Author: The Hippo Press

Covid-19 news

During the state’s weekly public health update on May 13, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that positive case numbers of Covid-19 in New Hampshire continue to be on the decline, averaging between 150 and 200 new infections per day over the previous week, while the test positivity rate was at roughly 3 percent. As of May 13, there have been 178 confirmed “breakthrough” infections of the virus, meaning those that occurred despite individuals being fully vaccinated. “We are going to see vaccine breakthrough cases, but it’s a very low number when you consider the number of people that have been fully vaccinated,” said Chan, noting that it’s less than 0.1 percent of these cases relative to overall vaccinations.

Later during the press conference, when asked about the CDC’s new guidance released earlier that day saying fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks indoors or outdoors in most cases, Chan said he was “a little bit unhappy” with how it was rolled out. “The difficult choices have always been around what the correct timing is,” he said. “Anytime the CDC puts out this type of guidance, we never just simply adopt it because the CDC has put it out. We’ve always, throughout this pandemic, taken the time to review it, understand it, look at our own numbers, look at our own situation [and] make decisions based on our own local context, and we will do that in this situation as well.”

As of last week, children and teens ages 12 to 15 are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. “We have already had 6,000 12- to 15-year-olds register out of the 60,000 people in this age group,” Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, said during the press conference. “We have seen even young, otherwise healthy people get hospitalized or have weeks or months of breathing problems that impacted their ability to play sports or exercise, so we do encourage all parents to make that choice to get their child vaccinated.”

Gov. Chris Sununu also announced during the press conference that beginning this week New Hampshire is opening up each of its state-run vaccination sites to walk-ins, with no appointments needed, between 3 and 6 p.m. Both Pfizer and Moderna are available at these sites. Second-dose appointments will still be scheduled at the time of the first vaccination.

Downtown development

Last week, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig submitted proposals to transform two large city-owned downtown parking lots — the Pearl Street Lot and Hartnett Lot — into mixed-use, mixed-income housing developments in an effort to address the city’s housing shortage. According to a press release, Craig’s Requests for Proposals drafts, which were sent to the city’s Lands and Buildings Aldermanic Committee for approval, require that some units be affordable, based on Housing and Urban Development’s definition of affordable housing, and the number of affordable units will be the biggest factor in the evaluation criteria. Further, the proposals must not reduce any existing public parking spaces, and they must be architecturally pleasing and pedestrian-friendly. “Manchester has been named the hottest real estate market in the country for the second year in a row, and in order to keep up with demand, there is a desperate need for not only more affordable housing but more housing in general,” Craig said in the release. The Queen City’s Affordable Housing Taskforce, which was established in March 2020, released its final report last month, with the first recommendation being to “prioritize the development of affordable housing on City-owned parking lots and vacant City-owned land,” the release said. On May 18, Craig also announced a proposal to create a Housing Commission, which was another recommendation made by the Affordable Housing Task Force. “Through this commission, the City of Manchester will continue to engage members of our community in finding innovative solutions to the rising cost of housing,” Craig said in the release. The commission would be responsible for following up on the many recommendations made by the Affordable Housing Task Force. The proposal was scheduled to go before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Administration on the evening of May 18.

Free class for grads

All 2021 high school graduates are being offered a free class of their choice at any of New Hampshire’s community colleges in the fall. According to a press release, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and the Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges have committed more than $1 million, plus advising and other services from the community colleges, to help students on their future educational and career paths. Any student graduating from a New Hampshire high school in 2021 can take any three-credit course at any of the seven colleges in the Community College System of NH, including courses that are part of certificate programs for skilled trades. The gift covers tuition and associated fees, and the colleges will work with students to help with course selection. Eligible students can contact the admissions office at their local community college.

Record lottery sales

On May 17, the New Hampshire Lottery announced that it has set an all-time annual sales record, with seven weeks still remaining in the fiscal year. Gross sales have exceeded $434 million, according to a press release, which is more than a 30-percent year-over-year increase. Net profit to date is approximately $107 million and is on pace to reach $130 million. The previous record net profit was $105.5 million, set in Fiscal Year 2019. That profit goes to the state’s public education system, which has received $2.2 billion since the lottery’s inception in 1964. “As we look ahead, the New Hampshire Lottery is well-positioned to continue building on this momentum to benefit the students and teachers of New Hampshire for years and years to come,” Charlie McIntyre, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Lottery, said in the release. Almost all of the state’s lottery games are ahead of last year’s sales pace, including Fast Play, which is up more than 200 percent; NH iLottery, which is up 136 percent; KENO 603, up nearly 52 percent; Gimme 5, up more than 37 percent; and scratch ticket sales, which are up more than 21 percent. Large Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots, which reached a combined $1.58 billion in January, also contributed to the sales record, the release said.

