Daybreak Thursday 7/9/20

A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU, UPPER VALLEY!

Okay, now we're talkin' heat. It's supposed to be both foggy and hazy this morning (though if you're in the middle of fog, can you see haze?), but skies will clear and temps will rise—eventually into the low 90s with enough humidity to make it feel warmer. At least we're not west of us, where it'll be worse. Whatever breezes there are will be from the south, so not much help. Down only into the low 70s overnight. Really, what's two weeks in the scheme of things? Just a heads up that tomorrow's Daybreak will be the last for a couple of weeks. It's time to recharge and catch up on all the little back-end chores that got put aside the past few months. So you'll see tomorrow's, and then back in your inbox on the 27th!Really, what's 22 years in the scheme of things? And who knew that so many of you are REM fans? As any self-respecting GenXer will be happy tell you (very politely, I might add, except for one or two), "It's the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" was released in 1987, not 2009. Apologies for okay-boomer error. And hey, hats off and a bow to those of you who memorized the lyrics back in high school: This is your moment! (Thanks for the link, CR!)Okay, the numbers...

Hanover OKs short-term rentals, re-elects SB incumbents. In results from Tuesday's balloting—delayed after pine pitch on a ballot broke a voting machine—voters opted 802-253 to allow property owners to rent out homes and apartment for up to a month through Airbnb and other sites. They also voted overwhelmingly to re-elect veteran selectboard members Bill Geraghty and Peter Christie. (VN, subscription reqd)Woodstock Village passes face-covering ordinance. At a special meeting yesterday, the board of trustees for the village (that's the central business district, plus some adjoining parts of town) voted to require masks not just in public indoor spaces, as a few VT communities have done, but on sidewalks and in public parks as well. "We run into dense situations on sidewalks," explains Jeffrey Kahn, who chairs the board and owns the Unicorn gift shop. The parks include the Village Green, Vail Field (though not for active sports activity), East End Park, Teagle's Landing, and Tribou Park. The board's goal, says Kahn, is to protect both townspeople and the visitors who flock there.New ICE rule throws Dartmouth international students into limbo. Monday's rule, which would prohibit international students from remaining in the U.S. if their classes will be entirely online (or require them to transfer to a school with in-person classes), has created "even more uncertainty during an uncertain time," NHPR's Daniela Allee reports. Dartmouth is allowing half its student body on campus each quarter, but a lot of its instruction will be online. The college has joined a federal lawsuit filed by Harvard and MIT, and in a statement yesterday said its leadership "is actively engaged in identifying possible solutions for fall term instruction and housing."VLS to paint over mural. The 1993 work, which hangs in the law school's student center, was created to honor African Americans and abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad. However, president Thomas McHenry told the campus in an email this week, its depictions of Black people "are offensive to many in our community." "[O]verexaggerating Black features is not OK and should not be tolerated," two students tell the VN's John Gregg. Artist Sam Kerson responds, "To paint it over is outlandish — it’s like burning books.”Yesterday's late-afternoon clouds were high drama. And William Daugherty caught them from on high with his drone, up above Plainfield.The most beautiful forest in the US? The Whites, says Fodor's. The Greens didn't do too badly, either, coming in 8th on the travel site's list of the "Ten Most Beautiful Forests in the United States." The White Mountain National Forest, says the list's unnamed editor, is "known for being some of the most untamed country of the Northeast." Of course, the writer also says that "a complete list of the most important forests in the United States would be every single forest...[These] have been ranked in order of importance, to specifically me, based on…well, nothing really–personal preference."Disabilities Rights Center sues NH on behalf of blind voters. The suit, filed on Tuesday in federal district court, seeks to force the state to put in place an accessible electronic absentee voting system. It argues that paper absentee ballots could force blind voters and others with disabilities to sacrifice their privacy and/or safety, especially during the pandemic. States across the country, the suit notes, allow voters with disabilities both to register and to request, receive, and return absentee ballots electronically.NH bankruptcy filings at three-decade lows. June's 81 filings mark the third month in a row with only double digits, "something we haven’t seen since the late 1980s," writes NH Business Review's Bob Sanders. How could this be? Manchester bankruptcy lawyer Malcolm Blackwood believes that people have been "flush with cash" thanks to PPP loans, unemployment benefits, and a moratorium on foreclosures—with very few options for spending it. But as those economic supports drop away, he expects a bankruptcy surge. Meanwhile, VT's economic recovery grants are disappearing fast. The money, part of the state's spending from its federal relief package, became available Monday on a first-come, first-served basis. Already, the $20 million for general business being handed out by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development has been spoken for. The state tax department, overseeing $50 million targeted to restaurants and retail businesses, has already seen $37 million in requests. Becca Balint may become VT's first woman and openly gay state Senate leader. The Windham County Democrat is currently the Senate majority leader, and the top spot is opening up as Tim Ashe, the current president pro tem, runs for lieutenant governor. Balint has wide support within the Democratic and Progressive caucuses, VTDigger reports.Remember Marduk? That's the giant robot that Joshua Nye built in his backyard in Monkton, VT, using PVC piping, 2 X 4s, roof flashing, bike cables to operate the arms, and a snow blower for propulsion. Now Nye and Marduk feature in a graphic (photos and cartoons) article in Seven Days. The middle of a pandemic, writes Dan Bolles, turns out to be a pretty good time to own a giant robot, because "when Joshua pilots Marduk, he enters a world of endless possibility." He also, by the way, wants to build more giant robots, then create a ranch for them. Today, Monkton. Tomorrow...Covid regulations making interstate trips harder to plan than ever. Especially, Forbes reports, because new research from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia suggests that "road trips are contributing to the spread of COVID-19 along US interstates," in particular along the I-95 corridor, I-80 between central Illinois and Iowa, and along the I-90 corridor in upstate NY. The article runs down current restrictions in the 17 states that have them in place.The largest firework shell ever launched successfully (according to Guinness) weighed 2,797 pounds. Wish I'd stumbled on this a week ago. Nick Berry, an aerospace engineer and data scientist, explains the aerodynamics of fireworks on his blog. Stuff you probably didn't know: that long stick isn't just to get it going in the right direction, it's also for stability; launched into a breeze, a fireworks rocket will turn into the wind and head upwind as it climbs; if you want it to be more stable, add mass to the nose. And that big firework? Steamboat Springs, CO, this past February. Video's at the link, too.Hunting? Playing? Happy? Fierce? I dunno, you tell me... It's a dog. Who's clearly a dedicated trampoline aficionado. 

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#UVTogether

Ira Tucker was the lead singer for the Dixie Hummingbirds and one of the most storied, innovative, and fiery singers in gospel history. He spent... well, either 70 or 69 years with the band, depending on your source, joining when he was 13 or 14 and staying with it until he died at 83.

during a church service in Philadelphia (with blended footage from all over the country), posted by Denise Gallant the day Tucker died in 2008. It's part of her longer documentary about the band,

80 Years Young.

See you tomorrow.

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