Daybreak Thursday 3/26/20

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Ahhhh.... It'll be mostly sunny this morning, with clouds starting to work in over the afternoon. And temps will be getting into the mid and upper 40s. There's a weak front tiptoeing past to our north late today, but it's unlikely to have much impact here, other than increasing clouds and some possible rain (and maybe even snow) overnight. Winds from the south, lows tonight in the 30s. Tunbridge goes big. And it's an impressive sight. "Tunbridge Sends Love & thanks to All Essential Workers" reads the sign draped across the church in town. You could go see it... or you could just check out Michael Sacca's pic. (Thanks, KJ!)The count:

NH expects cases to peak in late April or early May.

That's what Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette told an Executive Council (video) meeting yesterday. "We’ll know and have more accurate numbers in the coming week or two on how much and when we expect that peak to be,” she added. “We’re watching numbers every day for that.”

If you were struck by that Vermont number, yes, that's "exponential growth." State health commissioner Mark Levine warned at a news conference yesterday that the state may see a curve similar to that in the hardest-hit countries if it can't slow the spread. And, human services secretary Mike Smith said, it will likely need to double its hospital beds, ventilators, and other equipment. Gov. Phil Scott is stopping all Amtrak service to the state as of today. "I need you to stay home. Doing so will save lives. It's just that simple," he said. Seven Days' Colin Flanders has full details.VT is up with a form to connect essential workers with emergency childcare. The form's at the link. Here's the list of work that qualifies.And also a form to help determine if your business is "essential." The Agency of Commerce and Community Development has been inundated by business owners wondering whether or not they can stay open. They've got a form to submit info on their website, and promise to get back to everyone who checks in.Some UV businesses that could get an exemption are closing anyway. Including Farm-Way, the VN's John Lippman reports. Others are pushing to get an exemption. And still others, adapting to doing business online. Strafford Saddlery in Quechee has gone to Facebook Live, and is planning to make its livestream a regular Tuesday/Thursday event.And in case you were wondering, no, the VT State Police will not be out setting up checkpoints or roadblocks to enforce "Stay Home." In a press release late yesterday, the state Department of Public Safety encouraged law enforcement officers to keep an eye out for violations, and then speak to the group or business. "We believe that education and voluntary compliance is the key as Vermonters unite during this difficult time," says commissioner Michael Schirling.The Upper Valley Land Trust is out with a list of its top recommendations for hiking on its lands in the area. These are "places people can go that aren't far from their house and aren't 'back country' or particularly dangerous," program director Alison Marchione writes. Some are well known, some are rarely used. And they're all over, from the Lone Oak Trail in Bath to the Zebedee Wetland in Thetford to Thurber Memorial Forest in Unity. Just remember: Give people space.And some Mascoma Valley residents are launching a drive-by egg hunt. It lasts from now until April 12, and as the VN's Liz Sauchelli writes, it's "somewhere between a traditional Easter morning and a road-trip 'I Spy’ game." You set an egg display out in your front yard, take a pic, and upload to the event FB page. Organizers are hoping people from all over the Upper Valley take part. “The opposite of this fear people feel right now...is the connection piece. And the connection piece is what people need,” says Enfield's Kate Plumley Stewart.Lots of places are closing, but here's one that wants to make sure you know they're not. Planned Parenthood is putting out the word that their doors are still open — including at their clinics in WRJ and Claremont — and they're "committed to meeting all the needs of their patients during this uncertain time." They've been making changes to how they operate, though, to keep everyone safe. More at the link. Meanwhile, DHMC is shifting as many outpatient visits as possible to "virtual visits." "In many cases," they write, "patients can receive this virtual care in a non-clinical location, like their home or work." The telehealth page, with links to instructions, at the link.“We’re going to have to do a fashion show with everybody's social distancing handmade wardrobe once this is over.” That's Scratch's Karen Zook, commenting on all the sweaters people are knitting at home. NHPR's Daniela Allee checked in to see how the knitting and crocheting hangout and its customers are doing now that people can only hang out virtually. Which they did last week. “It was fantastic," says Zook. "Cats running over people’s shoulders and dogs popping their faces on the screen.” And you must check out the sweater Courtney McLelland's knitting for her pitbull mix, Petunia.Concord Coach to suspend bus service starting Saturday, including Dartmouth Coach. The move comes after a former passenger tested positive for the coronavirus.  When life hands you lemons, make hand sanitizer. That, at least, is what Fabrizia Spirits in Salem, NH, is doing. They normally make limoncello, the liqueur, but sales have dried up. So, reports NHPR, owner Phil Mastroianni has repurposed the lemons in his warehouse. Which, he says, are giving the hand sanitizer "a really nice lemon fragrance.” Other NH businesses are switching from hiking apparel to face masks or stepping up production of vital medical equipment.The most unpopular member of the VT House yesterday? Hands down it was Cynthia Browning. A handful of lawmakers were on their way to a rules change on shifting to remote voting when Browning, an Arlington Democrat, insisted on a quorum — meaning 76 House members would have to come to the chamber. "Once you start cutting corners, there’s no end to what corners you’re going to cut," she said. Legislators had no choice but to grit their teeth, but the state party chair let loose. “The Vermont Democratic Party unequivocally condemns this misguided and dangerous action during this emergency,” he said. The change passed late in the day.Oh, and while they were there, House members passed some legislation. They approved provisions on unemployment eligibility, made it possible for state and local elections to go forward later this year, and modified the state’s open meeting laws so local government can function remotely.Experienced milkers are stepping forward. Last week, NOFA-VT, the organic farmers' org, put out a call for people with milking experience to sign up in case dairy farmers need help or get sick. Within a day, the organization had collected 80 names.“The responses have come from every county in Vermont,” says Bill Cavanaugh, who's maintaining the database. “I’ve been totally blown away by the number of people who are willing to help.”Vignettes of people getting by. Seven Days scrambled its reporters and editors to all corners of... well, northwestern Vermont, anyway... From a vet clinic in Hinesberg to a market in Waitsfield to an eldercare home in St. Albans and a lot more, the paper's talented writers chronicle how Vermonters are adapting to these changed times. Which is pretty much summed up by a taco joint owner in Burlington. "Even in the uncertainty, we can still be ourselves." 

