2009 Guide to Readers' Picks

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Seven is our favorite number, for obvious reasons. So this seventh consecutive iteration of the Daysies makes us extra happy about doling out awards. No doubt the people who win them will feel the same — especially those who’ve won every single time. Getting bored yet, you perennials? Didn’t think so.

What really blew us away this year was the sheer number of readers who voted — 3600, to be exact — and the vast majority of them used our online survey. As we’ve told you before, it really helps with the arithmetic when you can capture the answers from a website and dump them into a spreadsheet. Our staff pizza-and-beer counting night is a receding memory, and to replace it we all get together and recite poems from memory.

Kidding about that last part.

Anyway. Regular readers will find many familiar names here. That’s because a lot of individuals and businesses are unfailingly popular and, as luck would have it, are still alive. Some dueling competitors just seem to swap places each year, so the suspense is in finding out who took home the Daysie and who was runner-up. But, trust us, there were a few upsets in 2009.

To offset the hegemony of population-heavy Chittenden County, we included more “Outside” categories this year wherever the number of votes justified it. That ushered in a whole host of new winners, primarily in central Vermont.

And, as usual, we introduced some new categories, changed the wording of a few classics, and eliminated others altogether. This fluctuation inevitably upsets somebody, but there’s usually a net gain on the happy side. If you’re in the former camp, please accept our condolences.

Thanks to the community of readers and advertisers who contribute to making Vermont the “best” in so many ways, and who are helping this independent, locally owned media enterprise survive in a very challenging time. Like we always say, without you we’d be pushing up You-Know-What.

— Pamela Polston

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"Thought" Questions

Those of you who voted in the Daysies may recall the questions at the end of the survey: What one change would make Vermont a better place to live? Who’s your Vermont local hero? Who should be Vermont’s next governor?

Not surprisingly, the answers were all over the map — you Vermonters are such mavericks, Sarah Palin would be proud of you if it weren’t for that gay-marriage thing. But we’ll attempt to summarize them here.

What one change would make Vermont a better place to live?
Most responses earnestly address substantive issues facing the state: health care for all, more affordable housing, lower taxes, more jobs, better public transportation, etc. Of course, another sizable contingent mentioned the weather. As in: more sunshine. Looking at last year’s Daysies write-up, we noted the words “rainiest summer ever.” Really? It couldn’t have held a candle to this one.

Plenty of people are still fluffed about the state of the roads, so they must not live on Pine Street in Burlington, which has been undergoing improvements all summer. A few independent types still think seceding from the U.S. would make everything all better, but even more are certain that legalizing marijuana would do the job.

Real Mexican food, Ethiopian food, free trash removal and better cell service all made the list. We’re still puzzling over “more people from New Jersey and Sweden.” How would that help, exactly? Oh, and to the person who asked, “Do you really read all of these?” — the answer is yes.

Who’s your Vermont local hero?
This one’s pretty much a tie between our two U.S. senators, Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders. Not that they aren’t both deserving, but, boy, there’s nothing like name recognition. ’Cause the runners-up are former Governor Howard Dean and Capt. Richard Phillips — you know, the Underhill resident who offered himself as hostage to Somali pirates to save his Maersk Alabama crew, and then was rescued by some sharp-shooting Navy Seals. Dude is truly a hero, and got a whole lot of deserved media coverage for it.

Still, quite a few readers saw fit to name relatively lesser beings. We’re willing to concede heroism may come in many guises, but the Logger? Harpo? Champ!? Please. Can we at least stick to nonfiction?

A few voters threw props to their local police and fire departments; others named “my husband” or “my wife.” Awww.

We kind of liked the person — somewhat clueless, but with unmistakable priorities — who wrote, “Is Fred Tuttle still alive? If not, then Bernie.” Answer: Fred is dead, but the Tunbridge farmer was, in his own way, some kinda hero.

Who should be Vermont’s next governor?
Again, name recognition helps a lot — most of the individuals who’ve thrown their hats in the ring for the next gubernatorial election got some nods. We have to reveal that Sen. Doug Racine came out ahead, though the Chittenden County Democrat played second fiddle to one answer: anyone but Douglas. Seriously. We certainly wouldn’t pin all of Vermont’s problems on our current governor, but it seems to be popular to blame him anyway. Then again, Seven Days readers may well be a biased bunch.

Some other candidates to contemplate, according to our voters, are the collective “ladies” of the House of LeMay, Burlington artist dug NAP, actor Christian Bale (inspired, perhaps, by his YouTube-captured ability to shout opponents into submission, and assuming he would take up residence in Vermont), and “that guy with all the colorful trash on his bike,” who perhaps only Burlington residents will recognize as the so-called Bird Man. And no way are we giving him up to Montpelier.

Of course, we’ve got our favorite answers: “Some really smart gal” and “Ira Allen. He counts.” Um, counts what?

— Pamela Polston