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From top, left to right: Buch Spieler, Handy’s Lunch, Dick Mazza’s General Store, Main Street (Burlington), Gardener’s Supply, Bayside Court, City Market, Center for Cartoon Studies, Langdon Street Café, Muddy Waters, North Winooski Ave. Laundromat, Fresh Market, Red Square, Julio’s Cantina, Beverage Warehouse

Nice rackS!Readers pick up Seven Days at more than 1000 locations around Vermont, as well as Plattsburgh, n.Y. we’re grateful for every single venue, but we photographed 15 for our 15th! how many of these sites can you identify?

See more 7D birthday fun starting on page 26!

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FUN STUFFstraight dope/bliss 24red meat 59movie quiz 79free will astrology 80news quirks 81troubletown, lulu 82ted rall, idiot box 82the k chronicles 82no exit/ogg’s world 83sudoku/calcoku 83american elf 83personals 85

CLASSIFIEDShomeworks C-2vehicles C-2housing C-27D crossword C-3fsbo C-4services C-4buy this stuff C-5music C-5puzzle answers C-5legals, art C-6support groups C-8jobs C-11

COVER IMAGE: MIKE BIEGEL COVER DESIGN: DIANE SULLIVAN

LOOKING FORWARDcontents

VIDEO

sevendaysvt.com/multimedia

Stuck in Vermont: Yak Attack. The three families that formed the Vermont Yak Company in 2008 have been learning the ancient Tibetan art of yak farming.

Back in the Day...

SEPTEMBER 08-15, 2010 VOL.16 NO.2

Hoppy Birthday! It’s a big week at Seven Days, and we’ve packed a lot in. Our 15TH ANNIVERSARY inspired the fi ve-page spread about, well, us, including staff photos from this year and our fi rst one. And wherever you see the ‘95 logo scattered around the paper, you’ll learn — or reminisce? — about some happenings here in 1995.

And then there’s the SOUTH END ART HOP, which would be our favorite event even if it wasn’t on our birthday — and in our ’hood! We preview the Hop with features on RICK DAVIS’ newly renovated Maltex

Building; metal sculptor JAMES IRVING WESTERMANN; BRADLEY JORDAN, consultant to the “Strut V” fashion show; plus a rundown on the musical accompaniment to the Hop.

You’ll fi nd more BACK TO SCHOOL content, too — about Sustainability Academy principal ABI SESSIONS, and YOUDILIGENCE, a company that can eliminate students’ “embarrassing” pasts. Or at least their posts on

social-networking sites. Whew.

NEWS16 White River Junction

Neighbors Exchange Hate-Crime AccusationsBY KEN PICARD

16 Vermont’s Secessionist Movement Debuts Something New: CandidatesBY ANDY BROMAGE

17 Independent U.S. Senate Candidate Johenry Nunes Wants to Be Your “Hero”BY ANDY BROMAGE

ARTS NEWS20 A Three-Part

International Sculpture Exhibit Champions BiodiversityBY KEVIN J. KELLEY

21 Local Designer Wrangles the Runway at the Art HopBY CAROLYN FOX

22 Holy SnitBY MARGOT HARRISON

REVIEWS 66 Music

Villanelles, Villanelles; Tiff any Pfeiff er and the Discarnate Band, Amor Frio

70 ArtCurtis Hale, Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild Backroom Gallery

76 MoviesThe American; Restrepo

FEATURES26 Seven Days Is 15!

Birthday: Back in the Day ... ’95BY PAULA ROUTLY & PAMELA POLSTON

32 Maltex MakeoverArchitecture: A Pine Street landmark’s “renaissance” kicks off the Art HopBY AMY LILLY

36 Teaching SessionsBack 2 School: The principal of Burlington’s Sustainability Academy assesses year oneBY LAUREN OBER

40 Deleting IndiscretionsBack 2 School: A Vermont company keeps a vigilant eye on students’ online behaviorBY KEN PICARD

42 All’s Fair in Love and HormonesMusic: Justin Bieber heats up the Champlain Valley FairBY ALICE LEVITT

44 It’s a WrapFood: Seven Days writers rate the Burlington-area burrito sceneBY DAN BOLLES, ALICE LEVITT & SUZANNE PODHAIZER

