Last week, these two adorable goats followed QOL’s dad home from a run in Derry, staying right at his heels for about a mile until he got home, read their tags and called their owner. Alas, Bonnie and Clyde were not allowed inside, but they did enjoy some of the grass and rose bushes in the yard while they were waiting to be picked up.
Score: +1
Comment:QOL’s mom happened to be driving home and took a video capturing part of the run: picture a 6’3” man with these two little guys running to keep up with him, with “Watermelon Sugar” playing on the car radio as a soundtrack. Hilarious.
Back to the movies
Regal Cinemas in Newington and Concord and O’neil Cinemas in Epping are set to reopen this month. According to its website, Regal plans to reopen its Newington location this Friday, May 7, and its Concord location on Friday, May 21. According to the O’neil website, it is scheduled to reopen on Friday, May 7, as well. As of the morning of May 4, movies had not been finalized at O’neil, while Regal is showing movies like Godzilla vs. Kong and Mortal Kombat. Safety protocols will be in place, with limited capacities and face mask requirements.
Score: +1
Comment: There is no mention of the Hooksett location on Regal’s website, so when and whether it will reopen remains to be seen.
Intown scam
Members of Intown Concord have been targeted by a scammer for the past several weeks, according to a letter that Intown Executive Director Jessica Martin posted to members in a May 3 newsletter. “A man claiming to be Intown Concord’s Event Coordinator has been calling all over town asking for Market Days Sponsorships and verbally assaulting people. He has targeted banks, the fire department, the library, and many other businesses in the area,” Martin wrote. Intown has notified the Concord Police Department and the City, and the nonprofit apologized to any of the businesses that have had to interact with the scammer.
Score: -2
Comment:“Obviously, this is not the way Intown Concord does business,” Martin wrote. “Our all-female staff of two will never ask for cash up front for an event and we will certainly never call you on the phone and rudely demand it.”
QOL score: 70
Net change: 0
QOL this week: 70
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
During the state’s weekly public health update on April 29, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire has averaged between 250 and 300 new infections per day over the previous week, numbers that continue to trend down. He later added that, as of April 29, New Hampshire has seen a total of 88 confirmed “breakthrough” infections of Covid-19, meaning those that occurred despite individuals being fully vaccinated. “The majority of these are not variants of concern,” Dr. Chan said, adding that only seven of the 88 infections were with the B.1.1.7. variant. “Whether it’s a variant of concern or not, we know that breakthrough infections can and do occur, but the vaccine continues to be important for limiting the burden of disease, preventing hospitalizations, preventing deaths and preventing asymptomatic infection.”
Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, also provided an update on vaccine distributions in the state. As of April 29, roughly 50 percent of New Hampshire’s population (about 687,000 people) has received at least one shot, while a third of the population (about 446,000 people) is now fully vaccinated. An additional 4,500 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was recently recommended by the CDC and the FDA to resume administration, were allocated across three fixed sites in Concord, Nashua and Newington on May 2.
Later during the press conference, Gov. Chris Sununu announced that the “universal best practices” guidance documents for state businesses would be released that day, with the guidance itself going into effect May 7. “What we’re really trying to do is keep it truly universal,” he said. “We’re just kind of re-emphasizing the most important parts of the guidance and mandates that we previously had in place. … This is a bit of a reminder going into the long-term.” Separate “overnight congregate settings for children” guidance documents have also been released, for businesses like overnight summer camps. Both sets of documents can be viewed online at covidguidance.nh.gov.
Housing markets
New Hampshire has two of the top 10 emerging housing markets in the country, according to a study released last week by the Wall Street Journal and realtor.com. Concord and Manchester-Nashua ranked 8th and 9th, respectively. The new Emerging Housing Markets Index used housing market, economic vitality and quality of life metrics to determine its rankings for 300 of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to realtor.com. “Out of the top emerging 10 housing markets in the country, New Hampshire was the only state in the nation with two markets in the top 10,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement following the study’s release. “With a superior quality of life, thousands of high-paying jobs, and no income or sales tax, it’s no surprise people are looking to move to New Hampshire.” According to realtor.com, the top 10 housing markets have strong demand and somewhat limited supply, and home prices are expected to continue rising; they’ve seen an appreciation of about 27 percent, on average, in the last year, compared to 14 percent across all markets.
