GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly cloudy, chance of showers. Welcome to a week of this, with cool and unsettled conditions stretching on for days. If there's rain it'll mostly be in pockets, and swaths of the larger region might not see anything at all. Today: gusty, temps only reaching the low or mid 50s, chance of showers this afternoon. Low 40s overnight.Let's just have a little flashback to before the rain. When stand of white pine in Etna released a massive yellow pollen cloud, which engulfed the area around Gary Johnson's yard. "A sure sign of spring," he writes, "and a reminder to keep your windows closed.”Storm floods WRJ, knocks out roads, power. With thunderstorm warnings in the offing, several weekend gatherings—including Bookstock and the Post Mills balloon meet—cancelled outdoor events, and the caution proved warranted: As Eric Francis writes, the storm "rolled eastward along the Route 4 corridor leaving a string of damage reports between Taftsville, VT and Orange, NH." Power was out in Lebanon and elsewhere, and water coursed through the streets of White River Junction. Eric was out in it all with his camera, and sends in a report—and photos of the flooding in WRJ—at the link.Residents and work crews spent yesterday cleaning up. At some point in the storm's aftermath, eight roads in Hartford were closed, including Sykes Mountain Ave, North Main, and Old River Road. By Saturday night, all but Fairview Terrace had been reopened, according to Hartford police. WPTZ's Benny Nezaj reports on the aftermath at the burgundy link, with video of the cleanup effort along a completely washed-out Gates Street.Upper Valley arts organizations reckon with federal grant cuts. The amounts aren't especially large, reports Liz Sauchelli in the Valley News, but they're having an impact. The New London Barn Playhouse has lost a $10K NEA grant funding half of a new production based on New London author Kathy Lowe’s book, Tommer’s Earthly Friends. Northern Stage lost money undergirding The Vermont Farm Project. The Library Arts Center and Richards Free Library in Newport, NH won't get $10,000 for a community mural project. Sauchelli checks in with them all to see how they're adapting.Bradford VT man now charged in Crooker murder case. As you remember, last week police arrested Lisa Akey of Bradford on charges including being an accessory after the fact in the killing of Corey Crooker, who'd disappeared in January. On Friday, reports Mike Donoghue (here via the Caledonian Record), a judge found probable cause to charge James Nickles, Jr., with second-degree murder; Nickles is already in federal custody on gun and drug charges stemming from a state police raid on his home in February. Donoghue details the case and the legal state of play.Dartmouth student workers plan to strike. The authorization vote for the Student Worker Collective—which represents undergrads working in dining services and as advisors—came in the wake of "last, best, and final offers" from the college and the SWCD that, the college writes on its FAQ page, "shows that the parties remain very far apart on many proposals, including on compensation,...union access to facilities, and more." In the VN (burgundy link), Clare Shanahan reports that the union hasn't disclosed its plans, but does have a date in mind. Finals end June 10, commencement is June 15.The Upper Valley: a “very strange corner of the American Revolution.” A month from this past Saturday will mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, and astoundingly enough, that morning, writes Kent Friel in The Dartmouth, locals woke "to the sound of distant cannon fire." Friel checked in with historians of the Colonial era and with local archives to piece together a story about how the Revolutionary War affected this region, which was being inundated by settlers—with towns up and down the river squabbling over land and trees for ship masts. Friel dives in.Thetford goes for green burials—but only at one town-owned cemetery. That's because the soil at the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery in North Thetford is permeable, while at the Evergreen Rest Cemetery in Thetford Center, the soil contains too much clay, explains Li Shen in Sidenote. Last month, Li writes, the selectboard adopted new green burial rules for the town allowing the deceased to be wrapped in a shroud and placed "on a solid, untreated wood board or enclosed in an untreated, biodegradable box." Li goes into the long history of green burials—plus grave robbing, concrete vaults, and more.Why "there is much to admire" about Baltimore orioles. As Mary Holland writes on her Naturally Curious blog, "there are special avian associations with spring that each of us looks forward to," including the appearance of apple blossoms and Baltimore Orioles around the same time. Orioles, she says, are not only monogamous, but both females and males sing, which is unusual. "Male orioles sing distinctively loud, clear, melodious, flutelike notes while female songs consist of only a few descending, whistled notes," she explains. Also, they like to eat pest species of insects, including eastern tent caterpillars.Two Granite Staters with identical first, middle, and last names and dates of birth get snagged in vote fraud allegations. The two, in Hudson and Somersworth, were cleared after a state investigation—as were more than two dozen election-related misconduct allegations investigators have looked into, reports Steven Porter in the Globe's NH newsletter (no paywall). Still, he reports, DOJ investigators "have also concluded that several violations occurred, with varying degrees of severity"—including a legislative candidate in Durham who'd "been pressuring local officials" on election integrity.The Monday jigsaw. Wilder, writes the Norwich Historical Society's Cam Cross, "was originally known as Olcott Falls, developed as a planned community by Charles Wilder," who owned the mill in today's puzzle after 1887. "At its height, the mill processed up to 300 cords of wood each three-shift, 24-hour day. It was sold to International Paper and closed for good in 1927. Notice the single-lane bridge in the middle right. You can still see the abutment at the Kilowatt Park boat launch." Hartford's F. X. Flinn has a slideshow.The Monday Wordbreak. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads UpKwame Dawes, Jamaica's poet laureate, at Dartmouth's Sanborn Library. The poet and scholar, who teaches at Brown, delivers the Black Life and Letters Lecture today, honoring former English prof and African and African American Studies Program co-founder Bill Cook. A leading voice in global literature, Dawes will talk literature and read from his latest collection, Sturge Town. 5 pm.Dartmouth economics prof Doug Irwin on "Trump's Tariff Obsession: Good or Bad for America?" The author of Against the Tide: An Intellectual History of Free Trade, Free Trade Under Fire, and of Clashing Over Commerce: A History of US Trade Policy, will talk over the likely outcomes of the new tariff regime being pursued by the Trump administration and what history can tell us about what to expect from them. 5 pm, Filene Auditorium.Upper Valley Ultimate hosts a free intro session. Looking to shake off the Monday blues? This intro to ultimate frisbee will include coaching, a low-key scrimmage, and the chance to meet other locals who don’t mind sprinting for plastic. Bring water, a light and dark shirt, and your game face (cleats optional). All experience levels welcome. 6-7 pm at Sachem Field in West Leb/Hanover.
And let's ease into the week...
With Italian-French singer Giordana Angi together with Sting
See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Associate writer: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
If you like Daybreak and would like to help it keep going and evolve, please hit the "Support" button below and I'll tell you more:
And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! Subscribe at no cost at:
Thank you!