Dec 27, 2017 – Jan 2, 2018
The Year That Was: Reporters Share Their Backstories on the News; Twelve Months of Protest Art; The Good, Bad and Ridiculous in Cinema; Our Favorite Eating Experiences of 2017
The Cannabis Catch-Up: States Just Say No to Jeff Sessions
It was a big deal when the Vermont House on Thursday passed its version of a marijuana legalization bill. The Senate gets the bill next, and Gov. Phil Scott has said he’s amenable to signing it into law once it reaches his desk. The prospect of legal marijuana in Vermont is looking more and more like…
The Parmelee Post: To Attract Workers, Economists Suggest Ban on Meteorology in Vermont
State economists wasted no time formulating plans to help Gov. Phil Scott achieve his pledge for a “bold” campaign to attract more workers to Vermont. In a preliminary report released just moments after the governor’s first State of the State address on Thursday, the economists recommended a swift statewide ban on the practice of meteorology.…
Memoriam: Eric H. Charbonneau
January 6, 1963-March 10, 2015 My birthday gift to you will be Days go by and turn to years. Every step I take, a memory of you. Our tears are never too far from our love for you. In life, as in death, you will never be forgotten. Words alone are not nearly enough To…
Obituary: Leonard W. McDonald, 1943-2017
Leonard W. McDonald of Colchester went home to be with his heavenly Father on December 24, 2017, in the arms of his beloved wife, Emily, at the McClure-Miller VNA Respite House in Colchester. Leonard owned and operated E & L Siding for 40 years. Leonard loved woodworking and fixing things for folks. His biggest passion…
Obituary: Florence Saucier, 1919-2017
Florence Saucier, who has been called a “Queen of Winooski,” passed away peacefully at the Converse Home in Burlington, on December 21, just shy of her 99th birthday. Florence was a citizen of Winooski for more than 70 years, coming to the city in 1945 as a new bride. She remained in her own home…
Obituary: Stephen J. Cain, 1952-2017
Stephen J. Cain, age 65, passed away of natural causes on Christmas Eve of 2017. Steve was born on May 18, 1952, in Burlington, Vt., the second of seven children born to L. John Cain and the late Paulina P. Cain. Steve had a wonderful time growing up in Burlington. He loved summers at Starr…
![Remembering Will Knight, the Spider Web Guy [SIV516]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/episode516.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Remembering Will Knight, the Spider Web Guy [SIV516]
Willet (Will) Knight was known to the thousands who visited his Spider Web Farm in Williamstown over the last four decades, as the Spider Web Guy. Always handy with a joke and happy to chat, Will tended to his spiders and captured their one-of-a-kind webs on blocks of wood which he sold to tourists who…
Backstory: Toughest Reporting Moment
Mark Davis had recently written a cover story about a murder-suicide in Maidstone. Molly Walsh had interviewed Ron Ryan, whose daughter, Rebecca, died while rock climbing in Bolton. In a weekly meeting of the Seven Days news team, I listened to my colleagues share advice about their recent experiences talking to people who’d lost loved…
Backstory: Sketchiest Source
After weeks of reporting a profile of Republican operative and part-time Stowe resident Stuart Stevens, I was finally ready to sit down and write. I had more than enough material, including an interview with his former boss, Mitt Romney, and hours of tape with the subject himself. Then came the George Clooney call. Stevens, a…
Backstory: Story That Got the Quickest Results
It was a steamy day in August when I first met recovering opiate addict William McGuinness. We ordered coffee from Uncommon Grounds Coffee and Tea and sat outside on Burlington’s Church Street. He described to me the agonizing process of being taken off his drug-treatment medication while in prison as if it were a distant…
Backstory: Story With the Longest Gestation Period
Forgive me if I don’t remember all the details; this story dates back 37 years. Ronald Reagan had not yet ousted Jimmy Carter from the White House. I was in the second semester of my freshman year at the University of Vermont when I took Garrison Nelson’s political science class. Always ready with a yarn,…
Battle of the Sexes: The Good, Bad and Ridiculous in 2017 Cinema
It was the wire heard round the world. On October 5, the New York Times broke the Harvey Weinstein story, and, five days later, the New Yorker published a follow-up that included audio from a recording made by Ambra Battilana Gutierrez. In the doorway of the movie mogul’s hotel room, the model disobeyed direct orders…
Backstory: Scariest Moment in a Space-Age Car
While reporting a story this fall on the rise of electric-car ownership in Vermont, I took a spin with photographer Todd Lockwood in his 2016 Tesla Model S 90D. It was there I saw the future. And it blew my mind. For starters, I’d never ridden in a car that could touch the fully electric…
Our Seven Favorite Vermont Art Shows of 2017
