Daybreak Tuesday, 3/3/26

Mostly sunny to start, snow (and maybe some rain) later. Skies should mostly be clear first thing (good news for the lunar eclipse, see below) but they’ll cloud up over the morning as a weak front and low pressure head this way. With highs in the mid 30s this afternoon, it’ll be a wet snow that arrives late this afternoon and falls into the night, maybe a couple inches all told. Upper 20s overnight.

Hey, if you get outside RIGHT NOW, you might see the “blood moon.” Seriously: The rest of Daybreak can wait. It’s your last chance to see a total lunar eclipse until New Year’s Eve 2028-29. Things began a few hours ago and reach maximum (visible to us, anyway) at 6:22 am—there’s more to come, but around here the moon disappears below the horizon a few minutes later. Look to the west.

Foxes at play. In a snowy field in Lyme.

Through a glass, lightly. This week in DB Johnson’s Lost Woods, Henry and Wally are happily ensconced on the couch watching Windo-Vision—after a brief scramble for the remote—and waiting for spring to arrive. Which she does.

“I like the snazzy red doors.” The Lebanon Fire Department moves into its new permanent home today, which is on the site of its old permanent home across from Colburn Park but entirely rebuilt—though contractors will continue work on some “punch list” items, the city says. That headline quote is Susan Apel’s comment in Artful, where she also takes note of Stateline Sports’ move and Phnom Penh Sandwich Station’s forthcoming move, and points to the Haven’s recent profile of Dan Toohey, who serves as the cook at the Lebanon Seasonal Shelter. “Barbecued ribs are always a hit. Pulled pork is always a hit. Chicken pot pie: They love that.”

Alison Clarkson, longtime Windsor County state senator, to retire. Clarkson, a Democrat who’s spent 22 years in the VT Legislature including four as majority leader, made the announcement through tears Saturday at town meeting in Reading. “Somebody may not be sad,” she joked, “but I am… Thank you for trusting me to make decisions on your behalf. And mostly, thank you for the gift of getting to know you.” Burgundy link takes you to video posted by fellow state Sen. Becca White. Yesterday, Clarkson told the Valley News’s Clare Shanahan that she is already working on a project to help reestablish a VT culinary institute.

SPONSORED: Experience live music like never before with Yasmin Williams at Lebanon Opera House! Join us on Saturday, March 14 at 5:30 PM or 7:30 PM and enjoy a unique concert experience with this virtuoso fingerstyle guitarist. Take in the sounds of Yasmin’s innovative musical performance from a seat right on the stage. Limited tickets remain, so don't miss your chance to be a part of these intimate evenings! Sponsored by Lebanon Opera House.

Bradford VT voters opt against expanding police force. They voted 113 to 72 at Saturday’s town meeting to reject a proposal that had sought to double the force from two officers to four, reports the VN’s Alex Ebrahimi. Chief Russell Robinson argued that felonies in town are going up, and that he and Sgt. David Shaffer are stretched thin: “Sgt. Shaffer has been going out working one, two o’clock in the morning and he’s by himself,” he said. “I don’t feel good about that.” But in floor discussion, Ebrahimi reports, voters raised concerns about the increased cost, which would include not just salaries, but insurance, equipment, and possibly a new cruiser.

Mt. Views school district says it’s raised $4.25 million toward new school. One marquee item in today’s VT town meeting elections is the bond proposal for a new middle/high school to serve students from Woodstock, Barnard, Pomfret, and other towns in the region. With memories still raw of a similar proposal’s rejection by voters two years ago because of concerns over taxes, backers of the plan have pursued several paths to lower the cost to taxpayers, and on Friday, the district announced that prospective donors have pledged $4.25 million to the project. “District leaders are confident that momentum will continue if voters approve the bond,” their release says.

SPONSORED: Join Upper Valley Music Center for the 2026 Faculty Showcase concert this Saturday, March 7! At this annual concert, exceptional musicians from the Upper Valley perform to increase access to music in our community. Enjoy a diverse concert program, including music by Rachmaninoff, Coleridge-Taylor, and Gilbert & Sullivan as well as traditional Celtic and Appalachian fiddle tunes, musical theater, and folk songs. Admission by donation; all proceeds benefit the tuition assistance program. Get your tickets now at uvmusic.org! Sponsored by Upper Valley Music Center.

A look at town meeting in the Upper Valley’s NH towns. The Valley News’s roundup of what’s ahead now covers both sides of the river. There are rundowns of everything from a contested selectboard contests in Charlestown, Cornish, and Lyme to a proposal to expand Canaan’s selectboard to open enrollment votes in the Mascoma and Rivendell districts to Liz Sauchelli’s piece on proposed zoning changes in Enfield that would allow for denser housing around downtown. You’ll find the towns you’re interested in at the link.

NH House committee votes unanimously against impeachment inquiry into Liot Hill. In the Globe (sorry, paywall), Amanda Gokee reports that the move came after bill sponsor Joe Sweeney, the deputy majority leader, backed off: “I believe the appropriate course is to move forward and allow the voters and the political process to do their work,” he said in a statement. Sweeney and other GOP leaders had pushed impeachment after Liot Hill used her Exec Council email to seek plaintiffs for a lawsuit against the state’s voter ID law. The question now goes to the full House. For a non-paywalled version, you can find Josh Rogers’ NHPR story here.

Money for everything from schools and a skate park to a rubber-tired backhoe. Plus a lot more. VTDigger’s Kevin O’Connor does yeoman’s work pulling together the range of town meeting articles facing voters around Vermont today, finding some interesting trends: lots of bond requests, but not nearly as many as last year; hard-pressed towns turning to local-option rooms, meals/alcohol, and sales taxes; and a good number of towns giving up on finding locals for jobs like auditor or lister and instead asking to hire professionals. Also, some one-offs, like Royalton’s bid to bar AI/crypto data center construction siting within town bounds. It’s a helpful roundup.

