Daybreak Wednesday 4/22/20

GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!

Yesterday's front is fleeing the scene, but it left the cold and, um, some snow, behind. My advice, if you're longing for spring: Don't look out the window. Interesting dynamics aloft, with cold air being transported into the region and, as soon as there's any heating, producing some serious wind gusts. It's going to start out chilly, warm up a bit (at best into the low 40s), and be windy enough—gusts into the 30s—that wind chills could actually be a factor. Oh, and more clouds than sun most of the day, though we should still see blue patches. Clear tonight, temps down into the low 20s.Goldfinch smackdown! I exaggerate, but only a bit. Etna photographer Jim Block caught a stunning set of photos by sticking some mullein stalks in the ground and then patiently waiting to see what happened. There was a squirrel. And some black-capped chickadees. And then goldfinches landing, taking off, and having a free and frank exchange of views about who was entitled to the seeds. These are photos to linger over.So... where do we stand?

"There are really three different emergencies going on." Upper Valley Strong, which formed in 2011 in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, isn't really an organization; it's a collective of organizations. It's been working for over a month, first to prepare for the extreme medical emergency that everyone feared, and more recently to find ways of helping the region deal with both the immediate and, likely, longer-term economic emergency we clearly face. For a new Daybreak Interview, I spoke with three of its members about how it's set up and what it's been working on."Decisions...could impact a business for years, if not be the difference between survival and failure." John Pepper, local entrepreneur and CEO of Boloco, just went up with a post on small businesses trying to navigate the Payroll Protection Program, its requirements, and its conundrums. For instance, there's an 8-week window to spend funds on paying employees in order for most of the loan to become a grant. But in some cases, he points out, "businesses will unnecessarily be asking employees to leave the safety of their homes to come into work where no essential service is provided." And asking them to forgo unemployment benefits that might be higher than their wages. There's plenty more, and it's well worth your time.Sununu announces re-opening task force. “Today’s announcement does not mean we are flipping a switch and opening things tomorrow," he said yesterday, "but is rather a proactive approach enabling us to plan for the re-opening of our economy from a public health standpoint.” The task force's first meeting is today at 4 pm, and you can listen in if you'd like by dialing 415-655-0001, then the pin: 479 750 965.Meanwhile, the governor's already-operating Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery got an earful from hospitals and health providers. Altogether, hospitals are losing $200 million a month (Catholic Medical Center just furloughed 423 workers and is reducing hours for another 914). While there has been some federal aid, hospitals say it won't be enough. “How do we get though the next 30, 60, 90 days to get to the other side?” asked Steve Ahnen, president of the state hospital association.“Second homeowners are coming way sooner than ever before, and it’s happening everywhere.” That's John Beland, emergency preparedness manager at the Partnership for Public Health in Laconia, talking about northern NH towns' preparation for an influx of seasonal residents and visitors. Their concern is straightforward: that the coronavirus will migrate northward. In one town, the health officer sent letters to all registered property owners advising them to bring enough food and supplies to quarantine for 14 days; a team of volunteers would fetch unforeseen necessities. "It's working spectacularly," says the interim police chief.Testing rate in NH remains flat. Though state officials have said the state needs more testing, an analysis by NHPR shows it's remained at about the same level for the past month. "The relatively slow rate of testing in New Hampshire raises questions about whether state leaders will be able to make informed decisions about relaxing restrictions on businesses and communities," say reporters Jason Moon and Casey McDermott. Though state officials say they're frustrated, they still haven't explained why NH's rate is well below other states' in the region.Wondering which businesses are open in Vermont? VTDigger has just launched a statewide directory of businesses that are open and fulfilling essential services. It comes complete with details on curbside pickup, delivery, and other shopping essentials. They're still building it out, so if your business isn't listed there, get in touch with them.And on the unemployment front...  VT's Department of Labor is hoping today to have its new system ready for the self-employed and independent contractors who aren't eligible for regular unemployment assistance. Their plan is for claimants to begin filing as soon as Friday. Their dedicated page for it is at the link; they hadn't updated it as of this morning, but it's worth checking back. Yesterday, the folks in charge held a virtual town hall to answer questions, which has plenty of information, and they plan another tomorrow once the system's launched. No word yet on NH's plans.Vermont developing "mass feeding plan." With huge jumps in demand at both individual food pantries and the statewide Vermont Foodbank—it distributed 900,000 pounds of food in April a year ago and expects to hit 1.6 million pounds by the end of this month—the Agency of Human Services is trying to scale up food supplies and transportation logistics. This will probably include finding ways to distribute food more widely, says the Foodbank's John Sayles. "Depending on what the new normal is, I think we’re seeing at least a year tail for people who are food insecure, and maybe longer,” he says.What might that look like? National Guard is working with the VT Foodbank to start distributing food. They're setting up sites at the regional airports in Swanton, North Clarendon, North Springfield, Bennington, and Newport to distribute meals provided by FEMA. "Those in need can receive a seven-day supply of Meals Ready-to-Eat for each member of their households. Guard members will be loading food directly into cars to ensure social distancing," VTDigger reports.   Meanwhile, people are preparing to grow their own food, and nurseries and farms are adapting. Nurseries are selling more herb and vegetable starts, moving to e-commerce, and handing out plenty of advice to new gardeners, Seven Days reports. Farms are offering seeds and curbside service for greenhouse plants. And at least one farm is offering a plant CSA. It's a growing-season Wild West out there!The re-opening state of play. As you know, various governors around the country are relaxing stay-home rules. USA Today has a page where you can follow along, which it's updating every few days."I really don't understand why everyone isn't following the rules right now. They're very clear." Or confusing. First, "you must not leave the house. For any reason! Unless of course you have a reason, and then you may leave the house." The pandemic explained. Or... not. A spot of quarantine satire. (Thanks, DM!)

