Sep 3-9, 2014
Are Vermont’s Beleaguered State Schools Still Fulfilling Their Public Mission?; Paul Heintz on the Douglas Memoir; Funny and Fab, the South End Celebrates; A Vermont Firm Grades Online Educations
Cover Story
Are Vermont State Colleges Still Fulfilling Their Mission?
Summer-separated friends run across lawns with outstretched arms. Skateboarders zip along the sidewalks that crisscross the green. The campus of Johnson State College is so lush and the sunshine so vivid on a late August morning that even the first-year students appear more excited than anxious. You’d never know “an imperfect storm” is brewing, as…
Obituary: Art Blondin, 1953-2014, Austin, TX
Art Blondin, of Austin, Texas, left this world, on Saturday, August 30th, 2014. He was 60 years young. Art was born in Burlington, VT, on November 18th, 1953. In the 1970’s, he worked as a bartender, at Finbar’s and Tortilla Flats, and was a well known musician about town. Art moved to Austin, Texas, in…
An 18-Foot Metal Totem Rises to Greet Art Hoppers
Last year, attendees of the South End Art Hop, as well as daily commuters on Burlington’s Pine Street, couldn’t help but notice an enormous rhinoceros ensconced just north of Conant Metal & Light. Made of scrap-metal parts, including former farm machinery, the formidable creature was the handiwork of artist and Conant employee Tyler Vendituoli. As…
I Stumbled Upon My Girlfriend’s Journal … and Couldn’t Stop Reading
Dear Athena, I was home sick with a nasty cold recently, bored and not thinking, and I stumbled upon my girlfriend’s journal. I started to flip through it, and then I just couldn’t stop reading. I read the whole thing. And now I’m pissed off. In it she mentions how she has a crush on…
Joe Adler, Many Things & Many Scenes
(Mercurial Arts & Sciences, CD, digital download) Joe Adler might be the unofficial king of the Queen City music scene. As music curator and general manager at Radio Bean, he is responsible for booking the venue’s diverse music schedule and ensuring that everything from sound check to last call runs smoothly. Adler also coproduces the…
![AO Glass Works [SIV367]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/episode367-4-e1755140208547.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
AO Glass Works [SIV367]
8/30/14: AO Glass Works was formed in 2007 by married couple Rich Arentzen and Tove Ohlander. Arentzen & Ohlander Glass Works has a retail space on College St in downtown Burlington. They are preparing to share this space in September with their new partners, Hubbardton Forge out of Castleton. The AO glassblowing studio off Pine…
Dawna Hammers, Into the Mystic
(Self-released, CD) For nearly a quarter century, Shelburne-based songwriter Dawna Hammers has performed her self-described “music for the heart and soul” all over New England. A capable pianist, guitarist and vocalist, she is conversant in a range of styles, including folk, jazz, soft rock and new age. Hammers’ most recent album, 2011’s Love & Loss,…
Late Summer Mushroom Hunting
In a mossy vale not far from Montpelier, Dave Kaczynski holds a small yellow mushroom. “These never came to bear here this year,” he says. It hasn’t rained in days; the forest floor is dry, and the mushroom has started to wither. Its edges are tattered, its gills and stalk scarred where bugs have bored…
Four More Local Albums You Probably Haven’t Heard
So many records, so little time. Seven Days gets more album submissions than we know what to do with. And, given the ease of record making these days, it’s difficult to keep up. Still, we try to get to every local release that comes across the music desk, no matter how obscure or far out.…
Full Barrel Cooperative Brewery, New Fresh Net Dinners, Black River Names President
Since March, a group of local brewheads has been hard at work organizing Vermont’s first cooperative brewery and pub. This weekend, the fledgling Full Barrel Cooperative Brewery & taproom will host its first public brew day at Burlington’s Intervale Community Farm. Organizers hope to make the event — during which visitors can sit in on…
Taste Test: La Boca Wood Fired Pizzeria
Despite its dense population, Burlington’s New North End has long been a culinary wasteland. Locals hungry for pizza had to order in from Domino’s or drive at least 15 minutes out of their way. This critic heard it time and time again from local residents: “Why can’t North Avenue support a good neighborhood restaurant?” Among…
An Essex Company Grades Online Degree Programs
