Daybreak Wednesday, 4/15/26

Mostly cloudy, chance of showers. Another day, another system, with a chance of showers for much of the day, along with a faint chance of thunderstorms this evening. It’ll still be warm, though a bit cooler than yesterday, with highs in the upper 60s. Down to the mid 50s tonight, rain chances continue through the night.

It’s so fun to hold your hand in ice water! Which is effectively what videographer Peter Bloch did the other day out on a local lake, where there was enough open water for him to put in and paddle, but still a large expanse of ice. He had his iPhone but no special gear, so he just held it under the ice sheet as he filmed its underside and air bubbles. “I would have filmed more of this ice phenomenon but my hand was pretty numb from the cold,” he writes in his notes.

Woman dodges Quechee Gorge Bridge safety barrier in suspected suicide; search for body continues. On Monday, Hartford police headed to the bridge after being notified of a woman with possibly suicidal intent; when they arrived, reports Clare Shanahan in the Valley News, first responders saw her body in the water, but it was swept away. Rescue teams searched the Ottauquechee the rest of the day to no avail, and continued yesterday. A photographer covering construction on the bridge tried to stop the woman—whose identity is being withheld—but was unsuccessful. VN photographer James Patterson documents the search afterward. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

In Charlestown, discord over ambulance service. The disagreement between the selectboard and former fire chief Jerry Beaudry centers on the board’s decision last month to limit the fire department’s medical response calls to the two most urgent categories and to leave everything else to Claremont-based Golden Cross Ambulance. As Sofia Langlois reports in the VN, disagreement over that move led to Beaudry’s early departure. Both Beaudry and Charlestown Health Center Director Morgan Sanborn have told the selectboard—and Langlois—of concerns over Golden Cross response times and the behavior of its staff.

“The Upper Valley is perhaps as Platonically New England as an area can get (peeling red barns, rickety covered bridges, green mountains, golden retrievers).” That’s us! In the New Yorker. Though as you can probably guess, Amanda Petrusich isn’t really writing about the Upper Valley. She’s writing about Noah Kahan, partly because “Noah Kahan: Out of Body” just debuted on Netflix and partly because he’s got a new album coming out soon. The film, Petrusich writes, is unusually candid: about his family (“his mother and father seem to regard their son with a reasonable mix of wonder and apprehension”), anxiety, disordered eating, and fame.

SPONSORED: Get ready for a flavor-filled after-hours workshop series at Billings Farm! Shaken or stirred? That is the question as you explore the art of mixology to revisit, redefine, and uncover the stories behind classic cocktails. Or tap into your creativity by learning how to craft a cheese and charcuterie board featuring Billings Farm cheeses along with ingredients from the Farmstead Garden—plus a little wine-pairing know-how along the way! Reserve your spot(s) today! For ages 21+. Register as an individual or a couple. Sponsored by Billings Farm & Museum.

3.5 miles of new piping, 12 buildings converted to new heating, new solar hot water collectors and photovoltaic panels… Dartmouth’s “energy conversion” continues. Robert Gill’s aerial photo of the Crosby Street construction for a new piping distribution vault—a peek over the fencing—tops the progress report from the college’s Office of Communications. But the article itself gives a sense of what a lot of Hanover’s construction is about: switching from its old steam system to using water for heating and cooling; connecting existing housing like Fayerweather Hall and new ones like Russo Hall to the new system; and plenty more.

That 650-page doorstop you’re reading starting to wear on you? Mix it up with a novella. Kate Oden’s got a system: Proust in the morning, something short later in the day—or as she describes it, “Lightening that load and scratching the itch for a new story, I've been reading short works concurrently.” And in this week’s Enthusiasms, she’s got suggestions: Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist, which clocks in at just 120 pages; Helen DeWitt’s The English Understand Wool (“a keen parable on luck and moxie“); and Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw (“the kind of writing you experience like a cloud of portent and insight.”)

SPONSORED: You are Invited to the Glitter & Gold Gala: The Montshire at 50! Join us for a vibrant evening in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Montshire Museum of Science on Friday, May 1 at 6:30pm—a milestone benefit event featuring highlights from the Montshire's past, present, and exciting plans for the future. Reservations include delicious hors d’oeuvres and desserts, two free drinks, a champagne to toast the Montshire at 50 and a DJ’d Afterparty! Can’t make it? Please donate to your favorite initiative and help advance the Montshire's mission. Thank you! Sponsored by the Montshire Museum of Science.

