Daybreak Tuesday, 4/14/26

Definitely warm, partly sunny, partly rainy. We start off the day with a mix of sky and clouds, with temps rising well into the 60s by midday and into the low or mid 70s later in the afternoon. With a new system coming through from the west, there’s a chance to a likelihood of rain and thunder this afternoon and into the evening (with thunderstorms most likely south of Route 4). Mostly calm winds from the south today, overnight lows in the low or mid 50s.

The seasons shift. “This time of year,” writes Norwich photographer Rich Cohen, “I try to get out to photograph streams, which are running high.” His photo captures the no-longer-winter, not-quite spring moment: High water, bare trees, ferns showing their fronds, and “enough ice to remind us that cold weather is not quite through with us.”

Oh, for a good nap! In DB Johnson’s Lost Woods this week, Henry’s definitely got the right idea—while Auk and Eddie have other ideas.

Former high-ranking DH exec sues over “unlawful and retaliatory” firing. Dr. Carol Barsky, who was hired as the hospital network’s chief quality and value officer in 2021, is alleging that she was fired in January of this year after she found that medical supplies purchased by DH “were of uncertain provenance, purchased on the ‘gray’ market, and were likely not safe for use in clinical care.” Defendants include DH and DHMC, reports Alex Ebrahimi in the Valley News. Barsky’s lawsuit, to which DH has not formally responded, contends that when she reported her findings to the board, CEO Joanne Conroy “repeatedly interrupted, contradicted and otherwise censored” her.

Leb sues developer Mike Davidson over unpermitted apartments. The lede on Clare Shanahan’s piece in the VN pretty much sums it up: Last year, the city fielded a complaint from one of Davidson’s tenants over lack of heat in Apt. 6—in a building that on paper only had four apartments. In all, officials allege, Davidson “failed to get necessary approvals for additional apartments at 3 Campbell St., 22 School St. and 18 Mahan St…. Davidson’s property management company, Ledgeworks, contends that city records are incomplete and the permitting process takes too long.” Shanahan details the city’s allegations and the state of play in court.

SPONSORED: Spring yard work and gardening can be a great way to get outside and get moving, but after a long winter the sudden demands of raking, lifting, digging, pruning, and kneeling take a toll. From back and neck pain to sore shoulders, hands, hips, and knees, these seasonal tasks often bring on aches that can linger if not managed well. Read more at the burgundy link or here for practical tips on preventing common spring injuries, reducing strain, and staying active in the yard all season long. Sponsored by Cioffredi & Associates Physical Therapy. 

Jim Schley and Becky Bailey, “generous, talented, and dedicated” Upper Valleyites, are leaving. But first, one more time on stage together. Bailey, who recently left her job at Vital Communities, is a regular on local stages as a singer, actor, and musician; Schley, who worked as an editor at Chelsea Green and other local publishers, is also a poet and literary critic, as well as an actor. After three decades living in the Blue Moon land cooperative in Strafford, reports John Freitag in The Herald, the pair are moving to be close to family in Wisconsin; before they go, they’ll share the stage May 2 as part of a new Star Radio Hour at Seven Stars Arts.

Leaping foxes and coyotes! Nope, not an exclamation, but a behavior. Both red foxes and eastern coyotes, writes Jack Saul in this week’s “This Week in the Woods,” listen for activity—in this case under the last of the melting snow—”before taking a flying leap toward the sound and trying to come down atop the vole or mouse.” Red foxes also appear to be able to use the Earth’s magnetic field as a kind of range finder. Meanwhile, mourning cloak butterflies are, as usual, out earlier than other butterflies—they can overwinter as adults, and their dark wings can absorb whatever heat there is. Also out there: caddisfly larvae.

SPONSORED: Learn Spanish, French, or Italian fast! The Rassias Center for World Languages and Cultures at Dartmouth specializes in immersive language experiences using dramatic techniques, rhythmic drills, and energetic reinforcement strategies to make learning an engaging experience. This speeds language learning, increases language retention, and has participants speaking and understanding quickly. Our Accelerated Language Programs (ALPs) run July 7 through July 12 on the Dartmouth campus. Learn more here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by the Rassias Center.

Before the rain, brush fires. From last Thursday through the weekend, reports Sofia Langlois in the VN, there were fires in Pomfret, W. Windsor, and Newport. Pomfret’s, on Thursday, burned uphill through dry grass and brush (photos of the burned area here). Friday’s fire in W. Windsor burned 2.5 acres after a second-home resident burning weeds with a small torch in his peach and pear orchard watched things get quickly out of hand and called for help; the fire was ruled an accident (photos here). And in Newport, “a campfire grew into a large brush fire on Sandhill Road,” Langlois reports, taking out about two acres (press release here).

