GOOD MORNING, UPPER VALLEY!
Showers likely, cooler. Yesterday afternoon was a gift, wasn't it? Today, sadly, the chances of any real sunshine are slim: Fog first in the usual spots, and then there's a cold front traipsing through from the west, so we face a likelihood of rain from later this morning through the afternoon, a chance this evening, and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon for good measure. We might see some clearing start late in the day. Highs in the upper 60s or low 70s, winds from the southeast. Down into the mid 50s tonight.What a face! A snacking porcupine in an apple tree on Moose Mountain in Hanover, from Anna Hutton.Food pantries reporting rise in demand. "It's the first place where you can bend your budget," LISTEN program services director Angela Zhang tells Liz Sauchelli in the Valley News. Her organization's pantry saw 11,000 visits in fiscal year 2023, compared to 7,200 the year before and 4,900 in FY 2021. The Haven reports similar increases—both in people who are using its food pantry for the first time, and in people who are using it more frequently. The changes come in the wake of expiring pandemic-era aid, which had underwritten everything from SNAP benefits to rental assistance and child care.In Fairlee, a Gladstone Creamery handoff. In late August, fans of the small ice cream stand next to the Wing's off Route 5—and there are a lot of them—were dismayed to learn not just that it had closed for the season, but for good. "We are looking to sell the building and all the assets (but it needs to be moved)," owner Brooke Gladstone posted on FB at the time. Well, on Saturday another post went up—two of them, actually, on Gladstone's page and on the page of Jan's Fairlee Diner. Turns out that Jan's owner Janice Neil will take over the stand—and move it to the diner. She plans to open in the spring.SPONSORED: Whaleback season passes are on sale now! Prices increase 10/1. Whaleback Passholders receive free or discounted day passes to all 27 of our partner resorts AND access to the Indy Pass add-on pricing! Early Bird Passholders also get a FREE, SEASON-LONG tune at Golf & Ski Warehouse. Don't delay, your last chance to lock in this amazing perk is 9/30. An adult season pass is only $225—could this be the best deal in the industry? Get yours today and see for yourself! Sponsored by Whaleback.Let's say you're married to someone who's obsessed with the same book. And it's the pandemic. And the book is Moby Dick. That, in an absurdly constrained nutshell, is the premise of Dayswork, a new novel by the husband and wife team of Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel. In this week's Enthusiasm, Rena Mosteirin—who actually puts in an appearance in the novel, for reasons she can explain—writes, "Whatever you think you know about Moby-Dick, this book will challenge it, will add layers of questions, will make you see yourself as part of the vast web of Moby-Dick readers."Leb moving forward with plans for seasonal homeless shelter. Its proposal for the building on Mechanic Street, across from Slayton Hill Road, is to house up to 15 people at night from December through March, reports Patrick Adrian in the VN. The move comes after a year in which Human Services Director Lynne Goodwin ran through her entire yearly budget for housing people in motels or other shelters by the end of June. At a community hearing Monday night, Adrian reports, there was a mix of support and opposition—mostly based on fears of rising crime—to the idea. The planning board will weigh in Sept. 25."We cannot preserve 'rural character' at the expense of rural people." That's Dartmouth anthropology prof Elizabeth Carpenter-Song talking to The Dartmouth's Halle Troadec about her new book on homelessness in the Upper Valley, Families on the Edge. Homelessness, she says, is above all a housing problem—in rural New England "we simply do not have enough housing stock across the board," and giving people a "safe, stable place to be," she argues, is crucial to addressing mental health, substance use, and other issues. "I want readers of the book to look at the ways in which people are striving and trying so hard to take care of themselves," she says.Following her sister, Springfield NH teen swims English Channel, is youngest Triple Crown holder. This is a little late, but better than never. Last week, 16-year-old Margaret Rivard, who splits her time between Springfield NH and Derby VT, crossed the Channel in 13 hours, 37 minutes—adding to earlier swims around Manhattan Island and across California's Catalina Channel. You may remember her older sister, Vera, who completed the feat at 17. “I started on a swim team when I was 3," Margaret tells the Caledonian Record's Michael Beniash. "I just wanted to swim with my older sister, Vera.”Yeah, but did evolution have the crawl in mind? Last week, a new study by Dartmouth researchers appeared in the Royal Society's Open Science, looking into why apes have more flexible elbows and shoulders than other primates. Their theory: It made climbing down from trees safer. NHPR's Paul Cuno-Booth followed up, talking to the study's authors—students and anthro prof Jeremy DeSilva alike—about what they found and why it matters. “An overhead throwing motion—that is an ape hallmark,” says grad student and lead author Luke Fannin. And that flexibility, he adds, is also what makes us human.AG rules that PragerU's "U" doesn't violate NH law. You may remember that the company, which produces right-leaning material for students and adults, is in the running to provide an online financial literacy class for public schools. Last week, Exec Council member Cinde Warmington objected that the "U" runs