Category: Granite Views

At a religious ceremony last weekend, in the beautiful woods of New Hampshire, the priest counseled us to come together across our differences and to pray for one another. While that sentiment seemed reasonable among the small group of relatively like-minded folks gathered in the snow that morning, I realized it was directed ultimately not just to us but beyond, even nationally across our country. The challenge of that admonition was for each of us to look above what divides us to what we have in common. But in all honesty, that’s hard to do when so much of what has happened recently seems inevitably to drive us even further apart.

Tonight, as I write this, while watching the memorial service for the victims of the pandemic who were grieved at the National Mall, and especially when the 400 lights came on along the Reflecting Pool, each one casting a reflection in the shimmering water, as if to ripple out through each glistening reflection the individuality of every single tragically lost life from families across our nation, it became so very clear that that truly is what we have in common.

For regardless of partisan identity, as human beings we all grieve the loss of our loved ones.

In that other, almost religious service this evening, we were counseled, “To heal, we must remember. It’s hard sometimes to remember.” Yes, it is hard to look beyond the tragedy of our personal losses: the deaths of those who didn’t die with their families at their side, who died in the compassionate care of nurses and doctors who maybe knew them only by name and brief acquaintance, but who gave them tender ministration in our place. Yes, to hold that sorrow and look around to so many others with whom we share loss and to remember they, too, are our brothers and sisters.

Ancient wisdom tells us that “Nothing is as strong as a heart that has been broken.” Might this nation of broken hearts look up through our pain and remember who we are?

Rituals are things we do as a community at times of profound change and deep feeling. They can bind us up as individuals, but they can also urge us as fellow human beings to lift one another up. Truly, this I believe.

What kind of state do we have and what kind of state do we want?

At a time in the history of our country in which we appear to be more polarized and alienated than many can recall us being before, there is, nonetheless, a growing awareness of and a resolve to address systemic and interlocking social injustices in our country and in our state. Throughout our history, high-profile events – such as recent and senseless deaths of many people of color – have jolted most Americans out of their ignorance or complacency and forced them to acknowledge stark realities. But there is still another effect that should be noted. Such events can also bring greater recognition of the existence of individuals, organizations and initiatives that, all along, have been working quietly, and relatively out of sight, for social justice in all our communities. These are people and groups who have often done their work in silence and in silos. Their overall goal? To try to make New Hampshire the best place to live, work and prosper for all people, a state that is respectful and honoring of difference.

Nearly 20 years ago, a large-scale event took place at the Center of New Hampshire that recognized and celebrated “Champions of Diversity.” Twenty years later, New Hampshire is more diverse than ever, but the goal of a widespread embracing of diversity has yet to be attained. We hope that the recent tragic events across our country will awaken here at home a greater engagement in the pursuit of this goal. To that end, a number of us believe this is the moment to try to build a broad coalition of organizations to strengthen these efforts. We seek to ask if it is time to consider bringing back a statewide effort that would have as its primary purpose recognizing the great work that is being done in support of New Hampshire’s diverse community.

Different now from 20 years ago, there is a growing number of young people who are anxious, even impatient, to see change and who need to be connected with others, especially across generations, to form effective networks for education, policy development, legislative advocacy and mutual support. To make a start, we hope to find common interest and, eventually, partnerships with foundations, professional and business associations, businesses large and small, and affinity groups to explore possible next steps. – Fred Bramante & Stephen reno

Are you interested in joining such a conversation? Let us know at fredbramante@gmail.com or stephen.reno@usnh.edu.

A few weeks ago, the Union Leader printed a story with the bold headline “NH scores among the top when it comes to race and health equality.”

The article was based on a recent report by the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative and it pulled statistics stating that 67 percent of Black adults in New Hampshire have “very good or excellent” health compared to 59 percent of whites and 56 percent of Hispanics in the state.

Only at the end of the Union Leader piece was there a passing mention of the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. I am struggling to see how these facts were not taken under consideration prior to going to print.

The Governor’s Covid-19 Equity Response Team (GCERT) provided their Initial Report and Recommendations to Gov. Sununu in July 2020. In their 50-page analysis, the group of public health experts from across the state provided a clear statistical case about these disparities and highlighted the full range of determinants, which often have racial bias woven into their fabric.

The GCERT report examined the cases of Covid-19 based on one’s racial-ethnic identity. Unfortunately, these are not always reliable statistics, primarily because our systems often do not do a good job of capturing demographic information accurately and completely, as we’ve seen with the Covid disparities data — as is also seen across the country according to the Covid Tracking Project. Additionally, given the reality of institutional and systemic racism, some individuals may not want to reveal their true racial-ethnic identity out of concern for potential discrimination.

