Daybreak Tuesday 9/30/25

Sunny, a bit cooler. A cold front came through late yesterday, trailing air behind it that’s a good seven to ten degrees cooler than what we had yesterday. We’ll have fog again to start, then clear skies throughout the day and most of the night. Highs today in the low 70s, down to around 40 tonight.

Let’s just stop for a moment to admire last night’s sunset. Because it was memorable. Thanks to everyone who sent it in.

Who knew that auks had a fondness for puns? This week in DB Johnson’s cartoon strip Lost Woods, Auk remembers his early childhood, being found by Henry—”It took me a long time to come out of my shell”—and more.

A goldmine of sweet peppers. That’s what Jenny Sprague reports Edgewater Farm has on hand at the moment, so it’s only right that Plainfield home cook, cookbook author, and Kitchen Sense blogger Mitchell Davis should come up with a recipe to use them to full advantage. This week, he’s got sweet pepper soup “that’s more than the sum of its parts”—which include 2 pounds of peppers. Also, a spicy Korean bok choy salad that uses bok choy, broccoli, and some of those cherry tomatoes that are out there in profusion right now. Plus that elusive maple syrup/gochugaru/gochujang blend.

Why you might not want to cut those ash trees. It’s become common wisdom that all our ash trees are going to die because of the Emerald Ash Borer infestation—and, that being the case, it’s best to cut them down for lumber while they still appear healthy. But in Sidenote, Li Shen makes a counter-argument. For starters, she writes, EAB’s been spreading so quickly because of infested wood shipments. Moreover, some ash trees are surviving despite being infested, and researchers are trying to create seed repositories of resistant trees—which will be impossible if ash trees are all cut down. That and other new approaches “are in the works,” she writes, and explores them.

At Dartmouth, an evening of discussion about political violence. It was held by the Dartmouth Political Union last Thursday, the night it had been slated to host a debate featuring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Some 50 students and eight faculty members met to talk about violence, speech, and the influence of social media, reports Nicola Smith for Dartmouth News. The event began with political scientist Sean Westwood, a polarization expert, asserting that “Discussion is the best way to reduce extreme partisanship,” before moving on to table-by-table discussions that focused on the roles of social media, phones, the media, and more. Smith outlines what happened.

SPONSORED: The Hanover Improvement Society needs a new leader! We’re seeking someone with experience who is passionate about building community through shared recreational spaces. Founded in 1922, HIS has embarked on an ambitious capital campaign to renovate its beloved community ice rink and is improving the Storrs Pond Recreation Area. The ideal candidate should be enthusiastic about exploring strategic and innovative ways to expand community use of and access to the Campion Rink, Storrs Pond, and the Nugget Theater. For more details and a full job description, hit the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by the Hanover Improvement Society.

Report of second Dartmouth swastika sparks uncertainty from Hanover police. On Saturday, based on a “credible report” to college security, Dartmouth President Sian Beilock emailed the campus to say that, for the second time in ten days, a swastika had been found outside a student’s room, adding that she was “shocked and sickened” by the incident. But yesterday, in a statement to The Dartmouth, write Jeremiah Rayban and Isabel Menna, HPD Capt. Michael Schibuola wrote that “after extensive follow-up we do not believe that the writing was a swastika”—and that, in fact, the writing might have been “of a positive/non-threatening nature.” The investigation is ongoing.

Police in Bradford VT, Wells River investigating gasoline thefts. Over the past few weeks, reports WCAX’s Adam Sullivan, thieves have drilled into the gas tanks of at least four vehicles at Route 5 Auto in Bradford and siphoned out the gas—leaving behind hundreds of dollars of damage. Up in Wells River, the same thing has happened at the Chevy dealership there, at least eight times. “It’s senseless,” says Route 5 Auto’s Gene Pierson. “Stealing gas is just not a thing that should be happening.”

SPONSORED: Discover The Sharon Academy at Our Fall Open House! Join us Sunday, October 5 at 1:00 pm at TSA’s High School to learn how our student-centered approach ensures every learner is known, valued, and challenged. Meet TSA students, faculty, and tour our new STEAM building, explore Open Enrollment and scholarship opportunities, and connect with other families. Students encouraged to attend! Register here or at the burgundy link. Sponsored by The Sharon Academy.

Two views of Come From Away. The musical opened Northern Stage’s new season last week, and by now you know the story: How the people of Gander, Newfoundland responded with open arms and houses to the 7,000 stranded and bewildered passengers who suddenly landed there right after 9/11. For Susan Apel, the uplift is the point: “It’s a story about the heroism of local mayors, school administrators, cooks and bus drivers, Walmart employees and people with grills in their backyards and kettles on the hob,” she writes in Artful, at the burgundy link. Over at the VN, Marion Umpleby praises the performances, but thinks the play needed some conflict.

The drought: good news for moose, not so much for fish. In the VN, Liz Sauchelli writes that ticks dry out during droughts—and the last time this happened, NH Fish & Game biologist Daniel Bergeron tells her, “the following year we saw increased weights and productivity in our moose.” Meanwhile, fish are congregating where they can in the White River: “You’re seeing the big fish in the river stacked up sort of like they’re waiting in line for the bus,” says the White River Partnership’s Mary Russ. “We’re also seeing dead fish everywhere. It’s not good.” Berries and other soft foods for mammals seem to be suffering, Bergeron says, but acorns and nuts are doing fine.

