Daybreak Monday 5/4/20

AND... WE'RE BACK, UPPER VALLEY!

Except there's this ill-mannered little cold front busting up the really good thing we had going over the weekend. Not that things are going to be terrible, just cooler. Clouds coming in through the morning and a chance of showers in the middle part of the day, temps getting to the mid- or high 50s, gusty winds out of the northwest this afternoon. Down to the high 30s tonight.Even as the twin states re-open...

Speaking of reopening, let's catch up on what the twin states did on Friday.

Farmers markets will be reopening, too, but they'll look different. We talked about the Lebanon market and its new restrictions last week. The Norwich market, meanwhile, reopens this coming Saturday, with an additional section (what used to be the parking lot to the left as you entered) and food/ag vendors only. It's asking customers to order online ahead of time if possible and to wear face masks. Circulation will be clockwise only. Full details at the maroon link.“It feels like we’re back to where we were when my parents started out years ago." Which is to say: Busy. That's JJ Pippin, who with her brother Tony runs the Lyme Country Store. The VN's John Lippman talked to her, Melvin Coburn of Coburn's in S. Strafford, Dan Fraser of Dan & Whit's, and Bruce Bergeron of Jake's. The small grocery/sundry stores are all seeing boosts as local shoppers avoid West Leb and rally around their community hubs—which are rallying right back, with deliveries (in the case of Dan & Whit's as far as Kendal and Quail Hollow). Several foresee curbside pickup and delivery lasting.That pug that tested positive for Covid-19? Belongs to a Dartmouth student and his family. Winston's the first dog in the US to test positive, and lives in Winston-Salem, NC, with Ben McLean, class of '22, and his family. They all took part in a Duke University study in April: Ben, his parents (his dad's Dartmouth '90) and Winston tested positive; his sister, their other pug Otis, and their cat Mr. Nibs tested negative.In case you've been wondering about the online Five Colleges Book Sale... It's up and running. They're offering "a small collection of donated books" through Birchwoods Books, an organization that helps local libraries and groups like the Five Colleges Sale to sell books online by consignment.Grim unemployment numbers for some NH towns in the Upper Valley, less so for others. Lippman also reports on the latest figures out from the state. Not surprisingly, they show high levels in towns whose residents rely on manufacturing, construction, and retail jobs, including Canaan (15.7 percent), Claremont (14.6 percent), Lebanon (11.7 percent) and Enfield (10.7 percent). Hanover, on the other hand, has the lowest rate in the state (2.9 percent).Are VT golfers going to be flocking to NH? Vermont is now one of three states that have not announced the re-opening of golf courses (MA and MD still have restrictions, as well). Sununu's re-opening plans call for links to reopen there on May 11. At his Friday press conference, Scott said the state will review the status of golf courses this week. "I would also remind everyone this is May 1," he added. "We could still get a snowstorm right now so from my standpoint we're still in early spring."Two NH committees to recommend priorities for federal funds. The state has $1.25 billion to dole out, and far more than that in requests from various industries. Two state committees—a legislative advisory committee and a "stakeholders'" advisory board—have spent two weeks taking testimony and, says InDepthNH's Garry Rayno, will soon send recommendations to the governor and his staff. A long list of businesses and nonprofits, from hoteliers, restaurateurs, and retailers to hospitals, medical practices, day care centers, dairy farms, and arts organizations are hoping for help.Looks like Vermont is not being slammed by out-of-state visitors. You know all those state employees sitting in trucks by border-crossing points collecting data? They've been doing it at 43 locations since April 1, and the numbers are in: Out-of-state traffic has been steady, with no spikes. The link takes you to a state page with three dashboards: statewide traffic volume late-March to late-April compared to the previous two years; crashes year-to-year by month (they're down); and VT license plates vs. out-of-state plates at border crossings. You can hover at each location to see the actual numbers.Vermont dairy producers pretty much plead with retailers to stop limiting milk sales. "The reality of farmers dumping milk while stores are limiting the purchase of those products is disheartening," the VT Dairy Producers Alliance writes in a press release. "We respectfully ask our retail partners to remove the barrier to purchasing dairy products by taking down signs that place limits on the products."VT restaurants, beverage establishments band together. Two new organizations in the state aim to help restaurants, bars, and other hospitality businesses through these rough times. The VT Hospitality Coalition has about 40 restaurants as members so far, and is setting itself up to be an advocate for bars and restaurants as they navigate the changing terrain. Another group, On the Fly, is offering free business consultations. "This crisis is such a tidal wave for restaurants," says Sue Bette, owner of Bluebird Barbecue in Burlington and a co-founder of the coalition. "It has the potential to sink all-size boats."Small size of VT's slaughterhouses poses problems as big plants across US close. The state's 13 meatpacking facilities are all still open, but they're small—100 to 200 cows a day, compared to the tens of thousands handled by the big processors—and it's becoming an issue for the state's dairy farmers, who've been told to cull their herds. In the past, they've relied on slaughterhouses in Pennsylvania, but those are closing. “Our slaughter facilities in Vermont will not be able to take in those animals, so how do farms manage that?” says the state Agency of Agrigulture's Diane Bothfeld."Suddenly, everybody’s a cop, yardsticks in their minds." Norwich writer Peter Orner, musing about a listserv post calling out dog owners for standing too close together at Huntley Meadow, introduces a set of short New York Times essays from around the country, "Where the Neighborhood is Now." "[E]ven empty words have a little more weight now," he writes, "like the stones we throw when we pause at the brook."Remember Andrew Cotter and his dogs? Of course you do! The idled BBC sportscaster, along with Olive and Mabel, hasn't been idle. It's astounding what a good play-by-play guy can make of two labs doing, well, nothing much at all. (Thanks, DG!)

