Mar 20-26, 2019
How Casella Waste Systems Converted Garbage Into an Empire; Vermont Students Grade Lawmakers’ Anti-Vaping Efforts; Plans Move Forward on Museum Devoted to History of Opiate Abuse
Cover Story
Two Men’s Trash: How Casella Waste Systems Converted Garbage Into a Sprawling Empire
A black-and-white photo of John and Doug Casella in the entryway of Casella Waste Systems headquarters in Rutland projects an appealing image. The brothers, with youthful smiles and unlined faces, stand in front of a trash truck they acquired shortly after launching their partnership in the mid-1970s. John sports a V-neck with the distinctive block-letter…
Seriously: House Renters — Burlington, VT
In this episode, Bryan searches for an apartment to rent in Burlington. FEATURING: Jared Hall as “Jerry the Landlord” Katie Hodges as “Some Girl” Jenna Pacitto as “Jenna” CREDITS Written by: Jared Hall, Jenna Pacitto and Bryan Parmelee Filmed and edited by: Bryan Parmelee Artwork/photography courtesy of: Bryan Parmelee, Dreamstime Logo/art direction by: Don Eggert…
Up in Smoke: Students Grade Lawmakers’ Anti-Vaping Efforts
High school students commonly excuse themselves from class to use the bathroom, then use the trip to take furtive hits of nicotine-laced vapor from e-cigarettes. Some go a bolder route: They’ll take a hit of an e-cig, usually a Juul, while the teacher’s back is turned. By the time the teacher turns around again, the…
A Singer Talks Opera to Fans of the Met Live in HD
It’s fine to experience opera without preparation — Julia Roberts did it in Pretty Woman and was moved to tears — but a little insight beforehand can be enormously helpful. With that in mind, Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center now offers a free 45-minute talk by an actual opera singer before each of its Metropolitan…
Movie Review: Dull Thriller ‘The Wedding Guest’ Doesn’t Deserve an Invite
Dev Patel clearly got Daniel Craig’s mail by mistake. Or Idris Elba’s. Maybe Jet Li’s. There’s no regulation requiring every member of the Screen Actors Guild to have the skill set necessary to carry an action film, of course. That’s good news for Patel. For moviegoers, not so much. He does an unconvincing Jason Statham…
Hackie: Meet Your Heroes
Travis Kennedy was a burly man: 6-foot-3 if he was an inch, and probably 230 pounds. He was handsome, too, with a mop of curly, salt-and-pepper hair and a classic profile reminiscent of a Greco-Roman bust. So it was poignant to watch this rugged specimen being rolled out to my taxi in a wheelchair, one…
Foam Brewers Celebrate Expansion With an Evanescent Mural Project
An eagle-eyed imbiber of Foam Brewers beer might notice a sly message on each of its 16-ounce cans: “Time Kills Art.” In the case of an IPA, this postmodern manifesto is an exhortation to drink while fresh. On Saturday, March 23, the Lake Street suds factory in Burlington will host a reception of the same…
Eat This Week, March 20 to 26, 2019: Live From the Factory
This weekend, more than 100 sugarhouses statewide will open their doors to visitors for sweet, old-fashioned treats, including pancake breakfasts, sugar on snow and maple steam treatments. On Fletcher Road in Fairfax, Runamok Maple will host guests at its new bottling and processing plant. Sample beverages, desserts and savory plates made with Runamok’s barrel-aged, infused,…
Welcome Wagon: Vermont Pays Up as Internet Migrants Settle In
When Amelia Potasznik-Kriv and her wife, Caitlin, made up their minds last year to get the hell out of Dallas, they began their search exactly where one might expect. “I just started Googling ‘places to live that are progressive,'” the 34-year-old immigration attorney said. Potasznik-Kriv found plenty of references to Vermont’s liberal politics and livability.…
Letters to the Editor (3/20/19)
Brave New World of Farming [Re “Milking It,” March 13]: My congratulations to Chelsea Edgar for her fine article on the intense collaboration of the thousand dairy cows of Vorsteveld Farm in Panton, together with the three cuss-a-plenty Vorsteveld brothers who work and manage the farm, as well as the 10 Mexican workers who reliably…
Soundbites: Brian Wilson to Perform at Burlington Discover Jazz Festival
All Smiles Holy. Shit. In case you missed it, the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, along with Higher Ground Presents, recently unveiled the artist closing out this year’s festival: Brian Wilson. The legendary singer-songwriter and cofounder of the Beach Boys returns to the Queen City on Sunday, June 9 — specifically to the Flynn MainStage, where…
Rosy Relations: Scott, Legislature Getting Along Fine — So Far
Republican Gov. Phil Scott surprised many last week when he told WCAX-TV’s Neal Goswami that he wouldn’t go to the wall to stop any increase in property taxes. It was a remarkable change in position for a guy willing to risk a government shutdown over the very same issue last year. Won’t happen again in…
An Enosburg Falls Museum Will Explore 19th-Century Roots of Opioid Crisis
An unlikely addition to the retail landscape sits sandwiched between Kohl’s department store and Maurices women’s clothing at the south end of University Mall in South Burlington. From the outside, the 2,800-square-foot Antiques at Vermont History and Health looks like a typical secondhand shop. But displayed among the old Buddha figurines, table lamps and dining…
At the Green Mountain Film Festival, New Music for Silent Classics
A great film score can transform a movie. Just consider John Williams’ triumphant opening fanfare for Star Wars or his dread-inducing string work on Jaws, or Danny Elfman’s zany orchestral contributions to films such as Beetlejuice and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. That music can underscore and heighten the action on the screen was especially true at…
Princess Explore the Divine Feminine Through Their Multimedia Sci-fi Rock Opera
The science fiction genre lends itself to examining societal flaws and social issues — and how we might go about changing them if we only had the means. By viewing the world through a fantastical lens, certain truths can often be sifted out of the din of contemporary life. Princess, the Brooklyn-based avant-garde electro-rap duo…
Free Will Astrology (3/20/19)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): During the coming weeks, everything that needs to happen will indeed happen only if you surprise yourself on a regular basis. So I hope you will place yourself in unpredictable situations where you won’t be able to rely on well-rehearsed responses. I trust that you will regard innocence and curiosity and…
UVM’s Dance Program Celebrates a New Major and a New Sprung Floor
Five students in a dance rehearsal simultaneously reached their arms wide and twisted their torsos like synchronized miniature windmills. Moments later, they walked in angled trajectories, crouched while clapping hypnotic rhythms, and hovered above the floor on toes and forearms. On a recent Sunday afternoon, these dancers were rehearsing a piece for the Dancing Uphill…
You’ve Got Hate Mail: Are This Man’s Awful Screeds Protected Speech?