62 Birthday PartyMusic: The charmed musical life of Kyle ThomasBY MATT BUSHLOW

COLUMNS12 Fair Game

Open season on Vermont politicsBY SHAY TOTTEN

25 HackieA cabbie’s rear viewBY JERNIGAN PONTIAC

45 Side DishesLeftover food newsBY ALICE LEVITT

64 SoundbitesMusic news and viewsBY DAN BOLLES

72 EyewitnessTaking note of visual VermontBY MEGAN JAMES

87 Mistress MaeveYour guide to love & lustBY MISTRESS MAEVE

STUFF TO DO11 The Magnifi cent 750 Calendar59 Classes62 Music70 Art76 Movies

“On the Marketplace”

38 Church St.862-5126

Monday-Thursday 10-8Friday & Saturday 10-9

Sunday 11-6

HUNTER

‘Cause you can’t predict the weather...

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I nevitably, that’ll sound like a lot of years to some, while 1995 seems like “just yesterday” to others. Either way, we take it as a compliment that so many Vermonters seem unable to remember a

time without Seven Days. We’d like to think we’ve become an integral part of life in this state, for the role we play in refl ecting our shared community. We hope you learn something new about this place every time you read the paper, check the website or open one of our e-newsletters.

Today’s technology has allowed Seven Days to grow into a multimedia company. But, in defi ance of national trends, the weekly print product is still very much in demand here. We have to restock distribution hot spots such as Burlington’s City Market four times a week and still get calls from businesses around the state that want stacks of papers delivered to them. There’s nothing more gratifying to us than seeing adults of all ages pore over the pages of a fresh edition on Wednesday afternoons.

Businesses advertise with Seven Days because they want to reach you, our readers. We use

those resources to investigate, and report on, the community we live in. We also support it by publiciz-ing events, issues and worthy causes. Seven Days has sponsored so many nonprofi t events and fundraisers over the past 15 years, there isn’t space to list them all. It’s an honor to live in a place with so many active, engaged people who want to improve things. Seven Days employees are among them.

Local media facilitate civic engagement, and Vermont is blessed with numerous weeklies that truly enhance their towns. Publishers who live in the com-munities they cover know and care about them with an intimacy that eludes national media chains. You can support local media by patronizing their advertis-ers, who are most likely mom-and-pops themselves. Your hometown newspaper is the media equivalent of a fresh Vermont veggie: sustainable, job creating, healthy and homemade. So, dig in. We promise to keep providing local color, essential nutrients and a satisfying crunch.

— PAULA ROUTLY & PAMELA POLSTON

SEVEN DAYS IS 15!

on Wednesday afternoons. Businesses advertise with Seven Days

they want to reach you, our readers. We use

Back in the Day...

Top: Barbara Peabody, Kathy Erickson, Lars-Erik FiskCenter: Maggie Starvish, Pamela Polston, Paula Routly, Rick Woods

Bottom: Samantha Hunt, Clove Tsindle

Our fi rst

issue!

Our fi rst staff photo!

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EARLY ADOPTERSWhen we launched Seven Days on September 6, 1995,

we persuaded the following businesses and indi-viduals to advertise in a paper they’d never laid eyes on. They took a leap of faith for which we are eternally grateful.

We enticed these advertisers with a three-for-two deal, which guaranteed we’d be able to put out at least three substantial issues. When deadlines for the fourth issue rolled around, we realized with horror that we were going to have to do this every week.

And so we have, 762 times. Today’s paper is the 763rd!

Not all of our inaugural advertisers are still around. But many have endured the test of time, taste and economic vi-cissitudes. Congratulations to them, with a special shout-out to others who launched in 1995. Huge thanks to you and the hundreds of others who have chosen to market your wares, events, services and classes in Seven Days.

Here’s to another 15!

