Category: News

This Week 25/06/19

Thursday, June 19

Today is Downtown Nashua’s Third Thursday for June. From 3 to 8 p.m., 16 downtown businesses will offer special bargains and enticements. Find Third Thursday: June 19 on Facebook.

Thursday, June 19

Experience a world of huge and beautiful horses at the North East Friesian Horse Show at the Deerfield Fair Grounds (34 Stage Road, Deerfield, 463-7421) today through this Sunday, June 22. Visit nefhc.com/nefhc-classic-horse-show.

Saturday, June 21

The Nashua Pride Festival and Parade is this afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m. The parade will start at Nashua City Hall on Main Street and conclude at the festival grounds at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St., according to a Facebook post about the event. The festival will feature art, health information, activism, food trucks, music and more, the post said. Find “NashuaPideFestival” on Facebook for more.

Saturday, June 21

There will be a Queer Book Fair today from noon to 5 p.m. at CosMom ConShop(100 Main St., Nashua, 438-0497, cosmomconshop.com). Find novels, poetry and other writing by queer authors and literature about and pertaining to queer characters and identities.

Saturday, June 21

Today the Pembroke Historical Society and the Friends of the Pembroke Town Library are hosting one of New Hampshire’s Reenactments of the Final U.S. Tour by the Marquis de Lafayette, the French nobleman who fought on the side of the colonists in the American Revolutionary War. Today is 200 years to the day of his 1825 visit to Pembroke. The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Town Library, 313 Pembroke St.

Saturday, June 21

There will be a concert of Brass and Bells this evening at 7 p.m. at South Congregational Church, 27 Pleasant St. in Concord. This concert features the Granite State Ringers handbell choir of Concord under the direction of Joan Fossum and The Carter Mountain Brass Band, the Gilford-based brass band, under the direction of Debbi Gibson.

Saturday, June 21

Plaistow’s Old Home Day returns today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a parade and activities on the Town Hall green (145 Main St., Plaistow). See plaistow.com.

Saturday, June 21

The Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com) is hosting Hot To Go: The Chappell Roan Party, for ages 18+, tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $23.30.

Wednesday, June 25

Tonight’s Londonderry Concert on the Common will feature East Coast Soul, a 10-piece musical collective. They will perform from 7 to 8:30 p.m. In case of bad weather, the alternate venue will be the Londonderry High School cafeteria. Visit londonderryartscouncil.org/cotc-schedule.

Save the Date! Thursday, June 26

Concord’s annual Market Days Festival runs Thursday, June 26, through Saturday, June 28, in downtown Concord from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. with local vendors, live entertainment, family-friendly activities, maybe an in-festival wedding on Friday, June 27, and more. Visit marketdaysfestival.com.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 25/06/19

High school students save the day

Two Manchester high school students helped save their bus driver on Thursday, May 29. As reported in a May 30 press release from the Manchester School District, “sophomores Jadiel Mota and Rajahn Carrero said that it was a pretty normal afternoon, though they recognized that [Tony] Annese, their regular bus driver, was moving slower than usual. … Annese [pulled the bus over and] told dispatchers he needed a medic, students jumped in to help.” Mota took over radio communications and let the dispatcher know the bus’ exact location. Carrero, who had training from working with Manchester Fire Department’s Junior Fire Explorers program, recognized that Annese was suffering from low blood sugar and dehydration. He got food and water from other students and helped keep Annese calm until help arrived.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Hope everybody involved has a restful summer.

The DMV doesn’t text

The New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau are warning drivers about fraudulent text messages supposedly from the Department of Motor Vehicles threatening them with fines and license suspensions. In a June 9 press release, the state Attorney General’s office was unequivocal: “This is a scam,” the press release stated. “The New Hampshire DMV does not send text messages regarding driver’s license suspensions, unpaid violations, or requests for payment. … We urge all New Hampshire residents to remain vigilant and to delete these messages immediately.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: See dmv.nh.gov.

Roads are better than you think

As reported by WMUR in a June 11 online article, New Hampshire’s state roads are in good shape, with close to 90 percent in good or fair condition. “In New Hampshire, the majority of roads that have been rated using [International Roughness Index] are in good condition. About 322 miles of roads in New Hampshire have not been rated. The latest data from 2023 to 2024 show that more than half of state roads are in good condition, and about 31 percent are fair,” the report said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Smooth summer driving ahead.

