May 1-7, 2019
Winooski Superintendent Sean McMannon Is All About School Spirit; Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Skoglund Announces Retirement; Seven Writers Share Their Restaurant Week Diaries
Cover Story
Superintendent Sean McMannon Is Teaching Winooski About School Spirit
A student talent show brought parents, grandparents, sisters and brothers to the Winooski schools auditorium on a Friday night at the end of March. The toddlers among them cavorted happily below the stage, creating an impromptu program of their own — even after a red velvet curtain opened to reveal a stage with a festive…
Birth Announcement: Annabella Caroline Mayo
On May 3, 2019, at Porter Medical Center, Jennifer Lynn Sumner welcomed a daughter, Annabelle Caroline Mayo.
Birth Announcement: Maya Erin Elinore Robbett
On May 2, 2019, at Porter Medical Center, Andrea Robbett & Meghan Robbett welcomed a girl, Maya Erin Elinore Robbett.
Memoriam: Jackie Baker, 1936-2018
Jackie’s family has scheduled a memorial celebration of her life and spring interment service for Saturday, May 18, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 2914 Spear St., Charlotte, VT at 1 p.m. There will be light refreshments in the hall from 1 to 2 p.m. followed by a service in the church. Everyone is…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: Option to Buy
Movement is afoot in the Statehouse on a bill to create a regulated cannabis market in Vermont. The latest version, approved Thursday night by the House Government Operations Committee, adds some interesting components. Towns would have to vote to allow pot shops to operate, our Taylor Dobbs reported, meaning retail weed establishments would be banned…
Obituary: Heather Anna MacDonald 1982-2019
Heather Anna MacDonald, 36, of Barre, Vt., and recently Daytona Beach, Fla., passed away unexpectedly after a long struggle with addiction on Sunday, April 21, 2019. She is survived by her parents, Rebecca MacDonald and Jerry Browne; children Sapphire Jackson and Mary-Elizabeth MacDonald; and brother Jeremy MacDonald, all of Colchester, Vt. She is also survived…
Album Review: Learic and SkySplitterInk, ‘The Theorist’
(Equal Eyes Records, CD and digital download) Learic and SkySplitterInk should have teamed up years ago. The local hip-hop artists have worked on songs together before, most notably the 2014 single “Side Three.” But an album has been long overdue. As expected, the duo’s new collaboration The Theorist, which dropped last week at a knockout…
In Jennifer McMahon’s ‘The Invited,’ the Ghosts Are Guests
People move into haunted houses, sure, but who builds one? That’s the central question of Montpelier writer Jennifer McMahon’s ninth suspense novel, The Invited, in which the ghosts visiting a Vermont couple are valued guests, not intruders. At least, such is the view of Helen, a history teacher who has just moved with her husband,…
Album Review: Davey Davis, ‘Bones of the Heart’
(Thunder Ridge Records, CD, digital download) Davey Davis’ Green Mountain roots run deep. The Woodstock native has worked as a machinist, a ski instructor, a fly-fishing guide and a trail builder, among other classic rural occupations. In other words, the seventh-generation Vermonter practically bleeds maple. His latest record, the curiously titled Bones of the Heart,…
Survivor Henia Lewin Talks About the Holocaust and Nationalism
Henia Lewin, née Wisgardisky, was a year and a half old in June 1941 when the Nazis invaded her native Lithuania. She and her family were among the 40,000 Lithuanian Jews herded into the Kovno Ghetto. When Henia’s mother informed others of what she’d learned — that the Nazis were killing Jews — they called…
Nun Left: As Burlington Convent Prepares to Close, Developers ‘Drool’ Over Property
One does not simply walk into a convent. One must ring the doorbell. So say the instructions posted on the back door of the Sisters of Mercy “motherhouse,” a forbidding five-story brick building at 100 Mansfield Avenue in Burlington. On a sunny afternoon last week, the only signs of life there were a busy blue…
Justice Served: Marilyn Skoglund to Retire From the Vermont Supreme Court
On her way out the door of her Montpelier home last Friday, Vermont Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Skoglund rolled up her right sleeve to show off her latest tattoo. “I waited until my youngest daughter’s wedding,” the justice said with a sneaky smile. “I knew she wouldn’t want me to get it.” Written in a…
Saltwater Coral Business Is a Portal to Another World
For many of us, the word “coral” may bring to mind the bony white fragments found in ocean-themed bathrooms and on specimen-laden windowsills more than anything resembling a living, breathing animal. But for Matt Spaulding, 35, coral is a love and a livelihood, a passion project that he’s managed to grow into a profitable business…
Mind the Gap: Mud Season Continues for Some Roxbury Residents
Mud season isn’t over just yet. Residents in Roxbury Gap — located between the towns of Warren and Roxbury — are still dodging ditches after a wicked cold winter and soggy spring. The slop generally dries up by the beginning of May, but Melanie Hall said this year has been one of the worst in…
New City Galerie Exhibit Moved to Karma Bird House
A leaky roof is never a good thing. But if you run an art gallery and water finds its way in, it’s a double whammy: Both the physical structure and other people’s precious artwork are imperiled. That’s what Joseph Pensak faced recently at his second-floor venue, New City Galerie, in downtown Burlington. The good news…
Movie Review: The ‘Family’ of This Tired Comedy Isn’t Worth Joining