When John Barone was hired as superintendent of the Milton Town School District in January 2011, school officials were so wowed by his credentials that he was the only one of 18 applicants interviewed by the school board. As board member Jim Lyons told the Milton Independent at the time of Barone’s hiring, “I think…
On Pins and Needles: A Local Designer is Ready to ‘Strut’
Melaney Pettini moved from Portland, Ore., to Vermont 10 years ago to get away from crowds. With a van and a vision — and her husband, Faeryl Rae — she longed for a different way of life. “Looking at the statistics, the entire state seemed comparable in size to the city of Portland,” Pettini says.…
Theater Review: Uncle Vanya, Weston Playhouse
In a fresh, playful production of Annie Baker’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, the Weston Playhouse offers audiences a chance to rediscover the play’s delicate blend of comedy and tragedy. Presented with a contemporary sensibility, this production makes it easy to recognize ourselves in the sorrows, foolishness and hopes of the characters. The plot…
Former Gov. Jim Douglas Dishes on Politics, Press in Memoir
The Ohio National Guard’s fatal shooting of four unarmed Kent State University students roiled Middlebury College in May 1970. The morning after, Vietnam War protesters called for a student strike on the Vermont campus. Two days after that, a student broke into Recitation Hall, where Middlebury’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corp had held classes, and torched…
Free Will Astrology (9/03/14)
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “I have a hypothesis that everyone is born with the same amount of luck,” says cartoonist Scott Adams. “But luck doesn’t appear to be spread evenly across a person’s life. Some people use up all of their luck early in life. Others start out in bad circumstances and finish strong.” How…
Burlington’s Changing South End Looks Way Into its Future
Visitors to the 50th annual South End Art Hop — in 2042 — might see a neighborhood that’s radically different from the setting for this weekend’s 22nd edition. For one thing, cars and trucks may actually be moving along the Champlain Parkway by then. The road, intended to relieve traffic headed through the area and…
Learning From Plants and Stones at St. Mike’s Teaching Gardens
It might seem odd that a lover of children’s literature and a plant biologist would embark on a professional relationship. But for biology professor Mark Lubkowitz and education professor Valerie Bang-Jensen, both teachers at Saint Michael’s College, that was the only logical option. “So we made a garden. What else would you do?” Lubkowitz jokes.…
Williston Gun Club Dispute Heads to Environmental Court
After six years of jostling with lawyers, town officials and state regulators, neighbors of the North Country Sportsman’s Club thought they had scored a decisive victory in June. In an unusually assertive move, the Williston Development Review Board ordered the club to remove construction waste mixed in with tons of fill that the group arranged…
Eyewitness: Painter Julian Cardinal
Some artists are dreamers who remain uncompromisingly dedicated to their aesthetic vision, regardless of the public’s response. Others are pragmatists who approach art more as a profession than a mission. Having identified a demand, they work to supply it. Julian Cardinal is an artist of the second sort. At age 25, the trim, dark-haired Vermonter…
Artists Bring a Salon-Style Series to Bristol
In the arts pecking order of Vermont towns, Bristol is a bit of a bedroom community for Middlebury, which hosts major music and theater events at its college arts center and Town Hall Theater. In the opinion of Bristol-based pianist Cynthia Huard, the easy drive has made Bristol residents into “consumers” of the larger Midd…
Letters to the Editor (9/03/14)
Hackie in High School I look forward to Jernigan Pontiac’s twice-monthly column, Hackie. His slant on us humans is refreshing, and his writing style is delightful. His short pieces could be used in high school English as vocabulary builders while slipping in common-sense views and how to be respectful of others. Sandra Maccarrone Johnson School’s…
Prom Date
You seem to be at peace with the family drama. I mean, every family’s got its drama, right? “Vermont is so lush. I’m from Texas, just outside of Dallas, and we’re dry as a bone.” My customer, Morgan McGee, was speaking from the shotgun seat. At the airport, I had offered my customary “You can…
On the Road Again: Shumlin’s 141.5 Days Outside Vermont
