FIT TO PRINT. founders/Coeditors Pamela Polston, Paula Routly publisher Paula Routly
deputy publisher Cathy Resmer AssoCiAte publishers
Don Eggert, Pamela Polston, Colby Roberts
GIFTS FOR WELLNESS LOVERS
NEWS & POLITICS editor Matthew Roy
deputy editor Sasha Goldstein
Paul Heintz, Courtney Lamdin, Kevin McCallum, Molly Walsh speCiAl projeCt intern Violet Bell
Featuring the largest selection of VermontFarm Fresh Full-Spectrum CBD Products
ARTS & LIFE
editor Pamela Polston
Local CBD Maple Syrup & Honey
AssoCiAte editor Margot Harrison
Oils, Supplements, Gummies, Drinks & more Hemp Pre-Rolls • Pet Products
AssistAnt editors Dan Bolles, Elizabeth M. Seyler MusiC editor Jordan Adams
CAlendAr writer Kristen Ravin
LOCALLY-OWNED • CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
speCiAlty publiCAtions MAnAger Carolyn Fox
BURLINGTON • 64 Thorsen Way (Red Square Alley) SO. BURLINGTON • 1174 Williston Rd. (Beside The Bagel Place)
stAff writers Jordan Barry, Chelsea Edgar,
cf
6H-GreenLeaf011520.indd 1
1/14/20 5:12 PM
D I G I TA L & V I D E O
dAtA editor Andrea Suozzo
digitAl produCtion speCiAlist Bryan Parmelee senior MultiMediA produCer Eva Sollberger MultiMediA journAlist James Buck
AudienCe engAgeMent speCiAlist Gillian English
FREE KASASA CHECKING
DESIGN
CreAtive direCtor Don Eggert
Art direCtor Rev. Diane Sullivan
produCtion MAnAger John James
®
designers Jeff Baron, Brooke Bousquet, Kirsten Cheney SALES & MARKETING
direCtor of sAles Colby Roberts
senior ACCount exeCutive Michael Bradshaw
ACCount exeCutives Robyn Birgisson, Michelle Brown, Kristen Hutter, Logan Pintka MArketing & events direCtor Corey Grenier sAles & MArketing CoordinAtor Katie Hodges
% APY*
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
business MAnAger Cheryl Brownell
direCtor of CirCulAtion Matt Weiner CirCulAtion deputy Jeff Baron
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Luke Baynes, Justin Boland, Alex Brown, Rick Kisonak, Jacqueline Lawler, Amy Lilly, Bryan Parmelee, Melissa Pasanen, Jernigan Pontiac, Julia Shipley, Molly Zapp
ON BALANCES UP TO $10,000
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS Luke Awtry, Harry Bliss, Luke Eastman, Caleb Kenna, Marc Nadel, Tim Newcomb, Susan Norton, Oliver Parini, Sarah Priestap, Jeb Wallace-Brodeur C I R C U L AT I O N : 3 6 , 0 0 0 Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing Inc. every Wednesday. It is distributed free of charge in greater Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier, Northeast Kingdom, Stowe, the Mad River Valley, Rutland, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, White River Junction and Plattsburgh, N.Y.
To earn this premium rate and ATM fee refunds up to $20, just meet these easy qualifications each month: ■ Make 15+ purchases with your debit and/or credit card ■ Receive e-statements ■ Log into mobile and/or online banking There’s no minimum balance, and you can open your Kasasa free checking account online! *This annual percentage yield (APY) was accurate as of 01/01/2020 and is subject to change. Limit of one Kasasa Cash account per SSN. Your actual APY will be determined by your account balance and whether qualifications were met. Regardless of qualifications, this account is always free. For details, request a brochure or speak with a member service representative.
Seven Days is printed at Quebecor Media Printing in Laval, Québec.
DELIVERY TECHNICIANS Harry Applegate, Jeff Baron, Joe Bouffard, Pat Bouffard, Colin Clary, Elana Coppola-Dyer, Donna Delmoora, Matt Hagen, Nat Michael, Bill Mullins, Dan Nesbitt, Ezra Oklan, Dan Thayer, Steve Yardley With additional circulation support from PP&D. SUBSCRIPTIONS 6-Month 1st ClAss: $175. 1-yeAr 1st ClAss: $275. 6-Month 3rd ClAss: $85. 1-yeAr 3rd ClAss: $135. Please call 802-864-5684 with your credit card, or mail your check or money order to “Subscriptions” at the address below.
Seven Days shall not be held liable to any advertiser for any loss that results from the incorrect publication of its advertisement. If a mistake is ours, and the advertising purpose has been rendered valueless, Seven Days may cancel the charges for the advertisement, or a portion thereof as deemed reasonable by the publisher. Seven Days reserves the right to refuse any advertising, including inserts, at the discretion of the publishers. DISCLOSURE: Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly is the domestic partner of Vermont Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe. Routly abstains from involvement in the newspaper’s Statehouse and state political coverage. Find our conflict of interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.
www.northcountry.org (802) 657-6847 6
SEVEN DAYS JANUARY 15-22, 2020
Untitled-10 1
COW CRUELTY
I was disappointed that the “Emoji That” [January 8] about the “spilled” cows didn’t state the number that were fine, injured, euthanized or anything about their condition. They are a major contributor to Vermont’s economy. Unfeeling! Allen Banbury
MARSHFIELD
Margaret Grayson, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak proofreAders Carolyn Fox, Elizabeth M. Seyler
greenleafcentral.com • 862-3900
3.00
READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES
Consulting editor Candace Page
stAff writers Derek Brouwer, Colin Flanders,
VERMONT’S CBD BOUTIQUE
TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS
FEEDback
P.O. BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 802-864-5684 SEVENDAYSVT.COM @SEVENDAYSVT
Federally insured by NCUA
(800) 660-3258 1/13/20 1:29 PM
©2020 Da Capo Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.
WHITHER FAIR GAME?
It’s great to see John Walters has a new gig analyzing Vermont politics and the goings-on at the Statehouse [Media Note: “Former Seven Days Columnist Joins VTDigger.org,” January 2]. I miss the political commentary Seven Days brought forward in the Fair Game column and wish you would reestablish that column. Dave Sharpe
BRISTOL
IN DEFENSE OF TOUCHETTE
[Re “Guarded Secrets,” December 4; Off Message: “Touchette Resigns as Corrections Commissioner Amid Vermont Prison Abuse Scandal,” December 18; and subsequent coverage]: I am writing as a professor and criminologist, but my views are my own and do not represent those of my employer, the University of Vermont. I have conducted research with and about the Vermont Department of Corrections for many years. I have also volunteered in the women’s prison and teach college courses inside. There is likely no one in Vermont as critical of mass incarceration as I am, and I am critical of many of the DOC’s policies. In my experience, though, the former commissioner, Mike Touchette, was a forward-thinking, genuine person who wanted to create positive change in Vermont prisons. Months before the Seven Days story appeared, Touchette reached out to me to work on a project together, in order to have greater scrutiny of and transparency within the Vermont DOC. He wanted to create a pilot for a new kind of prison that would be more humane and that would ensure those incarcerated, as well as the staff, would be treated with dignity and respect. Mike also wanted the project to be evaluated by external researchers, in order to ensure objectivity. He truly wanted cultural change and was actively pursuing it. He engaged openly about problems in