GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
This will stun you: Once again with the fog, then partly sunny, warm. Not quite as warm as yesterday, though—it'll be cloudier, too, so they're calling for a high around 80 today. Calm wind, lows tonight again in the mid 50s.And tonight: A super Harvest blood Moon partial eclipse. The trifecta: supermoon, Harvest Moon, and an eclipse—even if it's just partial—is pretty rare. And since most of the moon will be shadowed by the Earth's penumbra, it won't be fully blocked, but will take on the reddish-brown tinge that gives it the “blood moon" label. Things peak 10:44 pm. There won't be another supermoon/eclipse combo until 2033, but there's a full lunar eclipse coming in March next year. NPR's Chandelis Duster has the details.A reflection. Literally. Eric Richardson was over at Sculptured Rocks Natural Area in Groton, NH—just east of Dorchester. "Usually," he writes, "it's a beautiful place for a refreshing plunge from said rocks." But water levels are extremely low, allowing for his little world-within-a-world photo. "It’s beautiful either way," he adds, "but I’d wait until we get some rain" before checking out the swimming hole.Robert Tulloch to request resentencing. Serving two life sentences without possibility of parole for the 2001 murders of Half and Susanne Zantop, Tulloch next week will go before a state judge to argue that because he was underage—17—at the time of the slayings, his sentence is unconstitutional. His attorneys are basing their argument on a 2012 US Supreme Court decision and on the NH Constitution, reports John Lippman in the Valley News. The state is arguing that where crimes "reflect irreparable corruption," the Supreme Court decision gives a sentencer leeway to impose a life sentence without parole.In wake of 2023 Supreme Court ruling on race-based admissions, Dartmouth sees small shifts in makeup of freshman class. The college reported yesterday that the percentage of Black, Asian, Native American, and white students declined—by less than a percentage point each for Black and Native American students—while the percentage of Hispanic students grew. Overall, the college's "masked" approach to racial identity and a rise in scholarship aid produced a boost in the percentage of students from "underrepresented" backgrounds, an increase in first-gen students, and an all-time high in the number of Pell Grant recipients. Details at the link.Former office manager for The Dartmouth sentenced to 15 months in prison for embezzlement. Nicole Chambers had pled guilty back in April to taking $223,000 from the student-run organization over the four years from 2017 to 2021; an FBI investigation found she'd used the newspaper's PayPal and Venmo accounts to make unauthorized transfers to her personal accounts, reports The Dartmouth's Vidushi Sharma. In imposing the sentence yesterday, federal Judge Landya McCafferty said she considered the years-long length of the embezzlement and Chambers' failure to set aside money for restitution.SPONSORED: Have you noticed the afternoon light this week?! Autumn air has a special clarity and glow. Your family will radiate in photographs that celebrate and document this moment in your lives. Book a family portrait session with Britton Mann and you'll come away joyful, with images perfect for holiday cards, mantelpieces, and albums. If you've never done a photo shoot like this, don't be intimidated—Britton has a knack for crafting carefree photo sessions for all involved. Sponsored by Britton Mann Photography.In New London, housing developments stalled by discovery of dry cleaning contaminants in groundwater. The two projects—139 units for seniors on New London Hospital property and 60 units of workforce housing across County Road—have been in the works for over two years. But in July, reports Christina Dolan in the VN, a well test at the site of the proposed senior development, which sits next to New London Cleaners, found PCE contamination. Twin Pines Housing, in charge of the workforce project, is hoping for a municipal water connection, but has twice been rejected.Preliminary results give Democratic nomination for Grafton County Sheriff to 30-year-old Littleton police officer. In the Valley News, John Lippman reports that numbers released Friday have Jill Myers, a Littleton special investigator, at 4,049 votes compared to 3,424 votes for Eric James, who is the sheriff's department's second in command and was the choice of outgoing sheriff Jeff Stiegler. Bath, NH police chief Todd Matthew Eck got the GOP nod, running unopposed. Myers is proposing closer sharing of resources with other area law enforcement agencies and improving digital outreach.SPONSORED: Come experience the wondrous menu options created by Chef Jason Merrill at the Upper Valley’s newest restaurant. REDCAN has earned a reputation for a truly exquisite experience. You'll find local foods, creative cocktails, craft beer—and the ROOM 39 “Speakeasy” Lounge for an experience that’ll bring you back in time—all at REDCAN Restaurant in downtown WRJ. Please find us on RESY for all your reservation needs. REDCAN will provide free to-go meals on Thanksgiving Day from 10am-noon for anyone in need of a hot meal. Sponsored by REDCAN.Word of the day: rostrum. Not to be confused with a dais, the word also applies to the "highly specialized tubular mouthpart" of bugs like the Large or Small Milkweed Bug, writes Mary Holland on her Naturally Curious blog. The bugs feed on milkweed seeds inside the pod by injecting the pod with saliva, which contains enzymes that essentially pre-digest the seeds, then sucking up the resulting fluid. You can identify Large Milkweed Bug adults by the black band across their wings, she writes. Small Milkweed Bugs have a red “X”, and Large nymphs are orange with tiny black wings.From hikers' photos of plants on the AT, hard numbers on how climate change is affecting them. That's because hikers often post them to iNaturalist, reports NHPR's Mara Hoplamazian, and "create mountains of data for researchers." In a report published last month, AMC scientists note that plants have started growing leaves and flowers three to six days earlier per degree Celsius of warming. Along the northern part of the AT, understory plants are getting more time in the sun before tree canopies close over them—good for photosynthesis, bad if they miss pollinators or there's an early freeze.In Windsor NH, boy rescued after being trapped for nine hours between boulders. The child was exploring an area near the Wediko School Sunday