Jan 25-31, 2017
Death by Opiates: Vermont Counts the Numbers; Norwich Students Work to Intercept Would-Be Terrorists; Inauguration and Women’s March, in Photos
Cover Stories
Death by Drugs: Opiates Claimed a Record Number of Vermonters in 2016
They were chemists and truck drivers, landscapers and car salesmen, homemakers and hydrologists. They plowed snow for the Agency of Transportation and brewed coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. They died in motel rooms in Brattleboro, woods in South Burlington, a sister’s basement in Barre, a campground in Duxbury and a mobile home three blocks from a…
Last Impressions: Recalling Final Conversations With Vermont Overdose Victims
A Seven Days analysis revealed that 100 Vermonters died from fatal opiate overdoses in 2016. Family members of overdose victims graciously agreed to share memories of their loved ones. Click a photo to hear those stories in their own words. Christopher Hobbs David Billings Jodi Lynn Adams Blake Schoenbeck Jesse Lee Maxham Penny Marie Bean…
The Parmelee Post: Students Offer to Sell Textbooks, Reduce School Budgets
K-12 students around the state have courageously offered to help prove the viability of Gov. Phil Scott’s education plan by volunteering to sell their textbooks. In a series of coordinated pep rallies this week, student leaders from a number of public schools pitched the idea to their fellow pupils. Reports indicate that the response across…
Theater Review: Trick or Treat, Northern Stage
Giving a new play a full production is risky, but Northern Stage has doubled down in its world premiere of Jack Neary’s Trick or Treat. The theater has spared nothing on production values for a show that weaves together comedy, drama and suspense. This gives Emmy Award-winning actor Gordon Clapp strong support as he turns…
Art Review: ‘Inner Struggle Fought on Paper: Works by Misoo’
For some artworks, more space is better. The National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, for example, has an 18-foot-high painting of vertical stripes by Barnett Newman, titled “Voice of Fire,” mounted on a 40-foot-high wall. The effect of the already-large work in this soaring space is stunning. The five abstract works that make up the…
Supper at Sally’s: Scenes From a Winter Night at the Salvation Army
As if a dinner bell had sounded, the line outside the Salvation Army started forming at 4:50 p.m. on a Tuesday night in January. People shuffled toward the door, many laden with heavy backpacks, in anticipation of the free community meal that is served up every night of the week except Sunday — open to…
Soundbites: Gang of Givers, Caliente in the Capital
Remember last week when I commended some local music makers who’ve been using their art to protest and support causes? I speculated that the trend would continue, and Burlington’s funk-rockers Gang of Thieves are keeping it going on their upcoming Work Together tour. In 2016, GoT released their fourth full-length album, Born to Be Loud.…
Page 32: Short Takes on Five New Vermont Books
Seven Days’ writers can’t possibly read, much less review, the number of books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, an irruption of purple finches. So this monthly feature is our way of introducing you to five books by Vermont authors. To do that, we contextualize each book just…
Free Will Astrology (1/25/17)
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A London-based think tank does an annual study to determine which of the world’s countries offers the most freedom. The Legatum Institute measures indicators like civil liberties, social tolerance and the power to choose one’s destiny. The current champion is Luxembourg. Canada is in second place. France is 22nd, the U.S.…
Under Supervision: Should Vermont Legalize Heroin Injection Sites?
On a weekend morning 13 years ago, Jessica sat in her car in South Burlington’s Staples Shopping Plaza and stuck a heroin-laden syringe in her right arm. “In the euphoria that I was in, I could tell that it was too strong. I knew that I was about to overdose,” she recalled. “I was afraid,…
More Money for Artists! Round Two for BCA’s Community Fund
What do homelessness, the criminal justice system and Alzheimer’s disease have in common? They were among the themes of 16 projects made possible by the Community Fund, a program that Burlington City Arts initiated in 2016. The idea was to grant money to local artists or small arts organizations to further the creation of works…
Fresh Winter Cocktails With Vermont Spirits
Vermont is better known for its beer than for other alcoholic beverages. But as the state’s distilling industry grows past its infancy, spirits makers are crafting some seriously smooth and classy beverages. Many of them arguably rival established top-shelf liquors in flavor and mixability, and some push beyond the usual flavor profiles. Price-wise, Vermont-made bottles…
Middlebury Dancers Embody Border Theme
What comes to mind when you think of a border? It may conjure the outer edge of a framed painting, or lines drawn on a map, or the port of entry en route to Montréal. In the current political climate, the concept of a border may also elicit rhetoric about walls, or fear of deportation.…
Peculiar Bills Address Shallow Graves, Nudity and the Tampon Tax