Ed funding lawsuit

Last week the Mascoma Valley Regional and Derry Cooperative school districts announced that they will join nine other school districts as co-plaintiffs in ConVal School District’s lawsuit against the state over equitable education funding. According to a press release, the plaintiffs argue that the state does not meet its constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding for all students, saying that base adequacy — which provided $3,636 per student in all districts in 2019 — is not sufficient. In March, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire rejected the state’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. The case now goes back to Superior Court Judge David Ruoff, who will hold hearings allowing the plaintiffs to present evidence that the state underfunds education; an evidentiary hearing isn’t expected until the summer of 2022, according to the release. The other school districts involved in the lawsuit so far are Oyster River, Grantham, Claremont, Fall Mountain, Hillsboro-Deering, Mascenic, Monadnock, Newport and Wincheste r. Ruoff has given New Hampshire districts until Friday, May 22, to decide whether to join the lawsuit. “As a regional school district, Mascoma Valley experiences the injustice of New Hampshire’s educational funding mechanism which pits community against community instead of uniting us in the common goal of education,” Tim Josephson, Vice Chair of the Mascoma School Board, said in the release. “The legislature’s lack of action since the Claremont lawsuits has deepened inequities, allowing the state to continue shrinking its constitutionally-mandated responsibility.”

Boscawen has been awarded a $500,000 Cleanup Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the former Allied Leather site on Commercial Street. According to a press release, the site, which has housed various mill operations and a leather tannery, has been vacant since 1987 and is contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, petroleum, metals and other contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities. The Town of Jaffrey also received a grant: $300,000 to assess and develop cleanup plans for various sites in town.

Concord’s Giant Indoor Yard Sale returns on Saturday, May 22, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Everett Arena. There will be thousands of items, according to a press release, and admission is $5 for adults; kids 12 and under get in free.

High school students at Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies in Manchester helped Manchester Community College’s student senate for the second year with its Sleep In Heavenly Peace Build a Bed event, which brings together volunteers to build beds for local kids who are sleeping on the floor, according to a press release. Students from both schools built 15 bunk beds for local under-resourced families.

A team from Nashua Community College is one of 12 national finalists that has been selected to move on to the next phase in the 2021 Community College Innovation Challenge. According to a press release from the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Science Foundation, the team will attend a Virtual Boot Camp in June to interact with entrepreneurs and business experts, culminating in a Student Innovation Showcase with a pitch presentation to determine the winner. The Nashua group will present its EnviroMask project to develop an environmentally friendly, fully biodegradable face mask using cotton with bioplastic and non-woven bamboo fiber, the release said.

Covid-19 news

During the state’s weekly public health update on May 6, state epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan reported that New Hampshire has averaged between 200 and 250 new infections of Covid-19 per day in the last week, a decrease from the week prior. The number of active infections has also been on a slight decline, while the number of hospitalizations has been steady.

According to Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, more than 1 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have now been administered in the state, including to 725,000 people who have received their first dose. Of those, 505,000 people (just over a third of the state’s population) have now been fully vaccinated.

The state’s “Safer at Home” advisory, in place since June 2020, expired at midnight on May 7. In its place as of that date are now “universal best practices” guidance documents for state businesses. They can be viewed online at covidguidance.nh.gov. “There are no further requirements that we are going to be instituting for large gatherings,” Sununu said later during the press conference when asked about the new guidance documents. “[The best practices guidelines are] all-encompassing and just reminding folks of how they can keep themselves, their employees and their customers safe without the actual statewide-driven mandate.”

Also on May 7, Sununu issued Executive Order 2021-8, extending the state of emergency in New Hampshire due to the pandemic for another three weeks through at least May 28. It’s the 20th extension he has issued since declaring a state of emergency in March 2020.