When Gov. Peter Shumlin formally launches his bid for a third term next Tuesday, he’ll finally retire the dubious claim that he’s too busy governing to campaign before Labor Day. Dubious because the gov’s been beating the bushes for campaign cash since March 2013 — he’s raised more than $611,000 to date — and has…
Testing Out a Spartan Training Ground at an Obstacle-Course Wedding
The race bib said it all: “A wedding so badass you have to sign a death waiver to attend.” Rob Butler had popped the question in July: Would I be interested in checking out the obstacle-course training and racing center he had built at Shale Hill Adventure Farm in Benson? I said yes. But not…
Brio Coffeeworks Soft-Opens in Burlington
Two weeks ago, Magdalena and Nathan Van Dusen soft-opened a new roastery called Brio Coffeeworks on Pine Street, but a coffee shop this is not. Instead, the husband-and-wife team say they’re planning “an open roastery concept”: a wholesale operation where passersby can stop in to buy coffee, observe a roast, partake of tastings in an…
News Quirks (9/03/14)
Curses, Foiled Again Police charged Arthur Avery, 30, with setting fire to an apartment building in South Daytona, Fla., after they located the arson suspect at a hospital where he was being treated for burns. Witnesses said the suspect became angry when he couldn’t locate a resident and began pouring gasoline onto a discarded mattress…
The November Man
There’s good news and bad news when it comes to the latest from Pierce Brosnan. The good news is that he doesn’t once break into song, as he did, so regrettably, in Mamma Mia!. The bad news is that I was correct back in February when I reviewed Kevin Costner in 3 Days to Kill…
Soundbites: Art Hop Music Preview; BHW at SXSW
As I believe I’ve mentioned in previous columns — or in every Art Hop column for the last seven years — I have three favorite days/nights in Burlington. One is opening night of the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. The second is the day the college students move home … er, did I say home? I…
As Above, So Below
Found-footage movies demand suspension of disbelief. Of course, we know we’re not watching real footage of three college students investigating the Blair Witch legend, or a giant monster rampaging through downtown Manhattan. But we put up with the shaky shots and unpleasant angles so we can pretend we are. The format sets a low bar…
Sanders Ramps Up Travel to Early Primary and Caucus States
Excerpt from Fair Game: “On the Road Again: Shumlin’s 141.5 Days Outside Vermont” Shummy’s not the only one racking up the frequent flyer miles. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who’s considering a run for president in 2016, is seriously ramping up his travel to early primary and caucus states. After receiving the American Legion’s Patriot Award at…
Kitchen Table Bistro Takes Over On the Rise Bakery
Richmond’s On the Rise Bakery will serve its final meals on September 30, then turn over 39 Esplanade to the owners of the Kitchen Table Bistro. Steve and Lara Atkins and Neal Johnston hope to open their new restaurant, Parkside Kitchen, by late October. Lara Atkins, the Kitchen Table’s pastry chef, will work full time…
Obituary: Spencer Bradford Cline
Spencer Bradford Cline, Jr., age 54 years, died Tuesday afternoon August 19, 2014, in the Northwestern Medical Center following a long illness. Born in St. Albans on March 24, 1960, he was the son of Spencer Bradford Cline, Sr. and the late Constance Lee Brow. He attended Swanton schools and was a lifelong member of…
Obituary: Doris C. Raymond
Mrs. Doris C. Raymond, age 103 years, a native of Highgate and more recently of Simpsonville, SC died Tuesday morning August 19, 2014, in Simpsonville. Born in East Highgate, VT on January 9, 1911, she was the daughter of the late William Joseph Sr., and Margaret Delia (Raymo) Machia. On April 17, 1933, she was…
Obituary: Zola Ruby Baker
Zola Ruby Baker, age 97 passed away peacefully on July 29th, 2014 in Piperton, Tennessee. Her loving grandchildren Steve & Judy Baker were at her side. Zola was born and raised in northern Vermont to Fred & Goldie Jones. She had a wonderful life as a child, wife, mother, and grandmother. In April 2013, she…
Obituary: Betsy Caroline Lewis
Betsy Caroline Lewis, age 64 years, a lifelong St. Albans resident passed away Sunday afternoon August 17, 2014, in the Fletcher Allen Health Care Facility. Born in St. Albans on August 8, 1950, she was the daughter of the late Allen J. and Janice (Spear) Berard. Her paternal grandparents were F. Russell and Ethel Spear.…