In the first weeks of a legislative session, the bills that flood the Statehouse quickly give Vermonters a chance to see what their lawmakers are hoping to accomplish. Tweaks to the state’s school-district consolidation law? Yeah, that’s in the torrent. New ideas for how to handle health insurance coverage? Of course. Tax policy? You can…
I Don’t Like Foreplay But My Guy Does
Dear Athena, I don’t like foreplay. I just want to get right into sex. I feel like that’s weird since I’m a girl. But straight-up sex is what I want. Just the idea of sex with someone I’m with gets me hot. And I don’t like kissing. The man I am dating now seems to…
Gold
The envelope, please. And the award for Loopiest Completely Fabricated Fact-Based Drama in Which a Famous Actor Radically Alters His Appearance for No Apparent Reason goes to … this nutty production. What else? Believe me, unless the Academy adds that category to February’s ceremony, this wacked-out project doesn’t stand a chance in hell of striking…
Stuart Ross and the Temp Agency, Wandering in the Wild
(Self-released, CD, digital download) In a veritable forest of folk-leaning Vermont bands and artists, White River Junction/Hartford sextet Stuart Ross and the Temp Agency could easily get lost in the shadows. But the band wisely tempers its forlorn, backwoods ballads with healthy injections of bubbly jazz and gritty blues. Written by Stuart Ross Johnson, Wandering…
Split
Fans of writer-director M. Night Shyamalan have greeted the low-budget thriller Split as a confirmation that he’s back on track, after bloated debacles like The Happening and The Last Airbender. Without a doubt, this film is tense, lean and sometimes mean — well, as mean as a director who was once hailed as the new…
The Snaz, Sensitive Man
(Self-released, CD, digital download) It’s been a while since the Snaz were the new kids. I mean, yes, they’re actually still kids. But if you pay attention to the scene in the Northeast, you’ve likely at least heard of them. The band’s legend has spread like a hot rumor: “Did you hear those teenagers from…
Dirty Water: The ‘Lake Champlain Cleanup’ That Isn’t
The first month of the legislative session has been dominated by two questions: What will Gov. Phil Scott say in his budget address, and how will the legislature respond to a costly, federally mandated cleanup of Lake Champlain? That’s become the universal shorthand for the issue: “Lake Champlain cleanup.” It’s the identifier — used in…
Two Brothers Tavern: New Kitchen, New Pizza
On Monday, January 23, Two Brothers Tavern began a 10- to 12-week kitchen renovation that promises to revamp the menu and cooking capacity of the longstanding Middlebury watering hole. “The renovations have been a long time coming,” says executive chef Matt Corrente, “and a new kitchen will make us better at doing what we’re already…
Son Little on Working with the Roots, RJD2 and Mavis Staples
In a 2015 interview with music blog Sound of Boston, neo-R&B artist Son Little was asked to describe his sound without using genre descriptors. He came up with “futurist talking drum.” Though it sounds like hot nonsense, the description does hold water. His songwriting is rooted in classic R&B, blues, and rock and roll. But…
Love in the New Year
2017 was 10 minutes old when a slender blond woman hailed me from Main Street in front of Mr. Mikes Pizza. My first customer of the New Year, I thought, pulling to a stop. She stepped into the shotgun seat and asked, “Do you know where Franny O’s is?” “I do,” I replied, slipping my…
Letters to the Editor (1/25/17)
Cool Cover Though a progressive thinker, I had never heard of Seven Days. It was only recently, while on a lovely weekend visit to Randolph, that I came upon it. This is a wonderful paper for the people — similar to, but much better than, our local Connecticut Advocate. Truthfully, however, it was the glorious…
Dennis Wygmans: From Nightclub Owner to State’s Attorney
Dennis Wygmans is a believer in second chances. He’s also a fan of finding alternative solutions to problems. For example, one night in the mid-1990s, a skinny punk-rock singer from Ukraine was onstage at Club Toast, which Wygmans owned with his brother, Justin. Eugene Nikolaev, front man for the local band the Fags, was putting…
![Stealing from Work [SIV475]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/episode475.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Stealing from Work [SIV475]
1/8/17: Since 2012, Angie Albeck and Marianne DiMascio have been bringing original sketch comedy to life at various Burlington venues. Marianne and Angie write the Stealing from Work sketches and produce the shows. Their cast is predominantly female and their humor often focuses on women’s issues and is Vermont-centric, gently poking fun of liberals, the…
Samurai Soul Food, Lunchbox Deli Open in Fairlee
It’s not often that the sleepy Connecticut River burg of Fairlee — year-round population 977 — witnesses the opening of two new restaurants in five days. In fact, last week was one for the history books. Early in the week, locals got their first taste of the Lunchbox Deli & Café, a three-table daytime spot at 192…
Havana 802 Brings Cuban Flavors to NEK
Most of the diners at Havana 802, a Cuban restaurant in Hardwick, are unfamiliar with the Caribbean island’s food traditions. Some expect the fare to be hot and spicy. It’s not, although it’s redolent of garlic, bay leaves, oregano and citrus juices. Others aren’t sure how to eat the white rice and black beans that…
