Sep 9-17, 2015
Grace Potter Throws a Music Fest; Black Officer Sues Rutland for Racism; Queen City Brewery Makes Euro-Styled Beers
Cover Story
Grace Potter Serves Up a Solo Album. Also, French Toast
Grace Potter is an eyeful. In other breaking news that few Vermonters need to be told, Sen. Bernie Sanders is running for president, Lake Champlain has an algae problem and the Red Sox suck at baseball. Still, as I’m seated across from Potter in the cozy, sun-dappled breakfast nook of her parents’ Waitsfield home, she…
Obituary: Olivia Fernandez White Pratt, 1937-2015, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Olivia “Libby” Fernandez Pratt of New Smyrna Beach, Florida and previously of Vermont, died September 11, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida at the age of 78. She was born in Forest Hills, New York, the much loved daughter of Efigenio and Luisa (Quintana) Fernandez, and grew up in New York City. She was a brilliant…
Obituary: Thomas “Tomar” Rideout, 1964-2015, Winooski
Thomas “Tomar” Rideout, 50, of Winooski passed away on September 2, 2015. He worked for many years in the construction field, owning his own construction business. Left to cherish his memory is his mother Maureen Rideout, sister Patty Edward, brothers Carl Billadeau, Robert Rideout, and David Rideout, nieces and nephews James, Carl, Dylan, Mike, Bobbijo,…
Obituary: Wendy Golden Davidson, 1945-2015, Burlington
Wendy Golden Davidson of Burlington, passed away from cancer, on August 22, 2015, at the Respite House in Williston. Wendy was born in Rockville, Maryland, on May 29, 1945, to Martha and Samuel Davidson. She accomplished many amazing goals in her life, attending the Stockbridge school in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Highlander Camp in Tennessee, and Goddard…
Reviving the Vermont Opera ‘A Fleeting Animal’
When an opera begins with a logger cursing the cold in a French Canadian accent and a chorus of small-town folks singing about “waiting out the winter,” it must be set in Vermont. Sure enough, A Fleeting Animal: An Opera From Judevine takes place in a town based on Wolcott. Debuted in 2000, the work…
Translating School to Immigrant Parents
When Son Do was a child in South Vietnam, he wanted to be an electrical engineer. It was every kid’s dream. It promised financial rewards and social status. School was easy for him. Sometimes, he helped his classmates with their homework. Today Do, 48, doesn’t work with hardware or software; he deals with what you…
Faux Shows at a Renegade ‘Museum’ in Eden
The Vermont Museum of Contemporary Art + Design, which is sort of an actual museum, is grandly named on purpose. “The ‘plus design’ is intended to be just pretentious enough to get people to say, ‘Really?'” explained founder Matt Neckers. “In the art world, there’s so much falseness anyway.” At roughly 3-by-3-by-7 feet, the tiny…
Letters to the Editor (9/9/15)
Let IRS Decide It is really not that hard to determine if you are an employee [“Are You My Employer? Labor Dispute Divides Vermont,” September 2]. Refer to the IRS form SS-8 and look to the questions that let the IRS make a determination. It really does make sense and is beneficial to the employee…
Moran Plant Artists Host a Show for Art Hop
Burlington’s Moran Plant is several blocks north of Main Street, but seven artists who have created work in and about it are going south. That is, to the 23rd annual South End Art Hop, which begins this Friday, September 11. On a mission to raise public awareness about the former power plant and its potential,…
How Do I Find a Soul Mate in Vermont?
Dear Athena, I have a few questions: 1. How do I find a soul mate in Vermont? 2. What is “true” love like? 3. How do I impress a woman simply by being myself? 4. How do I manage to love someone when I don’t love myself? 5. How do I make a relationship last…
Free Will Astrology (9/9/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “More and more I have come to admire resilience,” writes Jane Hirshfield in her poem “Optimism.” “Not the simple resistance of a pillow,” she adds, “whose foam returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: Finding the light newly blocked on one side, it…
WTF: What’s the Story Behind the ‘Angry Birds’ Buses?
