GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Partly to mostly cloudy, slight chance of showers. It remains unsettled up above, with mostly cloudy skies all day, a smidgen of a possibility of rain this morning, and a chance this afternoon. Even so, we may get to see some sun up there, especially late morning and early afternoon. Temps today in the mid-70s as warmer air moves in from the south, mid-50s again tonight.It's Botany Day! In between yesterday's loons and owl and tomorrow's charismatic mega-fauna from Erin Donahue and Ted Levin, it's time to stop and admire the flowers...
Like these lady's slippers at Eshqua Bog in Hartland, from Sonja Hakala;
And these peonies in Thetford, from Robin Osborne;
And this bearded iris in W. Fairlee, by John Pietkiewicz;
And, for a change of pace, these sundews—"our local, and very small, insectivorous plant," writes Sally Duston—in a wet spot on a trail at the Dartmouth Skiway.
Small plane crashes in Connecticut River near Charlestown; pilot swims to safety. The plane took off from Hartness State Airport in Springfield VT yesterday morning, and the pilot later reported mechanical trouble to a Charlestown police officer; a bystander called 911 after the plane hit high-tension wires over the river between Springfield and Charlestown, reports the Keene Sentinel's Ryan Spencer. The man was able to swim to where police officers had thrown a rope, and was pulled to shore; the plane itself is at the bottom of the river. The FAA and NTSB are investigating.Treasure Island trails plan ignites debate. You may remember Li Shen's post a few weeks back about plans to create trails north of the rec area on Lake Fairlee. On Monday, reports Frances Mize in the Valley News, a Thetford Selectboard meeting brought out both opponents and backers of the idea, who debated cleaning up and then preserving the shoreline habitat versus cleaning it up and making it accessible. “Not everyone has lakefront access,” said Doug Tifft, a member of the committee considering the plans. “Part of our charge is to encourage public access for those people who don’t have that.”SPONSORED: Niles was injured while skateboarding in Lebanon. Hear about his Emergency Room experience at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in this short video. The same emergency physicians who provide care at APD also provide care at DHMC. Experience short wait times and friendly staff. We don’t want you to become sick or injured, but we are always here for you when you do. Sponsored by APD.“We’re the real deal. We have so much talent right here." That's Joni Cole, who among other things is program director for Bookstock, which spreads out with actual, go-see-for-yourself events in Woodstock starting on Friday after two years of Zoom. As Nicola Smith writes in the VN, it will feature presentations from about 60 authors, many from VT and NH but many not (more about all that in Heads Up on Friday), plus its extravagant secondhand book sale, exhibition tents, live music, and lots of people. "I wanted it to be a real festival you go to," says Cole. "We're a bit Zoomed out."In Windsor County, a contested primary in "an often overlooked political race." Republican Michael Chamberlain has been Windsor County sheriff since 1978. Now, reports Ethan Weinstein in VTDigger, for the first time in over a decade two Democrats are vying to challenge him: sheriff's deputy Thomas Battista and Ryan Palmer, a Ludlow police officer who chairs Windsor's selectboard. Palmer is making an issue of the "policing for profit" model by which towns contract with the sheriff's dept, especially for traffic enforcement; Battista, for his part, wants to create a civilian review board for the department."We'll have to make the best of it." That's Patricia Little, the city clerk in Keene, expressing reservations about the impact of NH's new affidavit-ballot law on elections officials' ability to get votes counted quickly. The measure, signed Friday by Gov. Chris Sununu, requires election officials to give affidavit ballots to people who register to vote on election day without proper ID—a step backers say will protect against fraudulent ballot-casting by voters new to the state. Among the court challenges, the ACLU filed suit Tuesday arguing it would violate voters' privacy by tying their names to their ballots.Sununu proposes using part of surplus state funds to ease electricity costs for consumers. The office of NH's consumer advocate estimates that utility bills will likely rise by about 50 percent, based on recent rate requests filed with the Public Utilities Commission, reports the AP's Holly Ramer. At a press conference yesterday, the governor said he'd like to use $60 million in state funds to give ratepayers a $100 credit, and another $7 million to boost the state’s electric assistance program for low-income residents. The idea needs approval from the legislature, which doesn't reconvene until September.A first for NH: One of its plants goes extinct. The state's Natural Heritage Bureau has announced that smooth slender crabgrass, a plant that existed only at Rock Rimmon Park in Manchester, has been declared globally extinct. In its press release (via Granite Geek), the bureau says this is the first documented plant extinction in the Granite State and just the fifth in New England since European settlement. Specimens of the grass—native to NH and not like the crabgrass in your (well, my) lawn—were first collected in 1901.What makes Mt. Washington so dangerous? It's claimed over 160 lives since the first recorded death in 1849 (an Englishman who got lost on his way down). In the wake of the hypothermia death of a Massachusetts man over the weekend, Julia Clarke takes a look in Advnture (a UK-based outdoor gear site) at why. There's the brutally changeable weather, of course (regular hurricane-force winds, lots of snow, rain, freezing rain, and freezing fog). There's the unforgiving terrain: an elevation gain of 1,000 feet a mile, depending on where you start. And, too often, hikers head up unprepared.VT has a new attorney general. In the wake of TJ Donovan's resignation to move to the private sector, Gov. Phil Scott yesterday appointed Susanne Young to fill the remaining six months of Donovan's term. A longtime civil servant, Young served as assistant AG under Democrat Bill Sorrell, then as Scott's secretary of administration. She retired from that post last fall. “Susanne is the embodiment of public service," Scott said in his announcement, "and it is especially meaningful that she will be the first woman to serve as Vermont’s top law enforcement officer.”School safety back on the agenda in VT after rise in threats of violence. In all, reports Alison Novak in Seven Days, 83 school-related threats were reported during the past academic year, up from 55 in 2018-19 (the last year not affected by the pandemic). Novak looks in particular at three cases: a student who threatened to "shoot up" Montpelier High School, an Orleans County high school student charged with domestic terrorism for multiple threats to specific students and Lake Region High School, and a Canaan VT man who threatened to kill transgender students at his student's school.Keeping track of three key VT primaries. The marquee races are at the federal level, but the contests for lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are intriguing and closely fought. In Seven Days, Kevin McCallum, Colin Flanders, and Anne Wallace Allen look at the Democratic and Republican candidates in all three races, the well-known and not-so-well-known alike. They go well beyond the talking points, looking at backgrounds, attitudes, political-class chitchat, and more. If you vote in VT you're going to face a long primary ballot come Aug. 9, so it can't hurt to get acquainted now.A clear night. A moon close to full. The mist of a waterfall. Sounds like the conditions you need to get inside a mountain in Middle Earth, but actually it's what you need to see a moonbow—a rainbow created by moonlight. Photographer Brian Hawkins has pretty much perfected the art of capturing them, mostly at Yosemite National Park. And while his still photos are lovely, the short film he's just put out—he's been working on it since 2016—is mesmerizing. Definitely hit the "...more" button to expand his description of what he did and how he did it.The Thursday Vordle. Never done it? It's not too late to start!
