Oct 14-20, 2020
Coping With Sky-High Anxiety in 2020; An Anarchist-Turned-Communist in Vershire Takes on Rep. Peter Welch; Winooski Considers Allowing Noncitizens to Vote; Abenaki Land Link Project Plants Seeds of Sovereignty
Cover Story
De-Stress Signals: Coping With Anxiety in 2020
In the year 2020, humanity is plagued by myriad crises — one of which is a literal plague. And that’s led to a measurable rise in stress among Vermonters. For example, according to an August report from the state Department of Health, young adults ages 18 to 25 report decreasing interest in doing things they…
Clemmons Family Farm Launches Multicultural Online Curriculum
Näri Penson and Kia’Rae Hanron sat across from each other on the 148-acre property of Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte, under the shade of mature trees surrounded by sweeping views of farmland and the Adirondacks in the distance. Though there are thousands of farms in Vermont, Clemmons is one of just 17 that is Black-owned,…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, October 15-21
1. Political Humor Some may know Kristina Wong as the subversive comedian behind performance pieces such as The Wong Street Journal, a humorous take on privilege and economic theory. To Los Angelenos, Wong is recognized as an elected representative of Koreatown. The theater artist brings these two roles together in her one-person show Kristina Wong for…
Will My First Time Having Sex Hurt?
Dear Reverend, I’m 21 years old and have never had sexual intercourse. I have masturbated more than once before. Will my first time having sex with a guy hurt? Nervous Novice (female, 21) Dear Nervous Novice, There’s only one way to find out. Seriously. Every woman’s first time is different, and there’s no way to…
Retail Therapy: How the Vermont Book Shop Survived a Pandemic — and Downtown Construction
As 2020 dawned, Becky Dayton knew she was heading toward a rocky few months at the Vermont Book Shop. Outside the store on Middlebury’s Main Street, a major construction project was soon to begin, bringing with it blocked streets, ripped-up sidewalks and a severe drop in customer traffic. “I was expecting a huge hit in…
‘American Ninja Warrior’ Amir Malik Trains in Essex
If you’ve ever seen “American Ninja Warrior” on NBC, you’ve probably thought, Holy crap! It’s a nail-biting adrenaline rush just watching contestants propel themselves through a sadistic-looking obstacle course. For the athletes, it’s an extraordinary test of human fitness and endurance with the additional pressure of reality-show competition and a national audience. Last week, 20-year-old…
Letters to the Editor (10/14/20)
Vote Here — Now There appears to have been a miscommunication between Huck Gutman and our office [Feedback: “Limited Hours for Democracy,” October 7], and we want to provide the correct information to Burlington voters. Further, we are concerned that the heated rhetoric in the published letter serves to inaccurately inflame concerns about voting this…
Vermonting: Waterfalls and Hoagies Around the Appalachian Gap
My whip, Edith, is a 2004 Volvo station wagon with 250,000-plus miles on her odometer and a dented passenger door that doesn’t shut properly unless you slam it with g-force. I did not choose Edith; she previously belonged to my mom, who bequeathed her to me in my senior year of college as a tactical…
Free Will Astrology (10/14/20)
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “The hardest thing you will ever do is trust yourself,” says Libran journalist Barbara Walters. Really? I don’t think so. In my experience, the hardest thing to do is to consistently treat ourselves with the loving care we need to be mentally and physically healthy. But I do acknowledge that trusting…
Freeman French Freeman Architects Imagine Better Spaces for Burlington and Beyond
When Burlingtonians pass the no-man’s-land on Pine Street — site of the Chittenden Solid Waste District drop-off center and the current farmers market — chances are that they regret its unsightliness, if they notice it at all. No one asked Catherine Lange, Jamie Gravel and Jane Pickell to imagine a better alternative for that site…
Debt and Taxes: How Zuckerman Would Pay for His Green Mountain New Deal
Throughout his gubernatorial campaign, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman has consistently called on the wealthiest Vermonters to bankroll new investments in infrastructure and the environment. Zuckerman’s Green Mountain New Deal, as he’s described it on the campaign trail, would raise $100 million a year by temporarily hiking taxes on the top 5 percent of income earners…
An Anarchist-Turned-Communist in Vershire Takes on Rep. Peter Welch
