Dec 26, 2018 – Jan 8, 2019
Backstories: Seven Days Reporters Reveal How they Nailed the News; Remembering Vermonters We Lost in 2018; The Year in Vermont Food: A Recap; Kisonak and Harrison Talk Bests and Worsts in Film This Year
Obituary: Alyson Leigh Kretzer, 1986-2019
Alyson Leigh Kretzer passed away unexpectedly on January 2, 2019. Aly was loved by her family and friends for her adventurous spirit and unfailing kindness….
Obituary: Joshua Lawrence Bridgman, 1967-2018
Vermont got a little less weird with the passing of poet/playwright/filmmaker and Kafka-in-the-Booth Joshua (Josh) Bridgman, 51, who died from a heart attack in his…
Obituary: R. Avery Hall, 1932-2018
May 10, 1932-December 20, 2018 Avery Hall died peacefully on December 20 after 10 years of mishaps and memory loss. Born in 1932, he lived…
Obituary: Matthew Grant Thorsen, 1967-2019
Matthew Grant Thorsen was called home to the gates of Valhalla on New Year’s Day 2019, at the age of 51. He passed away peacefully…
Obituary: Jerry Weinberg, 1939-2019
Jerome Harold Weinberg — owner of Burlington’s beloved former restaurant Five Spice Café, Brooklyn boy, lover of poetry, dumpling maker, storyteller, collector of jokes, owner…
The Cannabis Catch-Up: California Dreamin’ — or Nightmare?
One year in, cannabis legalization does not appear to be the boon that California had hoped. Legal sales fell by half a billion dollars in…
Birth Announcement: Adena Rose Bright
Adena Rose Bright was delivered of her baby girl at 10:08pm on December 19th, 2018, at the private home of the Bright family. Jamie Bonnar…
Memoriam: Stephen A Ham-Ellis
In Loving Memory of Stephen A Ham-Ellis June 10, 1987-December 27, 2013 “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.” (Author…
Seriously: Greatest Hits 2018
In this episode, Bryan compiles some of the best hit news songs of past year.
Obituary: Suzanne Adrian Paris (Klarich), 1970-2018
Aka Ethiopia October 22nd, 1970 – December 11th, 2018 Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring….
Soundbites: 2018 — The Year in Review
Greetings, music lovers. We’re just a few days away from bidding adieu to 2018. Take a moment to remember the best show you saw this…
Backstory: Hardest-to-Reach Sources
After 10 hours at the Statehouse, I was ready to call it a day. But, driving up Interstate 89 last spring, I saw a Pennsylvania…
Free Will Astrology (12/26/18)
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): A typical fluffy white cumulus cloud weighs 216,000 pounds. A dark cumulonimbus storm cloud is 106 million pounds, almost 490 times…
Backstory 2018: Seven Days Reporters Reveal How They Nailed the News
The challenging work of Seven Days writers is rarely dull. Each week, our reporters fan out with notebooks and cameras, driven by curiosity and a…
The Best Local Recordings of 2018
Seven Days reviewed well over 100 local records in 2018. At the risk of sounding insincere, I must say that choosing the best of those…
Backstory: Vermontiest Interview Subject
I had to pull three U-turns along a wooded dirt road in Norwich before I finally found Ray Royce Jr. I was in town to…
Commissioning Vermonters to Do a Bunch of Cool Things
How many times have you started a sentence with “If money were no object…”? Never? Huh. Well, we did, when contemplating the opportunities of the…
Hackie: Diablos Vamoose
Ten years ago, I didn’t even own a pair of sunglasses. Supposedly, sunlight is a source of vitamin D that can enter the body through…
Backstory: Toughest Question I Had to Ask
I watched Ryan McLaren heave himself from his wheelchair into the driver’s seat of his car, collapse the chair and pull it inside. The laborious…
Backstory: Most Surprising and Unusual Honor
In June, I wrote a story that recalled the youthful adventures of noted Northeast Kingdom politico John McClaughry. He’s the founder of the Ethan Allen…
SEABA and Off Center Seek New Homes, and Growth, in 2019
Looking for space, talking to people: That describes a good share of the activity at two Burlington arts organizations at the end of 2018. Earlier…
Backstory: Weirdest Comments on a Story
Luis Lázaro Tijerina assured me he wasn’t a Russian troll during a September interview at a Burlington coffee shop. The 72-year-old Vermonter wrote for three…
#vtpoli 2018: A More Interesting Year Than You Thought
Conventional wisdom says that 2018 was a snoozefest in Vermont politics. The November election was devoid of suspense, it drew little attention and all the…
Backstory: Most Hang-Ups for One Story
Let’s face it: Nobody wants to see their salary in print — unless it’s in Forbes’ annual list of the world’s billionaires. (Sorry, Mom. Not…
Backstory: Orneriest Subject
For years I ignored the epic group emails, though I did notice they were also going to Michael Bloomberg and New York Times publisher A.G….
