GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Hang on, we're headed in the right direction, but we're not there yet. There's this "frontal boundary" that's taken up lodging high above us, and a low-pressure system headed our way, and the upshot is we're looking at mostly rain. Showers may continue through the morning, then there'll be a lull, and then the new system will barge in with potentially heavy rain starting late afternoon. Temps still below "normal" but warmer than yesterday's below-"normal" and definitely better than Monday's. Highs in the mid-60s, lows tonight in the 50s.Square truck, round hole: Oops.... Yesterday, Marsha Ried Wykes was right behind a Ryder truck that turned out to be bit too big for the little tunnel on Glen Road between the plazas and the Miracle Mile. She got the pic of the moment. A lot of FB head-shaking going on.Great View will close for good, become "pet resort" after all. Owners Peter and Diane Martin had announced back in the winter that they planned to close the Enfield rollerskating rink for lack of business. Then, after a deluge of pleas from a disappointed public, they changed their minds in March and put together a last-ditch effort to sell memberships. But now it's final: The rink will close at the end of June, and they'll open up Chosen Valley Pet Resort in its place.Vermont Violins gets grant to help expand in-house production. The Montpelier-based business, which for years focused on selling and promoting the study of stringed instruments -- and has a store in West Leb -- has recently begun manufacturing violins and violas. This is unusual. If you're in the market, it's hard to avoid violins and cellos from China. The $11,349 grant will go toward building the company's design skills and national marketing effort.This is a little too close to a certain movie that scarred us as kids. A man in Pelham, NH, heard what sounded like crying in the woods behind his house. He found a fawn next to its mother, who'd apparently been hit by a car, made it back to its baby, and died. The Pelham PD called in animal control officer Corie Bliss from nearby Salem, who rescued the fawn and took it to a wildlife rehab facility. Bad blood at the summit: Mt. Washington Observatory sues Cog Railway. The lawsuit alleges that the railway has breached a financial agreement and persisted in “false claims of land ownership or other supposed restrictive covenants.” It all stems from a 2009 agreement to help fund the renovation of the Observatory's summit museum. The Cog made payments in 2016, but not for the last two years.NH AG Gordon MacDonald, a Dartmouth grad, nominated for chief justice. Gov. Chris Sununu yesterday announced that he's naming MacDonald, who's been attorney general for two years, to lead the state Supreme Court after current Chief Justice Bob Lynn steps down in August. MacDonald was a longtime commercial and health-care litigator in Manchester before becoming the state's top prosecutor. Ag Census finds NH farms are shrinking, but becoming more profitable. Every five years, the USDA publishes a report on farming around the country; this year's was due in March, but was delayed by the government shutdown. Results, based on 2017 figures, are out now. In the five years from 2012-2017, total farmland in the state dropped by 10 percent and there are about 270 fewer farms, but overall, farms reversed losses, jumping from a net loss of $10 million to a net gain of $10 million. There was also significant growth in farms under 10 acres.Meanwhile, bankruptcies in NH were up in May. There were 183 individual and business filings last month, compared to 159 in April. Overall, the monthly average for 2019 is now the highest it's been since 2015. But treat the numbers with caution: As New Hampshire Business Review points out, "it is too early to tell whether this is just a temporary uptick or an upward trend."The Boston Globe weighs in with its take on Vermont's "we'll pay you to move here" gambit. The piece starts with Matt Christie, who grew up in Hanover, left for urban life, and then moved to S. Strafford, going into Coburns' for jumper cables. "The owner, a neighbor Christie had met just briefly, didn’t have any for sale, but he told Christie to go into his garage (unlocked), take his truck (keys in the ignition), and drive it home to give himself a jump (success)." Yeah, that probably wouldn't happen in Boston.VPR updates gun-death database, finds more people died from gunshots last year than in any year since 2011. The news organization has been maintaining the database since an investigation into gun deaths in 2017. Overall, 82 people died from gunshots in 2018, 70 of them men. Of the total, 85 percent were suicides. Perhaps most striking, 10 of those who died served in the armed forces; all died by suicide.Climate change impacts are here, and VT needs to figure out how to deal with them. In a VTDigger commentary, Norwich resident and Conservation Law Foundation attorney Elena Mihaly is promoting the 2019 Resilient Vermont Conference at Norwich University this Friday and Saturday. But along the way, she points to why it matters: farmers dealing with changing weather patterns and new invasive species; mobile home parks affected by stronger storms; public drinking water systems unprepared to deal with rising cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins due to rising temperatures; roadways increasingly vulnerable to flooding.Black flies annoy more than just people. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies is out with its "Field Guide to June 2019," and in it, field biologist Kent McFarland points out that black flies attack birds, and can even "get on the nerves" of nesting loons. But that's not all: He details a study that found that in VT, black flies are transmitting a parasitic protozoa called Leucocytozoon to birds. But there's a little irony here. Turns out that large black fly populations "indicate clean, healthy streams since most species will not tolerate pollution."IT'S WEDNESDAY, GOT PLANS?Maybe a dive into the world of Vincent Van Gogh? Art historian Carol Berry has spent years studying Van Gogh, his influences, his letters, his spirituality, and his work. She'll be giving a VT Humanities Council First Wednesdays lecture on the experiences, artists, and writers who influenced him, and on his effect on art of the 20th century. At the Norwich Congregational Church at 7 pm.Or you could get psyched about visiting the big-name national parks. John Bunker, who used to be director of external relations at UNH's College of Health and Human Services, will be at the Howe talking about places like Yellowstone, the Tetons, Bryce, Zion, and others. He's been going there himself for decades, and has a lot of practical advice on lodging, logistics, how to make the most of your time there, and safety. Like, for instance: "People look at [bison] and think they are big slow cows — in reality, they can run up to 35 mph, they have bad attitude, and they will pick you up and gore you.” Starts at 7 pm.Norwich writer Katherine Forbes Riley will be at the Norwich Bookstore reading from and talking about her first novel, The Bobcat. The story's about a young art student who, after a sexual assault, retreats into her own imagination and finds herself most comfortable when she's with the child for whom she babysits. In the woods one day, she and her charge come across an injured bobcat and a hiker who's been following it. Says Goodreads, "Riley has created a mesmerizing love story, in lush, gorgeous prose, that examines art, science, and the magic of human chemistry." Wine reception at 6:30, reading at 7. Reservations recommended: [email protected]. Have a great day. See you tomorrow.
If you like Daybreak and would like to help it keep going and evolve, please hit the "Support" button below and I'll tell you more:
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!