GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Oh go ahead, guess! As you may have noticed, we're in a wet weather pattern—though we'll get a day's break tomorrow. In the meantime, a cold front comes through today, bringing a round of showers and maybe thunderstorms, which could pack winds and heavy rain. Upper 70s today, low 60s tonight, chance of rain and thunderstorms until about midnight.Meanwhile, out there on the land and on the water and in the air...
"As I was entering the Old Lyme Cemetery [the other day] I saw what I thought was a toy frog on top of the granite post at the cemetery entrance," writes Jay Cary. "Upon further examination, I realized that it was actually a Gray Tree Frog, which are fairly common but not often seen because of their camouflage and nocturnal habits.... Apparently this one had not been on the post long enough to change its hue."
And Ian Clarke, who's been documenting an Upper Valley loon family, was out around dawn on Sunday—which rewarded him (and us) not only with photos of the rapidly growing chicks (and their parents), but a lovely photo of a great blue heron and an osprey in flight. "Loons appear to differentiate osprey from other raptors at long range," he writes on his blog. "Hawks and eagles are met with cries and the chicks flatten out to hide. But, the loons pretty much ignore the osprey (whose diet is almost entirely fish)."
Hanover voters re-elect selectboard members, approve community power, keep town manager form. Incumbents Joanne Whitcomb (1,119 votes) and Nancy Carter (1,000 votes) beat back a challenge from David Millman, a rising junior at Dartmouth (730 votes) to retain their seats, In daylong balloting, voters also supported keeping the town's manager form of government in place, 1,200-475. And in a far-reaching move at the floor meeting, they approved moving ahead with the proposal to allow the town to buy power from alternative sources. The Valley News's Tim Camerato runs down all the results.Dartmouth sororities set sexual/gender safety rules for parties. “So many incidents coming to light in the past two weeks, regardless of when they occurred, is sort of sparking the realization that widespread action needs to be taken,” Inter-Sorority Council President Molly Katarincic tells The Dartmouth's Kyle Mullins. Mullins was able to obtain a copy of interim rules for social events held with frats, which include requirements that non-alcoholic drinks be readily available and that something (it's been redacted) be made "in the presence of a member from both the hosting and visiting chapter(s)." A fuller list is coming.SPONSORED: Do You Care About Local Food? So do we! Willing Hands gleaning volunteers gather surplus produce from local farms to share with families who might not otherwise have access to healthy food. Gleaning is a time-honored tradition that reduces food waste and carbon emissions while bringing the community together to ensure that everyone is nourished. Join us for a glean whenever it fits your schedule—come often, or just once! Sponsored by Willing Hands.Seven Days samplers' knees buckle at Angry Goat's hot sauce. Four of the weekly's writers checked out some VT-made hot sauces, including WRJ-based Angry Goat's Purple Hippo, which is made with prickly pear and, more to the point, habañero and scorpion peppers, which are about as scorching as they sound. "Jordan (Adams) took a bite...and his eyes kind of bugged," says Melissa Pasanen. "I just tried to talk and it didn't work," responds Adams.Leb heads toward hearing on proposed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commission. It will be held next Wednesday in response to a proposal from City Manager Shaun Mulholland. The goal, he tells NHPR's Daniela Allee, is to help the city become more "sensitive to the needs in different communities in the city." Though the city is still waiting for guidance from the NH attorney general's office on potential conflicts with the state budget's new "divisive concepts" provision, city councillors expect the move to pass easily, Tim Camerato reported in the VN last week.Norwich's Andy Sigler dies at 89. The former CEO of Champion International died on Sunday, and in the VN Jim Kenyon pens approval of Sigler's local doings: the time he funded a trucker's legal defense after Norwich police ticketed him $11,550 for a sawdust load that the town's new scales found was overweight—leading eventually to the town ending its truck-weighing efforts; his state Supreme Court case defending the nonprofit status of the teaching farm he created, Norwich Farm; even Sigler's "cantankerous" approach to golfers at the Montcalm Golf Club, the private course he created in Enfield.Fairlee native creates app to help staff restaurants. Kassie Pike, who now lives in Middletown Springs, VT, southwest of Rutland, clearly had good sense of timing: She started developing Fliptable before the pandemic, writes Melissa Pasanen in Seven Days. It stems from her time in DC when she needed a second job and "had no idea how to apply" for restaurant work. The app, which matches job-seekers with restaurants, launched in June. So far, Pasanen writes, 160 restaurants have signed up, though—in a