Queen City ARP funds

Last week Mayor Joyce Craig released the results of a survey that asked Manchester residents how they want the city’s American Rescue Plan funds — about $44 million — to be spent. According to a press release, of the 159 residents who responded, nearly 32 percent want to spend the money on improving roads, connecting the rail trail, and promoting a more walkable and livable city. Approximately 28 percent said their top priority was affordable housing and assisting those in Manchester experiencing homelessness. Ten percent want to see education improvements, 10 percent want the money spent on downtown improvements and local businesses, and 7 percent want the funds to go to public health. As part of the survey, most respondents noted the social isolation, anxiety and financial impacts brought on by the pandemic, but nearly 24 percent also talked about the positive impact that the past year has brought: “It has slowed us down in a way where we value our local community and realize the dependencies we have on each other. We’ve learned to love our neighbors more and to support ALL the businesses and people that are working hard each day,” one resident wrote, according to the press release.

“The results of our community feedback survey show that our residents are ready to bounce back from this Covid-19 pandemic and address important issues like infrastructure, housing and education,” Craig said in the release.

Property tax relief

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration is once again offering low- and moderate-income homeowners the opportunity to apply for property tax relief, according to a press release. The Low and Moderate Income Homeowners Property Tax Relief program is now accepting applications through June 30. Eligible applicants are either single with adjusted gross income less than or equal to $20,000 or married or head of New Hampshire household with adjusted gross income less than or equal to $40,000, and have owned and resided in a home that is subject to the State Education Property Tax and resided in as of April 1, 2020. The application is available at revenue.nh.gov or by calling 230-5001. Individual income tax returns must be submitted with the application.

Tax exemptions

On May 5, Mayor Joyce Craig and the Board of Assessors announced a change to tax exemptions that expands the eligibility requirements for elderly and disabled Manchester residents. According to a press release, income limits for this population are increasing from $37,000 to $41,000 for single individuals, and from $50,000 to $55,000 for married individuals. Asset limits are increasing from $90,000 to $100,000 for single individuals and $115,000 to $130,000 for married individuals. Elderly residents must be 65 or older as of April 1, must have been a resident of New Hampshire for three consecutive years on or before April 1, and must be the owner of record of the property in question. Disabled residents must be eligible for payments under Title II or Title XVI of the federal Social Security Act, must have been a New Hampshire resident for at least five years as of April 1, and must be the owner of record as of April 1. Residents who now qualify based on the expanded exemption have until Friday, June 18, to file an application and can call 624-6520 or visit manchesternh.gov.

Education funding

Last week the Oyster River Cooperative and the Grantham school districts announced that they will join the school districts of Claremont, Fall Mountain, Hillsboro-Deering, Mascenic, Monadnock, Newport and Winchester as co-plaintiffs in ConVal School District’s lawsuit against the state over equitable education funding. According to a press release, the plaintiffs argue that the state does not meet its constitutional obligation to provide adequate funding for all students, saying that base adequacy — which provided $3,636 per student in all districts in 2019 — is not sufficient. In March, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire rejected the state’s request to dismiss the lawsuit. The case now goes back to Superior Court Judge David Ruoff, who will hold hearings allowing the plaintiffs to present evidence that the state underfunds education; an evidentiary hearing isn’t expected until the summer of 2022, according to the release.

The Centennial Hotel in Concord has been nominated for the annual Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, according to a press release, along with 30 other hotels and ski resorts in the state, most of which are in the White Mountains. The cities of Manchester and Concord were also nominated and will go up against the best in class for special recognition in the magazine’s November issue, the release said.

The historical Stone House in Hooksett will stay standing, the Hooksett Heritage Commission announced in a press release. RCA Holdings is not moving forward with plans to demolish the building and replace it with a storage facility, and the property is on the market again, for $675,000, the release said.

UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Goffstown is hosting a Community Horse Drive Thru on Saturday, May 15, from 10 to 11 a.m., according to a press release. Meet the nonprofit’s horses and horse handlers, whom you’ll be able to visit with right at your car window. To RSVP visit upreachtec.org or call 497-2343.

Several properties have been added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places, including the Morrison House, circa 1760, in Londonderry, one of the oldest standing capes in town and the only surviving building from one of its earliest settled areas, according to a press release. Other properties include the Association Hall in Derry, Andover Town Hall and the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church.

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.