NH mustard company fined, owner sentenced for river pollution. If you’ve got a long memory, you may recall that back in February, 2025, the Old Dutch Mustard Company in Greenville pled guilty to polluting a waterway after inspectors caught a distinct vinegar smell in the Souhegan River, a tributary of the Merrimack. Now, reports NHPR’s Dan Tuohy, US District Court Judge Landya McCafferty has ordered the company to pay a $1.5 million fine and sentenced owner Charles Santich to 18 months in prison. Prosecutors charged that Santich dumped excess wastewater into the river “and repeatedly lied to state and federal authorities about compliance.”

NH cyanobacteria fund running out of money, blooms are worsening. The state’s fight against cyanobacteria is running up against a stubborn reality, reports NH Bulletin’s Molly Rains: It’s expensive and there’s no clear way to pay for it. Lawmakers have put millions toward mitigation, but the need far outstrips available funds. “It’s not just that more people are looking. There actually are more blooms,” says the state’s chief aquatic biologist. Prevention—from reducing runoff to rethinking development—is cheaper than cleanup, but it’s slow and hard to enforce. A bill to create a committee to look at boosting the cyanobacteria fund is on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk.

Local governments in NH “more reliant on property taxes for overall revenue than local governments in any other state in the country.” And, writes Phil Sletten in a new report from the NH Fiscal Policy Institute, they’ve gotten less aid from the state as a percentage of local revenue than 43 other states, and fewer dollars per capita than 47 other states. In the wide-ranging report, Sletten looks at how property taxes work in the state, compares taxable property value per resident (nice to own something in the Lakes Region), and sets NH in the context of other states when it comes to property taxes and funding for local government.

Looks like NH beats VT to spring. Well, when it comes to ice-out, anyway. The pilots at Emerson Aviation in Gilford on Sunday morning officially declared that Lake Winnipesaukee is free enough of ice that the MS Mount Washington can get to all five of its ports of call: Alton Bay, Center Harbor, Meredith, Weirs Beach, and Wolfeboro. Though they note that there’s still ice in Winter Harbor, Moultonboro Back Bay “and a few floaters here and there.” Meanwhile, the ice still appears to be going strong on Joe’s Pond—at least, as of Saturday the pallet-and-cinder-blocks-with-clock was still resting on top of the pond, and there’s been no update since.

But in case you were wondering: Yep, they’re still skiing out there. Several downhill resorts close on Sunday, including Loon, Stowe, Okemo, and a bunch of Quebec mountains, but Black Mountain, Sugarbush, Jay, and, of course, Killington plan to be open into May.

What’s one of the fastest-growing real estate sectors in the country—and in VT? We’ll just say it up front: self-storage units. Places for people to put their stuff. And as Mikaela Lefrak reports for VT Public’s Brave Little State, there are any number of reasons: the state’s tight housing market, people downsizing, basement clean-out during the pandemic… Lefrak first talks to people who own self-storage facilities in VT, small, independent operators, about the business and what’s driving it. Then she manages to pry $100 out of VT Public management (which in itself is a story) to head off to an auction, à la Storage Wars...

Riding the piece train. Competitors work with coaches, train up to three hours a day, and do core exercises to avoid backaches, so when the US Jigsaw Nationals come around, they’re in top form to challenge 1,000 other speed jigsaw puzzlers. This year, writer Leila Jordan was one of them. In The Guardian, she documents her 90-minute race to beat the time clock. Jigsaw puzzlers are a friendly, varied group: med students, PhD candidates, and 12-year-old Conner, “a rising star, known for his fast placement and memorization.” Competition is intense. “As the fastest puzzlers get closer to winning, the room gets quiet. Onlookers lean in. Judges gather around …”

The Tuesday Crossword. It’s the ease-into-your-day mini from Dartmouth librarian and puzzle artist Laura Braunstein. If you’d like to catch up on her past puzzles, you can do that here.

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

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HEADS UP
The Plum Village Monastics at Dartmouth. This is the fourth year in a row for a weeklong visit from Buddhist teachers based at Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's Deer Park Monastery in California, who follow the Plum Village tradition of engaged Buddhism. It includes guided sitting meditation at Rollins each morning at 8, walking meditation, a discussion Wednesday of human perception from the neuroscience and Buddhist perspectives, a discussion Thursday of grief, and a two-day mindfulness retreat over the weekend. You’ll find a full schedule at the link.

At the Howe Library: “Radon in NH: Test. Fix. Save a Life.” The NH health department’s radon program manager, Mary Butow, and Stratham community advocate Tom Jarvela will talk about radon, resources for testing and mitigation, and more. 6 pm in the Mayer Room and online.

The Tuesday poem.

Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods.
Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt.
But there’s music in us. Hope is pushed down
but the angel flies up again taking us with her.
The summer mornings begin inch by inch
while we sleep, and walk with us later
as long-legged beauty through
the dirty streets. It is no surprise
that danger and suffering surround us.
What astonishes is the singing.
We know the horses are there in the dark
meadow because we can smell them,
can hear them breathing.
Our spirit persists like a man struggling
through the frozen valley
who suddenly smells flowers
and realizes the snow is melting
out of sight on top of the mountain,
knows that spring has begun.

— “Horses at Midnight Without a Moon” by Jack Gilbert.

See you tomorrow.

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