Homeless shelters scramble to adapt to need, social distancing. Some people without a roof over their heads are choosing to stay that way: “It almost seems like we’d be safer on the street than in a shelter, because then you’re in a room with 20 to 40 people,” one tells VPR. And shelter directors are trying to adjust. Good Samaritan in Barre moved its clients to an abandoned motel. The state is repurposing a vacant dorm at Lyndon Institute, and plans more. But the financial toll is huge. "I have no idea where the money is going to come from, and I’m just spending what I need to spend,” says Good Samaritan's director.But hey: Maple sugarers are seeing banner sales. "We are struggling to keep up with orders,” Bruce Bascom of Alstead, NH's Bascom Maple Farms tells The Maple News. "Maple syrup is a comfort food so if they have to eat at home it is logical that more pancakes and waffles with maple syrup is just what the doctor ordered.” Boilers are working hard — sugar content throughout maple country is low this year, which means more sap needs to be boiled for a gallon of syrup. 

Oh yeah, they're definitely out. Cam Cross, in Norwich, got this video of a bear cub the other night (a yearling, he thinks), exploring. "This guy already took our bird feeders once, before we started bringing them into the mud room. I think he’s probably figured out where they are," he writes.Good to know some things don't change: Lyndon covered bridge damaged by truck. Even worse, it's the same bridge that was hit by a produce truck last spring and closed for months. This time, it was a tractor-trailer from Quebec. The driver was fined $12,295, and the bridge reopened later in the day, though it will need more work.Walmart Was Almost Charged Criminally Over Opioids. Trump Appointees Killed the Indictment. That's the headline on a ProPublica exposé that went up yesterday, co-authored by local investigative journalist James Bandler. Bandler and Jesse Eisinger, who shared a Pulitzer in 2011, detail the fruitless efforts by a team of prosecutors in Texas to hold the giant chain accountable for focusing on "driving sales" rather than heeding the concerns of its pharmacists, who believed they were selling to the patients of doctors running "pill mills."Orthopedists are the most-ticketed drivers. Followed by psychiatrists. No, no, this is serious. It's in Scientific American, which in turn is citing a study in the December BMJ (you used to know it as the British Medical Journal) of speeding tickets to 5400 doctors in Florida. "When it comes to getting caught driving more than 20 miles an hour over the limit," the article notes, psychiatrists took first place, followed by general surgeons. Oh, and most expensive cars ticketed? Cardiologists.News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:

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Thoughts and comment

Dave Celone at West Central Behavioral Health writes: "So many people are working from home for the first time and we’re concerned for their mental health. It’s too easy to work longer and harder, not take breaks, and then have issues of anxiety crop up. It’s important to take breaks, get outside at least once a day, pull away from your computer, develop a schedule and stick to it." 

Let's go out with some music that's both diverting and right of-the-moment. Zach Timson is an actor and singer in LA, and he's put together

(

Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Les Miz...)

that he's, um, re-purposed.

(Thanks, RW!)

See you tomorrow.

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

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