Nov 23-29, 2016
Three Vermont Nonprofits That Think Locally, Work Globally; Can a Scandal-Plagued Hotel Save Burke Mountain?; The Read on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Our Revolution
Cover Story
Acting Globally: Vermont Nonprofits Work to Improve the World
By accident of birth, Americans live in one of the most prosperous nations in the world. Those of us fortunate enough to reside in Vermont have that going for us, too. Life may not feel like a royal flush, but, compared to the cards dealt to most of Earth’s inhabitants, we are lucky indeed. Most…
Obituary: KK Wilder, 1942-2016
A memorial for KK Wilder will be held on Sunday, December 11, at the Unitarian Universalist Church at the top of Church Street at 2 p.m. with reception to follow. In keeping with KK’s spirit, it will be a cooperative affair with many people contributing food, flowers, photos and words. Please let us know below…
The Parmelee Post: Demolition Derby to Be Held in City Market Parking Lot
Buckle your seat belt, throw on a helmet and prepare to say goodbye to the family minivan! The metal-bending carnage of the demolition derby is coming to Burlington’s community grocery store. Joining in the longstanding tradition of countless county fairs around the nation, City Market/Onion River Co-op will host its first annual Crashes for Radishes…
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Sharing the Bounty [SIV468]
11/18/16: As we enter into the holiday season, non-profits are avidly seeking donations to help Vermonters in need. We visited Spectrum Youth & Family Services Drop-in Center during lunch to talk to some young people about why community support is essential. On a sunny Saturday, we stopped by the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf where a…
Free Will Astrology (11/23/16)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Despite your sign’s reputation, you Sagittarians don’t always require vast expanses to roam in. You aren’t ceaselessly restless, on an inexhaustible quest for unexpected experiences and fresh teachings. And no, you are not forever consumed with the primal roar of raw life, obsessed with the naked truth, and fiercely devoted to…
Moonlight
At a pivotal moment in Moonlight, a character fires up a jukebox with Barbara Lewis’ classic “Hello Stranger.” The slow-burn ballad spools out into the room — transforming its mundanity into something floridly romantic and saying the words that the two men on screen can’t say. That scene encapsulates what’s magic about Barry Jenkins’ indie…
Motherland: A New American Helps Women in the Congo
Cleophace Mukeba is a self-confessed “mother’s boy” and feminist. Growing up in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he helped his mother with household chores. “I wanted her to let me do [them] so that she can rest,” Mukeba said. Today, the 49-year-old Vermonter lives in Burlington and works as…
How Do I Get My Partner to Talk About Her Sex Life?
Dear Athena, My partner and I have great sex (we’ve been together for 10 years). What turns me on is her telling me about her past experiences, which she has reluctantly done. I would like to hear more stories. When asked, she says she is not good at storytelling. How can I convince her the…
Grilling the Chef: Shiel Worcester of Jam Bakery
Chef Shiel Worcester Age: 28 Position: Baker-owner of Jam Bakery Location: Burlington Cuisine type: American-style pastry with a creative twist Education: New England Culinary Institute, Baking and Pastry Arts Selected experience: baker, Momofuku Milk Bar, New York City; pastry chef, Hen of the Wood, Burlington; baker, Sweet Simone’s, Richmond. What’s on the menu? Buttermilk scones…
Can a Scandal-Tainted Hotel Save Q-Less Burke Mountain?
The most sought-after businessman in the Northeast Kingdom works out of a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office, visits Vermont every couple of months and offers awkward flatlander talk about “leaf-changing season.” But at the September opening ceremony of the Burke Mountain Hotel & Conference Center, Michael Goldberg, the “receiver” a federal judge appointed to manage and…
WTF Is Richford’s ‘Mystery Spot’?
