GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Mostly cloudy, cooler. The air that came in behind that cold front yesterday set up some sharp temperature drops, and today we'll only get into the mid 40s, with lows tonight in the upper 20s (if you're in higher terrain) to mid 30s. Slight chance of showers this afternoon.Another sign of spring in northern New England. A snow roll at the end of a windshield in Hanover, from Sue Lin.Karaoke Night in Claremont. A very warm welcome to Frances Mize, a former reporter for the Valley News who's turned her skills to audio journalism and who, today, checks in with her first piece for Daybreak: a you-are-there immersion in the weekly Karaoke Night at VFW Post 808 in Claremont. It's a scene, and the regulars explain to Frances why they show up for it week after week. "How many people in their 90s can enjoy doing this?" says one, gesturing at his 92-year-old wife at the mic. "It's this kind of karaoke, where people care about each other," says another.About Mohsen Mahdawi. The VN's Jim Kenyon knows the Upper Valleyite and Columbia student who was pulled out of a citizenship meeting in handcuffs by federal agents on Monday. "Long before he arrived," Kenyon writes, he "pretty much knew it was a setup." In a column, Kenyon describes events leading up to Monday and traces Mahdawi's background—as a protest leader at Columbia who "took a step back," his pursuit of citizenship and his studies, his trip with Woodstock Rabbi Dov Taylor to a synagogue in Illinois. “He speaks from the heart," Taylor tells Kenyon.
At least as of yesterday, Mahdawi was still in Vermont, reports the AP's Holly Ramer. Not long after his detention, a federal judge ordered that he not be moved from the state, and one of his lawyers confirmed that he remained there—Luna Droubi added that attorneys "have connected with Mahdawi, though they have not received any information about why he was detained," Ramer writes.
NH Fish & Game will bill "unprepared" pair who called for rescue on Mt. Cardigan. Madeleine Wu, a Dartmouth student, and Bridge Liu, of Los Angeles, began their hike up Cardigan's West Ridge Trail at 4:30 pm Monday. While descending around 6:55 pm, they "ran into snow and ice that they could not maneuver around," the agency says in a press release, and so called for help. Rescuers reached them about two hours later. "They did not carry microspikes, food, extra clothing or headlamps, which if they had planned to bring, no assistance would have been needed," Fish & Game writes.SPONSORED: VINS hosts 10th Annual Owl Festival, April 26 / 9AM - 5PM. Join us for a day of all things owl! Perfect for families and nature enthusiasts alike, don't miss this rare opportunity to get up close with these remarkable birds of prey and learn about their habitats and life stories. With live owls, scientists, storytellers, interactive games and hands-on crafts, it's sure to be an unforgettable experience! Hit the burgundy link or here for full schedule and ticket information. Sponsored by VINS."I tell myself: this season has made you resistant to useless things; so, move on." A new writer joins the Enthusiasms rotation this week: poet, playwright, novelist, and Los Lorcas drummer Peter Money. In his debut outing he manages to weave together spring, Van Morrison, The Beat (and the Beats), poetry month—"a time when it’s o.k. to show our softer sides"—and the Bahamian poet Patricia Glinton-Meicholas. Oh, and also: merino wool's place in the history of the Upper Valley and Morrison again. "Van’s saxophone lets it out. Unreal. I mean, really wailing."Early iterations of Dartmouth AI therapy chatbot: "They’re kind of comical in how bad they turned out." The researchers behind Therabot are much further along now, reporting that they've "seen meaningfully reduced psychological symptoms among users with depression, anxiety or an eating disorder," writes Teddy Rosenbluth (formerly of the Concord Monitor) in the NYT (gift link). But the journey to get there was bumpy: the first version "wallowed in despair"; the second invariably blamed the parents. So the team built its own dataset. Rosenbluth digs into their work and what it means.SPONSORED: Betrayal, suffering, and forgiveness. The three holiest days in the Christian calendar start tomorrow with the commandment to love. On Good Friday we follow Christ to the cross, executed by a brutal Roman empire. Then witness God’s love in the fire of the Easter Vigil, showing us the unquenchable power for love. Love your enemies. Care for the needy. Worship this Holy Week at St Thomas. Sponsored by St. Thomas Episcopal Church.APD president/CEO announces retirement. Susan Mooney, an obstetrician and gynecologist who took over the top post at the Lebanon hospital in 2012, plans to step down once a replacement is found, reports Clare Shanahan in the Valley News. As Shanahan outlines, Mooney has seen a lot: she took over at a time of financial uncertainty, helped oversee the merger with what is now Dartmouth Health, and in the years since has worked to undergird APD's presence as a community health provider. DH officials and the APD board intend to launch a national search for a replacement.Lebanon police arrest Hanover man after wrong-way incident on I-89. It happened early yesterday morning, after police got reports of a vehicle traveling south in the northbound lanes of I-89. While trying to locate the vehicle, the LPD writes in a press release, a responding officer "was nearly struck head-on by the wrong-way driver. The Officer quickly took evasive action to avoid a collision." The driver, Aneesh Sharma, a member of Dartmouth's Class of 2026, fled, but eventually pulled over near Exit 17 and was pulled from the car after