QOL score last week: 62

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 63

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Big Boston weekend

The Big Story – Red Sox Sweep the Yanks: Just when Red Sox Nation was about to throw 2025 overboard the local team came alive to win five straight, with the last three coming against the Yankees. And you can thank the pitching, which held the Yanks to just four runs in their weekend of 2-1, 4-3 and 2-0 wins.

Even more unbelievable was Alex Cora letting both Garrett Crochet (107) and Brayan Bello (114) exceed 100 pitches in their starts, while Roy Hobbs, er, Hunter Dobbins has come out of nowhere to tell tall tales about his dad once playing for the Yankees and win games as he is now 4-1 after six scoreless innings on Saturday.

Sports 101: Ty Cobb won the AL batting title every year between 1907 and 1919 except 1916. Who won it that year?

News Item – Roman Anthony Arrives While Raffy Devers Goes: It took the brass long enough, but they finally grew a pair to send the me-first Devers out of town to SF for four players. It’s more a deal for the future, as they got three players under 22 in return for their best hitter, including two big-armed but unproven pitchers, along with journeyman hurler Jordan Hicks. But there’s also the addition-by-subtraction benefit of removing his selfishness from a clubhouse stocked with young players. Plus it clears more than $200 million off the books to hopefully be invested in pitching at the trade deadline or next winter.It also clears a permanent spot for baseball’s top prospect, Roman Anthony, who arrived earlier in the week. He won’t replace Devers’ production immediately of course. But they feel he’s ready, and given the crowd at OF/DH he wasn’t gonna stay unless somebody was moved and Devers made the most long-term sense.As for Raffy’s past contributions: Thanks for the memories but don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

News Item – NBA Finals Update: Two thoughts on Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle: (1)he’s a great bench coach and (2) with that shaved head he looks like Uncle Fester from the Addams Family.

News Item – New York State of Mind: Knicks owner Jimmy Dolan’s (non-)plan to replace Tom Thibodeau despite his taking them to their first conference final since 1999 ain’t working too well. It offers typically arrogant New York thinking that everyone wants to coach the Knicks because they’re NEW YORK. Even though they’ve only been relevant this year during Dolan’s 25-year ownership reign.

The plan was to steal a coach like Ime Udoka, Jason Kidd or Chris Finch even though they were all under contract and had compelling reasons to stay with their promising teams. Predictably, when asked for permission to pursue them their teams told the Knicks to go fly a kite. So now they’re scavenging the bottom of the failed-coaches barrel for guys out of work for a reason.

The Numbers:

1.8 – chance out of 100 Dallas had to get the first overall pick in the recent NBA lottery.

17 – margin between the AL team with the second most errors and the Red Sox’s league-leading 64.

64 – foot putt J.J. Spaun buried on the final hole at Oakmont CC to give him a gritty two-shot win in the 125th U.S. Open after bogeying five of the first six holes on Sunday.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Carlos Alcaraz: For the class and sportsmanship the French Open winner demonstrated in (1) conceding a point to opponent Jannik Sinner originally given to him by telling officials Sinner’s shot was actually in bounds and (2) gathering all the ball boys together to celebrate the win in a giant group photo and joyous shoutout. Well done, young fella.

Random Thoughts:

How could the Red Sox possibly wear their Oakland A’s look-alike uniforms in any game vs. the Yankees, let alone at Fenway as they did Friday!

With Pete Alonso closing in on most homers in New York Mets history it amazes me with 252 Darryl Strawberry is still their all-time leader 35 years after leaving the team.

Sports 101 Answer: Ex-Red Sox star Tris Speaker hit .386 for the Cleveland Indians to stop Cobb’s streak. But he wasn’t far off as he finished second to Speaker with a .370 average.

Prediction: Devers eventually becomes SF’s first baseman.

Final Thought: NCAA Court Settlement: It was the right ruling on antitrust grounds that allows schools to now pay players directly in college sports. Especially in light of how much money coaches and the NCAA have raked in while the players got zilch until recently. But can we please finally stop calling it “amateur athletics” and ban the phrase “student a-tha-letes” forever. Call them what they are: mercenaries who’ll move from school to school annually for better paychecks without a care for the new school or the classroom.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/06/19

Kids are alright

New Hampshire received top ranking for child well-being in the 2025 Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Book, according to a release from the Department of Health and Human Services. The report looks at indicators in “four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors” and the state ranked among the top five states in those areas, the fourth year in a row it has done so, the release said. See the whole book at aecf.org/interactive/databook.

