Mar 19-25, 2014
Will a Lesbian Couple’s Addison Lawsuit Prove Harassment or Sour Grapes?; Following the Governor’s Finances; Choosing an ISP in Burlington; ‘Venus’ and ‘Urinetown’ Earn Ovations; Pastry Chef Andrew LeStourgeon;
Cover Story
Lesbian Couple Sues Addison: Sour Grapes or Hometown Harassment?
When a lesbian couple in a rural Addison County town filed a lawsuit earlier this month accusing the town’s selectboard chair, his wife and two neighbors of discriminating against them because of their sexual orientation, the media pounced. And no wonder. Legal proceedings initiated by Barbara Ernst and Barbara Supeno allege all manner of unfair…
Obituary: Richard Allen Campbell
Richard Allen Campbell, age 58 years, died early Thursday morning March 20, 2014, after a courageous battle with cancer at his Middle Road residence with loving family at his side. Born in Peru, NY he was the son of Marjorie Campbell. He attended Swanton Schools and on July 6, 1991, was married to the former…
Obituary: Roger Raymond Cota
Roger Raymond Cota, age 66 years, a longtime area resident died tragically Wednesday evening March 19, 2014, at his Monument Road home. Born in Georgia, Vt on August 31, 1947, he was the son of Leo Frederick and Marie Anna (Viens) Cota. Roger graduated in 1965, from Bellows Free Academy-St. Albans and on July 8,…
Obituary: Florence Marie (Bourgeois) Langlois
Mrs. Florence Marie (Bourgeois) Langlois, age 91 years, a lifelong resident of this community died Wednesday afternoon March 19, 2014, at her North Main St. residence with her loving family at her side. Born in Alburgh on March 29, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Homer and Clarinda (Chausse) Bourgeois. She attended Alburgh…
The 2014 Vermont Brew Bracket Is Open!
Will Bobcat Brewery’s Baltic Porter quash Drop-In Brewing’s Heart of Lothian? Will 14th Star Brewing’s Honey IPA eliminate …14th Star Brewing’s Valor? And will the Alchemist’s Heady Topper cut the nets again this year? These are some of the miniature dramas that may play out during the third annual Seven Days Vermont Brew Bracket, which went…
Theater Review: Urinetown, the Musical
The University of Vermont Department of Theatre has pulled out all the stops to present a rousing production of Urinetown, the musical that scored two Tony awards in 2002 for Mark Hollman (music and lyrics) and Greg Kotis (book and lyrics). It playfully demeans the possibility of putting a message in a musical by setting…
The Green Mountain Film Festival Returns With New Vigor and New Films
The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival screened nearly 300 feature films, but you’d expect a number like that in a city of almost three million. By contrast, 64 features are playing at the 10-day Green Mountain Film Festival, which begins this Friday. Thinking per capita, that means one film for every 123 residents of Montpelier…
Unholy Plan? Proposal to Convert Church Property to Apartments Stuns South End Parish
By now, most people know it’s tacky to break up via text message. This month a Catholic parish learned a similar lesson: If you’re considering selling church property to a developer, tell your parishioners before they find out on social media. For the last 55 years, Marie Boisvert, 73, has been a parishioner at the…
Tenores de Aterúe Call on Ancient Sardinian Singing
The isolated Mediterranean island of Sardinia happens to be about the same geographic size as the state of Vermont, and its terrain, like Vermont’s, is rugged and mountainous. And that’s pretty much where the similarities end. But by tapping into Sardinia’s ancient polyphonic song tradition known as cantu a tenore, an American singing group with…
Wooden Dinosaur, Rhubarb Wine
(Self-released, CD, digital download) On “Talking About Death,” the lead cut from Wooden Dinosaur’s 2012 record Spaces, songwriter Michael Roberts confronted mortality. As he often does, Roberts tackled an enormous question by looking for small answers. And he found them. “We’re just ordinary people, too bad we’re so plain,” he sang. “If I was home…
‘The Barbaras’ Sue Addison: Sour Grapes or Hometown Harassment?
