Sep 14-20, 2011
The 2011-2012 Performing Arts Preview; State Loses Insect Specimens; New Orchestra and a New Mission; Following Irene’s Flood Debris; Alchemist Cans Heady Topper
Cover Story
MyWebGrocer Hosts Vermont’s First Hackathon (Updated With Winners)
***Updated with the winning teams below.*** Tonight at 6 p.m., dozens of web developers converge on the Champlain Mill in Winooski for the Vermont Hackathon, an overnight programming competition organized by MyWebGrocer. The Colchester-based company provides web solutions for the grocery industry. It recently purchased the mill, and plans to relocate there once construction on…
Shumlin Says VT Should “Look the Other Way” on Illegal Immigration, Republicans Pounce
Gov. Peter Shumlin has added fuel to the fire over this week’s bust of undocumented migrant farm workers by the Vermont State Police. In an interview with WPTZ-TV’s Stewart Ledbetter yesterday, Shumlin said Vermont should “look the other way” when it comes to dealing with immigrants working illegally on Vermont farms. “We have always had…
Marching for Laura Winterbottom and Against Sexual Violence
In 2005, Burlington resident Laura Kate Winterbottom was attacked downtown, raped and killed in a particularly brutal and shocking crime. Since then, her family and friends have honored her memory with a nonprofit that raises awareness about sexual violence, and raises funds to provide care and resources for survivors of violence. The LKW Memorial Fund…
Movies You Missed 4: Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
This week in new DVDs, a multimillionaire comedian is “unemployed” and wants your sympathy, and yes, he does appreciate the irony. Each week I review a brand-new DVD release picked for me by Seth Jarvis, buyer for Burlington’s Waterfront Video, where you can obtain these fine films. (In central Vermont, try Downstairs Video.) Most of…
Hotel Vermont Breaks Ground Wednesday
Burlingtonians loath to drive to Waterbury for mushrooms and eggs on toast — no matter how delicious — will soon be able to partake closer to home. Wednesday, September 21, at 5 p.m., Gov. Peter Shumlin will be on hand as local developers Jay Canning and Chuck DesLauriers break ground on Hotel Vermont, home to…
Goodnight, Irene: GPN Announce Flood Relief Benefit
Amid the wave of post-Irene benefit shows popping up at venues all over the state in recent weeks, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals have been curiously quiet. A few rumors have made the rounds concerning an impending GPN benny, but until today, nothing had officially been announced. Well, this just in: Grace and her merry…
Sydney Lea Named VT’s New Poet Laureate
The Vermont Arts Council has been making big announcements right and left lately. One of the biggest: Vermont has a new poet laureate: Newbury resident Sydney Lea. At least, he’ll assume that post when Ruth Stone’s four-year term ends this November. Lea, who has lived in Vermont since the early 1990s, has a number of…
Obama Administration Restores Funding To NH Planned Parenthood Centers
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) announced yesterday that the Obama administration is restoring funding to six New Hampshire health centers that were denied funding by that state three months ago. Planned Parenthood’s reversal of fortune this week will benefit the nearly 16,000 people in New Hampshire who visit PPNNE’s six clinics annually. Another 1500…
Tales From a Reluctant Phishhead
You know what, dudes? It’s pretty wild that my 914th Phish show just happened to fall on September 14. Crazy, right? And practically in in my back yard, no less! OK, I’m lying. The band’s flood-relief benefit extravaganza at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex last night was, in fact, my first time. I know,…
Proselytizing Evangelicals Back at It in Flood-Damaged Towns
In June, we brought you the story of Roz Payne, who sought assistance from 2-1-1 for her flooded North Hero camp and instead was met with a Southern Baptist prayer circle. The “help” came in the form of a minister and his wife, members of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief of New England, who, rather…
Tech Jam 2012 Schedule
Thursday, October 25 3-7 p.m.: Exhibitor set up Friday, October 26 10 a.m. Exhibition opens to the public. Ongoing demos of video games, 3D printing, robots, etc. 11 a.m. Panel: How to Start a Robotics Club. Members of Essex High School’s FIRST robotics club discuss their journey to last year’s World Championships in St. Louis,…
Logistics
Navigating the 2012 Vermont Tech Jam This year’s Tech Jam will be held in the Champlain Mill in Winooski. The building is a former textile mill that was transformed into a mall, and has recently undergone another overhaul: Online grocery leader MyWebGrocer bought the building in 2011 and moved its operations to the top floor.…
In Memoriam: Marijuana Legalization Activist Sandy Ward
Vermont marijuana legalization activist Sandy Ward, of South Burlington, died on September 3, 2011 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. She was 52. I met Ward just weeks before she died while working on this Seven Days story about Vermont’s medical marijuana dispensary law, which was signed in June by Gov. Peter Shumlin. Ward, who was…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “An awakened Aries would rather err on the side of making a daring, improvisational mistake than cuddle up with passionless peace,” writes astrologer Hunter Reynolds. “He or she knows that creative conflict can be a greater unifying force than superficial harmony.” This is an excellent keynote for you to keep in…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again Two men wearing heavy makeup, women’s clothing and wigs held up a Denver jewelry store at gunpoint, forcing the owners to unlock display cases. They then stuffed the jewelry in garbage bags and fled. Sonny’s Rocks owners Mark Allen and Mike Nedler told police the stolen items were mostly display samples that…
WTF: What happens to the debris from Tropical Storm Irene?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: We just had to ask…
Letters to the Editor
Businesses Do Good As a business owner, I found Judith Levine’s column deeply offensive [Poli Psy: “Job Creation Science,” August 31]. She argues that “surplus value” gained by businesses “translates into houses and yachts. Wealth.” Currently, hundreds of businesses are using “surplus value” to direct cash, resources and organizational capacity toward flood relief. If every…
VIDEO: Migrant Farmworker Leader Detained; 3 Protesters Arrested; Gov. Shumlin Orders Investigation (Updated)
*Update and Clarification Below* An immigration bust by Vermont State Police on Tuesday, and the subsequent arrest of protesters, is sending shock waves around the state. Earlier today, two undocumented migrant farm workers — one of them an outspoken critic of a controversial immigration enforcement program — were detained by state police following a…
Blog Post “Phail”
On September 12, I wrote a blog post titled “Here For Phish? How About You Lend a Phreaking Hand?” In retrospect, I realize that it was ill-timed and ill-conceived. A number of readers felt the post impugned the good work already being done by flood volunteers, took for granted Phish’s contribution to the relief efforts,…
