THREE-DAY WEEKEND, UPPER VALLEY!
Any lingering showers moving out quickly this morning. There'll be cloud cover, but also maybe some sun, warming into the mid-60s, winds gradually dying down. And hey, with Memorial Day weekend coming right up, what could be bad? Nice day tomorrow, too, until it's not. College looking into lost-hiker incident as case of "possible negligence," will pay for rescue costs. Dartmouth spokesperson Diana Lawrence says the College has uncovered “a number of troubling factors concerning the way the trip to Mt. Moosilauke was planned and carried out.” Meanwhile, NH Fish & Game is also exploring what happened, and will file its report with the state AG's office. “It’s concerning to me if this was preventable, and I think it was,” says Col. Kevin Jordan. Provost Joe Helble has already told him the college will pay for search and rescue costs. "It’s a little unique for them to be reaching out to me first,” Jordan told The Dartmouth. “It’s refreshing, to be honest.”Pedestrian in Northfield, VT struck, killed by Amtrak train. A 56-year-old Northfield resident was crossing the tracks ahead of the oncoming southbound Vermonter yesterday morning when he tripped and fell onto the tracks. The train was unable to stop in time.Mink's doing fine so far, and Kilham and Sununu have no regrets. NH Gov. Chris Sununu was in Lyme and Canaan yesterday, and now that Hanover's celebrity bear is back on home turf, VN reporter Tim Camerato took the chance to ask how he feels about last year's decision to move her and her cubs rather than allow her to be shot. It was the right decision, Sununu responded. Kilham agrees. “She’s been gone nearly a year now and got into zero trouble the entire trip," he says. "She really should be treated as just any other bear.” (VN, subscription reqd)Speaking of bears, turns out that VW convertible tops are strong enough to hold one. A Randolph resident got some pics of a mother bear, with two nearby cubs, checking out the top of her convertible VW Bug yesterday. It held up to scrutiny.GW Plastics expanding in Royalton. The Bethel-based company is adding 30,000 square feet to what has become its main manufacturing facility, aiming to build on its thermoplastic injection molding and medical-device assembly business. It plans to add 30 new jobs. The company announced in February that it's expanding its operations in Ireland, as well. Yesterday was a busy day in the NH Legislature. The House voted to override Sununu's veto of the death penalty repeal--by a one-vote margin. The Senate passed measures to create a three-day waiting period for gun sales, limit guns in schools, and institute universal background checks. The House made it possible for members of the military and students to bypass the residency requirements for a drivers license, and hence for voting. NHPR has a recap and discussion.Lost in all that, the NH Senate yesterday also sided with the House and voted to create a 15-member independent commission to redraw district lines. The move to take legislative and congressional redistricting out of legislative hands has drawn the opposition of Republicans, who argue that it's a fundamentally political job and should be the legislature's responsibility.Meanwhile, over in Montpelier, legislators are struggling to get out of town. The House and the Senate are at loggerheads over how to boost the minimum wage and create a paid family leave program. Negotiators were at work until well into last night, and adjourned without any decision. A potential deal calls for the House to raise the minimum wage, though not as much as the Senate wants, and the Senate would restore personal medical insurance as an optional benefit in the paid family leave program. They're all reconvening this morning to pick up where they left off. Even if they do reach agreement today, it's unclear whether they'll be able to adjourn. The negotiations have been entirely among Democrats, but in order to fast-track their bills, House Republicans will have to go along. And they're not especially inclined. “We have seen nothing from anyone for weeks and weeks and weeks and now all of a sudden suspend rules so we can pass these so we can adjourn?” House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy said last night. “The nineteenth week, the eleventh hour, and they still don’t have it? Something’s wrong, and I will absolutely not suspend rules on that.”
VT AG settles with financial software supplier to cities and towns. You may remember that back in February, an IT consultant discovered security flaws in the software used by most cities and towns in Vermont to manage billing, land records and other functions--including the potential for the software to expose social security numbers to hackers. Yesterday, Attorney General TJ Donovan announced a settlement requiring the company to fix its business practices, improve employee training around IT security, and pay a $30,000 fine. Bernie, Mayor Pete, and John Delaney will all be campaigning in NH this weekend. None of them will be in the Upper Valley, but if you're in the mood to travel, here are the details. Sanders will also be holding his first rally in Vermont on Saturday, in Montpelier. This definitely sounds like it's worth traveling for: The Walldogs will be in Keene in June. They're a group of world-class mural artists who converge each year on a city or town to create public art. They'll be in Keene June 20-23 for a "Magical History Tour" and festival, painting 15 murals focused on historically significant and interesting people, local businesses, industry, innovations, and natural splendor. They use acrylic paint designed to last for decades, so whatever they do will be around for a while, in case you can't get there right then.
Sometimes a picture's worth more than a thousand words. This is definitely not local. But if you live around here and care about the natural world, it's second-cousin-ish to local. You've heard how the climb up Mt. Everest has gotten crowded? This pic from writer Jon Krakauer's Instagram account yesterday makes it real in a way nothing else could, short of being there yourself. It's kinda mind-blowing. (Thanks to JF for the tip.)SO WHAT'S ON TAP TONIGHT? No, not that kind of tap. More like, you could go see the VT premiere of One Town at a Time in Woodstock. This is Woodstock native Michael Leonard's film about visiting all 251 towns in Vermont -- a quest he started when he was 20, back in 2006, with two friends and a handheld camera. "I honestly don’t know why we took an old camcorder around with us,” he told the Rutland Herald. “We would come into a town and find total strangers and interview them about their town." Twelve years later he went back, talking to some of the same people, and created a film about Vermont, the "club" of people who visit all its towns and cities, and community life at two distinct points in the state's history. Starts at 5:30, and Leonard will be there to talk about it.And probably not that kind of tap: The Dartmouth Dance Ensemble will be in the Moore Theater at the HOP. Sometimes, the freshest, most buoyant dance happens on college campuses, and Dartmouth's is no exception. The ensemble will be doing works inspired by jazz and electronica, led by two NYC choreographers, John Heginbotham and Rebecca Stenn. Live music by the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble. Starts at 8.Oh, okay, have it your way: that kind of tap. WRJ's The Engine Room threw a karaoke night a while back and liked it so much they're doing it again. Since it's owned by Big Fatty's, eight of that establishment's extensive craft beer list will be on tap, along with plenty of pub food. Starts at 9, no cover, but you've got to be at least 21 to get in the door.IN HONOR OF BOTH YOUR MEMORIAL DAY AND MINE, THERE WILL BE NO DAYBREAK ON MONDAY.However, that's not to say nothing's happening on Monday. For one thing, there are the parades:9 am in Canaan9:30 am in Springfield VT10 am in Enfield11 am in Lebanon, Claremont, and PiermontAnd then, once you've made it to all of those, you'll want to sit down, rest up, and think about all the spring awakening happening around you. The Upper Valley Music Center's Juneberry Chorus will be at LOH at 4 pm. We'll let them describe it: "From a Hawai'ian song about tending the earth to the gospel favorite, 'The Storm is Passing Over,' there are pieces of beauty and silliness, warmth and quirkiness: a samba, a '70s pop hit, a modern setting of an e.e. cummings poem, a 16th century demand for forgiveness, Bobby McFerrin's jazzy piece about the garden of Eden, a jazz interlude... and a special guest spot by Upper Valley choral group, Full Circle!" Have a fantastic long weekend. See you Tuesday.
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