One important contributing factor that wasn’t covered in the article is how our relatively rural state was impacted by the opioid crisis. In our nation’s health care model, white people are often doing “better” because we are being compared to communities of color; otherwise we, too, would have poor health outcomes. The closing line in the analysis section of the HOPE report summarized this reality: “Although white populations generally fare better on most measures of opportunity than most other populations in the state, white adults in New Hampshire have higher rates of premature mortality.”

Headlines are often not the full story. If we are truly committed to being a state where everyone has equal opportunity for good health then we are going to need to seek truth in the lived experiences of people who are suffering disproportionate impacts — including for both the Covid-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis. The GCERT report provides a solid starting place to truly create a healthy state where all structures support belonging, equity and good health for all.

Twenty years ago Hippo published its first print issue — that’s about 1,040 issues ago. At the time, we had an idea of what we wanted to do — publish a weekly paper that covered Manchester’s food, arts, entertainment, culture and news. Central to that plan was to create a quality publication that we gave away.

Hippo started as a blog in the late winter of 2000 as a way for me, a reporter for the Union Leader at the time, to write those stories that didn’t fit a daily newspaper. As I recruited fellow reporters to write for it, it became more like a local Huffington Post of its day. It didn’t really have an editorial vision or focus. We just did it for fun.

That started to change in the spring of 2000 when Dan Szczesny, also a reporter at the Union Leader, joined me. He would edit the zine and I would try to figure out how to make it something that we could do for a living. Back then (and even now, locally) that meant publishing in print. Dan and I didn’t have much money between us so we needed a partner who could finance us. Former gubernatorial candidate and radio host at the time Arnie Arnesen suggested I speak with Jeff Rapsis, a former publisher of “Little” papers, a group of weekly newspapers outside Manchester owned by Nackey Loeb. He was also a former reporter for the Union Leader, Keene Sentinel and Claremont Eagle Times. It turned out Jeff and I had worked for the Keene Sentinel 10 years apart. Jeff took a chance on Dan and me and invested in our vision for an arts and entertainment weekly. The three of us formed a partnership that exists to this day.

In the fall of 2000 we began assembling a group of volunteers, many our friends, who would help write and deliver Hippo in our first year. As we started putting that first issue together in late December 2000, businesses, events and nonprofits stepped up to advertise. We would not have survived that first year without all of that support.

Twenty years later, in the midst of a pandemic, we’re still here, though we now cover all of central southern New Hampshire, and are still extremely lucky to get financial support from our readers and local nonprofits and businesses. That support enables us to continue to be New Hampshire’s largest publication, the state’s only arts and entertainment weekly and one the few remaining in New England. Thank you all. We’re very grateful to have your continued support.

This week, I want to offer an inside look at Hippo’s first year publishing, 2001, and at this past year, 2020 — our two most challenging years. What follows are my recollections, with excerpts from recollections of other people who were there for those two years.

Now that 2020 is heading into the history books it seems appropriate to look forward to 2021 and predict with the greatest of accuracy what will happen in the next year. As some of you may remember, in last year’s column I did not predict the worldwide pandemic. I’m hoping to do better this year.

In 2021, I predict we in the Granite State can expect:

• A real blow-up with Massachusetts after the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Massachusetts can continue to tax the income of Granite Staters who work for Massachusetts-based employers but who, because of the pandemic, are working at home (in New Hampshire). The ruling so thoroughly Ps off Granite Staters that we hike the cost of cigarettes. Can we keep them from buying our lottery tickets?

• After discovering that Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, was living in Bradford, N.H., this summer, Granite Staters will be mildly surprised to find that we have another somewhat famous resident living in the state — Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman. Manafort was convicted of tax fraud in 2018 and then recently pardoned. Apparently New Hampshire is the place to go to escape the limelight.

• Hospitality impresario and philanthropist Alex Ray will create his next attraction, Common Man Land, a barn-themed amusement park complete with a hay toss and painting (mostly barns and fences). Interestingly, there is no charge to get in but visitors must complete three hours of manual labor. And visitors love it!

• After losing the NH House, Senate and Executive Council, Democrats reassess their messaging and tactics. First up will be the introduction of Covid-safe hug tunnels (look it up) and then after that less discussion of an income tax and more discussion of legalizing weed.

• Nashua will break ground on its performing arts center and get a surprise artist in residence, singer, songwriter and actor Mandy Moore. Moore, a native of Nashua and avid hiker, decided it was time to climb all 48 4,000-footers in New Hampshire. Go, Moore, Go.

• Bill Binnie, owner of Binnie Media and former owner of NH1, will make a deal to buy WMUR from Hearst. And yes, he’ll bring with him Al Kaprielian. On top of that Binnie will promise to bring back the Uncle Gus Show though reimagined as the Auntie Sarah Show — starring none other than Sarah Silverman.