afoul of a state statute aimed at keeping groups from misrepresenting themselves as institutions of higher ed. But on Monday, Ethan DeWitt writes in NH Bulletin, the AG's office said it has no concerns, because Prager says upfront it's not a university. The state board of ed will vote on the bid tomorrow.Federal judge rules NH House doesn't have to allow remote participation. The decision by Judge Landya McCafferty comes in a long-running case filed by Democrats opposed to Speaker Sherman Packard's decision to require in-person attendance by House members in order to attend hearings and vote. Following a Court of Appeals decision that setting House policies is a core legislative function, McCafferty ruled that while she is "not unsympathetic" to the health concerns raised by Democrats, the rules governing remote participation are legitimate legislative acts, reports NHPR's Todd Bookman.NH's 400 House members have until Friday afternoon to file legislation. Helping them draft it: four researchers. Legislative research director David Alukonis—himself a former legislator—tells the Globe's Amanda Gokee that he likes to refer to the team as the Wizard of Oz. "We are the man behind the curtain creating initial legislation," he says in the Morning Report newsletter (no paywall). Overall, Alukonis expects they’ll write between 700 and 800 bills for the House alone. Popular so far (as they've been for the past few years): PFAS and water quality legislation.Five New England states rank in top ten for per-capita small-scale solar. "No prizes for guessing who is left out." That's David Brooks's way of jabbing at New Hampshire in his Granite Geek column about a new study by the US Energy Information Administration. Overall, the agency writes, small-scale (often called "rooftop") solar capacity grew from 7.3 GW in 2014 to 39.5 GW in 2022, now comprising about one-third of the total solar capacity in the US. Over a third of that is in CA, but in per capita terms, HI leads, with RI in third, MA fourth, VT seventh, CT ninth, and ME tenth.Find the seal. It takes a moment's looking to see the Mediterranean monk seal gliding through the water in Greece, in one of the finalists for this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, run by London's Natural History Museum. There are some remarkable images—a snow leopard hunting a Pallas's cat in China, a Yellowstone bison in a flurry of snow, a macaque "rodeo-riding" a deer in the forest on a Japanese island... The Guardian's got the images and the stories behind them. Fair warning: some are sobering. Winners 10/10.The Wednesday Vordle. If you're new to Daybreak, this is the Upper Valley version of Wordle, with a five-letter word chosen from an item in the previous day's Daybreak.
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Starting back in June, VT's lieutenant governor, David Zuckerman, began a "banned books tour" of the state, hosting readings from books that have been barred by school districts and local governments. The road show pulls into the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock today at 4, as Zuckerman and his guests read from books that have been the subject of bans and talk more broadly about free speech, inclusion, democracy, and open dialogue.
This evening at 6:30, the Dunbar Free Library in Grantham brings in New Hampshire astronomer and telescope-maker Mathew Marulla for a talk on light pollution. Marulla, a former president of the NH Astronomical Society and a former chief technical officer for the Slooh online observatory, will explore light, dark, the value of the night sky, good and bad ways to light our activities at night, and more.
Also at 6:30, Dartmouth's Dickey Center hosts Megan Reiss for "US Cyber Policy: A Discussion on Digital Defense." Reiss, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, is also a former national security advisor to GOP Sen. Mitt Romney and national security fellow in the office of former GOP Sen. Ben Sasse.
This evening at 7, the Norwich Bookstore hosts Christine Woodside, reading from and talking about Going Over the Mountain: One Woman's Journey from Follower to Solo Hiker and Back. Woodside, a journalist who lectures in UConn's journalism department and edits Appalachia, first hiked the length of the AT in 1987, eventually began taking her daughters on long hikes, then decided she needed to explore alone for a while. "The rough-hewn, grubby feminism that developed over the course of Chris's personal and professional time in these wild places changed her--and maybe her daughters--forever," runs the promo material.
And to give us a rousing start to the day...
We're going to turn to
But not the original 1972 version. This one, just released by Playing For Change, joins Browne and two of his original band members—
Leland Sklar on bass and Russ Kunkel on percussion—with some surpassingly fine backing musicians around the globe, including tabla master Zakir Hussein, LA-based vocalist Chavonne Stewart (who's toured with Browne before), Veena (an Indian stringed instrument) player Rajhesh Vaidhya, Japanese guitar legend Char, and a collection of percussionists and other vocalists who lend depth and playfulness to the whole thing.See you tomorrow.
The Hiking Close to Home Archives. A list of hikes around the Upper Valley, some easy, some more difficult, compiled by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance. It grows every week.
The Enthusiasms Archives. A list of book recommendations by Daybreak's rotating crew of local booksellers, writers, and librarians who think you should read. this. book. now!
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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