WAIT. IT'S MONDAY?
Now that was some atmospherics yesterday evening, eh? We'll probably get more of it today. Hey, at least it means summer's here. Until tomorrow, anyway.... Yesterday it was a warm front. Today it's a cold front moving in from the west, and the upshot is there's a good chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, potentially strong winds and maybe even some hail thrown in for good measure. Highs today could reach into the 80s. This front is bringing cool weather with it--lows could drop below 50 overnight.Dartmouth compensation, legal expenses grow. According to recently released tax returns seen by the Valley News, President Phil Hanlon's compensation bumped up 6 percent, to $1.4 million in 2017, and 13 administrators and faculty made over $500,000. The investment office and professional-school administration are the place to be. Overall, the VN says, compensation to all college employees grew 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, legal costs grew 38 percent from FY '17-'18, to $2.9 million.This fired Mascoma lunch-room-worker story keeps getting more interesting. First, she was offered her job back after the story went national. She refused, saying the contractor was just doing it because it didn't like the heat. Then, on Saturday, celebrity chef José Andrés tweeted out, "If she needs a job we have openings at @thinkfoodgroup,” the company behind his hotels and restaurants in sunny places. The world is a splendiferous place, isn't it?Today kicks off a two-week national "Click It or Ticket" campaign by state and local police forces. You, of course, don't need any reminding, but in case you know someone who likes to drive seat-belt free, the Hartford PD says watch out. In Claremont, Pete Buttiegieg makes some headlines with his offhand attack on Pres. Trump. Just in case you weren't able to make it down to the Fox town hall last night, here's Politico's recap. And while I haven't been able to find an aftermath story for Amy Klobuchar's Tuck appearance last night, here's what she planned to say about her tech agenda and how to help workers manage the nation's changing economy.Vermont births at 161-year low. Art Woolf, an economics prof at UVM (and former state economist for Madeline Kunin when she was governor) notes that as national births drop--the absolute number was at a 32-year low last year--Vermont is way ahead of the nation. The number of births has risen in only seven of the last 27 years. He pins part of the reason on the fact that VT has one of the highest percentages of college-educated women, and they tend to have fewer children. Falling teen births may also be a factor.Hiring more child-protection workers produced mixed results for VT. As New Hampshire moves to add more caseworkers, the results of a similar effort in Vermont under the Shumlin administration are interesting. The state added more caseworkers but saw even higher growth in abuse and neglect cases coming into the system (the opioid epidemic and, critics charge, because they grew too aggressive in opening cases). Result: Social workers are still overburdened and understaffed. VT Episcopal Church elects new bishop, she'll be the first African-American to hold that role in the state. Shannon MacVean-Brown is currently a rector at a small congregation outside Indianapolis known as St. John's, Speedway. She was one of three finalists for the position. "I believe that Shannon brings a host of creativity and artistry with her that will help us break boundaries," says Rev. Rick Swanson, of Saint John's in the Mountains in Stowe. The current bishop, Thomas Ely, retires in October.Burgeoning demand for alternative to plastic wrap leads VT company to blossom. There's a company over in Middlebury, Beeswrap, that since 2011 has been making a wax-infused cloth food wrapper. It moved into a 12,000 square-foot space last year because it had grown 70 percent over two years, on the strength of publicity on homemakers' blogs and international home shows. It's already looking for new space. It's now in 41 countries, in natural-food chains and kitchenware chains alike. Eleven bucks for a sandwich wrap -- but hey, you can wash and reuse for a year.So what comes after the Squirrelpocalypse? Remember last fall's squirrels? And the mast year--lots of acorns--that caused it? Well, the ever-inventive folks at NHPR's Outside/In just looked into what happens next. It's a cool story--including what those oak trees are thinking--until you get to the part about the exploding population of white-footed mice, which are a major vector for Lyme disease. Oh, and when their population collapses in a bad acorn year, gypsy moths run riot.... You can't catch a break in northern New England.AND FOR TONIGHT?Today's May 20, right? Okay, let's try this one again: You could go see Dark Money at Mascoma Valley HS. The film, which began life last year as a PBS documentary, starts off with a legislative candidate in Montana who's the victim of a mysterious, vicious leafletting campaign against him, then dives deep into the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, the plight of reporters trying to trace corporate influence on campaigns as their newsrooms are shuttered, and just how hidden that influence is. The evening's sponsored by Upper Valley Democrats and Mascoma Forward, with a panel discussion. 6:30 pm.Or you could see Waaki in Hanover. The film kicks off the two-day "Foodways in Indigenous Communities" conference at Dartmouth. The conference looks at "the ways in which tribal nations and Indigenous communities are becoming food sovereign." The film, whose title means "sanctuary," explores the deep ritual and cultural connection to corn among the Hopi in the US and the the Nahuatl, Maya and Otomi communities in Mexico, and the dialogue made possible by this shared connection. It's a collaboration among Hopi filmmaker Victor Masayesva, Tzeltal filmmaker and activist Mariano Estrada Aguilar, and Nahua filmmaker José Luis Matías Alonso. In the Loew Theater at 7 pm.Have a great start to your week. See you tomorrow.
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