Sep 22-28, 2010
Preserving Burlington’s Historic Charm; Do VT Gun Owners Need More Shooting Ranges?; Shalom Shuk Helps New Vermonters
Bye Bye, Blockbuster
Back in March, I asked on this blog, Is It Too Soon to Be Nostalgic for Video Stores? If Blockbuster is your store of choice, the answer could be yes, as the company just filed for bankruptcy. Many of its stores are likely to go the way of the gigantic cellphone that Michael Douglas showed…
Shumlin: The $10 Million Man
Late today, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin finally bared his assets. So, how much is he worth? More than $10 million. Nearly half of that value — $4.55 million — is derived from his real estate holdings. He owns, or has a stake in, 17 separate properties Windham County, including his own Putney home. He…
Will Burlington Say, ‘Yes We Cannabis’?
Burlington’s City Council Monday night will decide whether to add an advisory referendum to the November ballot asking voters if they want to legalize — and tax — marijuana and hemp. The non-binding question would ask voters if they back the following statement: “The people of Burlington support the legalization, regulation and taxation of all…
Fringe Friday: August “Gus” Jaccaci
For week eight of “Fringe Friday,” we feature independent candidate for Congress, August “Gus” Jaccaci, a self-described “visionary” who wants to give U.S. Rep. Peter Welch a “two-year sabbatical.” We mean no offense by “fringe.” Vermont has a strong tradition of putting independent and third-party candidates — and their radical ideas — on the ballot.…
IBM Denies Dubie Claim It Will Leave if Vermont Yankee Closes
* Updated with additional comments from IBM & Brian Dubie’s campaign * Republican Brian Dubie dropped this bombshell at Tuesday night’s debate in St. Albans: IBM would move its Vermont-based manufacturing jobs to Bromont, Quebec if Vermont Yankee closes in 2012. How did he know this? Dubie wouldn’t say at the debate. His campaign subsequently…
Lite Guv Candidate Howard Differs with Shumlin on Prisoner-Release Plan
State Rep. Steve Howard, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, is splitting with Peter Shumlin on his prisoner release plan, saying Vermont shouldn’t let nonviolent offenders out of jail until there are more treatment facilities ready to receive them. Howard (pictured) made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with Seven Days today over coffee at…
Geek Nation: Interview with Ethan Gilsdorf
For this week’s paper, I interviewed two authors coming to the Burlington Book Festival who exemplify “Geek Chic.” I promised to post a longer version of my interview with Ethan Gilsdorf (pictured at right, photo by Meg Birnbaum) here on Blurt. Here it is, with a quick explanation of why. When I started reading Gilsdorf’s…
Who Do Vermont’s Candidates Write Like? Mostly, H.P. Lovecraft
If you haven’t found it yet, the website I Write Like is a very entertaining time-waster. The site lets you insert a piece of writing (yours or someone else’s) and then using what it claims is a “statistical analysis tool,” it analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of famous…
Salmon Reigns on the Scarecrow
I suspect there’s a whole generation of politicians who, deep down inside, are just frustrated rock stars who dream of stalking the stage, a la Mick Jagger. That was evident last weekend when State Auditor Tom Salmon, who’s running for reelection in November on the GOP ticket, took the mic at the Tunbridge World’s Fair to…
The Preservation Police
Are Mary O’Neil and her cohorts going too far to retain Burlington’s charm?
Prog Candidate for AG Sinks Her Baby Teeth Into the Vermont Yankee Debate
Do kids who live near Vermont Yankee have more strontium 90 in their teeth than the rest of us? Charlotte Dennett says she’s working to ensure that they don’t. The Vermont Progressive Party candidate for attorney general is making the issue of radioactive emissions and elevated cancer rates in Windham County — home to the…
News Quirks
Curses, Foiled Again When Caleb Smith, 19, approached the pharmacy counter at a drugstore, showed a gun and demanded narcotics, police in Pensacola, Fla., said pharmacist Steven Rodick handed a paper bag containing the drugs to Smith, who set the gun on the counter so he could open the bag to check its contents. Rodick…
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Right-wing talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is a person whose ideas and attitudes repel me. But in the dream I had last night, I enjoyed hanging out with him. He was affable and humorous. We had several fun adventures together. Here’s how I interpret the dream: It doesn’t necessarily mean that Limbaugh…
![Wake Robin Honey Harvest [SIV193]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/episode193.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
Wake Robin Honey Harvest [SIV193]
9/18/10: Residents at Wake Robin, a Life Care community in Shelburne have been harvesting honey for 3 years now. Beekeepers Bill and Mark loan Eva a bee suit, introduce her to their hives and give her a taste of their busy bee’s sweet nectar. Music: Pretty & Nice, Pink & Blue, “Busy Bees” Related Stories
Mr. Clean Conscience
Work: Reed Doyle, Director of Global Strategic Sourcing, Seventh Generation
Letters to the Editor
On Love and Death [Re: “Poli Psy,” September 15]: In a world that often lacks sense or logic and instead has unnecessary amounts of death, I believe people hold onto things they think will make the world a better place. I hail from Hardwick and went to high school with Tristan Southworth… Inside the gymnasium…
Democrat Peter Welch Leads Tea Party Challenger in US House Race
Two-term U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) is leading his GOP rival by more than 30 points, according to a recent phone survey of likely voters. The survey, conducted for Rasmussen Reports, gives Welch with an even greater lead over rival Paul Beaudry than a similar survey gave US Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) over his Republican…
Did Dubie Disobey an Order on 9/11?
The front page of today’s Burlington Free Press asked gubernatorial candidates Peter Shumlin and Brian Dubie to describe, in their own words, the “hardest decision you’ve ever had to make.” Shumlin, the Democratic state Senate leader, says it was the choice over whether to get into politics or remain a private businessman. Dubie writes that…
Lawmakers Bring Home the Bacon, er, SPAM
Since January 1, the legislative email system has received more than 12 million messages—or roughly 52,000 emails for each of the State House’s 285 email accounts. The legislature’s information technology office recently examined the email volume as part of a periodic review. The emails were sent between January 1 and September 20, according to Duncan…
