GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Well, now, that was pretty darn nice, eh? Though, mind, you, it's still early March. Today, that low pressure system is on track to move through to our north with a cold(er) front bringing a chance of rain through early afternoon and a likelihood late in the day. Temps will still be above normal, into the high 50s, then dipping below freezing tonight. Looks like it'll be mostly cloudy whenever it's not raining, with winds from the south picking up this afternoon. "I don't think many people realize the art show that rolls through WRJ on an almost-daily basis." That's Leslie Barbour, who works by the train tracks in WRJ, and back in 2018 started taking photos of the graffiti passing by on tank cars and freight cars and hoppers. "I recently put together a Google album of all the photos I've taken," she writes, "and thought you (and maybe others) would be interested to see it." Oh yes we would! Don't miss some of the stuff at the bottom. Thanks, Leslie!It's voting/town meeting day for much of NH, and in Lyme they'll be handing out individual golf pencils. NHPR talked with town moderator Kevin Peterson yesterday about preparations to deal with the new reality. Voters will get their own pencils for ballot-filling, they'll be wiping down the mic after each use, chairs will be set farther apart than usual, voting booths will be disinfected, and the people counting ballots will wear gloves. Also, say Peterson, “We’ll have plenty of hand sanitizer around.” (Scroll down at link.)Two Mascoma Valley teachers asked to self-quarantine. It's believed they came in contact with the COVID-19 patient who attended Hope Bible Fellowship on March 1. In a letter sent to the community yesterday, district superintendent Amanda Isabelle said neither person is symptomatic, the district is just being cautious, and schools will remain open as normal.White River VA limits access, first responders train to avoid exposure. Police and fire departments are worried about losing officers, firefighters, and EMTs to self-quarantine if they're exposed to potential COVID-19 patients, and so are training to use protective gear and working through plans to shift schedules if needed. Meanwhile, the VA is allowing only veterans and essential visitors, as it and other area hospitals prepare. The VN's Anna Merriman has a rundown.DHMC is doing daily online video briefings. Yesterday evening's features Ed Merrens, the hospital's chief medical officer, and Antonia Altomare, the head of infectious diseases, talking about the new cases identified over the weekend, "social distancing" and guidelines on how groups should come together while people keep their distance, and evolving understanding about coronavirus transmission. It seems to be most contagious in the 24 hours before someone is symptomatic. "We're finding our cases are transmitting to others when they didn't even know they were sick yet," Altomare says.Finally, whatever happens with coronavirus the disease, it's also "a life and food security event for many Americans, and the time to act is now." Rusty Guinn, a blogger and investor, notes that the virus is taking an economic toll on real people, and that "full-hearted Americans" can do something: Take care of your service vendors, he writes; let friends and neighbors, especially the elderly or single parents or two-worker households, know how you can help them, including watching the kids while the parents work; and give to local organizations that meet food and shelter needs. (Thanks for the tip, DC!)Is there going to be a run on lint rollers now? Yep, tick season has started. There were reports as early as a couple of weeks ago, but the recent weather's brought them out. “We're warming quicker than we have in the past, and that's their signal to come on out and play,” NH Fish & Game's Mark Beauchesne tells WMUR. He advises bringing along a lint roller, and using it on your clothes before you go back indoors to pick up the tiny little guys.And as if that weren't enough, now we have to worry about jumping worms. They're invasive, and unlike most earthworms, actually degrade soil health, changing soil chemistry in ways that may favor invasive plant species. Right now, their eggs may be hanging out in soil, and with plant sales and swaps coming up, UNH Extension has a primer on what to look for and how to avoid passing them on. New Hampshire Maple Weekend is coming up. So, for that matter, are the Beach Boys, Styx, and David Bowie's bandmates. They're all on a list of "10 Things to Do in New Hampshire in March" published by the Union Leader. Most of them are a drive away, but that Bowie thing will be right here, March 28 at the Lebanon Opera House. NH state officials looking for ice-out data help. The state Department of Environmental Services has been tracking both ice-in and ice-out dates since 2011 (though data on big lakes like Sunapee and Winnipesaukee go back to the 1880s), and they need both to get a handle on whether and how climate change is affecting ice dates. Of course, "ice-out" is kind of a term of art: Some people figure this is when the ice has broken up enough to navigate a boat from one end of a lake or pond to the other, others when the lake is completely free of ice. The point is to be consistent. While we're talking data, just how extensive is the married-name vs. maiden-name REAL ID problem? For months, the Monitor's been getting complaints from women trying to get REAL IDs, required to board planes come October, who took their spouse's name but never had their name legally changed. David Brooks runs a little exercise and figures that of the 1,726 official change requests filed last year, 40 might have been due to this problem — but thinks that's low. "It’s likely that many more were turned away by their DMV but eventually got their REAL ID without having to go to Circuit Court."Let's try a little crowdsourcing experiment: When are local soft-serve stands opening? That link takes you to a Burlington Free Press article on "Vermont creemee stands," but we all know what that means: stands near Burlington. We've got fantastic ones here, on both sides of the river. So here's the deal: Email me at [email protected], let me know when your favorite is opening, and I'll compile the list and publish it. Special kudos if they serve maple creemees.News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:
YOU COULD ALWAYS GO LEARN SOMETHING TONIGHT....
Carol Foss, who's a senior adviser for science and policy at NH Audubon, will be talking about the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. It's an international collaborative network that uses digitally encoded radio transmitters to track birds, bats, and even large insects as they cover, in some cases, thousands of miles. Foss will talk about what it's revealed so far and efforts underway to expand it in the Northeast. 7 pm.
Troy Hall, from Hall Apiaries in Plainfield, will be talking about bees and how they fit into local ecosystems, as well as covering what it takes to get started. He himself got into it because he wondered, as he once told an interviewer, “What is it that causes someone to open a box of bees?” He now breeds queens for other beekeepers, and sells raw honey. 6:15, sign up at the link — there are still a few slots left.
Admit it, you've always been curious, right? "Dowsing," says the Bethel U class brief, "is the search for information by means of a hand-held instrument and faculties beyond the five physical senses." The teacher, Lisa McCrory of Earthwise Farm in Bethel, will bring some of her own equipment, but if you have your own dowsing rod or pendulum, you're welcome to bring it. 6:30 pm upstairs in town hall, but you'll need to sign up from the link.
Oh, and if you live in New Hampshire, don't forget that it's town meeting and/or municipal elections today. They may not have the
cachet
of a presidential primary, but they're going to affect you right where you live.
See you tomorrow.
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