GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly cloudy, cooler, rain tonight. There's cooler air coming in today, with a chance of a shower in the far southern parts of the Upper Valley. Otherwise, we'll see more clouds than sky, temps today getting into the low 60s. Sometime this evening, rain moving up from the south will reach us, with a chance around dinnertime and then a cinch after midnight. Lows in the mid 40s.Birds in houses. Fortunately, not our houses, but theirs.
The first is a kestrel box set up by VINS on private property in Strafford—with a nest camera installed. "We recently got video of the first egg," writes VINS's lead biologist, Jim Armbruster. "We expect the females to continue laying one egg every other day up to five." You can learn more about the project here.
And in Enfield, Jean Patten got a photo of what appears to be a tufted titmouse peering out of its new residence in their birdhouse.
It's time for Dear Daybreak! This week's collection of stories and reflections from around the Upper Valley starts with Charlie Buttrey's inspiring tale of a high-stakes development for Thetford Academy's track team at a Boston meet where they faced the country's high school racing elite; poet Danny Dover on the quantum nature of playground play; and Jim Alberghini calling attention to (and sometimes playing hooky for) the abundance of greens wherever you look that makes this fleeting moment of spring so breathtakingly magical. If you've got an anecdote or a memory or a reflection to share, please do send it in!“Bethel will not stand by and tolerate crime and drugs in our community." That was the town's selectboard in a Facebook post on Tuesday after a joint federal, state, and local raid Monday yielded 11 arrests on drug charges. As John Lippman writes in the Valley News, it follows a similar January raid in E. Bethel—which netted some of the same people arrested this week. Lippman spoke to several people arrested in the case, one of whom tells him that police smashed windows and used “flash grenades” and “tear gas” to gain entry. “The front door was wide open,” he says. “They could have just walked in.”"We can plow for 110 hours one week and then not work for three weeks." A few months ago for her podcast class, Dartmouth senior Kelby Greene joined up with "plow guy" Scott MacDonald at 3 one morning by Alice Peck Day during a major snowstorm. MacDonald has been plowing for decades, and over the thump of his plow hitting the parking lot pavement, they talked: about road salt, getting up in the night to check the forecast, how he and the other local plow guys look out for each other, the challenges as big property management companies outbid independents like him for contracts... Give it a listen!SPONSORED: You’re invited to the Howe's Spring Soirée! Join us at the Howe Library on Saturday, May 17th at 6:30 pm for the library’s signature fundraising event. You’ll enjoy live music, catered hors d’oeuvres, complimentary drinks, and the company of friends and neighbors. There will be book-based raffle prizes, exciting silent auction items, and an opportunity to make a gift to support the library’s collections and programs. Childcare will be available for children aged 4-12. Event, raffle, and childcare tickets here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by the Howe Library Corporation.In Grafton County, sheriff defends agreement with ICE. Jill Myers, a Democrat, signed on in March to the federal program that trains local and state law enforcement on ICE procedures. The move has aroused opposition, including on the county board; some 600 people have signed a petition calling on her to back out, reports Emma Roth-Wells in the Valley News. Myers says her goal is to have a deputy trained so that if her department encounters an undocumented immigrant, "we’ll have a resource...on what needs to be done and where they need to go." Roth-Wells checks in with both sides.Fox kits, Dutchmen’s breeches, and Kermit-colored signs of spring. This week in the woods, writes Northern Woodlands' Jack Saul, “we’re trying to hold onto some sweet spring things before they grow up, move past bloom time, or lose their tenderness.” Among them: fox kits, who, at just a month or so old, are coming out of their dens and greeting the woodland world. Underfoot, early-blooming, pink-petalled Carolina spring beauty wildflowers help the woods retain essential elements. And “towering brown fertile fronds” of last year’s ostrich ferns are giving way to new fiddleheads: “a perfect example of a fractal.”SPONSORED: Maytag Virgin at Shaker Bridge Theatre. Two new neighbors put their hearts and laundry on the line and wonder if good clotheslines make good neighbors. School teacher Lizzy Nash and her new neighbor Jack Key find themselves living next door to each other dealing with the everyday struggles of loss and life. Kept secrets shake loose as they find themselves wondering if they are ready to live and love again. Join us for laughter, love, and laundry in Audrey Cefaly’s charming comedy. May 8 - 25. Tickets available here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by Shaker Bridge Theatre.Newport, NH police asking for witnesses to dump truck accident that killed pedestrian. It happened a bit after noon yesterday at the intersection of Central Street and Sunapee Street, and details remain scarce. "The Newport Fire Department transported the pedestrian to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries," the town's police write on Facebook. They're withholding the victim's identity pending notification of next of kin, and ask witnesses or anyone with information to contact Detective Sergeant Alexander Marvin at [email protected].NH Senate between House and governor on revenue projections. One of the dramas engulfing Concord so far this year has been dueling sentiment on how much money the state will bring in, which directly affects the state budget. As Ethan DeWitt writes in NH Bulletin, Gov. Kelly Ayotte "presented an optimistic portrait" in January; the House responded with a budget that undercut her spending proposals by $643 million. Now, reports DeWitt, the Senate's fiscal committee has come in with projections about $172.1 million lower than Ayotte’s budget. Some senators argue even that is too optimistic.In NH House, voting your conscience "can come with political consequences." In the Concord Monitor, Charlotte Matherly talks to one Democrat—Peterborough Rep. Jonah Wheeler—who has bucked his party on several pieces of legislation, and to a variety of Republicans who've done the same. Wheeler was reassigned to a new committee and several Republicans have been removed from committees—including, this week, the chair of the Children and Family Law Committee. "State representatives said both parties broadly have a habit of stifling questions and discussion," Matherly writes.In VT, a "crumbling" health care system. Two articles highlight the dire situation the state now finds itself in.
