Jul 22-28, 2015
Will Prison Reforms Make Vermont’s Bail Bond Agents Obsolete?; Exchanging Needles to Fight Disease; Dan Bolles Calls a Lake Monsters Game; Vermont Gets New York-Style Italian Cuisine
Cover Story
Skipping Bail: Will Prison Reform Make Bail Bond Agents Obsolete?
Jamie Zargo scanned the list of names posted outside Courtroom 2B in the Chittenden Superior Court. Seventeen people had been jailed over Independence Day weekend, including a boyfriend and girlfriend busted for allegedly dealing heroin and cocaine. But Zargo, who had driven from his home near Brattleboro looking for people to bail out, predicted that…
Breeding and BBQ at Cas-Cad-Nac Alpaca Farm
Two weeks before Ian Lutz and Jennifer Croft graduated from Woodstock Union High School, they did what many seniors do — they randomly hooked up. “It was just a fling,” Lutz recalls. But the relationship stuck. In college, Croft wrote her thesis abroad in Ecuador — where llamas and alpacas are common — and the couple…
Obituary: Stephanie Manning Scott, 1971-2015 Middlebury, Vt
Stephanie Manning Scott, of Middlebury and Colchester passed away unexpectedly on July 20, 2015. She was born in Middlebury on March 17, 1971 to Arthea Jimmo Leggett and Martin Manning. Stephanie was a free spirit who loved spending time with her family, friends and two dogs Rudy and Roo. She felt best when she was…
Trainwreck
There’s still plenty to like in Judd Apatow’s rambling, improv-heavy comedies — from outrageous gags and filthy-mouthed tirades to those signature heartfelt moments. Yet that “plenty” doesn’t always add up, as Trainwreck attests. Much like Funny People and This Is 40, this star vehicle for sketch and standup comedian Amy Schumer feels more like a…
Despite Opiate Use Spike, Vermont HIV-AIDS Cases Stay Flat
The front line in the fight to prevent new cases of HIV and AIDS in Vermont can be found inside a third-floor room in a butterscotch-colored building a short walk from downtown Rutland. Every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon, Mary Kathryn Charbonneau welcomes intravenous drug users who come to exchange used needles for 100-count…
Conflicting Stories: As Staff Shifts, Shumlin Confronts Questions
The Vermont Republican Party didn’t wait long last week to question Gov. Peter Shumlin’s appointment of Alyssa Schuren as commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. By promoting her, GOP chairman David Sunderland wrote, Shumlin “knowingly created an unacceptable potential for the abuse of the regulatory authority of the department” — among other travesties. Why’s…
Comedian James Adomian on Parodying Bernie
Sen. Bernie Sanders is not boring. That’s the thesis — and title — of a recent Funny or Die video starring comedian James Adomian. The two-minute video, released on the comedy website on June 22, has since gone viral, making Adomian the early front-runner for best Sanders impression of the 2016 election cycle. Vermonters, of…
Hogback Mountain Brewing to Debut in Bristol
Since January, Kevin Hanson has been working to transform his home barn in downtown Bristol into a fully functional nano-brewery. A few more weeks of construction, and he’ll put the finishing touches on Hogback Mountain Brewing and its one-and-a-half-barrel brewing system. Hanson says he plans to release Hogback Mountain’s first, seasonal brews — probably brown…
Black Rabbit Red Flannel Hash
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Ever eat red flannel hash? A regional delicacy, it’s a New England variation on more common hashes, such as corned beef hash. The main difference is that in place of corned beef, you get chopped beets fried into a mesh of potatoes, onions and, if you’re doing it right, bacon. The…
New Bristol Shop Tandem Will Serve Locally Made Sodas and More
The downtown Bristol storefront at 26 Main Street — former home of Main Street Tacos, which closed in January — has new tenants. And they’re gearing up to serve a different kind of craft bubbly — soda. Jess Messer is the owner of savouré, the soda, jam and pickle company that moved into the space in…
Apartment 3, Porch View EP
(Self-released, digital download) Porch View EP, the debut recording from Burlington garage rockers Apartment 3, plays like a soundtrack to blurry summer nights in a ramshackle Old North End or student-ghetto hovel. If you came of age in the Queen City, you likely have some notion of what that means. Maybe it was your later…
Suburban Spat: Rivalries Flare Around South Burlington Ag Group
