Sep 1-7, 2021
Patients Wait Months for Treatment at Vermont’s Biggest Hospital; Middlebury Professor’s New Book Examines the Epidemic of Science Denial; An Independent Report Says Rice High School Mishandled Sexual Misconduct Claims
Cover Story
The Doctor Won’t See You Now: Patients Wait Months for Treatment at Vermont’s Biggest Hospital
On a Friday in February, 27-year-old Andrew Charlestream went to the emergency room at the University of Vermont Medical Center with searing abdominal pain. A doctor diagnosed him with kidney stones, then sent him home with pain medication and instructions to follow up with a urologist in two to three days. That Monday, Charlestream, who…
Obituary: Robert E. Chiabrandy, 1932-2021
Burlington engineer accumulated more than a dozen patents during 35 years with GE
Obituary: Jeanne Guyett Wisner, 1930-2021
91-year-old Shelburne resident was a free spirit and “woman before her time”
Obituary: Barbara DeForge, 1929-2021
Lifelong Burlington resident was a proud homemaker who found “absolute joy” in her family
Obituary: Harold B. “Chubby” Moran, 1927-2021
The first baby born in DeGoesbriand Hospital became a “mischievous lad,” amazing grandfather and legendary storyteller
In Memoriam: Tony Markellis, 1952-2021
Remembrance of the Life of Tony Markellis. Please join with friends and family as we celebrate the life of Tony Markellis on Monday, September 13, at a new time and location: 4 p.m. at the Double E Performance Center, located at the Essex Experience Campus at 21 Essex Way, in the same building as Essex…
Mo James Band, ‘Breathe’
(Self-released, digital) My first paying gig as a music journalist was a muddy, traumatic affair. A well-known jam band had announced its impending demise and a subsequent farewell festival on a farm in the Northeast Kingdom. My exposure to jam bands was minimal at that point, and, I’ll admit, I was deeply curious. Besides, a…
Free Will Astrology (9/1/21)
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “I often wonder who I am and where is my country and where do I belong and why was I ever born at all,” wrote Virgo author Jean Rhys (1890-1979). I don’t think you will be agitated by those questions during the next eight weeks, Virgo. In fact, I suspect you…
Jericho Couple’s Record-Tall Sunflower Wins Blue Ribbon at the Fair
John and Kerry Young knew this year’s sunflower was a winner. For decades, they’ve been growing giant sunflowers, along with giant tomatoes, pumpkins and more, on their modest half-acre property in Jericho. The couple holds the Vermont state record for largest tomato (6.44 pounds) and cabbage (23 pounds), as well as longest gourd (135.75 inches),…
The Young Love Scene, ‘Holy Punch’
(Self-released, digital) Some albums require a few rotations before they really start to take hold. Others instantly feel like you’ve been listening to them your whole life. From the second you hit “play,” nostalgia tugs at your heartstrings and pulls you into the past. The Young Love Scene’s forthcoming release, Holy Punch, falls into the…
Burlington Businesses Scored With Their Reassessment Appeals, While Homeowners Struck Out
The success Burlington businesses had fighting their new property values is just another reason for homeowners to shake their heads over this year’s messy citywide reassessment, which led to higher taxes for many. Even City Assessor John Vickery is dissing how Tyler Technologies, the Texas firm hired to produce the values for residential properties, handled…
Middlebury Professor’s New Book Examines the Epidemic of Science Denial
When Barbara Hofer and Gale Sinatra submitted the first draft of their book Science Denial: Why It Happens and What to Do About It to their publisher in February 2020, the number of known COVID-19 cases in the U.S. was fewer than 100. By the time their book was published, in July 2021, more than…
Covering Their Faces: Vermont Businesses Don’t Have State Backup in Enforcing Mask Rules
Joe Sutton, who owns the Waybury Inn in East Middlebury, removed his signage on COVID-19 safety measures in June, when Gov. Phil Scott lifted all pandemic restrictions. But with case counts rising, the signs are back up again. In 2020 and the first half of 2021, Vermont restaurants were required to follow state protocols about…
Student Filmmakers Get Professional Experience in Semester Cinema Program
Breaking into any field is a challenge, especially a competitive, creative one such as the film industry. But students at Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, working in conjunction with Kingdom County Productions, have an opportunity to jump-start their careers through the biennial Semester Cinema program. Under the supervision of Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven, as well as a…
Rice Says It Handled Sexual Misconduct by the Book. An Independent Report Says Otherwise.
In June, Cindy Morgan stood beside her daughter, Samantha, outside Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, as she and several other students criticized school leaders for mishandling their reports of sexual misconduct. Morgan watched as the principal of the private Catholic school, Lisa Lorenz, walked over and embraced two of the protest’s student leaders.…
![The ‘Real’ Meanings of Odd Course Names at Vermont Colleges [Humor]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/humor1-1-6cf4ff846050ed21.webp?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1)
The ‘Real’ Meanings of Odd Course Names at Vermont Colleges [Humor]
September’s here, so it’s time for incoming students to choose college courses. But some class names can be confusing, and the explanations in online catalogs are often vague or hard to follow. Rather than waste time looking things up, peruse these descriptions of what some actual, though oddly named, courses at Vermont colleges are really…
From the Publisher: Worth the Wait?
