Seven Days back issues from January 2009:
Past as Prologue
Jan 07, 2009; ... OPEN SEASON ON VT POLITICS They're baaaack . . . and on Thursday, Gov. Jim Douglas will deliver his fourth inaugural address. What can we expect to hear? The guv's team has always been good at alliterative slogans - "Agenda of Affordability" and "Jim = Jobs." Maybe "Road to ...
Frosh Faces in the Vermont Legislature: Tim Ashe, Randy Brock and Kesha Ram
Jan 07, 2009; ... POLITICS Among the 180 lawmakers convening under the Golden Dome this week, there will be a few fresh "frosh" faces mixed in with the familiar ones. Of the 30 senators, three are new to the chamber. Thirty-two of the 150 House members are rookie lawmakers. Seven Days ...
FACING FACTS
Jan 07, 2009; ... VERMONT MAPLE Problems in Canada have ted to a worldwide syrup shortage. The good news? Vermont maple producers are Mching record prices for the sweet stuff. At least someone had a great 2008. SPEEDING STARS Crash star Matt Dillon gets picked up for going 106 mph on ...
Burlington Council Launches New Stormwater-Management Program
Jan 07, 2009; ... LOCAL ISSUES 'This the season of giving and receiving. A few days before Thanksgiving, Queen City residents breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Burlington Electric Department announced it wouldn't seek a planned 5.9 percent rate increase in 2009. But on December 15, the ...
Burlington Poet Gets an Agenda
Jan 07, 2009; ... BOOKS Most of us are lucky to get a bunch of cards or an inscribed book on our birthday. This year, award-winning poet and St. Michael's College artist-in-residence Greg Delanty got a rather more substantial gift of words: A 260-page issue of the U.K. poetry journal Agenda celebrates his ...
Middlebury Prof Previews Journal Article on Poultney's Jewish Past
Jan 07, 2009; ... HISTORY When one thinks of New England destinations for the Jewish diaspora, Poultney probably isn't the first town that comes to mind. But new research from a Middlebury prof unearths a Jewish immigrant community that thrived in the small southwestern Vermont town in the late 19th ...
VIGNETTES
Jan 07, 2009; ... A town with four independent bookstores, but no Borders or B&N? At a time when each week brings news of indie page purveyors closing around the nation including such institutions as Berkeley's Cody's Books - Vermont's well-read capital city is worth noting. Sure enough, last Sunday, Janet ...
CORRECTION
Jan 07, 2009; ... CORRECTION: In Suzanne Podhaizer's December 17 "Side Dishes" column, we reported that Junior's restaurant was responsible for a senior holiday dinner at Burlington ...
news quirks
Jan 07, 2009; ... IMAGE AND/OR TEXT OMITTED ...
What's Up for O-Nine
Jan 07, 2009; ... ON THE PUBLIC USES AND ABUSES OF EMOTION It ain't all pretty, but 2009 looks a lot bener than anything this millennium has witnessed so far. As in all things psychological and political, the signs point every which way. So here are my predictions - some grim, some gleeful, some ...
A MORE PERFECT UNION?
Jan 07, 2009; ... TWO SEVEN DAYS STAFFERS WEIGH THE PROS AND CONS OF ANOTHER GAY MARRIAGE DEBATE IN VERMONT It's been almost nine years since then-Gov. Howard Dean signed into law H. 847, the controversial bill establishing civil unions in Vermont and granting same-sex couples the same legal rights and ...
Charity's Middleman in Middlebury
Jan 07, 2009; ... COMMUNITY Building a philanthropic movement with the Vermont Community Foundation In his Gettysburg Address of 1863, Abraham Lincoln eloquendy expressed the hope "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." During the 1991 ...
Back to the Backcountry
Jan 07, 2009; ... HOW VERMONTERS ARE SURVIVING THE RECESSION For many Vermonters, staying inside during the winter is as agonizing as being a sick kid on a snow day. But now that lift tickets cost more than a couple of tanks of gas, skiing and snowboarding are starting to seem like special-occasion rather ...
