As an officer at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility, Daniel Zorzi’s job has been to guard and protect the 140 women incarcerated at the South Burlington prison. But for more than six years, according to colleagues and inmates, he has routinely used cocaine and other stimulants while on duty. “You would see it in his…
Drivers heading north from Vermont into Canada may have noticed that, just as they’re about to cross the international border, signs in English and French announce, “Attention! All cannabis products must be declared.” What exactly does it mean to “declare” that one is entering Canada with a cannabis product, and what are the ramifications for…
(Thunder Ridge Records, CD, digital) Orange County’s Jennings & McComber specialize in what Guy Clark called “that old-time feeling.” The folk duo’s moniker actually comes from the past, too. Known to their family and friends as Kara and Andy Lake, the couple took their stage name from their grandmothers. The duo’s second album, Will You…
Like many Vermont eldercare homes, EastView at Middlebury was struggling to keep enough ’round-the-clock staff in early 2015. The nonprofit’s 34 elderly residents were falling down more often as a result, a confidential complainant alleged February 3 of that year to Vermont’s Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living. The home was interviewing caregiver candidates…
Honey, I’m Home Nearly two years after releasing their debut, self-titled album, Yes Darling return bigger and better than ever. On Saturday, December 7, the duo of Ryan Montbleau (Ryan Montbleau Band) and Hayley Jane (formerly of Hayley Jane and the Primates) reunite for the theatrical debut of their shared project at the Double E…
When was the last time a couple directed dueling Best Picture contenders? James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow went head-to-head at the Oscars in 2010 with Avatar and The Hurt Locker, but they’d already divorced. This year, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are all but certain to find themselves in competition with each other, having released…
Talking Tech Thanks to Kevin McCallum for bringing to light challenges we are having in the tech sector [“Hire Anxiety,” November 6]. As a tech entrepreneur, I am worried about the erosion of a once-vibrant base of industry tech “incubators” — small and large tech companies that were established and growing and gave people a…
In the 1970s, Hollywood periodically took refuge from politics and “serious” subjects in drawing-room-style mysteries. Movies like Murder by Death and The Last of Sheila doubled as playgrounds for seasoned character actors to ham it up to their hearts’ content. Writer-director Rian Johnson clearly remembers those days. In his first feature, Brick (2005), he brought…
Dear Reverend, On our second date, this woman told me that she had a boyfriend, but they had an open relationship or were polyamorous. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but they had sex with other people. I was cool with it at first, but we’ve been seeing each other for about eight months…
Five law enforcement agents surrounded a split-level ranch in Winooski at 1:19 p.m. on November 8. Protected by bulletproof vests and Glock semiautomatic pistols, they pounded on the front door of the Cedar Street home. No one answered, but the officers had a warrant, so they entered an unlocked back door and roused their surprised…
Mary Ruefle, who became Vermont’s ninth poet laureate in October, does not own a computer. The contact page of her website features a graphic of a birdbath-like vessel labeled “The Unknown,” along with this tantalizing bit of text: “The only way to contact me is by contacting my press, Wave Books, or by running into…
Montpelier artist Rob Hitzig has been making bumper stickers since 2013. Not the kind that announce a motorist’s preference for president, that there’s a “baby on board,” or that “My other car is a broom.” No, his stickers are patterns of vibrant colors, lacking any text or obvious import. Hitzig, 55, has frequently exhibited his…
Brattleboro-based Mount Island, founded by Desmond Peeples, is a literary magazine devoted to the voices of rural LGBTQ and people of color. This week, the online quarterly began accepting submissions for a new poetry prize that honors a “voice” from the past: that of Lucy Terry Prince, who is considered the first known African American…