To visit a certain part of Richford, you might have to break the law of gravity. According to Sir Isaac Newton, objects fall. No exceptions. But if Franklin County lore has a flicker of truth to it, perhaps not. A stretch of dirt road off Route 105 near East Richford is known as “Richford’s Mystery…
In the Upper Valley, Filmmakers Are Rolling
On a recent Saturday morning, a covered wagon sat on the side of a dirt road that bisects a harvested cornfield in Bedell Bridge State Park in Haverhill, N.H. Lanterns, canteens, and assorted pots and pans hung from the sides of the wagon, which sported a metal stovepipe for good measure. The faces of the…
Soundbites: Giving Thanks
For the past several years, I’ve used the Thanksgiving week column to highlight some of the things I’m personally thankful for in the local music scene, or that we should collectively take a moment to appreciate. Originally, that conceit was born of necessity. Music-wise, the upcoming weekend is traditionally one of the slowest of the…
Speaker Squeaker? Two Vie to Lead Vermont’s House
Twenty-one years ago, when House Speaker Ralph Wright (D-Bennington) unexpectedly lost reelection to his House seat, Democrats went to a floor vote in January to decide who should replace him in the powerful position. It was a hard-fought battle. Michael Obuchowski, a Democrat from Rockingham, prevailed 78-70 in a secret-ballot vote over fellow Democrat Peter…
Bristol’s Tandem Plans Winter Food Events
Since Tandem opened in May 2015, the airy spot at 26 Main Street in Bristol has evolved to serve multiple functions. It’s an occasional tasting room for local purveyors. It’s an event space for happenings such as Tandem Night Market, a Thursday evening summer farmers market. And it’s a production kitchen for its owners, craft…
In the Trump Era, Does Vermont Need More Abortion Options?
As residents of one of the most pro-choice states in the nation, Vermont women seeking abortions may be less worried about president-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to choose anti-abortion judges, support a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and cut federal funds for Planned Parenthood. But even in Vermont, abortion — one of the…
Shacksbury Cider Wins $25,000 Development Grant
Last week, Shacksbury cidery, a member of the Addison County Economic Development Corporation, received a $25,000 Building Communities Grant from the state’s Regional Economic Development program. The grant will support the Shacksbury crew’s expansion and relocation to a new tasting room in the Kennedy Brothers building in Vergennes. And, adds co-owner Colin Davis, it will…
Andrew W.K. On the Power of Partying
Everyone has something that makes them feel joyful, connected and alive. It might be running, painting or blowing up tree stumps. Whatever it is, hard-rocker and motivational guru Andrew W.K. calls that “partying.” In his own words, partying means “taking something you’re thankful for and showing it some sort of worshipful appreciation, in a very…
Peak Power: Burlington Electric Draws Vermont’s Top Brass
Darren Springer, 36, has landed some plumb political jobs: with the National Governors Association, in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) office and, most recently, as Gov. Peter Shumlin’s chief of staff. Last month, Springer announced his next career move — to the Burlington Electric Department. He’s just the latest up-and-comer to beat a path from the…
Common ‘Grounds’: Screening for Cancer in Coffee Regions
In June 2012, nurse practitioner Ellen Starr arrived at the foothills of the Mount Kilimanjaro region in Tanzania, exhausted after a bumpy, two-hour car ride. She and a colleague from Williston-based Grounds for Health were supposed to supervise a local health care provider they had trained to perform cervical precancer screenings. But no “patients” showed…
Dykes to Watch Out For: Pièce de Résistance
Alison Bechdel’s popular strip “Dykes to Watch Out For” was for years a countercultural staple in this paper and other publications across the country — until the Vermont-based cartoonist gave it up in 2008 to focus on writing graphic memoirs. Her first was Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. Published in 2006, it was not only…
Vision Quest: A Waterbury-Based Project Brings Eyesight to the Blind
Eyesight for the blind was once a messianic promise. This week, assembly-line cataract surgeries will restore the vision of 1,200 Ethiopians over eight days, courtesy of Waterbury’s Himalayan Cataract Project. The work qualifies as a miraculous undertaking, asserted ophthalmologist Geoff Tabin. “We’re restoring not just sight, but life,” he said. In 1994, eye doctors Tabin…
Weaver Jane McDougal Prepares for the Craft Fair