History Repeating
Jan 07, 2009; ... History Repeating This year will mark the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's first canoe trip on the body of water known by the Abenaki as Bitowbagok. Later, when asked what the place was called, the Frenchman simply replied, "It is named Lake Champlain." Maybe Bitowbagok was too ...
Gran Torino
Jan 07, 2009; ... Gran Torino *** SOYZ N THE HOOD Clint samples Asian delicacies between gang confrontations in his latest urban drama. Clint Eastwood is going out of business. After six decades, the international screen icon is closing the door on his acting career, and everything must ...
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Jan 07, 2009; ... The Curious Case of Benjamin Button *** LITTLE BIG MAN Pitt struggles with an unusual affliction that practically guarantees him an Oscar nod. The story of a man who ages in reverse, from a decrepit nonagenarian to a baby, could have been told as horror. It could have ...
Eat, Drink and Be Wary, Third Edition
Jan 07, 2009; ... Predicting Vermont's top food trends of 2009 Each January, journalists everywhere pull out their crystal balls, give them a good dusting, and attempt to predict what will be hot - or not - over the next 12 months. Food writers are no exception. Newspaper restaurant critics, taste makers ...
Entrées, Exits and Temporary Breaks
Jan 07, 2009; ... CHANGES TO THE RESTAURANT SCENE IN '09 Red-state cuisine meets blue-state eaters near Williston's Taft Comers at Vermont's first - and locally owned - Texas Roadhouse, which opened in December. That's the national chain where all the rolls are baked fresh, country music blasts from the ...
Taste Test: Nunyuns
Jan 07, 2009; ... Taste Test: Nunyuns 139 North Champlain Street, Burlington, 861-2067 Over the last two years, the east side of Burlington's Old North End has experienced a delicious renaissance. These days, North Winooski Avenue boasts a colorful smattering of eateries, from a Vietnamese ...
Winter Safe Driving Tips
Jan 07, 2009; ... FREE WHEELIN' To drive safely on ice and snow, you need to prep your car and acquire the knowledge and driving skills to handdle winter's slippery conditions. Snow and ice present an entirely different driving experience than dry or even wet pavement. For your own, your passengers' and ...
THE BLACK AND WHITE OF GRAY
Jan 07, 2009; ... WASHINGTON'S GHOST, THE BLACK AND WHITE OF GRAY (Self-released, CD) Vermont suffers no shortage of experimental pop. From the stark ruminations of Americana-no;r trio Farm to the bizarre hyperactivity of Nose Bleed Island and the avant-garde karaoke-ish brilliance of Ryan Power, ...
sound bites
Jan 07, 2009; ... WINTER DOLDRUMS Well, ifs all over. No, I don't mean Dubya's presidency. Still a shade under two weeks to go there, I'm afraid - and yes, I'm counting. But he couldn't possibly fuck up anything else in the next 13 days, right? Um . . . moving on. I am of course referring to the ...
In the Year Two Thousand . . . Nine
Jan 07, 2009; ... A not-so-serious look into Vermont's musical future Last year at roughly this time, I rolled out a (mostly) tongue-in-cheek look at what Vermonters could expect to see on the musical horizon in 2008. Looking back, it's safe to say I blew it. With hardly an exception, none of my ...
TAMMY FLETCHER IS MOUNTAIN GIRL
Jan 07, 2009; ... TAMMY FLETCHER IS MOUNTAIN GIRL, TAMMY FLETCHER IS MOUNTAIN GIRL (Notch Above Records, CD) As the story goes, eight years ago Vermont soul siren Tammy Fletcher received a mandolin as a gift from her friend Peter Langdell, the luthier behind Jefferson vi lie's Rigel Mandolins ....
Political Half-Lives
Jan 14, 2009; ... Riddle me this: What do Gov. Jim Douglas, former Gov. Howard Dean and Vermont Yankee have in common? Answer All three are coming up radioactive on the political Geiger counter. Vermont Yankee needs to work on its timing. Vermont's sole nuclear power plant reported radioactive ...
