Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2020
How Vermonters Are Coping With Being Apart as COVID-19 Surges Again; After a Tough Term, Can Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger Win Reelection?; Staytripper: The Road Map to Safely Rediscovering Vermont During the Pandemic
Cover Story
How Vermonters Are Coping With Being Apart In the Pandemic
Vermonters have entered a lonely season. After a summer of cautious optimism that the state’s diligent public health measures had contained the spread of COVID-19, the fall brought a depressing reality check. Over the last month, Vermont has logged 45 percent of its 3,762 total confirmed cases; the average number of new infections each week…
Obituary: Edwin Skolnick, 1938-2020
Longtime NYC teacher was an activist for workers’ rights
Tracy, Pine Vie for Progressive Nomination in Burlington Mayor’s Race
A viewer of the Vermont Progressive Party’s candidate forums last month would scarcely have been able to tell that City Councilors Brian Pine (Ward 3) and Max Tracy (Ward 2) are rivals to become the next mayor of Burlington. Over the course of the three virtual events, Pine and Tracy’s talking points overlapped more than…
Obituary: Margery Gessford MacLeod Glass, 1923-2020
Burlington woman was a gracious, giving and creative friend, mother, wife and community volunteer
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, November 26 to December 2
1. Giving Thanks If there’s ever been a time to tally blessings, it’s the end of an often dark and confusing year. Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock offers families an opportunity to meditate on their gratitude and learn about late-19th-century Thanksgiving traditions during its Thanksgiving Weekend celebration. From Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November…
Essay: Get Ready for the Flatlanders — or Maybe Not
Midtown Manhattan couldn’t be more opposite of Vermont. It’s the busiest section of the most populated city in the nation. Who would be crazy enough to work there? A much younger and naïve me. I was a magazine editor in the early 2000s. My building was between Penn Station and Macy’s Herald Square — the…
Letters to the Editor (11/25/20)
Definitely Dry [Re Off Message: “Drought Disaster Declared for 10 Vermont Counties,” November 17]: I have lived in Shaftsbury for 30 years now. There is an artesian well on Route 7A in Shaftsbury, across from the former Iron Kettle Motel. For the first time in 30 years, that well has run dry. I guess this…
WTF: Did St. Albans Unwittingly Host an X-Rated Movie Shoot in the 1970s?
Some stories seem too good to be true. This one involves naked hippies, a yellow Ferrari, intimidating G-men and the 1970 Bellows Free Academy St. Albans marching band. The fact that all these elements featured in a film in a cinematic genre known as “maple syrup porn” makes it even sweeter. A brief post on…
An Artist Is Creating Natural Installations at Three Vermont Preserves
An anonymous benefactor is funding an artist who will create natural, interactive artworks at three Vermont preserves owned by the Nature Conservancy. Elizabeth Billings of Tunbridge will serve as artist-in-residence, spending the next several months constructing the works, which will be displayed at the Equinox Highlands Natural Area in Manchester, Raven Ridge Natural Area in…
Holiday Art and Craft Shows Transition for the Pandemic Era
For artists and craftspeople, holiday markets are a huge source of income and involve a lot of work. “We call it ‘the schlep,'” said visual artist Nikki Laxar, describing the process of waking up early, loading and unloading her wares, setting up a booth, and spending hours tending it. Add to that the actual creation…
Book Review: ‘Field Music,’ Alexandria Hall
Right out of the gate, Alexandria Hall’s astonishing debut Field Music, winner of the $10,000 National Poetry Series, announces itself as a whole new kind of Vermont poetry. “Dad says he can sing like a Kawasaki. He says / he’s got some good idears,” Hall’s narrator tells us in the title poem. A few lines…
Russell Posner Gives a Startlingly Real Performance in the Vermont-Made Film ‘Light Years’
Director Colin Thompson’s third feature film, Light Years, did not turn out as planned. The Shelburne-based filmmaker originally set out to shoot a straightforward buddy comedy based on his experiences growing up in Vermont in the late ’90s. Most importantly, Thompson was adamant that he would not appear in the picture. He’d had enough on-screen…
Free Will Astrology (11/25/20)
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “You live best as an appreciator of horizons, whether you reach them or not.” Those words from poet David Whyte would be a perfect motto for you to write out on a piece of paper and tape to your bathroom mirror or your nightstand for the next 30 years. Of all…
Social Media Show Their Dark Side in Documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. This week, I watched Netflix’s blistering documentary about social media, The Social Dilemma, which played at the Sundance Film Festival in January. Since the streaming service released it in September, it’s been generating a lot of buzz on — you guessed…
COVID Calling: Vermont Bolsters Contact-Tracing Ranks to Keep Up With the Surge
Vermont was so successful in suppressing the coronavirus pandemic this summer that, on most days, the state was employing many more contact tracers than there were cases to investigate. But now, a surge of infections threatens to overwhelm this vital public health effort when it’s needed most. COVID-19-positive people interviewed by contact tracers are reporting…
After a Tough Term, Can Mayor Weinberger Again Win Reelection?
Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger’s current term in office has been his toughest yet. Last winter, the Democrat lost two police chiefs to a social media scandal that made national headlines. Then came the coronavirus pandemic, which swept through the state, taking lives, hurting local businesses and shrinking city revenues. This summer, the national reckoning over…
Retail Therapy: Vermont Flannel Caters to a Need for Comfort in the Time of COVID
Mark Baker thought he had a million-dollar idea. It was 1991, and he was working in the T-shirt business, designing and screen-printing fun sayings and slogans. In the middle of the first Gulf War, he came up with a rock concert-style tee that read “Saddam Hussein Middle East Tour 1991” with a big stamp over…
How Do I Make My Friend Understand How Heartbreaking It Is to Lose a Pet?
Dear Reverend, My 9-year-old dog died unexpectedly last month, and I’m completely heartbroken. My best friend keeps telling me that I should just get over it and get a new dog. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for that. How do I make him understand? Fido Forlorn (male, 28) Dear Fido Forlorn, Here’s…
Soundbites: Many Thanks
In past years, the Seven Days music editor has used the column preceding Thanksgiving to express gratitude for all of the wonderful things in the local music community. I’m not usually one for excessive sentimentality, so I haven’t done that every year I’ve held this title. But the events of 2020 behoove me to suck…
From the Publisher: Plan C
I always look forward to Thanksgiving. Simplistic historical narrative aside, the sentiment and the food — which are served up without the burdens of religion and gift giving — make it the perfect nondenominational holiday. Also, for as long as I’ve been an adult, the day has been more about friends than blood relatives. I…
Thomas Nöla, ‘Night of the Umbrella’
(Self-released, cassette, CD, digital) You never know what you’re going to find when you surf the “Vermont” tag on Bandcamp. There’s always a lot to sift through at the online music store and streaming platform. (If you’re unfamiliar, go to bandcamp.com, search “Vermont,” then click on the hyperlink that says, “music tagged with ‘vermont.'” You’ll…
Marcie Hernandez, ‘Amanecer’
(Self-released, digital, vinyl) It’s such a welcome surprise when a debut kicks you directly in the head — figuratively, of course. Such is the case with Amanecer, the first LP from Marcie Hernandez. The local singer-songwriter and certified music therapist has spent years building a network of collaborators and fans in Burlington. That includes three…
In ‘Office,’ Author Sheila Liming Examines Changes in Where and How We Work
Long before many people abruptly shifted from working in an office to working from home at the onset of the pandemic, Sheila Liming was thinking hard about offices — specifically, their decline. While COVID-19 might prove to be a death knell, the office as we know it had been on its way out for a…
Northeast Kingdom Towns Rally to Address Food Insecurity
Pastor Jim Casavant was thinking about the sermon he would deliver on November 22 at the First Congregational Church in East Hardwick. It would focus on Thanksgiving and things people could still appreciate in the grip of a deadly pandemic. “We’re thankful for living in Vermont,” Casavant said, previewing his address for a reporter. “It’s…
Master Sommelier David Keck Puts Down Roots in a Vermont Vineyard
Only 269 individuals in the world have earned the globally established title of master sommelier. One hundred seventy-two of them are American, and only one is a Vermont native: David Keck. In January of this year, Keck came to Hotel Vermont in Burlington to teach the Court of Master Sommeliers introductory course. The grand-sounding two-day…
Family-Friendly Rockers Pizzeria Opens in Vergennes
Rockers Pizzeria had a busy first week in Vergennes. Owners Arielle Liu and Jon Zimmers had prepped enough dough to make 100 pizzas for their opening day on Monday, November 16. They sold out in an hour and a half. “We didn’t expect that at all,” Zimmers told Seven Days. “It was like the whole…
