GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Okay, now we're talkin'... We get another brilliant day today, and though we'll start cold again, highs are headed toward 60. This is the start of a multi-day warming trend, with 70s Sunday and Monday looking possible. Calm winds today, lows tonight in the upper 20s. Right on target for late April.And the signs are all around.
For one thing, bear cubs are out and about with their moms. In Grantham, Rick Karash caught this pair ("from a long ways off," he notes, but with a good telephoto) whose mom had just sent them up a tree.
And turtles are sunning themselves on any handy log, as with this crew on Hanover's Occom Pond, from Orrin Judd.
And in "greater" Etna, Kari Asmus spied her first Eastern Comma butterfly of the year—looking "suspiciously like leaf litter" when its wings were closed, but anything but when they opened.
Jonathan Stone, the former police officer and former city council member who represents Claremont in the NH House, was taken off the city's development authority and its policy committee Wednesday night, after residents pressed council members to do so. Stone has been in the spotlight since his threats to fellow police officers and others 18 years ago
early this month. Stone remains on the House Criminal Justice Committee, notes
InDepthNH
's Nancy West, and retains support from Sullivan County Republicans.
That travel trailer parked illegally at a pullout on Route 14 in Sharon was removed Monday by the town, state, and sheriff’s department, reports Darren Marcy in the
Herald
; the last time its occupants were seen, Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer tells him, they were getting a ride out of the area. Though there had been rumors of drug use and sales, Palmer says, "We found next to no evidence of that. Just household garbage and junk."
With Tunbridge contract, Windsor sheriff's department expands its presence in Orange County. The contract for 15 hours a week was approved Tuesday by the selectboard despite a committee's recommendation that the town continue its arrangement with Royalton's PD. The switch, the Herald's Darren Marcy writes, came as one resident praised the sheriff's department for its impact in Chelsea, and Deputy Jackson Howe—who's lived in Tunbridge most of his life and would add the town to his patrols—helped convince selectboard members the WCSD would serve the community effectively.SPONSORED: College credit & hands-on experience at 3D Technology Camp. Vermont State University is hosting a FREE 3D camp for rising juniors, seniors, and 2024 high school graduates. Earn college credit for each session and practice some of today’s most in-demand skills in a hands-on, collaborative environment. Camp is overnight at the Randolph, VT campus. Primary consideration is given to VT students but NH students are welcome to apply. Learn more and apply for one, two or three 2-week sessions, June 23-Aug 2 at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Vermont State University.Tractor trailer goes into ditch, shuts down one lane of Route 5 in Fairlee. Wednesday's accident, "in a narrow, winding section between the Connecticut River and the ledges of Sawyer Mountain," writes Alex Nuti-de Biasi in the Journal Opinion's newsletter, occurred about four hours after VTrans shut down I-91 southbound for what may be the rest of the summer. It offered a timely reminder of just how vulnerable the southbound flow of traffic will become as trucks and cars use Route 5 between Bradford and Fairlee for the I-91 detour.NH orders former New London financial advisor to repay $4.8 million to clients. The move by the state's Bureau of Securities Regulation, reports John Lippman in the Valley News, comes after regulators accused Thomas Chadwick of losing more than $11 million of his clients' money in "a high-risk investment that collapsed and wiped out their retirement savings." "Countless individuals across both New Hampshire and Vermont had their lives upended," an attorney for the state said.Chadwick has told officials he is unable to "satisfy the ordered amounts in full,” Lippman reports.Ivy League asks NLRB to review Dartmouth basketball union ruling. Surprising no one, reports legal analyst Michael McCann in Sportico, the league on Wednesday filed an amicus brief—which has yet to be accepted—asking the full National Labor Relations Board to grant Dartmouth's request for a review of regional director Laura Sacks' decision that members of the men's team are college employees. Sacks' ruling, the Ivies argue, opens the door for “students who participate in club sports, play in a school band or participate in any other of many college extracurricular activities” to unionize.SPONSORED: Local grownups at wits’ end over what to cook for dinner. Burned out on planning yet another tasty and nutritious meal? Opt for a Sweetland Farm CSA and get 24 weeks of local veggies and fruits! This season we’re doubling down on fresh meal ideas, food storage tips, and tastings to bring joy back to the kitchen. Delivery available! Hit