Job fairs
The State of New Hampshire is hosting 10 virtual job fairs between the first week in May and the first week that the work search requirement resumes, on May 23. Those collecting unemployment will need to show proof that they are searching for work while collecting benefits. “This return to our traditional, more normalized system is a sign that we are getting back to normal,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a press release. The virtual job fairs are:
May 6 veteran virtual job fair in partnership with NH DMAVS
May 11 student virtual job fair in partnership with Pinkerton Academy
May 11 student and adult education virtual job fair in partnership with Pinkerton Academy
May 13 construction industry virtual job fair in partnership with ABC NH/VT
May 18 Great North Woods region & Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee region
May 19 Seacoast region
May 20 White Mountains region
May 25 Lakes region
May 26 Monadnock region
May 27 Capital & Southern region
Employers looking to register their company and job seekers looking for work can register for one of the job fairs by going to virtualjobfairs.nh.gov. All New Hampshire Works Jobs Centers across the state will be open to the public by May 10, the release said.
The New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton recently recognized 29 employees with 460 years of combined service to the State of New Hampshire, according to a press release. The employees who were honored have been working at the home for at least 10 years, and the longest-serving employee has been there for 35 years, according to the release.
Sarah Lenau of Manchester has been named a 2021 Camp Champion by Camp Casco, a nonprofit organization offering free camps and socials for childhood cancer patients, survivors and siblings in New England, according to a press release. She will soon join a crew of athletes to take on the Presidential Traverse to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer survivors.
Bedford residents are invited to a virtual public information meeting Thursday, May 6, at 6:30 p.m., when the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will provide updates on the status of PFAS in the community. According to a press release, the meeting will include information on the current status of PFAS in Bedford, what it means to residents, actions to help mitigate exposure, a question-and-answer session and more. Pre-registration is recommended; visit bedfordnh.org for the link.
Exeter High School graduate Hunter Long has joined the Miami Dolphins, according to an April 30 report from WMUR. Long, who helped earn Exeter a state title in 2015 before playing for Boston College, was the 81st pick in the third round of the NFL draft and is seen as one of the best tight ends in the nation, according to the report.
Jason Lindahl bought his first comic book when he was 6 years old. More than 40 years later, he still loves those brightly colored pages and has found a way to surround himself with them: by opening a comic book store in downtown Dover.
Khaotic Comics opened April 17, the location chosen because of the city’s lack of comics.
“There’s been a huge need for it in this area,” he said. “People in the Dover area had to go to Rochester or Newington to buy comic books. … I’ve got customers that used to take buses over to Newington because that was the only place they could get the stuff they wanted to read.”
Lindahl believes that comic books have been and still are making a comeback.
“The industry is building up,” he said. “There’s more and more movies coming out. Comic books are becoming more and more popular.”
The shop’s name is inspired by the nature of comic book stores, with the purposeful misspelling adding to the meaning.
“When you look in a comic book store, it can look kind of chaotic,” he said with a laugh.
Lindahl and his wife already have experience with owning and operating businesses: He runs a generator company and she runs a health care company. Still, opening a new business in these times was nerve-wracking, despite the field’s growing popularity, Lindahl said. Between financial concerns, community interest and finding a location, there was no shortage of stress.
But so far, it’s all been worth it. Opening day was met with great success.
“We had over 400 people show up at the store,” Lindahl said. “My wife served over 200 [free] hot dogs to anybody that wanted them.”
Lindahl hopes that Khaotic Comics can be a meaningful addition to the Dover community.
“I’d like to help out the library and youth groups,” he said. “I can give them free comic books to help with education and reading.”
The shop also plans to offer tabletop gaming, such as Pokemon and Dungeons & Dragons.
“Kids will have a place to come and hang out and relax and be in a safe environment,” he said.
-Sadie Burgess
Khaotic Comics Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., 7 days a week Where: 590 Central Ave., Dover More info: khaoticcomics.com
The fourth installation for Flags for Forgotten Soldiers in New Hampshire will be placed at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Merrimack on May 1, according to a press release. There will be 660 flags installed, representing the loss of veterans to suicide, of which there are an average of 22 each day in the U.S. The first installations were in Derry, Chester and Danville and were installed for 30 days each — 22 a day multiplied by 30 days. This larger installation will include five flags that represent the first responders lost daily, and a single flag to signify active-duty members, according to the release, and it will be left up all summer.
