WELL, SO GOOD TO SEE YOU, UPPER VALLEY!
Now we're talking some heat. Mostly clear today, may get hazy up there with smoke from the (continuing) wildfires in Canada, temps getting toward 90. But the high pressure that's given us these last few days is headed to our east, and a low pressure system has us in its sights. Clouds will come in tonight as well as the haze, so it'll be slightly warmer than it's been overnight.Days numbered for free parking in WRJ? The Hartford SB voted last night to have town staff price out meters and kiosks for downtown White River Junction. It's not a done deal--they're just shopping, and the SB would still have to approve a decision to install them. There's some opposition among downtown merchants, but even Revolution owner Kim Souza, who's on the board and says she's "indifferent," adds "it is probably the right thing to do.” (VN, sub reqd)College takes first steps to rebuild outdoor office. Dartmouth has created an interim team for its Outdoor Programs Office in the wake of its director's resignation last month. Tim Burdick left after a finding of negligence on a trip on which a student got lost on Mt. Moosilauke. Programs will be run by asst dir Rory Gawler and a new hire, Paul “Coz” Teplitz, who ran Harvard's outdoor programs. Retired longtime deputy dir. Brian Kunz will return as consultant.Now that's some wrong-way driving.... An 18-wheeler got on I-89 at Exit 5 in VT and headed south in the northbound lanes, running cars off the road until troopers were able to stop the driver in Randolph. They've charged him with DUI. It just capped off an interesting day on the highway -- earlier, in NH, a truck hauling 60,000 pounds of garbage overturned near Warner.NH Supremes put end to years of legal tussles over Hanover trail. They ruled yesterday that the town had the right to clear wooden pallets, machine parts and other items David Vincelette had allowed to spill over from his property onto the trail through the Tanzi Natural Area. He had resisted lower court orders to clean up the debris. (VN, sub still reqd)The Norwich Planning Commission is updating the town plan and is taking to the hustings to get public input. This is not your usual come-to-town-hall-in-the-evening approach. Today at 12:30, they're kicking off a series of gatherings with a roundtable in the square by the Norwich Bookstore to talk over what's the ‘right’ kind of economic development for Norwich and how it can grow the jobs and businesses it wants. Press release at the link.Kiplinger's names Hanover "a smart place to retire." The town "buzzes with a diverse mix of art, culture, and outdoor sporting and recreational activities year-round," the personal finance magazine says. High among the pluses: DHMC and Dartmouth's "porous" campus--that's Town Manager Julia Griffin's word. Minuses? "Winters are chilly and long." Plus the town's struggling to keep up with demand for retiree housing. From people who read articles like this?Sununu will sign Dem bill protecting insurance for people with pre-existing conditions. The measure's prime sponsor is Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes, who's considering a run for NH governor. It ensures coverage for pre-existing conditions regardless of what happens to the federal Affordable Care Act.Why is Kirsten Gillibrand doing so poorly in New Hampshire? That's the question a website called InsideSources asks. It notes the NY senator and Dartmouth alum's averaging just 0.3 percent in NH polling, according to RealClearPolitics, which puts her behind tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang. And that's after holding 55 events around the state. The piece offers no real answer, other than speculation that voters see her as one-dimensional, given her focus on women's issues.Emerald Ash Borer eats its way into central and northern VT. Just a year after being discovered in the state, the invasive pest is already killing ash trees in Montpelier, Bristol, and as far north as Derby. The chief cause? Humans. "Normally it travels about one-to-two miles per year," says UVM's Tony D'Amato. "We like to joke that it's really more like 65 mph, depending on whose truck it's on."
That haze from the Canadian fires? The Weather Service in Burlington has posted side-by-side photos that give you a good sense of the impact. It took them looking over the city yesterday morning and evening.Um, say that again? The Northeast Kingdom's tourism marketing effort has come up with a new slogan aimed at drawing people from away to the economically depressed region. Ready? "Get NEKed." "Strip away the everyday, and learn what it means to GetNEKedVT," the effort's website says. “You’ve got to sometimes be a little different to get people’s attention," says Katherine Sims, director of the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative.Bear takes in sunrise from Bretton Woods hotel veranda. It's been, oh, days since the last bear item. And this one is just too good. A hotel worker finishing up his overnight shift at the grand hotel wanted to go see the sunrise, and spotted a young black bear coming up the stairs. Looking for all the world like a guest, it propped its forelegs on the back veranda railing, which overlooks Mt. Washington, and the worker got the pic. Which has gone viral.OKAY WEDNESDAY, WHAT'CHA GOT?You don't want to miss this: Lula Wiles on the Dartmouth Green, for free. Three Mainers, including Mali Obomsawin (Dartmouth '18), are taking hold of folk music and Americana, turning them on their head... and catching serious attention around the country. "Hailing from the junction of tradition and revolution," the HOP says... Whatever, they're the kind of band that gets other musicians excited to go hear them. 5:30 pm. It's King Arthur Flour's second "community pizza night." You know that outdoor pizza oven you pass by on Route 5? Go put it to good use. You bring toppings, they sell you dough, sauce and cheese for 10 bucks, and then you get to see how you look handling one o' them long-handled peels. Proceeds go to Hunger Free Vermont.Or maybe you want to move around more? There's a new Adult Women's Pickup Soccer group -- not to be confused with the old one, which had a good run for a couple of decades. It meets Wednesdays at 6 pm at Basin Field in Leb, next to the old junior high. Bring a white shirt and a colored one, and they do skills work at 5:45 in case you want to shake off the rust. Whatever you do, enjoy this fine day. See you tomorrow.
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