GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Cool, clouds and sun. We're shifting from yesterday's rain to warm, dry weather ahead... but today's betwixt and between. As high pressure arrives from the west, cloud cover will gradually let go, with skies starting to clear as the day wears on. Temps will be up a few degrees from yesterday, reaching the low or mid 50s. Lows tonight in the mid 30s with frost in cold spots; some areas could see freezing fog overnight.I-91 closure reminder: The highway will be closed southbound between Wells River and Bradford from 6 pm-7 am tonight and for the next few nights as crews work on bridge repairs. The work is expected to take four nights, VTrans says: Traffic will be detoured at Exit 17, sent over to Route 5 South, and then back onto the highway at Exit 16.Hartford police looking for info on Watson Park vandalism. In particular, a pickup that was seen driving around the park off Maple Ave. on Saturday evening—and leaving a notable set of ruts in the grass. The HPD is asking anyone with information to call Hartford Dispatch at 802-295-9425, option 1.A potential Route 5 bike corridor: the background. One of the chief impediments to people bicycling more, Li Shen writes in Sidenote, is that they're worried about safety. That's one reason a VT bill signed into law back in June calls for VTrans to gauge public interest in a corridor that could "provide a safe means of travel via bicycle on or along a route that is roughly adjacent to U.S. Route 5" from border to border. Li lays out the rationale: not just safety, but a boost to bike tourism and local economies. Towns along the route are (or should be) gathering input this fall.Hanover pursues sustainability master plan. Tomorrow night, the town's planning board will hold an open house to explain a draft plan released last week. Pulled together by town staff and an advisory committee, it focuses on guiding town growth for the next decade—updating the town's 2003 plan. In particular, writes The Dartmouth's Kent Friel, it pushes for changing zoning to allow for more housing in general and more affordable housing in particular, initiatives to spur economic development, boosting downtown "vibrancy," and finding ways to make town government more inclusive. More on the draft here.Dartmouth human remains policies forge ahead. Catching up with what's happened since the discovery (announced in March) that Native remains had been used in teaching, The Dartmouth's Jeremiah Rayban reports that in addition to working on identifying what's in its collections, the anthropology department has hired a prominent geneticist to help it forge ethical guidelines, and has halted courses in studying bones "until we can guarantee to our students that the bones you’re working with are from people who wanted you to learn from them,” in chair Jeremy DeSilva's words. In addition, the Hood now has an employee dedicated to identification and repatriation.Lebanon among NH school districts getting funds to boost adult ed, literacy. In all, the state department of education will be working with 10 school districts to create high-school level classes for adults in the state, reports NH Bulletin's Ethan DeWitt. The goal, the department wrote in a memo to the Exec Council, is to "assist students in earning a high school credential and acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to become productive workers, parents, and citizens..."Stress, pay, student behavior, political climate help drive NH teachers from their jobs. For the last year, a special legislative committee has been looking into NH's problems recruiting and retaining teachers. The report's final draft will be out Nov. 1, and in Friday's Globe newsletter (no paywall), Amanda Gokee looks at where things stand. A draft had recommended repealing the divisive concepts law; that's been "walked back" for the final version. The report does recommend paying teachers competitively (starting teachers earn less than the average cost of living) and subsidizing affordable housing.VT Public CEO stepping down. The board announced on Friday that Scott Finn, who's held the post for six years and oversaw the merger of VPR and Vermont PBS, will leave at the end of the year. “Now is the right time to find the next leader to steward this great organization forward, and for me to find a new adventure," Finn said in a press release. He tells VTDigger's Fred Thys that the network has boosted its digital staff and seen dramatic growth in its digital audience—but has not yet figured out how to turn that into new revenue. "That’s going to be the work of the next leader,” he says.
Skiable snow's not that far away, and downhill resorts have been getting ready.
In an NH roundup, Amanda Gokee reports that Loon Mountain has added new trails and a new lift, giving it the longest vertical drop in the state, while Cranmore has a new base lodge, Attitash has added a new high-speed lift, and Cannon is updating its aerial tramway.
And in VT, the ski blog Unofficial Networksranks changes at the state's resorts—and notes that "the biggest projects are over at the independent mountains." These include lift and snowmaking improvements at Pico; nearly $7 million in improvements to Stratton—including to its terrain park; and the introduction of night skiing and a new beginner trail at the Middlebury Snow Bowl.
The Monday Vordle. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
And to ease us into the week...We'll turn to Estonian singer Mari Kalkun, at her piano on a frozen lake in a snowstorm this past spring, with "Tõistmuudu (Otherwise)"—using the lyrics of poet and philosopher Jaan Kaplinski to explore the longing for nature as an escape from the press of the world.See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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