Category: News

This Week 24/08/22

Friday, Aug. 23

The two-day New Hampshire Irish Festival begins today, with shows tonight at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St. in Manchester. Each night will feature six bands: The Spain Brothers, Ronan Tynan, Derek Warfield and the Young Wolfe Tones, Reverie Road, Seamus Kennedy and Screaming Orphans. Meanwhile, at the Spotlight Room, 96 Hanover St., catch Marty Quirk (5 p.m.) and Black Pudding Rovers (6:30 p.m.) on Friday and, on Saturday, Speed the Plough (3 p.m.), Marty Quirk (4:30 p.m.), Black Pudding Rovers (6 p.m.) and Erin Og (7:30 p.m.). The Spotlight Room shows are free. Reserve tickets online. Palace Theatre show tickets start at $49 for one day or $79 for a weekend pass. See palacetheatre.org.

Saturday, Aug. 24

The second annual Wildflower Festival will take place today from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Milford. Walk around and check out the art market, grab a bite to eat from one of the food vendors and support local artists. Then head into town for a drink at one of Milford’s local businesses. Music will be from 6 to 9 p.m., with live performances from Winkler, Sneaky Miles and Rigometrics. Proceeds from the festival will be dedicated to the creation of pollinator gardens and bee hotels throughout the town of Milford.

Saturday, Aug. 24

The New England Racing Museum (New Hampshire Motor Speedway, 922 Route 106, Loudon, 783-0183, nemsmuseum.com) will host its annual Hot Rods, Muscle and More Car Show today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will feature more than 250 vehicles with proceeds to support the mission of the Museum. The cost for spectators is $5 per person with kids under 12 admitted free. To learn more, visit nermuseum.com.

Saturday, Aug. 24

The 11th annual New Hampshire Monarch Festival (petalsinthepines.com/monarch-festival) begins this weekend at Petals in the Pines (126 Baptist Road, Canterbury, petalsinthepines.com, 783-0220). Online reservations for two-hour time slots are required; the cost is $7 for adults, $3.50 for kids, and infants (non-walkers) get in free. Learn about ways to help migrating monarchs and other pollinators at the festival, which will feature kids’ activities and games, monarch tagging, book readings, labyrinths, ask a master gardener, free milkweed seeds and 2 miles of woodland trails and garden paths, according to a press release. Butterfly wings and costumes are encouraged, according to the website.

Saturday, Aug. 24

The Capital Mineral Club (capitalmineralclub.org) will host the 60th Annual Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Everett Arena (15 Loudon Road, Concord). There will be gems, jewelry, minerals, fossils, carvings, displays, demonstrations, and more. Admission for adults is $5 and free for children under 12.

Save the Date! Friday, Aug. 30
Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St., Manchester, 819-9336, jewelmusicvenue.com) will host a shredding Labor Day weekend with 17 intense bands taking the stage Friday, Aug. 30, through Sunday, Sept. 1, including Kottonmouth Kings, First Jason, Dr. Gigglez, Problemattik, and Lex the Hex Master. This is an 18+ event; ID is required. Single-day passes are $35; weekend passes are $90. Tickets are available through eventbrite.com.

Featured photo: Screaming Orphans.

Quality of Life 24/08/22

Tough times for beekeepers

According to New Hampshire beekeepers, bees are feeling the stressof climate change. In an Aug. 9 story reported by New Hampshire Public Radio, local beekeeper Lee Alexander said that warm weather, ample rain and sunshine this year have unexpectedly made conditions difficult for his bees. His bees produced so much honey that they ran out of room to store it, and started filling up the brood chambers, where young bees are supposed to develop. The NHPR story stated that changing weather conditions complicate bees’ lives in many other ways. “Winters can also pose problems,“ the story reported. “Mild winter temperatures can cause bees to leave their hive too soon, only to freeze to death during a cold snap. Extreme rain events can create too much moisture in a hive, leaving bees unable to dry off and at risk for hypothermia. Heavy rainfall or flooding can also wash away pollen, leaving bees without enough food.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: Bee well.

