Jul 25-31, 2012
A2VT Introduce African Hip-Hop to Vermont; How Skip Vallee Cornered the Gas Market; Preservationists Lament Fate of Kiley Landscape Design; Vermont’s Olympics Connections
Cover Story
Video: Police Clash With Protesters Outside Governors Conference in Burlington
Police fired pepper balls and sting balls at protesters outside the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers Conference in Burlington yesterday. Activists from New England and Quebec converged on the Queen City for a day of protests outside the conference, which took place at the Hilton Burlington. The protests centered on Canada’s mining of tar…
Congressman Allen West, GOP Provocateur, to Hold Vermont Fundraiser
Vermont Republicans can’t seem to get enough of national GOP figures with a propensity to drop — um, there’s no other way to say this — Nazi references on a fairly regular basis. First came Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who touched down in Vermont two weeks ago to bring in the dough for Republican gubernatorial…
Adrian Drops Out of Chittenden County Senate Race
With just a month to go before the Democratic primary, Burlington City Councilor Ed Adrian said Friday he’s dropping his bid to represent Chittenden County in the state senate. “I had too many balls in the air at the same time and I wanted to make sure I didn’t drop one, so I guess last…
Movies You Missed 49: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
This week in movies you missed: Behold the best sushi you will never get to eat (unless you have a trip to Japan planned) and the dedication of the men who make it. What You Missed Eighty-five-year-old Jiro Ono has been making sushi since he was 10 and doesn’t regret a minute of it. His…
In Currier Case, a Scoop — Then Silence
More than 13 months after Bill and Lorraine Currier disappeared without a trace from their Essex home, a host of law enforcement officials called a press conference last Friday morning to divulge new details about one of Vermont’s most mysterious recent crime stories. With a dozen reporters covering the presser and several news outlets carrying…
Green Mountain Compost to Dole Out Compensation for Contaminated Compost
Last night the board of commissioners for the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) approved a customer-assistance package to provide refunds and some remediation for gardeners affected by trace herbicides discovered in CSWD’s Green Mountain Compost. The boarded approved expenditures up to $934,992 to reimburse customers who purchased compost between January 1 and July 13. CSWD voluntarily…
Activists From Québec’s Innu First Nation To Protest This Weekend’s New England Governors’ Conference in Burlington
SD: Are the Innu people divided over the Plan Nord or are they speaking with one voice on the project? EV: The Innu people are very divided. There are people who are very much against it and are trying to keep the territory intact for future generations. There are other people who are willing to…
Activists From Québec’s Innu First Nation To Protest This Weekend’s New England Governors’ Conference in Burlington
SD: Are the Innu people divided over the Plan Nord or are they speaking with one voice on the project? EV: The Innu people are very divided. There are people who are very much against it and are trying to keep the territory intact for future generations. There are other people who are willing to…
Hold the Applause: Sorrell, Sessions and Super PACs in Vermont
Updated below with comment from Sorrell challenger T.J. Donovan Did a campaign finance decision handed down last month by U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III limit the role of money in Vermont politics — or did it open up the floodgates? If you’re Attorney General Bill Sorrell, it depends when you ask. A day…
Leahy Casts 14,000th Senate Vote
As we reported last month, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has served in the Senate for a really, really, seriously long time. So long that when he was first elected in 1974, you weren’t even born, son. So long that, late Wednesday afternoon, he cast his 14,000th vote in the esteemed legislative body. Leahy’s ceremonial ‘yea’…
Is the Gas Prices Debate About Economics or Politics?
In this week’s issue of Seven Days I wrote about Skip Vallee, the CEO of RL Vallee Inc. — one of Vermont’s largest gas station chains. In the latest twist in the unfolding story about high gas prices in Vermont, Vallee purchased a former filing station in Plainfield, only to put it back on the market…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again A 42-year-old woman, who police in Lynn, Mass., reported was being “chased frantically” by a man wielding a large kitchen knife, sought safety by running into the police station, where she “quickly began to cower.” The man followed her and raised the knife above her head while punching her. Officer Raymond Therrien…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In your personal chart, the planet Uranus symbolizes those special talents you have that are especially useful to other people. Which aspects of your soulful beauty are potentially of greatest service to the world? How can you express your uniqueness in ways that activate your most profound generosity? If you learn…
Crumbs
Side Dishes: Don Pedro’s closes; Grand Buffet expands; New pizzeria in Woodstock
![Redneck Lawnmower Racing at the Bradford Fair [276]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/episode276.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Redneck Lawnmower Racing at the Bradford Fair [276]
7/20/12: It’s Friday night at The Connecticut Valley Fairgrounds in Bradford and the sound of lawn mowers fills the air – but these aren’t your average mowers. The members of the Redneck Lawnmower Racing club compete throughout the summer but the Bradford Fair is a chance to show off their need for speed to bigger…
Letters to the Editor
Role Reversal? I think Sen. Leahy is the real rock star, with his second cameo in Batman [Fair Game, “Spending Like a Brock Star,” July 18]! Leahy, Welch and Sanders are more concerned with “keeping” their jobs than “doing” their jobs! Randy Brock is the epitome of an honest, intelligent, successful man who genuinely wants…
WhistlePig Straight Rye Whiskey Breaks Bad
Who knew that a high-end whiskey crafted in Addison County was the drink of choice for DEA agents? It happened on last Sunday’s episode of AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” Alerted by this screenshot tweeted by Tom Fratamico of Stowe (@ElGuaposGhost), one obsessive local “Breaking Bad” fan (yours truly) decided to get to the bottom of WhistlePig’s…