the burgundy link or join us at our Spring Celebration on May 11th from 10 am to 2 pm to learn more! Sponsored by Sweetland Farm, Norwich, VT.In Reading VT, Hall Art Foundation to open soon with four new exhibits. As RJ Crowley writes in the Standard, what makes a trip there worth your time isn't just what's on display inside, but the "meticulously landscaped grounds," with their sculptures and outdoor installations. But what's inside, Crowley notes, will be a treat, too: works by renowned artist Barbara Kruger; photos, paintings and sculptures by Sherrie Levine; works on paper by Ed Ruscha; and a set of woodblock prints by New York-based artists Zorawar Sidhu and Rob Swainston, "Doomscrolling". The foundation opens its gates May 11.Hiking Close to Home: Halls Pond Trail, Charlestown, NH. This week, the Trails Alliance steers you to a rustic trail that circles Halls Pond in Charlestown. The moderately challenging 3.1-mile route can be accessed from a trailhead 0.2 miles up Class 6 Charlestown Road, or from a second trailhead on Borough Road. Around the pond it's flat, with a small brook crossing some rocks. The trail passes two dams and offers scenic views and surrounding forest. There are also deer and the occasional moose, as well as many birds, and, in the migrating seasons, ducks and geese on the pond.So... Think you know what's been going on in the Upper Valley? Because Daybreak's News Quiz has some questions for you. Like, which Upper Valley theater company just announced it's closing down? And which Star Trek actor is coming to Dartmouth next week? Those questions and more at the link.And how closely were you following VT and NH?
Because Seven Days wants to knowif you know which disease just popped back up on VT health officials' radar for the first time since 2018?
And NHPR's got a whole set of questions about doings around the Granite State—like, after delays and three extensions, what did the state's chosen buyer for the Laconia State School campus just do?
Geno Marconi, who took over the ports authority in the early 2000s, was removed by the Pease Development Authority board—which oversees the ports—for an indefinite period of time, reports NHPR's Todd Bookman. The chair of the board, Steve Duprey, refused to comment—as did the state's AG's office.
that at an April 18 meeting, the board went into executive session, after which the development authority's director walked over to Marconi, "who then stood up and followed [him] into the hallway."
Former VT state Sen. John Rodgers was one of an array of hunters, loggers, grassroots activists, and others who descended on Montpelier yesterday to contend that VT's lawmakers are squeezing rural communities and culture through taxes and policy changes, reports WCAX's Calvin Cutler. "More and more, we’re losing dignified, skilled and land-based work," Meghan Wayland of Northeast Kingdom Organizing said. "Now, we build second homes, wait tables, and run ski lifts.”
Remember how this is an epic year for cicadas—at least, elsewhere? Well, in Newberry County, SC, the sheriff's department took to social media after receiving a raft of complaints about "
a noise in the air that sounds like a siren, or a whine, or a roar." The sound, they explained, "is cicadas." And added, "Unfortunately it is the sounds of nature."
I know what you’re thinking: This sidewalk business seems complicated. Remember those old instructional movies you got at school? There’s a new one. Sidewalk: an instructional film, by James Parris, tackles a critical life skill. First, we meet Jane and Dennis. Then Jane and Dennis meet in the middle of the sidewalk. Really, like, smack! Good thing the film says to stay right. But what if two people walk side by side? Is the sidewalk even useful for couples? Will a giant buzzard carry away your date if you release hands? Never fear! “Good things happen when you master the art of bidirectional traffic.”Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
This evening at 6:30, BarnArts is throwing a community contra dance in Barnard Town Hall. The music will be by contra veterans Blind Squirrel (Erin Smith, Suzanne Long, and Steve Hoffman with guests Sue Hunt and Eric Faro), with Kevin Donahue calling. Potluck begins at 6.
At 7 this evening, Artistree in S. Pomfret presents the Appalachian/Scottish duo of Orkney-born fiddler Louise Bichan and Indiana-born mandolinist Ethan Setiawan, who perform together as the Hildaland Duo. "A path steeped in the fiddle traditions of their respective sides of the Atlantic, the journey wends through Scottish, oldtime, and Swedish inspired music intertwined with contemporary compositions."
Also at 7 and also at Artistree (in the Grange Theater), Artistree's production of Duncan Macmillan's two-person play, Lungs, starts its weekend run: a young couple thinking about having a child, arguing about all the issues it raises, from climate change and the state of the world to family, love, and how to relate to one another. Also runs tomorrow at 2 and 7 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm.
