It was easy for a merry band of riders to imagine the future of bicycling in Burlington last week as they took, ironically, a pedal into the past.... Read more

Give it a couple more years, and Burlington’s 12-year-old Spielpalast Cabaret will have lasted as long as the Weimar Republic (1919-33) whose popular theater inspired it. After myriad changes of performers and venues, are these saucy annual burlesque-tinged extravaganzas showing their age? A bit, perhaps, but for the most part the dancing ladies (and gentleman) are keeping it fresh.... Read more

In the pantheon of least desirable jobs, Alan Graham’s deserves at least an honorable mention. Tapped to be state entomologist last February — he’s been with the Agency of Agriculture since 2001 — Graham is in charge of pest management, which often means going into Vermont’s buggiest bogs to count, catch and identify the tiny critters that sting, burrow or bite.... Read more

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is take Vermont day trips. There are plenty of reasons to drive around the state, from simple sightseeing to getting oneself to an outdoorsy excursion such as climbing Camel’s Hump or kayaking. But if, like me, you enjoy (a) looking at art, and (b) eating, then a road trip that includes an arty destination and a lunch spot is heaven. But I recommend also planning in advance a pit stop or two, and checking out other attractions in the target area.... Read more

We’re conditioned to think of the performing-arts “season” as fall through spring, but summer is when many of the state’s stages come alive. (Indeed, some of them are unheated and don’t thaw out until June.) Professional thespians from urban areas flock to Vermont for summer-stock theater, while plenty of locals forgo hot-weather indolence for a chance to act out under bright lights. ... Read more

Activists opposed to basing F-35 fighter jets at Burlington International Airport have found a potentially effective spokesperson for their cause. She’s Carmine Sargent, a 69-year-old grandmother who has been living within earshot of the airport since 1972.... Read more

Burlington’s New North End used to be reliably conservative. For a time, residents of Wards 4 and 7 elected four Republicans to represent them on the Burlington City Council. They never met a school budget they liked.

That’s changing. First came Dave Hartnett. He ran unopposed — as a Democrat — when Republican Kurt Wright stepped down from the city council in 2011. Then Hartnett organized Wright’s campaign for mayor, suggesting he may be more R than D.... Read more

Curses, Foiled Again
A man ordered coffee at a Dunkin’ Donut’s drive-through in West Haven, Conn., but when he pulled up to the window, he got out of his vehicle, announced a robbery and started to climb through the window. The employee stopped him by throwing his coffee at him. She then threw a whole pot of coffee. “That’s when he started running into his truck and then he left,” she said, “and I said, “Go run with Dunkin.’” Police Sgt. David Tammaro said the man fled empty-handed. (West Hartford’s WVIT-TV)... Read more

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “I’m still learning,” said Michelangelo when he was 87 years old. For now, he’s your patron saint. With his unflagging curiosity as your inspiration, maybe your hunger for new teachings will bloom. You will register the fact that you don’t already know everything there is to know … you have not yet acquired all the skills you were born to master … you’re still in the early stages of exploring whole swaths of experience that will be important to you as you become the person you want to be.... Read more

If you’re road tripping this summer to Washington, D.C., or New York City, chances are you’ll see buildings whose marble was quarried or finished, or both, in Vermont. The marble on the U.S. Supreme Court building, the Lincoln Memorial, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the United Nations building was all the work of the Vermont Marble Company in Proctor.... Read more