Dec 12-18, 2018
Four Vermont Judges Talk Law, Fairness and Being Female; Fewer Profs Enjoy Tenure Status at Vermont Colleges; New Compilation CD ‘Big Tiny Love’ Benefits UVM Children’s Hospital
Cover Story
Lady Justices: Four Vermont Judges Talk Law, Fairness and Being Female
Female judges enjoy a 3-2 majority on the Vermont Supreme Court. But their numerical advantage does not always translate to respect. “I’ve seen male attorneys arguing [before] the Supreme Court mix up the female justices’ names,” said Deputy Defender General Anna Saxman, a prominent Vermont attorney. “And I have seen the female justices interrupted, shockingly.…
Labor of Love: UVM Launches Volunteer Doula Program
Research shows that women who have continuous support during labor have better birth outcomes. Sometimes a family member is able to provide this support, but other times women turn to a doula — a birth companion or coach who provides emotional and physical support before, during and after labor. Hiring a private doula can be…
Destination Recreation: Intervale Sea Caves
If you’ve drive on Route 127, the Burlington Beltline, you might have caught a glimpse of a mysterious, black, keyhole-shaped opening standing out in the hillside to your right. This spot, known as the Donahue Sea Caves or Ice Caves, is one of the first places I brought my now-10-year-old son to ice skate. It’s…
The Power of Art, Engaged Youth & Great Diners: A Conversation with M.T. Anderson
Admirers of Vermont’s M.T. Anderson have come to expect the unexpected from this prolific and widely imaginative writer of young people’s literature. Anderson’s books range from his dystopian novel, Feed, to his epic work of nonfiction, Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, to thought-provoking picture books, including…
The Parmelee Post: Burlington Mural Continues to Cover Up White Crimes
Recent changes made to a controversial mural have completely failed to address the underlying source of controversy, according to Burlington art critics. Responding to complaints that the “Everyone Loves a Parade!” mural in downtown Burlington was “white supremacist,” city officials decided to incorporate a mixed-media element into the piece by hanging up some tarp. “The…
A Standout Season: Vermonters Share Memorable Winter Stories
Vermont’s daylight hours dwindle in December and remain scarce deep into January. But this season of darkness also carries a magical mystique. In early winter, even grownups — who will tire of digging out driveways and braving snowy roads by March and April — are entranced by the transformation of our landscape into a winter…
The Strength Within: Kelly Breeyear Helps Fellow Moms Fight Addiction
Mothers of young children often gather in groups: to seek advice, to offer support, to commiserate. Four moms sitting in a circle of chairs in a large room in downtown Burlington are doing all three. They speak in the familiar banter of women who don’t just know each other, but get each other. A woman…
Seven Days Wins 18 Awards in Vermont Press Association Contest
Seven Days newspaper won 18 awards Thursday at the Vermont Press Association’s annual meeting in Montpelier. Those included six first-place prizes and the prestigious Mavis Doyle Award, which went to staff writer Alicia Freese. The paper swept the “Best State Story” category. First place went to the entire Seven Days news team for its five-week…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: Seeing Through the Haze
This week’s weed news in some ways paralleled the climax of the special counsel’s investigation into President Donald Trump. Before you call me crazy, let me explain. It seemed like the last several days have given clarity to both things. Robert Mueller appears prepared to wrap up his investigation, while the Vermont Governor’s Advisory Marijuana…
Jacquelyn Kennedy Baker, 1936-2018
Jacquelyn Kennedy Baker, daughter of John and Mary Kennedy, passed peacefully in her sleep at home on December 11, 2018, at the age of 82. Jackie was born May 8, 1936, in Amsterdam, N.Y. Jackie loved Vermont, where she raised her five children in Chittenden County and spent many summers at her camp on Fairfield…
Amerykanka Bring Eastern European Folk Music to Burlington
A cappella singing requires finely tuned togetherness. To be fair, that’s true of any live performance, be it dance, theater, burlesque or whatever. But the nakedness and vulnerability of voice-only music require an especially heightened level of focus and cohesion. It’s like walking a tightrope sans net. You’ll witness such vocal precision if you happen…
My Wife and I Are Interested in Finding Swingers
Dear Scarlett, My wife and I are interested in learning more about swingers in Vermont. We are brand-new to this and are trying to figure out how to meet people (socially first, to see if there is interest). We live in Woodstock, so New Hampshire clubs/groups might also be helpful. Signed, More the Merrier(male, 48)…
Movie Review: Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Roma’ Mesmerizes With an Immersive View of the Past
The new movie from Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Gravity) deserves to be seen on the biggest screen you can manage. In good news for local cinephiles, Roma premieres this Friday not just on Netflix but at Merrill’s Roxy Cinemas. The Mexican director’s autobiographical odyssey, shot in black and white and full of masterfully composed…
