Seven Days, November 4, 2020

SCOTT’S LOCK

Third term for governor

VE RMO NT ’S IN DEPE NDEN T VO IC E NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020 VOL.26 NO.6 SEVENDAYSVT.COM

PAGE 14

The state trusts that travel rules can keep COVID-19 out.

But who’s guarding the gates?

BY D E R E K B R O U WER , PAGE 3 4

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New life for CityPlace Burlington?

WORTH A SHOT?

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The bar scene à la pandemic

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WEEK IN REVIEW OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 4, 2020 COMPILED BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN, MATTHEW ROY & ANDREA SUOZZO COLIN FLANDERS

MIGRANT INJUSTICE

RELAPSE

UVM Medical Center transferred patients from its Fanny Allen Campus because staff reported feeling dizzy and nauseous.

The facility had similar issues months ago.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Enrique Balcazar (right) addressing the crowd last week

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will cease deportation proceedings against three Migrant Justice activists and pay $100,000 to settle a federal lawsuit claiming it had unlawfully targeted the advocacy group’s members.

The settlement resolves a federal lawsuit filed two years ago that alleged ICE had illegally sought to stifle Migrant Justice’s political activism through a campaign of harassment, surveillance, arrests and deportation. The agreement requires ICE to send a memo to its Vermont employees reiterating that they should not profile, target or discriminate against any individual or group for “exercising First Amendment rights.”

The plaintiffs and their attorneys portrayed the settlement as a major constitutional victory during a demonstration last week outside the federal courthouse in Burlington.

“We want this to be a precedent for all other communities,” Victor Diaz, one of the plaintiffs, told the crowd of about 40 people, speaking in Spanish as Migrant Justice spokesperson Will Lambek translated. “So that they know that they can organize and speak out to defend their rights without fear of illegal retaliation from their government.”

“ICE tried to terrorize us by going after our leaders,” Diaz later said. “They tried to divide us by going after our organization. They tried to silence us. We are saying that we will not be silenced.”

ICE denied most of the lawsuit’s claims in court docu-

?? ?? 802nice

CHANNEL CHANGE Longtime local TV news anchor Stephanie Gorin announced that she’ll retire in December from MyNBC5.

Happy trails!

That’s how many cases of COVID-19 have been linked to a recent outbreak at Saint Michael’s College. The school has gone to fully remote learning.

TOPFIVE

MOST POPULAR ITEMS ON SEVENDAYSVT.COM

1. “Cyberattack Disrupts UVM Health Network Operations” by Paul Heintz & Colin Flanders.

The disruption appeared to be part of a coordinated attack on hospitals nationwide.

2. “No End in Sight to UVM Health Network Slowdown Caused by Cyberattack” by Paul Heintz. As of last Friday, it remained unclear when the network’s computer systems would be back online.

3. “Jamaican Supreme Food Truck Opens South Burlington Storefront” by Melissa Pasanen.

The food truck will serve up jerk chicken and more at a brick-and-mortar location all winter.

4. “What Are Those Stone Caves in Many Vermont Cemeteries?” by Ken Picard. Wander around an old Vermont cemetery, and you might notice what looks like the entrance to an underground tomb.

5. “Kavanaugh Corrects Error About Vermont Voting Rules in a Published Opinion” by Kevin McCallum. The Supreme Court justice corrected a claim that the state had not made changes to Election Day rules.

tweet of the week @ShayTotten Happy Halloween! Our jack-olantern and candy chute (aka spare rain gutter) #btv #vt

SLIP ’N’ SLIDE

Police were busy as Vermont’s first snowfall sent cars careening off roads on Election Day. Drive safely!

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSVT OUR TWEEPLE: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/TWITTER

WHAT’S KIND IN VERMONT

COURTESY OF THE WINDSOR CENTRAL SUPERVISORY UNION

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ments and did not admit wrongdoing. Attempts to reach an agency spokesperson were unsuccessful.

More than 40 members of Migrant Justice — including some of its most prominent leaders — were arrested in the two years before the suit’s filing, and the majority were deported. At least nine people were targeted specifically because of their activism, the lawsuit alleged.

Immigration authorities also kept dossiers on Migrant Justice leaders, the group said, documenting their social media pages and media appearances. And ICE enlisted at least one civilian informant to infiltrate Migrant Justice, according to the suit, leading to the arrests of two of the plaintiffs: Enrique Balcazar and Zully Palacios Rodriguez.

Neither had a criminal record, the suit said.

Diaz, Balcazar and Palacios Rodriguez were facing deportation when the suit was filed. As part of the settlement, their proceedings will be deferred for five years, allowing them to remain in the U.S. and obtain work permits.

“Rights don’t mean anything if you can be punished for exercising them,” said Leah Lotto, a senior attorney with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, which helped represent the activists. “The First Amendment does not exist in the abstract. It exists here, right now, in the exercise of our rights and our shared work to enforce our right to speak without retaliation.”

Read Colin Flanders’ full story at sevendaysvt.com.

Students at Burlington High, which has been closed since September, will attend classes one day a week at different district schools. Better than nothing?

65

Free student meals

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Even after schools shuttered in March to avoid the coronavirus, free meals have been available for all students. That was scheduled to end in December.

But thanks to additional federal funding and local advocacy, Vermont kids under age 18 will have access to free meals through June of next year.

“We really believe that having access to nutritious, wholesome food is not a privilege; it’s a right,” said Rebecca Mitchell, the child nutrition initiatives manager at advocacy group Hunger Free Vermont.

“Particularly during this pandemic, making sure that families don’t have to worry about

their kids having access to nutritious breakfast and lunch every day is super critical for the well-being of our communities and our state.”

During the early stages of the pandemic through the summer, Vermont schools served 5.5 million meals, Mitchell said.

Some districts offer breakfast, lunch and dinner; others provide weekend meals, too.

They’re available to kids in school, students learning remotely and those who are homeschooled.

More than 250 schools throughout the state have some sort of free meals program, and many use ingredients from local food producers, which means Vermont farmers benefit, as well.

In normal times, a family would have

to prove eligibility for free school meals based on income, Mitchell said. But under the current program, every family is eligible.

“Because of the pandemic, at least one in four Vermonters are now food insecure, and there are so many households that are experiencing hunger or financial strain, perhaps for the first time,” Mitchell said.

“But even for families that don’t feel like they’re struggling financially, being able to pick up meals … and have one less thing on your plate ... creates so much more space for parents and guardians to be there, socially and emotionally, for their kids.”

For more information and to find meal sites, visit hungerfreevt.org.

SASHA GOLDSTEIN SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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Margaret Grayson, Melissa Pasanen, Ken Picard, Sally Pollak proofreAders Carolyn Fox, Elizabeth M. Seyler AssistAnt proofreAder Katherine Isaacs 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 DESIGN CreAtive direCtor Don Eggert Art direCtor Rev. Diane Sullivan produCtion MAnAger John James designers Jeff Baron, Kirsten Thompson SALES & MARKETING direCtor of sAles Colby Roberts senior ACCount exeCutive Michael Bradshaw ACCount exeCutives Robyn Birgisson,

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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.

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FEEDback READER REACTION TO RECENT ARTICLES

NOT SO PATIENT

In “Resident Racist” [October 21], reporter Paul Heintz does well to gain the trust of sources working within Elderwood. These sources, identified as nurses of color, provide numerous examples of racist verbal and physical assaults by an elderly white resident of this nursing home. The management reportedly has done little to stop these assaults, evidenced by the fact that this patient is still living there, spewing his racial taunts and threats — including death threats, according to this article. This raises the question: Why? Would it have anything to do with the fact that they are being paid a huge monthly fee for him to live there?

Shawn Murphy

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.

APOLOGY TO WORKERS

I was so disheartened to read “Resident Racist” [October 21]. At a time when we are especially dependent on the people who provide our health care, why would we not protect those same health care workers from abuse of any kind?

I work with seniors; I’ve even become one. Like the general population, some struggle with mental health issues, some with memory loss, and a select few are just plain mean. Regardless of which category the abusive and racist residents at Elderwood fall into, that behavior is never appropriate and certainly should not be tolerated.

Why would anyone leave their home in Mississippi to come up here and stay in long-term housing to be harassed daily in their job when all they’re trying to do is help others? As a Vermonter, I would like to apologize for Elderwood’s lack of respect for all staff members who have faced racism. It’s disgusting and horrifying.

Health care workers are more essential than ever. We desperately need them as COVID-19 is an even greater concern in long-term nursing centers, and it’s already difficult enough to meet staffing needs. These workers should be cherished and protected, not insulted and abused.

We love to think that racism doesn’t exist here in Vermont. Sadly, it is alive and well. Each of us has a personal responsibility to change that. Let’s all make that change happen now for a better, more equal future for everyone.

Megan J. Humphrey

©2020 Da Capo Publishing Inc. All rights reserved.

BURLINGTON

WEEK IN REVIEW

TIM NEWCOMB

RAIN CHECK

Your October 21 cover story [“Trickle to Torrent”] cites a University of Vermont professor who avers that: “When it comes to precipitation, Vermont’s trend lines are moving steadily to the extremes.”

The attached chart I made shows annual precipitation since 1970 at the National Weather Service station in Burlington. The 2019 figure of 43.47 inches is, as the professor says, nearly seven inches above the 50-year average of 37.00. But we have not been “moving steadily to the extremes.” She could as easily have stated that “precipitation has decreased by nearly seven inches in the last nine years.”

Actual precipitation has ranged from 23.37 in 2001 to 50.92 in 2011. In six of those years — the earliest being 1973 — precipitation was greater than last year’s.

NEIGHBORHOOD ISN’T READY

Scientists need to explain real-world data and resist the temptation to issue attention-getting pronouncements that don’t bear up under examination.

John McClaughry

KIRBY

Editor’s note: Annual fluctuations in precipitation can obscure long-term trends, but 10-year averages at the Burlington weather station reveal an increase. In the 1970s, Burlington averaged about 36 inches of rain a year. By the decade ending in 2019, that amount had increased to 39.7 inches.

Further, extreme rainfall — events that damage roads and cause sewage overflows — increased. In the 1970s, the Burlington weather station recorded 50 days with more than one inch of precipitation. Between 2010 and 2019, that number increased to 78 days.

[Re Off Message: “Board Approves Burton’s Plan to Bring Higher Ground to Burlington,” September 1]: Burlington’s Development Review Board turned a blind eye to the safety of bikers and walkers when it unanimously approved Burton Snowboards’ conditional-use permit without requiring necessary traffic infrastructure or alternative transportation, such as off-site busing.

Burton plans to build a 1,500-person, 500-vehicle concert venue, initially estimating 125 concerts per year. Burton once said its “hub” will be “the likes of Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury.” The problem is, this proposed site abuts two quiet streets — and the neighborhood includes a one-lane bridge — that lack what is needed for safe passage of neighbors and patrons.

Burlington chose profits over people.

Neither the DRB’s deliberations nor the conditions considered building sidewalks, crosswalks or bike lanes, because they knew they lacked funding. Rather than wait until safety measures were in place, they approved Burton’s permit without stipulations. This is a slap in the face to planBTV Walk Bike, those choosing human-powered modes of transportation, and 500 households who travel these two streets to and from home.

This enormous concert venue should not open until Burlington builds adequate infrastructure for safe travel beyond new pavement and requires busing from major arteries. These requirements would alleviate congestion, deter pre- and postconcert neighborhood loitering to reduce police presence and resident disruption, and encourage bicycling and walking, something Burlington is supposed to be committed to.

We do not want a train wreck here.

Construction of infrastructure in accordance with the city’s goals and principles is the right thing to do.

Wendy Bratt

SOUTH BURLINGTON

Bratt is a member of Citizens for Responsible Zoning.

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

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contents NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020 VOL.26 NO.6

COLUMNS

SECTIONS

41 46 48 50 73

20 40 46 50 52 53

Side Dishes Soundbites Album Reviews Movie Review Ask the Reverend

Life Lines Food + Drink Music + Nightlife Movies Classes Classifieds + Puzzles 68 Fun Stuff 72 Personals

MAKING THANKSGIVING FEEL SPECIAL

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT PICKS

Back to the Bar Sipping barside again in Burlington, with more rules and less company

PAGE 40

Picnic in the Park

NOVEMBER 2020

YOUTH SOCCER IN WINOOSKI

FOOD

TEACHING MUSIC DURING A PANDEMIC

Feasting with a pro of Chinese cuisine

The state trusts that travel rules can keep COVID-19 out.

But who’s guarding the gates?

PAGE 42

INSIDE!

SMALL

BY DEREK BROUWER, PAGE 34

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Kids VT November issue

STUCK IN VERMONT

Online Now

COVER IMAGE TIM NEWCOMB • COVER DESIGN REV. DIANE SULLIVAN

13

NEWS & POLITICS 11

ARTS NEWS 22

FEATURES 28

From the Publisher

Of the Moment

Comforts of Home

After the Storm

Deep Focus

Solid Foundation?

A new developer team wants a shot at building CityPlace Burlington

State of Uncertainty

Amid the pandemic, lawmakers debate a return to Montpelier next year

Scott’s Victory Lap

Governor Wins Reelection, Gray Elected LG, Speaker Johnson Falls Short

Art review: “Unprecedented?” at BCA Center Ann Dávila Cardinal sets second teen horror novel after Hurricane Maria

Astro Musing

On October 24, a group of masked student SUPPORTED BY: actors performed a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night for a small audience at Island Arts Center in North Hero. Eva caught up with the troupe at a rehearsal.

31

26

Retail Therapy: Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens goes all out for the indoors

We have

How a self-taught microscope expert became the go-to guy for scientists worldwide

Find a new job in the classifieds section on page 60 and online at sevendaysvt.com/jobs.

Radio astrologer Tess Hadley Durand takes listeners on a journey through metaphors

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

Better Read Than Dead

COURTESY OF FRONTLINE PBS

“Your premise is: Just because you’re a journalist, you can’t be killed. It’s all wrong.”

That’s what Rodrigo Duterte told reporters at a 2016 press conference shortly after his election as president of the Republic of the Philippines. The democratic nation has become one of the most dangerous places in the world to cover the news.

That public comment — and worse — is captured in A Thousand Cuts, a 2020 documentary about a website that fearlessly watchdogs the populist strongman leader. Since he took office, Duterte has authorized the police murders of thousands of Filipinos seemingly involved in the illegal drug trade, including those struggling with addiction.

The movie, recently screened at the Vermont International Film Festival — and reviewed in Seven Days

by Margot Harrison — details how Maria Ressa and her employees at Manila-based Rappler have been targeted not with guns but with subpoenas, lawsuits and arrests. In June, 57-year-old Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel for a piece Rappler published four months before the law it Maria Ressa in A Thousand Cuts violated went into effect.

The former CNN reporter says the legal action is politically motivated, and the movie backs her up. So does Reporters Without Borders. In a June BBC story about Ressa’s trial and sentencing, the organization noted: In the Philippines, “Private militias, often hired by local politicians, silence journalists with complete impunity.”

That kind of intimidation hasn’t been leveled at political reporters in the U.S. — yet. Although Duterte is often compared to Donald Trump — both are crass, misogynistic and anti-intellectual — our president has so far stuck to bullying and name-calling. Some of Trump’s political opponents aren’t much better at press relations. Vermont’s own Sen. Bernie Sanders has perfected the cold shoulder.

Such poor treatment of media professionals sends a message. According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, 182 journalists have been attacked while covering protests this year — up from 34 in 2019.

Of course, reporters writing about this year’s elections have had other things to worry about, such as how to cover the candidates without catching the coronavirus and whether their coverage will have an impact.

Early voting may be good for democracy, but it was a shock to Seven Days editors when they realized stories breaking too close to the election would inform a diminishing number of voters. After the primary, we moved up publication of two cover stories and timed our general election guide to coincide with the arrival of mail-in ballots to people’s homes.

The U.S. Postal Service delivered. In a way, so did Facebook, which announced that it would not accept any new political ads during the week of the election — or immediately after. That’s in recognition of the destabilizing role that social media played in 2016, when Russian operatives used Facebook to spread disinformation in an attempt to influence the U.S. presidential election.

They’re at it again this year. William Evanina, the head of U.S. counterintelligence, told Hearst Television in October that numerous foreign actors, including Russia, China and Iran, are finding ways to use Americans’ own words against them on social media.

“If they see a reference made by the president of the United States, a prominent U.S. senator, a business person, someone who America looks at as a voice of reason, and they believe it suits their interests, they will amplify that by a thousand to make sure that the most amount of people see Interested in becoming a Super Reader? it,” he said.

Look for the “Give Now” buttons at the top of Journalists across the globe are working to understand sevendaysvt.com. Or send a check with your and expose these coercive online efforts. Ressa had a lot to address and contact info to: say about them in A Thousand Cuts. The movie’s name is taken from a speech in which she described how democracy

SEVEN DAYS, C/O SUPER READERS

P.O. BOX 1164 is dying in the Philippines. Virtually everyone in the

BURLINGTON, VT 05402-1164 country is online, she explained, and social media is how the majority of people get their information. That makes the For more information on making a financial country a perfect petri dish for methods of digital deception. contribution to Seven Days, please contact If Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were held Corey Grenier: responsible for the threats and lies that appear on their VOICEMAIL: 802-865-1020, EXT. 36 platforms, as are publishers like Seven Days and Rappler, EMAIL: SUPERREADERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM more of those experiments would mercifully fail.

Paula Routly

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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news

MORE INSIDE

WHO WON TUESDAY’S ELECTIONS? PAGE 14

HEALTH

JUSTICE FIXES SUPREME SCREW-UP

No End in Sight to UVM Health Network Slowdown Caused by Cyberattack

PAGE 16

DEVELOPMENT

JAMES BUCK

From left: Dave Farrington, Al Senecal and Scott Ireland at the CityPlace site in Burlington

Solid Foundation?

A new developer team wants a shot at building CityPlace Burlington B Y C O UR TN EY L A MDIN

A

s developer Don Sinex tells it, he got a gut feeling about a year ago that his business partner in the CityPlace Burlington project was getting cold feet.

So, to hedge his bets, Sinex asked a trio of local businessmen in January about becoming his partners if the multinational company, Brookfield Asset Management, pulled out.

Sure enough, by July, Brookfield had decided to sell its ownership stake back to Sinex. The three local men — Dave Farrington, Al Senecal and Scott Ireland — proceeded to buy a combined 50 percent share in the project from Sinex.

The new partnership filed a zoning application last month and released new plans for the three-acre site once home to the former Burlington Town Center mall in the heart of downtown.

It’s been six years since Sinex first proposed redevelopment of the mall site, four years since city voters agreed to back the project and three years since the mall was torn down, leaving a gaping hole between Bank and Cherry streets.

But getting the long-stalled development moving again won’t be simple. In early 12

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

September, the city sued Sinex for failing to build the project on the original timeline.

At the heart of the dispute is a city demand that the developers keep a promise to reconnect two streets, St. Paul and Pine, to Bank and Cherry. North-south travel on the two streets was cut off when the mall was built in the 1970s.

“We’re not trying to stop anything,” Mayor Miro Weinberger said in an interview late last month. “We’re trying to get them to do what they committed already to do.”

Weinberger finds himself in a familiar position: Should he trust Sinex, a developer from out of state who has burned him before? Or should the city keep the pressure on the builders by continuing to fight in court?

With a new partnership made up of longtime locals, Farrington thinks it should be the former.

“We’ve made more progress in eight weeks than Brookfield and Miro did in two years,” he said. “We’ve got the ball rolling now and want to keep it rolling.”

The three businessmen say they’re already familiar with the project and cite

their experience building in Vermont: Farrington is president of Farrington Construction; Ireland is president of concrete company S.D. Ireland; and Senecal owns Omega Electric Construction. The trio consulted on an older CityPlace design in 2015 and previously made small investments in the development.

Their plans for the site differ significantly from Brookfield’s proposal, which once featured 14-story towers. The team has nixed the 196-room hotel and all of the proposed office space, two sectors wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic. They propose building more housing instead: 426 total units, including 84 affordable apartments; Brookfield’s most recent plans called for 357 total units.

Two towers remain in the plans, but they would be downsized to one 10-story and one nine-story building. Combined, the buildings would house 45,000 square feet of ground-level retail; the south tower would feature a rooftop restaurant and observation deck. The developers aim to break ground in September 2021.

SOLID FOUNDATION?

B Y PAU L H EIN T Z

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University of Vermont Health Network hospitals have continued to rely on old-fashioned, paper-based systems days after a cyberattack crippled key digital infrastructure. And according to Dr. Stephen Leffler, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, it remains unclear when its electronic medical records system and other operations will be back online.

“I can tell you that there’s days in front of us where we’ll be using a paper system,” he said last Friday.

The troubles continued into this week, hospital officials said.

Fixes “must be done methodically and gradually and we do not yet have a firm time frame for a full restoration of systems,” spokesperson Neal Goswami said in a statement Tuesday.

Leffler emphasized that the six Vermont and northern New York hospitals within the network continue to serve patients — albeit at a slower pace and with some limitations.

According to Leffler, the UVM Medical Center last Friday performed roughly half of the surgeries it typically does. The Burlington hospital is limiting the number of trauma patients it’s accepting from smaller hospitals in the region, according to Goswami, diverting less critical cases to New York’s Albany Medical Center and New Hampshire’s DartmouthHitchcock medical center. The UVM Medical Center’s operating rooms remain open for urgent cases and transfers on what Leffler called “a case-by-case basis.”

COVID-19 test results from UVM Medical Center labs will be delayed, Goswami said. Outpatient radiology sites remain closed, and some breast imaging appointments are canceled.

Services at other network hospitals — including Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y. — are experiencing delays.

Federal and state officials confirmed last week that they were investigating the attack, but neither they nor the health network have confirmed that it was part of an apparently coordinated strike on hospitals around the country. Federal agencies and cybersecurity experts have said that Russian cybercriminals have been perpetrating the attacks, which use ransomware to hold health care data and systems hostage.

Contact: paul@sevendaysvt.com

State of Uncertainty Amid the pandemic, lawmakers debate a return to Montpelier next year

HOORAY

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

BY KEVIN MC C ALL UM

Custodian Mike Metcalf readying the coatroom at the Statehouse

V

ermont voters just sent 180 lawmakers to work on their behalf in the General Assembly. How many of them step foot in the Statehouse is anyone’s guess.

The stubborn spread of COVID-19 in the state, the vulnerability of many older lawmakers, and lawmakers’ ability to legislate from the comfort of their couches make a full return to Montpelier in January look less and less likely.

“If we can find a way to do it safely, and we all feel comfortable with it, then I would be open to returning to the Statehouse,” said Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison).

“But I remain skeptical, knowing what I know about that building.”

Most of the rooms in the 161-year-old granite edifice are cramped and poorly ventilated, making social distancing between lawmakers, staff, media and the public a tall order. A study performed over the summer by Burlington architecture firm Freeman French Freeman outlined the building’s significant space limitations and suggested legislators explore new digs if they wanted to meet in person.

Yet some lawmakers feel strongly that returning to Montpelier is both their duty

POLITICS

and only fair, given state guidelines that have encouraged teachers and students to return to the classroom and businesses to reopen.

“I’m trying to get back to some normalcy while staying safe at the same time,” Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) told colleagues during a virtual Rules Committee meeting late last month.

Lawmakers won’t officially convene the two-year session until January 6, but decisions about where and how to meet are being made now. Legislative committees will ramp up debate this week about whether to return to the Statehouse in person, continue working remotely over Zoom or use a hybrid arrangement of both.

Statehouse staff are already rearranging rooms, updating the building’s IT capabilities and even ordering plexiglass barriers to shield lawmakers from the public, and one another, should they return.

The issues legislative leaders are grappling with are numerous, highly personal and politically charged.

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3/12/18 1:39 9/21/20 1:56 PM

news

Scott’s Victory Lap Governor Wins Reelection, Gray Elected LG, Speaker Johnson Falls Short

2020

ELECTION

B Y PAUL HEI N TZ

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

Molly Gray at her campaign rally on Tuesday

Gov. Phil Scott

Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman

SCREENSHOT

JAMES BUCK

14

LUKE AWTRY

R

epublican Gov. Phil Scott waltzed to a third term on Tuesday, while Democratic newcomer Molly Gray was elected Vermont’s fourth female lieutenant governor.

And in the potential upset of the evening, House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) appeared vulnerable to defeat. Preliminary results showed Rep. L e l a n d Mo rg a n ( R- M i l t o n ) a n d his nephew, fellow Milton Republican Michael Morgan, ahead in the twoseat House district Mitzi Johnson — with Johnson trailing 18 votes behind the latter. Given the narrow margin, Johnson declined to concede on Tuesday night and said she would seek a recount.

“It’s not uncommon for Vermont House elections to be extremely close,” she said in a written statement. “Over the years, we’ve seen tight races and recounts in this district. I want to ensure every vote is counted and that we have clarity on the outcome of this election.”

In the highest-turnout election in state history, Vermonters overwhelmingly backed Democrat Joe Biden for president. As Seven Days went to press Tuesday night, he was leading Republican President Donald Trump in the state 66 to 30 percent. Gray, meanwhile, had claimed nearly 50 percent of the vote, compared to 42 percent for her Republican opponent, Scott Milne.

Unofficial results showed Scott holding an even wider lead of 67 to 27 percent over his Progressive/Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman.

“Today, Vermonters have spoken, and I’m humbled to earn your support once again,” Scott said in a victory speech recorded in his Berlin motorcycle garage.

The two-term governor and former construction executive acknowledged that his victory had come during “some of the greatest challenges of our lifetime.”

He pointed to the coronavirus pandemic, which has ravaged the nation and recently resurged in Vermont, as well as the country’s partisan divide.

“Our nation is hurting — not just from COVID-19 but because of another virus

that has infected the hearts and minds of too many Americans: that of hate, fear and division,” Scott said. “We must confront this with the same force and energy we’re putting toward the coronavirus.”

Scott, who barely campaigned for a third term, staked his reelection race on the state’s response to the pandemic — as well as his own distinctive brand of moderate Republican politics. After

voting in the Berlin town offices Tuesday afternoon, he disclosed that he had cast a ballot for Biden over Trump, becoming the only incumbent Republican governor to do so.

“I put country over party,” Scott explained.

In his own remarks to an online gathering hosted by the Vermont Democratic Party, Zuckerman said he had called to

congratulate Scott moments earlier. The organic farmer from Hinesburg said he had told the governor he was “ready to stand by him for our democracy, for the decency that we represent in Vermont.”

The race for lieutenant governor pitted two lesser-known figures against one another in the most competitive state contest of the year. Gray, a 36-year-old assistant attorney general from Burlington,

AND I’M HUMBLED TO EARN YOUR SUPPORT ONCE AGAIN.

B Y KEVIN MCCALLUM

Despite a record-shattering surge in mail-in voting this fall, plenty of Vermonters braved chilly temperatures and freshly fallen snow on Election Day to cast a ballot at polling places.

“I’ve been voting in person since I was 18, so for me, it’s a tradition,” said Roland Bluto, 74, as he stood in line outside the Milton town offices.

Wearing a baseball cap, a flannel shirt and a lined jean jacket, Bluto also said he wanted to make certain his vote counted.

Milton residents Raymond and Nancy McNamara wanted no part of early balloting.

The pair turned up at the polls wearing matching masks printed with images of American flags and German shepherds.

“We are horrified that Vermont decided to send everybody a mail-in ballot,” Nancy said.

who has been shifting Stowe’s state House district from red to blue.

He wasn’t focused on local politics; he just wanted President Donald Trump out of office. “I’m feeling pretty trepidatious,” Clouser said as he headed inside. “Basically, I’m worried Trump’s going to win again.”

Incumbent Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe) and her Democratic challenger, Jo Sabel Courtney, waved signs along Main Street. Scheuermann, beside a supporter in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume, called out thanks to many voters by name. Sabel Courtney and her crew of supporters offered coffee and snacks nearby.

Scheuermann said she saw lots of voters she’d never seen before at the polls. She suspected turnout will be a Vermont record.

Van Dora Williams

Raymond and Nancy McNamara

Raymond, a Vietnam veteran and retired law enforcement officer, said he and his wife weren’t going to let a pandemic change how they voted, despite being in their seventies.

“We are not afraid of the virus,” Raymond declared.

Vermont mailed ballots to all active registered voters to reduce turnout at the polls in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In Stowe, about 60 percent of the town’s 4,379 registered voters returned a ballot by mail this year, about triple the percent of 2016, Town Clerk Lisa Walker said.

“I think it’s great the amount of people that are coming out and voting,” Walker said.

“It’s fantastic.”

A steady stream of voters dropped off ballots in the box outside town hall, which Walker and other helpers collected regularly throughout the day. But plenty of people entered the building to do the deed.

“They want to make sure they can feed their vote into the tabulator and see that number go up,” Walker said.

One of those voters was Mat Clouser, a 43-year-old chef and lifelong Democrat who moved to Stowe from Texas this year.

Clouser is a good example of the kind of voter

Rep. Heidi Scheuermann (R-Stowe), a moderate Republican, defeated Democratic challenger Jo Sabel Courtney to hold onto her seat.

Winooski voters, meanwhile, elected the state’s first openly transgender legislator. Democrat Taylor Small, director of

COURTESY OF MIA DILLON

TODAY, VERMONTERS HAVE SPOKEN,

CITING DUTY AND TRADITION, VERMONTERS MAKE SNOWY TREK TO THE POLLS

COURTESY OF KENZIE IMHOFF

had promised to fight for greater access to Republican former state legislator Carolyn broadband, affordable childcare and paid Whitney Branagan, 54 to 31 percent. family leave. Milne, a 61-year-old travel Condos, Democratic Attorney General executive from Pomfret, said he would T.J. Donovan and Democratic/Progreswork to help small businesses recover sive Auditor Doug Hoffer faced only token from the effects of COVID-19. opposition from perennial candidates.

Gray had never before sought public Though Speaker Johnson’s loss would office, while Milne had run unsuccessfully be a major blow to Democrats in the legisfor governor in 2014 and the U.S. Senate lature, it did not appear that the balance in 2016. of power in the House and Senate would “We’ve led in responding to the shift dramatically. pandemic, but now it’s time to lead in The only imperiled incumbent in responding to the climate crisis,” Gray the state Senate was Sen. John Rodgers said in remarks to the online Democratic (D-Essex-Orleans), who failed to submit forum. “We can also lead in rooting out his nominating papers in time to appear on systemic racism wherever it exists, the ballot as a Democrat. He ran, instead, addressing poverty and social injustice — as an independent. Preliminary results but we have to get it right. To quote the late showed him trailing fellow incumbent Sen. justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, we must fight Bobby Starr (D-Essex-Orleans), Republiin a way that brings other can Russ Ingalls and two people to the table. We other candidates in the have to fight in a way that two-member district. brings others to join us.”

The Senate will also Gray also alluded to see at least two newcomher relative youth and ers from populous Chither newfound place as a tenden County. rising star of the Vermont Thomas Chittenden, Democratic Party. a Democrat from South “Our next generaBurlington, and Kesha tion is here, and we are Ram, a Democrat from ready to lead,” she said.

Burlington, will join four “Together I know we can incumbents in repretake Vermont forward. I senting the six-member GOV. PHIL SCOTT also know we can be an district. Ram, a former example for the nation for state representative how to come together, work together, put who unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant divisiveness aside and succeed together.” governor in 2016, will be the first woman Milne did not address the public Tues- of color to serve in the Vermont Senate. day night but called Gray shortly after She and Chittenden will replace outgoher speech to concede. “I am honored ing Sen. Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) and by the tens of thousands of Vermonters Sen. Debbie Ingram (D-Chittenden), who supported my candidacy,” he said in both of whom gave up their seats to run a written statement. “I send my sincere in the Democratic primary for lieutenant congratulations to Molly Gray on her governor. victory this evening. I wish her success In the House, it appeared that the moving forward.” leader of the Progressive caucus, Rep. Final turnout numbers were not Robin Chestnut-Tangerman (P-Middleavailable Tuesday night, but Vermont town Springs), had lost his seat to Repubeasily broke the record it set in 2008, lican Sally Achey, also of Middletown when 326,822 people voted. With 93 Springs. percent of precincts reporting late on Democrat Alyssa Black of Essex Town Tuesday, 341,000 ballots had already defeated Rep. Bob Bancroft (R-Westford), been counted. an outspoken conservative. Black and her The night before the election, Demo- husband, Rob, became passionate advocratic Secretary of State Jim Condos said cates in the Statehouse for firearm waiting that at least 260,142 Vermonters had voted periods after their son, Andrew, died by early — more than 81 percent of the state’s suicide in 2018.

2016 turnout and roughly half of its votingRep. Cynthia Browning (D-Arlington), age population. a thorn in the side to fellow Democrats, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), the lost her reelection race after renounconly member of Vermont’s congressional ing her party and running as an indedelegation up for reelection, easily won an pendent in the two-member district. eighth term. At press time, he was leading Fellow incumbent Rep. Kathleen James Republican Miriam Berry of Essex 65 to (D-Manchester) won reelection, while 26 percent.

Democratic former legislator Seth Democratic state Treasurer Beth Bongartz of Manchester bumped BrownPearce was ahead of her challenger, ing out of contention.

Sabel Courtney hoped voters were thinking about local issues but also said she wished national winds of change would blow through Stowe.

“I’m hoping the blue wave is with us,” she said.

In the Onion City, Van Dora Williams, a professor at Champlain College, dropped off her ballot at the Winooski Senior Center.

She described voting as a sacred right, especially among members of historically disenfranchised groups.

“I have a history of being excluded from casting my ballot, so being able to vote is a reminder for me of why it’s so important,” said Williams, who is Black. “It’s also a way of honoring my great-grandfather, who was a civil rights activist in the South.”

Back in Milton, Bluto said that whatever happens in the election, the nation’s political polarization has to end.