Burlington Councilor Spars with CEDO Over Lead Ordinance
Jan 14, 2009; ... PUBLIC HEALTH Discussion between Burlington city councilors rarely reaches "meltdown" stage, but last week a small crowd witnessed a white-hot, late-night discussion of lead-paint regulations. City councilors are split on whether a new lead ordinance should require homeowners to repaint ...
Montpelier Builds Public-Private Social Welfare Partnership
Jan 14, 2009; ... LOCAL ISSUES When was the last time you knocked on your neighbor's door? In Montpelier, that simple question has prompted an emergency planning initiative called Capital Area Neighborhoods. In August, city officials asked volunteers to connect with neighbors who were struggling ...
FACING FACTS
Jan 14, 2009; ... PETER FREYNE He lived to see Obama elected, but missed The New York Times' first front-page ad. News of his death inspired gasps in both chambers of the Vermont legislature. Classy, eh? BURLINGTON MAYOR'S RACE The first mayoral debate underscored the differences between ...
Chittenden/People's Bank Mortgages Go South-to Florida
Jan 14, 2009; ... FINANCE Although regulators say that Vermont's mortgage market remains stable, some 9000 homeowners in the state were recently told, without explanation, that their mortgages would no longer be handled by Chittenden Bank. Their loans have been transferred to a Florida-based company that ...
CORRECTION
Jan 14, 2009; ... CORRECTION: There was a misplaced decimal point in last week's story about the Vermont ...
Bring Bunny to B-Town
Jan 14, 2009; ... Cruising past the Cherry Street bus stop had landed me a customer headed for the airport. All the local bus routes begin and end at the corner of Cherry and Church, making it fertile ground to troll for fares. "Too cold to wait for the bus today." Some people invite you in, while ...
Vermont Artist Mixes Obama, Myth and Message
Jan 14, 2009; ... Al Salman is at it again: He's created a new series of seven large-scale, allegorical paintings that address current events in a rather startling way. The Fairfield artist, a retired art teacher, exhibited his previous series, collectively titled "Garden of Earthly Delights," at Speaking Volumes ...
VPT to Stop Producing "Profile"
Jan 14, 2009; ... TELEVISION Publicly funded arts institutions are feeling the recession squeeze this winter, and Vermont Public Television is no exception. In February, viewers will stop seeing new episodes of "Profile," the locally produced Monday-evening interview show hosted by Fran ...
Firehouse Gallery Gets a Boost from Warhol
Jan 14, 2009; ... ART At a time when financial news is almost uniformly grim, it's a special pleasure to get a windfall. Burlington's Firehouse Gallery did just that with the receipt of a $75,000 grant for exhibition support from the New York-based Andy Warhol Foundation. If s mostly larger institutions ...
VIGNETTES
Jan 14, 2009; ... Cinephiles love Turner Classic Movies, a cable network that screens forgotten treasures and oddities along with recognized classics of old Hollywood. This Sunday, January 18, at midnight, TCM viewers will get the first small-screen look at the work of a local film archivist. Filmmaker ...
news quirks
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Cap'n Carbon
Jan 14, 2009; ... When President-elect Obama finds the rime to make good on his promise to reduce the United States' carbon-dioxide emissions, he's likely to look to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) for hints and inspiration. RGGI, which swung into action in September, is the first mandatory, ...
End of the Line
Jan 14, 2009; ... OBITUARY Peter Freyne, 1949-2009 Peter David Freyne was born on November 18, 1949, in the Bronx, New York, and grew up in nearby Hartsdale. He was the only child of Agnes and James Francis "Frank" Freyne, but had two older half-siblings from his father's previous marriage. Peter ...
BARACK TO THE FUTURE
Jan 14, 2009; ... VERMONTERS PIN THEIR HOPES ON OBAMA. BUT WILL HE DELIVER? When President-elect Barack Obama loses the qualifier from his title at next week's inauguration, a fitting sound effect would be the starter's bell for a horse race. Never before in modern history has an American president needed ...