Crabgrass, we hardly knew ye

A recent article in Systematic Biology, “Molecular and Taxonomic Reevaluation of the Digitaria filiformis Complex (Poaceae), Including a Globally Extinct, Single-Site Endemic from New Hampshire, USA, and a New Species from Mexico,” hardly seems like a popular page-turner, but it highlights the role played by an extinct species of New Hampshire crabgrass. “In 1901, several peculiar specimens of crabgrass were discovered on the rocky slopes of Rock Rimmon in Manchester, New Hampshire,” the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture wrote in an Aug. 14 press release. “Initially thought to belong to the species Digitaria filiformis, the slender, wiry plants with small, delicate spikelets were only known from this single location. But by 1931, they were last collected from the area, and the grass has not been observed since. Recently, UNH’s Albion R. Hodgdon Herbarium, which holds three of the last known remaining dried specimens of the grass, played a key role in identifyingthese plantsas their own unique species, Digitaria laeviglumis, commonly known as smooth crabgrass…. ”

QOL score: a belated -1

Comment: According to the press release, this marks the first documented plant extinction in New Hampshire.

Gold medals and belly rubs

In an Aug. 15 press release, the Golden Dog Adventure Co. in Barrington announced the conclusion of the 2024 Summer Doggy Olympics. Golden Dog, which hosted the event, wrote, “Over the course of two weeks, 23 canine athletes and their handlers competed in eighteen events hosted in 14 cities throughout New Hampshire.” Events included Howling, Agility, Pool Toy Retrieval, Ice Cream Licking, Obstacle Course, Nose Work, and Tricks. A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Cody, “ a senior canine athlete who not only competed in the 2021 Summer Doggy Olympics, but at the age of 10, participated in seven competitions at this year’s games.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Watch the closing ceremonies on YouTube. Search for “2024 Doggy Olympics Closing Ceremony.”

Last week’s QOL score: 76

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 75

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Yaz turns 84

The Big Story – Happy Birthday, Yaz: We’ll start today with birthday greetings to Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski as he turns 84. His 1967 season is arguably the greatest season for carrying his team on his back since Joe DiMaggio in 1941.

My favorite Yaz stat has nothing to do with baseball, though. It’s that as a high school basketball player he set Long Island’s single-game scoring record by going for 60 one day. Not bad for a place that includes Julius Erving among its basketball alumni. So happy b-day, Captain Carl.

Sports 101: When Yaz went for those 60 points, whose LI scoring record did he break?

News Item – Mickey Gasper: The big day came for the catcher out of Merrimack when the Red Sox called him to the show last week. He immediately played in two games, walking twice in two AB’s to give him an impossible-to-top 1.000 on-base percentage.

News Item – Drake Maye: The Pats may have lost 14-13 to Philly, but there were encouraging signs of life from their rookie QB as he calmly led two scoring drives while going 6-11 for 47 yards and 15 more and a TD on four carries.

The Numbers:

3 –games out of the final wild card spot for the Sox as the week started.

300 – homer mark reached by Yankees slugger Aaron Judge last week.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Bayless Dumped By FS1: With his ratings tanking, repugnant talking head Skip Bayless is gone from his show on FS1.

Sports/Politics Note of the Week – Royce White: The former Iowa State hoopster won the GOP primary in Minnesota last week to let him face Dem Amy Klobuchar for her Senate seat.

Random Thoughts: How ridiculous was it to hear Kenley (Blood and Guts) Jansen telling Alex Cora he was “ready to get 4” during a win over Texas last week? Wow, like facing four guys instead of three is a herculean task.

A Little History – Closers in 1949: The Yankees went into their season-closing two-game series with the Red Sox trailing Boston by one game for the pennant. Starter Allie Reynolds got tagged with four runs in the third inning to send New York down 0-4. So with the season on the line Casey Stengel quick-triggered him for an unorthodox move that would give managers, media pundits and people like Jansen a stroke today.

He brought closer Joe Page to stem the potential season-ending rally. Which he did. And Casey not only did that, but he had Page keep going until the Sox got to him. Which they never did.