To most Americans, including many on the left, the term “communist” carries only negative connotations: ideological fanaticism, concentration camps, sclerotic economies. But Christopher Helali, a candidate for Vermont’s sole U.S. House seat, wears that designation as a red badge of honor. The bushy-bearded 32-year-old is running as a member of the Party of Communists USA.…
‘The Lodge’ Offers Bone-Chilling Psychological Horror for Halloween
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. Every October, I go on the hunt for new horror movies to scare the pants off me. The Lodge made me jump several times before putting me in what I can only call a trance of dread. The latest from filmmakers…
Split Ticket: Winooski Residents Consider Allowing Noncitizens to Vote
Two years after a similar effort stalled, Winooski voters will decide in November whether to allow the city’s substantial number of noncitizen immigrants to vote in municipal elections. Although other Vermont communities have discussed such measures, the question is particularly significant for Winooski, a city of 7,300 that boasts Vermont’s most diverse population and the…
To Fundraise, a Vermonter Will Let Donors Choose Her Middle Name
For 25 years, Kaitie Eddington has gone through life without a middle name. Now, thanks to a creative fundraising scheme, that is about to change. Eddington is auctioning off the naming rights for an as-yet-unchosen middle moniker as part of a fundraiser for the Upper Valley Trails Alliance, a nonprofit that “advocates for the use,…
Theater Review: ‘Dutch Masters’ by Northern Stage
The theater for this moment is either a comforting diversion or a reflection of the changes we’re confronting. Northern Stage is trying both with a three-part series called Tiny Necessary Theater. Starting with the tough stuff, the first of their pieces looks at racism in a compelling two-character show. Convenient to stream, and with a…
Vermont’s Center for Cartoon Studies Collaborates on Mental Health Guide for Youth
My 12-year-old niece told me recently that she and her classmates received their school photos last year with a suicide prevention hotline number on the back. This came up when I asked her and my four nephews, ages 12 to 18, for feedback on a new comic book titled Let’s Talk About It: A Graphic…
The Queen’s Cartoonists Take Cartoon Music Seriously
For decades, many American children spent their Saturday mornings watching hours and hours of cartoons. With bowls of Frosted Flakes piled high, they stared at their cathode-ray tube televisions, gawking at the antics of Bugs Bunny, Pluto and Popeye the Sailor. But what many of them didn’t realize was that they were simultaneously being treated…
Phil Henry, ‘Chasing Echoes’
(Self-released, digital, CD, vinyl) While looking over Rutland singer-songwriter Phil Henry’s past catalog, I discovered he once recorded a snappy cover of They Might Be Giants’ nerd anthem “Birdhouse in Your Soul.” Henry reimagined the 1989 song with a featherlight ukulele and glockenspiel, almost like something you’d hear on a hip children’s album meant to…
The Wormdogs, ‘Hey Thanks’
(Astrology Days Records, digital download) The Wormdogs are a young Burlington-area band with a familiar sound. We’ve had a lot of these shout-singin’, foot-stompin’, festival-ready groups in recent years; it’s a formula that would be equally at home at Nectar’s or Radio Bean. And while the group bills itself as a “bluegrass rock n roll”…
In Memoriam: Phyllis McEntee, 1932-2020
A Shelburne resident for 50 years, Phyllis lived a long, happy life surrounded by family and friends. She was a devoted volunteer in her community. For a full obituary and link to a Zoom service (on Saturday, October 17, at 1 p.m.), please go to gregorycremation.com.
Abenaki Land Link Project Plants Seeds of Food Sovereignty
On an early October day at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps’ Farm in Richmond, an empty greenhouse was quickly filling with the year’s harvest. “It’s really tangible today, to see all the food come in,” said Livy Bulger, education and engagement manager at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. She was unloading an armload…
The Hindquarter Reinvents Itself in Owners’ Huntington Hometown
The first time I drove to the Hindquarter in Huntington to pick up the shop’s weekly Wednesday pop-up dinner, the menu was smoked chicken, mac and cheese, and a crunchy, lightly pickled fall salad. I pulled in to find that the customer ahead of me at the outdoor window was the very farmer who’d raised…
Fayston’s Wink Cooks Up Hunger Relief With a Recipe Collection
Wink, a Vermont company that designs and sells household goods, stationery and giftware, has published a cookbook called The Quarantine Chef: Tastes to Comfort to support national hunger-relief efforts. Beth Bingham of Fayston and her business partner, Cynthia Meyers of Boston, sourced, tested and compiled 65 recipes from friends and family around the country. The…
