WELL GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
You didn't put away your hat and gloves yet, right? That front we talked about yesterday is moving away toward the north and east, and the rain's tapered off as we speak. But it'll be cold, highs in the 40s. In fact, there's the potential in some spots for the day's high to be at a record low, if that makes any sense. Tonight will be cold again, too. We'll just turn this one over to the weather folks: "With an abundance of clouds around [I'm] not thinking frost will be an issue, but some sensitive plants could be bothered by temps in the low/mid 30s." If you've got any overly dramatic plants out there, show them you care...Searchers find missing Dartmouth student. After two nights by himself on Mt. Moosilauke, Arun Anand was found shoeless, hiking down the Gorge Brook Trail. He'd split off from his group Saturday morning, after deciding he was unprepared for the snow and wintry conditions they'd encountered. EMS personnel took him to DHMC to evaluate him for potential hypothermia. Man shot by VT State Police was suspect in Tunbridge arson cases. The town had been on edge after three mysterious fires in April: one in an abandoned vehicle, a second that destroyed the home and garage of a recently deceased woman, and a third in a vehicle in a family's driveway. Turns out that police had wanted to question Jeremy Potwin, the Bethel man killed over the weekend, in that case. (VN, subscription reqd)Lyme's George Steffey named to US Ski & Snowboard nominees for US Ski Team. The roster is headed by non-local names like Mikaela Shiffrin (no, I'm not going to go there) and Ted Ligety, but there are a few more local connections: Brian McLaughlin, from Waitsfield VT and then Dartmouth, is on the B team, and there's a smattering of Stratton Mtn. School and Burke Mountain Academy names. Steffey is one of three members of the men's C team.There's a new philanthropist in town: Dartmouth's "Leadership in Civil Society" class. The class, taught by poli sci Prof. Ron Shaiko, has landed $40,000 to give away to eight Upper Valley nonprofits. The money comes from a Texas group, The Philanthropy Lab, which is also working with 14 other universities. So far, some 50 area nonprofits have submitted proposals to the Rockefeller Center; Shaiko's students will narrow them down, and ultimately give $5,000 to each of the eight they choose. They'll be handing the awards out on May 23.Meanwhile, Hanover High students work on concrete climate action plan for the school. Over the last two years, students in Jeannie Kornfeld's earth science and ecology class have drafted a 40-page action plan that they'll propose to the Dresden school board later this month. They're looking at everything from the school's energy use to its water consumption to how students and teachers get to school. “It gives students hope,” says Kornfeld, whose daughter Hannah, an environmental scientist in California, advised the class. “It’s great to have walkouts. It’s great to have guest speakers. But when you can put together a whole plan for a school … it empowers them.” (VN, sub. still reqd.)If you're interested in what's going to be happening with the roundabout planned for the intersection of Sykes Mountain Ave and Route 5 in Upper White River Junction, this is your moment. Tonight's the night for the public information session with state officials, project managers, the designer, and the town. Starts at 6 pm at the Comfort Inn on Ralph Lehman Drive.VTrans out with new town highway maps. Every year, the state highway department updates the maps for towns with changes to their roadways. This year, 41 of them submitted new maps. What's cool? You can find the map for every town in the state here.VT's farmers moving into hemp, trying to figure it out as they go. This is the first year they're allowed to grow it legally, and WCAX went to Barr Farm in S. Woodstock to talk over what's entailed. "I'm going a lot online. I'm doing a lot with YouTube," says the farm's Tina Tuckerman. The farm's formed a co-op with 16 other farms in the area, and 1500 hemp clones are on their way from Colorado. Much of what they grow will wind up in CBD products. NH ranks second in US News' new "best states" survey. The state of Washington tops the list of best states in which to live; then come New Hampshire, Minnesota, Utah, and (whew) Vermont. For what it's worth, NH came in first in the "opportunity" category, which includes economic opportunity and affordability; 10th in fiscal stability; and -- I'm guessing this won't come as a surprise -- 31st in infrastructure. But hey, last year it was 38th. NH's legislative ethics committee meets on complaint against House majority leader. Doug Ley, the Democrats' point man in the state House, is president of the state affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. He also testified and voted on legislation that could affect the union. "Research has shown Ley to have never recused himself from a vote in committee nor in the full House due to conflict,” according to a complaint filed by his unsuccessful Republican challenger last fall. Ethics complaints are not public, but NHPR has been digging into it. The committee met behind closed doors yesterday.VT cannabis bill appears dead for this year. The measure to legalize the retail sale of cannabis in the state passed the Senate, but has languished in two separate House committees. The House adjourns at the end of the week, and legislators argue there's not enough time to explore the issue's ins and outs. "This was never on our must-pass list for this year," House Speaker Mitzi Johnson told Seven Days' John Walters last night. "I've always said that careful exploration of policy takes precedence." Health insurers propose big price hikes for VT plans. Blue Cross Blue Shield of VT and MVP Health Care have asked the Green Mountain Care Board for hefty increases (15.6 percent for BCBS and 9.4 percent for MVP) in the plans they offer on the Vermont exchange. They blame rising prescription drug costs. It'll be an interesting fight. "For many Vermonters, they already can’t afford to get the care they need,” says Mike Fisher, the chief health care advocate at Vermont Legal Aid. “They can’t afford their premiums. They can’t afford to use their health insurance.”Vermont hits the international big time for gravel cycling. If you live here, you know there's not much of a choice if you want to get out and about -- more than half the state's roads are unpaved, and over 6,000 miles of that is on gravel. “We didn’t invent anything here. What we did is hone it to basically this one activity of riding on public dirt roads,” says Reading's Peter Vollers, who for the last 20 years has been helping develop the sport in the state. Now, with races like the Kingdom's Rasputitsa and Vollers's The Overland, cyclists from all over the world get to experience the mud that we just take for granted in the spring.SO, TONIGHT.... GOT PLANS?Maggie Cassidy's going to be talking about the future of local news in the Upper Valley. Tonight's the second of three public events the Valley News's (still new) editor is holding to talk about newspapers, newsrooms, and where they're headed. "Ever wondered about the work of reporters, photographers and editors? Here's your chance to ask the editor — and to pitch your best Upper Valley story ideas," is what the invite says. But maybe you've got some more pointed questions in mind? This is your chance for those, too. At the Kilton Library in old West Leb at 6 pm. And if you miss it, she'll be doing another one at the Main Street Museum in WRJ on Friday, May 24.Writer and photographer David Van Wie will be talking fly-fishing and friendship at the Converse Free Library in Lyme. Wie, who lives in Lyme, will talk about his book The Confluence: A Collection of Essays, Art and Tall Tales About Fly Fishing & Friendship, which he co-wrote with six of his Dartmouth classmates. He'll be describing their quarter-century of fishing trips together, plus the Second College Grant and the rivers that run through it. At 7 pm.Or maybe you feel like traveling back in time a few hundred years: "Tangled Lives: Native Peoples and English Settlers in Colonial New England," at Alumni Hall in Haverhill. This is... well, part storytelling, part oral history, by longtime literature professor Jo Radnor, who's also a past president of the American Folklore Society. In this performance, she "juxtaposes Native American oral traditions and stories told by her own New England ancestors to reveal a complex colonial 'middle ground' in which English settlers and Native peoples saw one another as defenders and trespassers, pursuers and refugees, relatives and aliens, kind neighbors and ruthless destroyers." At 7 pm.And just a reminder: Northern Stage's Once closes on Sunday, so tonight kicks off your last few chances to go see it. The storyline -- guy meets girl amid madcap Dublin characters, things get a little complicated -- doesn't remotely do this justice. It's what happens when an ensemble is at the top of its game. Actors/musicians, director, stage and lighting designers, not to mention composer, lyricist, playwright... they all conspire to create a moving, entertaining, right-there evening that lifts you out of your world and, at the end, deposits you back in it with tunes and what-ifs chasing around in your head. There are still seats for the eight remaining shows, but who knows for how long.Now. Go have a fine day just to spite the weather. See you tomorrow.
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