Leading old Joe to “close” out a crucial 5-4 Yankees win with an astonishing scoreless 6.2-inning, 1-hit, 5-strikeout effort to save the season. Especially since the Yanks won 5-3 the next day to steal the pennant from Boston

Again.

Sports 101 Answer: Before Yaz, the LI single game record was held by the greatest football player who ever lived, Jimmy Brown, who had 53 for Manhasset in the early 1950s.

Final Thought – The White Sox Race to be the Worst Ever: Longtime New York Met Ed Kranepool went on record last week saying he hopes the Chicago White Sox surpass the 40-120 record of his 1962 Mets for the worst single season ever in MLB history.

If you don’t who Kranepool is, he is sort of a New York legend in a weird way. He was a NYC high school phenom who made it to the Mets in their first year when he was 17. And then despite being nothing more than a journeyman first baseman his entire career, he somehow managed to last with the Mets for the next 18 years despite never driving in even 60 runs in a year. I would venture no one’s ever pulled off a feat like that without being traded at least once.

But sorry, Ed, I don’t want them to break your Mets’ record of futility. I’m a New Yorker at heart and that team, as bad as it was, was a historic, beloved team of distinction.

First, because their arrival as an expansion team brought baseball back to National League fans in NYC after they were abandoned by the Giants and Dodgers after 1957. Second, they lost in both lovable and comical how-did-they-do-that ways. And finally, they had the perfect ringleader at the center of all the chaos in legendary Yankees manager Casey Stengel to explain all the lunacy as it unfolded in the entertaining fashion only he could.

In other words, they were perfect in their futility, while Chicago is just terrible and B-O-R-I-N-G. So it’ll be a loss for baseball history if the record falls from the Amazing Mets, at whom Stengel used to shout in anguish from the dugout, “Can’t anyone here play this game?!!!”

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 24/08/22

Stepp re-nominated

According to a press release, Lindsey Stepp of Holderness was re-nominated by Gov. Chris Sununu and was confirmed by the New Hampshire Executive Council on Wednesday, Aug. 7, to continue serving as Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (NHDRA).

Stepp is the NHDRA’s first female Commissioner and she began her tenure as Commissioner in December 2017 after previously serving as Assistant Commissioner for nearly two years. Her new four-year term runs through Sept. 1, 2028.

In her role as Commissioner, Stepp leads the state’s tax agency, which is responsible for collecting in excess of $2.7 billion in annual revenue and ensuring equity in the $4.5 billion of property taxes collected by New Hampshire’s 234 municipalities; and directs a staff of more than 150 professionals that are charged with fairly and efficiently collecting taxes from the state’s citizens, businesses, utilities and hospitals, according to the release.

The marquee achievement under Stepp’s leadership to date has been the implementation of the Revenue Information Management System (RIMS) and the Granite Tax Connect (GTC) online user portal, which together modernized NHDRA’s entire information system and transformed the way New Hampshire taxpayers and tax preparers file and pay taxes through automation, integration and electronic filing.

Fire foam retrieval

According to a press release, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) in partnership with the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal has launched a statewide initiative to destroy hazardous per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting foam.

During an event at the New Hampshire Fire Academy’s Aircraft Rescue Training Facility in Concord, NHDES Commissioner Bob Scott announced details of the new Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) Take Back Program. AFFF is primarily used by fire departments to smother flammable liquid fires. Its high concentrations of PFAS compounds resist typical environmental degradation processes and cause long-term contamination of water, soil and air, according to the release.

The ban on the use of these “legacy foams” is possible because there are now PFAS-free foam alternatives available.

NHDES has contracted with Revive Environmental Technology to administer the collection and destruction of AFFF in the state. Following collection of the foam, Revive will consolidate the containers and ship them to its facility in Columbus, Ohio, where the foam will be treated with Revive’s PFAS Annihilator technology, originally developed by Battelle, which uses supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) to destroy the PFAS chemicals without generating harmful PFAS byproducts or transferring the PFAS elsewhere in the process.

The FAA doesn’t currently require airports like Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to transition to the new foam, but the airport is taking the initiative to switch over now in order to be a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly airport, according to the release.

