

Cover Story
A Single Family Remakes the Image of South Woodstock
The village of South Woodstock consists of an inn, a general store and a post office. Other than the state highway, which runs through the center of town, most of the roads are unpaved, climbing steeply from the valley into the surrounding hills. A few people live near the village center, but most residents —…
The Parmelee Post: Goddess of Fertility Stages Statehouse Sit-On to Demand Paid Family Leave
Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, fertility and motherly love, says she is prepared to sit atop the Vermont Statehouse dome for as long as it takes to give working mothers a break. The goddess will be hoisted up onto the Statehouse dome Friday, where she says she will remain until Vermont establishes a paid…
Obituary: Irene Cornell Linde, 1922-2018
February 6, 1922-November 23, 2018 Underhill, Vt. At some point in our lives, we encounter a person purely generous and loving, full of honesty, humility, humor, integrity and selflessness. A person who can only be described with kind words and who only had kind words for others. Irene Linde was that person. Sadly, we all…
Free Will Astrology (11/21/18)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “You have two ways to live your life,” writes spiritual teacher Joseph Vitale, “from memory or inspiration.” In other words, you can take your cues about how to live your life from what happened in the past, or you can make your decisions based on what you’re excited to do and…
Cleared for Takeoff? Airstrip Proposal Rattles North Hero Residents
Six months ago, Deborah and Scott Richardson moved full time to their dream retirement home, a modest waterfront abode in North Hero. Loons and herons gather along the shoreline, Deborah said on a frigid day last week, gesturing to the living room’s large plate-glass windows, which offer views of a channel that opens onto Lake…
Marketplace Futures: How Burlington Aims to Reorganize ‘Downtown’
“Here’s the problem,” consultant Brad Segal said of the challenges facing Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace. “You’re at a B- and slipping. If that experience slips more, it’s going to be exponentially more expensive to fix.” The only thing more “tired” than the four-block pedestrian mall, according to Segal, is the commercial area around it. “The…
Album Review: Red Hot Juba, ‘Stir Crazy’
(Self-released, CD, digital) Back in 2008, local “cosmic Americana” outfit Red Hot Juba released their self-titled debut. Unassuming and underrated, the record served a tantalizing taste of what was then a promising new band. The quartet’s trajectory since has done little to diminish that early excitement. The musicians have become stalwarts, gigging constantly all over…
Burlington New Year’s Eve Festival ‘Highlight’ Unveils Programming
New Year’s Eve in the Queen City is alive and well. That was the message from Signal Kitchen cofounder Alex Lalli back in September when his Burlington-based creative agency and Burlington City Arts announced plans to team up on Highlight, a New Year’s Eve celebration intended to replace the defunct First Night Burlington. At a…
Woodstock’s the Daily Catch Serves Up the Sea
First, let’s praise the servers who can quickly answer the question, “What’s your specialty?” Many restaurants don’t define themselves by any one particular dish, but there’s usually something on the menu worth pointing out. Maybe it’s a plate that remains steadfast, season after season, or a new entrée the chef is excited about. At a…
Movie Review: Melissa McCarthy Shines as an Intrepid Literary Forger in ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’
Christmas has come early for fans of Melissa McCarthy. Just when we’d girded ourselves for a post-Bridesmaids/The Heat/Spy tailspin into Eddie Murphy-level ignominy, (The Happytime Murders, anyone?), the actress has defiantly, triumphantly bounced back. With her latest performance, she’s not merely redeemed; she’s reinvented. And Melissa McCarthy 2.0 is cause for serious celebration. She gets…
Adult English Language Learners Get Digital Education
Jacques Moninga’s favorite English language instructor is Alisha Ivelich. The Congolese native has never talked to her nor met her, but he said he’s learned a lot from watching her EnglishClass101 videos on YouTube. “Yes, I can say [hers are] the best,” said Moninga, who also speaks French, Kibembe, Lingala and Swahili. He used to…
Letter to the Editor (11/21/18)
Sister’s Keeper [Re “‘This Touched My Heart,'” October 24; “Opiates, Love and Loss,” October 24; Off Message: “‘I Cried as I Read This’: An Obit for an Addicted Vermonter Goes Viral,” October 18; Obituary: Madelyn Linsenmeir, 1988-2018, October 14]: Thank you for publishing stories about people like Madelyn Linsenmeir with substance-use disorder. It’s the only…
Kizy to Bring Fresh Juice and Healthy Fare to Montpelier
Albert Einstein said, “If you want to know the future, look at the past.” At 207 Barre Street in Montpelier, Kismet owner Crystal Maderia is getting back to her roots with Kizy. The new café and juice bar will open in the space most recently home to Beau butcher shop, which closed earlier this year.…
Movie Review: Four ‘Widows’ Plan a Heist in the Windy City in Steve McQueen’s Uneven Latest
If your name is Steve McQueen and you open a $40 million movie with a car chase, you’d better not crash and burn. After all, the name McQueen has been nearly synonymous with high-speed pursuit ever since the iconic American star of 1968’s Bullitt careened a Mustang through the hilly streets of San Francisco. To…
‘Mister Chris and Friends,’ Slow TV for Children on Vermont PBS
