Overheard on a Ski Lift
This past Sunday, I dusted off the battered, old snowboard and hit the slopes for the first time this season. I figured I’d get in a few quick runs at Bolton Valley before heading home to make Christmas cookies. And by make, I mean eat the dough and pour sprinkles into my mouth. Sunday proved…
Lauryn Hill at Higher Ground: Fail or Fantastic?
Would she show up, or wouldn’t she? It was the question seemingly on the minds of everyone who dropped $60 to see Lauryn Hill perform last night at Higher Ground. Apparently, Hill, the former Fugees star and and famous flamer-outer, has a history of ditching shows people have paid good money to see. So every…
Corm, Coach and Lana Wilder Team up for New Morning Show
They’re baaack. The Champlain Valley awoke this morning once again to the sounds of Corm, Coach and Lana — only this time from their computers and smartphones rather than the radio. Steve Cormier (“Corm”), Tom Brennan (“Coach”) and Lana Wilder (“Lana” launched a new, two-hour morning show on Northeast Sports Network (NSNSports.net). The show airs…
This Means War? Progressive Mayor Works With Defense Contractor to Combat Climate Change
* Updated * Burlington used to have a reputation as a hotbed of anti-war activism. Protesters regulary chained themselves to the fences outside the weapons design shop on Lakeside Avenue — home to General Electric, Martin Marietta, Lockheed Martin and most recently General Dynamics. This building was such a focal point of protest that it…
The Shumlin Team Roster
* Check below for updates as new appointees are named As Gov.-elect Peter Shumlin takes control of government, he’s bringing with him a long list of new appointees to key posts. Examining his choices might offer clues into how that team will govern. Let’s start with gender balance. Of Shumlin’s 26 appointments to date, half…
Mayor Bob Kiss: Report Critical of Burlington Telecom ‘Lacks Credibility’
It’s a tried and true trick of the trade: If you have bad news to release, ship it off to the media as near the end of business on Friday as possible. Both today and last Friday, Queen City officials released statements about the beleaguered Burlington Telecom between 4 and 5 p.m. Today’s release was…
Polls Gives Obama 71-Point Lead Over Sanders in Hypothetical 2012 Match-Up
Bad news for folks on board the “Bernie for President” bandwagon. A poll of New Hampshire Democrats and independents released today by Magellan Strategies shows Barack Obama shellacking Filibernie by 79 to 8 in a theoretical “primary” election. Sanders has said he’s not interested in running for president but that hasn’t stopped more than 500…
Shelburne’s Dawna Hammers sings Joni Mitchell’s “River”
This week, many of us at Seven Days have been busy working on year-end updates to stories we covered in 2010. Mostly, the process involves checking in with some of the folks we interviewed this year to find out what, if any, new developments have occurred since we last spoke. Back in October, I wrote…
Barre Water Shut-Off Lawsuit Wins Class-Action Status
Brenda Brown, the Barre renter whose taps the city turned off for two weeks last winter because her landlord didn’t pay the water bill, has won a victory in her federal lawsuit against the city. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss granted class-action status to the lawsuit that Brown (pictured) brought against the…
Senate Rejects Sanders’ Amendments to Tax Cut Bill
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) failed in a last-minute effort to eliminate tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans contained in a compromise tax package he faux filibustered on Friday. Sanders took to the Senate floor Friday in a daylong speech that made him into an overnight Internet folk hero among the political left — leading…
Mean Scene
A UVM research team says the key to stopping “relational aggression” is empowering bystanders
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again When Walter Allen Jr., bought two Bentleys from a Houston car dealership for $458,000, he paid by signing over a $500,000 check issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. Managers at the dealership became suspicious because the Federal Reserve Bank usually uses wire transfers, not checks. They asked Allen to return later to…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): I vividly remember seeing singer Diamanda Galas in concert. Though classically trained, she didn’t confine herself to mellifluous melodies and elegant tones. She was a whirlwind of elemental sound, veering from animalistic bellows to otherworldly chants to operatic glossolalia. It was all very entertaining and often enjoyable. The skill with which…
Letters to the Editor
Media 101 I had just finished the crossword and was skimming backward through Seven Days when I spied the batch of letters about the bare-assed American Apparel ad. Pretty entertaining, especially Jason Cooley’s. But then I closed the paper, only to be confronted with your front cover, which I assumed you paid someone to do…
![Woodstock’s Winter Wassail Weekend [204]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/episode204.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Woodstock’s Winter Wassail Weekend [204]
12/11/10: Woodstock’s Winter Wassail Weekend has become a Vermont tradition over the years, the highlight being the Wassail Parade through the center of town. What exactly does wassailing entail? Watch and see. Music: Renaissonics, Carols For Dancing, “Gavottes,” “Good King Wenceslas”
Bite Club TV: The Great Brisket Bake-Off
I don’t know if I’ve ever had more fun making a video than I did on this one. Other than bar mitzvahs, I hadn’t been to temple since I was seven. At my previous temple visit, the rabbi, whom folks back in Greenwich, Conn. called the “Hollywood Rabbi” because he was the father of Weekend…
Shumlin Crowned “Arts Governor”
I was a special guest at a Burlington City Arts board dinner last Tuesday night. So was Peter Shumlin, but Vermont’s good-natured governor-elect got the “royal treatment.” Between appetizers and dinner, a tiara-clad Miss Vermont instructed him to get down on his knees, placed a costume crown on his head and proclaimed Shumlin the “arts…
Supreme Court Denies Immunity for Top Burlington Official
The Vermont Supreme Court has denied a last-ditch appeal by Burlington’s Chief Administrative Officer Jonathan Leopold to be granted immunity from a citizen lawsuit seeking immediate repayment to taypayers of $17 million loaned to Burlington Telecom. The suit was brought last year by former city councilors Fred Osier and Gene Shaver. Earlier this year, Superior…
