SUCH A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU, UPPER VALLEY!
Things look different out there from the last time we got together, don't they?And hey, the snow'll be around at least for today and tomorrow. It's a stunning day out there—perfect for getting out on the snow if you've got the chance, or for prepping for the next storm, which arrives starting tomorrow night with, among other things, high winds. But more on that tomorrow. Today, we get temps climbing into the upper 20s or low 30s and winds from the northwest, with partly cloudy skies tonight, temps down to the lower or mid teens.Winter's here! And, writes Cynthia Crawford from Norwich, "this tufted titmouse seems to be enjoying it."Hartford police, VSP investigate hoax bomb threats at Northern Stage, Planned Parenthood, W. Leb Target. The threats—which also went to four unnamed individuals—were emailed Saturday to reporters and some of the threatened locations, the VT State Police say in a news release, declaring that "bombs were in place and would be detonated shortly." Responding police found no explosive devices. The email to Northern Stage arrived while a "drag story hour" fundraiser for the UV Circus Collective was going on, and forced the event to shut down, NBC 5's Amanda Martin-Ryan reports.Lucky's on the go. Let's not let Patrick Adrian's opening sentence in the Valley News go unnoticed: "Sometimes when one coffeehouse drive-through window closes, another one opens." Last Friday, Lucky's Coffee Garage opened a new venture: a drive-thru-only spot in the former Jake's Coffee Co. on Mechanic Street in Lebanon. The space will also house Lucky's production bakery. “I thought we were going to be a fun, little, cozy hobby coffee shop," owner Deb Shinnlinger tells Adrian, of the café's runaway success. "It very quickly became a lesson in scaling up.” No word yet on where Jake's new location will be.And while we're talking local businesses:
Last Thursday, the VN's John Lippman reported that Molly's, the "mainstay Hanover brasserie," is now owned by Jennifer Packard, its former manager and a longtime employee of the Blue Sky Group, which also owns Jesse's, Dunk's, and Snax. Blue Sky owner Tony Barnett tells Lippman he's holding onto those three for now, though he adds he's open to selling Jesse's "if the right opportunity came along." Meanwhile, Packard says, "I’m not changing a thing” at Molly's. “People coming in won’t even know it other than to see me wandering around.”
And over on Route 120 in Lebanon, longtime car dealership owner Johanna Cicotte has sold the former Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram property to McGee Motorcars, which is based in Massachusetts. The site opened up when Key Auto relocated the Chrysler etc dealership to car central on Sykes Mountain Ave. in WRJ. McGee says it's still in negotiations with an automaker on what will go into the Route 120 facility.
SPONSORED: Great teachers and leaders are the heart of great schools. The Upper Valley Educators Institute (UVEI) invites you to an online information session on Wednesday, 1/10 at 4:30 pm. Learn about how you can start or advance your career in education. UVEI offers graduate-level licensure and degree programs in teaching, school leadership, and literacy, and we would love to talk with you. Sponsored by UVEI."Your comfort food, my dear." Last winter, Chronicle, Boston station WCVB's venerable New England show, dropped in on the Upper Valley for a visit. It aired in February, with segments on the Main Street Museum and Saskadena Six. A few days ago, reporter Ted Reinstein re-upped the episode as one of his favorites—only this time, it starts with Theresa Taylor and the Windsor Diner, which she runs pretty much solo. "I think of it as a puzzle," she says. "Each day is a project, and every day is different."SPONSORED: Organist Andrew Johnson at the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College this Friday at 7 pm. CCDC welcomes Andrew Johnson, who is assistant organist at Christ Church (Episcopal) in Rochester, NY and studying organ at the Eastman School of Music, for a recital of works by Florence Price, J. S. Bach, César Franck, Felix Mendelssohn, Herbert Howells, Louis Vierne, and others. The recital series is free, thanks to a generous gift from Mary Ives. All are welcome to join us at the white-steepled church located at 40 College St., just off the Dartmouth Green. Sponsored by CCDC.Now, let's do some quick catching up:
Claremont's getting a Chipotle's and a Wendy's. That's after the city's planning board approved a move to turn four merged lots on Washington St. into two, and then okayed the plan by Mass.-based DDMNS Realty to bring in the two restaurants, reports the VN's Patrick O'Grady. They'll share parking and drive-thru lanes. Last fall, the board also approved plans for a new Domino's on Washington St., as well as for a new retail store that will become a T-Mobile outlet.
Hartland's getting a new town manager. He's Weathersfield town moderator John Broker-Campbell, who'll leave his job as a regional floodplain manager for VT's Department of Environmental Conservation and start up early next month. Last week's announcement caps a long search that began after David Ormiston resigned last spring.
WRJ court will move while courthouse gets renovated—it's just not clear where. The Windsor District Courthouse is slated for an extensive rehab starting in April, Ethan Weinstein reported in VTDigger. The work will include new HVAC and security systems, interior renovations, a new roof, and new parking; court and criminal division administrators are considering alternate sites in WRJ, Woodstock, and Hartland.
As utilities' electric rates drop, savings from community power shrink. Though as the Monitor's David Brooks points out (here via NHPR), with a new base electric rate of 8.1 cents, ratepayers in most towns that are members of the NH Community Power Coalition will still see significant savings over Unitil, Liberty, and NHEC—but only a slightly better rate than Eversource is offering. "Lower cost for [natural gas] allowed utilities to lower their rates this winter," Brooks writes, "leaving less room for the coalition to find savings."
Slate Ridge owner leaves Vermont, with no plans to return. Daniel Banyai's change of location came after a state environmental court judge last month re-ordered his arrest on charges of violating zoning regs at the weapons training facility he ran in Pawlet. State troopers visited the facility 14 times since the Dec. 4 ruling, VTDigger's Ethan Weinstein reported last week, and had planned to arrest Banyai at a probationary hearing in late December, to which he never showed up.
And let's not forget last week's "alleged assault at Market Basket in Tilton that involved a produce item.” That's a Tilton police sergeant talking about an incident involving what Adam Drapcho in the Laconia Daily Sun calls a "weaponized watermelon." Police and Market Basket employees aren't saying much about the incident, which remained under investigation over the weekend. One person was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries "that were not considered life-threatening."The Monday Vordle. Still with a word from out there in the news-world ether.
Heads UpToday at 5 pm, Dartmouth's Rockefeller Center will host Democratic US Rep. Jamie Raskin of MD for a livestreamed lecture, "Democracy vs. Autocracy in 2024". Raskin, who led the second Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump for the House and has been outspoken on the issues raised by Jan. 6 and Trump's maneuvering to remain in office, will talk about the upcoming election and its stakes.
And to kick off the Daybreak year...We're already eight days in and maybe (or, like me, maybe not) you're already writing "/24" when you enter the date, but to get this year's music off on the right foot, we need to turn the clock back a week and a few days to Trio Mandili, the boisterous Georgian (not the state) traditional music band made up of Tatuli Mgeladze, Tako Tsiklauri, and Mariam Kurasbedian, singing everyone a happy new year. Here's "Kirialesa".Hope your year, too, got off to a fine start, and see you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Associate writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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