The pale green lettuce sprouting in Rosanne Greco’s suburban South Burlington backyard is full and healthy. Yet she’s the first to admit that the vegetables growing in a raised bed next to hers are superior. Her neighbor Claudia Miller cultivates that neatly planted plot. The two are participating in an informal yard-sharing arrangement designed to…
Soundbites: The Precipice Downsizes (For Now)
Enchantment Under the Sea As the festival announcements have come rolling in over the year, we’ve heard from most of the major players who keep these hills alive with sound of rockin’ — and jazzin’ — in the summer months. Waking Windows? Check. Burlington Discover Jazz Festival? Yep. Lake Champlain Maritime Festival? Mmm-hmm. Grace Potter…
Book Review: Book Seventeen: Poems by Greg Delanty
For those of us who grew up with D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (or discovered this weird, wonderful book with our own children), the myths and exploits of the ancients retain a powerful hold. They evoke a time when humans and gods, monsters and oracles, brushed past one another in an everyday way. Irish poet…
Sanders’ Shifting Stance on Super PACs
Few things differentiate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) from his presidential rivals more than his aversion to super PACs — or so he’d like you to think. The Vermont independent can barely get through a speech or a campaign email without denouncing his opponents for relying upon unlimited contributions to the quasi-independent fundraising entities. “I don’t…
![The Gardens at Grand Isle State Park [SIV406]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/episode406.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
The Gardens at Grand Isle State Park [SIV406]
7/17/15: 81-yr-old Sophie Quest has been tending the gardens at Grand Isle State Park for the past 13 years. For the past 36 years, she’s been camping at Grand Isle with her kids, Eva being one of them. Eva talks to her mom, the park ranger and some other volunteers about why they like spending…
A Music Writer Calls a Lake Monsters Baseball Game
For me, the best way to enjoy baseball next to being at the ballpark is listening to the radio, not watching TV. Perhaps it’s because of the hazy nostalgia that pervades and defines America’s Pastime. Perhaps I’m just too cheap to spring for cable. Whatever the reason, the sweet crackle of a Boston Red Sox…
Letters to the Editor (7/22/15)
Top Cop [Re “Burlington City Councilors Stand By Their Man: Del Pozo Is New Police Chief,” July 15]: I’m a New York City resident, filmmaker and transportation advocate who’s had the pleasure of meeting and working with Brandon del Pozo on several occasions. Trust me, landing him as your chief of police is a big…
Free Will Astrology (7/22/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Latin motto “Carpe diem” shouldn’t be translated as “Seize the day!” says author Nicholson Baker. It’s not a battle cry exhorting you to “freaking grab the day in your fist like a burger at a fairground and take a big chomping bite out of it.” The proper translation, according to…
Ant-Man
Remember Steve Martin’s hilarious “Let’s get small” bit from 1977? Many of you will be too young to recall when he was the biggest standup comic on the planet. It’s a shame you know him only as the anything-for-a-buck Hollywood hack from remakes of The Out-of-Towners, Cheaper by the Dozen and The Pink Panther. Take…
News Quirks (7/22/15)
Curses, Foiled Again Police who accused Alexander Katz, 19, of stealing a car in Logan, Utah, said he and his girlfriend had to abandon the vehicle and call a cab because he didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. The car’s owner spotted the vehicle being driven off and called police, who found Katz…
A Burlington Teacher Unveils the Secrets of Snake-Style Tai Chi
For some, yoga is sexy. Tai chi, on the other hand, not so much. “The image of tai chi is as something for people who can’t do anything else,” says Burlington’s Bob Boyd, a longtime martial arts teacher who hopes to change that perception. “We want to recapture this the way the yoga people did.”…
Art Review: ‘Exposed,’ Helen Day Art Center
This summer and fall, countless people will stop for a coffee on Stowe’s main drag, go for a spin on the Recreation Path or swing by the town library. Along the way, they may or may not take conscious notice of the large-scale sculptures sited in all these spots. Or the unattributed excerpts of poetry…
Do Good Guys and Relationships Exist Anymore?