Snow rangers have a name for killing snow at Tuckerman: “Slide for life” conditions. As NHPR’s Rick Ganley puts it, “A person who falls on a 35 to 50 degree slope can accelerate uncontrollably and be unable to stop until they hit rocks, other objects, or the ravine floor.” And snow on the mountain can switch from forgiving to icy and rock hard quickly, Jeff Fongemie, director of the Mount Washington Avalanche Center, tells him. The two are talking because the Avalanche Center has partnered on a new short film, The Proving Ground, about the risks of skiing there. At the burgundy link, their conversation about prepping for those risks. You’ll find the film here.

Meanwhile, if you’re headed into the Pemi Wilderness after May 1, get familiar with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. Not because there are grizzlies in the Whites, but because after May 1, all campers in the Pemigewasset will be required to store food, scented items, and trash in bear-resistant canisters approved by that federal committee. No more hanging food, either. "Bear incidents in the Pemi Wilderness area have risen sharply in recent years, with most cases involving bears accessing improperly stored food," the US Forest Service explains. Violations could bring fines of $5,000 for individuals, $10K for groups. Details at the link.

In the NH legislature’s latest behavioral crackdown, Democratic lawmaker barred from parts of the State House. Last week, it was a move to discipline a GOP rep for his social media posts. Now, reports NHPR’s Josh Rogers, Newmarket Rep. Ellen Read has been barred from using Representatives Hall and nearby spaces when the House is not in session—a result, House Speaker Sherm Packard told her in a letter, of her frequent use of profane language. “Words don’t have magic powers,” Read responds. “Everyone knows the F word. Let's be adults here. The things that are happening in this building far eclipse any kind of potty language.”

Trial will go forward for VT man accused of shooting Palestinian students. In a ruling Friday, state Superior Court Judge John Pacht found that Jason Eaton—who’s charged with the 2023 shooting of the three students in Burlington that left one of them paralyzed from the waist down—is competent to stand trial, reports Seven Days’ Colin Flanders. Eaton’s attorneys contended that he has a serious psychiatric disorder and is unable to participate in his own defense. In the decision, Flanders writes, Pacht ruled that Eaton “has a factual, ‘even sophisticated’ understanding of the legal system and appears to have a grasp of what’s at stake.”

Fun to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there. Exoplanets run to extremes: blasting solar winds, radiation, weak or potent gravity, sizzling heat, deep freezes. Sketched Out’s new video explains the types with straightforward science and stick-figure drawings. Take carbon planets, with no oxygen: Jagged mountains and liquid tar cover the surface, the atmosphere is unbreathable, and pressure on the core creates a sea of diamonds. On lava worlds, one side is a fiery 4,500 degrees F, the other, in constant night, rains rocks. Meanwhile, young super-puffs—the universe’s cotton candy —have weak gravity and powerful winds that literally blow their atmospheres away. 

Today's Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday’s Daybreak. If you’re new around here, this is a game that’s reminiscent of Wordle that uses a five-letter word from the previous issue of Daybreak.

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HEADS UP
Historian Kevin Graffagnino and “Ira Allen and the Green Mountain Frontier” at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock. This is the second of the NWPL’s four-part lecture series on early American history. Graffagnino is a prolific author of VT history books and was curator of the state’s history at the UVM library and director of the Vermont Historical Society. He’ll be talking about Ira Allen’s role in establishing and safeguarding the independent State of Vermont. 2 pm.

Lebanon Middle School Drama Club’s production of Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. at Lebanon Opera House. An adaptation of an Australian story about an adventurous girl who gets lost in the great Australian bush. She soon bumps into a kind kangaroo who teaches her the ways of the land, animals, and nature. 7 pm tonight and tomorrow.

Emilie Talpin at The Center at Eastman with “Behind the Camera: What Photography Taught Me”. Talpin is an accomplished photographer and an “ambassador” for Olympus’ OM System cameras. She’ll be showing photos and talking about how photography shapes and gives both balance and meaning to her life. 7 pm in the Draper Room.

The Women’s Adventure Film Tour pulls into VTSU Randolph. Everything from an Australian ultramarathoner in Antarctica to skiing to a cycling expedition across Turkey: “The 2026 program will highlight the resilience and creativity of individuals navigating the challenges of both the outer world and their own inner landscapes.” Next stop on the tour is Boise, so this is your chance. No charge, 7 pm in the SHAPE Campus Center.

And for today...

Blues and fingerstyle guitarist Terry Robb was born in Vancouver but grew up in Portland, OR, and began playing for dances at local junior high and high schools when he was 12, then moved on to solo sets in coffee houses and, over time, became a go-to collaborator, solo recording and performing artist, producer, and member of the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. Here’s, “Fires in the Country”, off his new album, Howlin’ Waters.

See you tomorrow.

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