Daybreak Wednesday 1/27/21

A PLEASURE TO SEE YOU, UPPER VALLEY!

Light snow this morning, slight chance in the afternoon. Sadly, we're not talking big accumulations over the rest of the day (though the mountains are getting a tad more), but something's definitely better than nothing. Embedded warm air in the storm system will produce a high this afternoon a bit above freezing, but it should be relatively brief. Lows in the low 20s tonight.Trees in snow are mesmerizing, don't you think? Especially when you're flying around above them. Drone artist William Daugherty hasn't been out and about as much as usual during the pandemic, but over the weekend he got his drone up for a few-minute flight over the hills and woods of Plainfield. As he writes, "Very peaceful, I think."Upper Valley long-term care facilities see more deaths; schools, jails see more cases. The Valley News's Nora Doyle-Burr reports that three residents at the Sullivan County nursing home in Unity and two at the Cedar Hill Continuing Care Community in Windsor have died. The Unity outbreak now includes 63 residents and 34 workers. In addition, there's been an outbreak at the Sullivan County jail in Claremont, a new case at Southern State in Springfield, and cases reported at schools around the region, including in Newport, Cornish, Randolph, and Windsor. Got vaccination questions? At the VN, Doyle-Burr is maintaining an FAQ page (linked to here last week), with regular updates as circumstances evolve. Feel free to bookmark it; it's not behind the paper's paywall."The unexpected always happens..." Now here's a gig! Tunbridge's Elizabeth Billings is the first artist-in-residence for the Nature Conservancy's VT chapter, charged with exploring and creating art inspired by three of its holdings: the LaPlatte River Marsh in Shelburne; Raven Ridge in Charlotte; and Manchester's Equinox Highlands. The goal of the project, Billings tells Seven Days' Amy Lilly, is "to work with the hills, the trees, the rock formations. It's harmonizing with the landscape and accentuating aspects of it, helping you to pay attention in new ways."SPONSORED: Parents of high school sophomores, learn about opportunities available to students at the HACTC. The Hartford Area Career and Technology Center will hold a virtual Town Hall via Google Meet on February 9th at 7 PM to answer admissions questions from prospective students and their families. Click the maroon link for more information about HACTC program offerings and to join the Town Hall meeting. The online application for the 2021-2022 school year opens March 5th, and the application deadline is March 19th. Sponsored by the HACTC.The silver lining to starting a business during the pandemic? "Staytrippers." When Jonas Cole formed his Thetford-based e-bike tour business, VT Bike & Brew, back in February, he figured his bread and butter would be tourists. Then came the pandemic. Turns out, Cole tells Carolyn Fox for a "get yourself outside" feature in Seven Days, locals have wanted to go explore, too. These days, he says, electric fat bikes "just open up a whole new world during winter." Fox also covers skating on Lake Champlain and the Catamount Trail Association's new program lending out skis at town parks.That's a lot of hurt birds! VINS is out with the stats on its rehab patients for 2020, and it set a record: 1,025 in all. Overall, robins were the most frequently cared for, followed by barred owls, European starlings, wood ducks, and eastern phoebes. Oh, and 71 woodpeckers. And what does "cared for" actually mean? The link takes you to Emily Johnson's video of the rehab process for a barred owl that was hit by a car last year, following it all the way to its release back into the wild a few weeks ago in Brandon, VT."The Office of Outdoor Recreation...." Got a ring to it, doesn't it? What it didn't have was the funding to become an actual thing. Created in the NH budget in 2019, the move to help boost NH's outdoor tourism economy got no actual state dollars. Now, though, state officials have landed a $391,666 federal grant, which the Executive Council voted to accept last week, reports NH Business Review's Jeff Feingold. One more hurdle and then it might actually be able to set up shop. Who says public works crews have no sense of humor? You can take or leave this post on NH's silliest street names that Portsmouth's WOKQ just ran, but give a moment's appreciation to the photo of Electric Ave. in Penacook.