Christopher Hayden barraged a Burlington city councilor with messages to “go back to Senegal” and “watch your step.” He walked into Burlington City Hall and shouted for the “Jew” mayor to come face him. And he called the city’s police chief at all hours, leaving cackling voicemails on his cellphone that threatened, “I’m gonna get…
Ava’s Candy Store Brings Sweets to White River Junction
When your woodworking shop runs out of inventory, open a candy store. That’s basically the story behind Ava’s Candy Corner, which opened for regular business hours earlier this week in White River Junction. The candy shop shares a storefront with Fletcher Creations at 63 Gates Street, where Scott Fletcher crafts custom furniture and household goods…
Art Review: “Pangs: Ali Palin, Misoo and Susan Smereka” at New City Galerie
Joseph Pensak, who founded and directs New City Galerie, doesn’t always curate its fascinating shows, but he did create the current one, “Pangs.” In it, he brings together work by Susan Smereka, the gallery’s head art handler and assistant curator; Ali Palin; and Misoo (formerly Misoo Filan). Pensak’s curator’s statement, consisting of a couplet from…
In Burlington’s South End, Two Side-by-Side Salons Share ‘Head’ Space
Commercial development in Burlington’s South End is a study in consumer choice. If you like pizza with your beer, walk the west side of Pine Street (Pizza 44 and Queen City Brewery). If you’d prefer a sausage with your pint, cross the street (Zero Gravity Craft Brewery). A fan of New York-style bagels? East side…
Album Review: D. Davis, ‘Hopeful’
(Self-released, CD, digital) D. Davis is an unassuming fellow. Modest almost to a fault, he’s the kind of guy who doesn’t stand out in a crowd, even though he’s a good bet to be among the most talented people in any room. Davis is affable and generous, a thoughtful, pleasant man who’s easy to like.…
A Writer Goes Without, and Within, on a ‘Detox’ Cleanse
I’m a skeptic in most areas, but perhaps especially when it comes to detoxification cleanses, in which people purposely go for varying periods of time without solid foods. Instead, they drink juice or other potions, usually in an effort to detoxify. Meaning: a process by which a renegade ragtag of toxins, uh, get expelled from…
Album Review: Thai BlueJeans Salesman, ‘One Thousand Miles of Mud’
(Self-released, digital download) It’s been almost three years since we’ve heard from Thai BlueJeans Salesman, the psychedelic-folk project of Poultney-based musician Tim Halteman. His 2016 LP, Isla Hormiga, was a sort of hodgepodge of textures that worked as often as it didn’t but displayed no shortage of creative bravery. On his latest release, One Thousand…
Movie Review: Dance and Death Merge in Gaspar Noé’s Visually Stunning ‘Climax’
Do you like your dance laced with a bit of homicide? Is Black Swan your jam? Do you wish that the sinister ballet in The Red Shoes (1948) had been the entire film, or that the witchy gyrations in last year’s Suspiria remake had lasted longer? If you’re a fan of the micro-genre that I’ll…
I’m Almost 20, Single and Still a Virgin—Help!
Dear Reverend, I’m 19 years old, almost 20, and I’ve always been single, and I’m still a virgin. I have friends that are girls, but I have never been in a relationship. I find dating awkward because I’m really introverted, and I’ve screwed up all my chances of talking to my crushes. Is there any…
Castleton Adds Cannabis Program to Vermont’s Higher Ed Scene
One sector of Vermont’s “higher” education scene is growing. Beginning this summer, Castleton University will offer a 12-credit cannabis certificate program. Students must take three courses — Cannabis Culture and Consciousness, Cannabis Cultivation and Care, and Cannabusiness — and complete 50 hours of an internship, professor Joe Markowski told Seven Days. The program will be…
Hotel Bar the Copper Grouse Welcomes Drinkers and Diners in Manchester
About halfway through my late Saturday lunch a few weeks ago at the Copper Grouse in Manchester, the host asked if I’d mind scooting down the bar to open up a pair of seats beside me. Although it had been relatively quiet when I first walked into the restaurant at the Taconic Hotel just before…
Lion Turtle Tea to Open on Burlington’s King Street This Summer
From biker bar to teahouse. No, it’s not the name of a new sitcom. It’s the trajectory of the storefront at 41 King Street in Burlington. Thirty-plus years ago, the Sheik — a hangout that attracted the Harley-Davidson crowd — occupied the building at the corner of King and South Champlain streets. Most recently, the…