Falcon update

The three peregrine falcons hatched earlier this spring at Brady Sullivan Tower in downtown Manchester (you can view them in three different livestreams via nhaudubon.org/education/birds-and-birding/peregrine-cam) are now working on flight. According to the daily log, which you can find a link to in the livestream, Una, the first hatched, fledged on June 10. Learn more about the falcons at a meet and greet and supply- and fund-raiser for Wings of the Dawn Rescue & Rehab on Saturday, June 21, at 10 a.m. at the Brady Sullivan Tower, according to the daily log. The rain date is Sunday, June 22. See the log for a wish list of supplies.

Nature week

The New Hampshire Audubon Nature Challenge kicks off Sunday, June 22, and will run through Saturday, June 28, when participants can help to “document the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, flowers, trees, mosses, mushrooms, and everything that either stops at our sanctuaries or calls [the NH Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries] home!” according to nhaudubon.org. Sign up online.

City Lights

The 2025 recipients of the Gate City Light Awards were celebrated at the Nashua Board of Aldermen meeting on June 10, according to a press release from the Nashua Mayor’s Volunteer Recognition Committee. The awards “recognize local nonprofit organizations whose volunteer-powered efforts make a meaningful impact on the Greater Nashua community,” the release said. This year’s winner is the Humane Society for Greater Nashua, with the Runner-up award presented to the Nashua Senior Activity Center and the Unsung Hero Award going to The PLUS Company, the release said. See nashuanh.gov/541/Gate-City-Light-Award.

Help for vets

Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese restaurant of Manchester donated $3,000 to Harbor Care, a nonprofit providing services to homeless veterans, according to a Mr. Mac’s press release. The donation on June 11 was the result of a fundraiser in May where $1 of every Classic All-American Mac dish sold was collected for Harbor Car, the release said. See harborcarenh.org and mr-macs.com.

Catch NH Roller Derby at JFK Memorial Coliseum (303 Beech St. in Manchester) on Saturday, June 21, at 4 p.m. when the NH Roller Derby All-Stars take on Hartford Area Roller Derby followed by an open scrimmage for 18+ at 6 p.m. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.; tickets are sold at the door: $15 for adults, $5 for veterans and NHRD vets, kids 12 and under get in for free. See nhrollerderby.com.

The Barley House, 132 N. Main St. in Concord, thebarleyhouse.com, is holding its annual Burgerfest through Saturday, June 21, with a special menu of burgers like the Chimichurri Roja Butter Burger and the Elote Bison burger, according to a menu on the restaurant’s website. The Barley House will donate $1 per burger sold to Dartmouth Health Children’s, with sponsors for each burger also donating $1 per burger and New Hampshire Distributors donating $1 per beer, the email said.

Juneteenth New England, hosted by Black Womxn In New Hampshire Collective, is described by organizers as a free community celebration “honoring Black American culture, history and joy” and will take place Saturday, June 21, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Crossway Christian Church, 33 Pine St. in Nashua, according to givebutter.com/juneteenthne. The event is free and will feature food, music and more.

Tickets for the Oct. 25 NH PoutineFest at Anheuser-Busch Biergarten in Merrimack will go on sale Saturday, June 28, at 10 a.m. Tickets have quickly sold out in years past, according to an event email. See nhpoutinefest.com.

This Week 25/06/12

Thursday, June 12

The second annual United Through Color art event takes place at Positive Street Art (48 Bridge St., Nashua, 589-9003, positivestreetart.org) this evening from 6 to 8 p.m. Members of Positive Street Art and Opportunity Networks have collaborated to learn and experience art, science, professional skills and studying the human form. Visit to see paintings and sculptures, performance, art and photography, and enjoy signature food and dancing. There will be allergy-friendly foods and live DJ-ing from some of the group members. Visit positivestreetart.org/exhibitions.

