Jan 11-17, 2017
Can Gov. Phil Scott Make Vermont More Affordable?; Trump Election May Revitalize Secession Movement; Singer Steve Gunn Wants Us to Get Lost
Cover Story
Afford-Ability: Can Gov. Phil Scott Deliver a Bigger Slice of the Pie?
For Ellen Baier, “affordability” isn’t just a buzzword. The 34-year-old mother of one has a college degree and a steady job. “But I still feel…
Alpine Accents
Skiing brought Wendy and Colin McCreight together: The couple met in 2007, while standing on a ski-gear rental line at REI in Boston. Two years…
The Return of Light: Swedish St. Lucia Rolls
Winter in Vermont means lots of darkness. In December, when the sun sets just after 4 p.m., it’s hard to believe we’ll ever return to…
Making Tracks: Ten Spots for Family Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing
When winter gives you cabin fever, head for a different cabin — one nestled in the woods, accessible only by cross-country skis or snowshoes. Gliding…
Explore and Soar: Birding to Change the World Gets Kids and Their College Mentors into the Woods
After classes end one Wednesday afternoon, a gaggle of students bolts across the playground at J.J. Flynn Elementary School and plunges into the woods, heading…
Language Lessons: A Montréal-Born Mom Reflects on Learning — and Teaching Her Kids — French
Last year, my oldest daughter, Dahlia, dared me to take her to Paris, suggesting we leave her three younger sisters behind. After years of resisting,…
Parting Ways: Navigating Family After Parents Separate
The decision to leave my partner didn’t come after one massive fight. And if our separation was waiting in the wings, I wasn’t aware of…
The Parmelee Post: Chittenden County to Become Sanctuary for F-35s
A Vermont judge has ruled in favor of designating Chittenden County as a sanctuary county for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. The decision,…
Obituary: Philip James Pierce
MIDDLEBURY – Philip James Pierce, 19, died unexpectedly on January 9 while visiting Boston and intrepidly exploring its neighborhoods. Philip was the cherished son of…
![National Mentoring Month [SIV474]](https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/episode474-1200x900.webp)
National Mentoring Month [SIV474]
1/5/17: January is National Mentoring Month and Mobius is raising awareness about the statewide need for mentors. Mobius estimates that about 15,000 Vermont youth are…
Patriots Day
Filmmaker Peter Berg is not often accused of nuance. He does action (Lone Survivor), often in collaboration with Mark Wahlberg, an actor likewise not frequently…
Agricola Farm Introduces Meat-Processing Classes
Ever eat a sausage and wonder how it was made? In Panton, Agricola Farm owner Alessandra Rellini began cutting her own pigs after apprenticing with…
Soundbites: The Fourth Awakens; Mark Daly Solo Residency
Hello! Wow, only one word into this introduction and already I feel awkward. It’s probably because I’ve never addressed an audience in this way. But…
Hidden Figures
A film that isn’t cinematically adventurous can still surprise and satisfy us, if the story it tells is rare enough on screen. Stylistically, Hidden Figures…
Hungarian Play About Surveillance Is Eerily Prescient
The setting: a Budapest dance hall in the early 1980s, when young Hungarians were reviving their folk dance traditions. One day, one of the dance-hall…
1881, Action
(self-released, CD, digital download) Burlington’s 1881 pulled off an impressive feat in 2016: They released three EPs in nine months. And they saved the best…
Ben Slotnick, For Mother
(Self-released, CD, digital download) “Honest” is a loaded term to apply to music. The tag gets thrown around often, suggesting a distrust of modern genres…
Glynnis Fawkes Comic to Be Published in RESIST!
The evening of November 8, 2016, Burlington artist and illustrator Glynnis Fawkes had a dream about living in a different Burlington — one where, during…
Top Prog: Can Lt. Gov. Zuckerman Influence Policy?
Last Wednesday, the day before taking office as Vermont’s first Progressive lieutenant governor, organic farmer David Zuckerman showed off his new Statehouse office — and…
Vermont Symphony Releases Guest Conductor, Charts Future
Anthony Princiotti, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra’s guest conductor for the past 16 years, is known to be musically exacting and fearless in his programming. He…
For Winter Watching, a Festival and a Film Series
As Hollywood makes its annual shift from fall “prestige season” to the post-Oscars winter doldrums, the quality of cinematic fare inevitably dips in concert with…
Start Your Engines: Phil Scott Sets a Slow Pace
At the start of an auto race, all the cars get in line and circle the track behind a pace car. As they approach the…
Talking Art With Shelburne Museum’s Carolyn Bauer
Over the past decade, the Shelburne Museum has strived to present shows that create a contemporary dialogue within an institution long focused on Americana and…
Book Review: Not a Place on Any Map by Alexis Paige
Is it possible to tell a life in vignettes — prose “snapshots” no longer than a few pages? The ultra-short form is certainly friendly to…
A Refugee’s Journey From Disability to Independence
Three months after he arrived in Vermont from Nepal in the summer of 2015, Bidur Rai couldn’t help thinking it would be better if he…
Letters to the Editor (1/11/17)
More on Martello Mike Martello was a high-demand studio musician, too [“One for the Ages,” December 14]! As a teenager I listened as he recorded…
Free Will Astrology (1/11/17)
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I recently discovered Tree of Jesse, a painting by renowned 20th-century artist Marc Chagall. I wanted to get a copy to…
Mistress of the Musical Saw, Johnnie Day Durand
The music of Silver Bridget is both eerie and familiar. The latter descriptor applies because the Burlington-based instrumental trio primarily trades in covers of popular…
High and Dry: Malletts Bay Cottagers Must Vacate Their Homes
A Vermont Supreme Court decision is forcing the owners of 28 lakeside cottages in Colchester to leave their homes, some of which have been in…
If at First You Don’t Secede: Trump Could Revitalize Vermont Movement
Vermont got a taste of independence between 1777 and 1791, when it was out of the British Empire but not yet one of the United…
Burlington International
The couple looked confused, but so do most folks as they come through the door. Unlike at the main terminal, the signage in this space…
One Dish: Swooning Over Bouillabaisse at 506 Bistro & Bar
Many American cooks and diners ages 50 or older will recall bouillabaisse from decades past. The Provençal fish stew was an upscale menu stalwart in…
My Boyfriend Has No Interest in My Son
Dear Athena, I have a boyfriend whom I have been with for a bit over six months. And I have a toddler from my last…
Elmore Baker Takes Helm at Fire Tower Pizza
For two years, Elmore’s Fire Tower Pizza, located at the Elmore Store on Route 12, has turned out classic pies with a focus on quality…
Steve Gunn Wants You to Get Lost
Steve Gunn is exceedingly humble, despite the fact that he’s one of the most critically acclaimed singer-songwriters of the moment. After releasing a handful of…
Three Recipes for Vermont Winter Cooking
We’re teetering on the brink of deep winter, which means that green things are becoming sparse, and storage crops are piled high on grocery store…