Score: +1, for bringing attention to a tragic problem
Comment: The public is invited to attend and assist placing the flags on Saturday May 1, at noon at Anheuser-Busch Brewery, 221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack.
Breathing better
New Hampshire’s air quality has improved for both ozone and year-round particle pollution, according to the 2021 State of the Air report from the American Lung Association. According to a press release, New Hampshire has several counties that were ranked among the cleanest in the Boston metro area for short-term particle pollution. All five reporting counties (Belknap, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Cheshire and Grafton) maintained A grades for short-term particle pollution, and all seven of the state’s reporting counties (all of the above, plus Merrimack and Coos) either maintained or improved their grades for ozone.
Score: +1
Comment: In just the counties included in this report, more than 240,000 residents are living with lung diseases like asthma, COPD and lung cancer, as well as heart disease, making them more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
Manchester cleans up
The Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program is in the midst of its annual spring cleanup. According to a press release, the program has organized 119 cleanups since it started in 2000, and its kept tally of some fun stats: 1071 volunteers have spent approximately 3,632 hours collecting 2,431 bags of trash — which does not include illegally “dumped” items like shopping carts (99), tires (441), car batteries, construction debris and more. The value of volunteer time spent at these cleanups has amounted to over $78,000, the release said.
Score: 0 (+1 for the volunteers, -1 for the absurd number of illegally dumped items found in Manchester’s parks and ponds)
Comment:The next two cleanups are at Stevens Pond and Stevens Pond Park on Saturday, May 1, from 9 to 11 a.m., and at Nutts Pond and Precourt Park on Saturday, May 8, from 9 to 11 a.m. Cleanups will be held rain or shine and anyone is welcome. Latex gloves and plastic trash bags will be provided.
Scam alert
Last week Eversource warned its customers to watch out for scammers who are using new techniques to trick people into thinking they’re legit, including using phony caller IDs that display “Eversource” and reading from scripts that sound like they’re coming from a real company representative who is threatening to disconnect their electric or gas service because of an unpaid bill. According to a press release, Eversource will never ask for an instant payment over the phone, will not ask for prepaid debit cards and will not ask customers to meet at a “payment center” to make the payment. Anyone who thinks they might have received a scam phone call, text or email should contact local police.
Score: -1
Comment: “These scam artists sound sophisticated and are ruthless,” Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner said in the release. “[If you] get a call and the caller’s message doesn’t look or sound right, don’t panic and don’t pay. Remember, we will never threaten to disconnect service or demand instant payment over the phone.”
QOL score: 69
Net change: +1
QOL this week: 70
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
Covid-19 news
During the state’s weekly public health update on April 22, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire has averaged about 350 new infections of Covid-19 per day, while the test-positivity rate was at 4.5 percent.
Over the last several weeks, the number of active infections in the state has hovered around either side of 3,000, while the total number of positive cases since the start of the pandemic last year is creeping toward 100,000.
According to Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, roughly 47 percent of the state’s population (about 637,000 people) have received at least their first shot as of April 22, while 28 percent of the population (about 387,000 people) has been fully vaccinated. “We continue to receive around 50,000 first doses of vaccine each week, between the doses that are allocated to us at the state, as well as our pharmacy partners,” she said. “We still have thousands of open appointments available … at over 200 different locations where you can get vaccinated.”
Thousands more people received their shot at a mass vaccination site at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on April 24. Unlike previous sites at the Speedway, this one was only held by appointment for people to receive their second shot.
Later during the press conference, Gov. Chris Sununu said that the state would likely resume administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine “in a matter of days.”
The following day, April 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food & Drug Administration issued a joint statement lifting the recommended pause of the vaccine, saying that its “known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks in individuals 18 years of age and older.” Federal health officials had recommended a pause of states’ usage of the vaccine on April 13 following six reports of a rare blood clot disorder, a condition the CDC is now calling “thrombosis involving the cerebral venous sinuses, or CVST (large blood vessels in the brain).”
Re-election campaign
On April 27, Mayor Joyce Craig announced that she will be running for re-election for mayor of Manchester. She is currently serving in her second term and is the first woman to serve as mayor in the Queen City, according to a press release. “Manchester is a city on the rise. When the pandemic hit, our progress was interrupted, and we focused our efforts at City Hall on keeping our community safe while still providing essential services,” Craig said in the release. “I’m running for Mayor in 2021 to ensure our city fully recovers from this pandemic, builds upon our progress and comes out of this stronger than before.” This announcement comes after Victoria Sullivan announced her run for mayor last week. According to a press release, Sullivan is a former New Hampshire state representative and assistant majority leader who served two terms on the House Education Committee.