“I hope we can heal and get back together,” he said. m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com University of Vermont students Kenzie Imhoff, Mia Dillon and Ryan Joseph contributed to this report.

health and wellness at the Pride Center of Vermont, will join Rep. Hal Colston (D-Winooski) in representing the Onion City. They defeated clean water advocate and former gubernatorial candidate James Ehlers, who also sought a seat in the Senate. m SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

15

news JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

ELECTION 2020

Justice Kavanaugh Corrects Error About Vermont Voting Rules

BY K E VI N MC C A L L UM

Vermont election officials successfully convinced U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to correct an error about state election rules that he included in a high-profile opinion regarding mail-in ballots.

“Justice Kavanaugh simply got this wrong,” Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos said in a statement last Thursday.

In an opinion concurring with the court’s decision not to extend Wisconsin’s deadline for receiving absentee ballots past Election Day, Kavanaugh noted that states have passed different election rules in response to the pandemic. He observed that this variation “reflects our constitutional system of federalism.

Different state legislatures may make different choices.”

He misstated Vermont’s response to the pandemic, suggesting the Green Mountain State had made no changes to its election rules.

“Other States such as Vermont, by contrast, have decided not to make changes to their ordinary election rules, including to the election-day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots,” Kavanaugh wrote on October 26.

The ruling generated national media attention because it was widely viewed as a win for Republicans and efforts to limit how a key battleground state will count mail-in votes.

Condos fired off a letter to the court clerk on October 28 asking for a rare change to a published opinion. He noted that, while mail-in ballots do still have to be received by November 3 to be counted in Vermont, the state had made significant changes to election rules in 2020.

Among them: For the first time ever, Vermont mailed ballots to all active registered voters. The state also allowed local election officials to begin processing mailed ballots 30 days before Election Day. Given those changes, “Vermont is not an accurate comparison for the assertion Justice Kavanaugh has made,” Condos wrote, and asked for a correction.

On October 28, the opinion was revised regarding what Vermont had not changed: “ordinary election rules” was replaced with “ordinary election-deadline rules,” CNN reported.

In his statement, however, Condos said the modest change was insufficient.

“I’m glad he admitted a mistake and modified his opinion, but a one-word addition doesn’t go far enough,” he wrote. m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com

16

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

State Curator David Schutz checking on the layout of the House chamber

State of Uncertainty « P.13 days a week and [COVID-19] cases on the rise, I’m not driving to Montpelier — I’m sticking with Zoom,’” House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero) said last week. “I have others who are saying, ‘Our democracy is really hobbled. We have to all get back. If the school kids are doing it, we should be doing it.’”

The Vermont Constitution requires that lawmakers meet in person at least once for housekeeping matters at the beginning of the session, according to Senate secretary and resident parliamentarian John Bloomer. The remote voting rules that the Senate and the House passed in March applied only to the last legislative session, so they must meet in person to approve such rules again.

A quorum of each chamber — 16 of the 30 senators, and 75 of the 150 representatives — will be required to take up several orders of business. Each chamber must elect a secretary and leaders: a speaker of the House and a president pro tempore for the Senate.

The Senate also must appoint a member to join the lieutenant governor and the pro tem on the three-person Committee on Committees. The powerful but little-known panel issues committee assignments, thereby allowing members to begin work on legislation. Last session, Sen. Dick Mazza (D-Grand Isle) served as the third member.

Lawmakers must also hold a joint meeting of both chambers to sign off on November’s election results. That meeting typically takes place the day after the first January session and requires the 180 members of the House and Senate to congregate. Precisely how that will take place remains unclear, Bloomer said.

In the unlikely event that a top votegetter in races for governor, lieutenant

I’M TRYING TO GET BACK TO SOME NORMALCY WHILE STAYING SAFE AT THE SAME TIME.

S E NATE MINO R ITY L EA D ER J O E BE NNING

governor or treasurer doesn’t receive at least 50 percent of the vote, he explained, lawmakers must quickly vote on who should serve. In such cases, Bloomer noted, the state Constitution requires that lawmakers pick the winner of those offices by “a joint ballot” — which, to him, means using a paper ballot system.

On that same day, the newly elected governor would typically deliver an inaugural address to the joint session, but there is no indication that it has to be done in person, Bloomer said.

To Johnson, the only option is to have the 150 House members meet in some fashion on January 6 in the Barre Auditorium, one of the largest indoor arenas in Vermont. “From my perspective, there is no other place for us to be,” Johnson said.

The facility can accommodate 238 socially distanced people on its main floor and another 112 in the basement. That’s enough to fit all 150 lawmakers (or 180, were the Senate included) for that first day or two of the session, but it wouldn’t work long-term, Johnson said.

“We’re not going to rent out the Barre Auditorium every single day the House has to meet,” Johnson said. “That would be expensive and a logistical nightmare.”

Johnson wants the House to convene in person at least once, in part because there will be two dozen or so new representatives who deserve the chance to be sworn in for the first time in front of their colleagues. Lawmakers who can’t or don’t feel comfortable attending should have the ability to participate remotely, she said.

As for public participation, opinions vary regarding whether it’s enhanced or hindered when the legislature meets remotely, given that the body streams its sessions over the internet.

Benning said his constituents are “naturally suspicious” about all that might be going on behind the scenes without in-person meetings. “If I’ve heard anything this campaign season, it’s that

people feel like there’s shenanigans going on behind closed doors,” he said.

Sen. Becca Balint (D-Windham), who is widely expected to be elected the next Senate president pro tempore, said she feels the opposite is true. “I’ve heard from so many constituents that they love they can watch everything on YouTube,” Balint said.

Significant questions remain about air circulation and filtration in the building, which the Freeman French Freeman study did not address. Balint said she plans to ask for additional analysis.

The lawmakers’ decision will also affect the Montpelier economy. Now that the leaf peepers are gone, the streets of the state capital are pretty quiet and businesses are suffering, said Lilli Cain, CFO and manager of the Capital Plaza Hotel, a block from the Statehouse.

Legislators are an important economic driver for the city, and their return “would bring some vibrancy back” to the downtown restaurants and bar scene, said Cain, whose hotel has a steakhouse popular with some pols, lobbyists and groups that book meeting rooms.

Businesses such as hers have had to adopt numerous safety measures

— requiring that staff and guests wear masks, and cleaners scrupulously wipe down surfaces — to stay in business. She thinks lawmakers could do the same.

“We’re following their guidelines,” Cain said. “They should show the people who are showing up at their workplaces now that the state is able to do it responsibly, as well.”

Administration officials announced last week that most state employees who have been working remotely should expect to do so through March 31, 2021 — extending the date from the end of 2020.

As a separate branch of government, however, the legislature makes decisions independently, Bloomer stressed. “I don’t think the governor can restrict where you meet, when you meet and how you meet,” he told senators during the recent Rules Committee meeting.

Benning suggested that the legislature’s independence even extends to whether lawmakers follow the governor’s health and safety orders. If the six-foot socialdistancing guidance that Gov. Phil Scott has urged hinders the legislature’s ability to meet in the Statehouse, they could use their own judgment, Benning said.

“Six feet or five feet, I’m not sure how much difference that would make,”

Benning said. “I’m very tempted to say we should proceed as we normally do.”

Benning said his wife, Deb, is a public elementary school teacher who has been required to return to the classroom. If she can do it safely, Benning said, legislators should be able to, as well.

“We expect her to be in a classroom full of kids, and those kids come from all different walks of life. Their families travel. But they’ve carried on,” Benning said.

That wasn’t terribly reassuring to some of Benning’s colleagues, including Sen. Mark MacDonald (D-Orange). He noted that public health guidance in many cases encourages people to be exceedingly careful about interactions, even with other family members.

“The Senate is probably just a big family,” MacDonald said.

He noted that many lawmakers share apartments in Montpelier with other members — and then drive home on weekends to communities around the state.

Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) lost his bid for lieutenant governor and won’t be back in Montpelier next year. But he’s heard from some lawmakers that landlords are

pressuring them to sign leases for the session. Legislative leaders, Ashe said, will need to give their members guidance on that front soon.

Other lawmakers have expressed significant anxiety about remaining remote indefinitely. Returning to some semblance of normal may very well “reverse that malaise people feel,” Ashe said. But even the best laid plans wouldn’t create the certitude people crave.

The recent outbreak associated with hockey leagues at the Central Vermont Memorial Civic Center in Montpelier showed how quickly infection rates can spike to levels that would trigger travel restrictions if they were occurring in other states.

“We could have a great safety plan in place at the Statehouse, and then if there’s a major outbreak in late December, I don’t think anyone is coming back,” Ashe said. m Contact: kevin@sevendaysvt.com Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly.

Find our conflict-of-interest policy at sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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that deadline for another year due to work stoppages and economic hardships during the pandemic.

In the original construction schedule, CityPlace would have been complete — and its tax revenues flowing in — before the city had to issue the TIF bond. But now, the city’s June 2022 TIF deadline would be just nine months after construction begins, assuming it starts on time. By that point, the project will only have generated a fraction of the TIF revenue the city would need to repay its debt, Weinberger said.

“That could be millions of dollars in annual liability that we don’t have revenues for,” he said.

said he has no interest in hearing about the partners’ new plans until they provide financial assurances to the city. And Tracy said he has little confidence in Sinex.

“He’s the one who got us into this mess in the first place,” Tracy said. “He’s now brought on local partners in what I read as a move to try and create political pressure on us to act.”

“The trust is just so fractured,” he added.

Burlington-based attorney John Franco has had plenty of squabbles with CityPlace developers — he’s sued them or appealed their permits several times — but he’s taking their side in this fight. Franco thinks it’s ludicrous not to reimburse the developers for the roadwork, likening that demand to a “lead balloon.”

Ironically, Franco once represented a group that sued over the 2016 TIF vote. The Coalition for a Livable City — which opposed the height of the project, among other concerns — had argued that the ballot language was misleading; a judge ultimately dismissed the claim.

For once, Franco said, “it’s not the evil, hippie-dippie opponents to the project” that are holding it up.

“Right now, the problem with getting this project moving forward is the City of Burlington,” he said. “What is the endgame here? I don’t get it.”

Farrington said he’s confident the project will produce enough revenue to cover the TIF debt, at least for St. Paul and Pine streets. He’s less certain about the other upgrades spelled out in the development agreement — which include sidewalks, street lighting and other features on the sections of Cherry and Bank streets that abut the project — but looks forward to hashing it out in mediation.

The development team can count at least one city official in their corner. Councilor Ali Dieng (I-Ward 7) cast the sole vote in August against suing the developers, and he urged the city to instead strive for compromise. He said Weinberger shouldn’t let negotiations about street improvements delay the project further.

Dieng is also one of a few councilors who have spoken with the new partners.

After meeting with Farrington and Ireland last month, Dieng said he’s never felt more optimistic about CityPlace.

“I just believe that it is time for all of us to push our egos aside,” he said. “If both the city and the developers can find a common ground and not get into court, I think that’s ideal.” m COURTESY OF FREEMAN FRENCH FREEMAN

Restarting construction could reinvigorate downtown Burlington post-pandemic, according to Senecal, who said the businesspeople he’s spoken with are all very supportive.

“I think they’re encouraged that three local developers want to help the outsider come in and build this thing, and we won’t quit until we get some progress going here,” Senecal said. “Both Dave, Scott and myself have built multiple other projects in the surrounding towns and in Burlington, and that’s what we intend to do here — to see this one through to the end.”

The developers have back-burnered plans for the former Macy’s building, adjacent to the main site. Sinex once planned to renovate the building into office space for the University of Vermont Medical Center, but the pandemic has led the hospital to reassess how much, if any, space it wants downtown.

Hospital spokesperson Neal Goswami told Seven Days that while the medical center expects to downsize its offices, “it is too early to know what our exact needs will be.”

Previous versions of the project carried a $225 million price tag. Sinex said the new plan is to build CityPlace in three phases, starting with about 180 apartments in the north tower.

The first phase is expected to cost $74 million, the second $56 million and the third $44 million, he said, an approach he hopes will make the construction easier to finance. His plans call for the entire development to be built by November 2026.

The city “ought to have confidence because it’s a smaller-scale project the way we’re approaching it,” Sinex said. “That means it will take a little longer to complete it, but that’s the cost of being conservative.”

Financing is still a major unknown, something that dogged the project even when Sinex had the financial heft of Brookfield behind him. This month, the new team will present its plans to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, the first step in applying for a competitive mortgage program through the agency. If approved, loans for CityPlace would be federally backed and protected against default.

That’s an attractive prospect for the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, which only funds projects underwritten by HUD. Founded in 1984, the trust oversees a $67 billion mutual fund that invests primarily in multifamily housing projects, particularly those with some low-income units. Vermont AFL-CIO president David Van Deusen said

he’s been in talks with Sinex and the trust for months and is confident the fund will invest in CityPlace.

In exchange, the developers would agree to hire union workers. The Vermont AFL-CIO would create an apprenticeship program meant to help women and people of color learn the trades on the job.

“I get that there’s baggage,” Van Deusen said of the CityPlace saga. “All I can say to that is: We’re making a good thing happen here, and we really do have confidence that this will come together and that it will be good for the community.”

Sinex says the recent progress — and his partners’ substantial investment to buy out

The new plans for CityPlace Burlington. Previously proposed building heights are outlined.

Brookfield — should prove to Weinberger that they’re serious about CityPlace. But they worry that Weinberger is holding a grudge.

“He ought to forget about where he’s been and begin to think about where he wants to go,” Sinex said of the mayor.

Weinberger and other city officials, however, say there’s still old business to attend to. Their chief concern is restoring full north-south travel on Pine and St. Paul streets — improvements that Sinex promised from the start. The development agreement says that the builders will construct the streets and the city will reimburse them with $21.8 million in tax increment financing dollars, a funding plan that voters approved in November 2016. The debt would be repaid with the additional tax revenue generated by the project itself.

Weinberger says construction delays have put the TIF dollars at risk, and the city’s lawsuit argues that the city shouldn’t have to reimburse the developers. The TIF bonds originally had to be issued by June 2021, but the state legislature recently extended

Taxpayer liability would increase if the partners didn’t complete the project. The current development agreement includes a provision allowing the city to charge the developers additional property taxes if TIF revenues fall short, a safety net Weinberger felt was sufficient when deep-pocketed Brookfield was at the helm.

“Who’s going to provide that financial heft if that party’s no longer there?” he asked.

Weinberger said the city is open to discussing other methods to ensure the roads are built without putting taxpayers at risk; one option would require the developers to set aside a cash reserve. Court-ordered mediation sessions between the parties are scheduled to begin this month, which Weinberger said could result in a new development agreement that formalizes some of those protections.

“We’re willing to be reasonable,” he said.

City Council President Max Tracy (P-Ward 2) is less open to compromise. He thinks the city should have sued sooner and the developers should pay for the roads, since he doubts TIF is a viable option. Tracy

Contact: courtney@sevendaysvt.com

“One could write a book about why shopping local is so important.

When you shop at one of our bookstores, the money keeps recirculating in the local economy, because our staff patronizes farmers markets, restaurants and many other local retailers. National shopping websites don’t employ any local people, nor do they give back to our vital nonprofit organizations.”

MICHAEL DESANTO OWNER, PHOENIX BOOKS

Take a break from the big guys and support local first.

Vermont merchants have faced mandatory store closures and other challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as some open back up, others operate online only.

All need your support.

WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM:

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Visit the Register for all the info on area shopkeepers who are selling their products online for local delivery or curbside pickup.

Browse by categories ranging from jewelry to electronics, outdoor gear to apparel.

Whether you need something for yourself or that perfect gift for a loved one, shop savvy and keep Vermont strong.

SHOP T HE R EGIS T E R .C OM SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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JUNE 26, 1934OCTOBER 30, 2020 BURLINGTON, VT.

OBITUARIES James Jennings DECEMBER 19, 1929OCTOBER 23, 2020 COLCHESTER, VT.

James Edward Jennings died on Friday, October 23, at the end of his daily two-mile walk around the Colchester bike path.

Jim (Dr. Jennings) was born to James and Evelyn Jennings in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1929. His childhood was, in his words, marked by “enormous freedom” and mischief. He often regaled his daughters with stories of his childhood exploits — such as being a precocious 5-year-old who asked his mother for a nickel to buy ice cream only to use it to ride the trolley with an older friend, or the time he set the bathroom curtains on fire.

As a teenager, he worked a formative stint as a soda jerk.

Grown-ups confided in him and talked about their problems, laying the groundwork for a lifetime of listening and being there for others.

He was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1956 and was a pastor at St. Mary’s Nativity in Flushing and Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn.

Feeling that the priesthood was not his true calling, he expanded his education, earning a doctorate in clinical psychology at St. John’s University in New York and then completing a clinical internship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.

His practice in Manhasset, N.Y., was packed from day one. He worked with individuals, couples and families as a marriage and family therapist. In 1992, he was introduced to the Enneagram, a model of understanding personalities, which he enjoyed immensely and understood deeply.

On Columbus Day weekend in 1972, he met Eveline Morrissette. There she is, he thought to himself upon seeing his future wife. That weekend he told her that he would marry her; she told him he was crazy. They liked to end this story by saying, “We were both right.”

20

Leman “Lee” Frederic Bronson

In 1975, they married and moved to Port Washington, N.Y., where they spent many happy years raising their two daughters, Diana and KerriAnn. Three decades later, they moved to Montpelier, Vt., where he enjoyed walking, skiing and taking in the surrounding beauty.

In 2012, Dr. Jennings earned another title, Poppy, upon the birth of his first grandchild, Caroline Emerson Clayton. Poppy, along with Eveline (Mémé), cared for Caroline during the week.

He would proudly push her in a stroller or bring her to music classes — a testament to the vitality he possessed as an octogenarian. Being a grandfather was a role he cherished and expanded as his subsequent grandchild, Wilder James Clayton, was born in 2014.

When his beloved Eveline passed in 2016, he moved to Colchester, where he lived with Diana and her family.

He took great pride in — and was astonished by — the fact that earlier this year, at age 90, he became a grandfather for the third time, when his daughter Kerri-Ann welcomed a baby boy, Søren Edward Apodaca. Family meant everything to him, and he felt incredibly blessed to spend his older years close to his daughters and grandchildren.

He thought and spoke often (at great length!) about the interdependence we all have on each other. He truly lived with humility and gratitude, seeing Christ in others and treating all whom he met with love and compassion. May his memory live on forever in our lives and our hearts.

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

Leman “Lee” Frederic Bronson died on Friday, October 30, 2020, at the McClure Miller Respite House, well loved and well cared for.

Born in Waterbury, Conn., on June 26, 1934, he was predeceased by his parents, Leman Cutler Bronson and Helen Lanyon Bronson, and by his sister Charlene Benton of Guilford, Conn.

He is survived by his wife, Melinda White-Bronson, of Burlington, Vt.; his daughter Amanda Pryor of Silver Lake, N.H., and her two children, Charlie and Eleanor; his daughter Abby Bronson of Bethesda, Md., and her son, Theodore; his son, Leman C. “Tiger” Bronson, of Monkton, Vt., and his wife, Vicki, and daughter, Elena; and his beloved nieces and nephews.

Lee worked one job or another starting when he was 9, from picking up bottles for a local park keeper, pin spotting in a duck-pin alley and caddying at a golf course to working in machine shops and managing a soda shop during college.

Initially, he was in the trades program at high school, following his father toward machine shop work,

but he changed midway, aiming instead for a degree in engineering. He became a voracious reader and lifelong curious appreciator of life and the world.

He attended the University of Connecticut, living at home all through college, then married his sweetheart, Gwendolyn Tibbitts, upon graduation.

This marriage brought about three wonderful children.

After three years of Army service at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., he found work with GE in Burlington, where he had contacts from his Army service years.

He loved his coworkers at GE but tired of perfecting means of killing, so he applied for work at IBM, where he worked for many happy years. Here he rose to become a fourth-level engineer manager for international manufacturing. This required travel to Europe and the Far East and culminated in three and a half years of

living in Japan, working for IBM. Upon his return to the U.S., Lee took early retirement — and “retired” into a busy life, rehabbing an old house on Lakeview Terrace and becoming engaged in many community activities.

Friends of Lee and his family are invited to a “flow-through Celebration of Life” (not a gathering) on Saturday, November 7, at 69 Lakeview Terrace in Burlington.

Please come take a pilgrimage through Lee’s garden. The walk-through might take 20 minutes.

Come according to the following plan.

Come between noon and 1 p.m. if you were a friend of his; or a friend of Amanda, Abby or Tiger; or a neighbor or coworker during his “Shelburne Years,” 1961 to 1990: GE, IBM, Boy Scouts, Yacht Club, Pony Club, BAHA Youth Hockey, Corny Capers, Torger Tolkle Cross Country Skiing, golf at Kwiniaska, a meal at the Pump House — however you knew him.

Come between 1 and 2 p.m. if you were a friend after 1990. Did you work or volunteer at Respite House, where he did maintenance as a volunteer? Did you recently meet Lee and Melinda at Respite House?

Did you sing in St. Paul’s choir or work on the Rock Point Board? Do you know him through another church

friendship? Were you on the board with him when City Market moved from North Winooski Avenue to its downtown home?

Did you sing in the South County Chorus or Burlington Choral Society? Did you work with him at Habitat for Humanity?

Come between 2 and 3 p.m. if you know him as a Lakeview Terrace neighbor; a member of Silver Foxes, FOAMH, Intervale Community Farm, Great Harvest Bakery or Brian’s Auto; or as Melinda’s friend. Have you worked for Peregrine on one of the renovations of his house, or did he pick your brain for ideas on how to do the original restoration?

If the time we have outlined does not work, come when you can. We are trying to spread out the arrivals so we don’t bunch up in groups.

Wear a mask. Keep your distance from others.

Disperse after the walkthrough. Go out into the world to spread the love; don’t stick around to spread COVID-19.

Donations in Lee’s memory can be given to McClure Miller Respite House, 3113 Roosevelt Hwy., Colchester, VT 05446.

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Cremation Society of Chittenden County, a division of the Ready Funeral Home. Please visit cremationsocietycc.com.

able to live such a wonderful life. After he recovered, it became even more important to him to spend time with the ones he loved. His family and friends meant everything to him.

Eddie is survived by his wife and children; his brothers, Charles, David and

William; his sister, Nancy; and many nieces, nephews, and brothers- and sistersin-law. He was predeceased by his father, Edward, and mother, Lutherine.

A socially distanced and masked funeral mass with limited seating will be held on November 7 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Pius X in Essex Junction. A burial and celebration of Edward’s life will follow in the spring of 2021. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. His family would like to thank the staff at the UVM Medical Center, particularly Darlene, Rachel, Fr. Tim Sullivan and Dr. John Wax. His family is also grateful for the incredible outpouring of love and kindness during a very difficult time. It is overwhelming and a testament to how Eddie lived his life.

Edward Fredrickson Farmer

APRIL 3, 1960OCTOBER 26, 2020 WESTFORD, VT. Edward Fredrickson Farmer passed away on October 26, 2020, from a sudden illness.

He was born in Burlington, Vt., on April 3, 1960. He grew up in Underhill, the middle child in a family of seven. He graduated from the University of Vermont, where he was a member of the men’s soccer team and majored in mechanical engineering. He met his future wife, Joan, while in college, and they were married at St. Patrick’s Church in Moretown in 1987.

Eddie and Joan had five children: Brendan, Michael, Mary, Rosalie and Catherine.

He was a loving father and husband, and his wife and children adored him.

Eddie lived without bitterness or regret. In 2015, he underwent a risky heart surgery. In long conversations with his wife before the surgery, he said that he was so happy that he’d been

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Mariah Leahkim McGill OCTOBER 12, 1977-OCTOBER 26, 2020 WAITSFIELD, VT.

“But the bears all barged in and they took [her] away.” Mariah Leahkim McGill, age 43, was tragically taken from her family in the late morning of October 26, 2020, when she was hit by a car while walking in a crosswalk in Waitsfield Village.

“There were never such devoted sisters.”

Mariah came into this world, singing, in Austin, Texas, on October 12, 1977. Born to Nancy Call McGill and Olin McGill, she ultimately became the dedicated eldest sister to Avery, Jubilee, Aili and Karis.

“Teach your children well … feed them on your dreams.” Mariah grew up in Middlebury, Vt., attending Bridge School, Middlebury Union Middle School and the Gailor School.

Although she jokingly credited her intelligence to “the Ilsley Public Library and Vermont Public Radio,” it was, in fact, nurtured by the entire Addison County community of teachers, Quakers, thespians, musicians, artists and instructors.

“Justice is the one thing you should always find.” Upon graduating from Sweet Briar College in May 2002, she returned to Vermont and immediately put her education and her passion for early-childhood development into practice as an educator and children’s librarian. Becoming frustrated with the profound challenges faced by many local families, Mariah decided to pursue her Juris Doctorate at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston; her goal was to improve the lives of children by addressing the root causes of poverty and inequality.

“Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.” Mariah married her childhood best friend, Talmage Jestice, in Ripton, Vt., on August 30, 2008. Mariah and Talmage welcomed their

beloved daughter Mary Elizabeth (Maisie) on August 23, 2011. Maisie was the light of her mother's life.

"I would like to state for the record: I did everything that I could do.” Upon completing law school, Mariah served as the associate director at the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy at Northeastern University and as an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. While there, she coauthored pioneering papers on health care as a human right.

“The hills fill my heart with the sound of music.” In 2014, Mariah and Talmage returned to their Vermont roots to raise Maisie surrounded by family, lifelong friends, and a community that shares their values of kindness, compassion and stewardship.

“Reach out your hand if your cup be empty; if your cup is full, may it be again.” Since returning to Vermont, Mariah worked tirelessly to improve the lives of children and families.

She worked as a field manager for Let’s Grow Kids; the director of the Early Childhood Leadership institute at the Snelling Center for Government; and, most recently, as a regional director for Building Bright Futures, where she was tasked with identifying gaps and developing strategies to improve the well-being of children and their families.

These contributions speak to her profound dedication to her community, and her absence is an incredible loss to the efforts she held dear.

“For the joy of human love: Brother, Sister, Parent, Child.” Mariah is survived by husband Talmage Jestice; daughter Mary Elizabeth Sojourner Jestice; mother Nancy and husband John; father Olin and wife Svetlana; sister Avery and wife Aimil; sister Jubilee and husband Larry; sister Aili and husband Davey; sister Karis; and half-brother Tikhon.

She was a loving “auntie” to Aislynne, Seamus M., Callum, Amias, Elbie, Lucy, Finleigh, Seamus J., Liam, Aydan and Hannah, and a caring sister-in-law to Flora, Belynda and Talena. Additionally, a multitude of cousins, aunts, uncles and friends both in Vermont and around the world grieve her loss and remember her with joy.

“How shall I send thee?” In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts, for the benefit of Maisie, may be made in her memory to the Mariah McGill Memorial Fund, c/o the National Bank of Middlebury, P.O. Box 189, Middlebury, VT 05753. Or, to honor one of Mariah's greatest passions, donations may be made to Building Bright Futures at buildingbrightfutures.org/ donate or via check, mailed to 600 Blair Park Rd., Suite 160, Williston, VT 05495. The donation will support strengthening the earlychildhood system and ensuring that every Vermont child and family has access to the services they need.

“Now let us sing.” A small service for Mariah’s family to say goodbye will be held this week; a larger gathering to celebrate her life will be held at a later date.

“And as the years go by, I’ll think of you and sigh. This is goodnight and not goodbye.”

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arts news

Of the Moment Art review: “Unprecedented?” at BCA Center B Y AMY LI LLY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAM SIMON

ART

“March to Now” by Lillie Harris

T

he BCA CENTER’s absorbing group show “Unprecedented?” brings together work in a variety of mediums by nine artists, seven of whom are Vermonters. Using ceramic vessels, multipanel photographic works, a cartoonist’s print, a multimedia installation and two large-scale sculptures, the artists respond to the tangle of emotions inspired by current times.

“Unprecedented?” replaces a different exhibition planned for the Burlington gallery that was canceled because of the pandemic.

In one sense the show itself is unprecedented, at least in curator HEATHER FERRELL’s experience: She created it within a few months — a nanosecond in the art-curation

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

world. Many Visual art is just one method of the works were commisof interrogating sioned for this those ideas in the ex h i b i t i o n , show. CommuL IL L IE H AR R IS which means nity discourse the artists appears equally stepped up in record time, too. important. Besides the curatorial labels, The exhibition is meant to question which often begin with the artists’ own how “unprecedented” this moment really words, the exhibition features labels offeris. As the introductory wall text reads, ing the thoughtful commentaries of five that word “has trended with ferocious community members in response to the art. speed … to describe the global pandemic The show’s title itself signals the imporand growing demonstrations for racial tance of engagement in “Unprecedented?” justice. … [Yet] it seems questionable that While the question mark indicates an these circumstances are either unprec- invitation to discussion, the word is also edented or unpredictable.” stylized with a backward-upside-down

IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY DAY HAS HOUSED

A CATACLYSMIC EVENT.

“e.” The latter is positioned after the “c” as if in dialogue with the “e” before it, or symbolic of a glance backward in time.

EvnNSteve, the Pawlet couple of photographer STEPHEN SCHAUB and author EVE O. SCHAUB, employ that backward glance to explore the ambiguity of race and restorative justice in their extensively researched “The Home of My Choice.” The work consists of nine in-camera film collages of images that Stephen shot at the OLD STONE HOUSE MUSEUM & HISTORIC VILLAGE in Brownington: unpeopled glimpses of granite, clapboard, windows, chairs, clouds and trees.

Eve penned winding lines of cursive and printed text that appear directly on these black-and-white images on Japanese paper.

The text elucidates the known, guessedat and rewritten history of Alexander Twilight, who built the structure to house his school in 1836.

The work focuses on Twilight’s contested race and its shifting importance in others’ eyes over time. In 1974, Middlebury College claimed Twilight as the nation’s first Black college graduate, though others have identified him as white when convenient, including during his lifetime.

As CARMEN JACKSON, board president of the Old Stone House Museum, writes in her commentary on EveNSteve’s work, what is known about Twilight is that he was a devoted educator who chose the Northeast Kingdom as his home.

EveNSteve’s other work in the show, “A Wonderful Plague,” draws parallels between the current pandemic and former scourges such as the AIDS crisis and the Black Plague.

Montpelier-based cartoonist/illustrator LILLIE HARRIS explores the lateral impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children in her 48-by-64-inch “March to Now.” In a riot of alarming colors, Harris depicts a crowd of disconnected young faces, from babies to schoolchildren, expressing every imaginable emotion. They appear to be caught in a torrent of blue water on the left and captured on a large laptop screen on the right — or squeezed between the two.

“It seems like every day has housed a cataclysmic event,” Harris writes. “This year feels like a decade,” responds TAMARA

GOT AN ARTS TIP? ARTNEWS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

“Sometimes I recall our hair grows after death” by Akiko Jackson

a mother and company five white-striped black ceramic urns by manager of JAG PRODUCTIONS in White River JEREMY AYERS of Waterbury. Not all of the Junction, in her commentary. four ceramic artists’ vessels reference Several works seem more powerful death, however. DAN SIEGEL of Burlington for being pared down. Rhode humorously names his five colorIsland-based artist fully glazed jars for their uses, Akiko Jackson’s two which range from practical large-scale sculptures (“Jar for a questionably in the BCA’s back room fermented kimchi, A differ(which overlooks the ent shape would have been renovated City Hall better”) to numinous (“Jar Park) each use a for your last breaths, You single medium and are a new person now”). color. In “neckBurlington ceramic bones,” vertebrae artist BRIELLE ROVITO’s five made from a warmvessels, collectively titled yellow cast resin “Matriarch Internalizhave been strung ing,” have smooth white together and hang slip-cast surfaces interin a jewel-like rupted by boils, symbolizarrangement from ing women’s internalized the ceiling. stresses under pandemic Jackson’s bodily conditions that have reference captures limited venting to friends, both the pain of according to Rovito’s witnessing repeated comments. One of the killings of “marginboils has burst. alized black and That work brings brown bodies,” as to mind society’s longshe writes, and the repressed boils of anger hope of healing. The at Confederate monuHawaii-born artist’s ments. The commis“Jar that can be used as a vase, When you mother is Japanese. sioning and funding of accidentally break the lid” by Dan Siegel Jackson’s such monuments by “sometimes I recall Southern white women our hair grows after is documented in Rhode death” commemorates the Island artist-activist Becci Davis’ “In death of her last grandparent, a moment of the Shadow of Dixie” — a detailed and which she was the sole witness. She used damning multimedia installation that synthetic hair and wool, both black, to deserves thorough study. create a kind of wall weaving formed of two “Unprecedented?” reminds viewoverlaid strands that loop back and forth in ers that, while viewing art in person is opposite orientations — one vertical, one something of an escape these days, it horizontal. Simultaneously a minimalist can also help us process exactly what grid and an organic embodiment of grief, we wish to be farthest from. the work reads like a life crossed out.

In his commentary, MILTON ROSA-ORTIZ, Contact: lilly@sevendaysvt.com an artist and oncology nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center, relates the INFO work to cancer patients in his care.

“Unprecedented?” through January 30 at BCA Resonating with Jackson’s work are Center in Burlington. burlingtoncityarts.org

November 6–8

January 7–10

Moynihan

The Booksellers

November 19–22

January 14–17

John Lewis: Good Trouble

March 4–7

Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops

December 3–6

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band

January 21–24

Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art

March 18–21

December 17–20

February 4–7

The Fight

April 8–11

River City Drumbeat

Dec 31–Jan 3

February 11–14

April 15–18

The Pollinators

February 25–28

WARASCHINSKI,

JFK: The Last Speech

The Last Ice

The Woman Who Loves Giraffes

Life in Synchro

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arts news

After the Storm Ann Dávila Cardinal sets second teen horror novel after Hurricane Maria B Y M AR GO T HA R R I SON COURTESY OF CARLOS CARDINAL

BOOKS

Ann Dávila Cardinal

I

n the fall of 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, leaving devastation in its wake. At the time, Vermont writer ANN DÁVILA CARDINAL, who has roots and family on the island, was in copyedits with her first solo novel, Five Midnights.

