Quality of Life 26/02/12

Recycling less

As reported in a Feb. 3 online article by the New Hampshire Bulletin, data from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services suggests that New Hampshire residents recycle less than had been previously thought. The calculations that Environmental Services had previously used to estimate how much material from transfer stations is recycled had to be adjusted to avoid double-counting. The most recently published data indicates that “about 16.7% of the material that municipal transfer stations reported handling in 2024 was ultimately diverted for recycling, according to the recalculated percentages,” the New Hampshire Bulletin story read. The story also said, “Since 2020, the proportion of municipal waste sent for recycling has dropped by about four percentage points, according to the department.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: To read the most recent statewide recycling data, search online for “2023-2024 NH Biennial Solid Waste Report.”

Measles vaccination rate is spotty

As reported by NHPR in a Feb. 2 online article, a recent study suggested that because of New Hampshire’s relatively low vaccination rate, it is at a higher risk of a future measles outbreak. “New England is faring better than the rest of the country when it comes to measles vaccinations,” the article read, “but a new study from Boston Children’s Hospital’s finds that New Hampshire’s vaccination rate is a little lower than the rest of the region.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The NHPR story reported that: “According to the study, Merrimack County shows a vaccination rate of 65% for children 5 and under, where Hillsborough County is 74%.” Search online for, “Parental Factors Associated With Measles” to read the study.

Plows getting plowed into

On Feb. 7, according to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation in an early afternoon post on its Facebook page, “Today alone, four NHDOT plows have been hit while crews were working to keep roads safe. Our crews are out there for you, help us keep them safe.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: NHDOT warned, “If you’re out driving, please slow down for weather conditions, move over for stopped vehicles on the side of the road, give plow crews plenty of space, and leave extra distance between vehicles.” To view real-time traffic conditions, see NewEngland511.org.

QOL score last week: 53

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 50

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 26/02/12

Safety summits

NH Recycles is offering three in-person Solid Waste Safety Summits and one webinar about lithium-ion battery safety open to solid waste and recycling facility operators and staff, local firefighters, municipal and town employees and interested residents, according to an email from nhrecycles.org. Choose an in-person event in Laconia on Thursday, Feb. 12; New London on Thursday, March 19, or Keene in July, the email said. The in-person summits run from 9 to 11:30 a.m. with light refreshments and travel stipends are available for some municipal employees, the email said. The webinar is slated for Monday, April 6, from noon to 1:30 p.m., the email said. See the website to register.

Services fair

The Moore Center will host a free transition fair on Thursday, Feb. 12, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at its offices at 195 McGregor St. in Manchester, for individuals of all ages and abilities with services and resources for those with disabilities (including developmental or intellectual disabilities and acquired brain disorders), according to a press release. The agencies, representing resources available in Greater Manchester and across New Hampshire, include those offering support related to education, employment, health care, housing and community life, the press release said. “The event is free and open to residents of Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Goffstown, Hooksett, Londonderry, Manchester and New Boston. Students interested in careers in human services are also encouraged to attend,” the release said. Call 603-206-2814 or see moorecenter.org.

Douglass Day

The Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St. in Nashua, will participate in the Douglass Day Transcribe-a-Thon on Friday, Feb. 13, from 12:30 to 3 p.m. celebrating the Feb. 14 chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass by creating transcriptions related to Black history, according to nashualibrary.org. According to DouglassDay.org, “This year we are going to be transcribing a vast new collection of records on the Colored Conventions movement. Our transcriptions will range across dozens of states and stretch from the start of the movement in 1830 through the turn of the 20th century.” The library is closed on Fridays but staff will let participants into the library from noon to 12:45 p.m., the library’s website said. BYO laptop or tablet if you have one; the event will feature birthday cake, the website said.

Film fest

Tickets for the 18th annual New Hampshire Jewish Film Festival go on sale on Sunday, Feb. 15, at nhjewishfilmfestival.com. The festival will kick off Sunday, March 15, and the first in-person screening will be of Elie Wiesel: Soul on Fire at the Rex Theatre in Manchester. In-person and virtual screenings continue through Sunday, March 29, and the festival will feature 13 feature films and four short films, according to a press release. Screenings will take place in Manchester, Concord, Portsmouth, Hanover and Keene, according to the website, where individual tickets and ticket packages will be available for purchase.