evening, reports WMUR's Ray Brewer, when sticks and debris gave way and he fell between the two house-sized rocks. Firefighters tried using dish soap and thin pieces of plastic to make it easier for him to maneuver himself out, but to no avail. "We needed to essentially tunnel from the side," said Manchester fire Capt. Adam Iverson, got a fireman underneath him to free his legs, then were able to lift him out. He was taken to a hospital, then released.In NH House, it's the "Contract with New Hampshire" vs. the "Freedom & Affordability Agenda." Guess which belongs to which party. Actually, never mind. As Colin Booth reports in the Granite Post, the Dems have laid claim to freedom and affordability, laying out plans for next year—if they take over the House—that include codifying abortion rights, expanding school lunch programs, and taking aim at PFAS pollution. Yesterday, the House GOP laid out its vision: cutting taxes and state regs, keeping the state's abortion law as it stands, expanding school choice, and barring "sanctuary" policies.NH confirms second EEE case. The family of Joe Casey, who lives in Kensington, had actually gone public early this month saying he was in the hospital with the mosquito-born illness as well as West Nile and St. Louis Encephalitis. But, reports NHPR's Paul Cuno-Booth, state officials don't report EEE infections until they've been confirmed by additional testing. Which has now happened. Casey is now out of the hospital and in rehab. A Hampstead resident died of the illness last month.In VT, motel evictions begin: "We may have to get you a tent and a sleeping bag and a whole lot of prayers." That's Jennifer Armbrister, case manager at Good Samaritan Haven in Barre, talking to Carly Berlin and Lola Duffort on VT Public. On Sunday, the first wave of individuals and households hit a legislatively imposed cap on state-subsidized shelter. "It was unclear where anyone would go," Berlin and Duffort report. "Area shelters were full, affordable housing waitlists were a mile long, and towns and cities across the state have grown more aggressive about evicting campers from public land."The first section of the Velomont Trail is open. The 485-mile mountain-biking trail has been in the works for years, and this summer, writes K. Fiegenbaum in VTDigger, the first section opened: a 39-mile loop that runs through downtown Rochester, Pittsfield, and up to the Chittenden Brook Hut a few miles up Brandon Gap. Already, Vermont Trail Collective director Angus McCusker tells her, Rochester’s bike shop, bookstore and cafe "are all getting more business." Fiegenbaum details the effort's history, how trails are being developed, and plans for huts and hostels that will host riders along the way.New England vs. Colorado fall foliage smackdown! We've got, you know, foliage. Colorado's got aspens. But in the interest of fairness, Lonely Planet taps two writers to make the case for their favored place. Aspens' foliage "actually represents more of a spectrum of colors—from neon yellowish-green to vibrant orange to bright red," writes Sarah Kuta. Plus the leaves shimmer. Here, writes Lauren Breedlove, "We have so much more variety in our fall foliage lookbook. Our vast forests and mountains burst with a vivid spectrum thanks to our maple tree collection." Plus oaks. And beeches. And hickories...Daybreak doesn't get to exist without your support. Help it stick around by hitting the maroon button:
We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
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know what's good! Strong Rabbit's Morgan Brophy has come up with the perfect design for "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Plus you'll find the Daybreak jigsaw puzzle, as well as sweatshirts, tees, a fleece hoodie, and, as always, the fits-every-hand-perfectly Daybreak mug. Check it all out at the link!
It's Constitution Day, and Miller—past president of the Norman Williams board and former coordinator of Woodstock's Learning Lab—will lead a discussion focused on how "the immense challenges of the twenty-first century threaten to overwhelm many of the eighteenth-century assumptions and principles that created the Constitution. We’ll review these challenges and inquire whether it’s time to revise some of these assumptions." 1 pm today.
The free screening of director Cynthia Stone's 2023 documentary is part of the lead-in to next month's Walk to End Alzheimer's. The film takes its title from the progression of things that people with dementia forget, but far from a dour look, it's a dive into individual stories and into the work of researchers, artists, policy crafters and others who are studying dementia and how to prevent it. 3:30 pm in DHMC Auditorium E, RSVP and get more info by contacting Melissa Grenier at [email protected].
For the last few years, the central VT pair have joined up to combine poetry—both Sanders' own and others'—with original compositions by Marcus, who was part of the contradance/folk band Frost & Fire. The Fairlee Public Library and Fairlee Community Arts are bringing them to Town Hall tonight at 6:30 for an evening "in a warm, candlelit cafe atmosphere."
The Hop's hosted all sorts of fungus-related lead-in to this week's performances by NYC-based Dance Heginbotham, and now the main event is here. It took shape in choreographer John Heginbotham's mind as he pondered a 1959 appearance by composer John Cage on an Italian TV quiz show
in which he talked mycology—and "the fun and playfulness and generosity that artists can sometimes share,"
. At 6:45 pm today, tomorrow, and Thursday.
The event brings together four poets published by NYC-based Four Way Books: San Diego's
Blas Falconer and Malachi Black; Louise Mathias, who lives in Joshua Tree, CA; and the Boston area's Jacob Strautmann. At 7 pm.
And the Tuesday poem.
It doesn't have to bethe blue iris, it could beweeds in a vacant lot, or a fewsmall stones; justpay attention, then patcha few words together and don't tryto make them elaborate, this isn'ta contest but the doorwayinto thanks, and a silence in whichanother voice may speak.
— "Praying" by Mary Oliver,
.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
Daybreak Where You Are: The Album. Photos of daybreak around the Upper Valley, Vermont, New Hampshire, and the US, sent in by readers.
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Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Poetry editor: Michael Lipson Associate Editor: Jonea Gurwitt About Rob About Michael
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