“I wanted to go straight down,” she said in a phone interview, but her uncle in Puerto Rico warned that her presence would add to his worries. When she did return to the island, Dávila Cardinal recalled, “The power went out three or four times a week. The grids were still exploding. I said to my cousin, ‘What if I need to call an ambulance?’ She said, ‘Don’t worry, they wouldn’t have come anyway.’ The hospitals were so full.”

The 57-year-old Morrisville resident transformed that witnessing of the hurricane’s aftermath — and the anger it roused in her — into her second horror novel for young adults. Released in June, Category Five shares many of its 24

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

characters with 2019’s Five Midnights, which won an International Latino Book Award and was a finalist for the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award.

On her website, Dávila Cardinal calls herself a “Gringa-Rican Author, Tattooed Punk.” In the interview, she described the protagonist of both books, Lupe, as “who I would have been as a teenager if I was untamped.”

Like the author, Lupe has an alcoholic parent — “absolutely a defining part of a person’s life,” Dávila Cardinal said. Also like the author, Lupe lives in Vermont and visits her relatives in Puerto Rico every year. In both books, her uncle’s job as police chief pulls her into murder investigations involving the supernatural.

In Five Midnights, Lupe tangles with El Cuco, a traditional boogieman of Latin cultures who, Dávila Cardinal said, embodies drug addiction in her narrative.

The monster targets Lupe’s love interest, Javier, who’s in recovery.

In Category Five, Lupe finds herself on the island of Vieques, where specters roam, and fresh corpses have started turning up with their hearts removed.

Developers from the mainland U.S. have taken advantage of the hurricane to snap up cheap land and build resorts, and all of the murder victims are involved somehow in that ongoing exploitation.

As the kids mobilize to find the killer, Javier’s PTSD and unresolved anger threaten to drive a wedge between him and Lupe. “I’m just not the same since Maria,” he tells her.

“It’s like that storm … it chewed us up and spat us out.”

Dávila Cardinal never considered telling a story set during the hurricane, she said: “That I don’t think I could have done justice to.”

But she saw enough of the consequences to share Javier’s anger. “The aftermath is what pissed me off. The way the U.S. responded. It just really frustrated me,” she said. “So that was actually a more important story for me to tell.”

The ghosts in the book represent older unresolved traumas. After weathering the deadly hurricane of 1928, many residents of Vieques were relocated to St. Croix in 1941 by the U.S. Navy, which used the island for weapons testing until protests led to its withdrawal in 2003.

Dávila Cardinal learned about that dark chapter in the history of a beautiful island at a diversity conference in Brattleboro, where she met a woman whose family the navy had relocated from Vieques “to unfarmable land,” she said. “They were given some ridiculous pennies on the dollar … and just moved to another country.”

Dávila Cardinal’s mother used to tell her hair-raising stories of the 1928 hurricane. She also “grew up on horror comics,

watching creature features with my brothers,” she said. “They gave me nightmares, but I was drawn to it anyway.”

The author holds an MFA in writing from VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS, where she works as director of recruitment and has helped establish a writing residency in Puerto Rico.

She credits VCFA’s writing community with educating and sustaining her. “I learned to write on campus,” she said. “I was a militant pantser” — i.e., a seat-of-thepants writer. “I would write entire books and put in plot structure later. That’s like making a body and putting in the bones last.” She called the school “such a safe place to try new things and try things you’re afraid of.”

Though education is her business, Dávila Cardinal doesn’t see herself as handing down lessons to teenage readers. Her young characters are selfmotivated activists and amateur detectives, respecting the wisdom and lore of elders without taking their cues from them.

“I have such respect for Generation Z, I can’t tell you,” she said. “If you preach to them, they’re gone.”

What role does horror fiction play in dark times? In Dávila Cardinal’s view, it “makes you feel better about the dark parts of your own life. It’s a way to flirt with things you’re most afraid of in a safe way.”

Right now, she suggested, “We’re living in a dystopian situation” that has many of us suffering from anxiety. Stories of ghosts and boogiemen and other hyperbolic threats “make it more bearable to deal with that on a daily basis.”

Contact: margot@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Category Five by Ann Dávila Cardinal, Tor Teen, 240 pages. $17.99.

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arts news

Astro Musing Radio astrologer Tess Hadley Durand takes listeners on a journey through metaphors B Y C H E LSEA ED GA R

CULTURE

ALL OF ASTROLOGY IS METAPHOR. TE S S H AD L E Y D UR A N D

LUKE AWTRY

Tess Hadley Durand

I

f you tune in to 105.9 FM The Radiator between approximately 8:15 and 8:21 on a Monday morning, you might catch a wisp of TESS HADLEY DURAND, the gossamer voice behind the astrology radio show “Happy Astro Pondering!” Durand’s style is more poetic than predictive; think “Eye on the Sky” but with Venus transits, internal rhyme and Søren Kierkegaard. In the last week of October, Durand considered the effects of the impending Halloween full moon, the first in more than half a century: “What is this growing sense of knowing as the moon increases its glowing?” she mused.

Since 2018, Durand, who lives in Burlington, has been recording this weekly cosmic roundup, which she also calls her “Metaphorcast,” as both a radio segment and a podcast.

Growing up in Rhinebeck, N.Y., an artsy town in the Hudson Valley two hours north of New York City, Durand did very little astrological pondering. She and her twin sister, the musical saw virtuoso JOHNNIE DAY DURAND, were obsessed with the TV show “Twin Peaks,” whose creepy-campy aesthetic became part of their spiritual vernacular. Their father wrote for ESPN’s

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

“This Week in Baseball,” a 30-minute highlight reel with a punchy, singsong cadence, hosted by legendary New York Yankees announcer Mel Allen.

The parallels between astrology and baseball might not steamroll you with their obviousness, but Durand sees a clear symmetry between her father’s work and her own. “Baseball is super esoteric,” she said. “The nine players on the field, the batter’s journey — it’s so lunar!”

Durand went to Bard College “for a second,” then traveled around as a drummer in various bands. At Bard, she played with a group called Variety City, whose guitarist, Matthew Katz-Bohen, later became the keyboardist for Blondie.

In 2009, Durand met that group’s front woman, Debbie Harry, backstage after a show in Woodstock, N.Y. “Her handshake was so soft and limp,” Durand recalled.

“Which is completely not surprising, because she’s so watery.” “Watery,” in astrological patois, refers to the ethereal, emotionally sensitive vibe of someone born under a water sign — Cancer, in Harry’s case.

For Christmas in 2006, Durand’s sister gave her a copy of Steven Forrest’s The Inner

Sky: How to Make Wiser Choices for a More Fulfilling Life, a classic of modern astrology.

The book sat around her living room for months, untouched; when she eventually cracked it open, she said, it rewired her brain. “For a long time, astrology was the center of my universe.”

But eventually, the hyper-personal, inward-looking mode of astrology, the kind that satisfies our hunger for a unifying theory of ourselves, lost its luster for her. “There are so many ways of knowing yourself,” Durand said. “The archetype of Aries only extends as far as the archetype of the dawn.”

On “Metaphorcast,” Durand employs a more literary, impressionistic approach, which she described as “a spirit of leisure,” a concept she encountered in the work of the 20th-century German philosopher Josef Pieper. Leisure, Pieper wrote in his 1948 manifesto Leisure: The Basis of Culture, is different from merely not working; it’s a kind of communion with the present that doesn’t involve grasping at anything.

At various points in her relationship with astrology, Durand said, she became so obsessed with the minutiae of planetary movements that she lost the ability

to synthesize the details into a meaningful whole. “It was like standing too close to a painting,” she explained.

After reading the British philosopher Owen Barfield’s work on the evolution of consciousness, she came to a different understanding of astrology. “He sees humans as evolving from a state of being embedded in nature, in which our thoughts have a direct relationship to our surroundings, to sort of being on the outside looking in,” she said. “We have the ability to associate in ways our early ancestors couldn’t, but we also have this longing to feel part of the whole universe again.”

As Durand sees it, the point of astrology is to expand our understanding of the world through metaphor, hence the title of her podcast. “All of astrology is metaphor,” she said. “Especially now, when the state of the world feels like a tennis racket beating on our heads, we need to be able to lift up and look out, and to feel that we have power in our connection with the universe.”

Each day, Durand logs the current positions of the planets and doodles the themes of the transits. Last week, for instance, Mars was moving backward through Aries, the sign of action, contributing to a general atmosphere of frustrated will. “Does anyone feel a howl coming on?” Durand asked in last week’s episode, which could be the epitaph of 2020.

For inspiration, she keeps a notebook of thinkers she likes, organized by their zodiac sign, including Kierkegaard (a melancholy Taurus) and the surrealist painter René Magritte (a deep, dark Scorpio). On Wednesdays, while her 2-year-old son, Geo, takes a nap, Durand records the show for the upcoming week. Last summer, she joined forces with her twin to turn her podcasts into videos, visual collages on the theme of that week’s planetary activity.

“My dream would be to have a permanent spot on television, like after the evening news or something,” Durand said. In the absence of a time machine that could transport her back to the 1970s, where she might realize that dream, she enjoys being a voice in the ether, translating the language of the spheres for the chaotic world below.

Contact: chelsea@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Learn more at happyastropondering.com.

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INFORMATION

RETAIL THERAPY BY CAROLYN SHAPIRO

Comforts of Home S

towe Kitchen Bath & Linens is already decked out for the holidays. At the entrance to the Mountain Road store, a small Christmas tree holds skiing-Santa ornaments atop a miniature lodge.

German-made wooden and glass-ball decorations cover a larger, upside-down tree suspended from the ceiling. A pinescented candle diffuses a woodsy aroma from a display of white-sprinkled boughs.

On a recent weekday, owner Kate Carpenter is darting around the store carrying boxes, taking phone calls and checking the register. She’s wearing a black faux-fur vest over camouflage leggings, both of which she sells in the store.

Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens is packed with stuff — towels and rugs, dishes and frying pans, hand soap and jewelry — and the inventory keeps on coming. “We get at least two trucks in every single day of new goods,” says Carpenter, who has owned the store since 2009. “Two weeks ago, we had nine tractor trailers in and out.”

Carpenter, 56, isn’t inclined to sit still, even when a pandemic impedes her business. “Whether it’s COVID or anything else, the most important thing in retail is your ability to change,” she says.

In March, when Gov. Phil Scott ordered most retailers to temporarily close to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, Carpenter began walking the five miles to her store every day, just to get fresh air and “soak up” the strangely quiet environment, she says.

In the store, she stayed busy with administrative tasks and took the occasional customer order by phone (web sales are sparse, she says). Carpenter unloaded shipments from FedEx and UPS trucks herself.

“People were anchored in their homes and not going anywhere,” she says. “I would drive 30 miles to deliver a $10 package.”

Check out what other Vermont retailers are up to at shoptheregister.com.

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens goes all out for the indoors

Kate Carpenter

Sales were largely “nonexistent,” though, until Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens reopened in mid-May, when the state allowed it, Carpenter says. Even now, the fallout from the pandemic continues for Stowe merchants, who typically start their busy season with leaf-peeping tourists.

“This year, that foliage walk-in traffic is not here,” Carpenter laments. “So it’s not as busy.”

Nonetheless, she’s working hard to try to make up the losses. Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens added puzzles, toys and other products made popular by the pandemic.

The store bursts with nesting items, such as cozy throws, lambskin pillows and books about Scandinavian style.

“The hand wash, hand sanitizers and the masks have been some of our top sellers,” says designer and marketing director Nicole Christopher. The face masks come from a mother-and-daughter team in Paris, she adds. “They’re selling themselves.”

Customers from across the country have called to request Le Creuset French ovens for making bread — the store stocks them in multiple colors. Sales of scented candles, priced from about $20 to $68, and other fragrant goods have doubled, Carpenter says.

She has swiveled to meet customer

demand. For years shoppers have talked about the lack of local options for buying reasonably priced furniture, so Carpenter sourced and began carrying it. A wooden dining table costs $1,100. Unique fabrictopped benches start at about $400. A velvet sofa runs $1,200. Carpenter even bought a truck for furniture delivery.

“We can’t get our hands on enough,” she said of the pieces. “We’re rearranging purposely because things are selling.”

Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens also expanded its design services. In the past, Carpenter and other staff would occasionally assist a customer decorating a home or redoing a room, but they didn’t have a dedicated in-house design team to take on full interior projects. Now they do — with sustainability in mind, Carpenter notes.

She has yet to tally her sales to date to see how these efforts have paid off. “Every single purchase is meaningful,” she says.

“We’ve got a long way to go to make up for being closed.”

Communication with the store’s 800-plus vendors is a juggling act. Because the pandemic has cut into production, Carpenter staggered orders of the popular Yoshi dish towels from Japan to ensure that she never runs out. Some of the furniture fulfillment has been slow, so the store

will loan a floor model until the customer’s item arrives.

Trucks now drop off shipments at the front door rather than at the lower-level dock, where employees used to unload items. The new system saves employees time and allows them to interact with vendors and help customers.

“This store has always been a staple,” says shopper Debbie Boardman Davis, who has scooped up glassware, table items and décor over the years for her Stowe home.

“It includes all different types of items that you would need for your household.”

Carpenter prides herself on carrying products for any budget and need.

Customers can buy a pair of fruit-printed oven mitts for $8 or a Breville espresso machine for $1,000. Cowhide rugs start at $250; a wooden cutting board costs $35.

The Christmas ornaments from Germany range from $6 to $25.

One store shelf holds sheet sets for $89 that would normally retail for $420, Carpenter says. Why? “Hustle, hustle, hustle,” she says. On the phone with suppliers, if she learns that someone else’s shipment got canceled, she can negotiate a deal on those goods, she explains. “Bring me that truck,” she tells them.

Carpenter believes in going out of her way for customers. She’ll keep the store open late if a shopper needs the extended time. And while many retailers have ceased allowing customers to use the restroom, that is not the case at Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens; staff clean it every half hour, along with the front door and checkout counter. Carpenter’s delivery drivers know she’ll accept goods at 9 or 10 p.m. “They’re working hard, too,” she says.

When her recycling hauler from Casella Waste Systems shows up, employees send him home with a scented candle, which he and his wife love, Carpenter says. In return, the couple sent a handmade thankyou card.

That’s what warms Carpenter’s heart as the weather turns colder, she says. It keeps her hopeful, despite the current challenges and uncertainty for retailers.

And it gives her reason to deck the store for a joyful holiday season. m Contact: shapiro@sevendaysvt.com

INFO Stowe Kitchen Bath & Linens, 1813 Mountain Rd., Stowe, 253-8050, stowekitchen.net

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CALEB KENNA

TECHNOLOGY

John Oren

Deep Focus

How a self-taught microscope expert became the go-to guy for scientists worldwide B Y K E N PI CA RD

F

or more than 30 years, John Oren of Charlotte has sold high-end microscopes to some of the world’s most prestigious laboratories, hospitals, museums and research institutions. His client list includes France’s National Museum of Natural History, Germany’s Max Planck Institutes, Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, and the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. The precision optical instruments in Oren’s inventory retail new for tens of thousands of dollars, but he sells them refurbished at a fraction of the price. His customers find him by word of mouth. “I haven’t spent a nickel on advertising in 30 years,” he said.

Yet Oren’s microscopes can be found in the surgical suites of cardiologists and neurosurgeons, at remote oil and gas exploration sites, in polar research stations, and aboard marine study vessels. He’s even earned mentions in scientific journals for his contributions to scientists’ discoveries.

Those elite customers might be surprised to learn that Oren has no formal

training in the sciences or engineering. A self-taught expert in optics and microscopy, he ran his mail-order business, Vermont Optechs, for more than 20 years out of a former bingo parlor, snack bar and creemee stand on Route 7 in Charlotte. Passersby most likely assumed the building was abandoned.

Now 73 and nearing retirement, Oren agreed to a Seven Days interview only after the cluttered, 4,000-square-foot warehouse that he rented for years was sold in 2019; he now works from home. If the value of his inventory had become public knowledge earlier, he said, he would have feared being robbed blind.

When this reporter wandered into his shop unannounced in 2017, Oren seemed bookish and slightly surly. He later explained that, on more than one occasion, unexpected visitors had pilfered eyepieces worth hundreds of dollars each.

Opening up in a recent interview, Oren shared a life story as multifaceted as the microscopic world his wares reveal.

Perhaps his story’s most surprising

revelation is that Oren’s specialized career began with a trip to a Burlington junkyard in 1986.

Oren was born in New Haven, Conn., to two academics. His father, Paul Oren, a Fulbright scholar, founded the University of Vermont’s Department of Sociology in 1958.

He met Oren’s French-born mother, Francine, also a professor and later a psychologist for the State of Vermont, while skiing in Europe.

Oren grew up in Charlotte, graduated from South Burlington High School, and briefly attended UVM before transferring in 1964 to the University of Paris, where his parents held teaching positions. The family kept their Charlotte home and rented it out, allowing Oren to divide his time between France and the U.S. For 20 years, Oren worked as a commercial photographer, specializing in artwork reproductions for galleries and museums in Paris and San Francisco. He spent much of his free time in the late 1960s and ’70s hitchhiking around Europe, following the Formula One circuit and photographing his

favorite race car drivers, often forging press passes to get into the pits.

In the early ’70s, Oren landed a job putting on light shows at a well-known Paris nightclub, where he occasionally brushed elbows with celebrities such as the Rolling Stones. He built light show projectors used by dozens of clubs all over France.

In those years, Oren said, he always had a camera with him, and he still has scores of slides from the era.

In the early 1980s, Oren was living in San Francisco when he chanced on a field of optics he’d never previously explored.

“I bought a $50 microscope at a flea market and thought, Wow! This is pretty cool,” he said. “It wasn’t immediately related to photography, but it … sensitized me to the existence of microscopes.”

In 1984, Oren returned to Vermont.

Two years later he began renovating his family’s Charlotte house, which was in rough shape after years of tenants. Replacing the old plumbing, he amassed a pile of spent copper pipe, and it seemed wasteful to throw it away. He took it to a scrap metal yard in Burlington, where the owner put it on a scale and handed him $45.

Surveying the yard, Oren noticed a pile of high-tech electronics. The attendant told him the scrapyard had a contract with the IBM plant in Essex Junction.

“I’m a crow. I like to bring shiny things home,” Oren said, “so I asked if I could go take a look.”

As Oren pored over the electronics, most of which he didn’t recognize, he spotted small lenses bearing the labels of “Leitz” and “Wetzlar Germany.”

“I knew that was the company that makes Leica cameras,” he said.

Then Oren spotted another name he recognized: Zeiss, which made some of the world’s best optics. He bought a box of discarded lenses for 50 cents per pound.

When Oren wrote to Leitz to ask what the lenses were for, the company sent him the instruction manual for a metallurgical microscope. Inside were photographs of the microscope’s other parts, which Oren remembered seeing at the scrapyard. He returned the following day and salvaged those, too.

As Oren later learned, IBM had recently converted its production line to manufacture six-inch instead of four-inch semiconductor wafers. As a result, the company discarded hundreds of microscopes that were too small for inspecting the larger wafers.

Soon the scrapyard was calling Oren whenever a truck arrived from IBM. After several visits, Oren had a microscope fully reassembled. And when he flipped the switch, it worked.

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CALEB KENNA

Deep Focus « P.31

John Oren

“The timing was really fortuitous. I was able to fill the living room of the house with spare microscope parts,” he recalled. “[Leitz] had also sent me pricing information, and I realized, Holy God! This thing costs a fortune when it’s new.”

Oren decided to settle in Charlotte; during the house renovations, he met Dru Roberts, his future wife, who ran a furniturestripping business on Burlington’s Pine Street. However, career opportunities in Vermont for a commercial art photographer were few. So Oren placed a two-line classified ad, which included logos for the microscopes he’d salvaged, in a professional publication called the Scientist.

“And then the phone started to ring,” he said.

Oren sold his first scope to the UVM College of Medicine for several thousand dollars. He realized the used microscope market was more interesting — and lucrative — than replacing drywall in his parents’ house.

Shortly thereafter, Oren received a cease-and-desist letter from attorneys at Zeiss warning him that he wasn’t authorized to use the company’s logo. Oren changed his ad, but his phone kept ringing.

Next, Oren discovered a network of industrial auctions that sold surplus scientific equipment. In his travels, he’d stop at authorized microscope dealers and raid their shelves of literature to educate himself on what to buy and what was useful to the widest audience.

Working alone, Oren found there was still much he didn’t know, including the finer aspects of microscope maintenance.

So, at an equipment auction in Massachusetts in the early 1990s, Oren befriended Bob Dixon, whose father had founded a biomedical and industrial microscope firm called Atlantex (now Micro Video Instruments). For years, the company was

an authorized Zeiss dealership, and Dixon was one of a handful of technicians trained to service its high-end scopes.

Soon Oren was bringing Dixon microscopes to clean and repair. When Zeiss withdrew the company’s franchise, Dixon called Oren in Vermont and told him Atlantex had a dumpster full of the company’s literature. “John was there within three hours and took all of it,” Dixon recalled.

In 1999, Oren convinced Dixon to move to Vermont and work for him, which Dixon did for seven years.

“John was pulling stuff out JOHN of dumpsters that was going to be crushed. He’d bring them to me, and I’d piece them all together,” said Dixon, who still lives in Monkton.

“When he started out, everything he had was junk — I mean, worst-case repair scenarios for a service guy.”

By salvaging that “junk,” Oren was filling an important niche in the scientific community.

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“Microscopes are not inexpensive.

There were, and still are, laboratories that cannot afford new stuff,” said Paul Millman, founder of Chroma Technology, a Bellows Falls maker of high-end optical filters and coatings. “So John was indispensable that way.”

Oren credits his ongoing success to more than mere economics. Over the years, he said, he became adept at providing customers with exactly what they need at a price they can afford.

Research microscopes are modular, Oren explained, and he can build one to precise OREN specifications. Often, his first question is “How much do you have to spend?” Then he crams as much value as he can into a scope, avoiding extraneous bells and whistles.

“Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about the applications [of the microscopes], so I can talk shop with the researcher,” he added. “And that, very often, closes the deal.”

Keeping up with advances in microscopy hasn’t been easy. Lasers and LED-illumination technologies allow researchers to probe ever deeper into previously invisible areas. While Oren understands the optics and micromechanics of his scopes, he admitted that he’s not conversant in the software that operates the latest models, and he lacks the high-tech diagnostic tools to repair and maintain them. As he put it, “My career is winding down by itself.”

That doesn’t mean his business is. New research microscopes can cost $30,000 or more, well beyond the reach of many researchers, and Oren continues to see demand for his refurbished products. As he put it, “The science doesn’t stop just because the funding does.”

Oren doesn’t know what will become of Vermont Optechs when he retires. Neither of his daughters wants to take over the business, and, as he put it, he has yet to find “a white knight to write a check and back up a truck.”

Oren hopes to find a successor with a science or technology background who’s willing to pick up the ball and run with it. He’d even stay on long enough to help with the transition. As he pointed out, his industry is clean and a high-tech form of recycling, with a steady customer base.

Beyond its financial rewards, Oren always finds his work intellectually stimulating, he said. Whether he’s shipping microscopes to a mining operation in Wyoming where the only mailing address is a mile marker on an unnamed dirt road, or retrofitting a scope to analyze ice core samples in the Arctic, he’s acquiring new knowledge every day.

“It’s a specialty niche,” he said, “but I enjoy every minute of it.” m

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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F OR T VERMON T

The state trusts that travel rules can keep COVID-19 out. But who’s guarding the gates?

34

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

PHOTOS: CALEB KENNA

few weeks ago, as the surrounding forest turned golden, a man walked in the front door of the country inn Shari Brown has managed for decades. He was visiting from North Carolina and asked if she would rent him a room. He wasn’t wearing a mask.

“I’m like, ‘No,’” Brown said, recalling her displeasure.

Brown has forgone some much-needed business in this way. Bookings at the Blueberry Hill Inn in Goshen are off by 80 percent since she reopened in June. But Vermont mandates that visitors from most places quarantine for 14 days before exploring the state, and Brown sees it as her civic duty to require compliance as best she can.

“We’re the gatekeepers to Vermont,” she said. “If I’m letting them come here, then I’m letting them go shopping, because nobody is checking when they go into the shop.”

Some would-be guests don’t leave quietly. In July, a family on a road trip from Tennessee pulled up around dinnertime, asking to camp at one of the sites Brown set up this year for socially distant stays. The husband, who was unaware of Vermont’s quarantine rules, became upset when Brown said no. Seeing two young children in the car, she reconsidered. But by that point her customer was in a huff. He called Brown “inhospitable” and drove off.

Around 9 p.m., Brown noticed headlights flashing through the inn’s darkened windows. She went outside. The Tennessean had returned. It was late, and he and his children didn’t have anywhere to pitch a tent. Could they camp, after all?

Over the last six months, Vermont has earned frequent praise from national press for being a bright spot in a country that has largely failed to control the coronavirus pandemic. Cases in the Green Mountain State remained very low through the summer, and no one has died from the disease since July.

Homegrown cases have swelled in recent weeks as the weather has gotten colder, pushing the state into a new, precarious period. Nevertheless, to a national audience, including the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the state offers a lesson in the power of careful leadership and a conscientious citizenry. Reopening has been slow and steady, nearly everyone wears masks, and residents keep their distance.

B Y D ER EK B R O U WER

Shari Brown and Remy

It is challenging to be an island in northern New England.

You can’t really be that.

H E A LTH COMMI SSION E R M A R K L EVI NE

This system of high expectations but no enforcement leaves Vermonters who serve tourists with a dilemma. They can shut out suspected scofflaws and lose even more money, or turn a blind eye to a rule that’s supposed to keep their community safe.

A lean summer season led some in the hospitality industry to grumble that Vermont was losing tourists to other New England states. Then fall foliage hit, the state allowed lodging establishments to fill to capacity, and leaf peepers seemed to arrive in droves. For weeks, the state’s tourist towns were lined with cars bearing faraway license plates. Few locals think those visitors bothered to quarantine first.

“I’ve not set foot in Woodstock,” said Nicole Bartner, who runs the Hartland Diner, 12 miles away, “and everyone I know drives through basically with the windows up, as fast as they can.”

As cases surged nationwide in October, the map turned redder each week. As of November 3, just one in 1,000 Americans could visit Vermont without quarantining, the smallest number to date. The state currently restricts travel from all 10 counties that border Vermont.

So, as winter approaches, Vermont faces a double risk: Either visitors will

obey the rules and stay away, whacking the state’s economy, or they will come without quarantining — in a season that necessitates more time indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.

in some other states in the Northeast, he acknowledged.

The implications are dramatic. Massachusetts’ travel restrictions kick in for states with an average of 10 or more daily cases per 100,000 residents. As of November 3, more than 72 million Americans could freely travel to Vermont’s southern neighbor; only 331,000 from six rural counties could travel to Vermont.

Another notable difference: enforcement. While Massachusetts and some other nearby states threaten to fine travelers and residents who ignore their rules, Scott’s administration has left compliance to an honor system.

Though data are spotty, Vermont’s method may have worked to reduce travel. During the summer season, visits to Vermont lodging establishments from

LINES OF DEFENSE

Of all of Gov. Phil Scott’s restrictionloosening turns of the proverbial spigot, deciding how to resume travel was among the most consequential. By May, Vermont had suppressed the virus and was reporting just a couple of new positive cases each day, far fewer than in neighboring states.

Scott charged the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation with devising a way to reopen the state’s borders without importing the disease.

The department’s commissioner, Mike Pieciak, oversees regulation of banks and insurance companies; his team, while not composed of public health experts, is versed in assessing and managing risk.

Pieciak also turned to infectious disease experts and a private consultant to help apply those risk management principles to viral spread.

State officials wanted to take a conservative approach to reopening tourism, but they also saw an opportunity. Infection rates varied within states such as New York, where cities were initially the hardest hit. By measuring the virus at the county level, state officials decided they could open up regional travel sooner.

Pieciak introduced the travel map in early June, making Vermont the sole state to impose restrictions at the county level.

That wasn’t the only novel aspect of the approach. Most states have gauged hot spots by looking at rates of recently detected coronavirus. Vermont sought a more precise way to measure the relative number of infectious persons in each county. Pieciak’s office created an equation that weighted cases based on a rough estimate of where people were in their infection cycle. The older the case, the less weight it receives.

Using this algorithm, state officials set the travel threshold at 400 active cases per million residents. Visits between Vermont and any county above that rate require a period of self-quarantine. County colors are reassessed every week.

The threshold has no tested scientific basis, and there are no state- or countylevel travel recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with which to compare the method. It’s simply an estimate of risk.

“We landed at 400 as a ceiling that looked similar to Vermont, in terms of disease prevalence, with a little more of a buffer,” Pieciak said. Vermont’s threshold is nearly twice as strict as those used

“[The travel map] is hard to defend in terms of where it came from,” Health Commissioner Mark Levine said in a recent interview, acknowledging that the state’s algorithm isn’t supported by any evidencebased study, “except for the fact that it has served us extremely well, and that should be enough.”

WHO’S ON WATCH?

The fall foliage around Woodstock was well past peak on a recent gray Saturday, but the village was still packed. A steady stream of visitors posed by pumpkin arrangements, briefly removing their masks for the perfect #fallvibes photo. A dozen groups lined one sidewalk, waiting their turn to shop at Vermont Flannel, which was enforcing a 50 percent capacity limit.

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

A key part of Vermont’s strategy has been strict travel rules, for Vermonters as well as visitors. Any resident who leaves a specified 13-state area in the Northeast is told to quarantine for 14 days upon return.

For Vermonters and out-of-state visitors, the requirement to quarantine when traveling to the Green Mountains from elsewhere in the Northeast is governed by a county-by-county map that changes weekly, according to case rates. Quarantine counties are depicted in red or yellow, non-quarantine counties in green.

These restrictions are the most stringent in the country — by a mile. Yet they still cracked open the door to tourists and the $2.8 billion they normally inject into the economy each year. Compliance depends almost entirely on the honor system.

Mike Pieciak

residents of green counties were down by half compared to 2019 but down by 76 percent from counties that would have required quarantine, according to cellphone mobility data analyzed by Pieciak’s office. The analysis is not precise, and it did not include travel from many counties whose status changed during July and August.

Flight ridership at Burlington International Airport is severely depressed, as are visits to highway welcome centers. Road traffic was down in August at nearly every site monitored by the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

The best evidence that the system is working is that the rate of coronavirus infections in Vermont remains lower than surrounding states. Nonresident tourism has not been identified as the source of large outbreaks.

The wait was relatively short, according to PJ Eames, who owns Clover Gift Shop across the street. She’s seen the queue stretch for blocks in recent weeks. A line had also formed outside her narrow storefront, where a greeter used a thick black rope to control flow through the entryway.

“We are thankful that we have business,” Eames said. “But it comes with mixed emotions, because we still want our state to be safe.”

Last month, a customer volunteered to Eames that she’d traveled to Woodstock from New York City. “I’m so glad we can come here now without quarantining,” the woman said. Eames politely told her customer that she was mistaken. But the woman insisted the shopkeeper was misinformed.

FORT VERMONT SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

» P.36 35

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That evening, Eames posted the state’s travel map to her shop’s Facebook page.

“Please abide by these rules,” she wrote.

“Vermonters have been diligent, and as a result our cases have remained low.”

But Eames doesn’t question customers about their travel. It would be bad for business and hard on her employees, who she said already have their hands full trying to enforce a statewide mask mandate, social distancing and hand-sanitizing policies. “I assume that they have taken up that issue with whatever lodging they’re staying in. I hope,” Eames said. “We kind of just have to trust people will be good-natured.”

The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development does not ask retailers to post or enforce the ever-shifting travel restrictions. Instead, the onus is on lodging establishments — sort of.

To stay overnight in Vermont, guests must sign a “certificate of compliance” attesting that they’ve reviewed the online travel map and are fulfilling their obligations. Unless their county of origin is green, they need to quarantine at home or in Vermont for 14 days; they can cut that period short by a week if a laboratory COVID-19 test shows they’re not sick with the virus. The state accepts pre-arrival quarantine only if the visitor travels directly to Vermont by car.

Lodging establishments are not supposed to allow anyone with COVID19 symptoms to check in, but they need not ask questions that might, for instance, reveal whether a guest has actually reviewed the map. For visitors who make reservations online, completing the certificate can be as simple as checking a box.

Inns and hotels must keep the forms for 30 days, but the state hasn’t been collecting them.

Each business then decides whether to have the quarantine talk. Patrick Fultz, co-owner of the Sleep Woodstock motel, calls guests who make reservations online to ask questions about their travel plans “to make sure that you meet Vermont compliance,” he tells them. So many guests have canceled after the talk, or because their county flips to red before they arrive, that Fultz has stopped pre-charging credit cards — the fees were adding up. Meantime, his business is down by half.

Some customers take offense at any whiff of interrogation, innkeepers say.

Others will shop around for a place that won’t ask. Still more approach the transaction as a negotiation.

“The other day we received a call that verbatim asked, ‘How seriously are you taking this?” said Brian Maggiotto, general manager of the Inn at Manchester, an 36

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

PHOTOS: TOM MCNEILL

F OR T VERMON T

Tourists outside the Woodstock Inn & Resort

Patrick Fultz

Clover Gift Shop

upscale hotel that draws visitors from New York’s Capital Region and the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

Twice his staff has turned away customers after they arrived and admitted to not following the rules. “They begrudgingly understood,” he said, and planned to drive to New York instead.

Maggiotto’s staff keeps the latest travel map handy for those conversations, which he worries can give some visitors the impression that Vermont doesn’t want them here. It can puncture their fantasy of a cozy, flannel-clad getaway.

“We are the front line of how people feel when they think about Vermont,” he said. “The messaging from Vermont has made this harder for us.”

Inns that try to more actively enforce the travel restrictions may succeed only in pushing guests to services such as Airbnb or to lodges just across the border, contends Tim Piper, president of the Vermont Inn and Bed & Breakfast Association.