New Hampshire’s AFFF Take Back Program is open to all New Hampshire fire departments, local governments, and government-owned airports. See des.nh.gov.

Ocean of hot sauce

According to a press release, the third annual New England Hot Sauce Fest, presented by The Spicy Shark on Saturday, July 27, at Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton, raised $17,942 for two Seacoast organizations dedicated to preserving ocean ecosystems, the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation and Seacoast Science Center.

In a statement, Jen Kennedy, Executive Director of Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, a Portsmouth-based nonprofit, said, “We’re so grateful to have been a part of this hugely successful event. We look forward to using the funds to expand our research on marine life and ensure a healthier ocean.”

RIP Bald Eagle

The New Hampshire Audubon Society (26 Audubon Way, Auburn, 224-9909, nhaudubon.org) announced on its website on Aug. 6 that its long-time ambassador bald eagle has died. “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our cherished ambassador Bald Eagle,” the post read. “He was 36 years old and had been a vital part of our conservation and education programs for 25 years.” The bald eagle came to NH Audubon in 1999. He was found injured in upstate New York, which led to his left wing being amputated at the elbow. A metal band on his left leg “identified him as a nestling from Ontario, Canada, in 1988,” NH Audubon wrote. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website (fws.gov), bald eagles generally live 15 to 25 years in the wild.

Correction

In the Aug. 15 issue of the Hippo, a Q&A on page 6 with Kyle Dimick incorrectly described the injuries he suffered during a ski trip that led him to his invention. He had a concussion, as well as other injuries listed in the story, but not, as was initially stated in a press release about Dimick, a traumatic brain injury.

Go for a beginner wild mushroom walk at Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center in Laconia (928 White Oaks Road) on Saturday, Aug. 24, from 10 a.m. to noon. Led by experts from the New Hampshire Mushroom Co., this walk will take you along the farm’s scenic trails to search for, collect, identify and become familiar with different mushrooms. This event is for foragers 16 and older. $20 for members and $35 for nonmembers. Visit prescottfarm.org.

Tickets are on sale now for the NH Highland Games & Festival Sept. 20 through Sept. 22 at Loon Mountain in Lincoln. Special ticketed events at the festival include a whiskey tasting, a Cape Breton dinner and concert, Highland Brews & Bites and a Scotch Ale competition. See nhscot.org.

Talking Heads tribute act Start Making Sense will perform at The Range Live Music and Concert Venue in Mason (96 Old Turnpike Road, 878-1324, therangemason.com) on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $39 in advance, or $45 on the day of the show.

This Week 24/08/15

Thursday, Aug. 15

The Hampton Beach Comedy Festival continues through Sunday, Aug. 18, with shows featuring six comedians starting at 8 p.m. daily at McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant. Michael Witthaus talked to Jimmy Dunn, the festival’s organizer, and offers a rundown of the comedians slated to perform in the cover story in the Aug. 8 issue of the Hippo. Find it in our digital library at hippopress.com; the story starts on page 10.

Thursday, Aug. 15

It’s Paint Nite at Salona Bar & Grill (128 Maple St., Manchester, 624-4020, facebook.com/Salona) tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. Enjoy food and drinks with your friends, then share some laughs while you create a painting of your very own from start to finish. Tickets are $39 each on Eventbrite.com.

Thursday, Aug. 15

Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St., Concord, 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com), New Hampshire Public Radio and the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) welcome best-selling author Jodi Picoult to the Chubb Theatre tonight at 7 p.m. for an evening of literary discussion of her new novel, By Any Other Name. This is part of their author series, Authors on Main. Picoult will be in conversation with NHPR’s Casey McDermott. A meet-and-greet photo line will follow the event. Tickets are $40 and include a pre-signed hardcover copy of By Any Other Name. There will be no signing line at this event.

Saturday, Aug. 17

Combat Zone 85 is coming to the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) today at 6 p.m. Mixed Martial Arts Welterweight Champion Sean Wakefield will defend his title against Middleweight Champion Lucas Moreira. Combat Zone, New England’s longest-running fight promotion, promises 15 action-packed bouts, two of them title fights. Tickets start at $29..

