Jun 15-21, 2022
Locked Out: How Vermont Towns Are Trying to Grow Housing; Burlington Is Storing Critical Computer Hardware in Memorial Auditorium; Randolph Chef Wins James Beard Award
Cover Story
Raising Homes: It Takes a Village to Grow Housing. How Vermont Towns Are Trying to Make It Happen
Locked Out Series, Part 6
Burlington School Board Votes to Relocate Some Tech Center Programs to Airport
The Burlington School Board voted Wednesday to alter plans for the district’s new high school and technical center in an effort to cut costs. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve relocating the so-called “high-bay” technical center programs — those that require a large amount of space, such as automotive and manufacturing — to a new Aviation…
Supreme Court Ruling May Affect Public Funding for Vermont’s Religious Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Maine could not exclude religious schools from its school tuitioning program. The 6-3 decision will likely have implications for Vermont, the only other state in the country that allows families in towns without a public school to use tax dollars to send their children to a public…
Upper Valley Employers Pledge Millions to Build New Homes
Eight companies in the Upper Valley have committed more than $7 million to a fund to help developers build more apartments in New Hampshire and Vermont. The goal is to address a housing shortage that is making it difficult for companies to find staff and is hurting the economy, said Clay Adams, president and CEO…
Clean: ‘Writer’s Block’ (6/20/22)
My palms were sweaty as my hands rested on my computer keyboard. I was four years sober, and I was attempting to finish writing a song that I had been working on for several weeks. I had stayed up all night, but I still hadn’t made any discernible progress. I was unproductive and indecisive, held…
James Kochalka Superstar, ‘Bike Flipper’
(Self-released, digital) James Kochalka is a Vermont institution, a relentlessly creative one-man art factory. The state’s first cartoonist laureate may be best known locally for “American Elf,” a syndicated daily diary comic strip that has spanned 14 years — and appeared in Seven Days for a while, too. Out in the global “comix” underground, the…
Letters to the Editor (6/15/22)
Liquor versus Beer I was disappointed that while “Vermont Legislature Expands Market for Ready-to-Drink Spirits Beverages” [June 7] made reference to the beer industry’s opposition to H.730, it failed to include the industry’s statement on the legislation. Liquor-based RTDs belong in liquor stores — not on grocery shelves with Vermont brewers. While Vermont legislators recognized…
A Creepy Internet Fable Has Timely Resonance in ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’
Sometimes, particularly during the pandemic era, a movie makes a splash at some prominent film festival and then disappears. I first heard about We’re All Going to the World’s Fair in reports from the virtual Sundance Film Festival in January 2021, but the movie wasn’t released until April 2022, and then only in three U.S.…
Burlington Is Storing Critical Computer Hardware in Decrepit Memorial Auditorium
The City of Burlington is keeping critical information technology equipment in the basement of Memorial Auditorium, a decrepit building that’s been vacant and considered unsafe for human occupancy since 2016. If a flood, fire or vandal destroyed the equipment, it would disrupt city government and potentially create a technology blackout for thousands of businesses and…
Popular Wake Robin Tag Sale Returns After Three-Year Hiatus
At 8:59 a.m. on Saturday, Jim Wick opened the door of the community parking garage at Wake Robin, a high-end, hilltop retirement community in Shelburne. The first shopper had arrived at 6:30 a.m. By 6:45, a line had begun to form. Now cars were parked bumper-to-bumper along the road leading to the residences, and hundreds…
Now Playing in Theaters: June 15-21
new in theaters BRIAN AND CHARLES: In this comedy that premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, a lonely inventor (David Earl) builds a robot (Chris Hayward) to keep him company. Jim Archer makes his directorial debut. (90 min, PG. Roxy) JAZZ FEST: A NEW ORLEANS STORY: With plenty of local color, this doc from…
From the Publisher: Je Reviens
Seven Days gets printed north of Montréal at the Imprimerie Mirabel. The weekly ritual wraps in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when a box truck laden with newspapers crosses the U.S.-Canada border and rolls up to our loading dock at the south end of Burlington’s Battery Street. This international arrangement has continued uninterrupted since…
1960s Fluxus Artist Nye Ffarrabas Celebrated at Brattleboro’s C.X. Silver Gallery
She went to happenings with Allan Kaprow and on mushroom treks with John Cage. She was in a Yoko Ono film, performed in avant-garde festivals and dined with Marcel Duchamp. Nye Ffarrabas, aka Bici (Forbes) Hendricks, was a central figure in the Fluxus art movement of the 1960s. She and others created intermedia events that…
Partners of My Platonic Friends Are Jealous of Me