Burlington Non-GMO Eatery Changes Name to Eco Bean Café Express
Down the road at 688 Pine Street, Café Pine — formerly known as Eco Bean & Juice — has again renamed itself, this time Eco Bean Café Express. The non-GMO, mostly organic menu includes revived Eco Bean favorites such as chaga-chai smoothies and sushi bowls, along with panini and new items such as rice bowls…
Adoptees and Parents Reflect on Transracial Adoption in Vermont
One of Corazon Swanberg’s most vivid childhood memories is of being ridiculed in kindergarten because of her hair. “My mom just didn’t have time to braid my hair, and so she had combed it out and just put it into puffs,” said Swanberg, now a 23-year-old studying social work in Boston. “As soon as the…
Album Review: Willverine, ‘Save Some’
(self-released, digital) A clattering mixture of bells and metallic percussive sounds opens Willverine’s latest EP, Save Some. As the clanging tones evaporate in a wash of reverb, a billowy voice and quick jabs of synth bass trade off back and forth. A string of dewy handclaps flutter in as the beat fully drops and the…
ZAFA Wines and Shacksbury Collaborate on Tasting Room, CO Cellars
At the Soda Plant in Burlington, ZAFA Wines and Shacksbury are three weeks into the soft launch of their collaborative cellar and tasting room, CO Cellars. “It’s a space for collaboration, community, cofermentation,” ZAFA owner Krista Scruggs told Seven Days earlier this week. Since the space is an active fermentory, visitors can watch in-process wines…
Can I Get an Amend? Vermont Legislature to Consider Abortion, Slavery and Equal Rights Amendments
Vermont’s constitution is the shortest in the nation — and one of the most difficult to amend. But state legislative leaders say they’re determined to enshrine a series of new progressive protections in the document, and they plan to start this winter. According to Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden), his members are poised to…
North Ave Nepali Restaurant to Reopen as Maya’s Kitchen
Jeetan Khadka, co-owner of Nepali Kitchen and Bar — Burlington, is selling the business to his chef, he told Seven Days. After the New Year, the restaurant at 1130 North Avenue will reopen under the name Maya’s Kitchen, owned and operated by Maya Gurung-Subba. She’s a graduate of the Community Kitchen Academy, a program of…
Sampling Sri Lanka at Montréal’s Nama Restaurant
When Jeya Sivans described her journey to owning Nama, a cozy new restaurant in Montréal’s Plateau, she was humble. “I am not a chef,” she demurred. Indeed, she grew up in India and London with a foodie father and a mother who enthusiastically prepared Sri Lankan food for their family of seven; there wasn’t any…
Brio Coffeeworks and Tomgirl Juice Open for Business in Soda Plant
Elsewhere at the Soda Plant, Brio Coffeeworks’ roastery, retail space and tasting bar is now open Monday through Saturday. And the presses are purring along at Tomgirl Juice, which is open daily for fresh-pressed juices, veggie soups, salads, chia pudding bowls and other healthful, veggie-focused fare. Related Stories
Album Review: Dan Silverman, ‘Early Heroes’
(Self-released, CD, digital) Is offering an earnest homage to influences as laudable as integrating them into a distinctive personal style? That might be a debate for another time, after hearing what Dan Silverman conceived as a tribute to his jazz roots in Early Heroes. Scanning the song titles and composer credits on the trombonist’s first…
Over-Board? To Cull Commissions, Vermont Creates a New Commission
At the end of each legislative session, former state employee Otto Trautz takes it upon himself to read through every new law in search of any board or commission Vermont lawmakers saw fit to create. Without fail, he uncovers a fresh crop. Trautz keeps an unofficial tally of state-created panels, which has surpassed 250. “No…
Trader Duke’s Renovates, Reopens as Duke’s Public House
At 1117 Williston Road in Burlington, Trader Duke’s Hotel completed a months-long renovation of its restaurant, which reopened in November as Duke’s Public House. As part of Marriott’s new Delta Hotels business-class lodging brand, the place has been outfitted for folks who — wait for it — do business. “You would not recognize anything about…
Movie Review: Road Trip Meets Race Relations in the Affecting ‘Green Book’
Peter Farrelly deserves credit for venturing well outside his wheelhouse. Half of the fraternal filmmaking duo behind Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary and other gross-out milestones, the director took us on a long drive with two goofballs in a shaggy-dog-mobile in 1994. Who would’ve imagined that all these years later he’d be on…
Free Will Astrology (12/12/18
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” Author John Green asked that question. I confess that I’m not entirely comfortable with it. It’s a bit pushy. I find I’m more likely to do remarkable things if I’m not trying too hard…
Amid Retail Pressures, Another Vermont General Store Prepares to Close
Another one bites the dust. The Barnet Village Store, a community hub in the small Northeast Kingdom town on the New Hampshire border, will close this week. It’s yet another of Vermont’s general stores that has fought the good fight against Amazon, dollar stores and grocery chains — and lost. Deb King, the Barnet store’s…