135 PearlAbout � yme CaféA Freedom Production: Tongues & AnswersAdvance Music CentreAmalgamated Culture WorksAnimal CrackersBattery Street JeansBear Pond BooksBen & Jerry’sBody GarageBuch SpielerBurlington CollegeBurlington Futon CompanyCafé EspressoCapital ChryslerCatamount ArtsCeltic CottageChai GangChannel OpeningCity Lights Lighting CompanyClub MetronomeClub ToastCommon � readsCommunity College of VermontCompatiblesEcco Clothes for Women Evergreen Educational ProgramsFlynn � eatreFrederick Johnson Pianos Inc.Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center

Furchgott Sourdiffe GalleryGood CitizenHeritage Copy CentersHopkins Center for the ArtsJanice PerryJan PassionJazza TingsJulio’s Bar & RestaurantLake Champlain Center for Holistic MedicineLake Champlain TransportationLeonardo’s PizzaLinda ScottLittle Shop of Recovery & DiscoveryManhattan Pizza & PubMartin’s Coins & JewelryMary’s at Baldwin CreekMiddlebury College Center for the ArtsMirabellesmise en placeMolly FlemingNectar’sNorth Country BooksNYNEXOnion River Arts Council and Barre Opera HouseOsaanyin Herb ApothecaryPeace & Justice StorePhotoGardenPurple Shutter HerbsRomancing the VineSamsara Café/Bistro

South Burlington Eyecare CenterSouth End Art Hop (Pine Street Arts & Business Association)Spirit DancerTaz� e Acupuncture Clinic� e Burlington Yoga Studio� e Chicago Bicycle Company� e Feldenkreis Method� e Miller Group� e Optical Center� e Organic Cow of Vermont� e Savoy � eater� e Shoe Horn� e Studio Store� e Windjammer� eresa BaconToms’ Riverside GrillUVM Evening UniversityUVM Lane SeriesUVM � eatre Vermont Housing Finance AgencyVermont Stage CompanyVermont Symphony OrchestraWalter ZeichnerWay Out WaxWIZNWNCSWomen’s Ongoing Psychotherapy GroupWoodbury CollegeYMCA

SEVEN DAYS IS 15 » P.28

Clockwise from left: Shay Totten,Ken Picard, Paula Routly, Pamela Polston, Robyn Birgisson, Cheryl Brownell, Andrew Sawtell

They took a leap of faith for which we

We enticed these advertisers with a

THANK YOU TO OUR VERY FIRST ADVERTISERS!THANK YOU TO OUR VERY FIRST ADVERTISERS!

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O ver the last couple of weeks we asked read-ers, “How was it for you?” referring to Seven Days’ fi rst 15 years and their own relationship to the paper. But even we were surprised at

how many of them said they met their current spousal unit through our personal ads. Awww.

Others told us what they turn to fi rst in the paper, or gushed about a fun experience with videographer Eva Sollberger on “Stuck in Vermont,” or recalled a specifi c story or column that made an impression. All of it is a swell 15th birthday present, so, thanks! Here, we share the feedback.

But wait! We promised that a random respon-dent would win a package of gift certifi cates to local restaurants. And that lucky Seven Days reader is … Susan Becker of Montpelier!

So, let’s hear her story fi rst:

I so look forward to every issue of Seven Days. I also receive the weekly email [NOW] and, quite frankly, my week is not complete without Seven Days. My favorite part is the Free Will Astrology — it is the thing I turn to fi rst and it is my guide for the week! I also laugh at the personal ads and study the advice of Mistress Maeve. I peruse the rest of the paper and note events, advertisements, and movie and restau-rant reviews. There isn’t a single paper over the last 13 years that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed.

There is one funny thing though that I do: I use my leftover papers in the spring to mulch my garden, and often my husband will fi nd me sitting down in the garden looking at the paper again, per-haps at something I missed. So, sitting in a garden row, a pile of dirt and straw, reading Seven Days! It’s wonderful.

Thank you for all that you do for the Vermont community.