Starting today, you’ll need a photo ID to request an absentee ballot in NH. That’s because a new law takes effect today aimed at absentees, and NHPR’s Todd Bookman lays out what’s required: photo ID in person at your town or city clerk’s; a photocopy mailed in; or an application endorsed by a notary. There’s a lawsuit brought by a group of visually impaired voters, but it’s ongoing and the law still will go into effect. Meanwhile, Bookman reports, another new law’s now in effect, too: If you can’t remove or cover up “electioneering clothing” before voting, you’ll be allowed into the polling place, but have to vote “without lingering unnecessarily,” per the Secy of State.

Beta Technologies files IPO papers. It’s “a pivotal moment for the Vermont-based electric aviation company,” writes Seven Days’ Derek Brouwer, as Beta “races to become one of the first U.S. companies to produce small electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.” Though it’s raised over $1 billion in funding already from the likes of GE Aerospace and Amazon, the company—which now has over 800 employees in VT, NY, Québec, and elsewhere—needs more, both because it’s been spending money “at an astonishing clip,” Brouwer writes, and because as it nears commercial sales, expenses are expected to grow. He digs into the financials.

Oh thank goodness. We get to use “stuckage” again. It’s been months since a trucker last got stuck in Smuggler’s Notch, when a commercial driver maneuvered around the chicanes installed at the Cambridge end just a few days after the twisty road opened for the summer season. Well, our long drought ended yesterday, when a tractor-trailer got wedged at the first S curve, again on the Cambridge side. The road was shut down for about a half hour while the truck was carefully escorted back out.

174 upside-down skydivers set record. Technically, it was a “vertical” dive, but whatever: Skydivers from 53 countries came together over LaSalle County, IL last month and broke a decade-old world record over five days of attempts. Pro skydiver Katie Hansen used a GoPro to film the winning dive, which just went up online, and, well, video’s just plain better than words.

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

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The Dartmouth Libraries host philosophy prof Amie L. Thomasson on Rethinking Metaphysics. In her new book, Thomasson argues that the study of reality is “a kind of conceptual engineering.” 12:30 pm, Berry 180A.

The Dickey Center hosts the Jet Propulsion Lab’s Kimberley R. Miner on Considering Climate Change. Miner, an Earth scientist at the NASA facility, has studied climate issues at the North Pole, on Mt. Everest, and in Antarctica. She’ll be talking about the current state of Earth science and “how to plan for a future with a changing climate.” 4:30 pm in Haldeman 41 and livestreamed.

At Dartmouth, “A Story of Resilience in the Face of Captivity”. The Tucker Center hosts Judith Ra’anan, who, along with her teenage daughter, was held hostage in Gaza for two weeks following Oct. 7, 2023. They were among the first hostages to be released. 4:45 pm, Steele 006.

Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center hosts retired US Court of Appeals Judge David Tatel. He’ll be kicking off Rocky's celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a talk about the DC Circuit court’s relationship with the Supreme Court, and about “blind justice”—what equal justice under the law means, and what it means literally to be a blind judge. 5 pm at Rockefeller Center and online.

At Dartmouth, “Talking Back to Thomas Jefferson: African Americans Discuss the Founding Father, 1776-1877.” History prof Mia Bay, who teaches American history at Cambridge, will give the history department’s Robert F. Allabough Lecture at 5 pm in Carson L01.

At Dartmouth, “Enduring Humanitarianism in the Palestinian Territories”. Palestinian-American anthropologist Sa'ed Atshan will be talking about “the enduring nature of Western aid to Palestine and how Palestinians endure their lives as humanitarian subjects.” 5:30 pm, Class of 1930 Room, Rockefeller Center.

New London Hospital hosts “Joint Health: From Care to Replacement” panel discussion. The seminar features orthopedic surgeons, a sports medicine specialist, and a range of surgical physician’s assistants with a variety of specialties, all talking about orthopedic health as we age. Free, no registration needed, 5:30 pm at Colby-Sawyer College’s Davidow Center for Art + Design.

Brian Dellinger on AI at Woodstock’s Norman Williams Public Library. Dellinger, who’s Associate Director of IT at Geisel Medical School, will talk through the basics of modern AI, how it works, its current strengths and weaknesses, and where it’s headed. 6 pm.

Ramen Day in Woodstock. Sustainable Woodstock hosts a screening of Corey Hendrickson’s film about Vermont’s pandemic-era Everyone Eats program, which worked with restaurants and farms to get food to people who needed it. Followed by a panel with Hendrickson, Karen White of the Woodstock Food Shelf, and a rep from Willing Hands. 6 pm.

At the Norwich Bookstore, Tim Weed and the Afterlife Project. Weed’s new speculative novel focuses on a team of scientists in 2068 seeking to send a test subject millennia into the earth’s future—and on the microbiologist who winds up there. 7 pm.

The Tuesday poem.

Baby, give me just
one more hiss

We must lake it fast
morever

I want to cold you
in my harms

& never get lo

I live you so much
it perts!…

Baby give me just
one more briss

My won & homely

You wake me
meek in the needs

Mill you larry me?

Baby, hive me just
one more guess

With this sing
I’ll thee shed

— From “Errata” by Kevin Young.

See you tomorrow.

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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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