 2016. Col. Cioffi was born in Saint Albans, Vermont on March 4, 1929 to the late George A. and Rose (Maffeo) Cioffi. He is survived by his wife of 63 years Therese A. Cioffi (DiNovo) of St. Albans,…
Obituary: Joan Jean Mitchell
Joan Jean Mitchell, age 68 years, a longtime resident of the Alburgh area and more recently of the Franklin County area died early Saturday evening, September 3, 2016, at the Saint Albans Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center following a very long illness with loving family at her side. Born in Highgate on, November 3, 1947, she…
Obituary: Paul Joppe-Mercure, 1947-2016
Paul Joppe-Mercure, 69, of South Burlington, VT passed away peacefully on August 26, 2016 at home, surrounded by his loving family. Paul was born on March 4, 1947 in Dover, NJ of Everett and Sara (Castaldi) Mercure. He is an alumni of Saint Michael’s College; he graduated with his Bachelor of Science in 1969 and…
Page 32: Short Takes on Five Vermont Books
Seven Days’ writers can’t possibly read, much less review, the number of books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, a herd of wild horses. So this monthly feature, “Page 32,” is our way of introducing you to five books by Vermont authors. To do that, we’ll contextualize…
Historical Society Explores Impact of Back-to-the-Landers on Vermont
Over the past 45 years, Vermont has catalyzed socially conscious capitalism by churning out Ben & Jerry’s; reenergized rock and roll by spawning Phish, the ultimate jam band; transformed culinary culture by pioneering organic farming and locavore cuisine; and seismically shaken the political establishment by enabling America to feel the Bern. Each of these examples…
Soundbites: Madaila or Vanilla Ice? You Decide
Say this for Madaila: They don’t do anything half-assed. Since their debut performance at the (late?) great local music fest the Precipice in 2014 — when they were called Plato Ears — everything the psych-pop phenoms have endeavored to do has been done with neon panache and ambition. When they released their phenomenal debut album,…
![Suicide Prevention Awareness Month [SIV457]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/episode457.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month [SIV457]
8/27/16: National suicide rates are rising and in Vermont, suicide rates are 30% higher than the national average. The month of September is devoted to suicide prevention and awareness to help educate the public, destigmatize mental health issues and provide resources to those in need. Eva talked to three Vermonters – a daughter, a mother…
Walk of Ages: How a Vermont March Helped Launch a Climate Movement
The journalistic urge to mark anniversaries is suspect: Why would the fifth anniversary of some great event provoke more meaningful analysis than, say, the 4.5th anniversary? And in this particular case, it’s not even a great event — just a small ripple in the force that is significant mostly for setting something larger in motion.…
Surveying Irene’s Destructive Path, in the Mad River Valley and Beyond
Originally published August 30, 2011. In Richmond and Waterbury, Waitsfield and Moretown, you can tell where the filthy waters traveled by the gray-brown crust that coats porches, flowers, cars and walls. Entire fields of corn lay spent, the water rendering them inedible. In Richmond, the Winooski River spilled throughout downtown, claiming 15 pigs and all…
Free Will Astrology (8/31/16)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Play a joke on your nervous anxiety. Leap off the ground or whirl in a circle five times as you shout, “I am made of love!” Learn the words and melody to a new song that lifts your mood whenever you sing it. Visualize yourself going on an adventure that will…
Before Orgasm, Why Do I Feel Like I Have to Pee?
Dear Athena, My boyfriend and I have been together for almost two years. We’ve been best friends for five, and he’s the best ever. However, when we have sex and he goes down on me and it feels absolutely amazing, I start squirming, and then I get this “I’m going to pee” feeling. I get…
Investigated for Fraud, Burlington Labs Seeks a Bailout — Stat
There were plenty of patients in the third-floor waiting room at Burlington Labs on Friday — despite the recent news that the Vermont-grown drug-screening company housed in Courthouse Plaza is on the verge of bankruptcy. There was no indication of trouble online, either; instead, the company sent out chirpy messages on sobriety strategies and promoted an…
Don’t Breathe
The Bling Ring meets Taken in the sophomore outing from director Fede Alvarez (2013’s Evil Dead remake), easily one of the most assured and immersive horror films in recent memory. This is a picture with a certain amount of Wait Until Dark (1967) in its DNA, as well, given that it tells the story of…
Gallery Profile: Northern Daughters in Vergennes
Kids who grow up in Vermont often spread their wings and take off for the big city. So it can be cause for celebration when those fledglings return — particularly when they put down new roots with a local business. That’s exactly what Justine Jackson, 30, and Sophie Pickens, 31, did, opening an art gallery…
Don’t Think Twice
Stories of show-biz rivalry are nothing new at the movies, given that it’s a topic with which their makers are painfully familiar. But there’s a unique poignancy to setting such a story in the world of improv comedy, because it’s one of the most group-oriented artistic pursuits there is. While standup comics face the audience…
Grilling the Chef: Brian Roper of Saint Michael’s College
Chef Brian Roper Age: 41 Position: dining services general manager, Saint Michael’s College Cuisine type: campus dining Education: Lincoln Culinary Institute, Conn. Selected experience: sous-chef, Holiday Inn, Rutland; sous-chef, Newport Harbor Hotel, Newport, R.I.; district chef, Sodexo; campus chef, University of Vermont What’s on the menu? Grilled-chicken Caesar salad, rolled-to-order sushi, steamed vegetables, local burgers,…
David Rosane & the Zookeepers, Urban Country
(Self-released, CD, digital download) In explaining his band’s latest album, Urban Country, songwriter David Rosane quotes Anton Chekhov: “Man will become better when you show him what he is.” He then adds this line — presumably his own and not the famed Russian writer’s: “Yeah. They can keep their happy music.” Rosane, who splits his…
Why Is Edward James Olmos on a Mural of Vermont History?