When a lesbian couple in a rural Addison County town filed a lawsuit earlier this month accusing the town’s selectboard chair, his wife and two neighbors of discriminating against them because of their sexual orientation, the media pounced. And no wonder. Legal proceedings initiated by Barbara Ernst and Barbara Supeno allege all manner of unfair…
‘Hick in the Hood’ Takes Audiences From West Oakland to Vermont
Actor Michael Sommers has a hypothetical scenario that he uses to explain two types of place. “Say a guy gets a new car,” he says. “Someone says, ‘Hey, Mike! That’s a nice shiny new car you’ve got.’ A San Franciscan would say, ‘Thank you!’ But a Vermonter thinks that person’s giving it to him, really…
Brief Histories of Everyday Objects: Bathtubs
Click image above to enlarge comic… Andy Warner’s comics have been published by Slate, Symbolia, KQED, Popular Science, popsci.com, and American Public Media. He is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies and currently resides in California. To see more of Andy’s work, visit andywarnercomics.com Drawn & Paneled is a collaboration between Seven Days…
News Quirks (3/19/14)
Science Schmience Christian minister Ken Ham’s goal of building a replica of Noah’s Ark in the Kentucky hills stalled for lack of money until Ham (no relation to Noah’s son) engaged in a debate on evolution with PBS “Science Guy” Bill Nye. Ham’s Answers in Genesis ministry and the Creation Museum received widespread media attention…
An Interview with Glen David Andrews
The central theme of Glen David Andrews’ new record is not difficult to decipher. Titled Redemption, his latest studio effort is a declaration that the talented trombonist and vocalist has risen above his troubled past. A native of the storied Tremé district of New Orleans, Andrews was practically born with a trombone his hand, much…
Elena Versus Victor
“How long do you think this ride will take?” It was snowing, lightly but steadily, as it had been for more than an hour. Elena Gavrikov, my customer, was speaking to me from the shotgun seat of my taxi. We were bound for Stowe Mountain Lodge, the grand new resort toward the top of Mountain…
Soundbites: Renovation Party at the Monkey House, Neko Case Announces BTV show
Monkey Shines It’s been a nice run for new venues and improved venues in Vermont of late. In the last 18 months or so, Burlington has seen the rise of ArtsRiot and Signal Kitchen as dynamic new spaces for rocking — and, in the case of the former venue, dining and writing and yoga-ing. Those…
Letters to the Editor (3/19/14)
Got Dictionary? I am a faithful reader of the Fair Game column, but I was appalled at Paul Heintz’s description of Lenore Broughton as “an infamous sportswoman” [February 26]. According to Webster, “infamous” means “having a reputation of the worst kind: notorious, as being vicious, contemptible or criminal in character.” Lenore Broughton, whom I know…
Violette Ultraviolet, “exiles”
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Drums and rhythm are the glue that holds music together. So what does it mean when you listen to a song and the drums make you feel as if everything is about to fall apart? This is the case with many of the songs on “exiles,” the latest release from Burlington’s…
Traveling Salesman: Shumlin Pitches Himself Coast to Coast
Asked last month about his campaign for a third term, Gov. Peter Shumlin responded the way he usually does: with an air of practiced nonchalance. “Believe it or not, I don’t wake up in the morning thinking about a reelection campaign,” he said at a Montpelier press conference. “I’m not focused on fundraising for my…
White River Junction’s Dining Options Expand
“Oh, sorry, we’re booked solid.” This wasn’t what I expected to hear last Friday night when I called White River Junction’s Tuckerbox to inquire about a dinner reservation. I’m so accustomed to wandering in during the day for tea that I wasn’t even sure the place took reservations for its newly instituted dinner service. I…
The Burlington Civic Symphony Plays a Classic and ‘Cataclysmic’ Concert
A composition by a member of the Burlington Civic Symphony Orchestra sits between the Mozart and the Copland on the program for the group’s concert this Saturday, March 22. “Cataclysmic Lament” is a concert overture by Shelburne cellist Noah Marconi. It’s one of two orchestral works the composer has written; Burlington Chamber Orchestra commissioned the…
Obituary: Michael Lawrence Ryan, 1957-2014, Winooski
Michael Lawrence Ryan left his home in Winooski on Friday, March 14, 2014 to be with Jesus. Michael was 56. He was born July 6, 1957 to James L. and Gloria (Beaudoin) Ryan. Michael attended schools in Winooski and Burlington and served as an Altar Boy at area churches. Michael proudly served in the U.S.…
Book reviews: The Winter People; The Lord Came at Twilight
What’s spooky about Vermont? Not much, if you focus on the state’s wholesome, farm-fresh public image. But when you explore its darker, more desolate byways, a different picture emerges. A visit to the “wild domed hills of Vermont” gave horror legend H.P. Lovecraft his setting for “The Whisperer in Darkness.” In the inimitably creepy tale,…