Cross-country ski legend John Caldwell dies at 97. A longtime Putney resident and more recent Hanover resident, the former Olympian and US Olympic team coach was “widely considered the father of U.S. cross-country skiing, and indisputably the founding father of NENSA,” the New England Nordic Ski Association wrote in its announcement Friday. Caldwell’s bruising experience at the 1952 Olympics motivated him to help prepare American skiers “so they wouldn’t be so flummoxed, overwhelmed and thoroughly thrashed,” he told VTDigger’s O’Connor eight years ago. He also created a dynasty, from his kids—including Lyme lawyer Tim, a four-time Olympian—to grandkids (and Olympians) Patrick and Sophie. You can trace the Caldwell’s accomplishments and lineage in Bill LeConey’s Brattleboro Reformer obit.

The Monday Jigsaw on Tuesday: Central Vermont Railroads, 1877. It’s all related to Cam Cross’s continuing saga of the four Hartford boys who headed to Kansas in 1854.

The Tuesday Crossword on Tuesday. It’s time for Dartmouth librarian and puzzle artist Laura Braunstein’s Tuesday “mini,” a short little brain stretcher for your morning. And if you’d like to catch up on past puzzles, you can do that here.

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

Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:

THERE'S SOME GREAT DAYBREAK SWAG! Like Daybreak tote bags, 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!

HEADS UP
For starters, of course, it’s town meeting voting in many towns on the Vermont side of the river, as well as for voters in the Dresden school district (Rivendell is on Saturday, March 21). Check your town’s website for hours and location. Oh, also: Vershire’s rescheduled town meeting for April 11 (info session April 9) thanks to a delay in publishing the town report.

At the River Valley Community College gallery in Claremont, reception for “Brenda Phillips: Nature Abstract”. The exhibition of the late Plainfield artist’s work opened last month; today at noon it’s the gallery reception, with a chance to look at the “glittering, jewel-like” works she created before her 2018 death, blending “spirituality, poetry, and her love for the New England landscape.”

At the Montshire, the Hanover Garden Club hosts “Growing Mushrooms with Ben Brown and Daniel Yoder”. Brown manages the mushroom array at Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Yoder is a product technician there. They’ll be getting into the fine points of growing mushrooms on your own: spawn variety selection, site preparation, input requirements, supplies, timing, and how to get the best yields for your efforts. 1 pm in the community room or via Zoom.

Dartmouth hosts “Back to the Wall, Face to the Sun: A Talk with Bill McKibben”. The environmental activist and author most recently of Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, is being hosted by the college’s Climate Collaborative and House Communities for conversation about “why this is a chance for big change and what we can do next.” Open to the public. 4:30 pm in Filene Auditorium.

“The Loud Quitters—When Conscience and Career Collide” at Dartmouth. An outgrowth of Tuck Prof. Josh Lewis’s Moral Reasoning class, this public panel features five attorneys who resigned after their firms settled with the Trump administration. Moderated by Lewis, they will discuss their decisions, the aftermath, and how they reflect on them today. 5:10–6:40 pm. In person only at Tuck. Register at the link to receive full event details. 

COVER, Vermont Works for Women, and others host a meetup for women, non-binary, and trans construction professionals. Women make up only 4 percent of tradespeople on job sites, “and trans and non-binary professionals are often invisible in industry data altogether,” the organizers write. “For those working in these environments, isolation, lack of mentorship, and cultural barriers are common, and can make staying and growing in the industry feel exhausting.” 5-7 pm at Alger Brook Design Build’s shop at 143 A Street, Unit 45 (around back) in Wilder.

Dartmouth’s Dickey Center hosts “Understanding the U.S. War with Iran”. The panel brings together Middle Eastern Studies chair Jonathan Smolin, former Egyptian diplomat and Middle Eastern Studies fellow Ezzedine Fishere, and visiting fellow Steven Simon, all moderated by Jewish Studies chair Susannah Heschel to talk about the war launched over the weekend, focusing on immediate questions and looking at “American goals, the implications, and whether it will lead to escalation, negotiation, or a prolonged conflict.” 5 pm in Haldeman 41 and via livestream.

Bradford (VT) Poem Town is gearing up for its April display of poetry on local business storefronts. “It is our goal to make poetry accessible to our community, and to inspire new readers and writers of poetry. We would like to invite poets of all ages to submit their poems for display,” they write. Submissions are due by March 13, ten days from today. More information at the link.

The Tuesday poem.

The world exists just fine without

our appreciation. It is not for us

that the dandelions bloom in tides of yellow

across the valley floor. Not for us

that the elk stream in a slow brown current

before disappearing into Englemann spruce.

And then there are the tiny empires

of grasshoppers, ants and bees—

and the underground realms of prairie dogs

and worms and rhizomes and moles—

intricate and entirely oblivious to praise.

And still, this drive toward gratitude.

Still this tug to pull over the car and marvel,

this impulse to offer the world our attention,

as if being very still and alert is as vital

to the moment as scurry and swerve,

scamper and stride. Perhaps it is.

— “Obeying the Impulse”, by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

See you tomorrow.

Looking for all of the hikes, Enthusiasms, daybreak photos, or music that Daybreak has published over the years? Go here!

And always, if you’re not a subscriber yet:

Want to catch up on Daybreak itself (or find that item you trashed by mistake the other day)? You can find everything on Daybreak’s homepage.

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