GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Rain off and on today... but be patient. Intriguingly, the weather folks note that "if it was winter, we might be talking about a lot of snow" thanks to the various disturbances and systems overhead and off the coast. But it's September, so we just get some rain—and then very fine weather later in the week. High today in the low 60s, mid 50s tonight as things start to clear out.And on a sunnier day: Amazing how frogs blend in, isn't it? Tess Lewis writes, "Here is a visitor to our yard in Norwich, taking advantage of the season’s last basil for a sunbath." Then adds, "He's a little fed up with the paparazzi."Fire in Norwich burns unoccupied home. Closed road hampers response. The fire on what turned out to be Hemlock Road, above the Ompompanoosuc, was called in at about 1:30 this morning by a state trooper on I-91. As you'll remember, Hemlock was closed by the town after the July floods because it had been undermined by water, and Norwich fire chief Alex Northern had to hike in to get to the scene; he was followed by Thetford Chief Chad Whitcomb, coming from the highway on an ATV. State fire investigators are due on scene this morning to inspect the building's remains. Eric Francis reports.In Lebanon, city seeks developers for Spencer Street workforce housing. Early this month, reports Patrick Adrian in the Valley News, the city council gave City Manager Shaun Mulholland the go-ahead to solicit housing developers for a project at the site of the city's old public works building; some members wanted to broaden the potential scope to include commercial-rate housing and mixed uses. A slim majority opted for affordable housing—“The need for affordable housing is as great as it has ever been," said Asst. Mayor Clifton Below. This week, the council will review a request for proposals.Hanover opts to lower speed limit on Lyme Road. At its meeting last week, reports The Dartmouth's Kent Friel, the selectboard voted unanimously to drop the limit from 30 to 25 mph on the stretch of road past the Richmond Middle School and the town's police/fire facility. “Everyone benefits, especially the kids, from reduced speed during school pick-up and drop-off hours," argued planning director Rob Houseman. The move drew general support from commenters, though one, former Hartford Public Works director Rich Menge, noted, “Traffic is like a balloon: If you squeeze it here, it’s going to pop out somewhere else.”"Life is short. PLEASE respect each other." With that, CCBA youth drop-in center director Jim Vanier signed off in a handwritten note—posted to CCBA's FB page Thursday night—saying that the "unfortunate misunderstanding" involving him and his employer "has been resolved respectfully" and it's time to move on. In yesterday's VN, columnist Jim Kenyon recounts how the note came about—Vanier decided on his own to write it—and re-bashes the organization. Asked to respond, CCBA director Kerry Artman writes, "Despite Jim Kenyon’s damaging opinion pieces that no longer even have the veneer of ethical journalism, all of us at the CCBA are happy to be moving forward together—and are excited about the future."As VT legislature gears up to tackle net metering, holdup on Thetford school's solar array highlights the issues. In Sidenote, Li Shen gives the history of a stalled effort by Thetford Elementary School to expand its solar capacity. The hangup? The state Public Utilities Commission is reluctant to give the go-ahead because under current practice, TES would get the rate for selling its electricity back to GMP that existed when it installed its original array in 2014, which was higher than now. The problem? While it ponders, the PUC is blocking other expansions in the state, and those petitioners are ticked.“Small intimate space, great big stories." That's how Shaker Bridge Theatre board president Joan Ecker describes the company's tradition—and, writes Susan Apel in Artful this morning, SBT intends to keep it going even as it moves into the Briggs Opera House from Enfield. The Briggs' lobby has gotten a brushup, and renovations are taking place both on stage and off as Shaker Bridge preps for its season opener, Patricia Milton's The Victorian Ladies’ Detective Collective. It debuts Sept. 21, with official opening the following night—including an after-show reception with Victorian-era treats and music."It's more difficult and corrupt out there for musicians than it's ever been." That's Low Cut Connie founder and frontman Adam Weiner, talking to Seven Days' Chris Farnsworth about the stresses of touring these days for mid-level bands. On the one hand, as the music industry changes, ticket sales and the merch table are where a lot of bands can make their money. On the other hand, it takes a toll—threats from promoters, no-show ticketholders, sleeping on strangers' couches. Bands are dealing in their own way, from Guster's targeted tour strategy to Burlington jazz guitarist Xander Naylor's decision to tour only in other countries.The Monday Vordle. With a word from Friday's Daybreak.
Heads Up
This evening at 7, the Center Meeting House in Newbury, NH hosts an NH Humanities program with Manchester-based oral history interviewer Robert Perreault on daily life for the workers who kept the Amoskeag Manufacturing Co.'s textile mill running. He "sheds light on how people from a variety of European countries as well as from French Canada made the transition from an agrarian to an industrial society and how that change affected families, cultures, the nature of work, and relationships among the workers themselves."
And just catching up on last week's JAM highlights, there's plenty to keep you entertained this week: The entire Sept. 9 tribute at the Briggs to celebrated guitar teacher Ed Eastridge, with an astounding array of Upper Valley performers and personalities from Fred Haas to Grace Wallace to Ted Mortimer to Maggie Cassidy to Beecharmer, and many more; Beecharmer's Jakob Breitbach on being a fiddler; Loom Dance Ensemble's "Tell Me How You Breathe" at this year's Junction Dance Festival; and coverage of a reunion of Norman Rockwell models in August.
And to set us up for the week...
off her forthcoming album.
See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Writer/editor: Jonea Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Michael
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