Dear Reverend, In my 50-plus years, I have had many male friends. Sometimes things turn romantic, sometimes not. Lately, it seems the ones that are completely platonic have girlfriends who are jealous and insecure. I have received emails basically saying, “Stay away from my boyfriend.” I have done nothing wrong, and I treasure these friendships.…
Book Review: ‘Watergate: A New History,’ Garrett M. Graff
Garrett M. Graff’s Watergate: A New History comes 50 years after the fateful night in 1972 when five burglars were caught in the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the luxury Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. The book is a zombie thriller, bringing a cataclysmic 26-month political episode back to life. It’s a visit to the…
‘Coming Clean,’ at the Museum of Everyday Life, Shows Us How and Why We Bathe
The Museum of Everyday Life in Glover is a uniquely Vermonty marvel. It mounts just a single exhibit each year, but for the whole year. It’s free, though donations are welcome. It’s unlocked and unstaffed; visitors are instructed to turn on the lights when they arrive and, if no one else is there, shut them…
Page 32: Short Takes on Five Vermont Books
Seven Days writers can’t possibly read, much less review, all the books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, an army of spongy moths. (Ugh!) So this monthly feature is our way of introducing you to a handful of books by Vermont authors. To do that, we contextualize…
Free Will Astrology (6/15/22)
GEMINI (May 21-Jun. 20): Here’s a message I hope you will deliver to the universe sometime soon: “Dear Life: I declare myself open and ready to receive miracles, uplifting news, fun breakthroughs, smart love and unexpected blessings. I hope to be able to give my special gifts in new and imaginative ways. I am also…
Comedian Chris Laker Talks Bullies, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Podcasting With Jack Antonoff
Some people might say that they’re better for the bullying they endured in their youth. Comedian Chris Laker is not one of them. His new show, “Bully,” hinges on unpacking childhood experiences with being pushed around. He performs twice on Saturday, June 18, at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington. After several more North American…
Soundbites: Bobby Rush Got Raw; Juneteenth Music; Tim Bridge Peaces Out
We all process music differently. Sometimes it’s the background of memories, a soundtrack for things we’ve done. Other times, it’s the main event, the memory itself — a concert with friends or maybe a song that stopped us in our tracks. Music is also a lens through which to view history. And, maybe I’m biased,…
Omega Jade X JoBu, ‘Yin & Yang’
(Self-released, CD) Omega Jade is a creator. Creation is at the core of her many identities, including but not limited to mother, MC, poet, comedian, teacher and spoken-word artist. In each of her myriad pursuits, she honors the way in which different truths — even ones that seem contradictory — can coexist. Jade herself embodies…
Crazy Cotton Candy Lady Spins Sweet Success
At Waterbury’s first farmers market of the year, in early June, the Crazy Cotton Candy Lady’s booth was eye candy in itself. The owner, Kristie Armstrong, wore chunky pink protective glasses with fake eyelashes glued to them and a hot pink shirt that perfectly complemented one of the day’s top flavors: pink grapefruit. Her booth’s…
Burlington Greek Church Benefit Dinner Fires Up Again
After a two-year hiatus, the popular Greek takeout dinner cooked by parishioners of Burlington’s Dormition Greek Orthodox Church returns on Saturday, June 18. “This is our comeback tour,” joked volunteer Nick Pitt, who estimated that the church community has prepared the fundraiser meals for “easily 20 years.” For $20, customers get a choice of grilled…
Bristol’s Bicycle Mill Baking Mills Flour by Bike
An increasing number of Vermont bread bakers use locally grown, freshly milled flour. But, as far as she knows, Elizabeth Trostel is the only one in the state using pedal power to mill some of her grain. Trostel, 38, has been a professional baker for about 15 years, but she’d never biked much — until…
Chef Nisachon Morgan of Saap in Randolph Wins James Beard Award
Chef/co-owner Nisachon “Rung” Morgan of Saap restaurant in Randolph has been named Best Chef: Northeast by the James Beard Foundation. The honor marks the first time a Vermont chef has won the top regional award in what is often called the food and beverage Oscars. The awards ceremony was held in Chicago on June 13.…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, June 15-21
Independence Day Friday 17-Sunday 19 Burlington’s second annual Juneteenth celebration is a love letter to Black culture, history and community. Across three days and multiple locations, revelers attend live performances by musicians including KeruBo, Omega Jade and Myra Flynn; panels and poetry slams; and an address from none other than legendary activist Angela Davis (pictured).…
An Artist Finds Inspiration in Leaves Chomped by Spongy Moth Caterpillars
Most people who encounter the destructive spongy moth caterpillar see it as a terrible nuisance. The invasive insect with a voracious appetite — until recently known as the gypsy moth caterpillar — is defoliating oak and maple trees in Vermont for the second year in a row, leaving excrement, silken thread and chomped-up leaves in…
