The Wellness Issue 2021
How Four Vermont Health Clubs Are Adapting and Faring in the Pandemic; A COVID-19 Vaccine Volunteer Explains Why He Got a Shot in the Arm; Local Experts Discuss the Value of Hope
Obituary: Jean Oliver Koch, 1937‑2021
Active community member loved skiing, tennis, singing and gardening
Obituary: Stephen T. McKenney, 1971‑2020
Army veteran and hospital employee dedicated his life to serving others
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, January 21 to 27
1. Live Aid Vermont musician Chad Hollister is known for his feel-good pop-rock tunes. The singer-songwriter brings his signature sense of positivity to a livestream concert supporting working musicians facing financial difficulties. Acoustic folk artist Ryan Montbleau, indie-pop musician Francesca Blanchard, members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and others join Hollister for VT Sounds —…
Obituary: Paul Morris Sprayregen, 1949‑2020
Founder of Investors Corporation of Vermont helped change the landscape of the Northeast and Palm Beach
Quick Lit: ‘Street of Storytellers’ by Doug Wilhelm
Teen angst is universal. Street of Storytellers, a 2019 young adult novel by Doug Wilhelm, is populated with young people facing problems — some interpersonal and some with huge consequences. The story’s protagonist is Luke, an American high schooler in Peshawar, Pakistan, on a court-ordered visit with his divorced father, who’s working on a book…
Letters to the Editor (1/20/21)
Gram Fan Thank you for reinstating the Fair Game column and giving Dave Gram a public voice. I’ve been in withdrawal since his sudden departure from WDEV Radio [Off Message: “Media Note: WDEV Cancels Dave Gram’s Talk Show,” November 9, 2020]. I don’t always agree with him — or any others who have written Fair…
A COVID-19 Vaccine Volunteer Explains Why He Got a Shot in the Arm
Joshua Schupp-Star can give you many reasons why he volunteered to join the clinical trial of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine at the University of Vermont’s Vaccine Testing Center. All can be summarized in one word: hope. “After receiving my first dose, I got a taste of the freedom that existed before the pandemic,” said Schupp-Star,…
Vermont Author Aaron Hoopes Has a Prescription for Stressful Times: Going Back to Nature
If there’s a silver lining to be found in the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that Vermonters are spending more time outdoors — and finding myriad reasons to embrace nature. According to a University of Vermont Gund Institute for Environment study released on December 16, 2020, Vermonters — especially women — have significantly increased…
Why Are Medical Cannabis Patients Charged a Fee on Every Purchase?
Back in the days of prohibition — cannabis, not booze — a half-gram nickel bag would cost you five bucks on the black market, usually leaving you uncertain of what you just bought. But now that approximately 4,600 Vermont patients can legally access one of the state’s five medical marijuana dispensaries and safely purchase cannabis…
Bottom Line: In Winooski, Candace Jennifer Taylor Creates a ‘Wholeness Center’ for BIPOC Healing
Candace Jennifer Taylor’s email autoreply might come as a surprise to those used to the breakneck speed of online communication. “Both my life and the work I do in this life is grounded in the desire to dismantle colonial rule, capitalism and dominance culture,” reads the message, which says Taylor may take two weeks to…
The Seven Days Wellness Issue, 2021
Last year, the cover of Seven Days’ annual Wellness Issue, published on January 15, 2020, depicted a young woman in an 802 tank top sitting in a serene, cross-legged lotus position inside a protective bubble. With her were a steaming mug of tea, a vial of CBD and other cozy-healthy accoutrements. Said bubble floated above,…
How Four Vermont Health Clubs Are Adapting and Faring in the Pandemic
For many of us, the dawn of a new year is a time to clean up our acts. Temporary teetotalers drive their friends to drink, preaching the gospel of a “dry January.” Others hop on the latest fad diet or at least try to eat a veggie now and then. And, of course, still others…
Soundbites: Help Is On the Way for Vermont Venues
Much in the same way a political reporter might not be the most qualified person to write an album review or preview a festival, I’m not especially suited to political reporting. But the December 27, 2020, passage of the Save Our Stages Act, or SOS, a $15 billion chunk of the gargantuan Consolidated Appropriations Act,…
Vermont Experts Discuss the Value of Hope
In her 1891 poem “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson compared hope to a bird. The bird “perches in the soul,” she wrote, and keeps singing — even in the harshest circumstances. One hundred and 30 years later, a sighting of that particular bird would be most welcome. In the first week of…
The Young Love Scene, ‘Bloodstained Man’
(Self-released, digital) On the cover of Bloodstained Man, the debut EP of Burlington rock singer-songwriter Gordon Goldsmith’s project the Young Love Scene, the artist stands as if posing for a mug shot. With cuts, contusions and his left arm bound in a sling, Goldsmith appears to have survived a nasty altercation and subsequently been brought…
In a New Graphic Novella, dug Nap Examines Friendship
Anyone who has frequented Burlington City Art’s Summer Artist Market would recognize dug Nap. Tall and rangy, with short, salt-and-pepper hair and serious large-framed glasses, he would loom over his display table looking formidable — until he broke into a rather sweet smile. Nap’s work, too, is instantly recognizable: colorful, in a semi-outsider-artist style, and…
The Wet Ones!, ‘The Monster of Jungle Island’
(Self-released, digital) Every couple of years or so, the National Assessment of Educational Progress — aka “America’s Report Card” — surveys America’s students. And every time that report card is sent home, students are graded terribly when it comes to geography, both in the U.S. and abroad. Maybe this explains the large number of people who…