Middlebury Prof’s Doc, ‘Man on Fire,’ Debuts on Vermont PBS
When 13-year-old James Chase Sanchez and his mother moved to Grand Saline, Texas, in 2001 for better schools, he soon heard about the town’s most famous stories: Signs at both ends of Grand Saline ordered African Americans to leave by sundown; the Ku Klux Klan visited the town; the Pole-town neighborhood got its name because…
Political Maneuvering Sidetracks a Plan for Permit Reform in Burlington
If there’s any consensus among Burlington politicians, it’s that the city’s convoluted permitting process needs an overhaul. Even the simplest home renovation involves a tangle of red tape: trips to two city offices, a host of permits and various fees. But when Mayor Miro Weinberger and members of his administration introduced a proposal to streamline…
Letter to the Editor (12/12/18)
Say ‘Cheeseface’ I’m sorry, but I had to laugh out loud at the letter you published from Cecelia Moon, who referred derisively to the Mr. Cheeseface cover as a “triggering image” [“Who Shot Mr. Cheeseface?” November 28; Feedback: “Who Approved That Cover Image?” December 5]! As for us, we’ve cut the cover out and stuck…
Tenuous Tenure: Fewer Profs at Vermont Colleges Enjoy the Status
Vermont Law School professor Peter Teachout said he knew the institution’s financial condition was dire but still felt “total shock” when the school presented him and other faculty with a stark choice in May: Give up tenure and accept a two-year contract with a large pay cut, or be fired July 1. Teachout accepted the…
Eat This Week, December 12 to 28, 2018: Baked in Vermont
The Barre Historical Society celebrates the culmination of years of restoration and planning with the debut of community-funded Rise Up Bakery. Visitors to the Old Labor Hall can snack on handcrafted sandwiches made with the bakery’s wood-fired bread while touring the new facility. Colin McCaffrey and Friends strike a celebratory chord with live tunes. Union…
Amy Rose Capetta’s ‘The Brilliant Death’ Mixes Up Fantasy Archetypes
The fantasy genre is a great place to mix up familiar archetypes in new ways. For instance, why shouldn’t a mafia princess be gender-fluid, heir to her father’s empire and a witch? Granted, none of those qualities exactly comes easily to Teodora “Teo” di Sangro, the narrator of The Brilliant Death. That’s the latest young-adult…
Hackie: Cabbie Colleagues
I watched a car speed past me on the left doing at least 60 and just shook my head, thinking, Well, that’s slightly suicidal. I myself was easing along at 40, even less on the downhills and bridges. It was 5:30 in the morning and still pitch-black, courtesy of daylight saving time. Normally, I make…
Pianist Paul Orgel to Present All-Haydn Concert
In an earlier age — the summer of 2016 — Shelburne pianist Paul Orgel toured an all-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart solo recital program intended to counter the anti-Enlightenment sentiments being promoted by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. “It was supposed to influence the election, but it didn’t work,” Orgel says drily. The pianist hasn’t succumbed to despair,…
Art Review: Thatiana Oliveira & Madeline Veitch at New City Galerie
It’s lucky that “sick and tired of being sick and tired: how to tell a story of a body and what ails it?” is at Burlington’s New City Galerie through January 17, because the exhibit requires more than one visit for full absorption of the experience it offers. That’s unusual for a show consisting of…
‘Big Tiny Love’ Music Compilation Benefits UVM Children’s Hospital
Elodie Joy Adler is a bright and bubbly little girl. She’s sweet and funny and a little wild in that endearing manner that only 3-year-olds can pull off. Playing on the floor of her Old North End home in Burlington, she’s the picture of a happy, healthy kid, and her energy is infectious. That’s a…
Soundbites: Rough Francis Anniversary and Season Two of ‘The T’
Final Countdown Season’s greetings, music lovers. We’re just a few weeks away from the end of the year, and practically every musician and their entire extended family are gearing up for some kind of special holiday throwdown. We’ll take a look at many of those in next week’s edition of this column, but a couple…
Star 92.9 Hosts Mike & Mary Talk About Nonstop Holiday Music
Anyone who lives in Vermont’s Champlain Valley has likely heard the voices of Mike Czarny and Mary Cenci over the years. The duo hosts “Mike and Mary in the Morning,” on commercial FM station Star 92.9, every weekday from 5 to 9 a.m. With charm, humor and familiarity with their listeners, they have built up…
Mild to Wild at Eden Specialty Ciders Boutique Taproom & Cheese Bar
In 2008, Eleanor and Albert Léger brought the tradition of ice cider from Canada to the United States. They produced the specialty drink — using a process that involves the natural freezing of apples or pressed juice before fermentation — at their farmhouse in West Charleston and called the beverage Eden Ice Cider. Ten years…
Taco Gordo Opens in Burlington’s Old North End
When Taco Gordo opened last week at 208 North Winooski Avenue in Burlington, it added a taqueria to the array of dining options that extends from Shinjuku Station, a sushi place at the corner of North Street and North Winooski, to Pizzeria Ida, a block off North Winooski on Riverside Avenue. “This is the restaurant…