Colombian Food Arrives in Vermont
This winter’s excess of precipitation is nothing new for Juanita Galloway. Her first seven years were spent in chilly, rainy Bogotá, Colombia. Galloway moved to Shelburne two years ago from Seattle. Now, under the banner of Colombian Eats, she’s sharing her native cuisine with her new neighbors, rain — or snow — or shine. For…
The Unknown Known
The Fog of War (2003) ranks with the great political documentaries of all time. Errol Morris earned an Academy Award for his portrait of Robert McNamara, the regret-ridden former Secretary of Defense regarded as the architect of the Vietnam War. The filmmaker’s latest offers a sequel of sorts with its examination of another military mastermind’s…
A New Queen City Resident Weighs Her Internet Options
Apartment hunting is hell in Burlington, I’ve heard. But for me it was mercifully easy: A few weeks into my search, a coworker tipped me off about an affordable condo with an expansive view of the lake. Choosing an internet service provider turned out to be the tortuous part. Before I go on, let me…
The Wind Rises; Need for Speed
Some boys want to fly planes. Some boys want to drive 230 mph. And some boys want to soar above the desert in a custom Mustang hauled by a helicopter. Let’s start with the first, least outlandish scenario. The Wind Rises is the latest — and perhaps last — directorial effort from renowned Japanese animator…
A 1988 Law Brings Art to State Buildings
You may not have heard of the Vermont Art in State Buildings Act of 1988 — but you’ve probably seen it in action. With it, lawmakers guaranteed that up to $50,000 of taxpayers’ money would be devoted annually to the creation of art for the public spaces of new state buildings. Today, instead of encountering…
Free Will Astrology (3/19/14)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “When you plant seeds in the garden, you don’t dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet,” says Buddhist nun Thubten Chodron. “You simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time.” That’s sound advice for you, Aries. You…
Theater review: Venus in Fur
All the words that might tempt you to see Venus in Fur — comedy, sex, role reversal, erotic literature, sado-masochism — do apply, but the biggest draw turns out to be the acting. There’s more situation than plot, and though the subject matter is sex, Vermont Stage Company’s production isn’t salacious. The play by David…
I’m a Thirtysomething Woman Turned on by Virgin Guys
Dear Athena, I’m at a bit of a loss. I’m a healthy, attractive woman in my mid-thirties, but I have a total fetish for younger, inexperienced guys in their early twenties. Taking a guy’s virginity is the biggest turn-on I can imagine. But I have no idea how to go about finding younger, inexperienced men,…
Two Years After a Taser Death, a Reform Bill Comes Under Fire
When an unarmed, mentally ill man died after being shot by a Taser-wielding Vermont state trooper in June 2012, members of the public and many officials responded with outrage and calls for reform. Advocates for the mentally ill pushed for stricter rules and training for officers who carry stun guns. The Attorney General’s Office held…
School Daze: Burlington Education Leaders Mull Another Budget Vote
Burlington school officials remain torn over whether to ask voters again to approve an increase in spending — and taxes — for the coming year, or simply to default to the current year’s budget. Either way, warned school board member and finance committee chairman Keith Pillsbury, school officials are going to have to make some…
Art Review: ‘White Wash’ at S.P.A.C.E. Gallery
If timing is everything, Ashley Roark has to be feeling fulfilled. She’s the curator of “White Wash,” a group show that opened earlier this month at the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery in Burlington. “There is a beautifully eerie quality of winter when there’s a fresh blanket of snow on the ground,” reads an introductory panel, “and here…
Obituary: Craig K Potter, 1928-2014, Colchester
Craig K Potter, aged 86, of Colchester , Vt. went home to his Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014, after a long illness. Craig was born in Providence R.I. on January 3rd, 1928, to Justin & Alice (Buckmaster) Potter. He proudly served his country in the Air National Guard and was…
Little Sweets and Big Success for Chef Andrew LeStourgeon
The dough is toothsome but tender, the filling spicy with cinnamon. Hen of the Wood chef Eric Warnstedt can’t stop raving about the sticky, glazed cinnamon buns from pastry chef Andrew LeStourgeon. “I try not to eat one of those cinnamon rolls every day. They’re so decadent, so rich,” he says. Luckily (or unluckily) for…
Four Quarters Brewing opens in Winooski
Quick: What’s patersbier? What’s the Latin name for hops? And who the hell makes smoked red ale around here? The answer to all three questions can be found inside 150 West Canal Street in Winooski, where Four Quarters Brewing opened last weekend. Its stable of beers — including Janus, Horn of the Moon and Opus…