Piper argues that inns are “taking an arrow” for the state by administering the compliance certificates. But there’s

also broad belief that plenty of establishments treat the paperwork like any fine print.

“The current system is putting front desk clerks in the position of being gatekeepers for Vermont — with the conflict of having rooms to sell,” one front desk clerk at a major corporate hotel told Seven Days.

The clerk, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by her employer, said management has directed her not to ask guests about their county’s color on the travel map. They’ve also told her to sell a room even when she believes the guest

Attention Grown-Ups! Martinez has owned the business for 17 years. Aside from a conspicuous lack of tour buses, which are not running this year, the crush of visitors to the area felt the same. The spigot seemed wide open.

Her assessment: “They’re all coming from places that are red zones, and they’re not telling the truth.”

She relayed one story of a group that was seated to eat after providing a Burlington phone number for mandatory diner logs kept in case of contact tracing.

As they opened their menus, a server

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may canvass hotels to see whether they’re collecting the certificates as required.

Pieciak added that the online travel map is being widely viewed, an average of 43,000 times per day — a sign that the requirements are well known.

Still, Vermonters have filed nearly 180 complaints against lodging properties through a Vermont Department of Public Safety tip line since the travel map was introduced. Just 30 have been flagged for “educational” follow-up with a business, Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling said.

“Most of what we’ve run into,” he said, “have been perceptions of noncompliance.”

Brown, of the Blueberry Hill Inn, has been frustrated by a feeling that other innkeepers aren’t as diligent as she tries to be. She thinks the industry would more actively screen guests if it weren’t under such financial duress.

Even to her, the effort sometimes seems futile. When the man from Tennessee returned to her inn that July night, headlights flashing, she let his family make camp. “He’s already here,” she reasoned. “What was I to do?”

LOCALS ONLY

Janet Martinez has been hearing a lot of war stories. Unlike many businesses in Stowe, her bar, Burt’s Irish Pub, caters to locals. Lately, those who come by want to blow off steam about an unsettling tourism season.

“The level of frustration is crazy,” she said.

overheard a comment that indicated one of them was from a red county. The server later discovered that the local phone number was actually a hotel line.

Martinez has settled on a solution: She’ll stop serving customers who can’t show a Vermont driver’s license, at least for the winter. State and federal public accommodations laws don’t bar discrimination based on state of residence, and she expects that making the bar a localsonly space will put her service-industry clientele at ease.

At least one other business has vowed to follow suit. Thomas Moog, who owns Moog’s Place in Morrisville and Moog’s Joint in Johnson, announced on Facebook last month that only Vermont residents would be allowed into the restaurants.

Online, Vermonters have served a function somewhere between volunteer health officers and neighborhood watch members. A few weeks ago, a New York State resident asked a Burlington Facebook group for breakfast spot recommendations along her drive from Albany to the Queen City, where she was finally taking a long-planned weekend trip.

Within minutes, one local looked up the poster’s county and said “unless you are currently quarantined, your weekend will be off.”

The pile-on was on. “The problem is we are trying to keep our cases low and are doing it,” someone wrote, “but when people come from so-called hot spots for no reason other than they want to just hang out in VT, it puts all of us at a FORT VERMONT

Angie

isn’t being truthful on the compliance certificate.

It’s left her torn between keeping her job and knowingly leaving housekeepers, other service workers and her community at a higher risk.

“The fact that there is no penalty for the guest or lodging establishment to ignore the rules when a guest checks in is a huge hole that must be closed if we are to protect Vermont,” she said.

Scott doesn’t seem to have an appetite for such penalties, though he said at an October 27 press conference that the state

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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greater risk.” He suggested she travel to Plattsburgh instead. The woman deleted the post. She did not respond to an interview request.

The biggest stir, though, came when a photo of a wedding at the iconic Woodstock Inn & Resort began circulating online. Bartner, the Hartland diner operator, helped it go viral. The photo showed rows of wedding guests watching an outdoor ceremony without masks.

“I am certain these people are not locals,” Bartner wrote at the top of a lengthy post. “I am also certain they did not quarantine the required two weeks upon entering Vermont.”

Her post contrasted in detail what she saw as a reckless money grab by the resort with her own extra efforts to keep her diner in business during the pandemic, down to the four gallons of gravy and five gallons of corn chowder she personally makes each day. The photo wasn’t just an indictment of the revelers’ “self-centered ignorance” and “entitlement.” It was a symbol of a system that is “rigged” for the elite, the viral droplets a visceral extension of the pernicious relationship between the wealthy and the working class.

“It’s galling when they’re endangering the entire community,” Bartner told Seven Days.

Her post, shared 1,900 times, urged friends to boycott the resort. A subsequent GoFundMe for her diner raised $2,450.

As the image spread, state officials and local village trustees got involved. A state spokesperson told the Valley News that the wedding was “largely in compliance.” The resort issued a statement saying the photo had been an “unfortunate misrepresentation.”

“Guests arrived wearing masks, then removed them to consume a beverage during the ceremony, which is within existing state and local protocols,” the resort claimed.

A PLACE DIVIDED

Hanover, N.H., Town Manager Julia Griffin has been outspoken in urging residents to help slow the spread. Over the summer, she wrote an op-ed for the Dartmouth student newspaper exhorting the Ivy Leaguers to be less “selfish” and to “smarten up” by obeying health directives.

A couple of weeks ago, as she was standing in line for vegetables at the Norwich Farmers Market, she wondered: Had she become a scofflaw, too?

38

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

20M

June 26: 19 million The Number of People Who Can Come to Vermont Without a Quarantine Continues to Decline

16M

POPULATION

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The state requires those arriving from any county outside of Vermont with more than 400 active cases per million people to complete a quarantine.

12M

8M

November 3: 331K

4M

0

July

August

Changing landscape

September

October

As the virus surges around Vermont, quarantine requirements expand. (Vermonters can travel in state without quarantining.)

AS OF JUNE 26, 2020 Many residents of the Northeast could travel freely to Vermont, but people from these shaded counties had to quarantine.

AS OF NOVEMBER 3, 2020 Residents in just six Northeast counties could visit Vermont without quarantining after COVID-19 rates rose.

November

SOURCE FOR CHART AND MAPS: VERMONT DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL REGULATION

F OR T VERMON T

The market is a stone’s throw from Hanover, but it’s separated by the state line. Days earlier, Grafton County, where Hanover is located, flipped to yellow on Vermont’s travel map. Technically, all nonessential travel now required a lengthy quarantine. Crossing the Connecticut River bridge for locally grown produce seemed like a gray area. “It is nice but not essential. Should I have been there?” she asked herself.

Griffin was facing perhaps the most Vermonty dilemma of the pandemic. New Hampshire’s state government still classified community transmission in Grafton County as “minimal,” even as Vermont had deemed it an elevated travel risk. What’s more, when Grafton County flipped to yellow on October 13, Windsor County, home to the Norwich Farmers Market, had a slightly higher rate of active COVID-19 cases.

Upper Valley residents hardly notice when they cross between jurisdictions.

“There’s not really a line between our communities, even though they’re in different states,” said Dan Fraser, who co-owns Dan & Whit’s general store in Norwich.

Vermont’s algorithm is drawing a line, for now.

The change, with its significant implications, struck some in the area as absurd.

Local lawmakers complained that it would disrupt cross-border youth sports and skiing programs, the Valley News reported, even though many of the kids go to the same interstate school district. Court Vreeland, a chiropractor and co-owner of the Vreeland Clinic holistic health practice in White River Junction, said the state’s threshold seemed arbitrary, given what he saw as a negligible difference in infection rates between the intertwined communities.

“In the spirit of letting people get back to their lives, I think this needs an exception around here,” he said.

His family has changed some plans anyway. He and his wife intended to celebrate their wedding anniversary with a night out, but their babysitter lives in Lebanon, N.H., and their restaurant reservation was there, too. Vreeland worried about how patients might perceive his business if someone saw him dining in violation of the state public health order.

They got takeout from a Vermont restaurant instead.

Vermonters in the Upper Valley confused by the recent restrictions are touching on a complaint that lodging establishments have been making for months. The state has been quick to shut down travel beyond its borders, even though 11 of Vermont’s 14 counties as of November 3 weren’t low-risk by the same measure.

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Janet Martinez

The level of frustration is crazy.

JA N E T MAR T I NEZ

“A lot of us struggle with the hypocrisy of it,” said Maggiotto, the Inn at Manchester manager.

His business was one of the first to join what is now the Vermont Lodging Coalition, a unified lodging trade group formed in the pandemic’s wake. One of the coalition’s key requests is to loosen the travel restrictions, including a call for reciprocal travel guidelines among Northeast states.

The group argues that hotel stays are just as COVID-19-safe as grocery store visits and golf courses.

State officials defend the Vermont county exemption on the grounds that the Vermont Department of Health has a well-resourced contact-tracing program with deep knowledge of every case within Vermont’s borders, and thus more control over community risk. That information isn’t available from other states.

Last Friday, though, Gov. Scott said he was mulling a narrow exception to the cross-state restrictions for certain activities in the Upper Valley.

The current surge in cases around the Northeast doesn’t bode well for the push to open Vermont’s borders.

Though some in the lodging industry sounded optimistic that the governor might consider an adjustment before ski season, Levine was quick to snuff out that hope.

“Nobody, seemingly across state government, is interested in liberalizing it further,” he said in an interview, “especially when we keep seeing red and yellow zones encroaching more and more on the state.”

Alternatives to Vermont’s onerous quarantine approach do exist. Alaska and Hawaii both welcome travelers who take a COVID-19 test before arriving and submit proof to the state. But point-intime tests aren’t as reliable prevention measures as quarantining. Those states also have the advantage of isolated borders.

“It is challenging to be an island in northern New England,” Levine said. “You can’t really be that.”

LONG WINTER AHEAD

If the ski season started today, nearly 80 percent of Vermont resorts’ typical customers would be barred from coming to the slopes for an impromptu weekend.

That would deliver a severe blow to the state’s economic recovery.

Many resorts may be able to limp along by relying on higher resident demand and by encouraging regional visitors to plan their trips around a quarantine period rather than snowfall. Other businesses linked to skiing may not be able to stay open.

Such widespread travel restrictions “would be a catastrophe,” said Margaret Cating, owner of the Lodge at Bromley, a family-oriented hotel at the base of Bromley Mountain. “My hotel [would] have to shut down” for the season, she added.

No matter the restrictions, compliance will remain a challenge. The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing is planning a campaign to increase awareness of the rules, but resorts aren’t planning to probe their guests’ travel history beyond asking them to sign a state-mandated compliance form.

“Given the nature of the requirements, we are unable to verify if visitors to the resort meet the requirements, but we urge you to do the right thing,” Killington Resort’s website reads.

Cating and others are counting on the region’s residents to adjust to indoor safety routines so the latest surge doesn’t linger for months.

“In the Northeast, people are pretty smart,” she said. “They just have to reset their habits for wintertime. I feel pretty confident that they’ll start heading towards the green.”

This wave already has one novel feature: Vermont isn’t immune. Daily cases and hospitalizations have hit levels not seen since April, and multiple outbreaks are unfolding concurrently.

The health department has traced four recent COVID-19 outbreaks to an earlier one at a Montpelier ice rink. Those initial cases involved locals who ignored the cross-state travel guidance, Scott said at a recent press conference.

“This is travel by Vermonters, not out-ofstate visitors,” he emphasized.

Subsequent outbreaks have occurred at two workplaces, a K-12 school and Saint Michael’s College, which canceled in-person classes to suppress further cases. At least 112 people have been infected, and at least 19 workplaces and schools have been exposed.

Levine deemed the situation a “wake-up call” about the large risks of small gatherings, especially when guests are traveling. He also warned that anyone whose Thanksgiving plans involve travel, including college students returning to Vermont, should begin planning their quarantine period.

In the long winter ahead, Vermont will continue to lean on its travel rules to guard the state from too many reckless tourists. But the rules will also need to protect Vermonters from themselves.

That’s been true all along. For months, Outdoor Gear Exchange, a sporting goods store on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, has been one of very few businesses to force customers to answer questions about their travel before they can shop for new gear. Some days, employee greeters have turned away 50 or more customers who didn’t pass the test, executive director of retail and service Brian Wade said.

On September 13, one of the employees told a pair of men, one from Burlington and one from Colorado, that they couldn’t come in. The Colorado visitor became frustrated, believing his county was “green,” even though Vermont deems every county more than a day’s car drive away to be red.

His Burlington friend, according to Wade, wouldn’t answer questions about his own recent travel, then tried to walk inside to find his wife. The greeter stepped in front of the door, and then ended up on the ground, the victim of an alleged assault. The shopper, Bill Atkinson, is due to be arraigned in court next month. Atkinson declined to comment for this story, but he previously told the Burlington Free Press he was embarrassed by the incident.

“That’s not who I am. That’s not how I conduct myself,” Atkinson told the paper.

The store has since replaced its greeters with private security guards. m Contact: derek@sevendaysvt.com SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

39

DARIA BISHOP

food+drink

Bartender Gabriana Whiting (left) serving drinks, while Matt Cote-Wurzler of Shelburne and Maddie Marchionna of Burlington sit at the bar at the Daily Planet

Back to the Bar

Sipping barside again in Burlington, with more rules and less company B Y M E L I SSA PASANEN

T

he year 2020 has not been good for barflies. In fact, the leisurely activity of hanging out at a bar, the subject of this occasional series, was prohibited for six months in Vermont.

Even after restaurants and bars gradually reopened to on-site customers at reduced capacity starting on May 22, bar seating was not permitted until mid-September.

That meant no perching elbow to elbow, nursing a glass of wine and falling into impromptu chats with strangers. No solo meals enlivened by snippets of neighboring conversations and internal analysis of whether the pair two stools over would make it to a second date. No front-row seats so close that one could almost feel the chill and smell the freshly zested citrus as the bartender expertly double-fisted ice-filled shakers and garnished cocktails with a flourish.

Those pastimes returned on September 18, when Gov. Phil Scott reopened bar

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

counters with safety guidelines in addition to those that already applied to restaurants and bars.

Patrons can now sit at a bar separated from other customers by six feet and from the bartender by a plexiglass divider. All customers in a bar area must be seated, and those at tables cannot approach the bar to place their own drink orders. Reservations or callahead seating are theoretically required even for bar seats, though the priority is obtaining each patron’s name and phone number in case the Vermont Department of Health needs to do contact tracing.

News flash: Being a barfly isn’t quite what it used to be.

Early on a recent Thursday evening, I had the bar all to myself at the Daily Planet in downtown Burlington until the host seated a man and woman at the other end. Luckily, I was still close enough to eavesdrop.

“Thank you so much for offering us this experience,” I heard the woman say fervently to the bartender.

At that point, I had spent about 30 minutes at the bar, starting with a maplecinnamon whiskey sour ($11) topped with egg white froth and a delicate dusting of cinnamon. The drink, which was more tart than sweet and very much to my taste, complemented the richness of my Tonguein-Cheek sandwich ($14) of, yes, braised beef tongue and cheek layered with pickled onion and a housemade tarragonDijon-mayonnaise blend.

I couldn’t decide between fries and greens, so I paid $4 extra to get both and had plenty of room for two plates in my spacious private section of the bar. (The Planet’s bar area also includes tables, though they are now fewer and spaced out.)

The bartender, Kristen Murray, slipped my orders under the plexiglass dividers

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stretching the length of the bar. Shelves of bottles and glassware sparkled behind them. Everything was tinted pink by the red neon squiggle throwing light down from the ceiling.

Murray wore a face covering, of course, as did I until my drink and food arrived.

Despite the many barriers between us, we managed to converse about how customers were behaving (largely respectfully), snowboarding (Murray’s preferred winter sport) and how many people have first dates at the Daily Planet (including a friend of mine who was meeting someone there that very evening).

A few days later, I chatted with Murray, 24, about how it feels to bartend these days. Her job at the Planet, as the 38-yearold restaurant is often called, started less than a month before the pandemic shuttered all on-site service at Vermont restaurants and bars.

The Planet reopened on July 2 for on-site dining and takeout. “There’s been a lot of adapting,” Murray said. “It’s been difficult, but I feel lucky to be in Vermont.

I don’t know that I would feel safe if I lived in another part of the country.”

In the month since the ban on bar seating was lifted, Murray said, she’s seen people excited to come back. “It has brought a sense of normalcy to have people sitting at the bar again,” she observed.

She noted that some patrons need to be told they can’t just walk in and sit anywhere at the bar as they once did.

But bartenders are accustomed to telling people things they might not want to hear.

“We can’t overserve. We have to card,” Murray said. “You have to be able to tell people no sometimes.”

Overall, hosting even a few customers

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Smoothie Operator THORN + ROOTS BRINGS HEALTHY FAST FOOD TO CHURCH STREET

The connection between Burlington and Saratoga Springs, N.Y., grew one business stronger in October with the opening of THORN + ROOTS on the Church Street Marketplace.

The juice bar’s sister restaurant, Urban Roots Kitchen, has operated in the upstate New York town for two years.

“We had always been looking at Burlington,” Thorn + Roots owner BRANDON ACRES told Seven Days. “Burlington has a lot of synergies with Saratoga.

There are other businesses up here that are also there, like KRU COFFEE and SARATOGA OLIVE OIL, and both places have a vibrant, small-town-city feel.”

While the Saratoga location was temporarily closed from March to June, Acres had time to explore expansion.

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spaces, and a perfect spot opened up,” Acres said, referring to the former B. Good location at 92 Church Street, where Thorn + Roots opened on October 13.

“The landlord [V/T Commercial’s BILL KIENDL] was super accommodating, and we were able to work with him on how to get a new restaurant in here during the pandemic,” he added.

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» P.43

Little City. Big Flavor.

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41

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Hot-and-sour soup at Umami

Good To-Go is a series featuring well-made takeout meals that highlights how restaurants and other food VERMONT establishments are adapting during the COVID-19 era.

Check out GOODTOGOVERMONT.COM to see what your favorite eateries are serving up via takeout, delivery and curbside pickup.

GOOD TO-GO

GOOD TO-GO

Feasting with a pro of Chinese cuisine

O

n a Friday afternoon in late October, I emailed Steve Bogart: “Are you willing to risk a little rain on our food to meet at 5 Saturday for an Umami picnic in Stowe?”

Bogart, now retired, was the founding chef-owner of A Single Pebble, a Chinese restaurant in Burlington that he started as a weekend pop-up in Plainfield in 1995.

To my dinner inquiry, Bogart replied yes, that would work.

He offered his van — with its pandemic-approved eight feet of space from front seat to back — as a dining room if the weather was too lousy to eat outside. He asked if I wanted him to order our food at Umami, an Asian takeout spot that opened on Main Street in Stowe in early September.

“Would love it if you order!” I wrote back.

The rain held off, but the sky was a gloomy gray and the evening air chilly when we met outside Umami. The tall grasses in the park down the hill from the restaurant were dead, the trees bare. As we carried two bags of food to one of the picnic tables — all three were empty — I remarked, “It’s a funny time for a picnic.”

“We’re funny people,” Bogart replied.

We had each driven about 40 miles for the meal. Bogart, 72, traveled from Worcester, where he’s lived for 50 years.

I came from Burlington.

The last time I’d seen him was more than a dozen years ago, when it was OK to hang out in a walk-in refrigerator with 42

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

SALLY POLLAK

B Y SA L LY POL L AK

JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

Picnic in the Park

He described himself in a similarVERMON manner: “I never made up a single dish.

Every recipe I used had a real long history.

I often would say I’m just a copycat.”

I was intrigued to learn from Bogart that our excellent hot-and-sour soup is made to order in the wok. The deeply flavorful and rich, almost stew-like soup is packed with pork, shrimp, chicken, tofu, mushrooms, lily buds, mung bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and spring onions. The base is chicken stock, made daily and kept hot on the stove.

The ingredients are sliced so finely, and the wok burns so hot, that the soup cooks in about 45 seconds. When the soup is ready, it’s poured into a quart container over red and black vinegar and white pepper, a method that keeps the flavors vibrant.

Our meal included wonderful chow fun with shrimp, and bao with braised pork belly. Eating the housemade rice

YOU CANNOT BE A BAD TREE CLIMBER,

AND YOU CANNOT BE A BAD CHEF. S T EV E B O G A R T

Steve Bogart drinking hot-andsour soup at a park in Stowe

someone you barely knew. That day in his Burlington cooler, he told me about the ducks hanging there and smoking over jasmine tea and hickory chips.

In Stowe, eating in an open-air refrigerator, we talked about cooking with a wok. (It’s properly seasoned, he told me, “by the time you throw it away” — after four or five weeks of heavy, high-heat restaurant use.) We discussed hot-andsour soup, pork belly, and rice noodles — all part of the Umami takeout on the picnic table. We drank soup from the containers and beer from 16-ounce cans

of Madonna, a double IPA from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, that I had brought from home.

A renowned chef of classical Chinese cuisine, Bogart had special insight into the meal. The chef team at Umami includes two people, Silas Tanner and Dusty Berard, who trained and worked with Bogart at A Single Pebble. His son, Chris Bogart, a chef based in Portland, Ore., consulted with and cooked briefly at Umami on an extended visit to Vermont.

“Dusty and Silas,” Bogart noted, “they’re classicists.”

noodles in the chow fun is like “swallowing clouds,” Bogart described. Pork belly, he told me, is difficult to do right. “You want the fat to be almost gelatinous,” he said. “Dusty’s a master at pork belly.”

I was especially pleased to eat Bogart’s namesake — Admiral Steve’s Chicken — with him. Cooked in a sauce that contains four types of soy sauce, along with sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, ginger, and roasted and fresh garlic, the crispy chicken is served with steamed broccoli.

“It’s an honor,” Bogart said of having a dish named for him.

A duck hanging in a walk-in refrigerator makes for interesting conversation, but Bogart can top it. Over dinner, I learned that his late father, Larry Bogart, was an early and influential activist in PICNIC IN THE PARK

» P.44

food+drink Healthy Living Market & Café in Williston

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location in Chittenden County on October 29 at 129 Market Street in Williston.

Now open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the new store is about half the size of the South Burlington location, or 18,000 square feet, according to NINA LESSERGOLDSMITH, who owns the business with her mother, founder KATY LESSER, and her brother, ELI LESSER-GOLDSMITH. The Williston store employs 65 people and offers the same product categories and departments as the original outlet, Nina Lesser-Goldsmith

said, but with a smaller selection within each department.

“We’ve always wanted to expand our footprint in our home community,” she said. “For a long time, we didn’t think we could make people happy with a store that was smaller than our first [one]. But smaller stores that support smaller communities are what people want.”

The café in the Williston store is the most beautiful and prominent aspect of the site, Lesser-Goldsmith noted.

As at the South Burlington store, café service has been modified for COVID-19; for instance, salads are now made to order by staff rather than assembled on a self-service food bar.

Seating will be available at the café when the state’s mask mandate is lifted, according to Lesser-Goldsmith.

“We can’t in good conscience allow people to unmask in the store and consume food” at a business that provides an essential service, she said.

Under the direction of chef MATT JENNINGS, Healthy Living is launching a selection of meals ready to eat, meals ready

to be cooked at home and rotating daily specials under the banner of HL FRESH, Lesser-Goldsmith said.

The opening of the Williston store comes after “extremely busy” months at the flagship South Burlington location, according to Lesser-Goldsmith.

“People are really relying on grocery stores [during the pandemic], and we’re happy and proud to be able to serve so many people so well,” she said. “It’s the hardest success I’ve ever had.

My staff are absolutely heroes. They come to work every day. They’re brave. They face all kinds of people. They do it with a smile, and I could not be more grateful to them.”

In addition to the two Vermont locations, the business that Lesser started in 1986 has a branch in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. “Vermont is our home, and we love it here,” Lesser-Goldsmith said.

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Picnic in the Park « P.42 PHOTOS: JEB WALLACE-BRODEUR

the anti-nuclear-power movement. I also learned that before Bogart was a chef he was an arborist.

“You cannot be a bad tree climber, and you cannot be a bad chef,” he said, “because either way you’re dead.”

At Umami, the cooking line is abuzz with life and energy. When Bogart saw the string of tickets waiting to be filled, he said he shuddered.

The restaurant’s owners are Aaron and Jennifer Martin, who also own Plate, another Main Street restaurant. Chef Tanner, 47, former sous chef at Plate, is a partner in Umami.

Aaron Martin, 36, grew up in Hyde Park. He recalled eating at A Single Pebble in Berlin with his father, who was then a chef in Stowe, when he was a kid.

“I’d go back into the kitchen and watch those woks rip and roar,” he said.

Martin started his restaurant career as a dishwasher at the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in Waterbury, later moving on to prep cook and sous chef. But he decided he wasn’t ready to be a sous chef and left that position for a job making salads at Hen of the Wood in Waterbury, Martin said.

He stayed for two and a half years. In that time, he said he learned a lot about cooking from chef-owner Eric Warnstedt. Martin continued his culinary education working for his father, Keith Martin, at Stowe’s Harvest Market. Now, he’s learning how to cook in a wok from his team at Umami. He called the experience “humbling.”

“The first time I flipped the chow fun, I was wearing the food that was in the wok,” Martin said. “It comes back at you because of the shape of the pan.”

The Martins decided in the spring that they wanted to open a takeout business, a model suited to a pandemic. They thought about a lobster shack or a “picnic plate,” Martin said, given the site’s location by the Stowe Recreation Path.

Bao

Silas Tanner (front) and Aaron Martin cooking at Umami

“All of a sudden, we were talking about this [Asian] style of food,” he recalled, adding that nothing travels better than Chinese food.

“You let the people who you hire do what they do best,” Martin continued.

“And these guys are passionate about Chinese food, and they do it really well.”

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in the park, Tanner told me that he appreciates the straightforward setup at Umami. A dining room was never particularly important to him and can feel “extraneous.”

“We built this engine in this room just to pump out food, and I love that aspect of it,” Tanner said.

In another phone call, Berard, who first cooked with Bogart when he was a

Chow fun

teenager, called the older chef his mentor and described his own approach to Umami.

“I want to make sure we’re not a cover band,” Berard said. “We’re taking a base knowledge and expanding on it from there.”

That Saturday evening in Stowe, after our picnic, I walked up the hill to Umami — an “engine” of culinary activity — and watched the action for a few minutes.

Chicken dumplings were steaming in a big steamer on one stove. Martin asked Berard to check something he was cooking. Tanner, down the line, was manning a wok. The phone rang for another order. I ducked out, after realizing too late it was the exact wrong time to ask Berard about bao buns. (Double leavening, he took the time to explain.)

The next morning, I got an email from Bogart.

“I thought Silas and Dusty are doing a great job,” he wrote. “I think this is my 4th meal there and [it] gets a little better each time.” m Contact: sally@sevendaysvt.com

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food+drink Back to the Bar « P.40 back at the bar has felt good to Murray.

“We were bartending all summer with just an empty bar,” she said about making drinks for customers seated at indoor and outdoor tables.

“Being a bartender is like being on a stage. I really missed people,” Murray said. Though, she added with a laugh, “It was a little bit of an adjustment to go back to having people right there.”

The bar area and late-night bar and food business have long been major contributors to the Planet’s revenue mix, chef and co-owner Neil Solis said.

He bought the landmark restaurant with his wife and other partners at the end of January.

“I want that bar business back, but I don’t see the demand yet,” Solis acknowledged.

Pandemic or not, the chef himself has never been a fan of sitting at a crowded bar. “A bar is strangers sitting next to each other,” he said. “I prefer a table, perKRISTE N sonally.”

For patrons and bar owners alike, the easing of restrictions has brought tough decisions. Some owners have decided that reopening the bar isn’t worth it.

At Three Needs Taproom & Pizza Cube, another longtime Burlington bar destination that stands a few blocks from the Planet, owner Glenn Walter had big plans to celebrate the bar’s 25th anniversary on November 17. But the pandemic may have put that party on indefinite hold.

Three Needs has been closed since March 16, except for a brief reopening in June for takeout drinks and pizza. While Walter said he may open for one night to commemorate the anniversary, after that, he expects to stay closed until April.

Three Needs, which Walter moved from its original College Street location to Pearl Street in 2012, is known for its laid-back vibe, pool tables, solid beer list and $1 weekday draft happy hour. That atmosphere isn’t easy to reconcile with the state’s guidelines. Walter believes the restrictions make sense to help reduce transmission of the virus, he said, but they make opening his business untenable.

Even when the decision to allow bar seating with limitations arrived in September, Walter didn’t consider reopening. “Let’s try it again when we can really do it,” he said. “Bars are fun.

You go out to have fun. You dance. You hug people. We don’t want to be the fun police.”

The bar owner said he is fortunate to have a stable, well-established business. He owns the building and has a good relationship with the bank that holds the mortgage. Walter said he has benefited from federal and state loan and grant programs and took the initial hiatus as an opportunity to redo the floors, repaint and reupholster furniture.

Discussing his decision to keep Three Needs closed, Walter was careful to note that each business owner is dealing with different pressures specific to their establishment and situation. “These are very difficult decisions,” he said.

“I don’t know if this is the right decision, but better safe than sorry.”

Unlike Walter, Solis and his partners at the Planet have not been able to get much economic assistance, he said, because the business lacks financial history under their ownership.

The restaurant has been fairly busy since reopening, Solis said. But capacity MU RRAY limits have combined with changes in consumer behavior to cut into business, particularly on the bar side.

The Planet’s bar used to be a favorite destination for restaurant industry employees winding down after work, Solis said. These days, “That crowd’s just not out.”

When late-night customers do come by the bar for a drink and bite to eat, Solis said, they are extra appreciative, given how limited their current options are.

He’s working on ways to serve food even after his kitchen shuts down for the night.

“I’m looking at offering something like a staff meal,” Solis said, referring to the family-style meal that many restaurants provide to employees before they open. An example might be shepherd’s pie with meat and vegetarian options, he said. The meals will be affordable, probably less than $10, and require minimal work to prep and serve.

Solis is doing everything he can to keep the Planet turning while making it as safe as possible for customers and staff.

He understands the tension between people’s desire to go out and their ongoing anxiety about the pandemic.

“We’re over it, but it’s not over,” Solis said. m

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11/2/20 6:08 PM

music+nightlife

Hayley Jane

News and views on the local music + nightlife scene

BY J O R D A N A DAMS

Clearing My Throat

It feels so indescribably weird to be writing a column on a Monday that will be published on a Wednesday, with the biggest presidential election of my life sandwiched between them. I don’t really have anything else to say about that, but I need to acknowledge the incredible strangeness of the situation.

No matter the outcome of the election, I’m happy about a new initiative that’s taking shape in Vermont. Read on for more info. And I hope to God you voted.

Heart in the Right Place

On October 23, Gov. PHIL SCOTT issued a proclamation that November would be Local Music Month. The document reads, “Whereas, the people of Vermont are diverse and deeply talented as a creative community; and whereas, their uniqueness contributes to Vermont’s identity as a special place to live and work; and whereas, Vermont’s original music is a vital vehicle of our humanity, carrying our stories, emotions and hopes to each other and to future generations; and whereas, the musical artists and industries of Vermont build community and our economy; and whereas, the enrichment and benefits that music and its industries provide to Vermonters are a treasured part of the Vermont experience and worthy of celebration.

Now, therefore, I, Philip B. Scott, Governor, hereby proclaim November 2020 as Local Music Month in Vermont.”

46

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

Confused about what this actually means? As Big Heavy World’s JIM LOCKRIDGE told me in a phone conversation Monday morning, “It’s a statement of recognition and values, which is a starting point for any conversation.

“Big Heavy World is an advocate for these values, and it’s a long-term challenge to inspire state leadership to share them,” Lockridge continued. “It’s cause for optimism that the voice of the grassroots and the most independent roles in the economy — artists, etcetera — have efficacy.”

That’s all well and good, but the proclamation does little (read: nothing) to put money into the hands of the individual musicians who are struggling Dwight & Nicole

because they have few or no places to perform. Also, perhaps it would have been more effective to proclaim this in, say, July or August, given that the warm weather and our low rate of coronavirus infections made outdoor live music more possible than it likely will be now that daylight saving time has ended.

But never fear, because Big Heavy World — along with a coalition of local networks, business and other orgs — are here! Thanks in part to funds allocated for marketing endeavors procured from Vermont’s $400 million economic relief and recovery package, the nonprofit and co. are making a concerted effort to bolster Vermont-made music this month with a campaign called #HEARVT. First, a number of local record

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BIG HEAVY WORLD

S UNDbites

stores are raffling off five Golden Ticket packages to shoppers who purchase local music or merch this month. The prize includes a $100 gift card to South Burlington nightclub Higher Ground and a one-night stay at Hotel Vermont. (You might have a while to wait before you can use that HG gift card, though.)

After you make your purchase of either a Vermont-made album or piece of band merch, share it on social media with the aforementioned hashtag for a chance to win. Participating stores include Barre’s Exile on Main Street; Brattleboro’s Turn It Up!; Montpelier’s Buch Spieler Records; the Queen’s City’s Burlington Records, Pure Pop Records and Speaking Volumes; Winooski’s Autumn Records; and Rutland’s the Howlin’ Mouse Record Store. (Be on the lookout for a check-in with the Howlin’ Mouse in an upcoming edition of this column, as part of my untitled, ongoing series on Vermont’s record stores.)

But wait, there’s more! The bands mentioned in said social media posts and represented in your purchases will themselves be entered to win a $400 screen-printing package from Fletcherbased artisan shop Calamity & Crowe’s Trading Post.

But wait again, there’s even more after that! Several musicians appear in a series of particularly high-quality public-service-announcement-style promos for the initiative, including DWIGHT & NICOLE, the PATH’s JON BERG, HAYLEY JANE, KAT WRIGHT, and ROUGH FRANCIS’ BOBBY HACKNEY JR. If you don’t encounter the ads, disseminated by the Vermont Association of Broadcasters, on radio or television, you can view them at bigheavyworld.com/hearvt.