sign of the times—only 100 job seekers. Pike's twin sister, Courtney, also works for the startup.NH drops 12 spots in CNBC rankings of "top states for business." At 37th, it's still ahead of Vermont and Maine, notes NH Bulletin's Annmarie Timmins. CNBC cites the state's aging workforce and high cost of living, as well as poor access to capital and a range of other economic indicators. In an intriguing twist, Timmins notes, CNBC praised first-place Virginia's steps toward improving equity and diversity, and speculates that NH's new "divisive concepts" measure may hamper it in future rankings. "This is definitely on us." That's Dartmouth earth sciences prof Erich Osterberg talking to NH Bulletin's Amanda Gokee about the state's warming temperatures. The country just went through its hottest June on record, and the figures for New Hampshire are striking: The average temp was five degrees warmer than the 20th-century average. Moreover, Gokee writes, while the state currently sees about a week of temperatures over 90 degrees, that may grow to a month or two down the road—last summer, Manchester had 32 days over 90, which wasn't projected until 2035, according to a 2016 report.VT to wait on Covid guidelines for K-12 schools. With the Delta variant surging among unvaccinated people in the Northeast, state officials are holding off on telling schools how they should handle virus protocols in the fall, reports VTDigger's Lola Duffort. Though the state has said all classes should be in-person, five days a week, "several unanswered questions remain about how and whether schools should require distancing, masking and screening," Duffort writes. Calais pitching phenom makes VT history. Remember that story last month about Owen Kellington, the high school pitcher at U-32 in E. Montpelier who was drawing the attention of a pile of Major League scouts? Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates just selected him in the fourth round of the draft (102nd overall), the highest June draft placement for a Vermonter ever. With a 94 mph fastball, he struck out 133 batters over 49 innings this season, writes Alex Abrami in the Free Press. (Possible paywall.)"The true prismatic face this country fosters." Alexander Julian, who grew up in Houston's Nigerian-immigrant community, is Conde Nast Traveler's creative director. His new portrait series, “Land of Milk and Honey,” used photographers from California to Florida to shoot portraits of families who share the same diaspora: Mexican-Americans in Laredo, Haitian-Americans in Miami, Cuban-Americans in Hialeah, Nigerian-Americans in Houston, Filipino-Americans in Daly City, CA..... "I walk out of this project...feeling hopeful. Hopeful because I’ve seen firsthand the seeds these communities have sown," Julian wrote on Instagram.
So...
NH reported 27 new cases yesterday, bringing it to an official total of 99,800. Though the state officially announced only 1 new death, its total jumped by 6 over Monday, to 1,381 altogether, while 13 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (down 2). The current active caseload is at 200 (up 3). The state reports 8 active cases in Grafton County (down 1), 3 in Sullivan (down 2), and 16 in Merrimack (up 5). In town-by-town numbers reported by the state, Hanover, Canaan, Lebanon, Enfield, and Claremont have 1-4 each. Plainfield is off the list.
VT reported 8 new cases yesterday, bringing it to a total case count of 24,497. Deaths remain at 258, while 6 people with confirmed cases are hospitalized (up 1). Windsor County saw 1 new case and now stands at 1,526 for the pandemic, with 6 over the previous 14 days, while Orange County had no new cases and remains at 825 cumulatively and 3 over the past two weeks.
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Starting at 4 pm, the Howe continues its "sponsored artisan demo" at the weekly Hanover Farmers Market (at the Richmond School) with Berkley Heath demonstrating the art of natural hand dyeing. Heath, based in Westminster, VT, works in silk and other textiles, and has been exploring natural dyes ever since she accidentally dipped a shirtsleeve in a bowl of elderberry juice and, "delighted by the result, began researching how to make this incredibly vibrant color last."
And at 6:30 pm, ArtisTree in S. Pomfret continues its Wednesday Music on the Hill series with Artis-Trio: jazz, Latin, and blues performed by Kathleen Dolan, Glendon Ingalls, and Mark van Gulden, with special guest Pete Michellini.If the weather is questionable, give them a call before 5 pm (802-457-3500); if you bought tix, they'll send you an email.
Malika Tirolien grew up in Guadeloupe and moved to Montreal when she was 18 to study music. After she graduated, she snagged the lead vocal role for Cirque du Soleil's
La Nouba
, which caught the attention of Snarky Puppy's Michael League, with whom she began collaborating—and with whom she fronts his band Bokanté. But she's also got her own band and solo, jazz-inflected career, both electric and acoustic, with some serious harmonizers joining her.
from this spring.
See you tomorrow.
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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