Category: News

Quality of Life 24/03/21

Warmest winter

This has been New Hampshire’s warmest winter on record. As reported by New Hampshire Public Radio on March 12, the winter season was 9 degrees warmer than usual on average. According to NHPR’s report, at the National Weather Service’s climate site in Concord the temperature never dropped below 0 degrees, something that has only happened twice since 1868, when weather records started being kept in the state.

QOL score: -1 for the general weirdness of it all

Comments: According to a March 17 story by WMUR, as of Sunday afternoon, March 18, Lake Winnipesaukee is completely ice-free, again setting a new record.

Household bills above average here

According to a recent report, Manchester residents pay $5,547 more per year on their household bills — about 22 percent more — than the national average. According to the 2024 U.S. Household Bill Pay report by Doxo, a bill-paying smartphone app, the average American household spends around $2,126 each month on its most essential household bills, and the average Manchester household pays $2,588, or approximately 42 percent of its household income. These bills run the range from rent or mortgage to cable bills to life insurance. According to the same report, things look better for New Hampshire as a whole.

QOL score: -1

Comments: The average monthly cost of bills statewide was $2,052, about 4 percent lower than the national average, the report said.

Missing something?

According to a March 15 Facebook post, a brewer at To Share Brewing Co. in Manchester found something unexpected as he was processing the grain for a batch of smoked IPA last Wednesday: a wedding ring. Brewery co-owner Aaron Share reports that he found the ring as he was straining out the grain from the beer he was brewing, and was briefly afraid that the ring was his, but his own ring was still on his finger.

QOL score: -1 for some anonymous grain malter

Comments: According to the Brewery’s Facebook post, To Share has reached out to its suppliers to try to track down the ring’s owner, but at this point it is still a mystery.

A dramatic rescue

A worker at a construction site on Canal Street in Manchester was rescued after he became trapped under an excavator last Tuesday, March 12. As reported on March 12 by Manchester Ink Link, Manchester fire companies responded to an accident on the worksite and found an excavator upside down in a trench, with its operator pinned on the underside. According to a March 12 from the Fire Department, Manchester crews performed a technical rescue that involved “stabilizing, lifting, cribbing and shoring up the machine.” The fire companies used hydraulic rams, high-pressure airbags and hand tools to free the worker, who was transported to Elliot Hospital with what the Union Leader’s story about the event described as serious injuries.

QOL score: +1 for the rescue, and hopefully a speedy recovery for the worker

Comments: The department’s press release described the rescue as a “high-risk, low-frequency event” and noted, “A successful extrication under the circumstances requires a well-trained, highly focused, and professional team working in a complex and dynamic environment.”

QOL score: 63

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 61

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

Let us know at [email protected].

Time to dance

The Big Story – The NCAA Basketball Tournament: The overall top seed is defending champion UConn, who begin that defense at the TD Garden in Boston in a regional that oddly has three of last year’s Final Four teams in San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and aforementioned UConn. Overall it’s 68 teams playing at four sites around the country. Let the mayhem begin for what is the best four-day extravaganza American sports has to offer.

Sports 101: From the all-time leader to fifth, who are the top five career scorers in the NCAA Basketball Tournament history?

News Item – Are Pats Preparing to Tank? The new people in charge of Patriots personnel have been underwhelming so far. Which means after re-signing their own free agents from a 4-13 team, they’ll leave free agency with the exact three needs they had when it started: a big play receiver, a left offensive tackle and a real starting QB, not a one-year place filler with a career record as a starter of 18-30.

News Item – Proposed Trade: Given how obvious the Patriots issues are, drawing up the plan doesn’t seem that hard. It’s a two-year rebuild at best, so we’ll let the QB wait till next year and attack it via a trade down from the third overall pick. The following example (not real) illustrates the concept: Pats give up third overall pick to Minnesota and their third-round pick in 2025 for the 11th and 23rd picks this year, Minnesota’s 2025 first-round pick and receiver Jordan Addison. (90 catches for 911 yards and 10 TDs), then use the first-round picks on a O-tackle and big play guy. Then fill the next biggest needs, a guard and run-stopping D-lineman.