“We just sort of opened the door to resources for a community-wide celebration and incentivization of participating in local music in Vermont,” Lockridge said.

Hopefully this measure will not only turn music lovers on to some folks making sweet tunes in their own backyards but also put a little green, however modest, into the pockets of said sweet-tune-making people.

Stimulus checks would be even better.

Be My Baby

WILLOUGHBY MORSE, drummer for CAROLINE

ROSE and former MADAILA guitarist,

recently released a puzzling little EP called together, forever//together, apart, which they worked on with GRACE POTTER guitarist BENNY YURCO. Rather than a straightforward, short collection of songs, Morse recorded two different

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versions of the central single, “together,” releasing one as themself and one as their sometime alter ego, GOOD BABY. Coupled with each version is an instrumental interlude. “Forever” backs the Morse version, while “apart” is coupled with GOOD BABY’s rendition.

So, why use this approach?

“I’ve been thinking a lot about perceptions and interpretations — how 10 people can consume the same piece of art or the same piece of bread and each have something different to say about it,” Morse wrote in an email. “It takes me ages to finish writing a song, and once I have it I feel like I can go in any of 5 directions.”

Morse pointed out a past affinity for GNARLS BARKLEY’s 2006 breakthrough St. Elsewhere.

“They would play the Grammys, late night [TV shows], this and that session, and it seemed like they never played the same arrangement of a song,” Morse continued, pointing out their fascination with the various versions of a song, from demo to album to concert hall. “[D]ifferent renditions of the same song could elicit different feelings or illuminate some new meaning within the lyrics or melody.”

This is a phenomenon regularly at play in covers. (I’m sure RAY PADGETT has a lot to say about it.) For instance, CHROMATICS’ narcotic cover of CYNDI LAUPER’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” lacks the jubilance of the original, instead presenting a dark take on the freedom heard in Lauper’s version. Is singer RUTH RADELET making a statement about female liberation? Is the band just adapting the song to its tonal palette? It’s fun to speculate, especially because, as Morse suggests, there probably aren’t any wrong answers.

Morse’s approach is fairly unusual, since artists rarely cover themselves.

But are they covering GOOD BABY, or is it the other way around? Hard to say — and, again, I don’t think it quite matters.

Morse also points to BIG THIEF front person ADRIANNE LENKER’s latest release, the economically named songs / instrumentals.

“They’re technically two distinct albums, but they’re also two sides of the same coin or 12-sided die and have a whole ‘greater than the sum of its parts’ thing to them,” they said.

Same goes for the diverging tracks heard on together, forever//together, apart. The differences are subtle, such as the tone and texture of the beats, the use of supporting vocals, and divergences in tempo. Take a listen and compare and contrast for yourself! The EP is available to stream and download at whosagoodbaby.bandcamp.com.

Listening In If I were a superhero, my superpower would be the ability to get songs stuck in other people’s heads. Here are five songs that have been stuck in my head this week. May they also get stuck in yours.

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REVIEW this Madaila, Madaila (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

Earlier this year, Mark Daly relaunched

his former band, Madaila, essentially as a solo project. Four new EPs were promised to follow, each titled for a cardinal direction said to be inspired by the sounds and feels of the region named. The middling West arrived in May, only weeks before George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis cop.

The protests that brought awareness to the killings of Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others inspired Daly to abandon the project — South was due next — and move in yet another direction. Specifically, he began writing a concept album about current events and systemic injustice. That album, titled Madaila, was released last week.

South was meant to be “an escape record,” Daly wrote in an email. He further explained that it “felt extremely ignorant

The Gifts, Silks (SELF-RELEASED, DIGITAL)

The Gifts is a moniker for the electronic experiments of Jeremy Mendicino, a Burlington resident who loves to tinker with strange gear. He’s been on the music scene, locally and beyond, for many years and is probably best known as part of the whip-smart pop-rock trio Pretty & Nice.

His latest LP, Silks, is a distinctive collection of utterly weird shit. That’s a compliment.

The genre of “ambient” electronica is cluttered with a lot of lazy, droning work, but the Gifts is a consistently interesting operation. Silks opener “Juardo” leads with dirty synth scribbles and keeps on taking unexpected turns from there, fleshing out a soundscape that is simultaneously huge and claustrophobic. That liminal space proves to be the core of the album.

Mendicino describes the Gifts as

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and insensitive to put out a record that was supposed to be full of escapism and sunny beachy aesthetics.” But rather than resolve Daly’s internal conflict, Madaila, in some ways, complicates it.

The record isn’t a total wash. As always, Daly is a maestro of pop hooks, and his voice is preposterously flexible and soothing. And through his recently built home studio, he improves as a producer with every release. His beats crackle; his synths gleam.

He crafts rich, spring-loaded melodies enveloped in finely appointed mixes.

The rhythmic, syncopated “Can’t Find You” is one of his most interesting songs to date, in terms of production and songcraft.

But, in a catch-22, the EP and the aggressive promotion surrounding it tacitly aggrandize

Daly rather than the causes he aims to support.

His suggestion that releasing an escape record “felt extremely ignorant and insensitive” might reflect Daly’s anxiety about being publicly shamed on social media should South have pulled focus from the racial justice movement.

That’s an unfortunate but understandable concern. Daly is hardly the only white artist, local or otherwise, who chose to shelve a release during the tumult that erupted in late May and early June.

On social media, those decisions drew widespread backlash, primarily from other white people, including from those admonishing white artists for diverting attention by posting about anything other than the movement.

Rather than a champion of the cause, Daly emerges as a kind of indie-pop pied piper, beckoning like-minded listeners to follow him. By releasing Madaila, he’s effectively done the thing he seemed most afraid to do: center himself, a white person, instead of racial justice.

Daly’s unambiguous support of women and people of color comes off as condescending. On opener “Best Thing,” he sings, “I wish that women ruled the world.”

That’s a nice thought, but it lacks the complexity and critical thinking necessary for untangling the patriarchy. On “Heavy,” Daly sings, “There has got to be a way that we can fix / This oppression and injustice that exists / Within our Black and brown communities.” It reminds me of Aldous Snow singing, “We’ve got to do something!”

Daly’s new work is just as effectual.

Stream Madaila on Spotify.

“experimental electronic,” and that’s not hubris. Throughout Silks, he defies easy cliché, pushing his equipment to the limits and creating a lot of novel textures and tones along the way. Yet it’s not noise for noise’s sake — Mendicino is an educated student of the genre who aims to conjure something truly new.

So, while some discursions here break both sequences and time itself (“Toypno,” “Beeds”), a lot of really careful composition work is buried beneath the massive effects chains. “1995,” in addition to being a haunting end-credits soundtrack waiting to happen, is driven by a lovely melody. “303Hand” blends house, trap and the kind of classical ornamentation on which Aphex Twin built a career.

For most of the album, though,

Mendicino operates in two modes at once: composer and technician. His production is hands-on; filters, effects levels and stereo real estate are constantly moving. Most notably, his percussion is organic, breathing in a way that the canned (and overcompressed) sounds of contemporary EDM do not.

This may surprise genre fans, but I suspect it will win them over, too.

Mendicino packs a lot of ideas into each track, shifting movements, tempos and feels. Here again, his musical background shines through.

That sonic variety doesn’t come across as capricious ADHD. Rather, everything fits together through these transitions.

Which is not to say the man won’t beat the holy hell out of his gear. On the second half of Silks, the back-to-back

attack of “Drops” and “Rndng” is the closest the LP gets to a genuine wall of noise. Both tracks take their time getting there, though, and perhaps that’s what most defines the album: an architectural approach. Mendicino understands the importance of bringing the listener in, setting expectations — and then flipping them upside down.

The experimental electronic genre itself is a bit inaccessible, at least compared to the more danceable strains of electronic music. Yet a few catchy synth earworms do appear on Silks. For all its broken, feedback-drenched aesthetics, the album has a lot to lure the listener in. Halfway between a home-studio demo and a transmission from the future, Silks will reward the curious.

Silks by the Gifts is available at thegifts. bandcamp.com.

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movies The Oath ★★★

O

ur streaming entertainment options are overwhelming — and not always easy to sort through.

This week, I was as obsessed with the election as everybody else, so I decided to torture myself with a movie I’ve long been curious about, a black comedy that floats an unsettling political scenario. Written and directed by Ike Barinholtz of “MADtv,” The Oath flopped at the box office in 2018 and can now be found on Hulu and Crackle.

REVIEW

The deal In an America not so unlike ours, the president has asked all citizens to sign an oath of allegiance. Not required them, mind!

As a chirpy official explains on TV, it’s totally optional. But should you want to put your loyalty to the current administration in writing, you have until the next Black Friday.

That makes Thanksgiving extra dicey for liberal suburban couple Chris (Barinholtz) and Kai (Tiffany Haddish).

While Chris is eager to fulminate against the rising tide of fascism, his mom (Nora Dunn) makes him promise not to talk politics, particularly with his more conservative brother, Pat (Jon Barinholtz). That’s not easy when the oath is constantly in the news, inspiring protests and uprisings that provoke a violent government response.

Soon Chris is scrapping with Pat and his new firebrand girlfriend (Meredith Hagner) over the turkey. When a pair of government agents arrives to investigate Chris’ alleged efforts to discourage others

from signing the oath, things escalate with terrifying speed.

Will you like it?

The Oath is a noble effort to make an intelligent comedy about political polarization that results in a deeply unpleasant watching experience. Writerdirector Barinholtz does a good job of spinning a disturbingly plausible premise into a nightmare, but he somehow manages to map our national divisions without shedding useful light on them.

The core problem is that the movie reads so much like a traditional comedy, and traditional comedy tends naturally toward moderation and a “both sides” view of the issue. Materially privileged, Chris is recognizable from countless middlebrow comedies as the clueless dad who needs to wake up to the needs of others — in this case, to the fact that his family members are more concerned about their safety than their principles.

But here’s the thing: Both sides aren’t equivalent in this movie. In scene after scene, Barinholtz demonstrates that the oath is no mere technicality; it’s transforming the U.S. into a police state where protesters are gunned down and people feel empowered to commit wanton attacks on their fellow citizens. As a result, when Chris’ loved ones implore him to turn off the news and enjoy the mashed potatoes, they’re the ones who seem absurdly out of touch.

A brilliant writer might have turned this disproportion into a brilliant twist — we start out laughing at Chris’ overreaction to the oath and end up staring in horror as we witness the price of not reacting at all.

TALKING TURKEY Politics make mincemeat of a family’s holiday gathering in Barinholtz’s political satire.

But, instead of drilling deeper into the rich material of family conflict, Barinholtz embroils Chris in a half-horrifying, halfslapstick standoff with the government agents that has no possible happy exit without a deus ex machina. While the film’s first half is decent cringe comedy, the second is tedious, chaotic and downright painful — wasting the talents of Haddish and Carrie Brownstein, who plays Chris’ ambivalent sister.

The Oath deserves credit for going where few movies dare to go, risking alienating much of its audience in the process.

But the sitcom tone mixes disastrously with the high-stakes premise, ensuring that the movie is more valuable as a time capsule of liberals’ fear and frustration over the past four years than as anything you’d want to watch.

If you like this, try...

• Election (1999; Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Crackle,

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rentable): Alexander Payne’s dark comedy takes a premise not unlike that of The Oath — a decent but comically flawed man stands up against what he believes is a dangerous new order — and lowers the stakes to a high school election. It’s wickedly funny.

• Brazil (1985; Hoopla, rentable): Terry Gilliam managed to find absurdist comedy in the workings of a fascist regime in this dystopian classic.

• The Purge: Election Year (2016; rentable): Would you like your paranoid political nightmares to come with a violent B-movie catharsis? The four-film Purge series asks us to imagine that the U.S. government has declared all crimes legal for an annual 12-hour period in an effort to make the rest of the year “safe” by thinning the ranks of the urban poor. In this installment, a presidential candidate with an anti-Purge platform becomes a target herself.

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NEW IN THEATERS THE INFORMER: Joel Kinnaman plays an ex-con who returns to prison for a risky mission to infiltrate the mob in this crime thriller, also starring Rosamund Pike, Ana de Armas, Common and Clive Owen.

Andrea Di Stefano directed. (113 min, R; Essex Cinemas) JUNGLELAND: One last fight sends a bare-knuckle boxer and his manager brother on a revelatory road trip in this drama from director Max Winkler, starring Charlie Hunnam and Jonathan Majors. (90 min, R; Essex Cinemas) LET HIM GO: Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play a retired sheriff and his wife who are determined to find their missing grandson after their son’s death in this crime drama from director Thomas Bezucha (The Family Stone). (114 min, R; Essex Cinemas, Sunset Drive-In) LIKE HARVEY LIKE SON: Rudy Harris’ documentary follows school teacher Harvey Lewis III as he attempts to set a speed record on the Appalachian Trail — with his dad as his crew chief. (90 min, NR; Savoy Theater)

NOW PLAYING AFTER WE COLLIDED 1/2H The film version of Anna Todd’s After saga — originally One Direction fan fiction — continues in this college romance starring Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Roger Kumble directed. (105 min, R. Essex Cinemas) BABYTEETHHHHH Eliza Scanlen plays a gravely ill teenager who falls in love with a drug dealer, to her parents’ dismay, in this comedy-drama that was nominated for the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion award. Shannon Murphy directed. (118 min, NR. Savoy Theater) COME PLAYHHH A family is menaced by a monster inside a kid’s smartphone in this horror flick from writer-director Jacob Chase, starring Azhy Robertson and Gillian Jacobs. (105 min, PG-13.

Essex Cinemas, Sunset Drive-In) HONEST THIEFHH1/2 Liam Neeson plays a bank robber whose plan to turn himself in to the FBI goes awry when rogue agents set him up for murder in this action drama directed by Mark Williams (A Family Man) and also starring Kate Walsh and Jai Courtney. (99 min, PG-13; Essex Cinemas)

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OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFEHHHH The life of the popular writer and neurologist who wrote such books as Awakenings is chronicled in Ric Burns’ documentary. (111 min, NR; Savoy Theater)

SPELLHH A plane crash victim finds himself the captive of a Hoodoo practitioner in rural Appalachia in this horror thriller from director Mark Tonderai.

Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine star. (91 min, R; Essex Cinemas) TENETHH1/2 Christopher Nolan (Interstellar) brings us a new high-concept spectacular in which John David Washington plays a mysterious agent who appears to be fighting for the very nature of time and reality. With Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson and Kenneth Branagh. (150 min, PG-13; Essex Cinemas) THIS IS NOT A MOVIEHHH1/2 Yung Chang’s documentary follows long-time Middle East correspondent Robert Fisk as he covers the war-torn region. (109 min, NR; Savoy Theater) THE WAR WITH GRANDPAHH Forced to share a room with his grandfather (Robert De Niro), a kid (Oakes Fegley) goes on the offensive to get his space back in this family comedy directed by Tim Hill (Hop). With Uma Thurman and Rob Riggle. (94 min, PG; Essex Cinemas)

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pronunciation and to achieve fluency. Audio-visual material is used. “I feel proud to say that my students have significantly improved their Spanish with my teaching approach.” -Maigualida Rak. Read reviews on Facebook at facebook.com/spanishonlinevt.

Location: Maigualida Rak, online.

Info: Maigualida Rak, spanish tutor.vtfla@gmail.com, facebook. com/spanishonlinevt.

massage

LEARN SPANISH LIVE & ONLINE: Broaden your world. Learn Spanish online via live videoconferencing.

High-quality, affordable instruction in the Spanish language for adults, students and children.

Travelers lesson package. Our 14th year. Personal small group and individual instruction with a native speaker. See our website for complete information, or contact us for details. Location: Spanish in Waterbury Center, Waterbury Center. Info: 585-1025, spanishparavos@gmail.com, spanishwaterburycenter.com.

CHINESE MEDICAL MASSAGE: This program teaches two forms of East Asian medical massage: Tui Na and shiatsu. We will explore oriental medicine theory and diagnosis, as well as the body’s meridian system, acupressure points, and yin-yang and five-element theory. Additionally, Western anatomy and physiology are taught. VSAC nondegree grants are available.

FSMTB-approved program. Starts Sep. 2021. Cost: $6000/625-hour program. Location: Elements of Healing, 21 Essex Way, Suite 109, Essex Jct. Info: Scott Moylan, 2888160, scott@elementsofhealing. net, elementsofhealing.net.

martial arts VERMONT BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU: Brazilian jiujitsu is a martial arts combat style based entirely on leverage and technique. Brazilian jiujitsu self-defense curriculum is taught to Navy SEALs, CIA, FBI, military police and special forces.

No training experience required.

Easy-to-learn techniques that could save your life! Classes for men, women and children.

Students will learn realistic bully-proofing and self-defense life skills to avoid becoming victims and help them feel safe and secure. Our sole purpose is to help empower people by giving them realistic martial arts training practices they can carry with them throughout life. IBJJF and

CBJJ certified black belt sixthdegree instructor under Carlson Gracie Sr.: teaching in Vermont, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A five-time Brazilian National Champion; International World Masters Champion and IBJJF World Masters Champion.

Accept no Iimitations! Location: Vermont Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 55 Leroy Rd., Williston. Info: 598-2839, julio@bjjusa.com, vermontbjj.com.

yoga EVOLUTION YOGA: Come as you are and open your heart! Whether you’re new to yoga or have practiced for years, find the support you need to awaken your practice.

Offering livestream, recorded and indoor classes. Practice with us at your comfort level. Flexible pricing based on your needs, scholarships avail. Contact yoga@evolutionvt. com. Single class: $0-15. Weekly membership: $10-25. 10-class pass: $140. New student special: $20 for 3 classes. Location: Evolution Yoga, 20 Kilburn St., Burlington. Info: 864-9642, evolutionvt.com.

FALL 2020 PROGRAM SCHEDULE

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

2H-WRUV110420.indd 1

10/30/20 11:27 AM

COURTESY OF KELLY SCHULZE/MOUNTAIN DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

Humane

Society of Chittenden County

Sophie AGE/SEX: 2-year-old spayed female ARRIVAL DATE: September 4, 2020 REASON HERE: Her owner passed away.

SUMMARY: Sophie is a sweet but shy kitty looking for a quiet home where she can feel safe with people who understand her. She might like to keep you company in the office or the kitchen, but she prefers attention and gentle pets on her own terms, with space when she needs it. The shelter environment was a little overwhelming for this sensitive girl, so she is currently living in a foster home. We would love to see her go directly from their home to her new family. Please contact our animal care manager at cynthiahc@hsccvt.org or 862-0135, ext. 17 for more information.

housing »

APARTMENTS, CONDOS & HOMES

DID YOU KNOW?

Fosters play a vital role in our ability to care for our most vulnerable animals. They provide a quiet place to recover from an illness or medical procedure, help with socialization and behavioral training, tend to tiny kittens, and give a much appreciated break to those who struggle in the shelter environment. Visit hsccvt.org/foster-care to learn more about our current foster needs and how you can get involved!

Sponsored by:

CATS/DOGS: Sophie has lived with another cat and may enjoy having a feline sibling at home. She lived with a large dog when she was a kitten and did well with him.

NEW STUFF ONLINE EVERY DAY! PLACE YOUR ADS 24-7 AT SEVENDAYSVT.COM.

on the road »

CARS, TRUCKS, MOTORCYCLES

pro services »

CHILDCARE, HEALTH/ WELLNESS, PAINTING

buy this stuff »

APPLIANCES, KID STUFF, ELECTRONICS, FURNITURE

music »

INSTRUCTION, CASTING, INSTRUMENTS FOR SALE

jobs »

NO SCAMS, ALL LOCAL, POSTINGS DAILY

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

53

CLASSIFIEDS on the road

housing

CARS/TRUCKS

FOR RENT

2007 CHEVROLET MONTE CARLO Auto. 122,000 miles. $4,200. Call Russell at 878-7496.

AFFORDABLE 2-BR APT. AVAIL. At Keen’s Crossing.

2-BR: $1,266/mo., heat & HW incl. Open floor plan, fully applianced kitchen, fi tness center, pet friendly, garage parking.

Income restrictions apply. 802-655-1810, keenscrossing.com.

CASH FOR CARS! We buy all cars! Junk, high-end, totaled: It doesn’t matter. Get free towing & same-day cash. Newer models, too. Call 1-866-5359689. (AAN CAN) NOKIAN HAKKA SNOW TIRES Studded. LT 265/75/R16.

Used 3 seasons but in good condition. $100.

734-6257.

m

BURLINGTON Single room, Hill Section, on bus line.

No cooking. Linens furnished. 862-2389.

No pets.

KEEN’S CROSSING IS NOW LEASING! 1-BR, $1,054/mo.; 2-BR, $1,266/mo.; 3-BR, $1,397/mo. Spacious interiors, fully applianced kitchen, fi tness center, heat & HW incl.

Income restrictions apply. 802-655-1810, keenscrossing.com.

CLASSIFIEDS KEY appt. appointment apt. apartment BA bathroom BR bedroom DR dining room DW dishwasher HDWD hardwood HW hot water LR living room NS no smoking OBO or best offer refs. references sec. dep. security deposit W/D washer & dryer

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 and similar Vermont statutes which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitations, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, handicap, presence of minor children in the family or receipt of public assistance, or an intention to make any such preference, limitation or a discrimination. The newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate, which is in violation of the law. Our

54

housing ads: $25 (25 words) legals: 52¢/word buy this stuff: free online services: $12 (25 words)

PINECREST AT ESSEX Joshua Way, Essex Jct. Independent senior living for those 55+ years. 1-BR avail. now, $1,240/mo. incl. utils. & parking garage. NS/ pets. 802-872-9197 or rae@fullcirclevt.com.

S. BURLINGTON CONDO 2-BR, 2-BA. 3rd floor. Stainless steel appliances, HDWD flooring, W/D. Secure parking, gym. Close to UVM. $1,850/mo. incl. heat & A/C. Email: gypsywhistle@yahoo. com, cell: 802-233-8146.

TAFT FARM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 10 Tyler Way, Williston, independent senior living. Newly remodeled 1-BR unit on the ground floor, w/ restricted view avail., $1,095/mo. incl. utils. & cable. NS/pets.

Must be 55+ years of age. cintry@fullcirclevt. com, 802-879-3333.

TAFT FARM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 10 Tyler Way, Williston, independent senior living. Newly remodeled 1-BR unit on the main floor avail., $1,185/ mo. incl. utils. & cable.

NS/pets. Must be 55+ years of age. cintry@ fullcirclevt.com or 802-879-3333.

TAFT FARM SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 10 Tyler Way, Williston.

Independent senior living. Newly remodeled 2-BR unit on 2nd floor avail., $1,390/mo. incl. utils. & cable. NS/pets.

Must be 55+ years of age. cintry@fullcirclevt. com or 802-879-3333.

HOUSEMATES NEED A ROOMMATE? Roommates.com will help you find your perfect match today!

(AAN CAN)

m

readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. Any home seeker who feels he or she has encountered discrimination should contact: HUD Office of Fair Housing 10 Causeway St., Boston, MA 02222-1092 (617) 565-5309 — OR — Vermont Human Rights Commission 14-16 Baldwin St. Montpelier, VT 05633-0633 1-800-416-2010 hrc@vermont.gov

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

display service ads: $25/$45 homeworks: $45 (40 words, photos, logo) fsbos: $45 (2 weeks, 30 words, photo) jobs: michelle@sevendaysvt.com, 865-1020 x21

OFFICE/ COMMERCIAL DOWNTOWN OFFICE SPACE Quiet location incl. 1-2 private offices, large conference room or work space, kitchen, high-speed internet.

Avail. now. $750/mo.

(1 office); $1,200/mo.

(2 offices). 660-2600, info@vtiff.org.

NEED STARTUP BREWERY SPACE Startup brewery looking for space to establish small brewing system for weekly brewing & occasional gatherings.

Established over 5 years as a member-owned cooperative w/ more than 125 members.

Space reqs. incl. size of 300-1,000 sq.ft., dependable water supply, BA, windows & some parking opportunities.

A perfect spot would also incl. outdoor space for monthly gatherings, 220-volt electric, close or adjacent proximity to casual dining or food truck opportunity, driveby or walk-by exposure, & nearby parking for a dozen or so vehicles. Burlington area preferred! Annual lease negotiable w/ monthly rent in the $300-500 range. Looking for avail.

by Jan. 1, 2021. Please email fullbarrelcoop@ gmail.com for more information or leads on that perfect spot!

print deadline: Mondays at 4:30 p.m. post ads online 24/7 at: sevendaysvt.com/classifieds questions? classifieds@sevendaysvt.com 865-1020 x10

AUTO

EDUCATION

DONATE YOUR CAR TO CHARITY Receive maximum value of write off for your taxes. Running or not! All conditions accepted. Free pickup.

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BIZ OPPS

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FINANCIAL/LEGAL

m

AUTO INSURANCE Starting at $49/mo.!

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BOY SCOUT COMPENSATION FUND Anyone who was inappropriately touched by a Scout leader deserves justice & financial compensation!

Victims may be eligible for a significant cash settlement. Time to file is limited. Call now.

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SERVICES » Bid to Buy Every Friday!

Contact Robbi for your Real Estate needs.

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Friday, November 6 @ 9AM Register from 7:30AM

298 J Brown Dr., Williston, VT  25% deposit due upon acceptance of highest bid, balance due Tuesday  No dealer’s license required to buy

OFFICE/RETAIL SPACE Robbi Handy Holmes • 802-951-2128 AT MAIN STREET robbihandyholmes@vtregroup.com LANDING Client focused on Burlington’s waterfront. Beautiful, healthy, Making it happen for you! affordable spaces for your business. Visit mainstreetlanding.com & click on space avail.

10/2/2016t-thomashirchak110420 11:05 AM 1 Melinda, 864-7999. 16t-robbihandyholmes100720-2.indd 1

Consign YOUR Vehicle Today!

THOMAS HIRCHAK CO. THCAuction.com • 800-474-6132

Homeshares

10/30/20 10:58 AM

BURLINGTON

services

ADOPTION COUPLE HOPING TO ADOPT Kind & fun-loving VT couple can provide a safe & loving home for your baby. If you are pregnant & considering adoption, we would welcome hearing from you. jonandtessa.weebly. com, 802-272-7759.

Lively woman in her 80s who enjoys the arts & long walks, seeking housemate to share some meals, conversation & help around the house. $300/mo. Must be dog-friendly; no add’l pets. Familiarity w/ memory loss preferred. Private BA.

MIDDLESEX Lovely home to share w/ creative educator in her 60s hoping for periodic household help & some companionship. $500 neg. No pets.

WESTFORD Share beautiful home w/ easy-going, outdoorsy man in his 50s. Large property to enjoy. $500/mo. (all inc.) Furnished bdrm. 10 miles to Essex Jct. No pets.

Finding you just the right housemate for over 35 years!

Call 863-5625 or visit HomeShareVermont.org for an application. Interview, refs, bg check req. EHO Homeshare-temp2.indd 1

10/23/20 1:57 PM

Calcoku SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS »

Using the enclosed math operations as a guide, fill the grid using the numbers 1 - 6 only once in each row and column.

6+

18x

2÷

4

3-

4-

1-

512+

30x

2

CALCOKU

3

5 3

6

2-

9 1 9 6 7

35+

8

5-

9

Difficulty - Medium

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

Open 24/7/365.

Viewfollowing and post up to Post & browse ads Complete the puzzle by using the 6 photos per ad online. at your convenience. numbers 1-9 only once in each row, column and 3 x 3 box.

9 2 6

111+

Show and tell.

Sudoku

2 9 5 8 4 2 7

4

No. 661

SUDOKU

7 4 3

Difficulty: Hard

BY JOSH REYNOLDS

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK: HH

Fill the grid using the numbers 1-6, only once in each row and column. The numbers in each heavily outlined “cage” must combine to produce the target number in the top corner, using the mathematical operation indicated. A onebox cage should be filled in with the target number in the top corner. A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not the same row or column.

Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each 9-box square contains all of the numbers one to nine. The same numbers cannot be repeated in a row or column.

3

2

6

1

4

4

1

3

6

5

crossword 2 6 5 3 1 6

5

1

4

2

1

4

2

5

3

5

3

4

2

6

9 2 8 3 5 4 6 1 7 6 5 1 8 7 9 2 4 3 ANSWERS ON P.59 H = MODERATE 3 4HH7= CHALLENGING 6 2 1 HH9H =5HOO,8BOY! 4 8 9 5 6 7 1 3 2 2 3 6 1 4 8 7 9 5 ARE NOT! 1 7 5 9 3 2 8 6 4 ANSWERS ON P.59 » 8 6 3 7 9 5 4 2 1 5 1 4 2 8 6 3 7 9 7 9 2 4 1 3 5 8 6

5 2

Extra! Extra!

There’s no limit to ad length online.

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Filtered.

Free.

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buzz?

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Sign up to receive our house blend of local news headlines served up in one convenient email

by Seven Days.

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/DAILY7 8v-daily7-coffee.indd 1

1/13/14 1:45 PM

4 3 6 1

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS: List your properties here and online for only $45/week.

Submit your listings by Mondays at noon to homeworks@sevendaysvt.com or 802-865-1020, x10.

LOVELY 4BR, 1.5BA HOME

PORT HENRY 5BR VICTORIAN

PORT HENRY, NY | 3249 BROAD ST.

So much to offer. Hardwood floors, two enclosed porches, 2 car garage, fenced backyard with patio.

Large, modern kitchen. Lots of extras including furnishings and extra pellets for fireplace insert. 35 min. from Vergennes/Middlebury. $119,000

Sue Cook

518-546-7557 realtyresults@yahoo.com www.realty-results.com

Exquisite woodwork. Sunroom, double LR, formal DR with built-ins.

Huge kitchen with butler’s pantry. Pocket doors, hardwood floors.

Large backyard, two barns, attached apt. (needs work). Ensuite MB with lake views. 35 min. from Vergennes/Middlebury $194,500

SOUGHT AFTER TOWNHOUSE10/29/20 HW-Cook110420.indd 12:54 PM

HW-BroadStCook110420.indd 1

ESSEX JUNCTION | 65 PEARL STREET

Spacious fully applianced kitchen opens to dining and living room.

Two larger bedrooms with attached full bathrooms, individual heating/ AC, and walk-in closets. Windows and western facing balcony for you to enjoy. Oversized attached one car garage with plenty of storage.

More assigned storage in basement with climate control. Move-in condition. $259,900

HW-Burns110420.indd 1

services [CONTINUED] STRUGGLING W/ YOUR PRIVATE STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT? New relief programs can reduce your payments. Learn your options. Good credit not necessary. Call the Helpline: 888-670-5631.

Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

ET. (AAN CAN)

56

802-373-3506

Sue Cook

518-546-7557 realtyresults@yahoo.com www.realty-results.com

Completely renovated in 2006 with new roof, electrical, plumbing, heating. New kitchen and bathrooms.

Bright home with wood floors. Four bedrooms, each have private full bathrooms and double closets. Additional first floor powder room off kitchen with laundry hook up. Private backyard. Unfinished basement Chuck Burns, and exterior shed great for storage.

Broker/REALTOR ® Parking for 4+ cars. $459,900 802-343-0462

10/29/20HW-Burns110420_converted 2:47 PM 2

11/2/20 3:56 PM

Call or email Katie Hodges today to get started: 865-1020 x10, homeworks@sevendaysvt.com Untitled-25 1

HEALTH/ WELLNESS

than competitors.

11/2/20 12:19 PM Nearly invisible. 45-day money-back guarantee!

1-833-585-1117. (AAN CAN)

GENTLE TOUCH MASSAGE Specializing in deep tissue, reflexology, sports massage, Swedish & relaxation massage for men. Practicing massage therapy for over 14 years. Gregg, gentletouchvt.com, motman@ymail.com, 802-234-8000 (call/ text). Milton.

HOME/GARDEN

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

1

BURLINGTON | 378 QUEEN CITY PARK ROAD

List your properties here and online for only $45/week.

Submit your listings

by Mondays at noon.

Cindi Burns, Broker/REALTOR ®

HEARING AIDS! Buy 1 & get 1 free!

High-quality rechargeable Nano hearing aids priced 90% less

FANTASTIC SOUTH END LOCATION

PORT HENRY, NY

LEO’S ROOFING Shingle, metal & slate repair. Standing seam replacement. Roofing repair or replacement.

Call for free estimate: 802-503-6064. 30 years’ experience. Good refs. & fully insured.

Chittenden County.

buy this stuff

APPLIANCES/ TOOLS/PARTS 147-PIECE TOOL SET! $50 SAE & metric-94-piece socket, 35-piece ratchet screwdriver set & 18 open wrenches. $50.

Other hand tools avail.

Call 540-226-4478, texts OK. rcserves@ hotmail.com.

ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEATERS 3 used electric baseboard heaters w/ 2 wall-mount thermostats. 2 are 6’,1 is 5’. $50 for all OBO. 540-226-4478, texts OK. rcserves@hotmail. com.

RINNAI DIRECT-VENT FURNACE Used Rinnai direct-vent wall furnace. Works fine.

8,200-20,700 BTU, incl. all parts & installation manual. $750/OBO. 540-226-4478, texts OK. rcserves@hotmail. com.

MISCELLANEOUS 4G LTE HOME INTERNET Now avail.! Get GotW3 w/ lightning-fast speeds + take your service w/ you when you travel!

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6/6/16 4:30 PM

GUARANTEED LIFE INSURANCE! (Ages 50-80). No medical exam.

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music

INSTRUCTION GUITAR INSTRUCTION Berklee graduate w/ 30 years’ teaching experience offers lessons in guitar, music theory, music technology, ear training. Individualized, step-by-step approach.

All ages, styles, levels.

Rick Belford, 864-7195, rickb@rickbelford.com.

SEVENDAYSVT.COM/CLASSIFIEDS GUITAR LESSONS Jazz, rock, Western classical, Indian classical.

Technique, theory, learn songs, express your unique voice. Studentcentered lessons. All ages/levels. 20 years’ experience. In-person & online lessons avail. xander.naylor@gmail. com, 802-318-5365.

ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C0720R-6C 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On October 6, 2020, Sisters and Brothers Investment Group, LLP, 75 South Winooski Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 filed application number 4C0720R-6C for a project generally described as conversion of an existing commercial building on Lot 1 to a day care facility for 56 students and 13 staff and construction of a gazebo, two sheds, and fencing. The project is located at 135 Talcott Road in Williston, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51—Minor Applications. A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C0720R-6C.” No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before November 16, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue or issues requiring the presentation of evidence at a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing to the address below, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining

property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than November 16, 2020.

If you have a disability for which you need accommodation in order to participate in this process (including participating in a public hearing, if one is held), please notify us as soon as possible, in order to allow us as much time as possible to accommodate your needs.

Parties entitled to participate are the Municipality, the Municipal Planning Commission, the Regional Planning Commission, affected state agencies, and adjoining property owners and other persons to the extent that they have a particularized interest that may be affected by the proposed project under the Act 250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 26th day of October, 2020.

By:_Kirsten Sultan__ District Coordinator 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-751-0126 kirsten.sultan@ vermont.gov ACT 250 NOTICE MINOR APPLICATION #4C1332 10 V.S.A. §§ 6001 - 6093 On October 19, 2020, Rivers Edge Building Development, LLC, 41

Gauthier Drive, Suite #1, Essex Junction, VT 05452 filed application number 4C1332 for a project generally described as subdividing an existing parcel into two (2) lots with six (6) additional footprint lots. Proposed Lot 1 is 0.31 acres and will retain the existing 3-bedroom home. Proposed Lot 2 will be the site of three (3) new duplexes containing a total of six (6) 3-bedroom residential units on individual footprint lots.

The Project is located at 488 Main Street in Colchester, Vermont.

The District 4 Environmental Commission is reviewing this application under Act 250 Rule 51— Minor Applications. A copy of the application and proposed permit are available for review at the office listed below.

The application and a draft permit may also be viewed on the Natural Resources Board’s web site (http://nrb. vermont.gov) by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering the project number “4C1332.”

No hearing will be held and a permit may be issued unless, on or before November 18, 2020, a person notifies the Commission of an issue or issues requiring the presentation of evidence at a hearing, or the Commission sets the matter for a hearing on its own motion. Any person as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1) may request a hearing. Any hearing request must be in writing to the address below, must state the criteria or sub-criteria at issue, why a hearing is required and what additional evidence will be presented at the hearing. Any hearing request by an adjoining property owner or other person eligible for party status under 10 V.S.A. § 6085(c)(1)(E) must include a petition for party status under the Act 250 Rules. Prior to submitting a request for a hearing, please contact the district coordinator at the telephone number listed below for more information. Prior to convening a hearing, the Commission must determine that substantive issues requiring a hearing have been raised. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law may not be prepared unless the Commission holds a public hearing.

»

Show and tell.

View and post up to 6 photos per ad online.

If you feel that any of the District Commission members listed on the attached Certificate of Service under “For Your Information” may have a conflict of interest, or if there is any other reason a member should be disqualified from sitting on this case, please contact the District Coordinator as soon as possible, and by no later than November 18, 2020.

If you have a disability for which you need accommodation in order to participate in this process (including participating in a public hearing, if one is held), please notify us as soon as possible, in order to allow us as much time as possible to accommodate your needs.

Parties entitled to participate are the Municipality, the Municipal Planning Commission, the Regional Planning Commission, affected state agencies, and adjoining property owners and other persons to the extent that they have a particularized interest that may be affected by the proposed project under the Act 250 criteria. Non-party participants may also be allowed under 10 V.S.A. Section 6085(c)(5).

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 28th day of October, 2020.

By: /s/ Stephanie H. Monaghan Stephanie H. Monaghan, District Coordinator, 111 West Street, Essex Junction, VT 05452, 802-879-5662 Stephanie.monaghan@ vermont.gov BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT PROJECT NOTIFICATION AND SOLICITATION OF INTEREST Burlington School District (BSD) in Burlington Vermont is planning a complete overhaul of their existing high school campus. The project will consist of 192,000 SF of renovation and 78,000 SF of additions to the existing school buildings (circa 1964). Due to the size and complexity of the renovation & site work, the work will be strategically phased throughout the course of 4 years. Maintaining an active school with minimal disruptions will be the overall goal of the phasing plan. Scope includes extensive interior and exterior work,

which will encompass all major construction divisions. The work is slated to start in 2021 and be substantially complete in the fall of 2024. The BSD invites Trade Contractors and Vendors to submit letters of interest for inclusion in bidding/ contracting. All contractors and vendors will need to be insured and all contracts over $500k will require pre-qualification and bonding. Contractors wishing to submit bids on bids packages over $500k must submit the AIA-A305 form plus additional documentation. The Owner has established specific qualification criteria, which is included in the qualification package. Qualification of interested parties will be conducted jointly by the Construction Manager and the BSD. Bidding will be phased from late spring 2021 to the end of summer 2021.

NOTE! This notification may be the only public notification of this work.

Interested parties are encouraged to request a qualification package from the Construction Manager no later than November 15, 2020.

Dylan Lozier, Construction Manager Whiting-Turner Contracting Company dylan.lozier@ whiting-turner.com Phone: 410-808-6690 Minority owned and women owned businesses are strongly encouraged to participate Publication Dates: October 28, November 3, November 10, 2020.

CITY OF BURLINGTON AN ORDINANCE IN RELATION TO BURLINGTON CODE OF ORDINANCES CHAPTER 21, OFFENSES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS, SEC. 2145A TRESPASS ON CITY PROPERTY In the Year Two Thousand Twenty ORDINANCE 7.04 Sponsor: Ordinance Committee Public Hearing Dates: _ First reading: 09/09/19 Referred to: Ordinance Committee Rules suspended and placed in all stages of passage: _ Second reading: 10/05/20 Action: adopted Date: 10/05/20 Signed by Major: 10/26/20

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Published: 11/04/20 Effective: 11/25/20 It is hereby Ordained by the City Council of the City of Burlington as follows: That Chapter 21, Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Burlington be and hereby is amended by adding a new Section 21-45A, Trespass on City Property, thereto to read as follows: 21-45A. Notice of Trespass on City Property (a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to enable a city official in charge of city property to issue a notice of trespass and enforce that notice against an individual whose behavior is dangerous, illegal, or unreasonably disruptive, while recognizing the rights of individuals to engage in constitutionallyprotected activities on public or city-owned property. (b) City official authorized to issue notice of trespass. The city council hereby expressly delegates its authority to issue a notice of trespass to any city official who is in charge, at the time of issuance, of the city property for which the notice of trespass is issued and to any sworn officer of the Burlington Police Department in the exercise of their official duties. (c) Issuance of Notice of Trespass; Initial Conference. If an individual violates any city ordinance, rule or regulation, or state law, or within a public building fails to follow the lawful directive of a city official or police officer authorized under subsection (b) above, that official may issue a notice of trespass for a violation which was committed while on or within a city facility, building, or outdoor area, including a municipal park, for the specific property where the violation occurred, excluding a right-of-way.

Prior to issuance of the notice of trespass, the issuing official must ensure that the person to whom a notice of trespass will be issued has been informed of the basis for the notice of trespass and has been given an opportunity and

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reasonable amount of time to change or address the underlying conduct—that is, a verbal warning must have been issued.

No verbal warning is required if the reason for the trespass is an accusation of serious harmful conduct such as arson, assault, harassment or a threat of such conduct.

Notices of trespass may be issued at the Fletcher Free Library as provided in section 21-43.

character of the Fletcher Free Library, the following durations apply to violations made under the library ordinance.

For a violation of section 21-43(a)(1), a notice of trespass may be issued for up to 180 days. For a violation of section 21-43(a)(2), a notice of trespass may be issued for a period up to 60 days. For a violation of section 21-43(a)(3), a notice of trespass may be issued for a period of one day.

(d) Service of notice— content. In most cases, the notice of trespass must be hand-delivered to the person to whom it is issued by an authorized city official or a law enforcement officer; however, if the circumstances do not permit safe delivery of the notice in person, in the discretion of the authorized city official or law enforcement officer, it may be mailed to the individual’s legal address. The written notice of trespass shall detail the basis for which the notice of trespass was issued, the length of time for which the notice of trespass remains in effect, and the consequences for violating the terms of the notice of trespass; it shall also advise the recipient of the right to contest the notice of trespass and the location at which to file the appeal.

(f) Appeal.

(e) Length of Notice of Trespass.

(1) Generally. For minor, first-time violations, such as having an open container of alcohol, the notice may be issued for up to one day. For moderate violations, such as other non-violent disorderly conduct, or for a second offense within thirty days, the notice may be issued for up to thirty days. For more serious violations or a third offense within sixty days, the notice may be issued for up to 180 days. Generally, it is expected that the length of time should reflect the severity or repetitiveness of the underlying conduct.

Only for more serious offenses such as conduct that involves violence, harassment, or threats of physical harm to an individual may a notice be issued for over 180 days, and in any event, a notice of trespass may not be issued for more than one year.

(2) Fletcher Free Library.

Due to the nature and

(1)Process. The recipient of a notice of trespass may appeal the notice of trespass by filing an appeal, in writing, within 7 calendar days of the issuance of the notice.

The written appeal shall include the appellant’s name, address, phone number, and indicate whether a hearing is requested. No fee shall be charged for filing the appeal. The appeal shall be filed at the location designated in the notice of trespass.

Except for in exigent circumstances, any such appeal shall stay the operation of the notice of trespass beyond the day the appeal is filed, pending a hearing and/ or written decision.

(3) Exigent Circumstances. For purposes of this chapter, exigent circumstances means any situation in which the issuing city official or officer determines that a person presents an immediate and substantial threat or danger to the health, safety, or welfare of another person. In such circumstances, an appeal shall not stay the operation of the notice of trespass.

(2) Designated Hearing Panels. All appeals made under this chapter shall be heard by the Public Safety Committee of the City Council, which will make an annual report to the City Council on the number of appeals.

(3) Procedure. When an appeal is filed, the designated hearing panel shall meet within ten (10) business days to consider the appeal. If no hearing is requested, the designated hearing panel may consider any written submissions as part of its decision. If a hearing is requested, the appellant must be provided at least three (3) business days written notice of the date, time, and location

LEGALS » SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

57

for refusal to leave the premises within a reasonable period after issuance of the citation. ** Material stricken out deleted. ***Material underlined added.

[CONTINUED] of the hearing. The designated hearing panel shall allow oral and/ or written testimony and evidence from the appellant and the issuing city official or officer. In reviewing the notice of trespass, the panel will utilize the preponderance of the evidence standard with the burden of proof on the charging official or their representative.

The designated hearing panel shall issue a written decision within 10 business days of the hearing. The designated hearing panel may extend the time period for hearing if the operation of the notice of trespass is stayed or if the appellant consents.

(4) Waiver requests.

An individual who has received a notice of trespass may request a waiver from the issuing official (or in the absence of that official from another city official authorized to issue the notice) in order to access the property for which the notice of trespass was issued for purpose of work, residence, access to government services, or the exercise of constitutionally protected activities. If that waiver is denied, an appeal may be made to the designated hearing panel.

In addition, in the context of any appeal of a notice of trespass, the designated hearing panel shall also consider any waiver request from the individual appealing. (g) Enforcement. Once a notice of trespass has been issued, unless the notice has been stayed by receipt of an appeal or the notice has been overturned by a decision on appeal, a violation of the notice may be enforced pursuant to B.C.O. 21-45 (a civil violation) or 13 V.S.A. § 3705 (a criminal violation).

Unless the notice of trespass was issued for conduct involving violence, harassment, or threats of physical harm to an individual, enforcement pursuant to 13 V.S.A. §3705 may only commence with issuance of a citation and a request to leave the premises; however, arrest is permissible

58

NORTHSTAR SELF STORAGE WILL BE HAVING A PUBLIC AND ONLINE SALE/ AUCTION FOR THE FOLLOWING STORAGE UNITS ON NOVEMBER 16, 2020 AT 9:00AM Northstar Self Storage will be having a public and online sale/auction on November 16, 2020 at 3466 Richville Rd. Manchester Center, VT 05255 (Units M-143) and at 1124 Charlestown Rd., Springfield, VT 05156 (Unit S-59 / 87 / 108 / 126) and online at www. storagetreasures. com at 9:00 am in accordance with VT Title 9 Commerce and Trade Chapter 098: Storage Units 3905.

Enforcement of Lien Unit # S-59 Jonathan Chandler- Household Goods Unit # S-87 Donisha Hutchinson- Household Goods Unit # S-108 Donisha Hutchinson- Household Goods Unit #S-126 Justin Simonds- Household Goods Unit #M-143 Lisa Friendman- Household Goods PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED ON APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL SUBMITTED BY HOWARD CENTER FOR THE PROPOSED PURCHASE OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT 180-184 PEARL STREET IN BURLINGTON, VT. The Vermont Departments of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living (DAIL) and of Mental Health (DMH) (collectively, Departments) have determined that a Certificate of Approval (COA) application from Howard Center for the purchase of a property located at 180-184 Pearl Street in Burlington, Vermont, is complete. The property, to which the application applies, is the current location of Howard Center’s Act 1 and Bridge programs and includes a commercial space and nine residential units/apartments. The COA application and related attachments and tables are posted on the DAIL and DMH websites.

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

This application will be the subject of an upcoming public hearing and public comment period. The hearing is scheduled for December 1, 2020, from 10:00am to 11:00am.

Those interested in attending may join using the following information: Join Microsoft Teams Meeting +1802-828-7667 Conference ID: 374522616# The applicant will offer a brief overview of the proposed project, after which the public will be invited to comment. DAIL and DMH representatives will be in attendance at the hearing.

DAIL and DMH will also be accepting written public comment, which must be submitted no later than 4:30 pm on December 8, 2020. Please direct comments to Frank Reed, Director of Mental Health Services, Vermont Department of Mental Health, 280 State Drive, NOB 2 North, Waterbury, VT 05671 - 2010, or electronically to frank. reed@vermont.gov.

All public comments received by December 8, 2020, will be reviewed, and DAIL and DMH will make a determination as to whether to grant a Certificate of Approval.

Link to Documents: https://dail.vermont. gov/public-noticesand-hearings https://mentalhealth. vermont.gov/news/ coa-howard-center108-184-pearl-street STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL DIVISION CHITTENDEN UNIT CASE NO. 20-CV-00661 IN RE: ABANDONED MOBILE HOME OF MARION E. RUEL a/k/a MRS. ALBERT RUEL NOTICE OF HEARING A hearing on CDI Development Fund, Inc.’s Verified Complaint to declare as abandoned and uninhabitable the mobile home of Marion E. Ruel located at the North Avenue Co-op, 37 Avenue C in Burlington, Vermont has been set for November 18, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit, Civil Division located at 175 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont.

Date: October 26, 2020 Nancy J. Bean, Docket Clerk

VERIFIED COMPLAINT FOR ABANDONMENT PURSUANT TO 10 V.S.A. § 6249(i) (Uninhabitable) NOW COMES CDI Development Fund, Inc. (“CDI”), by and through its counsel Nadine L. Scibek, and hereby complains pursuant to 10 V.S.A. § 6249(i) as follows:

Beautiful Roof Top Apartment on Burlington’s Waterfront Great views, free parking. $2,700 includes heat and air.

Starksboro, Vermont 05486 802-363-5446 pakpp@accessvt.com Name of Publication: Seven Days Publication Date: 11/4/20 Probate Court: Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Probate Division, PO Box 511, Burlington, VT 05402

STATE OF VERMONT SUPERIOR COURT 1. CDI, a foreign PROBATE DIVISION non-profi t corporation CHITTENDEN UNIT with a principal place of DOCKET NO.: 244-2business in Shelburne 20 CNPR Falls, Massachusetts In re ESTATE of: Carol is the record owner of Barkyoumb a mobile home park 802-864-7999 located on North NOTICE TO CREDITORS Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. This Park To the creditors of: which was formerly 10 V.S.A. § 6249(j) that has failed to respond.

Carol Barkyoumb, known as Farrington’s the mobile home and See attached. late of Westford. I 16t-MelindaMoulton122315.indd1 1 11/2/20 12:06 5:34 PM PM Mobile Home Park 16t-mainstreetlanding110420 any security 12/18/15 deposit have been appointed is now known as paid be conveyed to 8. The following executor of this estate. the North Avenue the Park Owner in security interests, All creditors having Co-op (the “Park”). CDI “as is” condition, and mortgages, liens and claims against the purchased the Park in free from all liens and encumbrances appear decedent or the estate November, 2015. other encumbrances of of record with respect must present their record. to the mobile home: claims in writing within 2. Marion E. Ruel a/k/a four (4) months of the Mrs. Albert Ruel (“Ruel”) DATED AT Burlington, a. Ruel is in arrears on first publication of is the record owner Vermont this 23 rd day obligations to pay propthis notice. The claim of a certain mobile of October, 2020. erty taxes to the City must be presented home, described as BY: Nadine L. Scibek of Burlington, Vermont to me at the address a 1963, 3 bedroom, 1 Attorney for CDI in the aggregate listed below with a copy bathroom, 788 square amount of $2,491.05, sent to the court. The foot mobile home (the I declare that the above plus any additional claim may be barred “Mobile Home”), located statement is true and interest/penalties. The forever if it is not on 37 Avenue C at the accurate to the best delinquent property presented within the North Avenue Co-op in of my knowledge and taxes are now a lien four (4) month period.

Burlington, Vermont belief. I understand on the property. See according to the City of that if the above attached.

Dated: 10/22/2020 Burlington Assessor’s statement is false, I Signature of Fiduciary: records. Per the City of will be subject to the 9. Mobile home storage /s/_Richard W. Burlington, there is no penalty of perjury or fees continue to accrue Kozlowski, Esq. recorded Bill of Sale for other sanctions in the at the rate of $415.00 the Mobile Home. discretion of the Court. per month. Lot rent Executor/ in the amount of Administrator: Richard 3. Ruel leased a lot in DATED this 23 rd day of $3,320.00 is currently W. Kozlowski, Esq., P.O. the Park for her mobile October, 2020. owed to CDI through Box 728, Burlington, VT home pursuant to an October, 2020. Court 05402 802-864-5756 oral lease. No security BY: Silvia Iannetta, costs and attorney’s rkoz@lisman.com deposit was paid.

Duly Authorized Agent fees incurred by the for CDI Park exceed $750.00.

Name of Publication: 4. Ruel is deceased. Her Seven Days Publication date of death is March 10. The Park sent Date: 10/28/20 and STATE OF VERMONT 11, 2008. See attached written notice by 11/4/20 Probate Court: SUPERIOR COURT Death Certificate. certified mail to the Vermont Superior PROBATE DIVISION City of Burlington on Court, Chittenden CHITTENDEN UNIT 5. No probate estate for September 24, 2020 of Probate Division, PO DOCKET NO.: 233-2Ruel has been opened its intent to commence Box 511, Burlington, VT 18 CNPR per the Chittenden this abandonment 05402 In re ESTATE of: Marie County Probate Court. action. See attached.

Soutiere 6. The last known 11. The mobile home is STATE OF VERMONT NOTICE TO CREDITORS resident of the mobile unfi t for human habitaVERMONT SUPERIOR home was Butch Ruel, tion. Stephen Hamlin, COURT WASHINGTON To the creditors of: Ruel’s son, who Duly Authorized Agent UNIT, CIVIL DIVISION Marie Soutiere, late of continued living in for the Park, will testify DOCKET NO: 520-9-19 Jericho, VT. I have been the Mobile Home after under oath as to the WNCV appointed executor Ruel’s death. Butch poor and unlivable QUICKEN LOANS, LLC of this estate.

All Ruel has been residing condition of this mobile FORMERLY KNOWN AS creditors having claims at the Elderwood at home at the abandon(FKA) QUICKEN LOANS against the decedent Burlington nursing ment hearing.

INC. or the estate must facility, 98 Starr Farm v. present their claims Road in Burlington, WHEREFORE, the DEBORAH KELTY A/K/A in writing within four Vermont since April, Park Owner respectDEBORAH J. KELTY (4) months of the 2020 and the Park has fully requests that the F/K/A DEBORAH GAGNE fi rst publication of been advised that he Honorable Court enter OCCUPANTS OF: 22 Phil this notice.

Th e claim will not be returning an order as follows: Street, (East Barre) must be presented to the Mobile Home.

Barre VT to me at the address The mobile home has 1. Declare that the listed below with a copy been abandoned and is mobile home has been MORTGAGEE’S NOTICE sent to the court. The unoccupied. The Park abandoned; OF FORECLOSURE SALE claim may be barred has also been informed OF REAL PROPERTY forever if it is not that all of Butch Ruel’s 2. Transfer the mobile UNDER 12 V.S.A. sec presented within the belongings have home which is unfi t 4952 et seq. four (4) month period. been removed from for human habitation the Mobile Home. His to the Park owner CDI In accordance with the Dated: 10/22/2020 address is at Elderwood without a public aucJudgment Order and Signature of Fiduciary: at Burlington. tion so that it may be Decree of Foreclosure /s/_Audree Hendee removed and disposed entered August 31, 7. The Park’s has of accordingly.

2020,in the above Executor/ attempted to captioned action Administrator: Audree communicate in writing 3. Order pursuant to brought to foreclose Hendee, 178 Tatro Rd, with Butch Ruel and he

that certain mortgage given by Deborah Kelty a/k/a Deborah J. Kelty f/k/a Deborah Gagne and the late Stephen E. Kelty, Jr.to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for Quicken Loans Inc., dated April 27, 2012 and recorded in Book 260 Page 473 of the land records of the Town of Barre, of which mortgage the Plaintiff is the present holder, by virtue of an Assignment of Mortgage from Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. as nominee for Quicken Loans Inc. to Quicken Loans Inc. n/k/a Quicken Loans, LLC dated January 23, 2015 and recorded in Book 278 Page 582 of the land records of the Town of Barre for breach of the conditions of said mortgage and for the purpose of foreclosing the same will be sold at Public Auction at 22 Phil Street, (East Barre) Barre, Vermont on December 4, 2020 at 11:00AM all and singular the premises described in said mortgage, To wit: Tax Id Number(s): 024/022.00 Land Situated in the Town of East Barre in the County of Washington in the State of VT. BEING ALL AND THE SAME LAND AND PREMISES AS CONVEYED TO STEPHEN KELTY, A SINGLE MAN, AND VALERIE BROOKS, A SINGLE WOMAN, AS TENANTS IN COMMON

BY QUITCLAIM DEED, OF STEPHEN KELTY, ALSO KNOWN AS STEPHEN E. KELTY, JR, A SINGLE MAN DATED 11/30/2004, AND RECORDED 02/09/2005 IN BOOK 206 PAGE 18 OF THE TOWN OF BARRE RECORDS, AND IN SAID DEED DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: ’BEGINNING AT A POINT ON THE NORTHERLY SIDE OF A ROAD AS LAID OUT IDENTIFIED AS PHIL STREET, WHICH POINT MARKS THE MOST SOUTHERLY CORNER OF LAND NOW OWNED BY DAVID BROWN AND THE MOST EASTERLY CORNER OF LAND BEING HEREIN CONVEYED; THENCE PROCEEDING FROM SAID POINT NORTH 55 DEG. 19 MIN. 35 SEC. WEST 100 FEET TO AN IRON PIN; THENCE TURNING TO THE LEFT AND RUNNING SOUTH 59 DEGREES 01 MIN. 20 SEC. WEST 99.54 FEET TO AN IRON PIN; THENCE TURNING TO THE LEFT AND PROCEEDING

Property No. 9: Intentionally Left Blank.

Said lands and/or premises will be sold at a public auction at the Town Offices, 43 Bombardier Road, Milton, Vermont, on Tuesday the 17th day of November 2020, at One o’clock in the afternoon (1:00 p.m.), to discharge such taxes with costs, unless the same are previously paid.

Information regarding the amount of taxes due may be obtained at the offices of Robert E. Fletcher, Esq., Stitzel, Page & Fletcher, P.C., P.O. Box 1507, Burlington, Vermont 05402-1507, (802) 6602555.

DATED at Milton, in the

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East Allen Street and 16 off-street parking spaces at 223 East Allen Street for a net total of 27 off-street parking spaces. The proposed project does not constitute a material change to a permitted development pursuant to Act 250 Rule 2(C)(6) and does not require a permit amendment for the City Lofts property located at 243 East Allen Street in Winooski, Vermont.

Copies of this jurisdictional opinion have been served on all persons specified in 10 V.S.A. 6007(c) and Act 250 Rule 3(C). A copy of the jurisdictional opinion may be obtained by contacting the District Coordinator at the address/telephone number below.

Reconsideration requests are governed

by Act 250 Rule 3(C)(2) and should be directed to the District Coordinator at the address listed below.

Any appeal of this decision must be filed with the Superior Court, Environmental Division (32 Cherry Street, 2nd Floor, Ste. 303, Burlington, VT 05401) within 30 days of the date the decision was issued, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. Chapter 220.

The Notice of Appeal must comply with the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings (VRECP).

The appellant must file with the Notice of Appeal the entry fee required by 32 V.S.A. § 1431 which is $295.00.

The appellant also must serve a copy of the Notice of Appeal on the Natural Resources Board, 10 Baldwin Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-3201, and on other parties in accordance with Rule 5(b)(4)(B) of the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings.

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 26th day of October 2020.

By: /s/ Rachel Lomonaco Rachel Lomonaco, District Coordinator District #4 Commission 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-879-5658 rachel.lomonaco@ vermont.gov

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Property No. 5: Being a 1979 Skyline Budget make and 0163 model mobile home, serial number 01160269N, property commonly known and numbered as 23 Sparrow Circle, located in the Milton Mobile

Property No. 11: Intentionally Left Blank.

Land Use Permits 4C1311, 4C1311-1 and 4C1311-2 authorized the construction of a 25-unit residential building located at 243 East Allen Street (aka City Lofts) and associated site improvements. The parking plan approved by these Land Use Permits included 12 offstreet parking spaces at 243 East Allen Street and 15 off-street parking spaces at 223 East Allen Street (aka Park Terrace) for a net total of 27 off-street parking spaces. The proposed project includes minor modifications to the approved parking plan for City Lofts in order to accommodate a handicap accessible parking space at the City Lofts property. The modified parking plan includes 11 off-street parking spaces at 243

4

Property No. 4: Intentionally Left Blank

Property No. 10: Intentionally Left Blank.

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Difficulty: Hard

PUZZLE ANSWERS

Property No. 3: Being a 2008 Champion make and Titan PN 749 model mobile home, serial number 019-000-H-013806AB, property commonly known and numbered as 109 West Milton Road, located in the Birchwood Manor Mobile Home Park, owned by James M. Gabaree, Sr., conveyed to him by Vermont Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale of Brault’s Mobile Homes, Inc., dated September 29, 2016, and recorded in Volume 470 at Pages 689-690 of the Town of Milton Land Records.

VERMONT NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD NOTICE OF ACT 250 JURISDICTIONAL OPINION On October 26, 2020, the District #4 Coordinator issued Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion #JO 4-280 pursuant to 10 V.S.A. 6007(c) and Act 250 Rule 3(C), in response to a request made in a letter dated October 12, 2020 from Nathan and Jacquie Dagesse.

Property No. 7: Intentionally Left Blank.

1

TOWN OF MILTON’S COMBINED NOTICE OF TAX SALE The resident and non-resident owners, lienholders, mortgagees and all persons interested in the purchase of land in the Town of Milton, County of Chittenden and State of Vermont, are hereby notified that the taxes assessed by such Town for the 2019-2020 and prior fiscal years remain, either in whole or in part, unpaid on

Property No. 8: Intentionally Left Blank.

/s/ John C. Gifford John C. Gifford, Delinquent Tax Collector Town of Milton

Property No. 6: Intentionally Left Blank.

6

Terms of sale: Said premises will be sold and conveyed subject to all liens, encumbrances, unpaid taxes, tax titles, municipal liens and assessments, if any, which take

DATED : October 8, 2020 By: /s/ Rachel K. Ljunggren__ Rachel K. Ljunggren, Esq. Bendett and McHugh, PC, 270 Farmington Ave., Ste. 151, Farmington, CT 06032

Property No. 2: Intentionally Left Blank.

County of Chittenden and State of Vermont, this 29th day of September 2020.

2

Reference is hereby made to the above instruments and to the records and references contained therein in further aid of this description.

The mortgagor is entitled to redeem the premises at any time prior to the sale by paying the full amount due under the mortgage, including the costs and expenses of the sale. Other terms to be announced at the sale.

Home Cooperative, owned by Ashley T. Haupt, conveyed to her by Vermont Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale of Melody-Kay Sweet and Daryll R. Sweet, dated January 26, 2016, and recorded in Volume 462 at Pages 835-836 of the Town of Milton Land Records.

4

Commonly known as: 22 Phil Street, East Barre, VT 05649.

TEN THOUSAND ($10,000.00) Dollars of the purchase price must be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s check at the time and place of the sale by the purchaser. The balance of the purchase price shall be paid by a certified check, bank treasurer’s or cashier’s check within sixty (60) days after the date of sale.

the following described lands and/or premises situated in the Town of Milton: Property No. 1: Property commonly known and numbered as 420 Route 7 South, together with buildings thereon, owned

by Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, by virtue of Confirmation Order in a foreclosure action, said Order being dated August 17, 2017, and recorded in Volume 481 at Pages 709-711 of the Town of Milton Land Records.

3

Being the same property conveyed to Stephen Kelty, a single man and Valerie Brooks, a single woman, as tenants in common, by deed dated November 30, 2004 of record in Deed Book 206, Page 18, in the County Clerk’s Office.

precedence over the said mortgage above described.

5

SOUTH 31 DEGREES 03 MINUTES 51 SECONDS WEST A DISTANCE OF 25 FEET TO A POINT WHICH CONSTITUTES THE MOST WESTERLY CORNER OF LAND BEING CONVEYED AND THE MOST NORTHERLY CORNER OF THE ABUTTING LOT #3 LOCATED SOUTHWESTERLY OF LOT #1; THENCE TURNING TO THE LEFT AND PROCEEDING SOUTH 57 DEGREES 48 MINUTES EAST A DISTANCE OF 154.93 FEET TO A POINT ON THE NORTHERLY SIDE OF SAID PHIL STREET; THENCE TURNING TO THE LEFT AND PROCEEDING NORTH 26 DEGREES 40 MINUTES EAST A DISTANCE OF 110 FEET TO THE PLACE OF BEGINNING’

VERMONT NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD NOTICE OF ACT 250 JURISDICTIONAL OPINION On October 27, 2020, the District Coordinator issued Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion #JO-4-278 pursuant to 10 V.S.A. 6007(c) and Act 250 Rule 3(C), in response to a request made in a letter dated August 4, 2020 from Chad Bonanni, Esq. representing Farrell/ Antell Properties, LLP. The Jurisdictional Opinion states that Frank W. Whitcomb Construction Corp. is required to amend Act 250 permit series 4C0566 for construction and improvements approved in recent Air Pollution Control Permits issued by the Agency of Natural Resources. Some of the changes include installing a concrete batch plant to produce up to 45,000 cubic yards of concrete per year and increasing the hot mix asphalt production from 225,000 tons per year to 350,000 tons per year for the property located on Whitcomb Street in Colchester, Vermont.

Copies of this jurisdictional opinion have been served on all persons specified in 10 V.S.A. 6007(c) and Act 250 Rule 3(C). The jurisdictional opinion may be viewed at the Natural Resources Board’s web site at https://nrb.vermont. gov/ by clicking on “Act 250 Database” and entering JO 4-278 as the Project Number.

A paper copy may be obtained by contacting the District Coordinator at the address/telephone number below.

Reconsideration requests are governed

by Act 250 Rule 3(C)(2) and should be directed to the District Coordinator at the address listed below.

Any appeal of this decision must be filed with the Superior Court, Environmental Division (32 Cherry Street, 2nd Floor, Ste. 303, Burlington, VT 05401) within 30 days of the date the decision was issued, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. Chapter 220.

The Notice of Appeal must comply with the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings (VRECP).

The appellant must file with the Notice of Appeal the entry fee required by 32 V.S.A. § 1431 which is $295.00.

Say you saw it in...

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The appellant also must serve a copy of the Notice of Appeal on the Natural Resources Board, 10 Baldwin Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-3201, and on other parties in accordance with Rule 5(b)(4)(B) of the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings.

Dated at Essex Junction, Vermont this 27th day of October, 2020.

By: /s/Linda Matteson, District Coordinator Linda Matteson, District Coordinator For District #4 Environmental Commission 111 West Street Essex Junction, VT 05452 802-289-0598 or linda. matteson@vermont.gov PUBLIC SALE Take notice that on the 30th day of November 2020, Vermont Moving & Storage, Inc. will hold a virtual public sale of the following goods:House hold goods and personal belongs owned stored for Craig W. Walsh $1,040.00 The terms of the sale are final payment in full by cash or credit card. items will be sold in “as is condition” with no warranties expressed or implied. Any person claiming the rights to these goods must pay the amount necessary to satisfy the storage cost list above.

Please contact Jennifer at 802-655-6683 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

PUBLIC SALE Take notice that on the 30th day of November 2020, Vermont Moving & Storage, Inc. will hold a virtual public sale of the following goods: House hold goods and personal belongs owned stored for Maria Fernandez $1,566.57 The terms of the sale are final payment in full by cash or credit card. items will be sold in “as is condition” with no warranties expressed or implied. Any person claiming the rights to these goods must pay the amount necessary to satisfy the storage cost list above.

Please contact Jennifer at 802-655-6683 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

NOW IN sevendaysvt.com

3D!

1/12/10 9:51:52 AM

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

59

60 NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

ATTENTION RECRUITERS: POST YOUR JOBS AT: PRINT DEADLINE: FOR RATES & INFO:

JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM/POST-A-JOB NOON ON MONDAYS (INCLUDING HOLIDAYS) MICHELLE BROWN, 802-865-1020 X21, MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

YOUR TRUSTED LOCAL SOURCE. JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

Holiday Cash!