refusing to get out. He faces a variety of charges. The VN reports.Federal judge rules against Bow NH parents on First Amendment rights. You may remember the case: The parents had sued the district and its superintendent after they were barred from wearing pink wristbands to protest transgender athletes playing in girls’ sports. On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe sided with the district, arguing that it was reasonable for the district to view "XX" symbols on the bands as a "demeaning/harassing message." "School grounds are considered a limited public forum," explains the Monitor's Sruthi Gopalakrishnan (via NHPR).NH Supreme Court's longest-serving justice to retire. James Bassett, a Dartmouth alum who was named to the court in 2012 by then-Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, is also the only member of the court not named by former Gov. Chris Sununu. As NHPR's Todd Bookman notes, Bassett is stepping down Aug. 31, a year before his mandatory retirement age of 70, and his departure gives Gov. Kelly Ayotte her first chance for a nomination to the court; the Executive Council must approve it. Until then, Bassett will no longer hear oral arguments, but will take part in written opinions.VT's tourism industry "bracing for a rough summer." And not just summer, reports VT Public's Peter Hirshfield: At Jay Peak, early sales for season passes next winter are down by 80 percent among Canadians—who account for about half the resort's revenues. Kingdom Trails' executive director tells Hirshfield she's seeing similar issues: Canadian regulars tell her "they will not be visiting until our political climate has shifted." Even Red Hen Bakery is worried. "It’s not an exaggeration to say that if we don’t have the tourist business, we don’t have a business," owner Randy George recently told legislators.VT Ed Secy pushes back against feds' DEI directive. In a letter to the US Dept. of Education on Monday, reports Alison Novak in Seven Days, state Education Secretary Zoie Saunders wrote that the state does not discriminate based on race or other categories. "While not outright defiant, Saunders' letter clearly indicates that Vermont is at odds" with the federal agency, Novak writes. In an email to superintendents, Saunders wrote that "so-called 'illegal' DEI practices referenced in federal communications bear no resemblance to the inclusive, student-centered practices happening in Vermont schools.""No chimp would ever say to itself, 'It hasn't rained in six weeks, therefore these invisible gods must be angry.'" Chimps are "wickedly smart," Dartmouth neuroscientist Peter Tse tells Steve Paulson on To the Best of Our Knowledge, but imagination seems to be beyond them. Tse, along with Paulson and co-host Ann Strainchamps, were guests of Dartmouth physicist Marcelo Gleiser at a villa near Florence, where Gleiser had convened a group of scientists and philosophers to try to build a new scientific worldview. Tse's remarks came as he discussed how imagination sets humans off from other animals. Episode about the gathering at the burgundy link, Tse's portion here.Speaking of world views... The Kitt Peak National Observatory a few weeks ago released a photo taken through its telescope of Mars rising above the lunar surface. Two visitor guides captured the image.This week's Throughlines. Did you follow along above? The game starts with a grid of 16 words. Your job is to find the three sets of four words that each share items in today's Daybreak. But beware: those extra four words are decoys, so don't get faked out.The Wednesday Wordbreak. With a word from yesterday's Daybreak. If you're new to Daybreak, this is a puzzle along the lines of the NYT's Wordle—only different, because it's not just some random word snatched out of the ether, but a word that actually appeared here yesterday.
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Daybreak tote bags! Thanks to a helpful reader's suggestion. Plus, of course, the usual: sweatshirts, head-warming beanies, t-shirts, long-sleeved tees, the Daybreak jigsaw, those perfect hand-fitting coffee/tea mugs, and as always, "We Make Our Own Fun" t-shirts and tote bags for proud Upper Valleyites. Check it all out at the link!
Both are Dartmouth grads: Kuster, a Democrat who represented New Hampshire's Second District for six terms, and Mooney, a Republican who represented West Virginia's Second District for five. They'll be talking about congressional power, "areas of common interest, and how Members of Congress can work together to create bipartisan policy during such polarizing times." 5 pm at the Rockefeller Center and online.
If you've ever read Miller's magnificent debut novel,
The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven
, you've probably never forgotten it. The central VT writer and farmer returns to the frozen north for his second novel, centered on an Icelandic cattle farm and a young man trying to find his footing both there and in his non-farm life. "Because who in their right mind—I’m looking at you, Vikings—would take their first steps onto our steaming black rock and think farmland?” With novelist Miciah Bay Gault, 7 pm.
But you can always check the Hop box office in case anything's opened up:
603.646.2422.
If you snag tix: 7:30 pm in the Hanover Inn.
And for today...
"I'm what's left of Dick Van Dyke," says a 99-year-old Dick Van Dyke
Turns out that castmate and professional funny guy Morey Amsterdam wrote the lyrics to the theme song, and Van Dyke and his
a cappella
group give their supremely tuneful rendition, via TikTok (sound's up at the top left if you need it).
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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