GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Last night's cold and wind are settling in. It'll be sunny, which is nice, but here's the killer: The Weather Service disses it as "ineffective sunshine." Meaning that what with northwest winds and this uninvited Arctic air mass, highs will strain to get to the mid-teens today. The winds will die down over the course of the day, though, as high pressure moves in. Tonight, mostly clear, lows back down about where they were last night. Royalton/Bethel-area school superintendent to step down. Bruce Labs, who's overseen what is now the White River Valley Supervisory Union through five years of tumult and consolidation, will leave at the end of the school year. During his time, a collection of five towns grew to eight (Royalton, Bethel, Tunbridge, Chelsea, Stockbridge, Sharon, Strafford and Rochester). (VN)Has Norwich facilities working group violated open meetings law? Blogger Chris Katucki points out that the group, created by the selectboard in November to come up with $4 million in improvements to town buildings to reduce their carbon footprint, has neither given public notice of meetings nor posted meeting minutes. "At $4 million, the project is likely the largest public works project ever undertaken by the Town," Katucki writes.If you're a veteran or care about one... You might be interested in the community town hall the VA's holding this evening. The WRJ leadership will be there to answer questions and hear feedback, ideas and suggestions. The town hall starts at 5:30.Pete & Gerry's, Co-op pioneer reusable egg cartons. The Centerra-based organic-egg company is producing cartons made of recycled BPA-free plastic, which can be washed at home and reused repeatedly. They're currently being tested at the various Co-op stores: You pay $2.99 for the carton, then fill it from a display of loose eggs, which are discounted from a regular dozen. Michael Bennet to campaign in region. While the big Democratic presidential names are out in California, Colorado Sen. Bennet — who didn't make the debate stage — will be in NH starting tomorrow: the Farmer's Table in Grantham tomorrow evening, a house party in Enfield Saturday morning, Sunapee town hall Saturday at noon. Details at link."Stone cold water / pours into my boots..." You may know Kristina Stykos from "11th Hour Radio" on South Royalton's low-power WFVR. Or from her albums. Or from her Orange County solar- and wind-powered music recording studio, where over the years she's produced what VPR's Robert Resnick once called "this wonderful cast of misfit characters." Now Stykos is about to become a published poet with Ridgerunner: One hundred poems and photographs from rural Vermont. It comes out Monday.-12 wind chill? Pshaw! We got off easy. The Weather Service has a map from 1 am... It was -20 in Chelsea, -28 over in the 'dacks.NH state officials finally cough up details on voting, driving. The state agencies that oversee elections and driving laws yesterday sent out "guidance" yesterday to local poll workers. The long and short: If you register to vote here and plan to drive, you'll need to get an in-state drivers license within 60 days of registering. NHPR has the ins and outs.Slight drop in people experiencing homelessness in NH. The state's Coalition to End Homelessness issued its 2019 report yesterday, and finds that overall, the total number of homeless people and the number of students in the school system identified as homeless have declined. "Yet at the same time," they note, "we see that rents continue to increase and vacancy rates continue to decrease, factors which make finding and maintaining stable housing extraordinarily difficult for those with the lowest incomes." During one 24-hour period, 1,382 people were homeless, 74 fewer than in 2017.Here's a fun little energy mystery. Somewhere in northern Vermont, the British company Highview Power plans to build the first liquid-air energy storage plant in the US, a 50MW-plus "cryobattery." The idea, says energy news service ReCharge, is to store wind and solar power so that it can "reach customers on an overloaded part of the local grid known as the Sheffield-Highgate Export Interface, where renewable energy is often curtailed." No details on where or when.VT corrections commissioner steps down. For the last two weeks, Mike Touchette has been in the spotlight cast by Seven Days' investigation into sexual misconduct and drug use at the state's prison for women. On Monday, as the entire department came under increased scrutiny, he informed human services secretary Mike Smith that he was resigning. “He’s a human being,” Smith says. “He just felt that it was best for him and best for his department that he resign.” Meanwhile, reporter Paul Heintz writes, tips keep pouring into the paper with more allegations of abuse. Here's his roundup.VT prison furlough program actually drives up prison admissions. A new report from the Council of State Governments says that the program's strict conditions lead to high re-incarceration rates, mostly for technical violations like using alcohol or disregarding curfew. The result is that a program designed to reduce the prison population doesn't. "Certainly the churn of people in and out and in and out seems unproductive,” CSG's Ellen Whelan-Wuest told state officials. “I was gonna send out a press release, but you gotta do it online now, and I can’t get the googles to work." That's 35-year Burlington PD veteran Carl Mudgeon, the city's new police chief, who didn't really want the job but is the only person on the force who doesn't use social media. "S’far’s I can tell," he says of computers, "they spy on you, make you angry, and get you fired." Or, well, so reports The Winooski, anyway.
If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:
THINGS ARE QUIETING DOWN OUT THERE, BUT THERE'S STILL STUFF TO DO...
As co-founder Fred Haas writes, "Bring your instrument (or voice) and share your talents with other members of the Interplay family. It’s alway a fun hang. And remember, we love an audience, so come and listen and talk with the musicians." Starts at 6:30 and they wouldn't mind if you signed up (at the link) just so they know what to expect.
Want to avoid this? The Norwich Public Library is hosting "Conversational intelligence for the holidays," a seminar on how to unstopper your conversational skills and connect with anyone. Even Uncle Dave at his grumpiest. Led by certified Conversational Intelligence consultant Deb Shannon. Runs from 6-7:30.
Think of a bunch of words, all lettered attractively and then melded together to form a sort of puzzle of letters and words... oh, heck, just click on the link to see it. Colleen Wilcox of Wander On Words, a small hand-lettering business in Pittsfield, VT, will show you how to do it. You need to sign up, though (also at the link). 6-8 pm at the Arnold Block.
And don't forget that the Upper Valley remains a bastion of live theater!
There are still tix for
at Northern Stage (thru 1/5) and for Alan Ayckbourn's
at Shaker Bridge (thru Sunday).
Stay warm out there! See you tomorrow.
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