The scene opens with the sun rising over the Green Mountains on a typical Vermont family farm, where brown dairy cows graze and happy pigs munch apples and get their bellies rubbed. Amid vegetable rows strolls a singing farmer carrying a leather satchel and wearing a trilby hat and navy shirt with a yellow heart…
Art Review: ‘Dreams Can Come True (If It’s Not Working for You, You’re Not Doing It Right),’ BCA Center
You probably know your zodiac (sun) sign, and you may even know your rising and moon signs. You might identify strongly with one of the four houses of Hogwarts; perhaps you have taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory. But do you know if you are a boat, rocket, camper, car, utility trailer or airplane?…
Eat This Week, November 21 to 27, 2018: Thanks for All
The Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club ushers in the season of giving with a free community Thanksgiving meal. In the Bethany Church galley on Main Street in Montpelier, dozens of volunteers spend the week slicing, dicing, baking, boiling and steaming food for hundreds of Turkey Day visitors, who fill up on just-carved…
Assigned Seats: Vermont Lawmakers Line Up for Leadership Roles
Assigning lawmakers to committees is kind of like drawing up a seating chart for a wedding, except instead of drinking champagne and eating layer cake, those seated at the table determine the direction of our state. “I think setting up committees is the most important thing the speaker does in two years,” said House Speaker…
Soundbites: Special Thanks and a New Events Series in Warren
Greetings to you all on this fine Thanksgiving week! Whether you’re reading this column on Wednesday, the day it hits the streets, or Thursday night post-turkey or even post-Black Friday, I want to take a minute to give a few thanks and shout-outs to some deserving people, places and things. To avoid being too cheesy…
UVM Alum Creates Free Online Website for Aspiring Artists
Even established artists struggle to make ends meet in Vermont, and the starving-artist stereotype holds doubly true for many student artists. But a recent graduate from the University of Vermont just launched a digital platform that he hopes will help him and other aspiring visual artists, such as painters, sculptors and illustrators, sell their work…
Fenster’s JJ Weihl Talks Songwriting, Reality and VHS Filmmaking
What is real? What is imaginary? Is there any difference between the two? Well, sure, of course there is. But what we think of as real may not be as set in stone as we think it is. It’s all about perception. Heady themes such as these suffuse The Room, the latest and fourth album…
WTF: So Many Questions About Roads, Construction and Other Motorist Issues
Consider this week’s “Whisky Tango Foxtrot” column the roads and streets review. We often answer readers’ questions about puzzling things they’ve spotted while driving — perhaps a sad reminder of how much time Vermonters spend behind the wheel. True to form, we’ve received a plethora of road-related queries recently. So here are some answers that,…
Album Review: Reid Parsons, ‘Reid Parsons’
(self-released, CD, digital) Burlington singer-songwriter Reid Parsons recently showcased her appreciation for pop music during a performance at ArtsRiot. Though it was technically a release show for her debut self-titled EP, the folksy singer-songwriter quickly moved into a selection of well-known covers from practically every recent decade. Her soulful takes on Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No…
2018 Vermont Holiday Gift Guide
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State Takeover of Senior Homes Spurs Calls for More Oversight
Barbara Deslaurier sat in the cozy library at her senior living complex last Thursday wearing a relieved expression. The 89-year-old grandmother and dozens of her neighbors, many of whom use walkers, had just attended a meeting in the dining room with Burlington attorney Douglas Wolinsky. Wolinsky had been appointed to run the South Burlington facility,…
Scarlett Letters: How Do I Get My Partner to Engage in More, and Better, Sex?
This week Scarlett answers two letters, each asking what to do when sex with your partner feels one-sided. Dear Scarlett, How do I get my wife to engage more in oral sex? I love simultaneous oral sex, but she doesn’t go down! Should I protest? Sometimes you gotta take one for the team, you know?…
A Vermonter Is On a Quest to Walk or Run Every Burlington Street
Dogs have barked at him. Wary homeowners have stared at him. He’s taken selfies with cats. And soon, Rob Rives will have navigated every public street in the City of Burlington on his own power — an unusual goal. So, um, why did he do it? “I find a lot of my inspiration to get out…
Obituary: Karen Martha Kjar, 1942-2018
Karen Martha Kjar passed away unexpectedly on Sunday morning, November 18, 2018. Auntie Kay, as she was known, was born on April 7, 1942, in Highland Park, Ill. She took great pleasure in painting and admiring the natural beauty of Vermont. In addition to this, she had a bond with the Milton High School community.…
Local Cocktail Experts Offer Recipes for Thanksgiving Spirits
More than any other holiday, Thanksgiving is about the food: Aunt Polly’s green bean casserole, Grandpa’s famous wild rice and mushroom stuffing, Mom’s maple-glazed sweet potato pie. Oh, yeah, and the turkey we cook differently every year in the vain hope that the white meat won’t taste like packing material. Of course, it’s also about…
Café Mamajuana Aims to Bring Dominican Cuisine to Burlington
The range of cuisines available in Burlington will expand to include Dominican food next spring, when Maria Lara-Bregatta plans to open Café Mamajuana. Lara-Bregatta, currently a server at ArtsRiot, said she hopes to sign a lease for the vacant restaurant space at 55 Main Street. Main Street Deli moved out of the location about six…