News Item – Red Sox Spring Update: You can’t count on spring training records, but the 14-9 start is encouraging. The two most interesting questions so far: (1) Will gifted rookie Ceddanne Rafaela win the CF job or be sent back to AAA? He’s currently tied for the team lead with four homers while hitting .273 with 8 RBI in 43 at-bats; (2) Will they finally put Tanner Houck in a starting role where he belongs? He’s off to a 2-0 start with a 2.40 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 15 innings.

News Item – Rick Pitino: From his days complaining about no fan support at BU to his excuse-filled stint as Celtics coach to his “it wasn’t my fault” major rule violations that led to his being fired at Louisville, little Ricky is still whining after all these years. This time over 20-13 St. John’s not making the NCAA tournament and then petulantly refusing to play in the hometown NIT.

The Numbers

10 – magic number for the Celtics to clinch home court throughout the NBA playoffs.

Thumbs Up – Celtics: True, the Utah Jazz aren’t very good. But considering the obstacles faced, the Celtics’ 123-107 win over Utah last week earns a shoutout, as (a) it was the final of a five-games-in-eight-nights road trip covering 3,400 miles and (b) it came on Game 2 of a back-to-back, (c) after arriving from Portland, Oregon, at 3 a.m. while also losing an hour due to time zone hopping, and most importantly (d) three of their top six players, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown, sat out with injuries. They stayed focused and finished off the road trip with a business-like win.

Sports 101 Answer: With 407 points Duke’s Christian Laettner is the Tournament all-time leading scorer. He’s followed by Elvin Hayes (358), Danny Manning (328), Tyler Hansbrough (325) and Oscar Robertson (324).

Final Thought – A Little History – What a Game! Saturday (March 23) is the 50th anniversary of the most monumental college basketball game in history.

No, not Bird vs. Magic in 1979. That had big TV ratings but the game was boring as Indiana St. was barely in it, Bird played terribly and Gregory Kelser was MVP, not Magic.

This was five years earlier, where UCLA’s never-to-be-matched streak of winning seven straight NCAA titles was ended by NC State in an epic double-OT battle.

With all due respect to Magic and Larry, this game’s stars were better college players, and both played big as UCLA’s Bill Walton went for 29 points and 18 rebounds while David Thompson scored 28 points for NC State. The Bruins let big leads slip away in the final minutes of regulation and the second OT. But after UCLA’s frantic four-shot last gasp, NC State hung in to win 80-77 as the streak finally was ended.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 24/03/21

Bears are back

The Granite State’s black bears are appearing from their winter dens and starting to search for any available food sources, according to a press release from New Hampshire Fish and Game on March 14. Bears will be attracted to a wide array of human food sources, such as bird feeders

Dan Bailey, Bear Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game, explained in a statement that “bears denned rather late last fall due to a plentiful amount of natural foods and they then remained inactive almost all winter despite fairly mild temperatures. However, spring has arrived a few weeks early, and bears are becoming active in various areas of the state. This is a common sign of spring in New Hampshire and should not be a cause for concern to residents. It simply means that it is time to prepare for foraging bears and remove or secure all backyard food sources.”

In the same press release, state officials asked the New Hampshire public to take down bird feeders no later than April 1 in all areas of the state, or earlier if bears are already present. They mentioned that backyard farmers should protect poultry, livestock and bees with electric fencing, and to remember this when acquiring new chicks this spring. Additionally, the release said residents can help prevent attracting bears by securing dumpsters and garbage cans as well as storing grills, pet food and animal feed indoors.

