| Covid-19 update | As of August 2 | As of August 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Total cases statewide | 100,986 | 102,117 |
| Total current infections statewide | 738 | 1,270 |
| Total deaths statewide | 1,387 | 1,389 |
| New cases | 700 (July 27 to Aug. 2) | 1,131 (Aug. 3 to Aug. 9) |
| Current infections: Hillsborough County | 235 | 362 |
| Current infections: Merrimack County | 57 | 86 |
| Current infections: Rockingham County | 178 | 307 |
Covid-19 news
State health officials announced 96 new positive cases of Covid-19 on Aug. 9. The state averaged 168 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, an increase of 62 percent compared to the week before. As of Aug. 9, all but three counties in the state were at substantial levels of community transmission.
Body cameras
Last week the Executive Council approved a $3.4 million contract to equip New Hampshire State Police with body cameras, according to a press release. The use of body cameras was one of the recommendations made by the New Hampshire Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community and Transparency, which was established through Executive Order by Gov. Chris Sununu in June 2020 and charged with developing recommendations for reforms deemed necessary to enhance transparency, accountability and community relations in law enforcement, the release said. “This effort provides yet another layer of transparency and accountability in our continued efforts to further bolster public trust in the incredible work done by New Hampshire’s law enforcement officers, who set the gold standard for the rest of the country,” Sununu said in a statement following the contract approval.
Juvenile justice
A new advisory group that will update and replace the State Advisory Group for Juvenile Justice has been formed, Gov. Chris Sununu announced last week. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Juvenile Justice Reform Commission will “assist the state in aligning New Hampshire’s juvenile justice system with advances in scientific understanding of adolescent development and youth offenders.” The group’s primary role is to advise the state on its use of federal juvenile justice grants and supporting compliance with federal juvenile justice requirements. The original advisory group had been in place for more than 20 years, created by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, and the formation of this new group is an effort to bring in fresh perspectives and ideas, the release said. “The Department continues to transform the state’s juvenile justice system to be a more proactive one that identifies and addresses youths’ needs before at-risk youth become involved with the courts,” said Joe Ribsam, director of the Division for Children, Youth and Families. The advisory will include representatives from the juvenile justice system, including those working within the court system, organizations that work with children and youth, people working in education, youth mental and behavioral health providers, and those who have been or are currently involved with the juvenile justice system. Anyone who meets those requirements and is interested in serving on the commission should email a letter of interest and resume to [email protected].
Housing Commission
Last week the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the creation of a city Housing Commission, following the recommendations made by the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Task Force. According to a press release, this commission will be responsible for following up on recommendations made by the Task Force and continuing its work by “recognizing, promoting, enhancing, encouraging, and developing a balanced and diverse supply of housing to meet the economic, social and physical needs of the City of Manchester and its residents.” It will work with city departments and boards to develop plans for the future while meeting the city’s current housing needs, Mayor Joyce Craig said in the release. The commission will be made up of five members and two alternates. Anyone interested should send a resume and statement of interest to [email protected].
Bias trainings
Last week, Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. John Goldhardt issued a statement in response to requests for public records regarding staff trainings that cover the topics of diversity and bias. “Manchester School District values community members’ desire to better understand our students’ education, which is why we are happy to share the professional development options our teachers and staff get to choose from,” Goldhardt wrote in the statement. A list of those trainings and their descriptors was included with the statement. Trainings on the list were: Safe Schools: Social & Behavioral > Cultural Competence & Racial Bias; Youth Equity Stewardship (YES!): Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Learning for Justice: What Is White Privilege, Really?; Better Lessons: Bias and Privilege: Self-Reflecting and Using our Power for Change; and City Year: Implicit racial bias and cultural competence, as well as a list of Amplify curriculum materials. Links to most of the trainings were included unless the material is no longer accessible. “It should be noted that all training shared in this list … was voluntary and in place prior to the June 25, 2021, enactment of the Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workspaces and Education law,” Goldhardt wrote in the statement.
Mental health care
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it will be requesting an amendment to the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Access Research and Demonstration Waiver from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. According to a press release, the goal of the proposed amendment is to add coverage for short-term inpatient and residential treatment services for beneficiaries with Serious Mental Illness and to allow Medicaid to pay for short-term stays in Institutions for Mental Disease for beneficiaries ages 21 to 64 with SMI. This would help reduce the use of ERs by Medicaid beneficiaries with SMI while they await mental health care in specialized settings, improve the availability of crisis stabilization services, and improve access to community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries with SMI, the release said. Prior to submitting the amendment request, DHHS is seeking comment from the public until Tuesday, Aug. 31, at dhhs.nh.gov/sud-imd.
Evictions on hold
The New Hampshire Circuit Court, which just recently resumed eviction proceedings, has paused them again in six counties, in cases that are covered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s partial eviction moratorium. According to a press release, as of Aug. 4, Belknap, Cheshire, Grafton, Hillsborough, Rockingham and Strafford counties are covered by the moratorium, which was put in to place for counties that are considered to have substantial or high risk of transmission of Covid-19. All landlord-tenant cases arising out of those counties that were previously stayed by the moratorium — that is, where a tenant has provided a declaration in compliance with the CDC order to their landlord — will be stayed again,” the release said. All other courts will continue processing and holding hearings in all landlord-tenant cases.
Ann Scholz, who lives on Pleasant Lake in Deerfield and Northwood, has been awarded the 2021 John F. Morten Memorial Award for Exemplary Lake Stewardship. According to a press release from NH Lakes, Scholz was nominated by nine people and unanimously chosen by the NH Lakes selection committee, for the “countless hours she has volunteered over the past seven years preparing grant applications, meeting with town officials, and working with state agencies to implement projects to protect the lake from polluted runoff water.
The YMCA of Greater Nashua will use the $100,000 it was awarded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund outreach and education efforts to build vaccine confidence among city communities that haven’t been vaccinated for Covid-19 and have not consistently received annual flu vaccines. According to a press release, the YMCA will partner with Harbor Care, which hosts regular vaccine clinics at its High Street location, to have two part-time community health workers provide vaccine education at community events in Nashua over the next year. The funds will also be used to recruit and train 13 Vaccine Ambassadors who want to help spread the word about the importance of vaccinations.
The 38th annual Gail Singer Memorial Blood Drive will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 17, and Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at 700 Elm St. in Manchester. According to a press release, the Red Cross is experiencing an emergency need for donors, and this blood drive honors the memory of Gail Singer, who died in 1984 of leukemia.
