RABBIT RABBIT, UPPER VALLEY!
"A rinse and repeat forecast," says the Weather Service. They got the rinse part right. That low's still hanging out above, though not for too much longer, and "spokes of moisture" continue to wrap around it. The upshot: Chance of showers all day, chance of thunderstorms especially in the afternoon, and then later today the clouds start to dissipate and things dry out for a bit. Highs in the mid-70s, lows in the low 60s.A pair of bears. Last Saturday, Herb Swanson saw a bear and her cubs in his yard in Lyndonville; the cubs ran off before he could get a pic, but he caught the mom in full...what would you say? "Don't you even think of getting closer, bud"? And then yesterday morning, Robin and Don Weisburger were sitting outside at their place in Orford, peacefully reading Daybreak, when they looked up... A recap...
NH added 22 new positive test results yesterday (with 1,337 tests), bringing its official total to 5,782. There are 4,463 (77%) recovered cases and 371 deaths (up 4), yielding a total current caseload of 948 (down 10). Grafton County gained one new case to stand at 85 cumulatively; Sullivan County also gained a case, and is now at 32. Merrimack County gained 1 and stands at 410 all told. There remain between 1 and 4 active cases each in Canaan, Lebanon, Plainfield, Grantham, Charlestown, Claremont, Newport, Sunapee, and Newbury.
VT reported no new cases yesterday, leaving its official statewide total at 1,208. Two people remain hospitalized and 953 (up 4) have recovered. Deaths remain at 56, while Windsor and Orange counties remain at 58 and 9 reported cases over the course of the pandemic. The state added 771 tests and has now done 65,764.
Hanover food scene shifts. Susan Apel notes that theBOX, the town's first food truck—run by Dartmouth students—is back in action: behind Lou's on Thursdays and Fridays (and across the river at Dan & Whit's on Saturdays). Jewel of India says it has a tentative opening date of July 15 in the old Noodle Station. Nugget Scoops at least has a sign in the old Morano Gelato window saying it's "Coming Soon." And though Susan doesn't mention it, a second food truck, Martha's On A Roll, is a regular at Hanover High on Fridays (though not this week). So does its retail scene. The Hanover League of NH Craftsmen announced on its website yesterday that its craft gallery has closed for good. It's been there since the 1940s, but, they write, "Due to the changing retail environment in the Hanover community, which altered the face of the downtown area in recent years, we have made this difficult decision." In addition, gallery manager Deb Cardew notes, “The challenges related to the pandemic have made it extremely difficult to operate as we have in past years." The League will continue to offer classes and workshops.Stagecoach plans depot near Bradford Park & Ride. The VN's John Gregg reports that the Randolph-based bus line, which operates a Bradford circulator and the River Route carrying riders from northern Orange County to Hanover, WRJ, and Lebanon, hopes to break ground in the fall. The facility will include a structure for washing and servicing buses, indoor space for drivers, a covered shelter for waiting passengers, and possibly, some day, an indoor waiting room.Railway goes on the block. It looks like Pan Am Railways, the largest regional railroad in North America and the owner or operator of freight rail lines throughout the region, including the Connecticut River line, is up for grabs. Potential buyers include Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway, along with smaller regional players, including Vermont Rail for at least a portion of the CT River line. Maps and deep industry-insider speculation at the link. Plainfield, Enfield move town meetings outdoors. Both will be held under tents on July 11. In Plainfield, the VN reports, two tents will be set up at the William A. Smith Inc. auction gallery on 12A in Plainfield Village, and attendees will be asked to wear masks. Likewise in Enfield, where town meeting will be held in Huse Park. People who don't wear masks will be relegated to a separate area. Oh, the article also notes that this won't be Plainfield's first outdoor town meeting. It did it in 1852, as well.VT, NH, MA...What's 60 miles between friends? Remember yesterday's item about the First Street Foundation's new model for flood risk? A couple of sharp-eyed readers noticed that on both the Vermont and New Hampshire pages, the report runs the same map of a 2018 river flood in the southern part of the state...centered around Springfield and Holyoke, MA. No explanation yet from the foundation. (Thanks LD and DK!)"Welcome to the Freedom Seats." That was the special, very socially distanced seating section for NH House members who either refused or for health reasons couldn't wear masks at yesterday's final session in UNH's ice arena. About 35 Republicans chose to sit there. The House is now adjourned for the year, though it may return in the fall for a session to deal with a set of likely vetoes by Gov. Chris Sununu.Members were extremely busy while they were there. They made absentee voting easier; banned police chokeholds in non-life-threatening situations; passed funds for expanding broadband; required insurance plans that cover maternity services also cover abortion services; passed net metering expansion; authorized the state to create a wholesale prescription drug importation program from Canada; and approved a package that includes paid leave for virus testing.VT's food scrap, plastic bag bans go into effect today. Yep, it's finally here: You can no longer legally throw food in the trash if you live in Vermont—though if you do backyard composting, you're still allowed to dispose of meat and bones in the garbage. State guidelines and recommendations here. In the meantime, today's also the day that retailers and restaurants are barred from distributing single-use plastic bags.VT solar industry struggles. There are some 500 companies in the state that "build or install renewable