Jay Strauss, Plainfi eld and BurlingtonI did meet my wife and love of my life several years ago via Seven Days after hundreds of other dates. My ad mentioned skiing and my wife responded to it. We spoke on the phone many times before meeting.

We fi rst met in Burlington on a bench next to the [ECHO] water-front science museum. She was dog sitting and, as we walked along the board-walk I thought, This is all wrong. All she talks about is this darn dog. I thought the trip was a big waste of time. We both had sun-glasses on and could not see each other’s eyes.

We met again soon after, with no dogs involved. We started dating on a regu-lar basis and I fell in love with her and I asked her to marry me, many times over. She fi nally said yes, and we wedded at the top of Mount Mansfi eld under a canopy, in front of family and friends.

Every day with her is like fi reworks and big bands playing. I love her with all my heart. I write her sweet poems, emails, cards, and give her fl ow-ers, etc.

We swim, hike, camp, cook, canoe, bicycle and enjoy life to the fullest to-gether. I’m still not a great downhill skier, but try to keep up with her on the slopes.

I guess I owe Seven Days a big thanks.

Tamsen M. Benjamin, East MontpelierLove your daily newsletter (the Daily 7) and just picked up the paper today. Especially like the info on upcoming events regarding music and theater.

Leslie Merwin, Cheshire, Conn.While I was in Burlington working for Starr Farm Nursing Center, I found a wonderful second job playing organ at the United Church of Colchester through an ad in Seven Days. The congregation and choir there were very, very special. I’m no longer living in the area, but will always treasure that experience.

John Wilson, HinesburgFor many years I eagerly picked up Seven Days each week for two primary reasons: Peter Freyne’s column [“Inside Track”] and the crossword puzzle. If I had time, I’d read further, but those were the incentives to never miss the paper.

Today, I read further into other articles and enjoy the paper each week.

Thanks for a great local publication!

Shannon Trainor, MontpelierSeven Days is the only local paper I pick up regularly (the price is right). But the paper most impacted my life because that’s how I met my fi ancé.

We fi rst met through the “Two 2 Tango” [person-als] site back in March 2007. By date number three we were a couple. By date number four we were

SO FAR, SO GOODReaders share their personal stories about Seven Days

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We fi rst met in

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saying “I love you.” And within a month of meeting, we were joking about getting married.

So, to be overdramatic, I could say my current happiness and the next 50 years of happiness are due to Seven Days. Although I could also say the huge cost of my impending wedding and a prolonged visit from my mother could also be attributed to Seven Days. But I prefer to look on the bright side of things.

Thanks, Seven Days!

April Howard, BurlingtonSince 2002, when I’ve lived outside of Vermont for parts of years in New York, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, I’ve read Seven Days from afar as a way to continue to feel connected to Burlington, and my former hometown of Richmond. More than any other online publication covering the state, Seven Days encapsulates and records so many of the wonderful things about living in Vermont and in Burlington. Thanks for all the work you do!

Fred L. Hiltz, ShelburneDavid and Sally Conrad made the connection with Eva Sollberger for her video about maple sugaring at Wake Robin, the only life-care community we know with its own sugarbush…

We who appeared in the show were, of course, enthusiastic. The word soon spread to families and friends, through our commu-nity and out to people interested in Wake Robin. Our website still features the link on its front page.

Our marketing manager says that she often hears about it from people contact-ing the department: “My, you seem to have fun there!” While that is certainly true, it was Eva’s contagious, happy personality that brought it out in us “actors.”

We hope she will return for a video about beekeeping some day. The honey harvest in early September is the most visually interest-ing part of the story…

Jerry Hinckley, WilliamstownI have been reading your paper since its beginning...Your recent story about Lt. Governor Brian Dubie was an eye-opener, causing me to reconsider my options as an independent voter in this coming election. I have another letter ready to send to your paper concerning discipline and diversity in your August 25, 2010 issue. Keep going! Your articles cause us to think, wonder and hope for a better world.

