GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Chance of showers (snow? rain? both?) first thing, then cloudy. We begin the day a bit above the freezing mark, but as things warm up and last night's weather winds down, we're looking at a dry day, temps reaching a seasonable mid 40s. Sometime overnight the next system moves from south to north, packing both rain and snow for tomorrow—accumulations highly elevation-dependent.Two springtime videos.
A gray fox caught on Liam Coyle's trail cam in Lebanon;
And a wood frog in a Windsor pond fed by runoff from I-91, from Tad Montgomery.
Did you check out "Dear Daybreak" yesterday? If not, you missed Terry Munson on the ice storm's impact on trees and plants in Grantham—"New Hampshire plants," she writes, "who have seen it all before"; poet Danny Dover perched on a stool in a diner, taking it all in; and Aleah Sommers' reflection on the ever-changing remains of a dead fox she passes every day on her walk to work. If you've got an anecdote or a description of life in these parts, Dear Daybreak needs them: send it in!Heads up on the Haverhill-Bath bridge Monday. NHDOT crews begin work next week on a project to remove and replace the bridge deck pavement and do other rehab work on the bridge carrying NH Route 135 over the Ammonoosuc River. Starting Monday and lasting through the week, they'll be installing construction signage, message boards, and temporary signals; starting Wednesday, automated signals will control alternating one-way traffic.How federal cuts affect one small town. The Herald has two stories by Isabel Dreher this week that explain what funding cuts look like at ground level.
The first involves the Orange Southwest School District, which hadn't used up all its pandemic relief funds by the time they expired last fall and thought it had a contract with the feds to use them into next year. Nope. The grant money was taken back—"Where’s it going? It should be going to students. It should be going to our children," says Asst. Supt. Heather Lawler. The district is now "walking back" summer programming, and is trying to figure out how to fund after-school and other programs that were in the budget passed by voters before the federal money went away.
The second story focuses on Randolph's Kimball Library. In some senses, VT's fortunate, because libraries don't get much state or federal funding. But DOGE's cuts to the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services will hamstring VT's Department of Libraries, which in turn will almost certainly endanger the interlibrary loan program it oversees. The Kimball used the program for 175 patrons in March alone. “So then what happens to the children or the adults that are accessing that service? I don’t know what happens to it…it goes away," says library director Amy Grasmick.
The Howe Library, by the way, is facing the same issue. As are other libraries in NH. In The Dartmouth, Abby Byrne checks in with Howe director Rubi Simon, who says both the inter-library loan system and Libby, an online service that provides the Howe with ebooks and audiobooks, are at risk."We’re kind of on hold right now," she says. "We're waiting for the state to give us an update on where things stand.”
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A WCAX viewer wanted to know the deal. Cat Viglienzoni's answer: VTrans closed it in 2020 for a construction project, handed it over in 2023 to FEMA for those flood-relief trailers the agency was building, but has now taken control again. VTrans says it "may be used as a weigh station only and not re-opened as a rest area."
The Upper Valley's Nobel prize winner drops by his old high school. Victor Ambros, who grew up in Hartland and was a member of Woodstock Union's class of 1971, shared the Nobel in Medicine last fall. Last week, he visited—“It’s been so strange to return," he tells the Standard's Lauren Dorsey—to talk to students and to make the case that curiosity is what drives discovery. When he was a kid, he told them, “I wondered how the heck a birch tree or a maple tree makes every one of its leaves a birch or maple shape... There’s something inside the seed of a birch tree that has the information about what that tree is going to look like that’s actually deeply mysterious." Dorsey chronicles the visit.Dartmouth podcast-class veteran named NPR award finalist. As you know, each year Daybreak runs audio pieces by members of Sophie Crane's course "Tell Me A Story: Introduction to Nonfiction Radio and Podcasting." One of the more notable pieces last year was by Eliza Dunn: "Wishbones" told the story of Hartford's Jim Dow and the wishbone collection he'd tried, on a whim, to give away. Dunn is now a senior, and her nine-minute podcast for the class about Brave Souls, a group of women who take dips in the Connecticut each winter, is one of 10 finalists in NPR's fourth annual College Podcast Challenge.The hunter and the prey. A lucky spotting in Lyme: an American kestrel, a dainty falcon with a bold call of killy killy killy, writes Northern Woodlands' Jack Saul in "This Week in the Woods." They’re keen hunters, able to see the ultraviolet light emitted from the urine of small mammals. A loss of habitat and an increase in pesticide use is threatening their numbers, unlike other falcons. Probably unrelated, writes Saul, is the unfortunate mouse whose remains were in the woods, likely the victim of another bird of prey. More