Essex resident was an Eagle Scout and Army member who will be remembered for his sense of humor
Devoted father loved live music, sports and travel
Burlington man served on many civic and community organizations
Longtime UVM faculty member also served as Oakledge Park Bocce Club president
Essex native was a “ringleader of fun” who lived for his family
At least twice a week, Judy Risteff hears from a teary or angst-ridden bride-to-be, asking her a question that’s virtually impossible to answer: “When is it safe for me to schedule my wedding?” Risteff, who is founder and owner of the Vermont Wedding Association, has been offering her best guess, which she’s also posted on…
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. My 86-year-old mom and I have very different tastes in movies, but when she told me recently that The Dig was a new favorite of hers, I was intrigued enough to give it a try. Inspired by the story of the…
During his three campaigns for Burlington City Council, Ali Dieng has earned endorsements from both Democrats and Progressives. Last year’s race was no exception. But when it came time to formally put his name on the ballot, the Ward 7 councilor dropped the party labels and ran as an independent. He had decided that city…
The pandemic has been tough on single people who would rather not be. Looking for love is hard enough without wearing masks and worrying that you’ll contract a deadly illness. And it goes without saying that living alone is far preferable to being trapped with someone who isn’t good for you. Frankly, there aren’t too…
The year leading up to the pandemic was undoubtedly singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s biggest. For one thing, her self-described “folk opera,” Hadestown, became a smash hit on Broadway. The musical, whose roots trace back more than a decade in Vermont, cleaned up at the 2019 Tony Awards. The show nabbed eight awards total, two of which…
(Self-released, CD, digital) Burlington producer Rico James had a busy 2020. During the lockdown, he dropped three volumes of his Solitary Consignment instrumental series. He capped that off with Bring a Friend, a Soundbombing-style mixtape packed with talent from Vermont and beyond. It was a joyful noise and a celebration of his burgeoning career. As…
Love is hard. Oh, sure, it’s also beautiful and thrilling and affirming and all that. But truly to love someone means endeavoring to appreciate them in their entirety: the radiant smile and the beard clippings in the bathroom sink, the infectious laugh and the incessant snoring, the tender stolen moments and would it kill you…
If five of the legislature’s top six jobs are held by women and the sixth by a man of color, can we say equality is at hand, at least under the (currently virtual) Golden Dome? Is it fair to start noticing common human foibles, such as ambition and rivalry, in the new leadership class? Rep.…
(Astrology Days Records, digital) I often fantasize about pulling a Men in Black mind-erase thing on myself, specifically targeting my preconceptions regarding music. Would I still enjoy ’80s new wave if I had no memory of it accompanying my youth? What would I make of acid jazz with no context? Would I still run screaming…
Should Burlington be allowed to impose carbon taxes on the owners of buildings heated with fossil fuels as a way to achieve the city’s ambitious climate goals? Residents will weigh in this Town Meeting Day with a vote that could encourage communities around the state to pursue aggressive carbon-emission reduction strategies of their own. The…
A once-vacant storefront on Middlebury’s Merchants Row is now a plant-filled retail space that’s home to something known as the Giving Fridge. Customers can buy houseplants, jars of local honey or even antiques. Every $10 spent or donated goes directly to buying a meal for someone in need, cooked up by a local restaurant. “It…
“Talking about smells can feel a little like talking about dreams — often tedious, rarely satisfying,” wrote New Yorker writer Rachel Syme in a recent essay about how difficult it is to find the words to describe aromas. But her article arrived in January amid a wave of media coverage on the significance of smell…
Before people can fall in love, they have to find each other. This can happen in myriad ways, as interviews with half a dozen Vermont couples reveal. The spark can occur with one look across a crowded barroom or during an almost-blind date arranged through the personals. Sometimes, an off-putting first impression — or larger…
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I’ve adopted some lines from poet Walt Whitman for you to use in composing a love note. Send it to a person you know and love, or a person you want to know and love, or a person you will know and love in the future. Here it is: “We are…
To-day my thoughts wandered back to our evening together out on Smith’s road on Saturday and I thought of holding you close to me and I could actually hear and feel you breathing. But I don’t know what comes of all this thinking except pleasant memories of the past and a grim realization of the…
Vouching for Gram I’ve known and worked with Dave Gram over the years both as an Associated Press reporter and as the talk show host on WDEV Radio. He is one of the best. I’m very glad that you landed him. His first column certainly speaks well of your choice [Fair Game: “Grand Old Parting?”…
It was March 8, 2020, and the scoreboard showed the Rice Memorial High School boys basketball team trailing by one with under a minute to go. Michel Ndayishimiye had been there before — time winding down, ball in hand, all eyes on him — but never with so much on the line, never a state…
Dear Reverend, I’ve been dating someone for about eight months (and, yes, we have been very careful about COVID-19 precautions). We have a great time together and are compatible in every way, but we haven’t said we love each other yet. I want to say it, but I’m afraid of what their reaction will be.…
No matter what’s going on in the world, people still want to maintain a close connection with their main squeeze — or forge a fresh bond with a new sweetheart. How can lovers do that when the go-to date-night options — dining in a restaurant, going to the movies, attending a concert — aren’t allowed…
“Women’s bodies are communal, they always have been,” comments the narrator of The Hare, the fourth novel by Northeast Kingdom writer Melanie Finn. It’s the kind of statement that could have come straight out of a second-wave feminist’s mouth, but in Finn’s story, it’s a realization that comes to a character through raw experience alone.…
In some ways the pressure is lower this Valentine’s Day. If you usually forget to plan ahead and make a dinner reservation, you’re off the hook because few of us are dining out the way we have in years past. Happily, there are still plenty of options for special takeout meals. Feast your eyes on…
Years from now, as I scroll back through my pandemic-era food memories, one will stand out among the takeout boxes and the meals I’m already sick of cooking. On New Year’s Eve, I stood out in the snow under the biggest, brightest full moon, trying desperately to wield an oyster knife without stabbing myself. It…
When Mark Cannella and his family named their 12-acre homestead in East Montpelier Valentine Farm, it had nothing to do with February 14. The name honored Cannella’s grandfather, Willis Valentine Miller. “He had a big influence on me,” Cannella said. But over the past few years, the farm has also lived up to its name…