Actor Edward James Olmos’ earliest Internet Movie Database billing is “Junkie in Bathroom (uncredited)” in the 1974 blaxploitation film Bogard. From this modest appearance, he went on to increasingly larger roles, including an Academy Award-nominated performance in 1988’s Stand and Deliver. Some may remember his memorable turn in Blade Runner, his run on the reimagined…
Better Things, Getting Worse
(Self-released, CD digital download) What happens when emo kids outgrow being mopey? At the brightest end of the spectrum, you get something like New Jersey’s Pinegrove. That band’s 2016 album, Cardinal, still bristles with emotional urgency but tempers the melodrama with deceptive musical and lyrical sophistication — not to mention healthy doses of winking charm…
Drop-In Brewing Serves Pints, Plans Cans
Fans of Middlebury’s Drop-In Brewing have a reason to raise their glasses. “We managed to clear all hurdles to serve beer in larger amounts than we were before,” says cofounder Steve Parkes. He’s talking about Drop-In’s new first-class liquor license, which will allow the brewery to serve pints on the premises. “When we began, we…
UVM Business School Founder Malcolm Severance Pens History
Now that he has self-published a history of the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business, 91-year-old Malcolm Severance is mapping his next moves. “One goal,” he said during a recent interview at his home in Colchester, “is to have as much influence as I can over what happens to the remaining land I own.”…
Letters to the Editor (8/31/16)
Hot Seat I know what you’re trying to do with your smutty alt-press front cover art [“Back in the Saddle,” August 24]. You want to scare off all the oldsters and youthify your demographic. Well, it won’t work with me. I spent a good couple of days sitting at outdoor cafés, proudly brandishing my copy…
Muralist Mary Lacy Takes Her Paints on Tour
Perched high in her bucket truck and spattered with paint, Mary Lacy has become a familiar figure in Burlington, one who has quite literally made a mark on the city. While her debut paintings of wildlife were sequestered inside the Moran Plant, other murals live boldly in public view: the hummingbird on a brick wall…
Eco Bean + Juice to Open Second Location, Up the Menu
After spending nearly 17 years as a celebrity hair stylist in New York City, Burlington native Justin Cruz returned to his hometown and opened a salon. Salon Cruz moved from a short-lived Main Street location to 688 Pine Street, where its owner also opened Eco Bean + Juice. Since November 2012, Cruz’s vegetarian and vegan…
GOP Flop: Vermont Republicans Face an Uphill Battle
“I support him mainly because I’m worried about safety,” Pam Ackerson explained as she assembled Trump lawn signs inside the Robert E. Miller Expo Centre. “And I wanna see a border wall. And I wanna see the laws for immigration enforced … We’re either a country of laws or we’re not.” Seated on metal folding…
BCA and Generator to Leave Memorial Auditorium
In recent weeks, two mainstays of the Burlington arts community, Burlington City Arts and Generator, have furthered their plans to vacate Memorial Auditorium by the end of the year. The 1927 building has been home to BCA’s clay and print studios and classrooms since their inception in the late ’90s, as well as to Generator…
Previewing the 2016 New World Festival
Music festivals come to be for a number of reasons, from love of a particular genre or band to the simple quest to make a buck. Randolph’s New World Festival was born out of a different motive: to give solace to a community reeling from disaster. Over an 18-month period in 1990-1991, Randolph lost 60…
Ranger Solar Is Winning Support for 100-Acre Arrays
A Maine-based company appears to have found a formula to win local backing for often controversial solar-energy projects: careful siting, a dose of patience and a willingness to alter plans to overcome objections. Ranger Solar’s ability to earn selectboard approval is particularly noteworthy given the size of its projects. While proposals for much smaller solar…
Seeking Vermont Eats at the Champlain Valley Fair
This is not an article about fried food — although there’s no shortage of it at the 94th Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction. Fried stuff is good, I know, in the way of reality television or forbidden fruit: so right in the moment, so wrong in retrospect. When munched beside a hulking Ferris wheel…
Burlington Winter Farmers Market to Move to UVM Davis Center
Way back when, Memorial Auditorium was the most happening spot in Burlington. It hosted basketball games, boxing championships and concerts by some of the hottest acts in music. Now the building, constructed in 1927, has been declared structurally unsafe. Occupants such as Burlington City Arts’ print and clay studios and the Generator maker space are…
