AND A FINE MORNING TO YOU, UPPER VALLEY!
I know, <grumble>, rain. But it's not going to last, and the vegetables you'll be buying later this week are happy. This morning's front will head eastward eventually, and things will dry out and sun up by afternoon. It'll be windy this afternoon, with temps cooler than they've been: high 60s, maybe some 70s. And they'll drop into the 40s overnight. But we're back to high pressure and 70s tomorrow. For, you know, a day.Norwich wants pedestrian-activated, bright-as-the-sun crosswalk lights too, and it's causing a stir. Main Street gets about 1800 cars a day, and town officials believe it needs traffic calming à la Hanover. The listserv's lit up: "Are we honestly saying in a tiny town such as ours that we have...lost the ability to cross the street, or look out for those who cross the street?" fumes one commenter. But the die's cast: The town applied for a grant two years ago and got it and will install the lights this summer. “The point to disagree...was two years ago,” says SB member John Langhus. (VN, sub reqd) You may notice a new historical marker on the edge of Hanover: It commemorates the invention of BASIC at Dartmouth in 1964. David Brooks, the Concord Monitor's "Granite State Geek," last year launched an effort to mark the creation both of BASIC and the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System, which let computers share resources. The NH Div. of Historical Resources said there'd only be room for one on the sign. BASIC, the first programming language accessible to kids in school, won out. You'll find it by the old Trumbull-Nelson building on 120.Looks like there may also be a new wildflower in town. Suzanne Stofflet noticed a plant she'd never seen before on the edge of her garden. A query last night to the UV Facebook group brought both an identification -- it's tower mustard -- and a small flurry of people reporting that a) they've got it, too; and b) this is the first year they've seen it. FWIW, it's listed as endangered in Britain.And while we're all about newness, there's a new things-to-do website for New Hampshire. HereInNH.com just launched, and it's a slick-looking site with sections on food/drink and events. As you'd expect, its early posts focus on the bigger towns to our east, but its "Ultimate Guide to Donuts" in the state does pull in Muriel's. It also makes you hungry just looking at it. Go check it all out. And there's a companion Facebook page here. Okay, now it's really official. Killington declared an end to snow season last week, but it ain't over 'til the National Weather Service sings. They use a snow stick up on Mt. Mansfield and say there's now just a trace left. Altogether, there were "an impressive" 228 days of snow up there, from October 24, 2018 to June 9, 2019. They close with the cheery reminder, "Only 4 months or so 'til we start the cycle over again, but until then enjoy the wonderful hiking!"And if you want to dig into what the long season meant for the ski industry, VT Digger's got the numbers. There were 207,000 more skier/snowboarder visits to the state than the previous season, and overall more than 4.1 million headed down the slopes, the most since 2014-15. Mount Snow had its earliest opening ever, and Mad River Glen its longest season ever.Gov. Chris Sununu last week vetoed a bill boosting funds for mental health and substance-abuse services. The measure would have increased the reimbursement rate that Medicaid pays out. Mental-health providers aren't happy. The system faces a chronic workforce shortage. “It makes me sad that once again it feels like the services provided to people living with mental illness and substance use disorders are not a top priority,” says one mental-health-care exec.If you're trying to keep track of NH budget talks, New Hampshire Business Review has a good overview of the state of play when it comes to taxes. The House and Senate want to halt a planned set of business tax cuts; Sununu's suggested he might veto the budget if they do. Ditto a paid family and medical leave payroll deduction that both bodies would like to see. The House and Senate disagree, however, on a capital gains tax. Still lots of negotiating to go in Concord.Meanwhile, in Montpelier, Gov. Phil Scott vetoes handgun waiting period. The legislature had crafted a 24-hour cooling-off period, hoping to cut into acts of impulsive gun violence, especially suicides. Scott said he'd prefer to address the underlying causes. "This bill would have saved our son, it could have saved yours," said the parents of a 23-year-old man who shot himself last December in a statement afterward. Scott did sign a bill guaranteeing a woman's right to an abortion.VT secures clean-water funding, now just has to figure out how to clean the actual water. Earlier this year, the legislature passed a measure to create as many as 17 “clean water service providers.” They would get money from the state every year for pollution reduction in their particular watersheds. Just one problem: None exist. As VPR's Peter Hirschfeld puts it, "[N]o one knows exactly what a clean water service provider will look like, let alone how those providers will go about the task of reducing pollution flowing into lakes and rivers." Responds the secy of natural resources, "Obviously there’s a lot of details that need to be worked out."Time for a bird-watching break! Here's what's surfaced over the last 24 hours:
YOU BACK? OKAY... WHAT'S ON FOR TONIGHT?The Upper Valley Trails Alliance's "Trail Tuesdays" are back. Actually, the first one of the season was last week; so sorry to have missed it. But this evening, 5-7 at the Norwich Inn, you can go find free appetizers, whichever Jasper Murdoch brews are on tap right now, and talk the outdoor life with people who love it as much as you do. A portion of your magnanimous beer tab goes to UVTA trail projects. Turning Lives Around: How Law Enforcement and the Courts Can Change the Conversation about Crime and Mental Illness. It is one of the stark facts of life in this country that three of its biggest mental institutions are the Cook County Jail, LA County Jail, and Rikers Island. This panel discussion at DHMC, about how NH and VT law enforcement and courts are dealing with the issue, will feature the AGs, chief justices, and high-ranking state police execs from both states. Starts at 5, you'll need to register -- find the button at the bottom of the link.Evensong by Wrensong, at St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church in Norwich. Evensong is a service of meditation and reflection that lasts about an hour. Wrensong is a VT-based a cappella group that performs music from the Renaissance--tonight, composed by William Byrd and his pupil, Thomas Tomkins. Vermont Episcopal Bishop Thomas Ely will preside, in his last appearance at St. Barnabas' before stepping down from his post. Starts at 7 pm.And as the pleasant morning dew,the Mountaines doth releeve...Time to face the day at last / the clock urges, I beleeve. See you tomorrow.
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