• Former Manchester School Board at-large member Rich Girard will run for mayor of Manchester.

• UCLA football coach and New Hampshire native Chip Kelly will team up with Greg Landry, also New Hampshire native and NFL quarterback, to open a football-themed destination steakhouse called the Red Zone at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Come on, you know you would want to eat there.

If any of these things happen, do not call or email me. Just enjoy them.

2020 is not going silently into the night. It’s going out kicking and screaming. And let’s not be nice about this: 2020 has been a brutal year for everyone. More than 500 Granite Staters have passed away from Covid, people have lost their livelihoods, whole industries have been torn apart, families have been separated, kids have been unschooled, and to top it all off we went through one of the most divisive elections in modern times with federal agencies actually warning about possible election-related civil unrest. I mean, come on. It’s no wonder people are drinking a bit more. Yes, beer, wine and liquor sales are up in New Hampshire.

But even in these challenging times there are things to be thankful for.

As fraught as the election was (and could still be, I guess) there wasn’t any violence. The day after most signs were down and people here were back to their daily lives. Is everyone happy? No. But most have moved on to their lives.

As bad as Covid has been, it could have been worse. New Hampshire has largely been successful in tamping down outbreaks, keeping the number of hospitalizations low and balancing the needs of people to move about with the needs of our medical system to combat the virus. Any loss of life is horrific.

While many local businesses (including us) and nonprofits have seen revenues plunge, many other businesses have seen surging demand. Everything from ATVs to swimming pools to builders to takeout pizza has seen strong revenue in 2020.

Unemployment rates have continued to fall. New Hampshire’s rate is now under 5 percent from a high of almost 17 percent in April. That does reflect some people leaving the workforce but it also reflects other jobs in other industries picking up the slack.

New Hampshire showed the country it was truly bipartisan by splitting results with Republicans dominating statewide races and Democrats dominating federal races. More than that, 75 percent of eligible voters voted — a modern record level of voting. And yes, folks, we do live in a democracy. We should also be thankful for that.

There is less traffic — just saying.

Folks in New Hampshire continue to be generous with their time and money in assisting and donating to local nonprofits. While many nonprofits that rely on in-person services have seen revenues decline others have seen people be more generous. It made the news recently that MacKenzie Scott (author, philanthropist and former wife of Jeff Bezos) gave more than $6 million to New Hampshire nonprofits.

Hundreds of Hippo readers have sent in financial contributions this year to support Hippo. We can’t say thank you enough.

As much as we want 2021 to be better than 2020, and I’m hopeful it will be, the road back to normal will be slower than we want. But there is a road back and for that I’m very thankful.

Why is school choice and expansion of the charter school system in New Hampshire such a political hot spot? If we simply think about offering every student the opportunity to learn in the environment that works best for him or her, why would we not want to expand the charter school system, and why did the Democratic-led Fiscal Committee repeatedly reject a $46 million federal grant? This federal grant was awarded to New Hampshire more than a year ago, and in a decision that defies logic and reason, the Fiscal Committee rejected the funds (the only state in the nation to do so) multiple times. The funds were awarded for the expansion of charter schools statewide, and it was the largest charter school expansion grant in the country.

The argument against receiving the funds was essentially that by expanding the charter school system, costs in the public school system would increase. There are two important points here. First, charter schools are public schools. While they receive a higher per student reimbursement from the state than traditional public schools, they do not have access to local taxes or other state aid. While charter schools are able to educate their students at a much lower cost than traditional public schools, there is still a gap between funds received from the state and funds spent, requiring the schools to rely on private donations and fundraising. Second, if there are fewer students in the traditional school system due the expansion of charter schools, shouldn’t the overall operating budget decrease? Enrollment in traditional public schools has steadily declined over the past 10 years; however, overall school budgets continue to increase.

With a change in party leadership, there is hope that the now Republican-led Fiscal Committee will immediately move to accept the federal grant. As a whole, our children are best served when the traditional public school system works with the charter school system to determine the best learning environment for the child. Education is not a one-size-fits-all reality, and when the focus is on “who gets the money,” the mission of education is lost. By keeping our focus on the student first, we will see better outcomes.

For more years than I can remember, at this time of year someone within earshot would say, “Christmas carols so soon? It’s the day after Thanksgiving and the carols have started. Far too early.” That always struck me as a little Grinch-like. This year, however, no one has uttered those words. Instead, there seems an almost universal haste to bring on the holiday season.

Our favorite nursery and hardware store reports their stock of wreaths, garlands, lights, candles and festive decorations is nearly sold out. Drive through neighborhoods after dark and more houses than usual seem festooned. And while many of us are staying away from retail shops for health and safety reasons, seasonal shopping is at a brisk pace online as witnessed by the UPS, FedEx, Prime and USPS trucks out and about.