Screen Shame
Jan 14, 2009; ... BOOKS Screen Shame A former Homeland Security worker pens a thriller about killing your TV . . . before it kills you Screen by Joe Randazzo Spretzzatura Books, 322 pages. $14. Available on Amazon.com. At this point in the 21st century, it is impossible to imagine ...
Matching Sets
Jan 14, 2009; ... Matching Sets Red Square, on the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, has been a popular bar and art venue since 1997. Its 2009 exhibition schedule kicks off with a selection of abstracted, digitally printed photos by Aimee Daniel entitled "Life Abstractions." Daniel manipulates ...
Something Old, Something New
Jan 14, 2009; ... VISITING VERMONT'S ART VENUES Joan Furchgott, co-owner with her husband Brad Sourdiffe, of Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne drives the 40 minutes to work from their home in Lincoln at least five days a week. So she's likely to be the one welcoming visitors to the cheerful ...
Defiance
Jan 14, 2009; ... movie reviews Defiance *** Daniel Craig may be best known as the current James Bond, but he has a flourishing sideline as the movies' most badass Jew. The actor has made two 007 films and an equal number in which he plays historical figures who. took up aims against persecutors ...
The Reader
Jan 14, 2009; ... The Reader *** German thinker Theodor Adomo once said, "To still write a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric." That notion of the horror of the camps as a black hole that swallows everything - including literature and its search for meaning - reappears in a key scene of The Reader. A ...
Holy Indulgences
Jan 14, 2009; ... Vermont's faithful are making God - and diners - happy Back in the Middle Ages, churches helped support their work by selling their parishioners indulgences - forgiveness from sins. These days, many spiritual folk raise funds by offering indulgences of a more earthly variety - such as ...
SIDE DISHES
Jan 14, 2009; ... food news Old Brick Score CHARLOTTE BUSINESS HAS NEW OWNER Since mid-2008, it's been common knowledge in Charlotte that the owners of the Old Brick Store were trying to sell. As months wore on and no buyer emerged, they shut down the Manhattan Pizza operation in favor of ...
Taste Test: Asiana Noodle Shop
Jan 14, 2009; ... Taste Test: Asiana Noodle Shop 88 Church Street, Burlington, 862-8828 Around lunchtime on Friday, I started losing my focus. I just couldn't stop thinking about the sauce. Not the boozy variety that has driven so many writers to ruin, but the rich Chinese "gravy" - served with a ...
sound bites
Jan 14, 2009; ... WARNING: OBLIGATORY PHISH NEWS AHEAD Hey, did you hear that Fhish are getting back together? Oh, you did. And you entered the ticket Lottery for their three Hampton, Virginia, shows roughly 342 times using various names - including that of your dearly departed Pomeranian/pit bull mix ....
JESSE DEE, BITTERSWEET BATCH
Jan 14, 2009; ... JESSE DEE, BITTERSWEET BATCH (7 Not Records, CD) Soul and R&B purists have had it pretty good in the last few years. Artists such as Ryan Shaw, Ledisi, Sharon Jones and, perhaps most famously, Amy Winehouse have ushered in a modern era of soul classicism. For many including ...
RESONATOR, NEW BORN SUNS
Jan 14, 2009; ... review this RESONATOR, NEW BORN SUNS (Human Identity Recordings, Digital Download) The last we heard from Plattsburgh's Resonator, they were thrilling the post-rock set - locally and beyond - with an excellent debut album, Lost Language. Impeccably conceived and executed, ...
Not Happy? Blame MySpace
Jan 14, 2009; ... Not Happy? Blame MySpace Pretend You're Happy, Blame Gustav at Radio Bean in Burlington, Saturday, January 10. I've been duped. And I blame MySpace. In my Soundbites column last week, I expressed excitement for a then-upcoming show at Burlington's Radio Bean from ...
The More Things Stay the Same
Jan 21, 2009; ... Change is in the air, but one thing remains the same: After-hours mixers are de rigueur in Montpelier - they give lobbyists, state officials and lawmakers a chance to rub elbows. Powerhouse lobbying firm Kimball, Sherman and Ellis held one such shindig last week, and more will be ...