SEEKING ENGAGING, CARING PERSON FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT

Immediate full-time and flexible part-time positions Manufacturing, Call Center, Warehouse Apply in person 210 East Main Street, Richmond

DENTAL ASSISTANT

Seeking outgoing, energetic and Middlebury Pediatric Dentistry is looking for a dental assistant community driven person to to join our friendly, close-knit team. Help us take care of support a young man with high Vermont kids’ oral health! Full time. Health insurance. Paid functioning Autism to become vacation. Please contact us by email and include your resume: more engaged in the Burlington community. Individual is a blast frontdesk@middleburypediatricdentistry.com to be around and loves a good Sign On Bonus - Up to $2,000 with a brewery tour, gaming, dining starting salary of $15 an hour. out and checking out new and 10/12/20 11:19 AM exciting ventures. Could be a 2h-MiddleburyPediatricDentistry101420.indd 1 Responsible for the cleaning of all areas of great opportunity for a college the facility with the exception of the OR. Must undergrad or graduate student.

Hours are 1 to 10 hours per week know how to handle cleaning issues or know and can be very flexible during the appropriate resources available to solve the weekday/weekend hours.

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE WORKER

For more information please provide a cover letter and contact:

ciscobeach97@gmail.com 2v-EleanorVanderMel102820.indd 1

10/26/20 11:41 AM

Technology Support Specialist Responsible for the maintenance and repair of information technology hardware and associated software in schools within the Addison Northwest School District and provides technology customer service to administrators, staff, and students in schools; provides training to staff on hardware and software, including one-on-one and groups; coordinates school technology purchasing and budgeting.

For full job description and to apply go to: schoolspring.com job #3392684

specific problem.

Seeking a Senior Accountant

LEARN MORE & APPLY: uvmmed.hn/sevendays

Do you dream in spreadsheets?

Do you want to work for an organization with a mission to make a difference in Vermont?

4t-UVMMedCenter093020.indd 1

We are seeking a Senior Accountant to be responsible for the investment accounting of almost $370 million in assets, budgeting, financial reporting and analysis, and compliance reporting for the VCF and its supporting organizations.

The Senior Accountant will support the VCF Finance and Accounting Department with other tasks as assigned, including mission-based investment tracking, and ad hoc reporting. This position has a flexible work location with periodic workdays in Middlebury or other VCF locations.

If this sounds like a good fit for you, visit vermontcf.org/careers for a complete job description and instructions for applying by Friday, November 13th.

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10/23/20 1:18 PM

9/25/20 12:36 PM

Navigate New Possibilities ™ Your Career at NDI is Waiting Find out more at our Hire Up Session: Wednesday, November 11, 10:30 a.m. http://bit.ly/HireUpNDI

Learn more about NDI at ndigital.com/careers.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

61 NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

IN STORE JOB FAIRS Coming Up…

DISTRICT MANAGER Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District St. Albans Lead a small, collaborative team working for Franklin County's farmers, water quality and habitat.

Wednesday, November 4, 2020 Hannaford - University Mall 217 Dorset Street, So. Burlington VT 05403 3 – 6PM Friday, November 6, 2020 Hannaford - Shelburne Rd. 935 Shelburne Road, So. Burlington, VT 05403

Preferred bachelor's degree plus at least 2 years’ related professional experience.

2 - 5PM, On the Spot Interviews available!

Visit vacd.org/jobs for more information. Full time.

Apply by Nov. 15th, 2020.

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Don’t wait for us, apply now at Hannaford.com/Careers - search by zip code.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR

11/2/20 4t-VTArmyNationalGuard110420 12:30 PM 1

10/29/204t-Hannaford110420.indd 10:22 AM 1

Field Producer

Lake Champlain Access Television (LCATV) is looking for motivated professionals to capture high quality video and audio of community meetings and events in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties. These are part-time positions which require evening and some weekend work, travel, a valid driver’s license, some lifting, and high levels of self-motivation and creative problem-solving abilities.

If you are interested in joining the LCATV team, please email your résumé to buddy@lcatv.org.

Full job description is available:

http://bit.ly/LCATVjob

Development Coordinator

AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT MANAGER Evernorth is seeking a Project Manager to join our real estate development team. The successful candidate will be an excellent communicator, team builder and enthusiastic collaborator, with experience in project management – design/ construction related, preferred.

We believe in equal access to affordable housing and economic opportunities; the power of partnerships based on integrity, respect, and professionalism; and a collaborative workplace with professional, skilled and dedicated staff.

Please send a cover letter and resume with salary requirements

by November 20, 2020, to Sue Cobb, Director of Project Management c/o hr@evernorthus.org. E.O.E.

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The Kellogg-Hubbard Library seeks an enthusiastic and charismatic fundraiser to implement all aspects of the library’s fundraising program and initiatives.

This full-time position works 35 hours per week on a flexible schedule and the work can be done partially from home.

Please see our website for the complete job description: kellogghubbard. org/employment.

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11/2/20 3:06 PM

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Are you committed to helping your clients achieve their financial goals? Do you have a track record of building trusted relationships? Consider joining our entrepreneurial and closeknit team offering comprehensive financial services from Middlebury, VT. We seek candidates with at least three years’ experience working in an advisory capacity, and a commitment to always putting clients first. CFP designation and a master’s degree would be pluses. This role offers the right individual a track towards partnership in our fast-growing firm, well-rounded pay and benefits including paid parental leave, and additional compensation for candidates bringing a book of business.

Consideration given to candidates needing to start remotely.

To learn more and apply, visit our search consultant’s website at bethgilpin.com/current-openings.

Equal Opportunity Employer

MULTIPLE POSITIONS OPEN Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) has a variety of openings available, including RNs, LNAs, Ultrasound Technologist, Echocardiographer, Sr. MultiModality Technologist and Medical Lab Technician or Medical Technologist. NVRH also has Administrative Positions, Food Service and Environmental Services openings.

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11/3/20 4t-DRPower110420 12:28 PM 1

11/3/20 1:50 PM

Full, part-time and per diem positions available.

Excellent benefits available including student loan repayment and tuition reimbursement.

For more information or to apply, please visit nvrh.org/careers.

10/29/204t-NVRH090220a.indd 10:30 AM 1

10/9/20 1:15 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

62

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

WHERE YOU AND YOUR WORK MATTER...

When you work for the State of Vermont, you and your work matter. A career with the State puts you on a rich and rewarding professional path. You’ll find jobs in dozens of fields – not to mention an outstanding total compensation package.

S TAFF ATTORNEY – MONTPELIER The Department of Financial Regulation is seeking a Staff Attorney. Assignments may include legal counsel and regulatory support, drafting legislation, administrative rules, bulletins, and also representing the Department in administrative proceedings. Experience in insurance, banking, securities, and administrative law is highly desirable. Candidates must be admitted to the Vermont Bar or eligible for admission without examination. Excellent benefits package and working environment. For more information, contact Gavin Boyles, General Counsel at gavin.boyles@vermont.gov. Department: Financial Regulation. Status: Full Time exempt. Job ID #10008. Application deadline: November 8, 2020.

Learn more at: careers.vermont.gov

The State of Vermont is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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10/30/20 3:13 PM

Help Vermonters pursue their education goals!

VSAC CAREER AND EDUCATION OUTREACH: CURRICULUM DEVELOPER

• Are you driven by a powerful mission?

• Do you want more than a job?

• Do you want to help build lifesaving eyewear?

We’re all about mission at Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). Help us fulfill our mission of providing all Vermont students with information and financial resources to reach their educational goals through development of college and career related curricula.

VSAC’s Aspirations Project is seeking an exceptional Curriculum Developer to build on our existing curriculum and develop new curriculum to support our Outreach Programs as well as Vermont students, families, and schools. The ideal candidate has a passion for curriculum development, knowledge of postsecondary education and career exploration, an eye for details, and an appreciation for collaboration, organization and engaged learning. This candidate also possesses a deep understanding of how to work across teams to create curricula that is resonant with high school and college students, particularly those from historically marginalized communities, and that can be implemented by educators in a wide range of teaching contexts.

The Aspirations Project Curriculum Developer works with VSAC’s Aspirations Supervisor, a Project Manager, and VSAC’s Outreach team to support the successful development and sharing of VSAC’s college and career curriculum. This part-time, temporary position can operate remotely with flexible scheduling.

Apply ONLY online at www.vsac.org VERMONT STUDENT ASSISTANCE CORPORATION PO Box 2000, Winooski, VT 05404 EOE/Minorities/Females/Vet/Disabled

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If So, We Want You! Positions Available Manufacturing Operators

-

12 hour shifts, 6:45am-7:15pm/6:45pm-7:15am (+15% pm differential and 5% weekend differential)

Assembly Team Members M-F, 7am-3:30pm

Eligible for Benefits on Day 1 Robust Medical, Dental & Vision Paid Time Off (accrued vacation + sick) Career Growth / Paid Parental Leave / Tuition Assistance / Work Life Balance

Sign On Bonus!

Relentless Dedication To Protect Your Vision Apply online at: www.revisionmilitary.com/ careers Revision Military is an Essential Business - hiring and operating during COVID-19.

Revision Military is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

10/30/204v-Revision110420.indd 3:11 PM 1

CUSTOMER ADVOCATE Find a career. Gain a family.

Full Time in our Williston, VT location.

Safelite will be unlike any place you've ever worked.

(This won't be just the daily grind!) You'll join caring and passionate teams that collaborate to make a difference, deliver extraordinary results and bring unexpected happiness. Every day. Your effort, heart and creative ideas will be valued and rewarded. And we care about your well-being. So, we'll strive to give you what you need to be happy at work and at home.

ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES: • Warmly welcomes in-shop customers, while applying a Customer Driven approach when handling incoming calls, e-mails and faxes for service issues, pricing, warranties, commercial, dispatch, repair, cash, wholesale and sameday reschedules/cancellations.

• Proactively resolves customer concerns quickly and efficiently -- without breaking a sweat -- often coming up with creative solutions.

• Breezes happily through administrative tasks such as handling buyouts, invoices work orders, managing deleted work orders and processing credit memos and rebills.

• Eagerly reviews orders from the national contact center, and handles dealer part orders and special accounts.

• Keeps all the moving parts running smoothly by confirming and completing work order information, including insurance verification, additional parts and missing information.

REQUIREMENTS: • 1-3 years’ telephone operations or business administration experience required • High School diploma or equivalent required • Knowledge of customer service and administrative protocols • Ability to provide world class customer service • Ability to adjust and respond to a fast-paced operation • Skilled in various customer service arenas, with experience in a contact center setting • Ability to travel up to 10% We offer a stable work environment, competitive pay, benefits and paid time off. Apply now at Safelite.com/careers!

We're known as an auto glass company. That's the focus of what we do. But we're much more -- we're a growing and evolving service brand. And what really makes us unique is our people. Because at our core, we're a People Powered organization -- and our people come first and our culture matters.

We'll help you find a fulfilling career path and encourage you to have a life. Let us be the best place you'll ever work.

11/3/209v-Safelite110420.indd 1:53 PM 1

11/3/20 2:06 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

FIELD TECHNICIAN - SMART HOME SYSTEMS Join our expanding team and face new challenges every day. System Integrators serves the luxury residential market with all things low voltage. Networking, Wi-Fi and security, automation and control, entertainment and convenience. Some projects will call upon your construction experience, electrical knowledge, rack building finesse, basic programming, and/or audio video calibration. We can guarantee you an experience that will test your problem-solving skills, expose you to and teach you the latest best practices win each of our disciplines. We have high expectations, and compensate accordingly.

We are looking for a field technician that brings experience in one or more of the following categories: project management, residential electrical, residential construction, DSS installation, car stereo installation, networking, security or home automation. Please contact us immediately with your resume or work experience and we will respond with a detailed job description: info@sivermont.com.

A few things to be aware of: • We travel a lot. Our clients are all over Vermont.

• A background check is mandatory.

• We offer competitive wages and benefits, including paid vacation and personal time, health insurance, 401k and employee discounts.

Please check out our website sivermont.com. If you feel you are right for one of these opportunities, we look forward to hearing from you. The opening is immediate.

5h-SystemIntegrators110420.indd 1

11/2/20 12:34 PM

CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Want to work for a vibrant, growing company that’s providing wicked-fast internet to local communities? ECFiber is hiring! Working through ValleyNet – the operating company of ECFiber – you’ll be part of a team of dedicated people that is designing, constructing and installing fiber optic cable with the goal of reaching every home and business 7spot.indd in the East-Central Vermont, White River Valley area.

ValleyNet is looking for a Customer Service Manager to help bring on new customers and ensure existing customers have the exceptional service quality they deserve and expect.

This position will manage a current Customer Service Staff of three (3) and coordinate with colleagues in other divisions to ensure information to customers is timely, accurate and responsive. This position requires excellent oral and written communication skills, exceptional interpersonal skills, outstanding organizational and supervisory skills, and the ability to respond to a growing customer base to ensure our customer relationships are second to none.

Restorative Justice Assistant The Essex Community Justice Center (ECJC) is seeking to hire a temporary, part time Restorative Justice Assistant. Tasks will include: victim outreach, administrative support and data tracking.

The position will be 20 hours/week through 5/31/21, and requires a flexible schedule allowing for some evening hours. Training, education, course work and/or lived experience in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, domestic and sexual violence, trauma, poverty, crime and other challenges is desirable. The ideal candidate will be passionate about social/racial/economic justice and restorative approaches to crime and conflict. Strong computer, data tracking, communication and phone skills are desired.

The Essex Community Justice Center is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing and respecting that diverse perspectives and experiences are valuable to our team and essential to our public service. BIPOC, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ applicants, and people from other underrepresented groups, are encouraged to apply.

The minimum starting pay for this temporary part-time position is $20/hour. Applications can be submitted online by visiting essexvt.org or essexvt.bamboohr.com/jobs/. Applications will be taken through November 20, 2020 at which point we will begin reviewing applicants.

The Town of Essex is an equal opportunity employer.

Education and Training Resources (ETR) is seeking to fill the following positions at

1 10/29/195v-EssexCommunityJusticeCenter(ECJC)110420.indd 12:12 PM

1

**Student Records Specialist (Full Time) High School Diploma required. One year of experience working with heavy data entry/office setting.

ACADEMICS

RECREATION

Recreation Aide (1 Full Time) – High School Diploma required Recreation Aide (On-Call) – High School Diploma required

INDEPENDENT LIVING

Residential Counselors (2 Full Time/ TABE Instructor/Scheduling Coordinator POSITION OVERVIEW starting at $50,000/yr) - Bachelor’s degree

Job description at ecfiber.net. Please complete the online application form and submit it with a cover letter and resume to resumes@ecfiber.net or via U.S. Mail to Human Resources, ValleyNet/ECFiber, 415 Waterman Rd., South Royalton, VT 05068.

10/30/20 12:33 PM

NORTHLANDS JOB CORPS DATA INTEGRITY

Qualifications include five (5) years of relevant experience, including a minimum of two (2) years of supervisory experience, the ability to work with a computer-based customer management system, comfort with social media and online environments, the ability to work collaboratively and creatively, and the empathy and patience to address customers’ concerns and questions.

(Full Time) – Bachelor’s degree required.

One year of relevant experience.

FOOD SERVICES **Cook Assistant (2 Full Time positions available!) – High School Diploma required.

Cook Assistant (On-Call) – High School Diploma required.

FACILITY MAINTENANCE Custodial Assistant (1 Full Time) – High School Diploma Required Custodial Assistant (On Call) – High School Diploma Required

**Critical needs positions!

and 15 semester hours of social work/ social science courses required Independent Living Advisor (2 Full Time/ Overnights needed, starting at $18/hr) High School Diploma required.

Split Shift Independent Living Advisor (On-Call) - High School Diploma

SECURITY, SAFETY & TRANSPORTATION

Campus Monitors (4 On-Call slots open!) High School Diploma required Driver (1 Full time) – High School Diploma required, CDL license preferred.

Driver (4 On Call slots open) – High School Diploma required, CDL preferred.

APPLY TODAY Please submit all applications to our applicant portal at www.etrky.com for all roles in Vergennes, VT. Employment will be at a Federal Department of Labor facility. All applicants will be subject to drug testing and a full background check.

100A MacDonough Dr. • Vergennes, VT 05491 • 802-877-0159

ETR/NORTHLANDS JOB CORPS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER OF FEMALES AND MINORITIES

ValleyNet, Inc. is an E.O.E.

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63 NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

11/3/20 1:56 PM

11/3/20 2:00 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

64

POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

REGISTER NOW

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

AT WWW.CCV.EDU OR AT THE CCV LOCATION NEAREST YOU MONTPELIER ACADEMIC CENTER

ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST III

DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT

EVENTS AND MARKETING COORDINATOR

Exciting opportunity to join one of the fastest growing businesses in Vermont while making a difference in your community!

Champlain Housing Trust is seeking a highly skilled and experienced professional to lead its real estate development activities throughout Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties.

The ideal candidate will be committed to social justice, equity, and CHT’s membership based model of community controlled and permanently affordable housing and possess a minimum of 5 years of experience in housing development, project coordination, sophisticated development financing, government housing programs, and grant writing and compliance.

One of Vermont’s Best Places to Work in 2020, CHT is a socially responsible employer offering an inclusive, friendly work environment and competitive pay commensurate with experience.

Our excellent benefit package includes a generous health insurance plan, three weeks of paid vacation, 14 paid holidays, sick leave, 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution after one year, disability and life insurance and more.

For additional details regarding this position or to apply, please visit our career page: getahome.org/about/careers.

Equal Opportunity Employer: CHT is committed to a diverse workplace and highly encourages women, persons with disabilities, Section 3 low income residents, and people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to apply.

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Do you love making checklists, and then checking things off of them? Are you great at planning and executing fun events? Do you work well with a wide range of people, and handle stressful situations with calmness and creativity? Do you value a close-knit community and thriving downtowns?

Montpelier Alive works to make Montpelier more livable and vibrant by celebrating its heart and soul: its downtown.

The Community College of Vermont is lookingSUPPORT for a dynamicSERVICES and engaging individual, who is an excellent (Location flexible wiwthin CCV Academic communicator withCenters) strong organizational and computer skills, to join CCV as an We seek an energetic and resourceful leader to provide Accounting Specialist Thisforposition administrative and programmaticIII. leadership the federallyis funded in TRIO/Student Support Services program which low income, first generation based our Montpelier center and istargets full time at 37.5 hours college a week. students. Five years’ experience in higher education or related field, with Master’s degree in relevant area We are looking a candidate withandthe demonstrated ability to work required.

Expertise in for management of staff, budgets grant projects. Flexible hours and statewide collaboratively on a team in a fast-paced, high volume receivable department. In addition, we are looking for a candidate who understands collection strategies, has basic accounting knowledge, and possesses excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Associate degree in accounting or other appropriate discipline and three to five years of relevant experience, or a combination of education and experience from which comparable knowledge and skills are acquired. View the full posting and apply at: ccv.edu/learn-about-ccv/employment.

PUBLIC WORKS SUPERVISOR/HIGHWAY FOREMAN 11/2/20

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We are looking for a part-time Events and Marketing Coordinator to help us celebrate Montpelier and its people through enchanting events and captivating communications.

Visit montpelieralive.org/ apply for more information.

10/26/203v-MontpelierAlive110420.indd 12:55 PM 1

The Town of Johnson Public Works Department is currently seeking a qualified candidate for a fulltime Public Works Supervisor/Highway Foreman.

Successful candidates will demonstrate an eagerness to develop their professional skills and apply current best practices. The Town of Johnson offers a competitive wage and benefits package.

12:26 PM

Candidates must be eligible to work in the U.S., at least 18 years of age, must have a valid Commercial Driver’s License (with at least a Class B endorsement). Applicants must be able to operate heavy equipment in all weather conditions, follow all 12:52 PMappropriate safety procedures, work outdoors, and performing a variety of physically demanding tasks.

10/30/20

The Town of Johnson is an EOE. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

For more information and to send cover letter and resume:

IT AND NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR

Town of Johnson - ATTN: Brian Story 293 Lower Main West, Johnson, VT 05656 Or email: jadministrator@townofjohnson.com.

Vermont Legal Aid, a non-profit law firm providing legal services to low-income Vermonters in five offices across VT, seeks a full-time IT and Network Systems Administrator. A minimum 4t-TownofJohnson102820.indd 10/26/20 HUMAN1 of 3 years of network and systems administration experience in a Microsoft Windows environment required. The ideal candidate would have experience with Azure, Active RESOURCES Directory, Exchange Online, Office365, IP telephony, LAN/WAN, server and WS management ADMINISTRATOR (hardware and software), as well as providing help desk support to staff. Familiarity with case management systems (SaaS and proprietary), social media platforms, mobile devices, Population Media Center (PMC), headquartered in S. Burlington, cloud migration, and cybersecurity are a plus. Applicants must have clear oral and written VT, seeks an experienced HR Generalist to serve as Human communication skills, an eagerness to learn, and the ability to work both independently and as Resources Administrator for its 20+ US-based employees. part of a small IT team. In-state travel (vehicle required), some evening and/or weekend work, The HR Administrator oversees all human resources functions and and the ability to occasionally lift and move up to fifty pounds is required.

We are committed to building a diverse, social justice-oriented staff, and encourage applicants from a broad range of backgrounds. We welcome information about how your experience can contribute to serving our diverse client communities. We are an equal opportunity employer committed to a discrimination and harassment-free workplace.

Salary is $56,820+ experience, plus 4 weeks paid vacation and other excellent benefits.

Application deadline is November 13, 2020. Please send cover letter, resume, and a list of contact information for three references to Eric Avildsen c/o Betsy Whyte at bwhyte@vtlegalaid.org as a single PDF with “IT Administrator” in the subject line.

The full job description can be found at vtlegalaid.org/current-openings. Please let us know how you heard about this position.

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9:31 AM

ensures they are aligned with PMC’s goals. The ideal candidate will have solid experience with HR practices, HR Information Systems, and employee management. Minimum qualifications: 3-5 years of HR generalist experience. Must be analytical and goal-oriented with demonstrated proficiency in using HR metrics and thorough knowledge of federal and state employment laws and regulations. Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required. SHRM-CP certification preferred. 0.5 FTE with prorated benefit package. Compensation based on experience.

For more information: populationmedia.org/about-us/jobs.

Please send resume, cover letter and 3 references to jobs@populationmedia.org.

10/26/20 12:48 PM 4t-PopulationMedia102820.indd 1

10/26/20 4:39 PM

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @SEVENDAYSJOBS, SUBSCRIBE TO RSS, OR BROWSE POSTS ON YOUR PHONE AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NEW JOBS POSTED DAILY! JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM

65 NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

Accounting Manager Responsible for all financial reports and records for a local non-profit in So. Burlington.

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent in business related field. Minimum of two years’ experience in related position. Supervisory experience and knowledge of computer systems and databases needed. Send resume, references and salary requirements to: Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 60 Kimball Avenue, So. Burlington, VT 05403 E.O.E.

2v-VABVI110420.indd 1

Receptionist Burlington Office Prestigious law firm seeks an energetic individual to handle reception desk responsibilities. Duties include greeting clients and vendors, routing inbound phone calls, calendaring, typing and related office tasks. Candidates should possess excellent communications skills, have a pleasant telephone manner, be computer literate, organized, and be able to work in a fast paced environment. This is a fulltime position.

10/30/20 11:24 AM

Competitive salary and benefits package.

Please reply to: Richard Dorfman, Business Manager Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP Email: rdorfman@langrock.com

Looking for a Sweet Job? Our mobile-friendly job board is buzzing with excitement.

Job seekers can: • Browse hundreds of current, local positions from Vermont companies.

• Search for jobs by keyword, location, category and job type.

• Set up job alerts.

• Apply for jobs directly through the site.

Start applying at jobs.sevendaysvt.com

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LNA TRAINING PROGRAM Full Time Days

Wake Robin, in partnership with Vermont MedEd, is happy to announce our next LNA training program.

Wake Robin ranks among the top 100 nursing homes in the country, an award reflecting our excellent staff and facility. We provide training and work opportunities consistent with Wake Robin’s unique brand of resident-centered care. Our trainees will have the opportunity to work for us while taking classes, for a unique blend of training and handson experience in the areas of assistance with activities of daily living, light housekeeping, and dietary coaching.

If you have at least 2 years’ experience in caregiving, and wish to grow your skills among the best, it’s time to begin your career as an LNA, contact us.

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Vermont’s premier continuing Care Retirement Community seeks members to join our Environmental Services Team!

GATE ATTENDANT/SECURITY Full Time Days

10/26/20 2:30 PM

COUNSELORS

CENTERS FOR WELLBEING Join our exciting and innovative prevention-oriented counseling team. Seeking experienced counselors for these full and part-time positions:

We are seeking an experienced Security Officer to ensure the wellbeing of the community and the safety of our residents. Duties include addressing emergency or comfort concerns of residents, responding to and assessing situations involving the physical plant, ensuring that all buildings are secured, and checking in vehicles at entry. We seek an individual with a background in security or as a first responder, with the compassion and problem solving skills to interact with our senior population. At least 2 years of relevant experience is required.

• Short-term solution-focused counselors for adults experiencing a range of daily life stressors, relationship issues, depression, and anxiety.

• Prevention counselors to provide behavioral screening and short-term Motivational Interviewing (MI) for depression, anxiety, and increasing exercise. In-depth MI training offered on the job.

• Resource and social work support counselors for lower income individuals seeking support with day-to-day challenges.

Please send a letter stating if some or all these positions interest you, the number of hours per week you prefer to work, with a copy of your current resume. Positions available in different areas of Vermont. Half-time positions provide full health care and retirement benefits! All work performed remotely while COVID persists. Master’s in counseling-related field required; license required for #1 and #2 above.

Please email marca@investeap.org by November 23rd.

The Invest EAP Centers for Wellbeing is an E.O.E.

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HOUSEKEEPER Full-Time

Vermont’s premiere continuing Care Retirement Community seeks a member to join our housekeeping team. Housekeepers support residents who live independently by providing contactless housekeeping services in their homes while they are away. Housekeepers are critical to the wellbeing of residents in a setting that utilizes best practices to maintain our Covid Free environment. Candidates must have housekeeping and/or industrial cleaning or industrial laundry experience.

Interested candidates please send resume and cover letter to HR@wakerobin.com or visit our website, wakerobin.com, to complete an application.

Wake Robin is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

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11/3/20 2:11 PM

ATTENTION RECRUITERS:

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POST YOUR JOBS AT JOBS.SEVENDAYSVT.COM FOR FAST RESULTS, OR CONTACT MICHELLE BROWN: MICHELLE@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

INTERN ARCHITECT

INVESTIGATOR

AES Northeast is seeking an inspired Intern Architect to join our 3-person team in Williston, Vermont. We are looking for a candidate that has a degree in Architecture and a minimum of 4 years of related professional office experience.

Office of the Public Defender, Burlington.

Demanding criminal caseload in a fast-paced office environment. Must be able to work independently and as part of a legal team. Duties may require irregular hours and travel for which private means of transportation is required. Previous criminal investigation experience preferred.

Wide ranging responsibilities will include design development, graphic presentation, and construction documentation. We are looking for someone with building construction knowledge, strong technical skills, and Revit proficiency. Someone who can work collaboratively as well as take on independent assignments.

Full-time, exempt PG22 (union) position with State benefits. $22.36/hr.

AES Northeast is a multi-discipline A/E firm of 48 architectural and engineering professionals with a diverse portfolio of residential, commercial, municipal, and industrial projects. We offer a welcoming, creative, professional work environment with locations in Plattsburgh, NY and Williston, VT. This full-time position is available immediately.

Email resume and cover letter by Sunday, November 15th to mary.deaett@vermont.gov.

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10/30/20 2:31 PM

Community Development Underwriter SALES CONSULTANT

Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), located in Burlington VT, has an immediate ope Community Underwriter. Named one of IT theBenefit “Best Small/Medium Places to Wo PCC, aDevelopment private, Winooski-based healthcare Corporation, seeks natural who thrives the last few years, VHFA is alooking forcommunicator an individual who will help usintoa maintain our gre fast-paced competitive industry, and is skilled at makingfirst, instant demonstrates a strong work ethic, is creative, puts our customers and works well bo meaningful and memorable connections with anyone they and as a team player.

Housing Policy & Engagement Specialist Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA), located in Burlington VT, is recruiting for a Housing Policy & Engagement Specialist. Named one of the “Best Small/Medium Places to Work in Vermont” the last few years, VHFA is looking for an individual with strong communication skills who will help us to promote our priorities and positions, maintain our great reputation, and advance our social justice goals.

come in contact with to join our Sales Team.

Responsible for comprehensive underwriting and analysis of prospective multifamily hou The ideal Salesbeing Consultant candidate: family developments considered for VHFA financing, tax credits, and special initiat • Has aHousing contagious attitude embraces theof the Federal and Stat and analyzes Creditpositive applications and and the administration challenges that are inherent in any sales position; with the Managing Directo Programs; administers Development programs in coordination Development; actively participates in initiatingthat and resonate conductingwith outreach • Sustains meaningful conversations their to the developm audience andindelivers dynamicof and engaging interactive and partners; assists the development loan and Housing Credit policies and proced presentations; of the development team; maintains familiarity with and administers programs in accord applicable federal regulations, VHFA statutory requirements, Community Developme • Is goal driven and holds themselves accountable and for both underwriting guidelines; manages loan requisitions, maintains and submits requisite rep individual and team performance; tracks •project performance.

Is a proactive and engaged listener;

The focus of this position is on the Agency’s housing policy work, specifically responsible for outreach and engagement, charged with presenting VHFA’s priorities as they relate to current federal and state legislative proposals, in partnership with the Executive Director. This will require attending state and regional housing policy meetings, fully understanding and articulating the Agency’s public policy positions, and helping to strategize the research and communications tasks in support of those. Much of the focus of this role will be on external partners: engaging them in VHFA’s work and understanding the impacts of VHFA’s policies on their work. Finally, this position will work with the Agency’s JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion) Committee to ensure VHFA’s equity, diversity and inclusionary goals are achieved.

• Enjoys thedegree never-ending roadwork of learning andis refining Four-year college or equivalent experience required, as is a solid grasp of and financialknowledge risk analysis andcraft; strong spreadsheet and word processing skills. Experience in m or single-family housing development, credit analysis, loan underwriting, or residential a • Is self-motivated, and a creative thinker with a passion for the finance,mission, and experience development and knowledge vision with and community goals of PCC and the clients we serve.of State and federa programs, is desirable. Requires occasional travel throughout Vermont with a valid driver The responsibilities of this position on occasion require early dependable transportation, and periodic travel outside the state for training and trade co

A Bachelor’s Degree is required. Focused studies in political science, public policy/administration or related subject is preferred, as is at least two years’ experience in community or public relations, politics, communications, or policy analysis. A demonstrated commitment to social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, and understanding of the national and local political environment, is desired. Familiarity with affordable housing policy and or government housing programs a plus.

morning, evening, and weekend commitments to accommodate

the needs of the must prospects and clients we work with and the In addition, candidates demonstrate a creative problem-solving approach with good industry events we attend onskills, behalf PCC. Once travel is safe, detail, exceptional customer service andofpossess excellent written and verbal comm will be required.

Must 25-50% be highlytravel organized, able to handle multiple tasks, set priorities and meet deadline with aInwide range of individuals, both internal and externalsafe to the Agency. order to keep our employees and community while we

In addition, candidates must demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills, a high level of cultural awareness, attentiveness, and interpersonal skills, plus a keen understanding of a fastchanging social and cultural landscape. Must work well independently and as a team member, able to manage multiple priorities, proficient in Microsoft Office products. An aptitude for graphic design or visual arts a plus. Candidates must also possess a valid Driver’s License and be willing to travel throughout Vermont and to out-of-state conference and training events as opportunities present themselves.

to developsalary our software and support our clients,For PCC’s VHFA continue offers a competitive and an excellent benefits package. a detailed job de employees have been working from home during the COVID-19 benefits overview, please see the Careers section of www.VHFA.org. To apply, send cover l pandemic.

There will be for Resources this position. resume, salary requirements andtelevideo referencesinterviews to the Human Department at HR@v Once our office is fully open, we expect the Sales Consultant to Friday, June 7, 2019.

The salary range for this position is $52,000-$65,000 with an excellent benefits package. For a detailed job description and benefits overview, please see the Careers section of VHFA.org. To apply, send cover letter (required), resume, and references to the Human Resources Department at HR@vhfa.org. Position will be open until filled.

be onsite at our Winooski office.

VHFA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workplace. We high As a Benefit Corporation, PCC fosters a friendly, casual, women, persons with disabilities, and people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural back

hardworking environment that values our employees, clients, and community. We offer competitive benefits as well as some uncommon perks. Please see our website for more information about PCC, this job, and how to apply: pcc.com.

VHFA is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to a diverse workplace. We highly encourage women, persons with disabilities, and people from diverse racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds to apply.

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No phone calls lease. AA/EOE.

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11/2/20 4:23 PM

Seasons Change…

But Vermont’s appetite for local food and drink is still hearty.

As the days get colder and Vermonters go back inside, let Good To-Go Vermont be your guide.

This digital directory, compiled by Seven Days, lists local eateries by region, offering takeout, delivery, curbside pickup and on-site dining options during the coronavirus pandemic.

SPONSORED BY

Visit GoodToGoVermont.com to see what your favorite local restaurants are serving. They need your support.

TA K E O U T • D E L I V E RY • S E AT I N G O P T I O N S • G O O D T O G O V E R M O N T. C O M 1T-GoodToGo090220.indd 3

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

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fun stuff

RACHEL LINDSAY

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SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

CALCOKU & SUDOKU (P.55) CROSSWORD (P.55)

“THE QUALITY OF DEMOCRACY AND THE QUALITY OF JOURNALISM ARE DEEPLY ENTWINED.”