Saturday, Aug. 17

Tonight is Swing Dance Night at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com). Swing dancing lessons start at 6:30 p.m., followed by dancing at 7 p.m. Participants can dance the night away or just come to enjoy the exciting sounds of the 19-piece New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra. Tickets are $30.75.

Saturday, Aug. 17

Double Midnight Comics Concord (341 Loudon Road, Concord, 715-2683, dmcomics.com) will host a Pokemon League challenge today at noon. All players are welcome. Entry is $5, and there will be pack-per-win prizing.

Sunday, Aug. 18

There will be a router workshop at Rockler Woodworking and Hardware (290 S. Broadway, Suite 3A, Salem, 898-5941, rockler.com) today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. This class is an opportunity to learn about the router and its use in woodworking. Tickets for this workshop are $75.

Save the Date! Saturday, Aug. 24 – Monster Hunt Manchester
For the 12th year, Studio 550 Arts Center (550 Elm St., Manchester, 232-5597, 550arts.com) and Queen City Cupcakes (816 Elm St., Manchester, 624-4999, qccupcakes.com) will hide 100 red clay monsters in downtown Manchester. Monster finders get the immediate reward of being able to keep the monster they find. All searchers are asked to keep only one, even if they see more, so the joy can be shared by as many people as possible. The public all-ages hunt begins after a kickoff meeting at 11 a.m. at City Hall Plaza. Visit 550arts.com/about/monsterhunt.

Featured photo: Jimmy Dunn.

Quality of Life 24/08/15

Covid is back. Again.

A recent variant of Covid-19 is on the rise in New Hampshire. As reported by WMUR in a July 30 online article, “New Hampshire health officials said emergency department and wastewater data show that there has been a rise in recent infections, and they expect that such seasonal surges will continue.” Despite previous infections and vaccinations, it is possible to be reinfected. As described by the Centers for Disease Control on its website (cdc.gov/covid), “Reinfections with the virus that causes Covid-19 are most often mild, but severe illness can occur. If you are reinfected, you can also spread the virus to others.” According to a WMUR report from Aug. 9, the most common Covid strain right now is KP.3, a descendant of the omicron variant. “Protection against severe Covid-19 illness generally lasts longer than protection against infection. This means even if you get infected again, your immune response should help protect you from severe illness and hospitalization,” read the same CDC advisory.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to WMUR’s Aug. 9 report, the 2024-2025 Covid-19 vaccines, expected to be out this fall, will target the JN.1 strain because it, too, is in the omicron family.

“I’ve got a bridge to sell you.”

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (dot.nh.gov) announced in an Aug. 8 press release that it has a bridge for sale. “The NH Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is accepting proposals for the purchase, relocation and preservation of the Bridge (No. 254/180) that carries Route 127 over the Warner River, in Warner, NH,” the press release read. On its Bridge Sales Website (dot.nh.gov/historic-bridge-dispositions-bridges-sale) the NHDOT stated that bridges on its sales list are, “in general, eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and any sale will be awarded for $1.00 to the entity who develops the most responsive preservation proposal.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The NHDOT describes Bridge No. 254/180 as an example of a steel stringer bridge and says such bridges “rarely feature aesthetic treatments and usually have standard railings or guide rails. Warner 254/180, built in 1937, is the oldest extant example of a continuous I-beam bridge in the inventory.”

Vacationing extraterrestrials?

The website Staker.com has aggregated data from reports of UFO sightings to the National UFO Reporting Center (nuforc.org), which has been compiling reports since 1974. In a ranking of most UFO sightings reported to least, New Hampshire comes in sixth, with 85 reports per 100,000 residents. According to the ranking, Washington State has the highest rate of reported sightings with 100 per 100,000 people, and Washington, D.C., has the lowest rate with 22 per 100.000. Vermont and Maine are both in the top 10, with Vermont fourth (90/100.000), and Maine seventh (85/100,000).

QOL score: +1 probably? Tourism is tourism.

Comment: It has been 53 years since Betty and Barney Hill’s reported alien abduction in Lincoln.

Last week’s QOL score: 74

Net change:+2

QOL this week: 76

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

Let us know at [email protected].

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