Meanwhile, at 7 at the Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon High School's Wet Paint Players start their weekend run of Merrily We Roll Along, Stephen Sondheim's time-reversed musical about three friends and the course of what the Washington Post called, "the painful architecture of long-term friendship." Also tomorrow at 7 pm and Sunday at 1 pm.
And in Hanover at 7 pm, Hop Film screens the 2023 Nigerian film Mami Wata, a parable about a seaside village in which the people are losing faith in the sea deity Mami Wata and her champion in the village, Efe, as modern life presses in all around. With a pre-show performance by the Soyeya African Dance Troupe. In the Loew.
At 7:30 this evening, the Anonymous Coffeehouse returns to the First Congregational Church of Lebanon. Things start off with NYC-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Rupert Wates; move on to the touring duo of Alex Millaire and Kaitlin Milroy, who perform as Moonfruits; and then, at 9, closes out with the VT-based trio, Trifolium (Chloe Powell, Andy Mueller, and Justin Park).
Saturday
Tomorrow is Independent Bookstore Day, starting at 9 am, and no fewer than five Upper Valley booksellers are participating: Still North and Left Bank Books in Hanover, the Norwich Bookstore, Cover to COVER Books in WRJ, and the Yankee Bookshop in Woodstock. They're cooperating on a "bookstore crawl"—visit all five, get your map stamped, turn it in at any one of them, and get entered in a drawing for a prize package. Plus giveaways, special items for sale, the occasional guest visitor, and more. Check the link or your favorite store's page for details.
At 10 am tomorrow, Billings Farm kicks off its weekend Baby Farm Animal Celebration, with Jersey calves, piglets, bunnies, chicks, goat kids, and lambs. Plus, sheep shearing, wagon rides, story time, crafts, and food.
Tomorrow at 2 pm, cultural historian Jill Mudgett will be at the Springfield, VT Art and Historical Society for a Vermont Humanities talk, "The Hills of Home: Mountains and Identity in Vermont History". She'll be talking about the state's topography and its effect on Vermonters' identity.
Also at 2 pm tomorrow, the NH Historical Society in Concord hosts former Concord Monitor publisher Mark Travis for "A Story Only He Could Write"—a talk about the just-published poetry memoir by revered New Hampshire newsman Mike Pride, who died last year. The book, Northern Voices, explores the work of NH poets Donald Hall, Jane Kenyon, Charles Simic, Maxine Kumin, Sharon Olds and Wesley McNair, along with Hayden Carruth, all of whom Pride knew, focusing on how the landscape and people of New Hampshire affected their work.
Tomorrow starting at 5:30 pm, the Main Street Museum in WRJ is holding its Great Chili Cook-off: 10 chefs competing with their no-rules chili, corn muffins and honey butter from the MSM, and music to follow.
At 7 tomorrow evening, VINS is screening Overland, a 2020 documentary about falconry by Revere La Noue and Elisabeth Haviland James. The film follows three falconers—in Oklahoma, Italy, and Dubai—though as Film Threat wrote, "the real stars are the eagles, falcons, and hawks."
Also at 7 pm tomorrow, the Chandler in Randolph hosts the Vermont Philharmonic, with spring works by Felix Mendelssohn, Erik Nielsen, and Richard Stöhr and guest performers Mary Bonhag (soprano, Scrag Mountain Music) and Billy Hunter (principal trumpet, Metropolitan Opera).
Sunday
Sunday at 10 am Rudi Ruddell and Emily Boles lead an ephemeral wildflower walk (rescheduled from last weekend) through the forest on the White River Land Collaborative's land in Tunbridge, looking at wildflowers that grace the forest floor before trees leaf out.
And at 4 pm, the Hop screens the National Theatre Live production of Dear England, starring Joseph Fiennes as the real-life revolutionary manager of England's men's national soccer team, Gareth Southgate, and his quest to reinvigorate the team. In the Loew.
And to usher us blues-fully into the weekend...
Little Feat's first studio album in a dozen years is due out in a few weeks. Called
Sam's Place
, it's a tribute, in a way, to two Sams: Phillips, at whose recording studio in Memphis most of the songs were cut; and Clayton, the band's percussionist and longtime supporting vocalist, who takes lead vocals on every song. Oh, and also to the blues, which guitarist Scott Sharrard calls "home."
Enjoy this 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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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
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