WELCOME TO COFFEEBREAK MONDAY, UPPER VALLEY!
And sheesh. We're in for a few days of warmer weather thanks to some southern air, so though we started this morning in the low single digits and it's not what you'd call warm out there right now, it's going to be up in the mid-30s this afternoon. And wouldn't you know, there's a weak system moving through. Chance of some wet snow this afternoon, and then of freezing drizzle overnight. Low 30s or upper 20s tonight.We're everywhere! Don Mays was driving along in Westport, CT, when he passed a street with a familiar-sounding name and dedicated reader that he is (sssshhh) pulled a u-turn to get this pic...Powerhouse Mall sold, will remain in local hands. It's been bought by Hanover-based Connecticut River Capital, which is run by Geoff Colla, who grew up in Hanover, reports John Lippman in the Valley News. Colla's firm also owns the Bridgman Building in Hanover and the Rivermill complex in Leb. The Ashley Community Forest is officially a thing. Back in 2018, trying to stave off a massive development planned for four towns, the newly hatched Alliance for Vermont Communities bought up a bunch of forestland in Sharon and Strafford and preserved it. On Friday, AVC president Michael Sacca announced the 256-acre parcel's been given to the two towns. "The future of the place and how it will evolve is now in the hands of the people,” Sacca said.Pushback against proposed solar arrays in Randolph, Norwich. Both projects would be developed by Norwich Solar Technologies, which is based in WRJ, writes Claire Potter in the VN. And in both cases, neighbors are raising questions about the sites—on steep land in Randolph, in a ridgeline area in Norwich—and about the towns' willingness to give the projects their approval as they go before the state Public Utilities' Commission. Potter details the issues in Randolph. More on Norwich later this week.Fix it? Replace it? It's complicated. As NHDOT struggles to find a contractor willing to take on the Lyme-E. Thetford bridge, Nick Clark writes in Sidenote, there's a lot that will go into deciding whether it can be rehabbed or just needs to be torn down and replaced. He bravely dives into the ins and outs. Among other things, you could put bike lanes on a new one. On the other hand, there'd be a really annoying construction detour. SPONSORED: Crossroad Farm's CSA is now open for the 2022 season. Farm Shares are available through discounted, pre-purchased credit. Sign up now to take advantage of the early 7% discount. Shares can be redeemed at the farm in Post Mills and at the Norwich farmstand. Shares don't expire and can be used to purchase everything Crossroad carries, including hanging baskets, vegetable starts, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a wide assortment of products from other local farms. Also hiring for the farm and farmstands—click here to learn more and apply. Sponsored by Crossroad Farm.Winter's kryptonite. Susan Apel's talking about a locally made marshmallow, but in her latest Artful post she could just as well be talking about Valentine's Day. She's got some arts-forward suggestions as the day itself approaches: AVA's "small-in-scale but mighty-in-sentiment" current exhibition, "Stick With Love," and Opera North's virtual "Love Songs" concert on Sunday. Plus, of course, those marshmallows...Eastern skiing? Yeah, it's got deep roots here. For starters, writes Mark Bushnell in his "Then Again" column for VTDigger, there's Fred Harris—founder of the Dartmouth Outing Club—who as a teenager in Brattleboro in 1904 got a local shop to craft him skis (you couldn't buy them back then) 8 or 9 feet long, which he used for ski jumping. Then there were the NY skiers in 1934 who fronted the money for Robert and Elizabeth Royce, owners of Woodstock's White Cupboard Inn, to build a rope tow out of pulleys and an old Model T..."Seems like a lot of money for workforce housing." The Boston investment firm that bought two moderate-income apartments in Quechee and is evicting some tenants paid more than twice their assessed value, Jim Kenyon reports in the VN. He follows up on last week's VTDigger story by digging into MG2's record in Boston and thinks it's got plans for those buildings that don't involve working-class residents. MG2 also owns two other apartments in Hartford.Headed for Tuckerman's? Watch out for avalanches. Yesterday, the Mt. Washington Avalanche Center warned of high danger at middle and upper elevations; today it's moderate, but they warn that "avalanches are possible on steep, east and south-facing snow slopes above 3000 feet in elevation.""I see people change their minds about important information— about important people—and say, 'Why didn't I know this history?'" That's Angela Matthews, a volunteer tour guide for the Black Heritage Trail of NH. In its "Give Back NH" series, NHPR runs a quick profile of the organization, which is rooted in Portsmouth but has sites in Milford, Newmarket, and Hancock and runs events throughout the year.James Madison is famous for many things. Name one. If you're at a state-run college or university in NH, the state legislature just said you'd best know the answer. The Senate just approved a bill, already passed by the House, to require those students to take (and pass) the 128-question civics test given people seeking to become US citizens. Now it goes to the governor's desk, reports Ethan DeWitt in NH Bulletin. Under a law passed last year, NH high schoolers will have to pass the test to graduate starting in 2023.Let's say you come on the entrance to an abandoned beaver lodge by the edge of a frozen river. Do you explore? You do if you're Mary Holland. Grooming room, bedroom... It's cozy. And, she writes on her Naturally Curious blog, it makes a fine hiding spot.Four cops arguing about pizza on a streetcorner. You don't have to live in NYC to appreciate good NYC stories. "What’s the most New York thing that’s ever happened to you?" NYT editor Dan Saltzstein asks in a new Twitter thread. And boy did he get some answers. Giant eel on the subway. Maya Angelou on madeleines at Zabar's. Good samaritan ruins a transit-cop sting...See you tomorrow, usual time and place...
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
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