Daybreak Thursday, 6/18/26

Showers, maybe a thunderstorm. A storm system passing north of the border will bring widespread rain to the region, with some possibility of strong thunderstorms later in the day. Winds above 1500 feet or so may exceed 50 mph, and some of that speed will be carried to the surface, producing a gusty afternoon (into the 35 mph range) with isolated power outages possible as branches come down. Highs today in the mid 70s, lows mid 50s as skies mostly clear out tonight.

Barred owls branch out. Photographer Marc Beerman sends along a gallery of owlets in central NH. “Barred owl owlets spend their first weeks in a nest cavity, being fed by the parents,” he writes. “By about 4-5 weeks old, they begin the stage known as branching—climbing out of the nest and exploring nearby limbs using their talons and beaks. Branching is a critical step. Owlets practice balance, strengthen their wings, long before they can truly fly.”

Lucky’s Coffee Garage to leave the garage. It’s been in the works—but under wraps—ever since owner Deb Shinnlinger balked at a massive rent increase for her café’s corner spot in downtown Leb. Now, in a blog post, Shinnlinger’s announced that Lucky’s will move this summer… just down the block, to One Court Street, where it’ll be neighbors with Three Tomatoes. “Thinking about leaving the garage felt a little jarring at first,” the post runs, “but after lots of talking about it, we came to the conclusion that the physical building is NOT what makes Lucky's special. It's all of you, and our amazing crew, and the ways that we work and socialize in this space together.” (Thanks, JC!)

Two people found dead in burned Chelsea house. In a press release yesterday, the VT State Police said yesterday’s early-morning fire was reported at about 3:15 am at a home on North Common: “Members of multiple fire departments including Chelsea and Tunbridge responded and extinguished the blaze after approximately 3.5 hours. The building is a total loss. During a subsequent search of the structure, investigators located the remains of two people.” Their bodies were taken to Burlington for autopsies. The state police and the state’s Fire and Explosion Unit are investigating.

SPONSORED: Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital is a proud sponsor of Stronger Minds, Stronger Upper Valley on Thursday, June 25 at DHMC. This free community event features the PBS film Think Strong, Age Strong; a panel discussion with local experts on brain health, healthy aging, caregiving, and dementia; and resources from community organizations throughout the region. The event also kicks off the 2026 Upper Valley Walk to End Alzheimer's and recognizes Alzheimer's & Brain Awareness Month. It runs from 3:30 pm to 5 pm in Auditorium H. Pre-registration is encouraged at the burgundy link. Sponsored by Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital.

A new gallery opens in Hanover with “overwhelming support” from the arts community. Fortunately for Kyle Timothy Blood, who had just one month to prep his gallery for opening, that support included a friend with a table saw and a floor cleaner. In Artful, Susan Apel visits Kyle Timothy Fine Art, slated to open today on South Main, in the spot where the Hood Downtown was located for a few years. Blood, a Dartmouth grad, has been living—and running a gallery—on Prince Edward Island, but wanted more sense of community. He hopes his new gallery will be a place where people “come in for a visual antidote to what may be the troubles of the day.”

Whaleback gets good news from the Northern Border Regional Commission. Seems unlikely, right? Until you remember that the NBRC doles out federal grant money, including, in its newest round, nearly $138K to replace the lift cable for Whaleback’s chairlift to the top of the mountain. Also in this round: $1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central NH in Claremont for a new childcare facility. Whaleback’s chairlift has needed a good bit of work: first a new gearbox, now the cable. But as Unofficial Networks points out, the new grant gets it much closer to the $350K the Upper Valley Snowsports Foundation says it needs to reopen the mountain this winter.

SPONSORED: Is your home ready for what's next? Solaflect can get it there. The next generation of buyers expects solar, battery backup, EV charging, heat pumps, and induction cooking—and most Upper Valley homes aren't wired for any of it. Solaflect Energy's electrical team integrates all of these into existing homes, upgrading your comfort, resilience, and resale value in a single project. Future-proof your home. Call (802) 649-3700 or visit solaflect.com. Sponsored by Solaflect.

Eastman Pond death ruled a suicide. In a terse press release, reports the Valley News’s Sofia Langois, Grantham police announced that the body found at the pond last Friday belonged to an adult male who’d died by suicide, but no other details, including identity or manner of death, were made public. Officials initially characterized the death as “suspicious” because the man’s body had been found in an overturned canoe: “No matter how you shake it, this is not normal,” Grantham Chief John Parsons tells Langlois. After autopsy results came in Tuesday night, police got in touch with the family and closed the case. In crisis? Text 988.

Three small airlines in the running to serve Leb Airport. The airport is part of a federal program that subsidizes airlines connecting rural communities to larger hubs, and the contract with Cape Air is up for renewal. At the link, the city lays out the options, with a chance for residents to weigh in before the city council takes up the issue July 1. Cape Air has again submitted a bid, for 28 weekly round trips to Logan and 14 to White Plains; SF-based Boutique Air is offering either an identical package or one with fewer flights to Logan; and TN-based Contour Airlines is offering five different options with fewer flights but more airports. You can check out all the details at the link.