Backstory: Most Managed Story
Covering politics in Vermont can be challenging because nobody wants to make enemies in such a small state. No matter how harsh legislators, lobbyists and…
Obituary: Mike Rogers, 1964-2018
Mike Rogers passed away on December 18, 2018, at home surrounded by his family, after a yearlong battle with an extremely rare and aggressive sinus…
Remembering Vermonters We Lost in 2018
Stella Sławin Penzer (pictured) escaped the Nazis who killed her parents in Otwock, Poland, in 1942. She survived the Holocaust, married, emigrated to America in 1949, and advocated for peace and racial justice all her life. She’s among the eight individuals featured in this year’s collection of “Life Stories.” The others include a decorated bomber…
Backstory: Most Trips to a Local Bar During Work Hours
Three barstools were already occupied when I visited the Olde Northender Pub for the first time on a Tuesday at 10 a.m. After my eyes…
Backstory: Best Tour Guide
Some elected officials can get so worn down by public criticism that they lose enthusiasm for the places they represent. That was decidedly not the…
Letter to the Editor (12/26/18)
In Guard We Trust? [Re Off Message: “Scott Defends Vermont National Guard, Says No Investigation Needed,” December 6]: Sexual harassment revealed? Cut the whistleblower’s benefits…
Coming Soon: Reviewing the Films of 2018
The year 2018 is drawing to a close, and you know what that means. Yup, time for Margot and me to come up with something…
With Vermont Stage Gone, FlynnSpace Considers New Uses
“It’s been a traumatic year for the FlynnSpace,” says Steve MacQueen, artistic director of the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. That might be the…
Backstory: Wildest Ride
Sen. John Rodgers (D-Essex/Orleans) toyed with the idea of running in the Democratic primary for governor, then backed out, then belatedly jumped into the race…
How Can I Make My Man Orgasm From Oral?
Dear Scarlett, How can I make my man orgasm from getting a blow job? It takes so long! Signed, Connie Lingus(female, 50) Dear Connie Lingus,…
Backstory: Best Reminder to Show Up
There’s a rule in journalism: It pays to show up. I was reminded of this in August as I huffed up a path at Vermont’s…
The 2018 Local Music Scene Survey
After a year of highlighting the works of local singer-songwriters, musicians, club promoters and producers, we thought it would be enlightening to learn what some…
Seven Days Food Writers Look Back on a Tasty 2018
What did you eat in 2018? The question may sound trivial at the end of a year when very important congressional politicizing (ahem, Brett Kavanaugh),…
Backstory: Most Memorable Interview
I don’t actually know if reporters are allowed inside the Brattleboro Retreat; I never asked. After all, I was invited. A man we called “Francis”…
Backstory: Most Annoying Editor
Seven Days political editor Paul Heintz is obsessive about certain news topics. If there’s a story to be done in Vermont about campaign finance, Sen….
Words of Wisdom: Seven Days’ Commenters Both Trolled and Consoled in 2018
As a consequence of the particularly divisive politics of 2018, wading through Seven Days’ online comments this year could occasionally inspire dread. Why? Some remarks…
Backstory: Unlikeliest Bonding Experience
While reporting a story last spring about the right’s reaction to Vermont’s new gun laws, I decided to give Robby Mazza a call. The president…
Backstory: Most Aerobic Interview
Seven Days reporters typically go the extra mile to profile people — we’ll take as much access as we can get. That why I agreed…
Backstory: Most Poignant Encounter Resulting From a Story
In September, I previewed “Hibakusha Stories,” a University of Vermont event featuring two Japanese atomic bomb survivors — or hibakusha as they are called in…
Backstory: Sweetest Return Visit
Spend enough time reporting in this small state, and you’ll inevitably run into people about whom you have previously written. Certain settings reappear, too. In…
Seven Favorite Vermont Art Shows of 2018
As always, the artistry on view across the state in 2018 was fabulously overwhelming. And not just in galleries and museums. From coffee shops to…
Backstory: Most Hostile Reception
House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) faced an unusual pair of opponents last fall. An uncle-and-nephew duo were vying to unseat her and fellow incumbent…
Obituary: Nancy Hudak, 1955-2018
On December 22, 2018, the night of the full moon, Nancy Hudak, a lifelong resident and cherished friend of so many in our community, peacefully…