First Congregational Church in Concord will hold a Mardi Gras Jazz Sanctuary Service on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2:30 p.m. featuring music “rooted in early jazz, gospel and blues traditions,” according to a press release. See jazzsanctuary.com.

Etz Hayim Synagogue, 1½ Hood Road in Derry, will hold a mah jongg tournament on Sunday, April 26, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to an event email. The entry fee is $30; sign up by April 12. “There will be four rounds of game play, four games per one-hour round,” the email said. The day will feature prizes, raffles, refreshments and more; register at etzhayim.org/mah-jongg-tournament.

The Concord Coachmen Chorus will send a barbershop quartet and a red rose to your Valentine’s Day sweetheart in and around Manchester and Concord on Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14. Go to concordcoachmen.org and click on “Singing Valentines” to see available time slots.

Nashua Community Arts and Spectacle Live will present the Navy Band Northeast Pops Ensemble on Wednesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts. Tickets are free, first come first served. Reserve tickets at nashuacenterforthearts.com.

This Week 26/02/05

Thursday, Feb. 5

NH Poet Laureate Jennifer Militello will present her new book Identifying the Pathogen: An Inquiry tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St. in Concord, gibsonsbookstore.com.

Thursday, Feb. 5

Comedian Katherine Blanford takes the stage at the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Blanford is known for her “human golden retriever presence” on stage. Tickets are $32 in advance through the Capitol Center’s website or $37 at the door.

Friday, Feb. 6

Lotus Land: the definitive Rush tribute act performs at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) tonight and tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $50 through the Music Hall’s website.

Friday, Feb. 6

The Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St., Manchester, 819-9336, jewelmusicvenue.com) hosts Loud Entertainment’s 2-Year Birthday Bash tonight starting at 7 p.m., featuring Hit-N-Run: Tickets are $20.98 through eventbrite.com.

Friday, Feb. 6

Mentalist Jon Stetson performs a live 18+ show of mysterious mental abilities tonight at 8 p.m. at Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester, 206-3888, chunkys.com). Tickets are $35 through the Chunky’s website

Saturday, Feb. 7

Local author Robert B. Perreault will be signing copies of his books from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Barnes & Noble in Manchester (1741 S. Willow St., bn.com). His latest, Courtship in Purgatory, is his first historical romance novel. Perreault is also the author of nonfiction titles about Manchester history.

Sunday, Feb. 8

Join the High School Musical sing-along at the BNH Stage (16 S Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) today at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance through the Capitol Center’s website, or $20 at the door.

Sunday, Feb. 8

Watch your New England Patriots face off agains the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday, Feb. 8, starting at 6:30 p.m. The game airs on NBC and via Peacock.

Monday, Feb. 9

The Glimpse Gallery, 4 Park St. in Concord, theglimpsegallery.com, opens its newest show with the works of six featured artists — Barbara Morse, Linda Graham, Larry Smukler, Peter Sandback, Tessa Magnuson and Bonnie Beauchamp-Cooke — today. The show runs through March 9. See the website to RSVP to a Feb. 21 opening reception and to make an appointment to see the exhibit.

Save the Date! Friday, Feb. 13
The Community Players of Concord NH will present Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson Apt 2D at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org) at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, and Saturday, Feb. 14, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15. Oddball female roommates Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson join forces solving mysteries and kicking butts until they come face to face with the villain who seems to have all the answers. Tickets are $22 for adults and $20 for guests under 13 or over 64 years old. Visit communityplayersofconcord.org or buy tickets at the box office 90 minutes prior to curtain.

Featured photo: Courtship in Purgatory by Robert B. Perreault

The Big Game

The Big Story – Pats and Seattle in SB: New England faces Seattle on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. It’s from the 49ers’ home in Santa Clara, California, so a win rubs it in a bit to the previous dynasty franchise. Still unsure exactly how the Pats climbed out of that two-year 8-and-26 hole, but they did, so enjoy.

Sports 101: Which college has sent the most Super Bowl-winning QBs to the NFL?

News Item – Keys to the Game:

O-Line: It’s struggled in the playoffs. But to win, most feel they must run the ball, a tough task against a team that gave up just 91 rushing yards per game.

Pass Protection: The 84.1 QB rating for Drake Maye is not a coincidence. He’s been constantly under pressure and sacked 15 times in three playoff games. Seattle’s 47 sacks are the same as Houston’s and two more than the Chargers’, so the O-line will be challenged again.

