GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
What a difference a day makes. Last night's warm front sped through, trailing much warmer air; this morning's clouds will eventually give way to some sun, and we're looking at highs this afternoon reaching the upper 60s thanks to a surge of air from the south (and it'll be even warmer tomorrow). Lows tonight in the upper 40s or around 50 while things dry out for a bit.Dinosaur break. We interrupt our regular fall programming for this piece of machinery on the second floor of the Tip Top Building in WRJ. "The machine itself is a piece of sculpture….what was it used for? I love the creatures inspecting it. They are trying to figure it out too," writes Tony Luckino, who includes this close-up. It was made by Joseph Weidenhoff Inc., a Chicago company that specialized in automotive electrical testing equipment.Woodstock votes to acquire water company. After weeks of intense debate, voters at a special town meeting last night overwhelmingly approved the town's move to buy the Woodstock Aqueduct Company, 382 to 103. As NBC5's James Maloney reports, the town will take over the privately held utility, which has supplied water for well over a century—including a reservoir, water storage facilities, and piping—at a cost of $920,000. More on what it all means Friday from the Standard.Students' trespassing trial ends. WCAX's Adam Sullivan was in the courtroom Monday as the trial resumed—and several hours later ended—for Dartmouth students Kevin Engel and Roan Wade, who were arrested last fall after erecting a tent in front of the college's administration building. Witnesses included President Sian Beilock. Her "red line," she told the courtroom, was the students' refusal to take down their tent even after repeated warnings—which other witnesses detailed. Sullivan covers the testimony and talks to Engel and Wade. Judge Michael Mace did not say when he'd issue a decision.Getting e-bikes to where they're needed. Vital Communities has an intriguing program to make them available to people who need transportation—like residents of Hartford Dismas House, who have access to three e-bikes, including one with studded winter tires. The E-Bikes Everywhere! effort has also gotten them to a workplace program for people with disabilities and to SHARe, which helps asylum seekers and refugees. “I was a little anxious at first because of the traffic," says Dismas resident Larry Wright, who commutes to UVAC, "but I’ve gotten used to it. It beats walking—it’s a 40-minute walk."SPONSORED: Celebrate The Herald's 150th Anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 16! Join the staff and supporters of the White River Valley Herald as they throw a huge party at the Chandler in Randolph at 5pm on 11/16. There'll be live music from Ali T, Bow Thayer, Krishna Guthrie, and the Randolph Singers, plus historical storytelling from great local actors, a delicious canapé buffet, beer and wine cash bar by Fable Farm, and much more. $15 tickets include appetizers, desserts, and non-alcoholic beverages. Buy your tickets now at the burgundy link or here. Sponsored by Friends of The Herald.A song that "feels your pain and calls you up to absolutely conquer." That's how Kate Oden, in her Enthusiasms debut, describes "Now Is Your Time to Deliver", the title track off an album by the Danish rock-with-hints-of-punk-and-metal group Nelson Can. The band disbanded a few years back, but Kate writes that Nelson Can has everything you need for a workout: a beat that's steady but not boring; a tone "that makes you feel you’re in your own feature film"; and catchy lyrics. "These are battle songs," Kate writes, "for the righteous human spirit in all of us.And speaking of debuts... Jackson Saul, the new executive director of Northern Woodlands, is up with his first "This Week in the Woods", taking over from veteran TWITWist Elise Tillinghast. On the cusp of November, he focuses on a white pine snag whose branch whorls give a sense of its age; a pale green assassin bug nymph just after snacking on an arachnid; the colors you can still find on a forest floor; and a heads up that young striped skunks are "out looking aggressively for dwindling food supplies and, eventually, winter burrows."SPONSORED: Celebrate local trails in your favorite flannel! The Upper Valley Trails Alliance is celebrating 25 years of service with a delicious dinner on Thursday, Nov. 14th at the Lake Morey Resort. There will be a cocktail reception and trail work exhibits followed by a three-course meal, brief speeches, and a raffle for amazing giveaways. Tickets are $100 per person and dress is Trail Formal—a.k.a your favorite flannel! Hit the burgundy link or here and purchase tickets today! Sponsored by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.A West Leb-Hanover greenway? That's the goal of a small group of residents in both towns, reports Emma Roth-Wells in the Valley News. Their hope is to allow pedestrians and bikers to avoid Route 10 between Bridge Street in West Leb and the CVS on South Main Street. “I know mountain bikers who will do crazy things in the woods on their bikes, but won’t bike Route 10,” Hanover's Jennie Chamberlain told the Lebanon Planning Board Monday night. So far, it's just a dream, though both Dartmouth and Hanover are helping fund a scoping study. Leb board members Monday raised concerns about costs to the city.In both NH and VT, officials try to reassure voters the election is secure. Yesterday was a day for press conferences in both Concord and Montpelier...
