GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Another chance for snow today... as another upper-level disturbance moves through, courtesy of the Great Lakes. Mostly cloudy today, a chance of snow showers until about mid-afternoon, temps into the high 20s—and dropping only a few degrees overnight. Maybe some snow tonight, too. Winds from the south.Water flat, water rushing. Photographer Courtney Cania was on her way to hike along Bicknell Brook in Enfield the other morning when she caught the sunrise over Mascoma Lake and stopped to check out the people ice-fishing. She had along a new "creative focus lens that produces a blurry, tilt-shift effect." It made for a bunch of interesting photos, both of the ice shacks and fishermen, and of the woods and brook.The ins and outs of vaccines for Upper Valley residents. The Valley News's Nora Doyle-Burr is up with a really helpful "frequently asked questions" guide to vaccines for NH and VT residents. The protocols are different in each state (NH starts registering people 65 and over or with certain medical conditions tomorrow; VT starts registering people 75 and over on Monday). Doyle-Burr gives details on where to register, which medical conditions qualify for earlier vaccination, what the states are doing about vaccination clinics, and the like."After I said no enough times, it got to a point where I felt I had to say yes. My heart was telling me this was what I needed to do.” Kylie Young, a star hockey player when she was at Hartford High, took over their girls' hockey program this summer. Her task: Take a team that's 44-135-10 over the past nine years and rebuild it, as she says to Octopus Athletics blogger Tris Wykes, into "the Hanover of girls hockey and the place to play." That starts with a team made up of players from Thetford and Bellows Falls as well as Hartford—and that because of state rules, can't yet compete against other teams.In fact, NH and VT high school sports are looking pretty different right now. Schools in NH are back playing against rivals from across the state, and pretty happy about it. “You can’t really see your talent level when you are just practicing against kids that you play with every day,” Hanover High hockey player Lily Seelig tells WCAX. Schools in VT? Well, there was a nordic ski race up north earlier this week, but that's about it so far. “Living on the border it is tough to see Hanover and Lebanon and schools like that starting up,” Hartford Athletic Director Jeff Moreno says.SPONSORED: America is returning to the fight against global warming. Now it's your turn. If you're a Vermonter, you can issue your own executive order to "go solar" by submitting a no-commitment Certificate of Public Good (CPG) with the state, buying you 12 months to think about it and make an informed decision. Cuts in solar net-metering rates go into effect Feb. 1, knocking about $1,500 off the value of solar, but not if you submit the form now. Contact Solaflect Energy and we'll help you assess your needs and make sure the form is complete and submitted on time. Sponsored by Solaflect Energy.Fennel's back! If you live in central NH, it's been hard to avoid the search over the past two weeks for the all-black cat that was a fixture in Osborne Agway's store in Concord. "She liked to lounge behind one of the cash registers...pop into certain areas where people were shopping, anything to add warmth to the business," writes Monitor columnist Ray Duckler. On Jan. 5 she stowed away in a delivery truck. The search—including traps that snared a possum and a skunk, but no cat—got a lot of people involved... and on Tuesday, one of them returned her, a little skinnier, but safe and sound.NH's financial picture more optimistic than expected. That's the consensus of economists and other experts testifying to members of the state legislature's ways and means committees over the past few days. There are caveats, writes InDepthNH's Garry Rayno, including the pandemic's uneven effect on wage earners and businesses. Still, the state deficit is smaller than many expected (and may turn out smaller than its rainy-day fund), and some expect "pent-up savings" among consumers to fuel rapid growth once the pandemic's past."How does a choir keep going—safely—in a pandemic?" Seven Days' Amy Lilly asks and answers that question with a profile of the efforts by Jeffrey Buettner, the choral director at Middlebury, to make it possible for his singers to rehearse in-person while keeping themselves and each other safe from the coronavirus. The answer: divide into smaller groups, meet one small group at a time in the college's 700-seat chapel, wear masks, and stand far apart. "A number of students left those sessions weeping because they were overjoyed to sing together again," he tells Lilly.Any bets on the next time Bernie Sanders makes Vogue? Just gotta note that VT's junior senator made the fashion news yesterday during the inaugural for choosing to wear a Burton jacket and a pair of mittens knitted for him (out of repurposed wool and fleece) by Essex Junction schoolteacher Jennifer Ellis. As you no doubt know, the internet has gone nuts. Sanders is matter-of-fact. “In Vermont, we know something about the cold,” he told CBS, “and we’re not so concerned about good fashion. We want to keep warm.”If someone makes a Loch Ness Monster snowman in a French-speaking city, is that cultural appropriation? Montreal's gotten some decent snow recently, including 10 inches last weekend, and a lot of people have taken to the city's parks to create snow sculptures. In fact, the city's even got a contest going. Here's a Twitter-thread gallery of what they're coming up with...along with some very fine commentary by the user who put it together. "A cubist approach to the snowman, and yet it is solely made of spheres. Breathtaking."