Laura Steinel. That’s a name you’ll want to remember. You’ll want to remember to turn and run the next time you see it within a mile of a movie’s credits. That’s if there’s a next time. Having endured her feature debut, I suspect it’s très unlikely this first-time writer-director will be encouraged to write or…
Art Review: Janet Van Fleet, ‘Vanishment,’ Vermont Supreme Court Lobby
Central Vermont artist Janet Van Fleet has often unabashedly referenced social, political or environmental realities in her work. Perhaps her sculptural works made of buttons do not exactly call for revolution. But her use of mundane, found materials is itself a kind of statement, and her wry sense of humor puts her in good company…
Bid to Decriminalize ‘Bupe’ Hits a Bump in Vermont House
Jamie Wool’s epic bender had come to an inglorious end. The Essex resident had been imprisoned after a two-week binge on alcohol, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. The withdrawal was brutal. The 26-year-old man shook and vomited and had diarrhea. He had no appetite, even though he hadn’t eaten in days. A friend and fellow…
Movie Review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Brings a Cycle of Marvel’s Wagnerian Superhero Saga to a Rousing Close
Forgive me if I don’t feel quite ready to review Avengers: Endgame. Whether you’re emotionally invested in comic-book superheroes or not, this movie leaves you staggering, as if you’ve just emerged from the world’s biggest tent revival. Imagine a charismatic crew of dozens of preachers and an apocalypse visually rendered by crews of thousands. And…
Letters to the Editor (5/1/19)
Wheelchair Users Eat, Too As a foodie, I welcome another excellent eating opportunity with the arrival of Poco on lower Main Street [Bite Club: “Dolce VT Food Truck Owners Open New Restaurant, Poco, in Burlington,” April 17]. But how does it happen that after extensive renovations, there’s no access for patrons with physical disabilities? If…
Touring Exhibit Illuminates Career of Landscape Architect Dan Kiley
Vermont has been home to many a renowned creative soul, from Russian-born novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to playwright David Mamet to cartoonist Alison Bechdel. Less known, but beginning to gain the household-name recognition he deserves, is landscape architect Dan Kiley (1912-2004). For more than 50 years, Kiley lived and worked in Charlotte, where he designed some…
Soundbites: Wake Up, Winooski!
News flash: Waking Windows, the three-day music and arts festival in Winooski, is this weekend — specifically, Friday through Sunday, May 3 through 5. But most of you already knew that. On the off chance you have no idea what I’m talking about, here it is in a nutshell: Waking Windows is awesome. If you…
I’m 16 and Can’t Find a Lover
Dear Reverend, I’m 16. I’m rather pretty (I don’t think so, but I’ve just been told it a lot; I’m trying to not seem self-centered). But I can’t get a lover for the life of me. Everyone I know has people interested in them. I’ve tried the typical reasons, but nothing is matching to my…
Eat This Week, May 1 to 7, 2019: Celebrating Suds
Raise your glass to 10 years of local beer with the folks who pour it: Three Penny Taproom. The Capital City barroom is throwing its 10th annual Montbeerlier bash inside the bar and out — in a back parking lot and on Langdon Street. Festivities include a special draft list, sausage sandwiches, and music by…
Theater Review: ‘The Turn of the Screw,’ Lost Nation Theater
In adapting Henry James’ short novel The Turn of the Screw for the stage, Jeffrey Hatcher makes the story a theatrical feat by telling it with only two actors. One plays the main character; the other transforms moment by moment into four others. Quick-change stunts usually drive comedy, but this is a tale that bodes…
Seven Bands to See at Waking Windows
Waking Windows brings a buzzing energy to Winooski like no other time of year. Thousands flock to the Onion City music and arts festival to soak up as much indie-music goodness as they can handle. Locally, it’s the best place to discover new bands and artists. Along with two large outdoor stages, scads of the…
Hackie: At Your Service
When I connected with Michael Vandeveer at the arrival gate, I was struck by his impeccability. This is a man who has mastered the art of grooming, I thought as we shook hands. I should take lessons. Every hair on his head was trimmed to perfection; ditto his short, reddish beard. His nostrils and ears,…
Free Will Astrology (5/1/19)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): I invite you to explore the frontiers of what’s possible for you to experience and accomplish. One exercise that might help: Visualize specific future adventures that excite you. Examples? Picture yourself parasailing over the Mediterranean Sea near Barcelona, or working to help endangered sea turtles in Costa Rica, or giving a…
Wait for It: Will Vermont Enact a Gun Waiting Period?
When a bill is approved by the Vermont Senate and then gets stuck in the House, it’s usually a sign of trouble. That’s exactly what happened with S.169, which would require Vermonters to wait 24 hours before buying a handgun. The legislation received final Senate approval on March 22 and quickly moved to the House…
Seven Dinner Diaries From Vermont Restaurant Week
On the first night of Vermont Restaurant Week, the annual dining extravaganza organized by Seven Days, we ran into a couple who treat the event with admirable gusto. Lindsey Gray and Jordan Black-Deegan of Huntington were eating at Revolution Kitchen in Burlington. The meal was a reprise of sorts for the couple, who had dined…