Recently, a Seven Days reader wrote to inquire about a fleet of vehicles he sees occasionally at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. The cars, vans and buses, also spotted at other health care facilities and public schools around Chittenden County, all sport the words “Angry Birds” on their sides. Angry Birds balls…
Opinion: Disability and the Politics of Abortion
By the time you read this, Ohio may be the second state to outlaw abortion of a fetus with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The bill is expected to pass. Anti-choice Republicans dominate the legislature. Gov. John Kasich — the “moderate” GOP presidential hopeful — has signed 16 abortion restrictions since taking office in…
Tracking a Burlington Sprinters’ Club
On a quiet corner of the University of Vermont campus, a wide-eyed teenager in a Seahorses T-shirt asks, “Are you guys doing 120s today?” To an outsider, the number might seem like a code for illicit activity. Except the only laws about to be pushed here, on the track, are Newtonian. “We’re working on integrated…
The Flying Stage Takes Off in Barre
Visit ReSOURCE on Granite Street in Barre, and you’ll see contemporary environmentalism in action. The nonprofit, which also has branches in Burlington and Morrisville, operates a retail store where you can buy everything from used furniture and appliances to building supplies. A resident training program, YouthBuild, teaches local young people green building skills. A gift…
Hal Mayforth, Voices of Ghosts
(Self-released, CD, digital download) In December 2014, Michael Murdock, the vocalist and songwriter for local “hopped-up country blues” band the Heckhounds, died of cancer. During his 14-month illness, the band was largely unable to continue performing, owing to Murdock’s weakened energy following aggressive treatment. And following his death, the remaining Heckhounds just didn’t have the…
Talking Art With Sculptor Tyler Vendituoli
In the past three years, Tyler Vendituoli’s massive metal animal sculptures have become fixtures of the South End Art Hop, rearing from the pavement outside Conant Metal & Light on Pine Street in Burlington. Last year, he erected an 18-foot totem pole called “Waheguru” that featured seven creatures stacked head on claw, crawling toward the…
Dale and Darcy, Irish / Waltz
(Self-released, CD, digital download) The husband-and-wife tandem of Dale and Darcy Cahill might be best known to audiences beyond the trad-folk realm as key members of rowdy local Celtic punk band the Cop Outs. But when they’re not sloshing pints and shouting singsong choruses with that outfit, you’ll typically find them on cozier stages around…
Party Pooper Bernie Sanders Rides Political Independence to New Heights
As he climbs in the presidential polls, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is demonstrating that a politician without a party can achieve success. All the victories Sanders has scored to date — four in Burlington mayoral races, eight in contests for the U.S. House and two in U.S. Senate elections — have occurred outside the traditional two-party system. The 74-year-old…
Mistress America
Woody Allen churns out a movie each year whether or not he has fresh insights to share or a story worth telling. He’s a slacker, however, compared with directors such as Clint Eastwood, who frequently makes two films in one 12-month period. (Last year he did Jersey Boys and American Sniper, one of which was…
Beaming There: Ticonderoga’s First ‘Star Trek’ Convention
If I ever make a bucket list, there’s one item I won’t need to put on it: sitting in the captain’s chair of the USS Enterprise as the warp engines engage. Last weekend, I was transported to this alternate reality inside a former Family Dollar store in a depressed Adirondack mill town — which itself…
The Transporter Refueled
Some folks say that genre films, and action flicks in particular, should have nothing to do with reality. Cartoon physics? Cardboard characterization? Who cares, as long as the movie lives up to the built-in expectations of its genre? The thing is, these live-action cartoons, while no doubt of great interest to die-hard fans and film…
Soundbites: Going Locavore at Grand Point North
The Perfect Storm Remember about six weeks ago when, through an unprecedented convergence, we were treated to possibly the busiest weekend of rock and roll in the history of Vermont? It was the first weekend of August, and festivals, one-off outdoor shows and visits from iconic rockers packed the calendar like never before. The bounty…
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Mary Lacy’s Silos [SIV412]
