GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY, AND WELCOME TO THE WEEK
Couldn't we just do yesterday again? Not that today's going to be bad, mind you: Sunny, highs in the mid-30s. But the modified polar front that came through last night brought in colder temps. Now all yesterday's heat (hey, it's northern New England in March -- everything's relative) is just a memory. But at least it got the sap running. If you've dropped by your neighborhood sugarhouse, you know the season's been slow to start--just a few runs worth mentioning, let alone boiling. Relax, syrup-lovers! Over the weekend things started up in earnest, so now it's going to be pandemonium out there in the woods to get everything boiled and bottled before the temps rise for good. Be understanding if your friends suddenly drop from sight. (VN, subscription reqd)In case you missed it over the weekend, Brattleboro Hospital's trying to help Springfield out of its birthing-center blues. Springfield Hospital announced last week it's closing its Childbirth Center. Now Bboro Memorial says it will open an ob/gyn office in Springfield two days a week, but births will have to be down there. That's 41 long minutes when you're in labor. Nice aerial drone shot from above the Fort at No. 4 over the weekend. The frozen Connecticut, the fields alongside, the fort itself... Just click and drag for the panorama.Dartmouth, UVM each rank 6th in country for Peace Corps volunteers. The Peace Corps' out with its list of top volunteer-producing colleges. UVM's high up there among medium-sized institutions; Dartmouth for smaller colleges. Middlebury is #13, St. Mike's #15.For newspaper geeks only: The Dartmouth feels Valley News printing pain. As you know, the VN just closed its press and shifted its printing operations to the Concord Monitor's, its sister pub. Which left The Dartmouth high and dry. So the college paper's moved to Upper Valley Press in N. Haverhill. It'll be smaller as a result.Just what is going on with Vermont hospitals? A few days old, but worth a read: VT Digger dives into why they're struggling. The state's demographic decline is cutting into staffing; economic decline means more Medicare, Medicaid patients, and lower reimbursements.William Weld's likely to be popping up in the news over the next few days. The former Mass. governor is spending his time in New Hampshire this week as he decides whether to launch a formal primary challenge to Donald Trump.Calif grower recalls avocados from New Hampshire. NH is one of six lucky states -- most of them out west -- in the voluntary recall by Henry Avocado, which is worried about possible Listeria contamination. Gronk calls it a day. This isn't even remotely local, except of course, it is. Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement yesterday over Instagram. "“Love u man!!" Brady responded.IT'S MONDAY, MUST BE FILM NIGHT You could go deep at the Howe. Two films tonight: The Ascent and part 2 of the 8-part House of Mystery. The first is Soviet, from 1977 -- two partisan fighters in German-occupied Belarus sent to scrounge for food are captured and interrogated. "Rich in moral complexities and spiritual underpinnings," the NYT says, from a "moment when creative expression was tolerated, and even subsidized, by a totalitarian government." The House of Mystery is a 1920's serialized melodrama: framed for murder, a mill owner escapes from a penal colony and tries to clear his name, while the real killer woos his wife. Or not. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. At Woodstock Town Hall. The final film in the franchise, this one has the critics of two minds, often in the same review. "The graphics are gorgeous... [but] the film feels like it's flying on empty," says the WSJ's Joe Morgenstern. "So much of The Hidden World is stuffed with filler material. But in certain wordless moments, this grand final entry really sings," per The Atlantic's David Sims. Rich in moral complexities and spiritual underpinnings.Okay! Go make the world a better place. See you tomorrow.
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