Feb 17-23, 2010
What You Should Know About Vermont’s Nuclear Power Plant; Shumlin Calls for a Vote on Vermont Yankee; Longtime B-Town Restaurant Comes Around Again.
Save the Seals — Boycott Maple Syrup
There’s nothing I love more than celebrities lending their names to wackadoodle things. OK, I do love some things more than that. Like mashed potatoes and slip-on shoes. But when famous folks sign on to a cause or a product, the results can be painful. And hilarious. Like Kathy Lee Gifford shilling for K-Mart, Mike…
From UVM Baseball to VT Yankee: The Doyle Town Meeting Survey
It’s an annual ritual: A Town Meeting Day survey of voters conducted by State Sen. William Doyle (R-Washington) on some of the hot topics facing the state and the nation. This year, topping Doyle’s 42nd annual survey is the question: “Should Vermont Yankee’s license be renewed in 2012?” Doyle and his fellow senators will vote…
Leahy to Hold Hearing on Bush-era ‘Torture’ Memos
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Friday to delve into the recent report issued by the Department of Justice regarding the so-called “torture memos” authored by the Bush administration’s Office of Legal Counsel. The DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility found that former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo engaged in professional misconduct by…
Even More Bad News for Vermont’s Bat Population
It appears that white-nose syndrome (WNS), which has already decimated Vermont’s bat population and has killed off tens of thousands of bats in New England, is only getting worse — as if bats didn’t have it bad enough already, what with centuries of being demonized for their purported link to vampires and other blood-sucking spooks. Scientific American reported…
Benefit Concert Saturday in Honor of Guen Gifford
Last fall, I wrote a blog post about Burlington lawyer and activist Guen Gifford (pictured) who was killed in a paragliding accident on November 1. Guen, who was only 37, was a passionate activist, as many who knew her remarked at her memorial service. From 2001-2007, she was on the board of the Peace &…
Senate Committee Approves Vermont Yankee Bill
The Senate Finance Committee late yesterday unanimously agreed to send a bill regarding Vermont Yankee’s relicensure to the full Senate. The committee voted 7-0, without recommendation. That bill — S. 289 — is expected to be debated on the Senate floor next Wednesday. The full text of the bill is below. The bill, if approved,…
Are Legislators Cheating the System? The Debate Rages On…
Seven Days’ recent story on Vermont legislators’ liberal use of allowances for meals, mileage and hotels is getting tons of feedback — a lot of it predictably outraged. The headline asked: “Legislators Admit to Cheating the System. Are They Justified?” Judging from the feedback we got, most readers thought “no.” We ran a full page…
Whistleblower Claims Past Vermont Yankee Leaks Went Unreported
The current tritium leak at Vermont Yankee is not the first such leak, according to an anonymous individual claiming to be a Vermont Yankee employee. That revelation is included in a two-page letter sent today to the Vermont Public Service Board by the Department of Public Service. The source is an email from Public Oversight…
See Rutland Get Destroyed
Sundance, Shmundance. This coming weekend, Rutland’s Paramount Theatre offers a film festival where you won’t have to dodge paparazzi or pretend to care about the bittersweet coming-of-age films of earnest young indie directors. Instead, you can watch RutVegas bite it, just like real Vegas did in 2012. But repeatedly. In a flood. In an avalanche.…
Gundersens Step Into the Nuclear Crosshairs
It was bound to happen. Now that industry-insiders-turned-nuclear-watchdogs Arnie and Maggie Gundersen have taken center stage in the legislative showdown over whether Vermont Yankee gets relicensed for another 20 years, the nuclear industry and its supporters have begun their campaign to smear their credibility — just as they did 20 years ago when the Gundersens…
The 20/20 Challenge: Cochran’s Ski Area (Week #10)
One Snowboarder’s Quest to Hit 20 Vermont Resorts in 20 Weeks
Letters to the Editor
TA Story Failed [Re: “UVM’s Recession Strategy? Bigger Classes and More Undergrad Teaching Assistants,” February 10]: As the professor of the political science course alluded to by Ms. McLellan in her piece on UVM’s use of teaching assistants for grading in large, introductory courses, I feel it necessary to clarify several factual inaccuracies on which…
The 20/20 Challenge: Bolton Valley (Week #10)
One Snowboarder’s Quest to Hit 20 Vermont Resorts in 20 Weeks
Joshua Panda, What We Have Sewn
(Self-released, CD) Joshua Panda is one offbeat dude. From his cutesy ursine sobriquet to his disheveled but classic sense of style — typically involving suspenders, Ray Bans and a pork-pie hat — everything about the guy screams “quirky.” Except for his voice. There is nothing quirky about Joshua Panda’s voice. The dulcet tones that resonate…
Power to the People?
The commissioner of public service reacts to charges of coziness with Vermont Yankee
The Insiders
Nuclear industry experts Arnie and Maggie Gundersen predicted the problems at Vermont Yankee
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again Police said Raul Gaucin-Valenzuela, 33, and a friend broke into a home in Evans, Colo., intending to beat up the friend’s ex-wife’s new boyfriend. The plan failed because the woman living there was baby-sitting Gaucin-Valenzuela’s two children, ages 8 and 11, who recognized their dad, even though a bandanna covered his face.…
Free Will Astrology
Here’s the weekly astrological forecast for February 17 – 24, 2010. What’s your sign, baby? They’re all here… ARIES (March 21-April 19): I personally don’t believe we’re living in the worst of times, although I know many people who do. While there are indeed reasons to despair, our current state of affairs is actually in…
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Art Review: Cynthia Beth Rubin, “Memories and Wanderings” and “Layered Histories”; Lia Rothstein, “Auschwitz-Birkenau 2009,”; both at Photostop, White River Junction. Through March 6.
As the Planet Turns
For nearly three decades, an iconic eatery has changed with Burlington
![Winter is a Drag Ball XV [SIV164]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/episode164.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Winter is a Drag Ball XV [SIV164]
2/13/10: The XV Annual Winter is a Drag Ball presentedby The House of LeMay sold out Higher Ground Saturday night. After a long winter, folks were ready to shed their clothes, gender bend and dance the night away. Over $13,000 was raised to benefit The Vermont People with AIDS Coalition. Music: Rue Mevlana, Drop the…
Public Service Board Denies Burlington Telecom Access to City Cash
In an eight-page ruling, the Vermont Public Service Board late Tuesday denied Burlington Telecom’s request to dip into the city’s so-called “cash pool” to make a key $386,000 interest payment tomorrow on its lease with CitiLeasing. This means the city will not be able to make the payment, meaning it will be in technical default…
Superchef
Fresh from a national competition, Michael Clauss buckles down to his task of transforming The Daily Planet
Best Bites: Main Street Grill & Bar
118 Main Street, Montpelier 223-3188 When I think NECI, I tend to think great, locally influenced comfort food. That began to change this weekend, when I sampled the Lounge Mediterranean Tapas menu at the Montpelier Main Street Grill. The selections were delicious, though there was little “Vermont” about them. A pet project of Executive Chef Tom…