Hanover Selectboard passes policing policy for immigrants, but with caveat intact. You may remember a few weeks back there was a set-to between town officials and immigrant advocates over a clause added to its proposed "welcoming" ordinance: that any portion “need not be” implemented if the SB thinks it conflicts with state or federal law. To the advocates' dismay, the board approved the new measure Monday night with clause in place. (VN)Old West Leb "mud pit" proposed for park. The one-acre gravel parking lot, which sits next to the ballfield near the end of Maple Street, gets problematic in early spring, and city rec officials want to turn it into a play area. “If you go over there on any Saturday afternoon when there’s a ball game happening, you’ll see a lot of kids kind of running in the grassy area between the field and the road,” interim rec director Rick Desharnais tells the VN. “There’s not a great place for those siblings of the folks who are playing to play.” He estimates it will cost $115,000, and hopes construction can begin this summer.Melting Arctic may release icebound research vessel sooner than planned. Remember that last fall, an international team of researchers trapped their icebreaker in the gathering sea ice so that it could drift for a year while they collected data? Now, research gathered by scientists involved with the MOSAIC project, which includes several Thayer participants, suggests that conditions are changing so rapidly there's a chance the ship could both travel farther than they'd expected and be released from the ice before the year's up.Vietnam vet, former FBI agent find lost apple varieties in the Pacific Northwest. This is just too good. EJ Brandt and David Benscoter spend each fall collecting apples from "long-abandoned orchards that they find using old maps, county fair records, newspaper clippings and nursery sales ledgers," the AP reports. They bag them and send them off to the Temperate Orchard Conservancy in Oregon for identification. Their latest finds include the Sary Sinap, an ancient apple from Turkey; the Streaked Pippin, which may have originated as early as 1744 in New York; and the Butter Sweet of Pennsylvania, which dates to 1901.Hot on the heels of blue comes... You know what it's going to be, right? Philip Ball is up with, sadly, the last of his three essays about how we make colors. And he dives into yellow, though with a little side-excursion into "pinks," which used to refer to a class of pigments that yielded yellow pinks, green pinks, and rose pinks. "It is only because the last of these stayed in use for the longest that the term today denotes a hue," he writes. There was yellow ochre, Naples yellow, the ancient orpiment—which contained arsenic, explaining why, despite its brilliance, you don't tend to find it on modern palettes—and Indian Yellow. Allegedly made from the urine of... Oh heck, just go read it yourself. 

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

#UVTogether

Staying Sane

Helping Out

Thoughts and comment

Yesterday, I excerpted Naomi Shihab Nye's "Famous" with a last line reading, "but it never forgot what it did." That's how the version I found read. However, former middle-school English teacher Elise Foxall (who's now at the Lyme School) wrote in to say that in most versions, the last line reads, "but it never forgot what it could do." "There’s a difference there that is significant," she writes, "as we all ponder what we could all still do to be 'famous' in our worlds, and not just what we have done in the past." Here's the excerpt again as Nye prefers it, and I think you'll see that Elise is right:

I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous,or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular,but because it never forgot what it could do.

And just to set the day aright, here's

rolling through New Orleans on a sunny day a few years ago.

See you tomorrow.

Daybreak is written and published by Rob Gurwitt                     Banner by Tom HaushalterAbout Rob                                                                                   About Tom

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!