It’s no secret that patients often have to wait months to see doctors in certain medical specialties at the University of Vermont Medical Center. The problem is nationwide, and its local manifestation predates the coronavirus pandemic and the computer hack that disabled the hospital last year. Vermont media has covered wait times off and on…
Page 32: Short Takes on Five Vermont Books
Seven Days writers can’t possibly read, much less review, all the books that arrive in a steady stream by post, email and, in one memorable case, a sleuth of black bears. So this monthly feature is our way of introducing you to a handful of books by Vermont authors. To do that, we contextualize each…
Now Playing in Theaters: September 1-7
new in theaters ON BROADWAY: Director Oren Jacoby explores behind the scenes of the Broadway theater world with an all-star cast in this 2019 documentary. (82 min, NR. Savoy) SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS: A martial arts master (Simu Liu) living in San Francisco must confront his own dark origins in the…
Young People Risk Their Lives to Rock Out in Afghanistan in Documentary ‘The Forbidden Strings’
It’s a strange time, and perhaps an important time, to watch the 2019 documentary The Forbidden Strings. The world has been watching the Kabul airport turn to a scene of chaos and tragedy as thousands try to escape Afghanistan in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban reconquest of the country. As Carolina A.…
My Husband Loves Vermont, but I Hate It Here
Dear Reverend, My husband is the love of my life. If it were just me and him in a bubble, it would be perfect. Reality, however, has burst that bubble. We recently moved to Vermont from another state because my husband hated it there. Vermont is paradise to him, while I think it is hell…
Theater Review: ‘Maytag Virgin,’ Vermont Stage
Loneliness can sometimes be a choice. But it usually doesn’t feel that way. People reason themselves into isolation, erecting sensible, load-bearing walls to protect their heavy hearts. The characters in Southern playwright Audrey Cefaly’s two-person play Maytag Virgin, usually experts at keeping themselves safe, are just beginning to feel their carefully constructed bulwarks crumble. Vermont…
WTF: Are Canadian Boats Illegally Crossing the U.S. Border?
A Burlington woman emailed us to ask about the increasing number of Canadian boats she’s noticed recently on Lake Champlain. She and her husband, boaters on the lake for more than three decades, saw few Canadian craft last year. This summer, she has spotted eight to 10 boats on the Burlington waterfront alone — mostly…
Art Review: James Rauchman, River Arts
The ancients invented portraiture, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages, apparently, that anyone thought to paint, draw or etch their own image. That’s because “it was an age preoccupied with personal salvation and self-scrutiny,” according to James Hall, author of The Self-Portrait: A Cultural History. We can draw a straight line to the photographic…
Letters to the Editor (9/1/21)
In Defense of Donoghue The suggestion by your new columnist Mark Johnson that the Vermont Press Association find a new part-time executive director has been overwhelmingly rejected [Fair Game, July 28]. The VPA Executive Board agreed to stick with its well-respected chosen leader, Mike Donoghue. Everybody knows Donoghue has done more for press freedom; public…
Soundbites: San Mateo Gets Its Own Beer, and Joe Adler Has a New Band
Summer is fading fast. Shadows are growing longer; the students are back; people who never switched out their snow tires are deciding that, Fuck it, it’s close enough to winter again to just leave them on. You know, all the usual harbingers. Matt Hagen is trying not to hear that, though. The busiest musician in…
Obituary: Sandra Herzig, 1924-2021
97-year-old woman attributed her long life and good health to “doing whatever she damn well pleased”
Local Shrubs, Sodas and Switchels for End-of-Summer Sipping
More than once this summer, I’ve thrown my hands in the air and said, “It’s too hot to cook.” On most of those occasions, it’s also been too hot to drink. I love a cold glass of rosé or a crisp, light beer as much as anybody. Recently, though, I’ve often found myself reaching for…
Vermont Comedy Club’s Happy Place Café Opens in Burlington
The lights are back on at Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington. When the venue at 101 Main Street celebrates its grand reopening on Thursday, September 2, those lights will also be on during the daytime at Happy Place Café. “We have always talked about the fact that the space is empty during the day,” VCC…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, September 1 to 7
Bold and Beautiful Friday 3-Sunday 5 JAG Productions, Vermont’s only all-Black theater group, continues its Theatre on the Hill series this week with Life in Sepia: Vermont’s Black Burlesque Revue. The Maine Attraction “femmecees,” and performers including Perle Noir and Poison Ivory take to the King Arthur Baking stage in Norwich to celebrate the history,…
