RIBBIT RIBBIT, UPPER VALLEY!
Sun eventually, mild. There'll be patchy clouds out there all day—especially as a weak cold front comes through this afternoon—but we've got high pressure in place (for now) and the sun's due out this afternoon, with temps today getting into the mid 50s on winds from the south. Cloudier overnight, lows either side of the freezing mark.Sometimes you just need to look down... To see some eye-catching beauty. Like these Trametes versicolor fungi—better known, for obvious reasons, as Turkey Tail—from Corlan Johnson in Norwich.More working coming on Fairlee cliff overlooking I-91. The Journal Opinion's Alex Nuti-de Biasi reported in Friday's newsletter that the "fragile ledge of the Palisades towering above Fairlee village will need more extensive remedial work in the coming weeks to prevent future rock slides." A February slide shut down I-91 southbound for about 10 days between Bradford and Fairlee. Now, Nuti-de Biasi writes, the new project—due to begin sometime after the April 8 eclipse—will most likely shut the southbound lanes and funnel southbound traffic to one of the northbound lanes in an effort to keep I-91 open.After a "tough, tough budget season" in VT, seven Upper Valley school districts to hold votes. In the Valley News, Christina Dolan looks at the efforts of districts that delayed budget votes beyond town meeting to confront the pressures thrown at them by the state and legislature. Mt. Ascutney is cutting teachers, roof repairs, and other facilities needs; Hartland is cutting staff and playground plans; Hartford is cutting "four sports programs, eight coaches, and 22 teacher and staff positions," Dolan reports, though 18 of those were vacant. Voters in all seven districts will get their chance between now and April 15.“Something in her had changed." Back in January, St. Johnsbury police found the body of 38-year-old Hartford native Christina Chatlos, shot behind the wheel of a Cadillac SUV. A 15-year-old from Massachusetts has been accused in her murder. In the Valley News, John Lippman goes well beyond the lurid headlines to chart Chatlos's life, and in particular, her life around horses: caring for them, competing in Gymkhana with them, living on a small farm in Williamstown with them. "They listened to her and they loved her. She was like a horse whisperer," a childhood friend tells Lippman. Until the drug use.SPONSORED: Amazing art and antiques, bargain gift cards, nights in local hotels, golf at the Woodstock Country Club, and so much more. Only one week left in the North Chapel Online Spring Fling Auction. We have almost 200 items, many with low or no bids. There are gift baskets, Sabra Field signed art, handcrafted woven rugs, floor cloths, quilts, maple products, desserts, and many local store gift cards well below value. Hit the burgundy link or here for the online auction before April 8 and check out everything that's available! Sponsored by the North Universalist Chapel Society.Hanover budget aims to boost employees' pay, benefits. In all, writes Patrick Adrian in the VN, the proposed $35.6 million operating budget would see a $1.2 million jump over this year's spending, including $300K more for health insurance. But much of the new money is the result of an effort by the selectboard to bolster employee compensation following a study that found the town lagging neighboring communities. About 10 percent of Hanover's 150 staff positions are vacant, Adrian writes. The selectboard will vote on the proposed budget tonight; it goes to town meeting May 14.Claremont PD turns to new caprine member. In a release issued this morning, they write, "Introducing our newest recruit: Officer Ollie! In an effort to diversify our team, we've enlisted the help of our trusty goat companion. With superior climbing skills and an unbeatable sense of smell, Officer Ollie is ready to tackle crime head-on... or should we say, hoof-on! Don't be surprised if you see Officer Ollie on patrol or munching on some paperwork in the office." Let's just add that Officer Ollie cuts quite the handsome figure!
With new routes, MHT hopes to climb out of rut. Actually, Manchester Airport's peak year was in 2005, when it saw 4.2 million passengers, reports NHPR's Todd Bookman. Last year, it was 1.3 million. The airport has faced an array of challenges, Bookman notes, including airlines shuffling flights elsewhere and prices that often—though not always—are higher than flying out of Boston. Still, its small size and unhurried feel are a plus, its manager says. "We all hear about...how important Main Street is," he tells Bookman. "Well, our main street just happens to be 150 feet wide and 9,250 feet long."Vermonters returning from Montreal report finding tracking devices on their cars. That's according to the Burlington police, which last week sent out an alert about "recent reports of [Apple] AirTags and other Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices" being found on cars returning from the city. The state knows of three such instances, reports Auditi Guha in VTDigger, and officials speculate that cars are being tracked “either to move small items such as firearms or drugs, small amounts of cash back and forth across the border, or, in some cases also to steal vehicles." It's not new. Here's what Macworld has to say about how AirTags work, and about finding and disabling them.VT Auditor's report finds "pattern of misplaced trust, unfortunate decision-making" and lack of oversight in EB-5 fraud. In the 63-page report released last week, Auditor Doug Hoffer's office delves into the state's role in the scandal involving high-profile Northeast Kingdom development projects led by former Jay Peak owner Ariel Quiros and former resort CEO Bill Stenger. In particular, the report finds that the state's Agency of Commerce and Community Development "had conflicting duties of both promoting and regulating the EB-5 program," writes VTDigger's Babette Stolk.A Ledyard Bridge puzzle. Literally. "As I was stopped in construction traffic on Ledyard Bridge this week, I was reminded of an old construction photo in the Historical Society collection," Norwich Historical Society director Sarah Rooker wrote on the town's listserv Saturday. "I uploaded it to a jigsaw puzzle maker." The photo description reads: "In 1935 a new bridge to Hanover...was being constructed. The temporary bridge was a pile bridge about 15 feet above the water. The spring high water took out about 75 feet of the bridge and they stretched a wire rope sidewalk over that gap for pedestrians."The Monday Vordle. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads Up
Today at 4:30, Dartmouth's Dickey Center hosts Arctic scholar Marisol Maddox for her talk, "Arctic Security & The Urgency of Understanding Actorless Threats." Maddox, who is an analyst at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in DC and teaches at Syracuse University, will talk about how threats posed by forces like climate change intersect with those posed by countries. "The Arctic is warming up to four times faster than the global average with immense implications for global security due to its outsized potential to contribute to sea level rise, extreme weather, and biosecurity hazards, among other hazards," the Dickey Center writes. In-person in Haldeman 41 and livestreamed.
And to send us into the week...You can pull lots of things out of "Every Breath You Take", probably the Police's biggest hit and maybe one of the most popular songs ever: innocent love song? sinister stalkerism? warning about the surveillance state? In 1991, Sting told an interviewer, "Of course, I wasn’t aware of any of this. I thought I was just writing a hit song." Recently, wildly popular pianist Peter Bence took the tune itself and plunked it squarely on the sunny side of the register. In Bence's hands (and looping), it's like a different song. Of course, the bright yellow piano helps.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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