WELL HELLO, SOLSTICE!
Let's just think of today as the setup for the weekend. After yesterday, things will quiet down: a decent chance of showers all morning, but otherwise partly cloudy, high in the 60s, with dry air moving in and the cloud cover starting to withdraw by late in the day. All of which gets us ready for sun and gradual warming over Saturday and Sunday...Director of outdoor programs resigns as Dartmouth concludes Moosilauke investigation. An external investigator hired by the college after a student spent two nights lost on the mountain has concluded that there is “significant room for improvement” in the execution of trips organized by the Outdoor Programs Office. In the wake of the report, the head of the office, Tim Burdick, has resigned -- though spokeswoman Diana Lawrence yesterday "declined to speculate" on the reason, according to The Dartmouth.Ledyard Charter School hopes to buy old Shoetorium building. The small Lebanon school, which works with students who struggle in a traditional setting, has used the bottom floor of the building on the Leb Mall for the last four years. The top floor, which Shoetorium left in 2010, has been vacant. John Wiggins, the school's director, says it's in talks with the USDA for a low-interest loan that would let it buy the building and expand or rent out the unused space. (VN, subscription reqd)Modern Healthcare names D-H's Joanne Conroy one of "50 most influential" clinical execs in country. Number 23, to be exact. The magazine ranks hospital and clinic execs "who are deemed by their peers and an expert panel to be the most influential in terms of demonstrating leadership and impact." It cites Conroy for the D-H system's financial turnaround, its new ambulatory center in Manchester and proposed merger with GraniteOne Health, and advocacy for women in hospital leadership.NH's Stonewall Democrats aiming to set up presidential-candidate forums on LGBTQ issues. The group invited all 23 (!) candidates to first-of-its-kind roundtables on issues related to the LGBTQ+ community and “intersectional” issues affecting all Granite Staters. Ten have expressed interest, and the group's discussing dates with three of them: Tim Ryan, Seth Moulton, and John Delaney. As WMUR's Primary Source says, "It will be interesting to see how many candidates ultimately decide to participate."Vermont education agency unveils new online tool for understanding, comparing school performance. It shows data for every school, district, and supervisory union in the state, detailing performance in five major areas: academic proficiency, personalization, safe and healthy schools, staffing, and "investment priorities." This last, the agency says, is a measure of whether schools are providing an education "at a price that the community believes is appropriate." You can play around at the link.With half hour to spare, NH negotiators agree to budget. The $13 billion measure will now get a week of crossfire, as the Democratic majority contends it responsibly meets the state's needs, and GOP legislators take aim at its provision halting a freeze on business tax rates. The full legislature will vote on the measure June 27; Gov. Chris Sununu's dropping strong suggestions he'll veto.VT Gov. Phil Scott signs community broadband bill. The measure, using EC Fiber as a model, is designed to boost community efforts to design and build out broadband networks. It provides funds for technical assistance and grants for feasibility studies, and loans to extend networks to underserved areas. In fact, Scott signs every other bill sitting on his desk, except one. The signed bills include a measure strengthening the state’s system for regulating toxic chemicals in children’s products that he'd vetoed last year. Scott allowed S.18, a consumer protection measure giving courts the power to fine companies that attempt to enforce unfair contract terms, to pass into law without his signature. Scott says it may be pre-empted by federal law. Emerald ash borer found in first VT street tree. The invasive insect was first found in Orange County last year and has since been confirmed in four other counties. Now it's made it to a fifth. "I was driving down the road one day, delivering my kids to school," says John Swepston, the tree warden in Bristol (which is in Addison County), "and I said, 'Oh my god, that tree's dead. It must have the borer.'"REI to give $100K to 10 nonprofit news orgs for environmental and outdoor news coverage, including VTDigger. The outdoor-goods giant announced yesterday that it's retiring its mail order catalog and partnering with Hearst to launch a magazine covering the outdoors, the environment, and issues that, "due to dwindling resources and shrinking local newsrooms, are getting less and less press.” It's also giving Digger and news orgs in 9 other states funds to produce investigative coverage along the same lines. THERE'S SO MUCH GOOD MUSIC TONIGHT!The HOP kicks off its SHIFT festival with Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles. Henry, who won a Grammy with Snarky Puppy, fronts an all-star band that despite its name delves into soul, R&B and gospel--as well as funk. It's a lively, call-and-response, throw-yourself-into-the-joyfulness show. "Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles took us all to church," a reviewer wrote about an earlier stop on their tour.And Woodstock's Music by the River series kicks off with Pete's Posse. If Vermont has traditional-music royalty, it would be Pete Sutherland, whose fiddling is rooted in tradition but takes off in all sorts of creative directions. His trio, with fellow-fiddler Oliver Scanlon and guitar/banjo/mandolin player Tristan Henderson, has spent the past five years touring the US, Canada, and Europe, and never gets stale. Starts at 5:30 on the back lawn of the North Chapel.The second Anonymous Coffeehouse will be at the Lebanon Congregational Church. If you're into really good music in a congenial atmosphere with an attentive audience and plenty to eat, you should know about Adam Sorscher's effort to get an ongoing venue for music appreciators off the ground. Tonight: guitarist Andy Tate at 7:30; guitarist, violinist, singer-songwriter Spencer Lewis at 8:15; and jazz pianist Lori Schoenfeld and flautist Marsha Stern at 9...ish. Waiting for Godot kicks off in Barnard. "Godot does not change to suit us. Among our own changing circumstances, it abides," wrote Shannon Lewis a couple of years ago, trying to explain why it's become "as perennial as The Music Man." Existential crises don't go away, so maybe we see ourselves in two down-at-the-heels men waiting by a tree for a guy who never shows up, and who argue, entertain, and deal with some interesting passers-by. Up on the knob at Fable Farm (Feast & Field), starts at 6:30, will be canceled if it rains.Finally, Cirque Us kicks off its summer tour of "RagTag: A Circus in Stitches" at the Barrette Center in WRJ on Saturday and Sunday. Daybreak rarely highlights weekend events, but family harmony requires me to alert you to this troupe of talented, creative artists. This is their fourth summer on the road, and if you've seen them before you know why you have to go back. Two returning artists, lyrical wire-walker Sorrell Nielsen and fiercely skilled aerialist Rena Dimes, are joined by rope artist Nina Gershy, veteran clown Joy Powers, juggler David Chervony and guitarist Kevin Flanagan. The show was created by former Smirkus director Jesse Dryden. Sat/Sun 2 & 7 pm.Hope you have a glorious weekend. See you Monday.
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