NH Secretary of State David Scanlan argued that in-person registration and local polling places controlled by town moderators, clerks, and selectboard members—all of them elected—keep the state's elections safe, reports the Monitor's David Brooks (possible paywall). “We have a process that is continuous, transparent, observable,” Scanlan said. “You can trust the results.” He also warned that there's a lot of election disinformation out there: “Use good judgment when you see or hear things on social media platforms," he said.
Meanwhile, VT Gov. Phil Scott and Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas took to the podium yesterday in the wake of what Copeland Hanzas called a handful of "really negative interactions" between town clerks and upset voters. In Seven Days, Kevin McCallum reports that Copeland Hanzas said there'd been seveeral incidents involving people who “appear to have been agitated by something they saw on social media.” Both said their offices are prepared to deal with any potential interruptions, and urged voters with questions to ask trusted sources—town clerks, the secretary of state's office. Copeland Hanzas also noted that if you're voting in person, bring the ballot you were mailed.
You may remember that last month's report from a private consultant found the state's hospitals are in a financial hole and recommended extensive changes at four of them, including Gifford and Springfield. But in a press release yesterday, reports
VTDigger
's Peter D'Auria, the state hospital association said the report's figures on patient discharges are far lower than the hospitals' own numbers, suggesting that hospitals are treating more patients than the report claims. Its author pushed back yesterday, insisting his data was more accurate.
That's after Middlebury College donated a permanent right-of-way to the Green Mountain Club, reports VT Public's Abagael Giles. Though the trail runs through a ski area, the GMC's Mollie Flanagan tells Giles, "the sections between the ski lines feel like classic northern Vermont forest, so it's a beautiful section of trail." In all now, access to just 2 percent of the hiking trail is still unprotected, Giles reports.
So... Just imagine pulling up to your next party in this! The St. J fire department is auctioning off a 2005 pumper truck to the general public, reports Jordan Barbour for myChamplainValley.com. It's got a broken frame, which is why it's been taken out of service, Barbour writes, but does have a working pump and water tank. Usually, Chief Bradley Reed says, the department sells its used trucks through brokers, but this year is trying an online auction. So far, no bids have come in higher than the $25K reserve price. Bidding ends today."We have a squirrel at the 17-yard line." As SI writes about Saturday's Ole Miss-Oklahoma game, "the highlight of [the] matchup was not provided by a human." With nearly two minutes left in the first quarter and the teams tied 7-7, suddenly there it was: a squirrel on the field. ESPN announcer Bob Wischusen was unfazed—calling the squirrel's dash to the end zone after officials tried to corral it. The crowd went wild. Scroll down for the video.
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We may be the middle of nowhere to everyone else in VT and NH, but
we
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!
JAM's televised show, hosted by Tatum Barnes of Valley Improv and Hartford Parks and Rec, kicks off at 4:30 today, with all Upper Valley trick-or-treaters invited to show up (by 4:30) and strut their costumes. It'll all be livestreamed to JAM's YouTube and cable channels, with Barnes interviewing participants about their inspiration.
Greenberg, who won a Grammy for producing Baha Men's cover of "Who Let the Dogs Out?" and hosts the podcast
Speed of Sound
, will be the keynote speaker for a Neukom Institute colloquium. He'll be talking about the ways in which AI is transforming the music industry at 5:30 pm in the Loew Auditorium and livestreamed.
Dartmouth's Dickey Center, Middle East Initiatives and the Dartmouth Dialogues host the Palestinian political scientist and pollster, based in Ramallah. He's been surveying residents of the West Bank and Gaza for over three decades, and Israelis for almost that long. He'll be talking about how much support Hamas sustains among Palestinians, what opinion polls suggest, and the roots of that support. Haldeman 41 and livestreamed, 6 pm.
Under the baton of Filippo Ciabatti and assistant conductor Erma Mellinger, the group will perform a selection of "choral favorites" starting at 7:30 pm in Rollins Chapel.
And hey, want to be a citizen scientist, pollinator experimenter,
and
get a free plant? Scientists at the VT Center for Ecostudies are interested in whether non-local plants attract the same insect visitors as native plants, and they're expanding a study to find out. So starting next spring, participants will get a plant to establish in their garden, keep an eye on until it blooms, and then conduct weekly five-minute watches to record pollinators. They're looking for participants across VT, NH, and western MA. Interested?
Today, some Chopin.
But probably not Chopin you've ever heard before. "Deep in the vault of the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan on a late-spring day," the NYT's Javier C. Hernández writes (gift link), "the curator Robinson McClellan was sorting through a collection of cultural memorabilia. There were postcards signed by Picasso, a vintage photograph of a French actress and letters from Brahms and Tchaikovsky. When McClellan came across Item No. 147, he froze..." What he'd found turned out, after extensive testing, to be a previously undiscovered Chopin waltz. It's only about 80 seconds long,
. But the story's pretty great, too, so check it out while you listen.
See you tomorrow.
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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