It’s said that Vermont has more artists per capita than any other state. We don’t know if that’s true, but this is: Original artwork is on display nearly everywhere, indoors and out. We can’t take in every single exhibit, much less review them all — so the following selections are based on what we did…
Twelve Months of Protest Art in Vermont
2017 started with a bang: The day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, tens of thousands of protesters descended on Washington — and Boston, New York, Los Angeles and dozens of other cities worldwide — for the Women’s March. In a day, the pink pussy hat became an instantly recognizable international icon. Montpelier hosted the largest…
Backstory: Assignment That Made Me Love My Neighbor
To be a good journalist, you have to keep an open mind. That’s because investigating the facts of a story may change your assumptions. Mine were turned upside down while reporting a story in my hometown of Randolph. I knew about Mikel Brady — the local gossip about him, anyway — when I showed up at his…
Soundbites: 2017 Year in Review
Will you look at that? 2017 is all but over. That means it’s time to recap some of the most newsworthy music events of the past 12 months. Also, on a personal note: It means that I’ve been writing this column for almost a full calendar year. That is full-on, crazy-town, banana-pants bonkers, and I’ve…
In Montpelier, ‘SiteTime’ Installation Honors Cordwood
Before this fall, the Vermont Arts Council Sculpture Garden was a place where passersby on Montpelier’s State Street could see outdoor artwork — the static kind. Every two years, with a small honorarium from the VAC, curating organizations such as the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center in Rutland or Helen Day Art Center in Stowe…
Backstory 2017: What Seven Days Reporters Didn’t Tell You the First Time
“There’s always more to a story than a body can see from the fence line,” observed writer Barbara Kingsolver. That’s what motivated Mark Davis to venture out onto a frozen lake last winter to interview a park ranger about his role in a treacherous — and, ultimately, unsuccessful — ice rescue. Seven Days reporters go to…
Life Stories: Remembering Vermonters Who Died in 2017
Holiday decorations filled the display windows of stores in Burlington this December, but Michael Valente didn’t create any of the seasonal scenes. The Waterbury artist, who worked as a visual merchandiser for dozens of downtown shops over the past 40 years, didn’t make it to Christmas. He died of cancer in October. Michael Anthony Valente…
Backstory: Story That Hit the Closest to Home
Since I moved to Vermont two years ago, people occasionally ask me when I became a citizen. I explain that I’m in the U.S. on a work visa. The inevitable follow-up question is: Do you plan to apply for citizenship? The answer is pretty straightforward. I’m from Singapore, which doesn’t recognize dual nationalities. I plan…
Backstory: Most Grueling Reporting Trip
I drove two hours to North Hudson, N.Y., to report on the Boreas Ponds, an expansive wilderness tract in the Adirondacks. Conservationists want to keep it remote; state and local officials want to make the land more accessible. I found out that the current route to the main attraction — a lake with a view…
Hackie: Flatty BBQ
Ray Nolan relaxed in the back of my taxi with his wife, Sheila, as we rolled down the highway. He was a big man, both in height and girth, with jowls to spare. Those same jowls were of the bearded variety — auburn and precisely groomed. Stealing a glance in my rearview mirror, I pictured…
Backstory: Most Haunting Story
I had a feeling that 2016 was a record year for fatal opiate overdoses in Vermont. In January, long before the health department released its figures, I set out to prove my hypothesis with an approach that would reveal the people behind the numbers. There was only one way to do that — to reach…
Under the Radar: Themes From the Vermont Political Beat
There were issues that occupied a lot of space around the Statehouse in 2017. There were others that didn’t get as much attention — themes and trends that flew under the radar but that may make news in the New Year. Here are some that I’m thinking about, along with updates on several ongoing stories,…
Backstory: The Most Quotable Subject, Thom Lauzon
Late last summer, I traveled to Barre, where longtime Mayor Thom Lauzon was pitching a $30 million downtown development to a city council he controls. The goal was to investigate the ways in which Lauzon’s vast personal business interests intertwine — and maybe conflict — with the city’s. I had never spent any time with the man and…
Freedom of Screech: Our Favorite Reader Comments of 2017
We like to imagine that commenters on the Seven Days website think before they post. Do I have something witty or useful to say? Will this get me lots of likes? Has State Auditor Doug Hoffer weighed in yet? Believe it or not, we wade through every comment — the good, the bad and the…
Backstory: Most Nutritious Assignment
I spent weeks thinking that “Sally’s” was a Burlington diner I’d never heard of — until a source, a formerly homeless man, suggested we eat there together. At the Salvation Army, dinner is served six days a week — free of charge, no questions asked. I started going weekly, after work. At the inconspicuous Main…