Weight a Minute - Are Heavy Trucks Getting Fair Treatment in Vermont?
Jan 21, 2009; ... TRANSPORTATION Heavy fines slapped on truckers for violating town-road weight limits often amount to revenue-raising scams on the part of local officials, charges the owner of two Northeast Kingdom logging companies. "Consumers ultimately have to pay the true cost of business, ...
FACING FACTS
Jan 21, 2009; ... POODLE RESCUE Is there a downside to Canadians flying out of Burlington? Only if you're the miniature poodle left in a van for three frigid weeks while his owner went en vacances. KILLINGTON CASINO From Iraq, State Auditor Tom Salmon sends another crazy revenue-generating ...
Fletcher Allen's Technicians Launch Union Drive
Jan 21, 2009; ... ORGANIZED LABOR A group of 600 technicians at Vermont's largest hospital has launched a union-organizing campaign comparable to the one the nursing staff experienced six years ago, a union spokesperson confirmed. Representatives from the Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health ...
Brownell Library Hosts "The Big Read" Kickoff
Jan 21, 2009; ... BOOKS Can a book be a weapon? And if so, should it be removed from society?" That's a question Kat Redniss, a young-adult librarian at the Brownell Library in Essex Junction, will be asking adolescents this spring. Why? Because "The Big Read" is coming to the Brownell, and this ...
New Lit Journal Draws Authors from Afar
Jan 21, 2009; ... BOOKS New literary magazines sprout in college towns like mush- rooms. But Burlington College's Queen City Review, whose inaugu- ral issue appeared in December, is more than a forum for students and the folks who put it out. (The founding editor is Heidi Berko- witz, who teaches in the ...
Orton's Community-Arts Project in Starksboro Picks an Artist
Jan 21, 2009; ... ART Art making and town planning may seem to have nothing in common. One is generally a solitary activity, while the other often involves at least a segment of a community. But a unique project unfolding in Starksboro aims to broaden both processes and to integrate them into an ...
VIGNETTES
Jan 21, 2009; ... If you're jonesing for more glimpses of the stylish First Family after Inauguration coverage ends, fear not . . . they'll hit Higher Ground this Saturday. Sort of. Burlington's Flashbags is one of three local designers showing off their wares at the third annual ONE Fashion Event, a fundraiser ...
news quirks
Jan 21, 2009; ... IMAGE AND/OR TEXT OMITED ...
On the Spa Beat
Jan 21, 2009; ... HOW VERMONTERS ARE SURVIVING THE RECESSION Let's face it: It's possible to spend beaucoup bucks on beauty products. Still, regular self-care is key to keeping stress levels low under duress - and belt-tightening times don't have to signal an end to periodic pampering. Long before the ...
So Long, Aspartame
Jan 21, 2009; ... A Diet Coke-head ditches the drink My name is Lisa and I'm an addict. A Diet Coke addict. I've been clean for four months now, after being hooked on the stuff since its 1982 debut. And before that, I drank its diet soda ancestor, Tab. I didn't have a 12-can-a-day habit, or quaff it to ...
Baby Steps
Jan 21, 2009; ... Green Mountain parents find new ways to keep families fit One of the biggest milestones in my new son's life wasn't when he smiled for the first time (five weeks), when he rolled over for the first time (three months), or when he began to sit up (five months). It was when he turned eight ...
Endurance Fest
Jan 21, 2009; ... Vermont's terrain draws tons of triathletes Adam Osekoski was living in a Boston suburb when he and his wife, Stephanie, decided to take a weekend trip to Vermont for a triathlon pilgrimage. He'd been reading about a Waitsfield bicycle-fitting shop called Fit Werx that caters to cyclists ...
Materials Witness
Jan 21, 2009; ... Materials Witness "Discarded and Salvage," the current exhibit at the Flynn Center's Amy E. Tarrant Gallery in Burlington, is an expressive collection of 1.1 large-scale "paintings" that are essentially textile assemblages. Peacham artist Muffin Ray transforms vintage quilt patches, ...