happily, spring pussy willows are appearing, a treat for mammals, birds, and pollinators. Hiking Not Too Close to Home: Victory State Forest Trails, Lunenberg and Victory, VT. This 27.5-mile trail network through the Victory State Forest has just about everything and is a perfect place to enjoy the early days of spring, says the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. The forest creates excellent habitat for plants and wildlife, "a front row seat to watch the world awaken from winter!" Bear, moose, beaver, and muskrat use the many ponds and wetlands that drain into the Moose River, with plenty of other species living there, too. A trail at Damon's Crossing leads to an accessible wildlife viewing platform.Just thought you'd want to know: the Presidential Traverse in the Whites is among the most dangerous hiking trails in the US. That's according to a roundup by the website OutdoorAdept.com. Top of the list: Angel's Landing, in Utah's Zion National Park, which has seen 18 deaths since the '90s. The Presidential Traverse, the only trail in the East on the list, has seen over 160 deaths since 1849: It's got nine major summits, miles of trail above treeline with no protection; notoriously fickle weather, which among other things can erase a winter-time trail in minutes; and is extremely tough on rescue crews.Been paying attention to Daybreak? Because this week's Upper Valley News Quiz has some questions. Like, which iconic Lebanon food spot did Muriel Maville own? And what is the Norwich Farm Foundation hoping to have happen to Norwich Farm Creamery? Those and more at the link.But wait! How closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to knowif you know how many roads VTrans expects to pave in the coming fiscal year? (Yep, if you read Daybreak this week, you know the answer.)
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, why is Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem getting a lot of attention right now?
For his
Granite Geek
blog, David Brooks has been digging through the state's annual data publication,
Vital Signs
. And he's discovered that while women outnumbered men in the state by 5 percent back in 2000, in 2022 (the last year for which there's data) there were 387 more men than women in the state. Since the state's population growth depends entirely on migration, he suspects that "either more men than women are moving here, presumably for jobs, or more women than men are moving away."
The bills passed by the House yesterday—which now go on to the Senate—envision spending $643 million less than Gov. Kelly Ayotte had proposed, reports NHPR. The measures cut positions across an array of agencies, slash the state university system, axe the state's Office of the Child Advocate and the state arts and human rights commissions, and add a variety of policy provisions. In response, Ayotte said yesterday she'll work with the Senate to restore funding cut from her budget.
Training town historical society volunteers in VT "no longer serves the interest of the United States." That was the wording of a letter the VT Historical Society got this week from the feds. As a result, a $175K grant used to pay for a staffer who trained historical society volunteers around the state has been axed, reports Brian Wallstin for WFFF Burlington. Most of the grant's funding remains unspent, and the historical society says it's been unable to find an alternative source, so it's laying off the staffer and cutting the program.Designer of new juvenile detention center faces scrutiny over "troubled track records" at two other centers he owns. Last year, Sentinel Group and owner Jeff Caron got a state contract to run a temporary facility in Middlesex and help design a new permanent center in Vergennes. But Seven Days' Alison Novak reports there have been assault charges at the VT School for Girls in Bennington and some 125 abuse lawsuits filed against Mt. Prospect Academy in various NH towns, both owned by Caron. State officials won't say what steps they took to vet Sentinel before the contract. Novak digs into the details.Some jaw-dropping weather images. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Weather Photographer of the Year competition run by the UK’s Royal Meteorological Society. My Modern Met’s Jessica Stewart spoke with meteorologist Kirsty McCabe about past winners. McCabe notes that submissions have been changing—from images of lightning bolts and crashing waves to photos of floods, droughts, and wildfires. The past winners highlighted here are dazzling, in part because the photographers can translate things like explosive cyclogenesis into photos that embody the raw power of nature.It's been a week, eh? So brace yourself: Olive and Mabel once again wander around the garden with BBC sportscaster Andrew Cotter.The Friday Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak. And if you find yourself missing Wordbreak over the weekend, you just have to hit this link and you'll find brand new words tomorrow and Sunday—though not necessarily from Daybreak.
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. The artist, who's a fellow at the Center for Cartoon Studies right now, studied journalism and worked for a time at an NPR affiliate in LA, has done comics journalism for the
Washington Post
,
LA Times
, Seattle's
The Stranger
, and
Business Insider
. Exhibit runs through May 30; she'll be doing a zine workshop May 2.
