Feb 3-9, 2010
The Romance & Bridal Issue: John Anthony’s CAD Creations; Long-Married Duos Share Pics; Sweet Sensations From a Cake Batter
Mayor Bob Kiss: Skeptical of Blue Ribbon Panel Report
Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss says he’s “skeptical” about a special committee’s findings that the Queen City should largely divest itself from Burlington Telecom. The Burlington Telecom Blue Ribbon Comittee will recommend this week that BT forge a partnership with a private, outside entity in order to ensure the utility’s survival, and so the city can…
Former Orphanage Resident Says Building Should be Used as a School
“I am a survivor of abandonment, too many times to count. I survived molestation by six different people, one being a priest. I survived beatings and torture in an orphanage. I survived being raped as a teenager. I survived my brother’s incarceration and death. I survived working in a little store and being held up…
Blue Ribbon Panel: Burlington Telecom Not Viable without Outside Help
A special panel created by the Burlington City Council to examine the viability of Burlington Telecom has come to a simple conclusion: The utility is not viable as it’s currently being run. That said, the seven-member Blue Ribbon Committee does not believe that Burlington Telecom should be sold outright to the highest bidder, or that…
Entergy Assembles Lobbying Teams to Rebuild Vermonters’ Trust
Entergy announced late Wednesday that it has assembled a team of its top government affairs and communications specialists to assuage concerns of Vermont officials and rebuild trust. The move comes one day after Entergy placed a top official — Jay Thayer — on administrative leave. Thayer was one of several Entergy Vermont Yankee officials who…
Where’d Those Books Go? (and does it matter?)
Want a copy of Bill McKibben’s latest book, Deep Economy? Want to buy it cheap from Amazon.com? Well, as I write this, anyway, you can’t. The Amazon page for the book refers you to third-party sellers, ’cause they ain’t offering it. What about Wendy Clinch’s “ski diva” mystery Double Black? Same deal. What the frak…
Church Street Businesses “Oppose” Outdoor Smoking Ban? Not So Fast
A “majority” of Church Street businesses oppose an outdoor smoking ban on the pedestrian mall, according to a new survey by the Church Street Marketplace District Commission. But fewer than one in six business owners — only 33 out of 200 —bothered to fill out the survey asking their opinion of the proposed ban. So…
Vermont Senator’s Daughter Caught in Fashion Week Prank
Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin’s daughter, Becca Shumlin, has reportedly been caught up in an NYC Fashion Week prank. She and a schoolmate, Remy Renzullo, found a way to have their names added to the guest list at a series of events, according to the website Gawker. It’s a little unclear how they were…
The 20/20 Challenge: Middlebury College Snow Bowl (Week #8)
One Snowboarder’s Quest to Hit 20 Vermont Resorts in 20 Weeks
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again After robbers used heavy metal drain covers to smash their way into a Welsh bank in Cardiff and make off with $171,156, police quickly identified the culprits because a witness remembered the personalized license plate — “J4MES” — on the sporty blue BMW used as the getaway vehicle. Police found James Snell,…
Free Will Astrology
Here’s the weekly astrological forecast for February 3 – 10, 2010. What’s your sign, baby? They’re all here… AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I got an email from an Aquarian reader complaining that the astrologers she consulted in early 2009, including me, were wrong about the year ahead. All of us said it would be a…
Insert Benefit Pun Here
Soundbites: Insert Benefit Pun Here, Putting the “In” in Improv, BiteTorrent
Letters to the Editor
Media Issue, the Sequel? I love the hilarious mock Twitter cover on your latest issue, and Dan Bolles’ profile of Dennis Steele and Free Vermont Radio was wonderfully written [“Free at Last,” January 27]. Even funnier? That you devote most of your so-called “media” issue to Twitter and a bunch of bloggers. Sure, Twitter is…
Constructivist Criticism
Art Review: “Views and Re-Views: Soviet Political Posters and Cartoons,” Fleming Museum, UVM, Burlington. Through May 23.
Split Imperative
With marriage a 50-50 proposition, why do couples keep taking the plunge?
Northern Nosh
Side Dishes: In Fairfax, VT Breakfast Company will serve more than breakfast
![Lake Elmore Polar Plunge [SIV162]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/episode162.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Lake Elmore Polar Plunge [SIV162]
1/30/10: The 2nd Annual Lake Elmore Polar Plunge inspired about 75 gutsy participants to LEAP into the frigid lake. Teams raised almost $13,000 which will be split between the Morrisville Rotary Club who organize the event and the new Lamoille County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity who hope to build a home for a local…
Ethan Allen Institute Prez & CEO Resigns
** UPDATED BELOW ** After less than six months on the job, Rick Bornemann has resigned his post as president and chief executive officer of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank. The news was broken to EAI members in the February issue of The Ethan Allen Letter, the group’s monthly newsletter. “On…
Conservative Talk Show Host Suggests Sen. Leahy Drunk on Senate Floor
A conservative talk show host’s suggestion that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was drunk while delivering a Senate floor speech last week is quickly being passed around on right-wing blogs and media outlets. Mark Levin, a conservative yakker based out of New York City, made the unsubstantiated claims on his Friday program. His proof? That Leahy…
Best Bites: Brennan’s
Davis Student Center, 590 Main Street UVM, Burlington, 656-3081 Remember when you were a kid and the popcorn at Ground Round was the coolest thing in the world? At Brennan’s at UVM’s Dudley Davis Center the self-serve popcorn machine is just one of many things to earn it a spot at the cool kids’ table.…
Bella? Really?
In case you didn’t know, I lust after Joan Jett. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I loathe Kristen Stewart (a.k.a one-note Bella Swan from the Twilight movie series). Naturally, I was a little skeptical when I heard Stewart would play Jett in the upcoming silver screen version of The Runaways premiering this spring.…
Burlington Group Wants to Keep Mayoral Election As Is
** UPDATED & CORRECTED BELOW ** A grassroots group calling itself 50 Percent Matters! launched efforts Monday to keep the way Burlington elects its mayor intact. Though careful to say its members are not uniformly supportive of instant-runoff voting, Rep. Jason Lorber (D-Burlington), the group’s co-chair, said members do believe the city’s mayor should be…