Backstory: Most Pleasant Dressing-Down
Helene Lang was unhappy with my story about the late writer Dorothy Canfield Fisher and wanted to tell me why — in person. When I accepted her invitation to tea, she seemed pleased but surprised that I was willing to enter “hostile” territory. That is, plunk down in her living room at the Wake Robin…
Backstory: Best Inaccurate Story Tip
Last winter, I heard from a source that a retired Vermont judge, Ed Cashman, was working as an Uber driver. It wasn’t exactly Watergate material, but I figured it would make for a fun little feature. I tracked down Cashman, 73, and cold-called him. His response: “No, that’s not true. I’ve always been faithful, and…
Backstory: Story With the Longest Legs
Some stories won’t quit. For example: the Rebels sports mascot debate in South Burlington. After the school board voted in February to drop the name on the grounds that it had racist associations with the Confederacy, I thought the long saga had concluded. Wrong. The vote prompted a stream of news that continued through June…
Backstory: Stopped at the Border
Snowdrifts melted in the sunshine, and Québec DJs chattered in French on the radio. It felt good to be on a reporting road trip as I headed north to the Canadian border last spring. My plan was to do a quick drive over and back via the Highgate crossing. Observations of the scene would flesh…
Backstory: Most Uncomfortable Night
In July, Seven Days sent me across the lake to write a “being there” piece on the casting call for “Escape at Dannemora,” a Showtime series based on the dramatic prison break there in 2015. Ben Stiller would be directing it. I didn’t just report on the Plattsburgh, N.Y., auditions; I actually tried out, not…
Backstory: Story That Gave Me the Most Headaches, Literally
When I agreed to look into how many studies the Vermont legislature commissioned during the 2017 session, I assumed someone kept track. Several trips to the Statehouse basement, where the legislature’s bill drafters work, disabused me of that notion. But my ever-helpful editor Paul Heintz had a solution: Just search through the online versions of…
The Final Countdown: The Year’s Best Local Recordings
One of the best things about year-end lists is the inevitable criticisms they receive, especially when they pertain to the arts. “Why wasn’t X included? I can’t believe they put Y above Z!” It’s a perfectly natural reaction, and the most passionate and opinionated fans will surely voice their incredulity in comment sections and message…
Free Will Astrology (12/27/17)
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Hungarian psychiatrist Thomas Szasz dismissed the idea that a person should be on a quest to “find himself” or “find herself.” “The self is not something that one finds,” he said. Rather, “it is something one creates.” I think that’s great advice for you in 2018, Capricorn. There’ll be little value…
Backstory: Best — and Worst — Interview Setting
Game wardens are usually good interviews. They have great stories and, perhaps as a result of spending so much time alone, tend to be thoughtful and less guarded than their peers in other branches of law enforcement. The downside: tracking them down. In late January, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Game Warden Mike Scott risked…
Ask Athena: I Don’t Really Enjoy My Boyfriend’s Company
Our special double issue brings you two questions in one column. These letters are similar but required opposite advice. Enjoy! Dear Athena, I’ve been with my boyfriend for two years. At this point, I don’t really enjoy his company. Also, he’s in college, and I’m working, which only allows us to see each other on…
Backstory: Most Wine Consumed While Reporting
I don’t normally drink while interviewing people, but this particular story demanded it. I was writing about state lawmakers who rent houses together during the four months they spend in Montpelier. After a fair amount of cajoling — and some rejections — I talked my way into two residences. One was home to Representatives Matt…
Letters to the Editor (12/27/17)
Dynamic Duo I was happy to read Rachel Elizabeth Jones’ article on the exciting art of Rueben Vidrio and Ross Sheehan at the Flynndog gallery [Art Review: “Inner and Outer Space,” December 13]. There’s enough energy there to melt the most frigid of winter doldrums. I disagree, however, that “a meaningful dialogue between two artists’…
Kat Wright Reflects on 2017
The last time we checked in with Kat Wright, the Burlington soul singer had just released By My Side, the first record put out under her own name, sans longtime bandmates the Indomitable Soul Band. The ISB is still intact and a huge part of the album and the live act. But by truncating the…
Food Writers Discuss Their Favorite Eats of 2017
The woman over there snapping pictures of her quotidian spaghetti and meatballs at the neighborhood dive … yep, that’s me. Such photographic evidence allowed me to determine that, in 2017, I ate meals at 63 different Vermont dining establishments. That doesn’t include snacks at coffee shops, dinners at pop-up events, or the sandwiches and dumplings…