Their hand-built home in the NH mountains is a "bewitching mix of fairy tale cottage, steamer trunk, and pirate ship" built from "recycled film sets, thrift, flea market, and junkyard finds." It's become a viral hit and the book tells its story. 7 pm.
Paolo Sorrentino's film features Celeste Dalla Porta as a Neapolitan "of such stunning beauty that people stop and stare. Among the oglers is aging American writer John Cheever," played by Gary Oldman. It "recaptures the feeling of youthful, summer freedom while refusing to shy away from the uncertainties of young adulthood," the Hop writes. 7 pm in the Loew.
The Ugandan youth performing arts ensemble is doing a residency, and at 7 this evening give a family show "pulsating with invigorating drum beats, exhilarating choreography and enchanting harmonies." No charge, but they'll take donations.
The London-born guitarist and songwriter, who now lives in the US,
plays a mix of acoustic and art/folk music tinged with jazz, vaudeville, and cabaret. 7:30 pm at Alumni Hall in Haverhill.The Anonymous Coffeehouse returns. The evening starts at 7:30 with Bread and Bones,
a harmony-driven acoustic trio from Addison County, in VT; at 8 pm, actor, musician, and composer Tommy Crawford takes the stage (with a new musical premiering next month and a new son who premiered a few months back); and at 9 pm, the Delaware-based Americana duo, The Honey Badgers. At the First Congregational Church of Lebanon.
Saturday
Here's how the organizers describe it: "We will discuss memories, perspectives, emotions, and goals around local flood recovery and future flooding. We will visualize answers using fabric and other creative prompts that will eventually become a community quilt map." Organized by
Mapping for Resilience and quilt artist Paula Frisch. 11 am at the West Hartford Public Library.
As Marion Umpleby wrote in the
VN
yesterday,
, leaving much of his remaining work to the organization to be sold as a fundraiser. Reception (and sale) begins tomorrow at 3 pm.
Not the 1922 original, but Robert Eggers' remake from last year with Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Bill Skarsgård, and Willem Dafoe. The "gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman (Depp) and the terrifying vampire (Skarsgård) infatuated with her...draws on terror from our own recent pandemic." 7 pm Saturday in the Loew.
The “hybrid-tribute-fusion” act is touring with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's
Wish You Were Here
, with one set a full rendition of the album and the second set its signature fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish tunes. 7:30 pm.
Sunday
Anthony Suau's 2023 film is like a primer on organic farming: a guide its history, the regulatory practices, the farming practices—as well as research on conventional practices and their impact on humans and the environment. There'll be a discussion afterward with Suau, Dave Chapman (Long Wind Farm, Real Organic Project) and Nicole Dehne (Vermont Organic Farmers). 2 pm Sunday in the Loew.
The internationally known pianist was born in Ho Chi Minh City, studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory, and is married to global piano superstar Mikhail Voskresensky (the family left Russia in 2022). Nguyen will perform a set of Tchaikovsky piano pieces.
2 pm Sunday.
Under the direction of conductor Mark Nelson, the orchestra's
50+ musicians from around the Upper Valley will perform Paul Hindemith's
Mathis der Maler,
The Unanswered Question
by Charles Ives, and the second and third movements of Beethoven's Ninth, ahead of a full performance this summer. 3 pm. VINS screens Observer. Maine-based (but VT-educated) filmmaker Ian Cheney's latest documentary brings a range of observers—scientists, artists, a hunter—to locations around the world and asks them to describe what they see. The film "
challenges viewers to slow down and rediscover the art of seeing,
" VINS writes. 3 pm.
The performance of Haydn's 1787 masterpiece has been a regular Holy Week feature in VT towns since 1991; this is a rare foray into NH. Singers Martha Peck, Cara Hill, Brian Clancy, and Jose Schmidt, with violinists Susan Janes and Jane Tulloh, violist Jody Racht, and cellist Melissa Perley. 4 pm.
It's not the Ninth, but...
It
is
Beethoven. Sort of. Virtuoso Japanese electric guitarist Ichika Nito is not only Ibanez guitars'
first-ever Japanese signature artist, but he's got a massive YouTube following—because he can do stuff like this: a one-minute riff on "Für Elise" that's both shred and tender. Just to get you up and out today.Have a fine weekend! See you Monday for CoffeeBreak.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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