Unemployment
The work search requirement for people getting unemployment benefits will be reinstated starting May 23, Gov. Chris Sununu said in a press conference on April 22, so anyone receiving benefits after that date will have to show proof that they are looking for work. The requirement has been waived during the pandemic, but Sununu said that the state now has a 3 percent unemployment rate, one of the lowest in the country. “Our economy is very, very strong,” he said during the conference. “And it also unfortunately means that we’re, if anything, facing a workforce shortage. … There are tens of thousands of high-paying jobs across the state available today.” The state has hosted 15 virtual job fairs since last summer to help employers find employees, he said, but there haven’t been nearly as many potential employees attending these fairs as there are jobs. Several more job fairs are planned, including one on Thursday, May 6, aimed toward veterans, and one Monday, May 10, for students and recent graduates, as well as one on Thursday, May 13, for those in the construction industry. Sununu encouraged anyone seeking employment to get details about those and other upcoming job fairs at unemploymentbenefits.nh.gov. Meanwhile, he said, all NH Works Centers will be back open to the public by May 10.
Virtual urgent care
Instead of traveling to an emergency room or urgent care clinic, people who need non-emergency care can now connect with a provider by phone or by video on their laptops or mobile devices with the new D-HH Virtual Urgent Care. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health’s Connected Care and Center for Telehealth has partnered with MDLIVE to launch the new service, which provides patients with 24/7 access to urgent care by fully licensed providers from Dartmouth-Hitchcock or MDLIVE-affiliated physicians who are board-certified, licensed, telehealth-trained and have an average of 15 years of experience, according to a press release. Once they sign on, patients can wait for an available provider — the wait time is usually less than 15 minutes — or schedule an appointment for later that day for common health concerns like cold, flu, and other upper respiratory illnesses, allergies, bug bites, rashes, gastrointestinal issues, urinary tract infection and more. They can get prescriptions sent to their pharmacy, if necessary, the release said. The cost is $59 per visit, and the service is currently available to those with private insurance or those who can self-pay. In accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), patient and visit details are shared only with the patient’s primary care physician, the release said. Visit go.d-h.org/virtualurgentcare.
Stock your backyard ponds with rainbow and brook trout, available in 6- to 8-inch and 10- to 12-inch sizes from the Merrimack County Conservation District in Concord, according to a press release. The order deadline is Tuesday, May 11. Any trout sized 6 to 8 inches can be picked up on Sunday, May 16, from 1 to 1: 30 p.m. at 10 Ferry St. in Concord, while the larger trout will be directly delivered to your pond. Call 223-6023 or order at merrimackccd.org. Anyone from any county can participate.
The Manchester Board of School Committee has been named the 2021 School Board of the Year by the New Hampshire School Boards Association, according to a press release. “In addition to its response to the pandemic, the board has maintained its focus on implementing a long-term strategic plan,” the release said.
The Upper Room and the Marion Gerrish Community Center in Derry are relaunching the On My Own Series, a virtual way for teens to explore skills such as cooking, painting, drawing and yoga. According to a press release, the program will be offered Wednesdays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., and all classes are free. Visit urteachers.org to register.
The Friends of the Plaistow Public Library are asking gardeners to consider splitting some of their perennial plants and donating them to the library’s upcoming plant sale, proceeds of which will benefit the Friends of the Library. Donations should be in pots and labeled with the plant name; they will be accepted beginning Monday, May 3.
The New Hampshire Film Bureau, which has helped bring movies like 1981’s On Golden Pond and this year’s Sound of Metal to the state for filming, may be dissolved if the proposed state budget is approved. Professionals from the New Hampshire film industry explain what’s at stake if that happens and why the Granite State is a film destination worth fighting for.
Also on the cover, the Hampstead Eats food truck festival is rolling into town this weekend, p. 21. Hudson Brews is now open and offering craft beers, p. 22. And find all kinds of live music this weekend in Music This Week, starting on p. 32.
Covid-19 updateAs of April 19As of April 26Total cases statewide91,78393,935Total current infections statewide3,3292,717Total deaths statewide1,2701,286New cases2,554 (April 13 to April ...
