Daybreak Monday 11/13/23

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Getting cloudy, maybe some rain and/or snow this evening. After a sunny start to the day, a low pressure system's sliding our way from the west, bringing clouds this afternoon and—as first a warm front and then a cold front come through—rain and snow showers. High today will get to near 40, down into the upper 20s tonight.If it's Monday, it must be Aurora day. For the second Sunday in a row, the Aurora Borealis was visible in these (roughly speaking) parts. Here's the view from atop Mt. Washington last night.As Hartford weighs 200-unit complex on Sykes Mtn. Ave., residents worry about traffic. Simpson Development's five-building proposal off Hickory Ridge—four with market-rate housing, a fifth devoted to low- or moderate-income tenants—has been on the drawing board for years, and construction could start next year, reports Patrick Adrian in the Valley News. There are still issues in the way, though: Members of the town's zoning board are questioning a traffic impact study done for Simpson that shows only a three-second traffic delay caused by cars coming out of the complex."There are no losers in this sport because every week you get stronger.” That sport is arm-wrestling, and there's a knot of enthusiasts in the Upper Valley—or willing to drive here. In the VN, Liz Sauchelli profiles Iron Link Arms, a six-month-old group based in Bradford, VT, started by Piermont's Mike Benson, Chris Couch of E. Corinth, and Todd Holt of W. Barnet—weight lifters who wanted more and were drawn by the skill, strategy, and camaraderie of arm wrestling. Every move, the group's unofficial coach says, "has an offense, defense and a counter"—and members are dedicated to helping one another.At the Thetford Historical Society, wreaths of a different sort: human hair. When it began in 1600s England, writes Li Shen in Sidenote, "hair work was small in scope, like a lock of hair in a brooch or ring" meant as a memento of someone who had died. During the Victorian era, though, decorations made from hair became larger, more ornamental—and more widespread. The wreaths on display at the historical society, Li writes, were made in Thetford "in the spirit of honoring family." The practice died out as photographs became "the way to immortalize family members," Li adds.In Norwich, hiring of town manager remains a sore point. It's not the fact that in late September the selectboard offered the permanent role to then-interim town manager Brennan Duffy, writes Patrick Adrian in the VN, but how it did so: short-circuiting a broader search and never advertising the opening; town policy requires the job be posted at least five days before it's filled. So far, Adrian writes, the board has remained mum on its process, despite requests from town treasurer Cheryl Lindberg (acting, she says, as a private citizen) for details. Lindberg and others have filed right-to-know requests for more.In the Whites, hiker who called for rescue takes the long way out—away from rescuers. About midday on Saturday, NH Fish & Game says, a 22-year-old from Newport, NH, nearing the end of a multi-day hike, called 911 to say his feet were frozen and he couldn't continue. While a rescue team headed out to find him, his hiking partner—from whom he'd been separated—returned and got him up and moving. But instead of hiking the shortest route to the trailhead, they went the opposite direction, "which kept them in front of rescuers who were hiking in to assist." They got to the trailhead late in the day. Fish & Game is reminding people that winter conditions have settled in in the mountains.On VT council, confusion reigns over "fair and impartial policing" vote last week. In theory, reports Charlotte Oliver of UVM's student-written Community News Service, members of a committee of the state's Criminal Justice Council were voting to keep police from sharing a person's information with immigration agents without their consent, except in felony investigations. But, faced with competing proposals—one set backed by the activist group Migrant Justice, another by the VT Attorney General's office—the committee opted for seemingly incompatible recommendations. It's headed for a re-vote.Gray Mountain State. That's what the NYT calls Vermont in an article yesterday focused on the state's labor woes as its population ages. "No state has a smaller share of its residents in their prime working years," write Ben Casselman and Jeanna Smialek (gift link), with over 35 percent of the population over 54, "the age at which Americans typically begin to exit the work force." As baby boomers age—and later generations lack the numbers to replace them—“there just aren’t enough Vermonters to meet the needs of our state and our employers in the future," says the state's labor commissioner. Businesses are adjusting with higher wages, housing, and other incentives.Two Vermonters get Grammy nominations: Noah Kahan and Bernie Sanders. The list came out on Friday, and the Strafford-born (now living in MA) Kahan "capped off a massive year" with a nod for Best New Artist, writes Chris Farnsworth in Seven Days. It comes, of course, after the release of Stick Season last year, sold-out stadium shows, and star turns at the big festivals. For his part, Sanders garnered his second Grammy nomination, this time for the audio version of his book, It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.It's not just "going for a walk." It's doing a perimeter security check in the forest. BBC sportscaster Andrew Cotter has gotten to wondering just what it is that his dogs Olive and Mabel actually do to help out. The dogs insist they're providing vital services. Cotter says it's all just shenanigans. You decide.The Monday Vordle. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.

Heads Up

And let's start out the week...

With Honey & the Bear: Lucy and Jon Hart, a married couple who, over the course of three albums, have explored the coast, history, and folkways of Suffolk and the rest of the terrain that makes up England's East Anglia.

: a song about a fisherman adrift in a boat for over a year.

See you tomorrow.

Written and published by Rob Gurwitt   Writer/editor: Jonea Gurwitt   Poetry editor: Michael Lipson  About Rob                                                                                             About Michael

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