Leah Gimbutas is already sick of Christmas music. That’s because Gimbutas, who lives on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, got an all-night holiday serenade back on November 15. She called the marketplace office “literally the second they opened the next day,” the Champlain College student said. “I was like, ‘This is torture. I’m not dealing with…
After 12 years in caregiving, Malinga Mukunda still works long days. The Burlington resident starts most mornings at Community Health Centers, where she acts as a health coach for refugees, before switching into scrubs for her full-time job in the memory care unit at the Converse Home, an assisted living facility in Burlington. Her shift…
Faced with contradictory narratives about when their police chief learned that one of his officers had punched a handcuffed woman in the face in March, St. Albans city leaders say they have no plans to figure out who’s telling the truth. Chief Gary Taylor has maintained that he didn’t know sergeant Jason Lawton had slugged…
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “My greatest asset is that I am constantly changing,” says Sagittarian actress and activist Jane Fonda. This description may not always be applicable to you, but I think it should be during the coming weeks. You’re primed to thrive on a robust commitment to self-transformation. As you proceed in your holy…
When Jamie Franklin became curator of the Bennington Museum in 2005, he started connecting with artists’ estates and living artists linked to Bennington College’s midcentury heyday. Founded in 1932 as a women’s college, Bennington was a hotbed of American artistic experimentation from 1950 through the mid-1970s. Its nearly all-male faculty had close connections to the…
Before Béla Fleck came along, the banjo was mostly relegated to the world of roots music. But the New York City-born banjo virtuoso changed the world’s perception of the stringed instrument, primarily through the work of his longtime quartet, the Flecktones. By fusing together elements of traditional bluegrass and contemporary jazz, Fleck, 61, pioneered a…
A roomful of pianos takes up an inordinate amount of oxygen. Not literally — although pianos do tend to be picky about humidity and altitude — but in terms of impact: Every piano has a distinct presence, and a roomful of them demands air, attention and reverence. In North Ferrisburgh, Justin and Emily Rose have…
Hello, old friend. It’s been a long time since you groped around in my corner of the winter clothes crate. I know you were hoping I might be your favorite pair of running gloves, but — surprise! — it’s me, the tam-o’-shanter with whom you had a brief but torrid dalliance three years ago. Before…
(Self-released, CD, digital) Sarah King is relatively new to the Vermont music scene, but the Addison-based singer-songwriter is far from some fresh-faced neophyte. Originally from Maine, King left New England more than a decade ago to pursue her musical career in the Deep South. From the sound of her new record, What Happened Last Night,…
A pair of centuries-old European Christmas baking traditions waltzed gracefully with each other around a Fairfax bakery on a chilly November Sunday. Evocative and festive aromas of candied citrus, macerating dried fruit and warm spices hung in the air as two expert bakers guided workshop participants through the intricacies of making German stollen and Italian…
Chef Joey Buttendorf Position: Senior chef instructor Location: Community Kitchen Academy at Capstone Community Action, Barre Age: 49 Cuisine type: Contemporary global, or “everything!” Education: New England Culinary Institute Experience: Currently consulting as executive chef for the Black Lantern Inn in Montgomery. Has been owner-operator of Gigi’s Deli, Bakery and Catering in Stowe; executive chef…
A restaurant that was established a generation ago in St. Albans will launch a second location this month in Stowe when Jeff’s at Stowe opens in the Grey Fox Inn at 990 Mountain Road, general manager Anna Walsh said. The seafood restaurant will share ownership and much of its menu with Jeff’s Maine Seafood, which…
The 1920s were the era of the speakeasy. In St. Albans, it looks like the 2020s will be, too. The Clothier is a new cocktail lounge from Twiggs — An American Gastropub owner Tom Murphy; Loudon Granger joins as the bar’s general manager. Like any good speakeasy, it’s shrouded in mystery. The space next to…
The University of Vermont, Norwich University, Sodexo and their affiliated partners will receive a $250,000 grant designed to strengthen regional food systems by putting more local food on campus menus, the Henry P. Kendall Foundation announced on Monday. The recipients are among six teams of institutions to be awarded the foundation’s New England Food Vision…