HARRY BLISS

BILL MOYERS

MARKET RESEARCH

SHOWS MUST GO ON

How new regulations have changed farmers markets

VOTE!

Tips for ng live-streami concerts

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ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 3

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NO.36 SEVENDAYSVT.COM VO ICE JUNE 3-10, 2020 VOL.25 VERMO NT’S IND EPENDENT

VOL.25 IL 1, 2020

NO.26

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Voters’ Guide

MARCH

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2020

NT’S INDEPE

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LIST OF CANDIDATES HOW TO REGISTER: A GRAPHIC GUIDE MAIL-IN BALLOT FAQ POP QUIZ: VERMONT VOTING LAWS

VERMO

of Vignettes rs Vermonte life g to adjustin ic in a pandem PAGE 26

BLAME GAME

MEDICINE MAN Vaccine

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pivot Eateries

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LOSS

George Floyd’s death spurs Vermonters to call for police reform PAGE 10

DISASTER PREP

on researcher

RAGE OUT ON TOP OF How COVID-19 overwhelmed a Burlington nursing home

PAGE 38

mic

in a pande

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COVID-19

RAMPING DOWN?

nized ing scruti

Police shoot

City decks South End skate park

ELECTION GUIDE INSIDE!

A handy voters’ handbook

VOICE SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 7, 2020 VOL.26 NO.1 SEVENDAYSVT .COM

Has Phil Scott made Vermont more

VERMONT’S INDEPENDENT

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M

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BY PAUL HEINTZ,

OCTOBER

2020

Molly Gray and Scott Milne compete for the lieutenant governor’s perch

Digging

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UVM Medical Center president Stephen Leffl er confronts COVID-19 and its aftermath

BY KEN PICARD, PA GE 36

FOLLOW THE MONEY

JEN SORENSEN

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How VT is spending $1.6 billion in aid

NEW! BOTTOM LINE

A FUN TIPS FOR AND ECO-FRIENDLY HALLOWEEN PAGE 8

A SONGS FOR SPOOKY PLAYLIST PAGE 14

EASY APPLE CAKE RECIPE PAGE 15

HEAD START SHIFTS TO VIRTUAL VISITS PAGE 18

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TEST FLIGHT

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Outdoor-only dining at restos

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Foer on food, climate

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7/14/20 3:32 PM

Have a deep, dark fear of your own? Submit it to cartoonist Fran Krause at deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com, and you may see your neurosis illustrated in these pages.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY REAL NOVEMBER 5 -11

them, my goal is to celebrate your beauty and strength even as I discern what’s lacking in your life and what confusions might be undermining you. In my philosophy of life, that’s how love works at its best: remaining keenly aware of the good qualities in the beloved while helping them deal with their problems and heal their wounds. I suggest that in the coming weeks you adopt my approach for use with your own close relationships. Your allies are in special need of both your praise and your rectifications.

SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21):

“At every crossroad, be prepared to bump into wonder,” wrote Scorpio poet James Broughton. I believe that’s stirring advice for you to keep in mind during the coming weeks. Broughton’s words inspired me to come up with a corollary for you to heed, as well: “At every turning point, be ready to stumble into an opportunity disguised as a problem.” I’ve got one more clue for you. Last night in my dream, my Scorpio poetry teacher offered a thought that’s well suited for you right now: “Whenever you want to take a magic twisty leap into the big fresh future, be willing to engage in one last wrestling match with the past.”

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries poet Charles Baudelaire championed the privilege and luxury of changing one’s mind. He thought it was natural and healthy to always keep evolving beyond one’s previous beliefs and attitudes, even if that meant one might seem inconsistent or irrational. “It is lamentable,” he once proclaimed, “that, among the Rights of Human Beings, the right to contradict oneself has been disregarded.” I bring these thoughts to your attention, dear Aries, so that you will feel at peace with the prospect of outgrowing rules, strategies and approaches that have worked well for you up until now — but that have outlived their usefulness.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): The horoscopes I write are my love letters to you. As I compose

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20): When Charles de Gaulle was 15 years old, he wrote “General de Gaulle,” a short story in which he envisioned himself, many years in the future, as a general in the French army. Thirty-five years later, his imaginary tale came true, as he became a general of the free French army fighting against Germany in World War II. In the spirit of de Gaulle’s prophecy, and in accordance with current astrological omens, I encourage you to compose a comparable tale about your own destiny. Have fun as you visualize in great detail a successful role you will play months or even years from now.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In 1903, archaeologists digging in a cave in Cheddar Gorge, England found the fossilized remains of “Cheddar Man,” a person who had lived there 9,000 years earlier. In 1997, DNA tests revealed that a teacher named Adrian Targett, who was living a half mile from the cave, was a direct descendant of Cheddar Man. I propose that we invoke this scenario to serve as a metaphor for you in the coming months. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, your ancestors are likely to play a bigger role in your life than usual. Connections between you and them will be more vivid and influential and worthy of your meditations.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to the film Amadeus, composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) were adversaries who disliked and undermined each other. But there’s evidence that this was not entirely true. In fact, they collaborated on creating a cantata that was performed by Nancy Storace, a famous singer they both admired.

It’s unlikely they would have cooperated in such a way unless they had a working relationship. I suspect that a comparable correction is due in your world, Leo. It’s time to dissolve a misunderstanding or restore a lost truth or fix an old story that got some of the facts wrong.

VIRGO

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to ask for help and seek support. I urge you to be forthright in doing so! Resources that have been inaccessible before may be more available now. I suspect you will be able to capitalize on the luck and skill of allies who have benefited from your favors in the past. Their successes could bring you blessings and their breakthroughs should inspire you to instigate breakthroughs in your own life. Be straightforward: Ask them to lend their influence on your behalf.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In the 1970s, an Englishman named Stephen Pile founded the Not Terribly Good Club. It was designed to be a gathering place for mediocre people whose lives were marked by inadequacy and incompetence. To organize his thoughts about the club’s themes, Pile eventually published a book entitled The Book of Heroic Failures.

Unfortunately, it sold so many copies that he got expelled from his own club. He had become too successful! I suspect that in the coming months, you may have an experience akin to his. The odds are good that you’ll find interesting success in an area of your life where you have previously been just average.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Actor Gary Busey is quirky and kooky, but his peculiar rants sometimes make good sense. Here’s one that I suspect might be useful for you to consider during the next two weeks: “It’s good for everyone to understand that they are to love their enemies, simply because your enemies show you things about yourself you need to change. So in actuality enemies are friends in reverse.” I don’t mean to imply that your adversaries and nemeses are totally accurate in their critiques of you. But there may be a thing or two you can learn from them right now that would truly improve your life.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Musician John Coltrane described one of his life goals as follows: “There are forces out here that bring suffering to others and misery to the world,” he said. “But I want to be the opposite force.

I want to be the force which is truly for good.”

Even if that’s not an intention at the core of your long-term plans, Capricorn, I recommend you consider adopting it during the next few weeks. Being a vigorous and rigorous force for good will be especially needed by the people with whom you associate — and will also result in you attracting interesting benefits.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Known as “the bad boy of bridge,” Aquarian-born Geir Helgemo is a champion in the card game of bridge. At times he has been the top-rated player among Open World Grand Masters. But in 2019, he was suspended from the World Bridge Federation for a year because he tested positive for taking testosterone supplements that are banned. Why did he do it? He hasn’t said. There is some scientific research suggesting that testosterone may boost cognitive function, but other evidence says it doesn’t. I’d like to use Helgemo’s foolishness as a teaching story for your use, Aquarius. According to my astrological analysis, you’re approaching the peak of your competence and confidence. There’s no need for you to cheat or sneak or misbehave in a misplaced effort to seek an even greater advantage. In fact, righteous integrity will enhance your intelligence.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): “I might really have gone round the bend,” confessed Botswana author Bessie Head. “I mean people who get visions and see a gigantic light descend on them from the sky can’t be all there, but if so I feel mighty happy. If one is happy and cracked it’s much better than being unhappy and sane.” Although I don’t expect your state of mind in the coming weeks will be as extreme as Bessie Head’s, Pisces, I do suspect it will have resemblances to her dreamy cheerfulness. If I had to give a title to this upcoming phase, it might be “Wise Folly.”

And yes, I do think your “craziness” will generate useful insights and fertile revelations.

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Center in N up with the Eva caught rehearsal. troupe at a

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FUN-LOVING, ROMANTIC, AFFECTIONATE MAN Honest businessman now flipping houses. Missing that someone special — last and only love. lovetocuddle, 63, seeking: W, l

Respond to these people online: dating.sevendaysvt.com WOMEN seeking...

LOYAL, KIND AND HONEST I’m a very gentle person, drama free.

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STRONG, INDEPENDENT, INTELLECTUAL Ski? Dinner? Speak any foreign languages? No rednecks or men who will break under heavy use.

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FREE SPIRIT Love the outdoors, especially with water. I have traveled to about 70 countries and still want to travel some. Health and fitness are very important to me. I have done many sports over the years and continue to be active. I am a very curious person and enjoy learning. Waiting to hear from you. Tapbel, 62, seeking: M, l

FUN, UNIQUE FOODIE Looking for someone understanding yet caring. I may be born in fall, but I love Christmas, so take me out to look at the Christmas lights and then we will put our faces in mountains of whipped cream and good ol’ warm hot chocolate and call it a day. I love pretty much everything fun. New here; show me around. Kendrypooh, 22, seeking: M, l

AUTUMN LIGHT Be the most ethical, the most responsible, the most authentic you can be with every breath. You are cutting a path into tomorrow that others will follow. Ken Wilber.

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NEW TO VERMONT I’m a funny, quirky, happy woman who is new to the area and would love someone who could show me around and hang out while having fun. I’ve never been a big fan of snow, but if you can make me enjoy it, then you will be a keeper. Angleyez528, 43, seeking: M, l

LOVE TO HAVE FUN Looking for someone to share adventures. Looking for someone to share in the fun life has to give us. Moderately adventurous and looking for someone who wants to enjoy life, laughter and everything the future can throw at us.

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ISO INTERESTING AND MEANINGFUL Bright, effervescent, strong-likebull personality with a great sense of humor. Seeking companionship in a like-minded, kind soul leading to friendship, maybe more. Mutual respect is key. BBW brunette here.

If you have a sense of humor and can hold a conversation, let’s chat!

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LET’S MANIFEST A SEXY SITUATION Looking for a hot, nerdy dude who has an adventurous, sensitive, techie soul. Good with his hands. Must love cuddles. I don’t mind if you prioritize your alone time as long as you don’t mind that I can be an endearing space case. Be warned: I will ask for your natal chart and when your most recent STI test was. starsaligned, 25, seeking: M WILD-HAIRED, FUN, YET TRUE I’m kind and true. I love Vermont, all the adventures that it offers. I can’t wait to travel, only to come home to garden, hike, paint and create in Vermont.

I’m looking for a “partner in crime,” someone to create and dream together.

Perhaps I’ll find my best friend and lover all wrapped into one beautiful heart of a man. Verita, 59, seeking: M, l POSITIVE, CURIOUS, FUNNY, OUTGOING I seek a good man with integrity and honesty — a creative thinker and problem solver who is kind, loving, considerate, a good listener, engaged with life traveling, not a smoker or big partier. I am an extrovert, kind, considerate. Swim, read, enjoy cooking and working in my studio.

I am not perfect, don’t smoke/ drink, and have been told that I am pretty. Sevevdays, 69, seeking: M FUNNY, ACTIVE ACTIVIST AND ADVENTURIST Recently moved to Vermont from D.C. Would like to meet people for social/ political activism, hiking, hanging out and socializing. Always up for new adventures, like discussing world events. Am compassionate, enjoy outdoor activities. I’m nonjudgmental and appreciate the same in others.

I’ve been involved in activism around racial equity, health care and disability rights ... but don’t take myself too seriously! AnnieCA, 67, seeking: M, l

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

OUTDOORSY, FUNNY I’m kind, funny, caring, honest, respectful, easygoing, hardworking. I have a high sex drive. I like outdoor activities — kayaking, camping, fishing — and watching a movie.

Looking for someone like-minded who enjoys spending time together. Maybe go for a drive to nowhere, go for a moonlit walk or to a beach, cooking a meal together. funoutdoors, 54, seeking: W, l OUTDOORSY MEN Friends with benefits.

Sno1080, 26, seeking: M LOYAL, KINDHEARTED AND HONEST I am a 56-y/o man who loves to travel, play music, hike, camp and other activities, as well as travel around to national parks and explore. I’m an easygoing and very laid-back kind of guy. I’m in search of a lady who wants to be my companion and best friend.

I enjoy fishing, hiking, having fun. simple_mam_64, 56, seeking: W, l

CUCKOO ABOUT ADVENTURES I’m just looking for a new friend. I’m somewhat new to the area and would like to find someone who likes to talk, hike, or do anything that doesn’t involve going to the bar or lots of drinking!

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OPEN-MINDED, FRIENDLY BI MAN Moved to Grand Isle this summer.

Looking to meet individuals or couples for FWB relationships or more. Open to many scenarios when comfortable. chance2, 55, seeking: M, TW, Cp

HERE’S TO SECOND CHANCES Widowed, fit, fun, financially secure WF with serious BDSM/kinky fantasies that I want/need to explore. Looking to find 50- to 60-y/o male with experience in the much less vanilla side of sex for dating and/or LTR. bestisyettobe, 53, seeking: M, l

A NEW ADVENTURE Kind, caring, dedicated professional looking for someone to go on new adventures with and hopefully share my life with. My ideal partner knows how to have fun but also carry herself in a professional manner, is a problem solver by nature and loves to try new things. Pcace007, 43, seeking: W

INTERESTED Still standing after all these years!

WayToGo, 67, seeking: M THINKING ABOUT IT...

Probably everyone thinks they’re smart, funny, and reasonably good-looking, so no news there. So, what I hope to find: a reader, thinker — someone who likes movies, theater, museums, travel, music, conversation, and the Oxford comma. Three years into widowhood, I realize I could really use someone to share experiences with. The range of those experiences would have to be explored. ZanninVT, 68, seeking: M, l

MEN seeking...

TAURUS SEEKING A FUN WOMAN Thought Seven Days would be a refreshing change to the tons of dating sites out there with all those outdated profiles. SWM, 54, seeking a woman friend to have some fun and adventure, with the possibility of a LTR. Let’s give it a try. We’re not getting any younger... Taurus, 54, seeking: W, l FRIENDLY, INTELLECTUAL, EASYGOING I would not stand out in a crowd. I can be a little boring until we get on the right subject. Mechanic, 67, seeking: W CURIOUS, EMPATHETIC, OPINIONATED I’m a 42-y/o widowed guy in Shelburne who’s looking to start living and having fun again. I’m not here looking for a support system — I have one of those, and it’s fantastic. I’m looking for someone to spend some time with, maybe have a couple drinks and a couple laughs, and make life a little bit more exciting.

MissileVolante, 42, seeking: W, l

SITTIN’ ON TOP That’s me in the corner, looking for a conversation. I don’t mind waiting because I already have myself. The rest is wavy gravy. WonderFull, 64, seeking: W UNITED STATES Sexy country. I am not shy. Funny, outgoing woman. I am looking for a single man of 40 years old or around 50s or 60. Good-looking and want to have fun. Looking for someone to be with in bed and looking to have a relationship, too. redthree, 48, seeking: M JUST BE YOURSELF. I’m not sure what to even write here.

I’m no prize; I’m sorry to disappoint.

I just would like to find someone who will be as honest as possible.

We all have secrets, and none of us is as honest as we wish we could be.

My biggest deal breaker is broken promises. If you make a promise, keep it.

Mentallybankrupt, 52, seeking: W, l LOOKING FOR A PARTNER ... especially one who plays golf. Object: a mutually rewarding merger and possible mixed couples contender. I am retired and financially secure. I’m in the NEK but open to relocating. I love banter and gardening.

Books, desserts and witty women.

Skinny-dipping and wordplay. Combining unconnected words in sentences. Please see my online ad, where I go on at greater length. BogeysAreGood, 67, seeking: W, l JUST ASK; I’LL TELL YOU Just ask; I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. I’m kind, caring, loving, genuine and just want what I deserve: to be loved and cherished. I’m a very good cuddler. Tj, 29, seeking: W, l

TIMING IS EVERYTHING And the time is now. Lakeman, 59, seeking: W, l THE ONE I am a good-looking and somewhat athletic guy looking for kinda the same.

Intelligent, informed and adventurous.

Really just looking for a Sunday lover for now. Let’s talk about it, and if I trust you, I’ll share contact info and pics. mountintop, 53, seeking: M LOVING, HUMOR, ADVENTUROUS, TRAVELER, AWAKE There is no box; little of what we’ve been told is true. I have carved out a unique, fun, non-cookie-cuttertype life that involves amazing travel adventures, many forms of employment, and an amazing network of friends and family all over the world. I lost my love to ovarian cancer five years ago. Hope to find a magical love connection again.

ComeDanceWithMe, 55, seeking: W, l

TRANS WOMEN seeking...

GENEROUS, OPEN, EASYGOING Warm, giving trans female with an abundance of yum to share (and already sharing it with lovers) seeks ecstatic connection for playtimes, connections, copulations, exploration and generally wonderful occasional times together. Clear communication, a willingness to venture into the whole self of you is wanted. Possibilities are wide-ranging: three, four, explorations, dreaming up an adventure are on the list! DoubleUp, 63, seeking: M, Cp, l

GENDERQUEER PEOPLE seeking...

LONELY AND WAITING FOR YOU Lonely Carolina immigrant looking for an amazing woman. I love to cook, clean and generally make my partner as happy as possible. I’m comfortable both with my full beard and burly coat, or with my pretty pink lacy dresses and blond curls, whichever makes you happiest. I value trust above all else. Oh, and I give killer foot rubs! Neneveh, 24, seeking: W, l

COUPLES seeking...

LOOKING FOR COUPLE OR PERSON We want to meet others in the mood to open themselves to another couple for whatever happens.

Cpl4fun, 32, seeking: Cp, Gp HELP US BRANCH OUT We are a couple of over 30 years. We love to spend time together, enjoying good food, good beer/wine and good company. We enjoy the outdoors, camping, hiking, skiing. Looking for other couples to become friends with that can help us explore and branch out. We love each other very deeply and want to share that love with others.

CentralVTCpl, 54, seeking: Cp, Gp OPEN-MINDED ROLE-PLAY We are an open-minded couple looking for others. Must be discreet. Please let us know your interests. If you are a male replying, you must be bi or bicurious. VTroleplaying, 47, seeking: W ATTRACTIVE MARRIED COUPLE Attractive, caring and honest married couple looking to meet a female for fun times both in and out of the bedroom.

She is bi-curious; he is straight. We are very easygoing and fun to be around. Will share a photo once we communicate. Let’s see what happens.

VTcouple4fun, 49, seeking: W

i SPY

If you’ve been spied, go online to contact your admirer!

dating.sevendaysvt.com

BLUE TOYOTA TACOMA To the Blue Toyota Tacoma: Almost every morning I’m heading south and you are heading north. Would be nice to catch up sometime. You have been spied back.

When: Saturday, October 31, 2020. Where: Route ???. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915174 CUTE BIKE PATH DOG DAD You and your cute shepherd passed me, my roommate and our dogs in front of the sailing center. Your pup walked over to say hello, and I wish you had, too. Your smile was to die for. Meet at the dog park one day? When: Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Where: Burlington bike path. You: Man. Me: Man. #915173 BOBBIE I found your profile very interesting, and I am looking for a way to communicate with you. Here works for me. When: Thursday, October 29, 2020. Where: Match. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915172 BIRTHDAY GIRL AT GUILTY PLATE 1:45 p.m. Birthday girl with an amazing smile. You were with a friend with black hair. You smiled when I walked in, and we waved to each other as you drove away in your white Subaru. I would love to see you again. Maybe meet for a coffee? Me: black down jacket. When: Wednesday, October 28, 2020. Where: Guilty Plate restaurant, Colchester.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915171 LOOKING FOR SKUNK HILL? You: dark-haired, attractive woman driving a silver pickup truck looking for Skunk Hill Road. You knocked on my door asking for directions. I think you’re very attractive, and I’d love to see you again. Please knock on my door again or reply to this ad. I’d love to get to know you. When: Saturday, October 24, 2020. Where: Skunk Hill Rd., Georgia, Vt. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915169

AMAZING OPTIMIST ON MATCH I like all of your lessons from this year. I’m proud to vote blue. And I think you have an amazing smile. I’m not on Match, but maybe we could start our connection here. Have a great day. When: Monday, October 26, 2020. Where: on Match.com.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915170 GORGEOUS BLONDE AT M32 You changed my life 12 years ago, and I am so grateful. I couldn’t ask for a better woman to spend my life with. I may have lost sight of what I’ve had, but I never will again. You’re my best friend and the love of my life.

I’m more in love with you today than ever. I love you always. When: Sunday, October 25, 2020. Where: Market 32. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915168 ADVENTURE AT SALLY’S I walked in with my good friend. He was carrying Andrew Jr. Upon entering Sally’s, we went toward the hair dye.

You came out from behind the scenes.

We were discussing which shade of red to get. We were flipping through the options. I said I liked blood; you said you did, too. Would you like to talk sometime? When: Thursday, October 22, 2020. Where: Dorset St. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915167 HNGRMTNCOOPQT You: cute human with rad hair and redbuckle Dr. Martens. First noticed you stocking in produce. You complimented my cherry blossom Docs in the tea aisle. Me: fellow Doc-wearing human complete with a dragonfly mask perusing the co-op on a gray day in October. Maybe we’ll meet again? When: Wednesday, October 21, 2020. Where: Hunger Mountain Co-op. You: Woman.

Me: Nonbinary person. #915166

WHITE ACURA To the white Acura almost every morning I’m heading north and you are heading south: Would be nice to catch up sometime. You have been spied. When: Monday, October 19, 2020. Where: Route ???. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915165 HARDWICK GAS STATION, SUNDAY 10/11 You were a lovely blond woman. I asked you if I had cut in front of you in line. You were nice and said “no,” and we smiled outside again outside. I wish I had said more but would like a rain check. You drove off in your Subaru while I leaned up against my car. When: Sunday, October 11, 2020. Where: Hardwick convenience store. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915164 SHELBURNE BAY PARK BEACH Me: jeans, black T-shirt, black/white generic Southern rescue pup. You (Josh, was it?) wandered onto the beach, and my pup was immediately intrigued and so was I. Your dog couldn’t have been less interested and had eyes only for the stick you were tossing into the water, but did you look my way twice after our too-short exchange?

When: Thursday, August 6, 2020.

Where: Shelburne Bay Park beach.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915163 OUR DOGS CONNECTED Ozzie loved Sam! If you ever want to go on a hike, I think the three of them would make a great pack!

When: Saturday, October 10, 2020.

Where: Sucker Brook, Williston.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915161

I find it really annoying when I’m on a date with a guy and he asks if he can kiss me. Even if I want to, the question makes the moment awkward and turns me off. I feel like a first kiss should be more organic and intuitive, especially for these grown men.

I don’t remember this being a thing before. Is this a #MeToo side dish?

Puckered Out (FEMALE, 47)

LADY153 ISPYW/MYLTLI We seem to have a lot in common. Please let me know what your thoughts are. I have a few thoughts and ideas. Would love to discuss them with you. When: Sunday, October 4, 2020. Where: Seven Days. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915158 WHIPPLE HOLLOW MAN You look like you have a great sense of humor with your concrete banjo.

Spied you in Seven Days, and you sparked my interest. We could share a brew and learn more. When: Friday, October 2, 2020. Where: Seven Days.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915157 MOUNT ABE WITH OLLIE I was hiking with a good friend, and you, your buddy and dog Ollie were doing the same. We passed each other at least four times, counting on the road afterward, and exchanged big (masked) smiles. Probably you’re just naturally generous with smiles, but it’s worth asking if you’d like to go on a hike together? When: Saturday, September 26, 2020. Where: Mount Abe. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915155

BURNT ROCK MOUNTAIN You were out enjoying a picture-perfect day on the trail with Lainey, and we crossed paths a few times. After you helped me with some directions in the parking lot, we went our separate ways, but I haven’t been able to shake your beautiful smile. I’ve never I-Spied anyone before, but figured, “Why not?” Join me for a hike sometime? When: Saturday, September 19, 2020. Where: North Fayston. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915149

SHORT-HAIRED DOG-WALKING LADY I was sitting in traffic at the light next to the high school. You were walking your black-and-white bulldog with supreme joy and confidence toward Dorset Park. I wanted to say hello, but the light turned green and you walked on by. Let’s get a drink sometime soon.

Bring your dog! When: Wednesday, October 7, 2020. Where: Dorset St. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915159

GREAT LEGS ON A SATURDAY You were parked in the VNA parking lot. Had to come around and see those legs again in that black dress. You were getting ready to go to a function.

Would love to see those legs again.

What function were you going to, and what type of car were you driving?

(To know it’s you.) When: Saturday, September 26, 2020. Where: Colchester.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915153

These days, just about any false move could be considered sexual assault, so you can’t blame a guy for being extra careful and seeking consent for a kiss. That practice is probably not going to change anytime soon, so although it’s currently a mood kill for you, I suggest you learn how to work with it.

When you’re on a date and want to lock lips, how about you make the first move? If that’s not your style, you can make it obvious

that you’re ready for smoochin’ so the guy might not feel the need to ask. Get close and gently touch his arm or leg.

Make a lot of eye contact. I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve heard about the

JIM AND HIS HARLEY DAVIDSON Over six years ago, closeness developed between you and me at our church on Williston Road. Ironically, we see each other again years later in Cumberland Farms on Riverside (you were working at U-Haul at that time) — only to cross paths again in front of the bank. Did God answer you this time? When: Saturday, June 20, 2020. Where: on his motorcycle.

You: Man. Me: Woman. #915152 MANDY, CHARLOTTE BRICK STORE Hey there. I get coffee sometimes on my work break. Over the course of the winter, your smile, friendliness and very cute face have put you in my mind far more times than I have gotten coffee.

I’d love to know you. When: Saturday, August 1, 2020. Where: Brick Store.

You: Woman. Me: Man. #915150

SCARED AT SAXON HILL You scared me at Saxon Hill. You were walking, and I was on my bike. We joked about you scaring me. I would enjoy joking about this some more. Hope to see you there again. When: Saturday, September 26, 2020. Where: Saxon Hill. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915154



Dear Reverend,

TRACTOR SUPPLY GUY I did need a belt but remembered it a little differently. Wondered if you saw a white-haired woman. Coffee, perhaps, if you did — or a brew? When: Friday, June 5, 2020. Where: Berlin Tractor Supply. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915156

MAGICAL MYSTERY WOMAN You’re the new kid. You have an interesting energy that could be gorgeously confident or quietly arrogant. Care to elaborate? When: Friday, October 2, 2020. Where: VGS. You: Woman. Me: Woman. #915160

Ask REVEREND Dear Puckered Out, Irreverent counsel on life’s conundrums

GRAVEL BIKER NEAR HUNGER MOUNTAIN To the gravel biker who said hi to me as I loaded up my dogs in the afternoon today: Let’s go for a ride, and I’ll buy you a beer/coffee! — Lady runner with two pups. When: Sunday, October 11, 2020. Where: Waterbury near Hunger Mountain TH. You: Man. Me: Woman. #915162

NEK BOUNDARIES Passed by each other several times hiking on a beautiful sunny Sunday.

Would like to go on a hike with you next time, and we can debate the extents of the Northeast Kingdom. Hopefully talk about lots of other things, as well, and see more foliage. When: Sunday, September 20, 2020. Where: on the trail. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915148 BIKER WOMAN IN DANVILLE I saw you biking, and we spoke a few times on the trail and at the road where you got off. Let’s ride together sometime!

You pedal pretty fast. When: Saturday, September 5, 2020. Where: West Danville. You: Woman. Me: Man. #915147

Triangle Method: Gaze into one eye, then the other, down to the lips and back at the eyes — all slow and seductive. If that works for you, do let me know.

You could also start to retrain your brain. Instead of thinking the ask is awkward, consider how sexy it is. It’s obvious that he’s into you and, better yet, he respects you. That’s what I call a real turn-on.

There are plenty of people out there with no dates and no kissing prospects on the horizon. If the biggest complaint you have right now is politely being asked to make out, consider yourself pretty dang lucky.

Good luck and God bless,

The Reverend

What’s your problem?

Send it to asktherev@sevendaysvt.com.

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

73

SWM, 60s, seeking woman around 58 to 68. Handyman.

Enjoy skiing, cooking, weekend getaways. Tired of quarantine.

Are you? NEK. #L1453 SF, 42, living in Chittenden County seeks SM for potential LTR. I’m a nerdy gamer, morning person, coffee drinker, nonsmoker. Kind, industrious.

Seeking similar. The world is our opportunity! #L1452 53-y/o discreet SWM, 5’10, 156 pounds. Brown and blue.

Seeking any guys 18 to 60 who like to receive oral and who are a good top. Well hung guys a plus. Chittenden County and around. No computer. Phone only, but can text or call. #L1451 I’m here now, and you knew me as Yourdaddy921, etc. and Boomer2012, etc. Contact me via mail, please. #L1458 49-y/o SWM seeking female for friendship with benefits.

I am feminine, fit, mostly vegan. I enjoy yoga, hiking and biking, books, some cooking, and cuddling to a good movie.

Seeking romantic lady for friendship. #L1457 I’m a 34-y/o male seeking 18to 45-y/o female. I’m smart, artistic, funny and open-minded.

Love music, books, movies and looking at the cosmos. A cat guy, but like all animals. Looking for love and friendship. #L1456

I’m a male (65) seeking a female (50 to 65). Fit, friendly, frolicsome fella favors fanciful female for fabulous fall friendship. I’m vegetarian, healthy, humorous, reflective and highly educated. Interests are hiking, gardening, dogs, creativity, Scrabble and pillowtalk. #L1455 I don’t live in Vermont anymore, but I’m here semiregularly. I’m a 39-y/o lady friend seeking men, but anyone for friends to write to, maybe more. Hike, ski, lounge, eat, drink, converse. It’s COVID; I’m bored/lonely. What about you? #L1454

HOW TO REPLY TO THESE LOVE LETTERS: Seal your reply — including your preferred contact info — inside an envelope. Write your penpal’s box number on the outside of that envelope and place it inside another envelope with payment. Responses for Love Letters must begin with the #L box number.

MAIL TO: Seven Days Love Letters

P.O. Box 1164, Burlington, VT 05402

PAYMENT: $5/response. Include cash or check

(made out to “Seven Days”) in the outer envelope. To send unlimited replies for only $15/month, call us at 802-865-1020, ext. 10 for a membership (credit accepted).

PUBLISH YOUR MESSAGE ON THIS PAGE!

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1

Submit your FREE message at sevendaysvt.com/loveletters or use the handy form at right.

2

We’ll publish as many messages as we can in the Love Letters section above.

3

Interested readers will send you letters in the mail. No internet required!

SEVEN DAYS NOVEMBER 4-11, 2020

SWF seeks conservative male age 62 to 72, Addison/ Burlington area only. Turnons: har cut, shave, outdoorsy, hunter, camper. Turn-offs: smoker, drugs, tattoos. Me: 5’8, average build, blue/brown, glasses, enjoy nature, have a Shelty, birds, old Jeep, farm raised. Need phone number, please. #L1450 I’m a bicurious 41-y/o male seeking bicurious married or single men, 18 to 45, for some very discreet fun. Good hygiene, hung and H&W proportional a must. Let’s text discreetly and have some DL NSA fun. #L1449

Internet-Free Dating!

Reply to these messages with real, honest-to-goodness letters. DETAILS BELOW. Attractive SWM, 51, living around the Burlington area.

Seeking a curvaceous female for some casual fun with no strings attached. All it takes is some good chemistry... #L1447 I’m a mid-aged male seeking a M or F any age or gender.

Wonderful youth, caring person. Male, 5’9, 147. Older mid-aged loves long-distance running, writing, literature, poetry, drawing, folk and jazz.

Looking for a great friendship for hikes, walks, talks. Best to all. #L1446 I’m a single female, mid60s, seeking a male for companionship and adventure.

Retired educator who loves kayaking, swimming, skiing and travel. Well read. Life is short; let’s have fun. #L1445 Staff researcher at UVM on biostatistics. 29-y/o Chinese male. INFJ personality.

Seeking a female of similar age for long-term relationship.

Love is kind. Love is patient.

May we all stay healthy and be happy. #L1444

SWF, 37, seeking M for some casual fun, no strings attached.

I just got out of an LTR, and I’ve forgotten how it feels to be physically and sexually alive.

Can you remind me? Creative meetups and play a must. #L1443 Very unique lady in early 70s seeks male. I’m a people person and very active. Love to cook, garden, read and watch good movies. Very friendly with a lot of empathy. I love to walk and the outdoors. Looking for someone who enjoys the same. #L1442 I’m a GM looking for guys seeking fun and adventure in mid-Vermont. No text/email.

Hope to hear from you. #L1441 I’m 42-y/o looking for someone who can start and show me the way to a new life sexually.

Looking to start with someone experienced. #L1440 I’m a petite blonde. Healthy, active SWF seeking a kind, honest SWM for conversation, walks, dinners and short trips.

70 to 80. #L1438

Describe yourself and who you’re looking for in 40 words below:

Required confidential info:

(OR, ATTACH A SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER.)

__________________________________________

I’m a _________________________________________________ __ ____

NAME

AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

seeking a____________________________________________ ___________ AGE + GENDER (OPTIONAL)

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_______________________________________________________ MAIL TO: SEVEN DAYS LOVE LETTERS • PO BOX 1164, BURLINGTON, VT 05402 OPTIONAL WEB FORM: SEVENDAYSVT.COM/LOVELETTERS HELP: 802-865-1020, EXT. 10, LOVELETTERS@SEVENDAYSVT.COM

THIS FORM IS FOR LOVE LETTERS ONLY. Messages for the Personals and I-Spy sections must be submitted online at dating.sevendaysvt.com.

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