A Winter Diving Expedition Goes Wrong in Shivery Scandinavian Thriller ‘Breaking Surface’
Our streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through. This week, I watched the 2020 Swedish/Norwegian survival thriller Breaking Surface, which streams from January 22 through 31 as part of the Split/Screen series, a virtual cinema collaboration of the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival and Vermont International Film Foundation. Find more…
Vermont House Vote on the U.S. Capitol Riot Was Anonymous
The day after a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election, outraged Vermont lawmakers weighed in on the historic moment. Rep. Jill Krowinski (D-Burlington), the new speaker of the House of Representatives, stood at the rostrum in the nearly empty chamber, a portrait of George Washington towering over…
A Stop Along a Poultney Rail Trail Now Features Free Hot Drinks
After months of watching the coronavirus pandemic squeeze the life out of downtown Poultney, Carl Diethelm and Danny Lang decided to enliven their community. The young men were well set up to do so: They cofounded and run REclaimED, a nonprofit maker space and community hub full of equipment and tools. Diethelm found inspiration at…
Former Burlington Principal Blames School Board for His Abrupt Departure
Shortly after Burlington High School interim principal Noel Green suddenly resigned on January 8, both the superintendent and the school board expressed shock about his decision. In fact, the board wrote in a January 10 statement, Superintendent Tom Flanagan had planned to recommend Green for the permanent principal position at an upcoming board meeting, something…
Pressured to Return to Class, Teachers Begin Checking State’s COVID-19 Math
More than most, teachers tend to respect the rules, and Amy Cudney is no exception. The J.J. Flynn Elementary School librarian dutifully canceled her Thanksgiving plans last fall and ceased outdoor visits with friends as soon as Gov. Phil Scott restricted household gatherings. Cudney sent her husband, who works remotely, to retrieve their daughter from…
From the Publisher: Variations on a Theme
Seven Days has published many “theme issues” over the years. Devoting the entire paper to a single, usually seasonal subject has turned up some great stories that we might not otherwise have discovered. Similarly, from a business perspective, it has attracted new readers and advertisers. Whether the focus has been on food, music, travel or…
What’s the Best Way to Break Things Off With My Sugar Daddy?
Dear Reverend, At the beginning of the pandemic, I was suddenly unemployed and wondering how I was going to make rent. I signed up for the app SeekingArrangement and found myself a sugar daddy. He’s 74 years old and has been paying me a weekly allowance to be his online girlfriend and text with him…
How Does a Choir Keep Going — Safely — in a Pandemic?
In December, Jeffrey Buettner, associate professor of music and director of choral activities at Middlebury College, won a Virtue Family Exceptional Service Award. His achievement? Conducting the Middlebury College Choir in person. That’s no small feat in a pandemic. Singing is a perfect delivery service for the coronavirus, as singers can send aerosolized droplets well…
Free Will Astrology (1/20/21)
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “My business is circumference,” wrote poet Emily Dickinson in a letter to her mentor. What did she mean by that? “Circumference” was an important word for her. It appeared in 17 of her poems. Critic Rochelle Cecil writes that, for Dickinson, circumference referred to a sense of boundlessness radiating out from…
Wild West Pawlet: Shooting Range’s Neighbors Plead for Government Help — and Get None
We Vermonters have been telling ourselves an unhappy story that nevertheless delivers a twinge of satisfaction: If the rest of the nation had Vermont’s per capita coronavirus death rate, only about 86,000 Americans would have died since the pandemic’s onset. Instead, the national toll stood at more than 400,000 deaths as of Tuesday. What accounts…
Tacos, Enchiladas and Tequila Cocktails To-Go at the Big Spruce in Richmond
Richmond wasn’t exactly a hot spot of activity on a winter night even before the pandemic. On the recent 12-degree Friday evening when I arrived for takeout from the Big Spruce, the downtown was still. A few people were waiting for their food order in their cars outside the restaurant. But I stood outside to…
Food and Wellness Go Together for UVM Medical Center Executive Chef R. Leah Pryor
Chef R. Leah Pryor Position: Executive chef at the University of Vermont Medical Center Location: Burlington Age: 44 Cuisine type: Farm-to-institution, from-scratch meals for patients, staff and visitors served through room service and several on-site cafés Education: Culinary Institute of America Experience: Executive chef, Fog Island Café (now Keepers/Fog Island Restaurant), Nantucket, Mass.; chef, Mary’s…
Red Panda Restaurant Founders Expand to Milton, Essex and Colchester
Buoyed by the reception to their downtown Burlington restaurant Red Panda, business partners Dan Raut and Lakpa Sherpa have been working with fellow Nepali Americans to launch several more associated restaurants. The third location, Red Panda Essex, will open at 163 Pearl Street by the end of January or beginning of February. The original Red…
New Shop Wilder Wines to Bring Natural Wines to Downtown Burlington
Burlington’s bubbling wine scene is about to get a little wilder. Wilder Wines, a small bottle shop that will exclusively sell natural wines, will open at 146 Cherry Street in mid-February. Natural wine is made from organically or biodynamically grown grapes with little or no intervention during the fermentation process; in recent years it has…