So...
NH added 729 new cases yesterdayand now stands at 59,437 total. There were 12 new deaths, which now stand at 950 total, while 254 people are hospitalized (no change). The current active caseload stands at 6,236 (up 110); 88 percent of all cases have recovered. The state now reports 236 active cases in Grafton County (up 8), 190 in Sullivan (down 12), and 486 in Merrimack (down 21). Town by town, the state says that Claremont has 77 active cases (down 2), Newport has 35 (down 1), Charlestown has 25 (down 8), Hanover has 22 (up 4), Lebanon has 21 (down 2), Enfield has 10 (no change), Grantham has 10 (up 2), Haverhill has 10 (up 3), Unity has 9 (no change), Sunapee has 8 (down 1), New London has 7 (down 2), Canaan has 6 (no change), Wentworth has 6 (no change), Newbury has 5 (down 1). Piermont, Warren, Rumney, Dorchester, Plainfield, Cornish, Croydon, Grafton, and Springfield all have 1-4. Orford is off the list.
VT reported 124 new cases yesterday, with a total case count of 10,471. It now has 3,286 active cases (up 53) with 67 percent of all cases recovered. There were 2 new deaths, which now stand at 165, while 42 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (up 2). Windsor County gained 14 cases to stand at 757 for the pandemic (with 272 over the past 14 days). Orange County had 3 new cases and is now at 395 cumulatively (with 63 cases over the past 14 days).
News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:
Everyone Eats, Vermont's pandemic-era program for those who need food is back for three weeks (unless more funding can be found). The Sharing and Caring Food Pantry at WRJ's United Methodist Church has just announced it's working with Willing Hands and WRJ's Piecemeal Pies to stock its shelves.
Today at 6 pm, Hanover Adventure Tours hosts an online talk on "Biking Across America." Robert and Kim Chambers, father and daughter, will talk over how they prepped for their 4000-mile trip, the mishaps and memorable moments along the way, and offer practical advice: how to pack, how to prepare, and how to be ready for the unexpected.
Meanwhile, starting today and lasting through Sunday, Billings Farm's film series offers Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art. Barry Avrick's documentary revolves around a court case in which a high-end NYC art gallery stood accused of knowingly selling forgeries—masterworks by Rothko, Pollock and others that had actually been produced by an immigrant Chinese artist working out of a garage in Queens. At the center is the gallery's director, Ann Freedman, and the question of whether she knew. Tix are $12 plus a fee.
And the Hop's Film On Demand series launches its next two in the series. Jazz on a Summer's Day is a restored version of commercial photographer Bert Stern's documentary of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, with performances by Thelonius Monk, Big Maybelle, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Anita O'Day, Gerry Mulligan, and others. Stern seemed as interested in Newport and its audience as he did in the musicians. The second film is Coded Bias, the new documentary by Shalini Kantayya looking at how machine-learning algorithms—which govern everything from facial-recognition systems to financial lending to policing—often embed racial, class- and gender-based inequities.
This isn't until Saturday, but if you want advance instructions, recipes, and prep details, you can sign up today for Billings Farm chef Emery Gray's class on quick pickling. Carrots, cauliflower, beets, cabbage, red onions, grapes, ginger, cucumbers....
Now. That Hop film above is about Newport in 1958. Two years before, one of the most electrifying solos in jazz history
. By then, Ellington was thought to be in the twilight of his career—until, around midnight, their set delayed by missing band members, he and the band launched into "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" and Gonsalves stood up to do his solo in the interval between the two sections. For 27 consecutive improvised choruses, clearly in the zone and egged on by Ellington, he drove the crowd into a frenzy. No video exists and it later turned out that he was playing into the wrong mic (you'll want to have the volume up for his solo). But this video tells the story well—and just listening to the crowd as the tumult builds will get you off on the right foot this morning.
See you tomorrow.
Want to catch up on Daybreak music? Check out the Spotify playlist generously maintained by Sarah and Nelson Rooker.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Banner by Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
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! You can subscribe at:
Thank you!