And the trends...
On Tuesday, Dartmouth reported there had been 59 active cases during the previous 7 days, down a bunch from the 146 reported two weeks ago. Of course, it helps that many students had left campus. There were 7 undergrad cases, 14 grad/professional cases down to 30, and 38 faculty/staff (-35 from two weeks ago).
NH cases continue to fall, with a 7-day average now of 221 new cases per day versus 335 two weeks ago. There were 17 deaths reported over the past two weeks; the total stands at 2,572. Under the state's rubric of counting only people actively being treated for Covid in hospitals, it reports 23 hospitalizations (-4 from two weeks ago). The NH State Hospital Association reports 105 inpatients with confirmed or suspected cases (+7) and another 73 Covid-recovering patients. The state is no longer reporting active cases. Instead, it's switched to positive cases in the last 14 days: 251 in Grafton County, 99 in Sullivan, and 304 in Merrimack. Same with town-by-town numbers: 48 in Hanover, 42 in Claremont, 32 in Lebanon, 17 in Haverhill, 16 in New London, 12 in Enfield, 10 in Lyme, 10 in Rumney, 9 in Newport, 9 in Canaan, 9 in Sunapee, 7 in Charlestown, 6 in Grantham, 5 in Newbury, 5 in Plainfield, and 1-4 in Piermont, Warren, Orford, Wentworth, Orange, Grafton, Springfield, Cornish, Croydon, and Unity.
Vermont rates community transmission levels as low, with its weekly surveillance report yesterday reporting 785 new cases over the week between June 12 and June 18, vs. 968 two weeks ago. The moving average is now 86 cases a day, the lowest seven-day average since the start of the Delta surge last year, writes Erin Petenko in her VTDigger wrapup—though it's worth remembering that at-home antigen testing isn't included in the state totals. And that numbers will get even tougher to measure with the closure this weekend of the state's testing sites. The state also reported 42 new hospital admissions over the week, up 7 from last week but down 10 from 2 weeks ago. Specifically, VTDigger's charts show 22 people were hospitalized with the virus as of yesterday, vs. 33 two weeks ago. And deaths are falling, with 10 reported in June so far, making it unlikely it will match May's 32 deaths.
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Well yeah, bluegrass fans! The venerable Jenny Brook Bluegrass Festival is back in full-blown form at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds today starting at 11 am, after postponing its 20th Year Celebration twice—and eventually putting on a mini-version last fall. This time, the 21st features a full lineup, including the Malpass Brothers tonight, the Seldom Scene and Authentic Unlimited Saturday night, and a slew of other bands.
With music starting at 6, Feast & Field is back this week with Low Lily, the roots/bluegrass/Americana trio that features three extraordinary musicians whose musical lives have intertwined for years: Liz Simmons, Flynn Cohen, and fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger, who will be making her final appearance with the band at this show.
At 6:30 this evening, the Howe and Northern Stage kick off a short series of live and live-streamed conversations going behind the scenes at the theater company. Tonight it's the cast and creative team of the world premiere of SHOOK, which will run this fall, talking about putting a brand new musical together.
And finally, anytime, you can check out the rapidly evolving CATV's highlights for the week: executive director Samantha Davidson Green's quick video tour of progress on the new JAM space in the former Newberry Market; the Juneteenth celebration at Lyman Point Park in Hartford; the new episode of "Common Ground," with state reps from VT and NH talking over what it took to keep small businesses open during the pandemic with Dan Fraser of Dan & Whit's and Elaine Arbour of the Plainfield Country Store; NFL star Russell Wilson's commencement address to Dartmouth; the graduation ceremony at Mid Vermont Christian School (and a link to graduation ceremonies all around the Upper Valley).
And a little music to start the day...
So
much to choose from! But let's just go with two:
The much-anticipated new band Authentic Unlimited, appearing at Jenny Brook this weekend, just released two debut albums on the same day. Here's band member Jerry Cole's gospel number, "Hold On";
And Low Lily, appearing tonight at Feast & Field, covering Shawn Colvin's "Round of Blues".
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 and writers who want you to 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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