Author: The Hippo Press

Cuuubes … innn … spaaaace

According to a Nov. 6 press release from the University of New Hampshire, as you read this, a mini satellite known as a CubeSat designed and built by a team of UNH undergraduates has launched into space. Probably. “The small-but-mighty satellite is set to launch on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California no earlier than Nov. 10, 2025 at 10:19 a.m. PST,” the announcement read. “It will head to the outer reaches of the atmosphere to study the solar wind, which will help scientists in their quest to improve space weather forecasting and better protect technology in space and on Earth — such as communication networks, power grids and GPS — from potentially damaging large solar flare events.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “CubeSats are a specific subset of satellites that are small and standardized,” the announcement said, “and provide a cost-effective way to study space science. It is about the size of a loaf of bread and offers a simpler way to start building and operating than larger satellites, making it an ideal piece of equipment for students to hone their skills outside of the classroom.” Visit eos.unh.edu/3ucubed.

Festive painted windows

Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Manchester, 512-6209, mosaicartcollective.com) has launched a new community initiative, The Painted Holiday Windows, in downtown Manchester. Working with downtown businesses and corporate sponsors Stonyfield Farm and Members First Credit Union, Mosaic has commissioned artists to paint festive holiday-themed images on street-facing windows. “[By] bringing color and joy to downtown this November and December, we’re reminded once again how powerful it is when our community comes together to celebrate art and imagination,” Mosaic announced in a Nov. 7 statement.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The depictions on business windows range from traditional images of reindeer and candy canes to pop culture icons, like the Rankin Bass characters Snow Miser and Heat Miser, who are painted on the windows of the Thirsty Moose Taphouse.

Still a drought, but at least it’s a damp drought

“The latest U.S. Drought Monitor report shows that parts of Grafton, Carroll and Coos counties remain in severe or extreme drought,” WMUR reported in a Nov. 6 online article, “while Hillsborough and Cheshire counties continue to experience moderate drought. Even with more frequent rain showers, overall rainfall totals have stayed low.” A Boston Globe story on Nov. 10 described reports of wells going dry around the state, particularly in the north, and noted that “Nearly half of the state’s residents get their water from a private well, according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: “While New Hampshire state officials said recent rain has decreased wildfire risk, it didn’t replenish surface water or aquifers,” the Globe reported, and the WMUR story said, “While the drought hasn’t worsened, New Hampshire will need much more rain to make a significant impact.”

QOL score last week: 67

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 68

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

You didn’t miss jury duty and nobody is going to arrest you

As reported by WMUR in an Oct. 25 online article, there is a new phone scam telling area residents that they have missed jury duty and are about to be arrested. The article described the experience of a recent victim of this hoax: “The caller even had him Google the sheriff’s number, and then they called him from that number in an effort to prove it was legitimate. The next steps were for [him] to get a $3,500 bail bond until the situation could be figured out, but that’s when the red flags went off because they wanted him to get the bail bond from Walgreens.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The WMUR article went on to reassure readers that New Hampshire’s court system will never ask you to send them money. “My office or any law enforcement office would never call anyone and say that you need to make a payment to clear up a warrant. That is so fraudulent,” the article quoted Merrimack County Sheriff David Croft.

Unsettling cancer trend

In a Nov. 3 online article New Hampshire Public Radio reported that the rate of kidney cancer is higher in Merrimack than in other New Hampshire communities. “According to an investigation led by state officials and researchers from Dartmouth, more research is needed to determine the cause,” the article read. “Looking at 27 years of cancer data, researchers determined the rate of kidney cancer in Merrimack is 38% greater than it is in the rest of New Hampshire. The study also found a slight increase in the rate of kidney cancer in Manchester compared to the rest of the state.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: According to the NHPR article, “The investigation began after Merrimack residents expressed concerns about their exposure to PFAS — a group of man-made chemicals that contaminated that community’s water.” Visit geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/nhscr/mkc to read the report.

Trick or trash

The Manchester Economic Development Office reported in the Oct. 29 edition of its online newsletter, the MEDO Minute, that volunteers from the SEE Science Center (200 Bedford St., Manchester, 669-0400, see-sciencecenter.org) blitzed Manchester’s parks during the last weekend of October. “The SEE Science Center led the charge on last weekend’s Trick-or-Trash in Manchester,” the announcement read. “Some 80 volunteers took to local City parks, contributing over 140 hours of time, cleaning up seven parks, and clearing away 66 bags of trash.” The next organized Park2Park event is scheduled for Earth Day, next April 24.

QOL score: +1

Comment: An Oct. 28 announcement on the SEE Science Center’s Facebook page (facebook.com/SEEScienceCenter) includes photos of interesting objects the volunteers found during the trash pick-up. These include $501 in Monopoly money, a shopping cart, a portable bluetooth speaker, a stairway spindle, house keys and what appears to be a very large chocolate cookie.

QOL score last week : 69

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 67

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.