Open one minute, closed the next. That’s what happened to two Burlington breweries and their affiliated restaurants on July 16. On the waterfront, the beer stopped flowing at Foam Brewers and the kitchen ceased service at Deep City after a brewery employee reported a potential exposure to the coronavirus. While the businesses were closed, the…
Veterinary tech remembered for her love of animals and generous spirit
‘Vermont Today’ TV show producer was active in democracy and nature
1. Shapes and Sizes Visitors to Shelburne Museum shouldn’t be surprised to see a replica antique clock or an oversize ruler adorning its grounds. Newly reopened with health department guidelines in place, the museum hosts the outdoor sculpture show “Peter Kirkiles: At Scale” on the southern half of its campus. The exhibition, on view through…
Molly Gray, an assistant Vermont attorney general virtually unknown to voters before declaring her candidacy for lieutenant governor six months ago, has surprised many political observers since then. Although she is the Democratic candidate who entered the race with the least name recognition, Gray has assembled a lengthy list of heavy-hitter endorsements and outraised her…
The coronavirus pandemic is making people go full Marie Kondo on their lives. Practically everyone is decluttering, organizing and finishing up long-procrastinated projects. That includes formerly Boston-based bluegrass band the Benders — now officially the Benders Band. Led by Vermont woodsman/folk-rock laureate Bow Thayer, the group recently unearthed a forgotten album. While digging around in…
(Self-released, LP, digital) A solitary, glowing light bulb encased in a metal frame adorns the cover of Anachronist’s new album, Stay Late. The fixture looks like the kind of hardware meant to illuminate a rustic cabin’s creaky front porch, a perfect spot to while away humid summer nights with a couple of close friends. The…
(Woodsman Music Group, digital) OrphanWar is the death-metal side project of prolific “doom folk” artist Bishop LaVey — real name Kane Sweeney. Hailing from central Vermont and closely associated with the Montpelier scene, Sweeney is normally reflective, stridently political and mostly acoustic. OrphanWar’s debut LP Knife to a Skin Fight is a million miles from…
Ashe Is a Compassionate Leader I’m voting for Tim Ashe in the lieutenant governor primary [Off Message: “Gray, Ashe Take Heat During Democratic Lieutenant Gubernatorial Debate,” July 16; “Ashe Kicks Off Campaign for Lieutenant Governor,” May 28]. I met Tim 10 years ago when he arrived in the Senate. He was young and keen to…
When the Burlington City Council voted in May to remove the “Everyone Loves a Parade!” mural by August 31, it seemed the controversy surrounding the public artwork was finally over. Commissioned in 2009 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of explorer Samuel de Champlain’s arrival in Vermont, the painting on the side of a Church Street…
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):”Notice what no one else notices and you’ll know what no one else knows,” says actor Tim Robbins. That’s perfect counsel for you right now, Leo. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, your perceptiveness will be at a peak in the coming weeks. You’ll have an ability to discern half-hidden…
A new Vermont program aims to get people hooked on fishing during the pandemic. The state Fish & Wildlife Department is offering Fish With a Warden sessions all summer and into September to school people on how to cast into Vermont’s waterways. The free program is open to all ages and is scheduled for fishing…
Last fall, when Hinesburg resident Christina Deeley began considering a run for state office, one of the first things she did was try to set up a meeting with the man whose seat she was eyeing. The 36-year-old mother of four, a librarian at Champlain Valley Union High School, knew Bill Lippert would be tough…
At least twice a week, in a room full of television cameras, state Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine steps up to a podium, removes his yellow surgical mask and reports on Vermont’s vital signs during the coronavirus pandemic. At 6 feet, 5 inches, he’s too tall for the microphone in Montpelier’s Pavilion Auditorium, so he…
According to her LinkedIn profile, Elyzabeth Joy Holford is an international strategy consultant. Those buzzy-sounding words hardly do service to the dizzying number of positions she has held, including trial attorney; tenured associate professor, assistant dean, director of equal opportunity and affirmative action, and other roles at Virginia Tech; director of that university’s Center for…
A global pandemic sure makes for a strange time to release a new book. On the one hand, appetites for reading are high, as those in isolation look to books — along with Netflix and booze — to stave off cabin fever. On the other hand, authors are deprived of the traditional avenues for promoting…
You will not find a single video game on the shelves at Quarterstaff Games, a hobby shop tucked away up a flight of stairs next to Earth Prime Comics, on Burlington’s Church Street. Instead, you might find a board game called Myrmes, an ant battle royale. (“Fill up your larder, hunt down insects and wisely…
Harrison Brooks has loved games for as long as he can remember. The 17-year-old high school senior grew up playing anything he could get his hands on, particularly card games such as UNO, Rat-a-Tat Cat, Go Fish, gin rummy and poker. Eventually, the industrious teen began making up games himself. So far, he’s gotten one…
Dear Reverend, I am a heterosexual female who has recently become addicted to yaoi (Japanese male-on-male comics). I am 99.9 percent confident in my sexuality, but straight relationships now disgust me. These yaoi men are very attractive and have everything I’m looking for in a relationship, but I can obviously find no man out there…
Kenneth Johnson was worried about what might happen to a Black man like him in a northern Vermont prison, according to his younger brother, Gilbert Johnson. “He told me, ‘This is no place for me,'” Gilbert recalled. “‘These people are so prejudiced, so racist.'” When Gilbert told Kenneth in the fall of 2018 that he…