Ken Haggett, Lake ElmoreSeven Days began to change my life 10 years ago. I placed a personal ad and enjoyed many a con-versation over co� ee with various women I met. Eventually, I met my current partner and wife as a result of that ad. It’s not always easy to meet others in this rural state of ours, and the Seven Days person-als make it possible to meet a wide range of people with similar interests. It sure worked for us!

The next experience I had with Seven Days was in hiring employees for my fledgling dogsled-tour business about five years ago. After placing ads in several local papers and not receiving much in the way of quality applicants, I decided to use Seven Days for the next round. What a dif-ference! I had six or seven applicants, any one of whom I could have hired. The two I did end up hiring are still working with me now, four years later.

My latest experience with Seven Days involved a visit from Eva [Sollberger] to fi lm a version of “Stuck in Vermont” featuring our dogsled tours. I’m fairly camera-shy, but Eva made the whole outing very relaxed and I had a great time. I was amazed at how she took around two hours of footage and edited it down to about fi ve minutes of video that really seemed to capture the essence of my business.

I just remembered one more positive interaction I have had with Seven Days, if you can believe it … It seems like the more I think about it, the more I realize what a great resource Seven Days has been over the past 15 years.

Ken Picard and his dog Nicky came to do a dog-scooter outing with me in the fall of 2006. He wrote a very nice article on the visit, titled “Mush Motives” [November 15, 2006].

So, has Seven Days a� ected my life in the past 15 years? You might say it has. I wonder what the next 15 will bring.

FREE

SPRINGAHEADthe fashion issue

KEEP LOOKING: BAWDY BRUEGHEL P.20B, ART REVIEW & GALLERIES P.25BFOOD FIGHT: GMO M.O. P.18A

FREE

SEVEN DAYS

18areviving songs

20aengineering sounds

24agoing way bach

26ahaving a swale time

28afretting over guitars

themusicissue

7 D E XC LUS I V E : F R E Y N E T R AC KS D OW N P E T E R J E N N I N G S I N B - TOW N P 7 A

22a band p.r. how-not-to

24a brookes’ book on guitar

26a oldies rockers reunite

30a ripton rhythms: a hot coffeehouse

36a son of sun ra? chorney’s latest

40a the musical side of positive pi

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Laura Lewandowski, Bristol“Stuck in Vermont” helped me change my life. Since our fi rst visit to Vermont in 2006, my husband and I spoke often of uprooting ourselves from our South Dakota home and moving east to Vermont. We liked almost every single thing we experienced during our vaca-tion — the views, the museums, the farmers markets and espe-cially the people. But to uproot and move halfway across the country on the basis of one week in paradise was a daunting prospect.

My husband and I (now retired) made a good living applying research to everyday problems. We decided to research Vermont to see if this was what we really wanted to do. Scouring the Internet for any and all information related to Vermont, in early 2009 we found Seven Days and “Stuck in Vermont.” The very fi rst SIV video I watched was episode 124, called “Sheep Shearing School” [April 15, 2009]. I not only learned about Shelburne Farms and sheep shearing, but also about the quirky, informative way Eva Sollberger presents the state in which she lives. I was hooked. I watched each SIV for over a year and learned so much — why would anyone not want to live in Vermont? The decision to relocate here became a no-brainer!

The videos not only helped us decide to move, they helped us determine a method of moving. Thanks to SIV, we saw so many areas of Vermont we wished to investigate as potential homes. To be certain we landed in the right place for us, we rented a furnished home for a few months in our target area so we could explore. We ended up in a vil-lage we would not have considered otherwise and are very happy here. This was the best move we could have made.

XX XXV

a new b&j flavor offends the irish p.11a vt beats up a band for stealing the seal p.44a

CROWN POINT’S JEWEL?

a real rodin on the n.y. side p.24a

Chatting up the Left’s funniest front manby Ken Picard p.32a

SIDESHOW AND TELL: Toni-Lee Sangastiano’s freaky art p.23a

GRAVE ON:A VT cemetery tour p.24a

GRAVE ON:A VT cemetery

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Bottom, from left: Dan Bolles, Marcy Kass, Megan James, Suzanne Podhaizer, Elizabeth Rossano, Celia Hazard

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