Turnovers: They almost always are big.

Sam Darnold: We all know about the failures and spitting the bit in two big end-of-season 2024 games. Until he’s past that, he’s suspect. Blitz early — a turnover could give his confidence level a shot.

Random Super Bowl Thoughts:

You win the pool if you had Darnold as the first in his QB class of 2018, which included Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, to take his team to a SB.

Wonder what clueless Jets owner Woody Johnson thinks of what Darnold has turned into since the QB-less Jets (since Joe Namath left the building) let him walk.

The opposition’s collective record vs. undefeated Miami of 1972 was 70-111-2 and they only faced two teams with winning records all year, where KC and the NYG’s and both were just 8-6. And I’ve never heard anyone say they had a weak schedule.

of the Super Bowl

Since I’ve seen all 59 SBs to date, here are my award winners for various SB achievements.

Most Important Game: SB1. Hard to fathom the superior attitude the NFL and its fans had toward the AFL then. They expected to win and to win BIG. That ’tude got a little jolt when Green Bay led only 14-10 at halftime. But they dominated the second half to win 35-10 over KC. Then came SB3….

Biggest Upset: Jets Win SB3. It was a boring game and Joe Namath somehow got the MVP, but the D got four picks and FB Matt Snell’s 121 rushing yards controlled the clock by pounding it on the ground.

Best Comeback SB: Patriots-Falcons. Unless you were like my friend the real estate mogul Bill Weidacher, who went to bed in frustration, you saw the down-24 Pats stage the biggest comeback in history to win in OT 34-28.

Best Individual Performance: Steve Young in SB 29. He threw for 325 and a SB record six TD passes and ran for a Drake Maye-like 47 yards in SF’s 49-26 rout of San Diego.

Best Special Teamer:Desmond Howard. Adam V won two SBs as time ran out so he’s tough to beat. But Howard destroyed the Patriots in SB 31 with 244 punt and kickoff return yards, including the 99-yard TD return that iced the game.

Best Individual Play: Malcolm Butler. All due respect to Santonio Holmes, David Tyree, two spectacular Eli Manning throws and Marcus Allen’s incredible 73-yard game-winning TD run in SB 18. But it’s Butler’s last-second goal-line pick because it snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Best SB Team:1975 Steelers. They had the greatest defense I’ve ever seen. If L.C. Greenwood gets in this weekend they had six Hall of Famers (five more on O). Plus linebacker Andy Russell should be in for 12. They were 12-2, only gave up 11 points per and outscored three playoff opponents 65-37.

The Numbers – Patriots SB record holders:

3 – sacks byDont’aHightower.

5 – touchdowns forGronk.

24 – receptions for Julian Edelman.

175 – rushing yards for AntowainSmith.

Sports 101 Answer: InBart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler and Jalen HurtsAlabama has the most SB winning QB’s with four, including winning the first three.

Final Thought – No First Ballot Hall for Belichick: Last week’s big hoo-ha was Bill Belichick being snubbed in his first try for the Hall of Fame. Since he clearly deserves to be in, it outraged many. Some of it is jealousy and of course the Indianapolis writers have been petty dating back to the Manning-Brady rivalry years. But most is payback for shenanigans like Spygate and making everyone’s job harder than he had to. I’ve got no problem with a one-year punishment for his behavior.

Prediction: Pats 27-23

The second and third highest scoring offenses move the ball. But Seattle is 31st in giveaways. So I expect a +2 edge in TO’s for the Pats and it keys their win.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Quality of Life 26/02/05

Frozen pipes

As reported by WMUR in a Jan. 27 online article, the recent cold weather has led to frozen pipes throughout New Hampshire. “As frigid weather continues in New Hampshire,” the article read, “plumbers say they’re keeping busy fixing frozen pipes.” WMUR quoted Steve Labbe, a plumber who has responded to dozens of frozen pipe calls over the past week or two.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the WMUR story, Labbe said: “It mostly happens to people that go away for vacation for a week, and they don’t know when they have no heat,” he said. “And then the house freezes up. We’ve seen that. And that’s thousands and thousands of dollars to fix.”

Can she declare a recess?