energy, provide energy efficiency upgrades, or work on energy-efficient transportation and energy storage," VTDigger's Anne Wallace Allen writes, and an industry survey found that they saw a 40 percent drop in business overall, thanks to the pandemic, with losses more acute among companies that do home installations. Moreover, the industry faces federal tariffs, lower federal tax credits for solar installation, and a state move to lower net metering reimbursements.A sign of changing times. The Alchemist, the Stowe-based brewer that routinely lands on best-beer-in-America lists with Heady Topper, has announced a new "Action Plan to Dismantle Systemic Racism in Our Community and Beyond." Among other things, it intends to underwrite school programs that feature artists, authors, and musicians of "African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American heritages"; efforts to "increase the likelihood of individuals with more diverse backgrounds to consider claiming Vermont as home"; and "brew signature beers to raise funds for racial justice projects." Vermont needs fewer hospitals. "It’s become evident," longtime commentator Bill Schubart writes in VTDigger, "we can’t sustain the 14 hospitals we have now....Our network of hospitals was built in a different time to meet different community needs." Helicopters, the rapid advance of telemedicine during the pandemic, online imaging... all have changed the nature of caring for the ill, and resources need to be shifted. In fact, he argues, the state's institutions are overbuilt in general. "We have more local fire departments, police stations, EMS services, schools, colleges and hospitals than we can now afford."Plan to hit the road this summer? Check this out. AAA has a state-by-state and in some cases county-by-county (if they have their own travel restrictions) map of issues you might encounter. Border closings (at the moment, that's all of them), roadway checkpoints (tribal lands in SD, entry into FL), mask requirements, etc. Click on the state or county you're interested in, and details pop up. (Thanks, JR!) Meanwhile, here's a place with somewhat more severe travel restrictions. As of last week, NASA's orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory had been watching the sun for a decade, taking 425 million images over that time. NASA's boiled them down so you don't have to: It's created a 61-minute film using one photo an hour over those 10 years. It's pretty mesmerizing. What you won't want to miss: the transit of Venus at 12:27 (none of us will be alive for the next one); a large group of sunspots at 43:20; a sequence of solar flares at 44:20; an eclipse at 53:29. Or you could just watch the whole thing.
News that connects you. If you like Daybreak and want to help it keep going, here's how:
At 4 pm, the staff and board of Northern Stage have invited members of the public to join them for a discussion of the book White Fragility, facilitated by actor and diversity consultant Brittany Bellizeare. You'll probably want to have read the book; discussion prompts at the link. [email protected] to register.
If you're in the mood for live music, it's Hartford's next summer concert in Lyman Point Park, featuring The Flames this evening at 6:30 (though, you know, keep an eye out for thunderstorms). They're local (John Lovejoy, Cam Cross, Eric von Ammon, Terrey Langford) and they've been doing this for decades, so they know how to entertain. Don't forget: Once the pods fill up...
At 8, the hip-hop duo Black Violin (Kevin Sylvester and Wilner Baptiste) join visiting scholar, violinist, and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain on YouTube, hosted by the Hop, to perform and talk about their experiences and the evolution of their work "during this convergence of global health and social crises." Link at the link.
Or if the weather's passed by 9:15 and you want to head for the movies, the Bethel Drive-In has Ghostbusters, one night only.
Finally, in the early 2010s, playwright Richard Nelson wrote and directed a much-acclaimed cycle of four plays centered around the dinner-table conversations of a liberal family in Rhinebeck, NY, the Apples. Back in April they reunited for a new Zoom play sponsored by the Public Theater, and tonight it's the world premiere of the latest one, And So We Come Forth, set, well, this month, amidst protests and pandemic. "Over a family dinner, and over Zoom, the Apples talk about their fears and hopes, who they are, what has been lost, and where they now belong in a world that keeps becoming more and more uncertain." Starts at 8. (Thanks, KE!)
Reading Deeper
You may see these two lines quoted a lot in coming days: "This was a journey straight into a mountainside, with countless missed opportunities to turn away. A system was in place to save lives and contain disaster. The people in charge of the system could not be bothered to avoid the doomed course." And, "What happened once the disease began spreading in this country was a federal disaster in its own right: Katrina on a national scale, Chernobyl minus the radiation. It involved the failure to test; the failure to trace; the shortage of equipment; the dismissal of masks; the silencing or sidelining of professional scientists; the stream of conflicting, misleading, callous, and recklessly ignorant statements by those who did speak on the national government’s behalf." The Atlantic's James Fallows digs into what went wrongthe way a National Transportation Safety Board investigator would look at a plane crash.
Willie Wright died last month at the age of 80. Born in Mississippi, he was pigeonholed as a soul singer, but his best-known album—released into obscurity in 1977, then re-released to a much better reception in 2012—defies labels.
where he lived for a bunch of years before moving to his final home, Providence, in the '90s.
See you tomorrow.
Written and published by Rob Gurwitt Banner by Tom Haushalter Poetry editor: Michael Lipson About Rob About Tom About Michael
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