Dear Athena, I am writing because my friends and I are lost when it comes to dating. We are all in our thirties, independent, attractive, outgoing and caring. We have great jobs, money in the bank and retirement plans. All of us love to cook. Our similar problem is that we can’t seem to find…
Burlington’s Old North End Prepares for 11th Annual Ramble
On Saturday, July 25, Burlington’s Old North End will celebrate its culture and community with the 11th annual Ramble, a neighborhood-wide, dawn-’til-well-after-dusk party featuring a collage of artists, performers and local businesses. This year, the rain-or-shine, family-friendly event welcomes back singer and ONE native Iris Downey, who will close the festivities as one of four…
Red Solo Cup
On my list of Burlington summer delights is Nectar’s open garage-door-style window. The venerable nightclub books the coolest bands, and on summer weekend nights I get to hear the live music while idling at the curb between taxi fares. It was the night of July 3 — the date of the Queen City’s Independence Day…
Ringmaster Woody Keppel Prepares for the Festival of Fools
Next week, Charlotte-based vaudevillian, screen actor, musician and comedian Woody Keppel will welcome many of his longtime friends and fellow street performers to Burlington City Arts’ eighth annual Festival of Fools. The festival, which Keppel founded in 2008 and still curates, celebrates the ancient tradition of street performance, or “busking.” For three days, internationally renowned…
Sanders Is Proud to Be Jewish, Yet Low-Key on Religion
The Republican candidates for president tend to talk about God. In smaller doses, so does Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), rarely invokes God’s name. The playbook that says that if you run for president, you pay public homage to a higher power? Sanders is not…
Dive Bars: Singing and Sex Drinks at Shooters Saloon
As nearly everyone there informed us, it was a slow night at Shooters Saloon, a no-nonsense tavern half a block west of Main Street in St. Albans. Fewer people than usual had signed up for the open mic night, and most of the barstools were empty. My two companions and I soon learned that many…
Who Decides? New Buoys in Lake Champlain Roil Colchester Board
The Colchester Selectboard was in complete agreement on July 14. The four members gathered at the gleaming town office building all thought that a local developer’s plan to cordon off a private swimming area in Lake Champlain using buoys was unreasonable. The only problem? The selectboard doesn’t have any say over the matter. Nor does…
Keep Up with Vermont News — and Win $150 to Local Restaurants
Wanna win gift cards to some of your favorite local restaurants? All you need to do is sign up for the Daily 7 email newsletter — the day’s most compelling Vermont stories condensed into seven convenient links. Everyone who signs up will automatically be entered for a chance to win. Already on the list? Sorry,…
Dartmouth College Contests Ask: Can Software Make Art?
Dartmouth College has issued a call to artists, but it’s as likely to appeal to mathematicians, software developers and artificial-intelligence researchers as it is to poets and musicians. The ideal entrants may need strengths in both the former and latter categories. Dartmouth’s William H. Neukom Institute for Computational Science has announced three competitions for the…
Eating Italian in Vermont, New York-Style
Utter the word “pizza” to New Yorkers living in Vermont, and they’ll wax poetic about the thin-crusted, orange-grease-dripping, foldable slices of paradise of their hometown. There, they’ll tell you, a typical lunch means two slices and a soda for about $5. Usually they’ll lament the lack of comparable fare farther north. In the first six…