8/28/15: Jericho artist and muralist Mary Lacy has been leaving her mark on downtown Burlington. Her origami-inspired wildlife murals decorate the interior of the Moran Plant and a large brick wall across from City Hall Park. Now Mary is tackling her biggest commission to date, the 32 foot silos outside Dealer.com’s Pine Street headquarters. Eva…
Ugly Accusations of Rutland Police Misconduct Surface in Lawsuit
In April 2012, former Rutland police chief Jim Baker announced that an internal investigation into the conduct of two of his officers had turned up “no evidence to support any kind of criminal conduct.” Though Baker refused to specify what prompted the inquiry, his prepared statement went on to say that Sgt. John Johnson was…
Scott’s Start: Gubernatorial Bid to Focus on Vermont’s Economy
Phil Scott made the long-anticipated announcement that he’s running for governor on Tuesday, pinning his campaign on economic issues. His message: The people in power have been spending more than they have. “It is time for Vermont to move in a different direction, beginning with a change in the governor’s office,” read the email blast…
Former Food Truck, Now Grind Café, Brings the Goodies Inside
Since last October, Eddie Woods has been slinging espresso and pastries on the streets of St. Albans from the window of a 1976 Winnebago. Dubbed Off the Grid, On the Grind, the campy coffee truck was a regular at several locations around town, amassing a loyal local following. Woods wanted a permanent location in town,…
‘Psychiatric Survivor’ Wilda White Says She Is Ready to Lead
Three years ago, Wilda White was living her West Coast dream. For the 57-year-old African American, that meant working as a public-interest lawyer — a lifelong passion — wearing shorts year-round and living in a gay-friendly community. But her life became a nightmare in 2012, she said, after a psychiatrist diagnosed her with attention deficit…
Foggy Goggle Osteria Brings Italian Fare to East Burke
There’s plenty to do in Burke: Despite struggling through bankruptcies and ownership changes in recent years, Q Burke Mountain Resort draws thousands of visitors each winter. In the summer, Kingdom Trails is one of Vermont’s premier mountain biking destinations. And even as controversy continues to swirl around the half-built mountainside Q Burke hotel-resort complex, the…
An LGBTQ Fiber-Arts Group Says ‘Sew What?’ to Stereotypes
On a Sunday morning in Burlington’s South End, six women trickled into a small second-floor conference room that was decorated with portraits of local drag queens and multicolored weavings. The women greeted each other familiarly and settled in, eventually extracting in-process projects from their bags — projects that involved thread, embroidery hoops, needles, hooks or…
Richmond Gets Its Beer and Burger on at Hatchet
It had been a feast day, his first feast day, and a celebration of being alive and the new way he had of getting food. By the end of the day, when it became dark and he lay next to the fire with his stomach full of fish and grease from the meat smeared across…
Queen City Brewery Makes It Euro-Style
It’s said that you shouldn’t go into business with your friends. But when Paul Hale, Paul Held, Maarten and Sarah van Ryckevorsel, and Phil Kaszuba opened Queen City Brewery in Burlington’s South End last summer, that’s exactly what they did. All longtime homebrewers-in-arms, the five shared an affinity for old-school European beers. They opened the…
Scout & Co. to Open Third Ice Cream Shop
In last week’s feature “Table for None,” we reported that, despite the closure of Bluebird Tavern, the rest of the Bluebird family was doing just fine. Turns out that was an overstatement. When we spoke to Bluebird PR rep Nicole Ravlin of People Making Good on Thursday, August 27, for that story, she didn’t mention…
Vermont Meets Indonesia at White Buffalo Food Truck
When Chris Smith lost his job at WCAX in May, he wasted no time pining. He quickly got to work on building his dream. Last week, he debuted a food truck, White Buffalo Food Company, along with his wife, Tara, and friend, Keith Gadwah. The term “follow the white buffalo” “refers to taking an adventure…
Canadian Chain David’s Tea Opens in Burlington
Burlington residents may have noticed something new springing to life at 30 Church Street, former home of Apple Mountain Vermont Gifts & Specialty Foods. That something is a link in high-end Canadian chain Davids Tea, which sells more than 150 stylishly packaged loose-leaf teas. The store opens its Burlington location on Saturday, September 12. Customers…