The Honorable Liv Crete-Sayer of Boscawen has been sworn in. As reported on nh.kidgovernor.org, the official website of the New Hampshire Kid Governor organization, [Kid] Governor Crete-Sayer and her Kid Executive Council “were inaugurated in a ceremony on Tuesday, January 27th in the NH House Chambers. Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald administered the oath of office and Governor Kelly Ayotte and other New Hampshire dignitaries presided.” Crete-Sayer’s “platform is to educate NH kids on the dangers of smoking, vaping, and drugs,” a post on the website read.

QOL score: +1

Comment: As explained on its website, “New Hampshire’s Kid Governor is a national award-winning civics program led by NH Civics in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics”.

More hungry families

As reported by NH Hunger Solutions (nhhungersolutions.org) on its website, with the future of the State’s SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) uncertain, 76,000 New Hampshire residents are at risk of going hungry. “The cost of operating SNAP in New Hampshire has increased,” the report said. “Historically, the state and federal government split administrative costs 50/50. Now, the state is required to cover 75% of the costs — an estimated $5.75 million increase to the state’s budget to run the program…. SNAP is our first line of defense against hunger in our state”

QOL score: -1

Comment: In a Jan. 23 blog post, the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (nhfpi.org) wrote, “Food insecurity in New Hampshire, while still lower than the national average, has been rising since the Covid-19 pandemic-era low.”

QOL score: 54

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 53

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 26/02/05

Greater Nashua Mental Health

In a Facebook post on Feb. 2, Greater Nashua Mental Health said that the 440 Amherst St. location in Nashua is closed due to the fire on Monday afternoon. Three firefighters were injured and the building was destroyed in the fire after a natural gas leak and explosion, according to a Feb. 3 report on WMUR. Greater Nashua Mental Health advised patients to call during business hours if they are scheduled for in-person appointments at the 440 Amherst St. location; Greater Nashua Mental Health locations on Prospect and Pine streets are “operating as usual,” the Facebook post said. See gnmhc.org.

Discover science

SEE Science Center, 200 Bedford St. in Manchester, will hold a Community Discovery Night on Friday, Feb. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. “During this free event SEE is inviting all members of the community to discover Black influence in Science Technology Engineering and Math,” according to a press release. Sign up by Wednesday, Feb. 11, at see-sciencecenter.org. This family event will feature food, demonstrations, activity stations, a scavenger hunt and more, the website said. “SEE will continue the celebration during February to celebrate Black History Month. The scavenger hunt will be available daily and pop-up activities will be available on select weekend and vacation days,” the press release said. SEE will be open extra days for school breaks in February: Monday, Feb. 16, and Monday, Feb. 23, from 10 a.m to 4 p.m., the release said.

Farming conference

The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire will hold its 24th Annual Winter Conference on Saturday, March 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, according to a press release. The conference, featuring the theme “Taking Root: Nourishing Community,” is open to farmers, gardeners, food system professionals, organic advocates and others, and will feature more than 20 workshops, the release said. The day also features a Green Market Fair and a keynote with David Trumble of Good Earth Farm and Sara Hansen of Kearsarge Gore Farm, the release said. See nofanh.org for tickets.

Housing conference

New Hampshire Housing will hold a homeownership conference at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord on Wednesday, March 18, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., according to an email about the event. “The agenda includes discussions on housing affordability, property taxes, and housing finance trends, along with a keynote fireside chat,” the email said. Tickets cost $75 and include breakfast. See nhhfa.org.

The Eleventh Letter Writing Gallery, 146 N. Main St. in Concord, in partnership with the Women’s Caucus for Art/New Hampshire Chapter, will hold a free drop-in Valentine’s Day Art Event on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 1 to 3 p.m., with supplies provided to decorate an “I Am Grateful For You” postcard, according to a press release. See theeleventhletter.com.

“Paint Your Partner” at Stark Brewing, 500 N. Commercial St. in Manchester, on Saturday, Feb. 14, 1 to 3 p.m., during a special Valentine’s Day event from Junior Service League of Concord and NH Craft Club. Registration for a pair costs $45 — “bring a significant other or a friend!” the press release said — with craft materials provided, and Stark Brewing’s menu will be available to purchase from. See jslconcord.org/upcoming-events.

Spyglass Brewing Co., 306 Innovative Way in Nashua, will hold a competitive puzzle night on Thursday, Feb. 5, from 6 to 8 p.m, according to spyglassbrewing.com. The fastest team (of up to four players) to put together a 500-piece puzzle wins a prize and bragging rights; limited spots available, the website said.

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