In Seven Days, Colin Flanders starts with last year's much-maligned report that called for major changes to how hospitals operate lest they go bankrupt in a few years. Now, he writes, "it's possible that the only substantial error was the report's overly generous timeline." Rural hospitals are losing vast sums of money, while Blue Cross Blue Shield staggers under the weight of claims. "What we want and what we can pay for are not in alignment," says a member of the Green Mountain Care Board. Flanders dives into the various courses health care leaders are considering in hopes of keeping the system from imploding.
And in VTDigger, Peter D'Auria delves deeper into the issues besetting BCBS, which covers a third of the state's population and "is facing a financial crisis with little recent precedent." As the chair of the Care Board told legislators last month, “If Blue Cross cannot pay the claims, the system fails." Facing a surge in both patients and the price of care, the insurer has lost $152 million since 2021—$62 million of it last year alone. D'Auria looks at BCBS's proposed rate increases and steps lawmakers are considering for health insurers in crisis.
And speaking of health issues, ever heard of blastomycosis? It's a rare (but treatable) fungal infection, and though it's not new to Vermont, the state has recently begun tracking it because it may be seeing rising case numbers, with Lamoille, Orleans, and Washington counties accounting for nearly half of patients. The illness is caused by a fungus that's "found in moist soil near waterways and in decaying organic matter," writes Rachel Hellman in Seven Days, and some health experts wonder whether mucking out basements and spending time around wet soil after flooding may be increasing exposure.Talk about a terrain park! Each year around this time, VT photographer and die-hard skier Brooks Curran puts together a POV video of true spring skiing conditions. Thankfully, he brought his log skies.The Thursday Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak.
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Daybreak tote bags! Thanks to a helpful reader's suggestion. Plus, of course, the usual: sweatshirts, head-warming beanies, t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
Aimee Guidera will sit down with Jay Badams, superintendent of the Hanover and Norwich schools, to talk about the similarities and differences in education policies pursued by Democratic- and Republican-led states, as well as about federal support and its policy impact on public education. 5 pm in Filene Auditorium as well as livestreamed.
It's a discussion with Jose W. Fernandez, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment in the Biden-Harris Administration, alongside Dickey Center fellow and former ambassador Erica Barks Ruggles and Tuck School international economic policy prof Emily Blanchard. 5 pm in the Georgiopoulos Classroom in Raether Hall.
This is a free event with the drum-driven Ugandan folk-pop group. "Their pulsing and interactive performances keep audiences on their feet," LOH writes. 6:30 pm.
This award-winning full-length Teen Edition of Anaïs Mitchell's haunting, jazz-inflected folk opera follows Orpheus’ mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain the favor of his one true love, Eurydice—with some serious obstacles in the way. Directed and choreographed by Emma Rose Brooks. Tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday at 7 pm, Sunday at 3 pm.
At the Norwich Bookstore, cartoonist Harry Bliss reads from and talks about his new book, You Can Never Die.
Bliss's book is both a graphic memoir of his life and his cartooning, and a set of reflections on his life with his dog, Penny. 7 pm.
Playwright Audrey Cefaly's two-person play features Alabama neighbors who've each lost their spouses and, over time, slowly unfold as they consider grief and romance—and a washing machine. 7:00 this evening, with Thursday-Sunday performances through May 25.
It's a night of the legendary big band's greatest hits, from “In The Mood”, and “Chattanooga Choo Choo” to “Pennsylvania 6-5000” and "Tuxedo Junction”, fronted by vocalist Jenny Swoish and the Moonlight Serenaders. 7 pm.
There's a look at the techniques taught in JAM’s Short-Format Cinematography Class; a 2005 interview interview with Tip Top Building owner Matt Bucy and Richard Holmquist for
What's Up In The Tip Top?;
a Dismas House Free Speaker talk by Will Eberle, the former director of Recovery Vermont on addiction, recovery, and more.
Today? We'll go to Africa.
See you tomorrow.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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