Daybreak Wednesday 3/18/20

SO NICE TO SEE YOU, UPPER VALLEY!

Let's make this a glass-half-full weather report. The sun's back today! We've got high pressure over us, and the day should start out bright and cheery. Temps will be climbing through the morning, getting into the 40s by midday and into the high 40s by late. There is some moisture on its way, though, and we'll start to see clouds showing up late in the day. Lows down toward freezing tonight, and a chance of snow showers overnight, so if you're headed anywhere first thing tomorrow morning, watch the roads.Fatal shooting in Royalton. Early yesterday morning, police were called to a home on Route 14 for a reported fight, which was followed quickly by a report of gunshots. When they arrived, they found two men outside, one dead and the other wounded.A section of Route 14 in the area (between Bridge St. and Meadow Lane) was shut down, and the investigation lasted through the day. Police say they're treating it as a homicide.Upper Valley Strong re-activates. The community-focused, Upper Valley-wide effort convened by Vital Communities in the wake of Hurricane Irene is going back into business. Its steering committee, which brings together organizations from around the region, is looking particularly at how to fill in gaps in the public response without duplicating efforts. There's planning behind the scenes, and more coming in the next few days.Silo Distillery's making hand sanitizer. "We find ourselves in a unique position in this time of global unease," the Windsor distillery writes in a press release. "As producers of high-proof, neutral grain alcohol, we have a small excess of ethanol at our disposal.  We realize that many folks right now have imminent concerns about supply shortages nationally." So they're making up sanitizer with vegetable glycerin and 180-190 proof ethanol and offering it free. They're open reduced hours, at the link. Oh, and as they say, "Please bring a reusable bottle, be patient and courteous, and please do not visit us if you have been experiencing symptoms."

The VN is going all out with a stream of updates — which, as you know by now, are free to read. At this link you'll find:

And at this link you'll find:

Five new cases in VT, including one in Windsor County. The state total is now 17, including seven out-of-staters. The Windsor County case is a woman in her 70s, who's being treated at DHMC, reports Seven Days.Hartford guy busted for falsely telling bus passengers he had COVID-19. Lebanon police were called in yesterday morning by the bus company, which evacuated all other passengers and the driver. "Under questioning from officers, [David] Landeau told them that he did not have COVID-19 and that his statements about having the illness were false," the Union Leader reports. "It is not known why he claimed to be infected with the coronavirus."The Hop goes dark through May. In an announcement yesterday, Hopkins Center director Mary Lou Aleskie wrote that the performing arts venue is postponing or cancelling all events scheduled for before May 31. If you've already got tix, the cost will be put into your Hop account as non-expiring credit. In the meantime, Aleskie writes, "Expect to hear from us with updates on rescheduled live events as well as some new ideas."So do the Norwich Inn's restaurant and pub. In a listserv posting yesterday, reports Norwich blogger Demo Sofronas, the inn announced that though it had briefly tried takeout and curbside service, "it became evident that the safest thing to do for our guests and our team members is to close our restaurant." But don't fret: You can still buy the retail versions of Jasper Murdock ale and Whistling Pig cheddar at the front desk.So's WRJ's Trail Break. And owner Topher Lyons is looking for suggestions of where to donate perishables. He's also hoping the comments thread on his FB thread will become a resource for other restaurants to refer to, too.So's Hartford Town Hall. Well, not exactly dark dark. It'll be operating normally behind the scenes, but it will be closed to the public except for critical transactions, for which you'll need to make an appointment. Co-op Food Stores reserving 7-8 am slot for elderly and at-risk populations. That early hour, obviously, is when the stores are cleanest. "We’re appealing to our customers who are not elderly or at-risk to shop after 8 a.m. so that our stores are as safe as possible for our most vulnerable shoppers," they write. They're also closing their cafés and offering only pre-packaged self-service items. Price Chopper open only to seniors from 6-7 am starting tomorrow. Also, they'll be closing at 10 every night to clean and re-stock.Restaurant staff take it in the chin. The VN's John Lippman reports that "mass 'furloughs,' as they are being called, are upending the lives of restaurant workers, many who live paycheck to paycheck and depend upon customer tips for the majority of their income." He surveys the local scene — Molly's, Jesse's, Shyrl's, Trail Break. Skinny Pancake owner Benjy Adler tells him the company dropped from 235 to 25 employees overnight. "We’re taking the core of our team and turning it into a social-service agency to support our staff,” Adler says.Killington gives groceries away to employees. WCAX reports that the resort brought in two tractor-trailers-worth of food, including meats, vegetables, milk, and water, to give to employees of Killington and Pico for while the mountains are shut down.Darn Tough closes manufacturing operations but will keep paying workers. The sock maker, based in Northfield, says the measures will last at least until March 27, at which point it will re-evaluate. The company employs about 350 people in its Northfield plant and at a new facility in Waterbury. Most parents haven't tried home-schooling, but there's definitely expertise out there. And VPR's Brave Little State is going to tap into it. They're going to "facilitate a recorded conversation between a veteran home-schooling parent or caregiver, and someone who will now be managing their child or children's at-home education for the first time." The deadline's passed to apply for the bewildered-parent position, but you'll be able to hear the results on Friday. (Thanks for the tip, LT!)“In times of uncertainty, people like to take up arms.” That's George Caldwell, who owns an appointment-only gun shop in South Burlington. As was no doubt inevitable, there's been a run on guns and ammunition in Vermont, and not just by the pre-existing gun owners who sometimes spike sales in politically uncertain times. Seven Days' Colin Flanders quotes a Waterbury gun-shop owner who criticizes some first-timers for “setting their anti-gun views aside to protect their family.” Meanwhile, a third says he's considering a special: "With every new gun, a free roll of toilet paper."This also won't surprise you: There's a bunch of nogoodniks out there trying to use the coronavirus to get at your computer. They've embedded malware in a copy of the ubiquitous Johns Hopkins map and are selling it. They're sending out email phishing campaigns to try to get personal information or install malicious code. Duane Dunston, a cybersecurity prof at Champlain College, is up with a list of safety tips and suggestions on VTDigger. (Thanks, DM!)Remember yesterday's item about new Lyme disease research? Not so fast, says Jeffrey Parsonnet, an infectious disease doc at DHMC. First off, he writes, "Properly controlled clinical studies have shown that antibiotics already used to treat Lyme disease, at all stages of infection, are highly effective at killing the bacterium... Your readers should not be under the impression that long-term treatment with an intravenous antibiotic (such as azlocillin) has been shown to be efficacious." Full letter to Daybreak at the link."There is a science to plant companions, but I haven't used it." That's gardener Jen Kennedy, talking about her own garden in Underhill, VT, which Seven Days writer Megan Fulwiler describes as "not a garden of straight lines but rather a cheerful jumble of flowers, herbs and vegetables — sweet peas, tomatoes, peppers, Brussels sprouts, rhubarb and garlic — growing together in verdant harmony." Fulwiler's up with a lovely — and picturesque — look at Kennedy's approach to creating "art with plants." So, you know all that very high bridge construction on I-91 down around Rockingham? Ever wondered what's going on? Engineering News-Record has the details. The $50 million project is to replace two 60-year-old steel truss bridges with a four-span spliced precast concrete girder structure, the first of its kind in Vermont. Even just unloading the precast girders — from 96 to 147 feet long — was complicated, since they were aiming to tie up traffic for no more than 20 minutes at a time. “They looked like a NASCAR team with more than a dozen people converging … with chains to hook and unhook,” says the senior project manager.News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:

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