New Hanover Garden Club greenhouse "is absolutely wonderful." That's not someone being quoted, that's the VN's Liz Sauchelli after visiting the almost-finished, light-and-greenery-filled space next to Hanover's water department on Grasse Road. In the works since 2013, it's already filling up with flowering plants, and with garden-club plans for its annual pick-up sale, which has been postponed until late May or early June.Yesterday was the anniversary of the Old Man of the Mountains' collapse. Hard to believe it's been 17 years: May 3, 2003.$220,000 in today's dollars. Or 750 pounds. Which is what Samuel Allen allegedly paid in 1691 to buy New Hampshire. Or at least, what was considered New Hampshire then: "The deed," writes J. Dennis Robinson on seacoastonline.com, "included Portsmouth (also New Castle and Rye), Dover, Hampton, Exeter, Little Harbor, Greenland and surrounding settlements, plus a cluster of towns just across the Massachusetts border." How Allen came into the deed is a story in itself, and Allen did not endear himself to settlers, who considered him just another “greedy plunderer.""Don't trust all-purpose glue." That's item #9 on Kevin Kelly's list of "68 bits of unsolicited advice." The founding editor of Wired (and former editor of Whole Earth Review) just turned 68 and decide to celebrate by passing along things he's learned during that time, one for each year. "Pros are just amateurs who know how to gracefully recover from their mistakes," he writes. And, "If you are looking for something in your house, and you finally find it, when you’re done with it don’t put it back where you found it. Put it back where you first looked for it." And my favorite: "Learn how to take a 20-minute power nap without embarrassment."

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CIDRAP, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, is launching a new series of reports aiming to "address issues that haven't garnered the attention they deserve."

First up, their researchers detail

how the current coronavirus is "behaving more like past influenza pandemics than like any coronavirus has to date." Which, they say, means not only should we expect a resurgence, but "people need to be prepared for possible periodic resurgences of disease over the next 2 years." Oh, and "it likely won’t be halted until 60 percent to 70 percent of the population is immune."

A quarter of a century ago, guitarist Jesse Cook released a song called "Tempest." It was a hit, and he was planning to go out on tour this spring to celebrate it. So, sitting at home, he decided to re-record it—with the help of his friend Marito, who has a recording studio in

his

home, and of his 12-year-old daughter, who did some of the filming.

, nothing will.

(Thanks, SVG!)

Daybreak is written and published by Rob Gurwitt                     Banner by Tom HaushalterAbout Rob                                                                                   About Tom

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