“Just to be prepared to stay the night...Whatever that particular night will bring.” That's Peterborough, NH's Doreen Michalak, a volunteer with New England K9 Search and Rescue, talking to the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript's Tim Goodwin about what it takes to survive an unexpected night out in the woods in winter. Map, compass, extra layers, extra food and water, headlamp, spikes—"In New England, especially in the winter, nobody should be hiking without traction"—and above all, duct tape. She offers lots more good advice.Well, now, this could get interesting: Slate Ridge owner files for selectboard. Daniel Banyai, who owns the firearms training center that town officials in Pawlet, VT just got a temporary injunction against for operating without an environmental permit, yesterday filed the paperwork to run for a seat on the town's selectboard. So did the husband of the neighbor who just got a stalking order against Banyai, VTDigger reports. Banyai's relations with the town (and the neighbor) have been notably strained. Women hit disproportionately by pandemic unemployment—and nowhere more than in VT. The state's Joint Fiscal Office reports that about 73 percent of the people collecting regular unemployment benefits in November were women, compared to about 51 percent nationally, writes Anne Wallace Allen in VTDigger. While there are reasons joblessness has hit women harder than men—child care responsibilities, hard-hit service industries—"the part that nobody can explain," she writes, "is what put Vermont in the lead nationally for gender disparity for jobless claims."Scott proposes budget using one-time inrush of federal dollars. As late as a few weeks ago, budget-writers expected a $70-$75 million shortfall. Instead, thanks to federal largesse that has spurred higher tax returns than expected, they're looking at a $210 million surplus. In his budget address yesterday, reports Seven Days' Kevin McCallum, Gov. Phil Scott said he'd like to put some of it to broadband expansion, the state college system, and investing in housing. "If we’re cautious," Scott told legislators, "we can solve problems and fund projects that have been stalled for years."Retail pot market faces delays as regulatory appointments fall behind. By now, the state Senate was supposed to have approved the three-member Cannabis Control Board that will oversee the rollout of the market around the state. But Gov. Phil Scott just sent a nominating committee a list of 50 potential candidates, which it's now vetting. The delay, says Bradford Rep. Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, may put off the actual creation of the retail market by 8-12 months, though VTDigger's Xander Landen reports others think it may be less.Abracadabra, Fable Farm, Blake Hill land Good Food Awards. The awards are presented each year by the SF-based Good Food Foundation, which aims to highlight "the taste-making crafters at the vanguard of deliciousness and social and environmental excellence." Among the 13 VT winners, Woodstock's Abracadabra Coffee won for its Mexico Finca Santa Cruz Natural, Barnard's Fable Farm snagged two awards, for its Emanation and Fluxion ciders, and Windsor's Blake Hill took an award for its Gooseberry & Elderflower preserve. Don't know how to say this, but no NH companies were among the winners.Just what is the word for "patience" in Finnish? Because it took Finnish artist Juho Könkkölä 50 hours to score and fold a single sheet of rice paper to create a remarkably detailed Samurai warrior—with helmet, sword, and plated armor. The video of how he did it is mesmerizing (there's that word again), but also worth your time is his remarkable paper-folding portfolio. (Thanks, MC!)

Time to catch up...

News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:

I dunno... snowy morning, you're moving slowly, maybe, just maybe you need a kick to start the day.... So here's Tommy Emmanuel—the Australian-born Chet Atkins protégé renowned in Nashville for his finger-picking—and Billy Strings, the young Bluegrass guitar phenom,

at the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in upstate NY. Music starts at about the 1:25 mark.

See you tomorrow.

Want to catch up on Daybreak music?

Check out the Spotify playlist generously maintained by Sarah and Nelson Rooker.

Written and published by Rob Gurwitt         Banner by Tom Haushalter    Poetry editor: Michael Lipson  About Rob                                                    About Tom                             About Michael

And if you think one or more of your friends would like Daybreak, too, please forward this newsletter and tell them to hit the blue "Subscribe" button below. And thanks! And hey, if you're that friend? So nice to see you! You can subscribe at: 

Thank you!