SPONSORED: July 4th Firecracker 5K Fun Run/Walk in Woodstock. It’s the inaugural Ottauquechee River Trail (ORT) Firecracker 5K on Saturday, July 4th. Part of Woodstock’s 250th Celebration, the Firecracker 5K will raise funds to support the ongoing maintenance of the ORT. The event is family-friendly, easy to walk or run, and surrounded by lots of great nature. This is a "fun run" and will be untimed. Please note that dogs are not allowed to participate in the run. Limited to the first 250 participants, so sign up here today! Sponsored by the Ottauquechee River Trail.

VT joins multi-state effort to bring down prescription drug prices. With Gov. Phil Scott’s signature on a bill passed this session—based on a proposal from state Treasurer Mike Pieciak—the state will join Arizona, Connecticut, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the ArrayRX program, which began in Oregon. According to Pieciak, reports VT Public’s Lola Duffort, it “works by leveraging states’ collective purchasing power to negotiate discounts for their residents. Users typically enjoy discounts of up to 80% on generic drugs, and 20% on name-brand drugs.” Any Vermonter will be able to sign up once the program’s rolled out, by or before next January.

Meanwhile, Scott vetoes targeted start to reining in hospital costs. As Duffort explains, VT has the most expensive health-insurance exchange plans in the country, and school employees’ health insurance is a key driver of rising property taxes. So legislators calculated that fast-tracking the creation of “reference-based pricing”—which caps what hospitals can charge for procedures—for those two groups would make sense, and passed a bill to that effect. In his Tuesday veto message, though, Scott wrote, “Vermont will not solve its affordability crisis by directing savings to some payers while excluding others.” He prefers a deregulatory approach.

At least they didn’t try to go down the up escalator. Norwegian World Cup fans in Boston, with a memorable way to get from one floor to the next.

The Thursday Crossword. It’s the “midi” from Laura Braunstein!

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak.

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HEADS UP
King Arthur Baking’s summertime Dinner & Music Series with Route 5 Jive. The swing string band of Jakob Breitbach, Chris Billiau, and Kit Creeger on the KA patio for Burger Night. 4:30 to 7 pm.

At AVA Gallery, an opening reception for "World Repair: Recent Paintings by John Stomberg.” The outgoing Hood Museum director is also a painter, and, writes AVA, “Obsessed with the question ‘Can we fix the world?’, he has now channeled years of artistic inquiry into paintings that explore the ancient Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or world repair, through a vivid visual language of sweeping gold lines, expressive geometry, and radiant color.” 5-7 pm.

Family Night with Ida Mae Specker at Feast & Field in Barnard. The fiddler, vocalist, songwriter, and radio host from southern VT blends original compositions with contemporary and traditional American folk music. She recently began a collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and others (they’ll be at Tanglewood in August). She and her band will start off with a set for children, then a full band concert. At Fable Farm. Gates and food at 5:30, music starts up at 6.

The Lake Morey Summer Concert Series kicks off this evening with the Adam Ezra Group. The Boston-area “rogue, underground, folk attack unit” takes the stage 24 hours before the release of their newest album, Revelate, so you may get the chance to hear unreleased songs from the album during the show, as well as guest pianist Jeff Kazee, a longtime member of the Asbury Jukes and collaborator with Jon Bon Jovi. The concert series is free to attend and runs weekly throughout the summer on the resort’s golf course, with plenty of food trucks to keep you fed. Gates at 6, music at 8.

Story JAM storytelling circle at JAM. This month’s theme is “Lost and Found.” As they write, “An informal and inclusive storytelling circle where you are invited to share an unrehearsed 5-minute true story from your own life. No competition, no judgment, no lecturing… Just share a story about something that happened to you and listen to other people’s stories. If you don't have a story, just come and listen.” 6 pm.

Danny Abel and Friends at Sawtooth Kitchen. The New Orleans-based jazz, funk, and blues guitarist (Tank & the Bangas, Gravity A, and other bands), who grew up in these parts, returns to Sawtooth with David Newsam (former guitar teacher at Dartmouth), bassist Nate Edgar, and drummer Gabe Jarrett (Keith’s son). It’s a rare opportunity, and there’ll be a crowd. 7 pm.

At the Norwich Bookstore, Rowan Jacobsen and In Defense of Sunlight. The Calais, VT nature and food writer’s latest book rows hard against the mainstream of health-care advice and its “zero-sun” goal and explores “the many health benefits of the sun, and what we risk when we minimize our exposure”—making a case for “the importance of modest sun exposure for our health and well-being.” 7 pm.

The Royalton Town Band kicks off its summer concerts on the South Royalton Green. They’ll be weekly on Thursdays from 7 to 8 pm, through Aug. 6: traditional marches, Broadway musicals, jazz, Dixieland, tangos, novelty tunes and more. Check their site at the link for cancellations in case of bad weather.

Okay, this is just a lark, but Banana Ball is making its first foray into New Hampshire tonight, when the Firefighters (“The Hottest Team in Sports”) and the Loco Beach Coconuts face off at the Fisher Cats’ home stadium in Manchester at 7 pm for the first in a three-game stand. Unless you happened to score tix in the lottery a couple of months ago (which sold out in about 8 hours), you can watch the livestream on the Coconuts’ YouTube channel here. Manchester’s hoping to become a regular on the Banana Ball circuit.

And for today...

The Adam Ezra Group (tonight at the Lake Morey Resort) hasn’t released everything off their new album, due out tomorrow, but they have released the title track, “Revelate.”

See you tomorrow.

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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt      Poetry editor: Michael Lipson    Associate Editors: Jonea Gurwitt, Sam Gurwitt