In Jane McDougal’s Burlington apartment, a storage tub and an oversize heavy-duty tote bag hold hundreds of the fiber artist’s place-mat-size weavings. After working on her loom for months, McDougal shows her work publicly just once a year, at the Women’s Festival of Crafts. The annual artisans fair, to be held at the Burlington Town…
A Rutland Nonprofit Purifies Water in Haiti and Honduras
Hurricane Matthew brought destructive winds and rain to Haiti when it hit the island nation in early October. The second punch was an outbreak of cholera, spread by contaminated water, which continues to plague the southern part of the country. Mario Andre of Vermont-based Pure Water for the World traveled to the hard-hit southern port…
Book Review: Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In, Sen. Bernie Sanders
All books have lags between writing and publication, but rarely has that delay weighed as heavily on a book as it does in the case of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In. The senator’s political autobiography and wonkapalooza — a follow-up to his earlier tome Outsider in the White House —…
1881, Camera
(Self-released, digital download) When a band’s name includes a particular year, like the 1975, Night Terrors of 1927 or the Chain Gang of 1974, it’s fun to speculate as to what event from that year is so significant to its members. Take Burlington’s 1881. Are they super-psyched about the birth year of Pablo Picasso? Maybe…
Williston Man Finds Success With Funny Business
You wouldn’t guess James Becker’s profession by looking at him. He’s got an approachable yet rugged aesthetic — a full, lightly groomed beard, outdoor-friendly apparel and an easy smile. The 35-year-old’s business is distributing mainstream and adult novelties, and it is booming. Becker owns an operating company called Gizmocup, which in turn has stakes in…
Box to Bar: Peter Katz’ Shipping Container Mission
Last Friday morning in Burlington’s South End, sparks flew from metal artist Aaron Grossman’s welding torch. Peter Katz stood nearby in front of his 20-foot-long shipping container. In May, the Jeffersonville-based 43-year-old lost the job he’d had since 2006 doing independent site-acquisition research for Vital Site Services in Somerville, Mass. The reason given was a…
Sad Turtle, Ruthless & Toothless
(Self-released, digital download) Burlington’s Sad Turtle describe their sound as “instrumental music for people who don’t like instrumental music.” As a lover of music that doesn’t muck around with vocals, I’m not sure where that puts me on that spectrum. But Sad Turtle’s new record, Ruthless & Toothless, is a lovely, pristine chunk of goodness…
Letters to the Editor (11/23/16)
Great Hire So thrilled to read yet another interesting article by Seven Days reporter Kymelya Sari [Live Culture: “Abenaki Women Share Heritage with Champlain College Community,” November 17]. It is great to see the paper expanding its regular coverage of the many peoples and cultures of Vermont. Sari is a talented reporter with a fresh…
Art Review: Tanya Chaly, McCarthy Arts Center
In the time of climate change, the relationship between cause and effect can get murky. One group of absolutists blames humankind for any and all disruptions in the natural world, while another denies any human agency whatsoever. Little space is left for admissions of uncertainty. Consider the case of the worldwide colony collapse among honeybees.…
Bleed for This
The boxing movie is a paradox. Here’s a sport that’s never been less relevant. Its glory days are a half century in the rearview. Muhammad Ali is a beloved shadow. George Foreman’s a walking infomercial. Mike Tyson makes Hangover movies and a fool of himself on Broadway. Nobody cares about boxing anymore, and nobody cares…
Yule Haul: The 2016 Vermont Holiday Gift Guide
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Last-Minute, Fail-Safe Thanksgiving Treats
Last week, Suzanne Podhaizer offered tips and tricks — gleaned from her years as chef-owner of Montpelier’s Salt restaurant — to help holiday hosts minimize their pre-feast stress. But in most families, preparing Thanksgiving dinner takes a village. Grandma knows she can count on Aunt Anne to bring the bean casserole, while sister Kristine invariably supplies the…
Hill Farmstead Showcases Wunderkammer Bier
Not everybody can afford to collect art, but anybody can create a Wunderkammer. Popular from the Renaissance on, these cabinets of curiosities were “sort of a proto-museum,” says Hill Farmstead brewer Vasilios Gletsos, who was formerly a Bread and Puppet Theater puppeteer. People would “create a microcosm of the natural world in their homes, for…
In Montpelier, Beau Will Be a Butcher Shop, Deli, Café and Bar
When Kismet chef-owner Crystal Maderia and butcher Jules Guillemette reopen the doors of 207 Barre Street in Montpelier later this month, they’ll straddle the gap between café service, retail and takeout. Their new venture, Beau Butchery + Bar, will be at once a butcher shop, deli-market, café and bar. “This’ll be more of a classic…