Saturday, June 14

The New Hampshire Master Chorale will perform the Brahms Requiem, one of the most beloved choral works in the classical music repertoire, as the centerpiece of its 2025 spring concert series, tonight at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 21 Center St. in downtown Concord. Tickets for adults are $33 through nhmasterchorale.org. The Requiem will be performed in English.

Saturday, June 14

Balin Books (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St., Nashua, 417-7981, balinbooks.com) hosts a book signingevent today at 2 p.m. with Paul August, the author of Ripples in the Nile. This adventure/thriller is set in modern Egypt and is full of shocks, surprises and betrayal.

Saturday, June 14

Check out Woofstock 2025 at Lake Park at Tuscan Village, 72 Rockingham Park Blvd., Salem, today beginning at noon. This event brings together local eight animal rescue organizations and shelters for a day of adoptions, Visit tuscanvillagesalem.com/events/eventdetails/woofstock.

Saturday, June 14

Comedian Tim McKeever will perform at 8 p.m. tonight at Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester, 206-3888, chunkys.com). Tickets are $20 through the Chunky’s website.

Wednesday, June 18

Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (R, 1989) will screen as part of the Pints! Camera! Action! Series — “A sociable, big-screen brouhaha with no tickets, no ushers, and definitely no shushing” — at the Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth tonight at 7 p.m. See themusichall.org.

Wednesday, June 18

It’s poetry Wednesday! Poetry Conversations, a monthly gathering on the third Wednesdays from 3 to 4 p.m., runs today at Pembroke Town Library (313 Pembroke St., Pembroke). This is an opportunity to share favorite poets and poems. And Poetry Society of New Hampshire will feature poets Holley Daschback and Patrice Pinette at today’s monthly poetry readings at Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St., Concord, 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com), 4:30 to 6 p.m. with reading followed by an open mic.

Save the Date! Friday, June 20

Legendary band Phish will play the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) Friday, June 20, through Sunday, June 22, as part of its 2025 Summer Tour. Visit the SNHU Arena website. Tickets start at $94 through ticketmaster.com.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 25/06/12

Maybe the pollen was preferable?

On June 8, the National Weather Service announced an Air Quality Alert for the state for particle pollution until 10 a.m. on June 9. “The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services is predicting unhealthy air quality in the above-mentioned counties. Sensitive individuals include children and older adults; anyone with lung disease such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis; and people who are active outdoors. Even healthy individuals may experience mild health effects and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activities,” the alert said. In reports last week, WMUR attributed haziness to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Find up to date air quality information at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Prediction website www4.des.state.nh.us/airdata.

At least it’s a dry heat, though, right?

Unexpectedly heavy rains over the past two weeks led to flash flood warnings in Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack and Belknap counties. In a June 7 online weather update, WMUR warned readers, “Drivers who encounter flooded roadways need to turn around. Never drive through a flooded roadway as it is hard to tell how deep the water is in flash flooding situations.” This followed reports the previous week of roads being washed out and eroded from another storm system. On May 31, WMUR reported that Route 47 in Francestown was closed due to flooding, and quoted Francestown Fire Chief Larry Kullren, who said that due to the rain damage, parts of Second New Hampshire Turnpike North had started to erode. “We were anticipating some heavy rains this afternoon, but we were not anticipating flooded roads and washouts,” he said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to U.S. Climate Data (usclimatedata.com), the state normally receives an average of 4.11 inches of precipitation in June. In a June 9 online article, WMUR reported that between Friday, June 6, and Saturday, June 7, “more than 5 inches of rainfall fell in Bradford. Rainfall totals between 1.5 and 3 inches were observed in Hopkinton, Weare, Hanover and Roxbury.”

At least things will dry out by the weekend, right?

As reported by New Hampshire Public Radio, the weather across the state has been rainy for the last 13 weekends in a row. In a June 6 online article, NHPR reported that “after an unusually wet May — in fact, this May was the third wettest in New Hampshire’s history, according to AccuWeather — this weekend marks an equally wet start to summer.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: On the plus side, NHPR reported, “All that rain will help keep temperatures down, especially in comparison to last year’s intense heat. In 2024, New Hampshire — and the entire country — registered its hottest summer on record. This year’s increased precipitation, combined with predicted cold fronts, means heat waves will most likely not last long or hit record breaking numbers, [Paul Pastelok, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather] said.”

QOL score: 65

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 62

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.