Aug 13-19, 2014
Living on the Lake: Tracking Champlain’s Toxic Algae; Meet the “Mayor” of D-Dock; Thompson’s Point Community; Tubes, Skis and Dragons, Oh My!
Cover Stories
A High School Senior Finds Lake Champlain Is Rising
When Brendan Murphy faced the prospect of choosing his individual graduate challenge — a prerequisite for all seniors at Hinesburg’s Champlain Valley Union High School…
Hanging With the ‘Mayor’ of Burlington’s D-Dock
Kent Cassella has played 11 characters over 226 episodes of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” an analyst in 2001’s Oscar winner A Beautiful Mind…
History, High Prices and Community at Thompson’s Point
Not long after Susan and Jim Fitzpatrick first visited Thompson’s Point more than three decades ago, the South Burlington educators began daydreaming about acquiring a…
Public Water Systems Watch for Toxic Algae in Lake Champlain
For three days earlier this month, officials in Ohio warned a half-million residents not to drink their tap water. The reason? Water samples had tested…
How to Get in the Water When You Don’t Own a Boat
Lake Champlain, at about 1,200 square kilometers, is the 13th-largest lake in the U.S.; its 25 cubic kilometers of fresh water ranks it 17th in…
Williston’s Maple Tree Place Gets Vietnamese Restaurant
A new Vietnamese restaurant is coming to 121 Connor Way in Maple Tree Place in Williston. Khanh Le and his wife, Khanh Pham, have been…
Obituary: Harold C. Luce, 1918-2014, Chelsea
Harold C. Luce, 95 passed away Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H. after a brief illness. Born on October…
Obituary: Sheldon “Kip” Meaker, 1949-2014, Burlington
Sheldon “Kip” Meaker, 65, of Burlington died August 8th after a long illness. A native of Barre, Kip was widely known as an elite singer-guitar…
The Hundred-Foot Journey
In a recent New York Times piece, A.O. Scott argued that “a self-conscious foodie culture” is one of the last bastions of the middlebrow. His…
BCA’s Visiting Critic Program Matches Critics and Artists
Artists are really asking for it. Critical appraisal of their work, that is. So says BCA Center curator DJ Hellerman, whose job often takes him…
Wave of the Future, Wave of the Future
(Self-released, CD) Full disclosure: If your band is founded on a gimmick based on a 1980s movie, two such film franchises will make this critic…
WTF: Why Is There a Dry-Docked Ferry at Shelburne Shipyard?
If you’ve recently taken a walk past Red Rocks Park, curving around Shelburne Bay, you may have spied it from afar. Or if you’ve explored…
Red Clover & The Hermit Thrush, Red Clover & The Hermit Thrush
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Iconic New York City rock club CBGB opened its doors in 1973 in the East Village. The name was an acronym…
Quick Lit: Reviewing The Hour of Parade
The Hour of Parade, by Etna, N.H., author Alan Bray, is a psychological novel on par with Irvin D. Yalom’s When Nietzsche Wept. Both writers…
Accessibility: Not All of Burlington Measures Up
Nothing’s been over easy for Henry’s Diner this summer. The Burlington restaurant has been closed since mid-July for a makeover that will make it accessible…
Theater Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Vermont Shakespeare Co.
From the young Athenian lovers who pair and re-pair under magical influences to the overblown mythical lovers Pyramus and Thisbe depicted in a badly acted…
Burlington Hardcore Icons Drowningman Reunite
Burlington, Vt., has long had a vital heavy-music scene. Though often overlooked by mainstream crowds, the bruising strains of hardcore, punk and metal form the…
Into the Storm
Let’s be honest: They should’ve just called the thing Twisters. Because that’s pretty much what this is — a rehash of the 1996 Bill Paxton-Helen…
Lit Notes: Cheryl Strayed at VCFA, Katherine Paterson at Book Fest
The literary heavy hitters keep coming at Vermont College of Fine Arts. This Friday, VCFA welcomes best-selling author Cheryl Strayed, whose memoir Wild: From Lost…
Party Hopping: Corvettes, Shrimp Scampi and Phil Scott
Amidst a collection of lustrous Corvettes and cardboard racecar-driver replicas, Vermont Democrats schmoozed last Wednesday evening in a Colchester garage. They were there to raise…
The St. John’s Club: A Lakefront Club for the Average Joe
On the morning of my off-hours visit to Burlington’s venerable St. John’s Club, an Adirondack thunderstorm rolls and booms across the lake, threatening to disrupt…
Gallery Profile: The Marble House Project, Dorset
On an idyllic summer evening last weekend, cars streamed down Dorset West Road and up a swooping drive to a hillside barn. There, long tables…
Soundbites: This Week in Music Festivals
This is a rare week on the summer calendar, because, unlike virtually every other week from June to mid-September, no huge music festivals are on…
Opinion: To Stop Campus Rape, Let Kids Grow Up
“Parietal hours perpetuate the whole clumsy American system of dating: of choosing a movie you don’t really want to see … of sitting for hours…
News Quirks (8/13/14)
Curses, Foiled Again Police in Bloomsburg, Pa., arrested Jacob Close, 25, for jumping bail after he took part in the local newspaper’s “Your Opinion” feature…
Woodchuck Hard Cider Celebrates New Home
Last Thursday, August 7, Woodchuck Hard Cider opened its new cidery at 1321 Exchange Street in Middlebury, among a growing array of food businesses. The…
Letters to the Editor (8/13/14)
Hanna Is Not Alone I have to respond to the brave announcement from Paul Henninge that the death of his wife, Cheryl Hanna, was indeed…
Slip Into an Elegant Meal, or a Pirate’s Bay, in Essex, N.Y.
The hostess rushes in. She leans on the bar and beckons to the bartender, a skull and crossbones on the back of her T-shirt. “There’s…
A Fish Story: The Battle to Remove Swanton Dam
For 50 years, the Swanton Dam has been of almost no practical use. That is one of the few points of agreement between a group…
The Woman I’m Dating Wants Me to Smack Her, and I Don’t Want To
Dear Athena, I started going out with this really awesome woman and I totally dig her. We had a great thing going, but she recently…
![Making a Splash [SIV365]](https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/episode365-1200x900.webp)
Making a Splash [SIV365]
8/9/14: Vermont is well known for its beloved swimming holes. These hidden spots are the best way to stay cool during our short summers. On…
Free Will Astrology (8/13/14)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Researchers in Peru have recently tracked down many previously unknown varieties of wild cacao plants. What that means is that there…
Discovering Lesser-Known Eats in the Champlain Islands
Ask most Vermonters outside the Champlain Islands what they eat when they visit the area, and they’ll tell you it’s a wasteland. Sure, they may…
Little Red Kitchen and Swingin’ Pinwheel Open in Burlington
Burlingtonians looking for new daytime dining options can double their pleasure this week. The Little Red Kitchen opened on Monday, while the Swingin’ Pinwheel Café…
Farm to Food Truck Debuts This Weekend
This weekend, Leslie Thompson’s Farm to Food Truck will take its maiden voyage. With dates at Burlington Beer Company (Saturday, August 16) and Shelburne Vineyard…