We should not be surprised at ourselves this year. As we enter the 10th month of mask-wearing, social distancing and cabin hibernation, we are looking for the comfort of those seasonal traditions that were commonplace before the pandemic.

Across cultures worldwide, regardless of their religions, rituals bring meaning to ordinary time and action. They lift us out of the commonplace by changing what we see, hear, taste and smell. In short, rituals of whatever kind link the present with the past, whether it is our tribe’s, family’s, community’s or our very own. And we seem to need them most when the world around us seems dark and possibly even dangerous.

For centuries and in many cultures the winter solstice (which occurs this month) has been seen as a significant time and has been marked by festivals and rituals. It marked the symbolic death and rebirth of the sun. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days.

With the pandemic death toll in our country now approaching 280,000, we are truly in a very dark time. And while the promise of effective vaccines offers a light ahead, as does the solstice promise the return of the sun, we seek some comfort in rituals of this season and trust they will bolster our hope for better times.

So this year, whatever festival we observe, we are likely to do so more thoughtfully and with greater intensity. As much as we may trust in science, we also take comfort in our rituals.

Being a local merchant before the pandemic was hard. The tides were against us — from competition from Amazon to the rising cost of rents and labor, it was hard to be a small business in New Hampshire.

But that didn’t stop many people from taking up the challenge, and for that I’m grateful. Small independent businesses — your local restaurant, bakery, gift shop, pet store, salon and music shop — give our community part of its character. It’s the basis for Hippo’s annual Best of Readers Poll. And as we’ve talked about for the past 20 years, these small businesses are what help make this region what it is.

Those small businesses also employ a lot of local people and more of the money you spend with us stays in the area; 73 percent of money you spend at an independent small business stays local versus 43 percent of money spent at a non-locally owned business, according to one recent study. I would guess even less stays local when spending money with Amazon or another out-of-state e-tailer. Locally owned businesses also contribute a lot more money to local charities and pay a lot more in local taxes. This keeps your taxes lower. Spending local makes sense for your community and yourself.

That in-person connection of a Toadstool Bookshop or a Manchester Music Mill or an Alapage or the Bakeshop On Kelley Street or Granite State Candy Shoppe or Palace Theatre or Cheers Bar and Grill has been severely impacted with the limiting of in-person contact throughout the pandemic. It’s like the very thing that gives these businesses their special sauce was yanked right away from them. At the very same moment, their chief competitors like Amazon, Walmart and UberEats got a huge boost by people stuck at home. This is understandable — Amazon is easy and makes a lot of sense when we’re trying to reduce our in-person contact.

What we can do, though, is make an effort to spend some of our money at these local businesses. Since many of our local businesses can’t afford some of the online shopping tools or their service can’t be sold online, our efforts might require us to pick up the phone or if we feel safe enough go down there and use their service. Support your local restaurant by buying a gift certificate or ordering takeout.

Just as we need to make the effort, small businesses need to as well. Consumers can recognize when businesses aren’t reasonably supporting local businesses around them. Just as with consumers it isn’t always easy but with some effort the rewards can be tremendous.

Though it can seem a bit overused, the saying “we’ll get through this together” has the right sentiment. We’ll get through this together by supporting each other.

Ready or not, the holidays are here, with Thanksgiving arriving this week. Thanksgiving has been celebrated in various ways since that very first holiday in 1621 between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans, but it was Abraham Lincoln who declared it a national holiday in 1863 during the midst of the Civil War. According to History.com in its “Thanksgiving 2020” article, Lincoln issued a proclamation imploring all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

In present time, we are suffering through a worldwide pandemic that has taken more than 250,000 lives in the United States alone. With record high Covid-19 cases, we are being asked to reconsider traditional Thanksgiving gatherings. Local leaders and governors are asking for diligence to stay the course and follow the recommendations from the CDC and health authorities, celebrating in smaller groups or with only household members, celebrating virtually, or even hosting an outside Thanksgiving get-together.

In addition, we have just completed an election that laid bare the division and polarization of our country. Each party is convinced it has the answers to resolving the ongoing “civil strife” of present day, yet there is very little evidence of seeking common ground upon which to develop real solutions. Even post-election, hate and vitriol continue to spread across social media and traditional news outlets.

These events have taken a toll on Americans in 2020. We are weary and yearn for some sense of normalcy. Is it ironic that Lincoln’s words from 1863 ring so true in 2020? As we gather for Thanksgiving, may we remember Lincoln’s proclamation and commit to doing our part to once again heal the wounds of our divided nation. There is continued hope for a vaccine to help contain a virus that has taken so much. In the meantime, we must not politicize a personal responsibility to do our part in slowing the spread. We may not be able to physically gather this Thanksgiving, but we can certainly find ways to come together as a nation. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.