“Building good bear–human relationships is far more successful when people are proactive, and it is easier to avoid a conflict than resolve one,” Bailey said in the statement. “Bears have an extremely acute sense of smell, long memories, and high intelligence. We really need the help of residents to inhibit emerging bears from returning to locations where they have been previously successful in finding backyard food sources. Largely, the public can control bear behavior and activity by controlling food attractants around their homes. Human responsibility and awareness are the most important tools for preventing conflicts with bears.”

Twenty-five percent of annual bear-human encounters are directly caused by bird feeders, the release said. The same release noted that since food is plentiful for birds in the spring and summer, people should consider bird baths or flowering plants to attract birds instead.

Other top bear attractants include unprotected chickens and other poultry, and unsecured garbage cans and dumpsters, the release said.

“If the public would be willing to address these three common attractants, we could quickly reduce annual bear–human encounters by more than 80%, which would be tremendous,” said Bailey.

For more information, call -888-749-2327 (1-888-SHY-BEAR) , which is coordinated jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department or visit nhfishgame.com

Moose hunt lottery

New Hampshire’s 2024 moose hunt lottery is open, according to a March 13 press release from New Hampshire Fish and Game. There is entrance fee of $15 for New Hampshire residents and $25 for nonresidents, with applications online or available at any Fish and Game license agent, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters, and Fish and Game regional offices.

The same release said moose hunt lottery applications for 2024 must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight on Friday, May 31, and can also be delivered to the Licensing Office at New Hampshire Fish and Game Department headquarters (11 Hazen Dr. in Concord) before 3:45 p.m. that day. Winners of the 33 permits are selected through a computerized random drawing and will be announced on Friday, June 21.

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, the current moose population in New Hampshire is around 3,000 animals. This year’s hunt will run from Oct. 19 to Oct. 27. Visit wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/moose-hunting-new-hampshire.

Conservation grants

The New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation is accepting proposals for the 2024 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant, which is funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior – National Park Service to provide financial assistance to local units of government and is administered by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and Division of Parks and Recreation, according to a press release. The LWCF program funds projects to develop, renovate and acquire public outdoor recreational spaces. It was recently approved for funding picnic area constructions, development of the new Canal Street Riverfront Park in Concord, and the replacement of playground facilities, among other projects, according to the same release. The application deadline is Friday, June 7. State Parks will determine eligibility. Visit nhstateparks.org/about-us/community-recreation/land-water-conservation-fund-grant.

Wetland restoration

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will hold a virtual office hour on Friday, March 22, at 10 a.m. for interested applicants to learn about the more than $5.5 million available for wetland and stream restoration through the Aquatic Resource Mitigation Fund for five watersheds: the Merrimack River, Pemigewasset-Winnipesaukee River, Saco River, Salmon Falls-Piscataqua River and Lower Connecticut River service areas. Pre-proposals are due May 31. Visit des.nh.gov or email [email protected]. Register at atdes.nh.gov/news-and-media/more-55-million-available-wetland-and-stream-restoration.

On Thursday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord (45 S. Main St.) will host #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner as she promotes her new thriller Still See You Everywhere. According to Gibson’s website, Gardner will talk about her latest in the Frankie Elkin series with New Hampshire thriller writer Paula Munier, author of the Mercy Carr mystery series. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com.

On Tuesday, March 26, families can come together to play board games or complete puzzles in the children’s room at Manchester City Library (405 Pine St.) from 5 to 7 p.m. for Family Game Night, according to the library website. Visit manchester.lib.nh.us or call 624-6550, ext. 7628.

Salem Winter Market will be held at Labelle Winery in Derry (14 Route 111) on Sunday, March 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. Visit salemnhfarmersmarket.org.

This Week 24/03/14

Thursday, March 14

Jenny Powers, Director of Science at the Springfield Museums in Holyoke, Mass., will present “Women of the Night Sky” at the Aviation Museum in Londonderry 27 Navigator Road in Londonderry, 669-4877, aviationmuseumofnh.org) today at 7 p.m. This is a sneak preview of some of the stories in a show Powers is developing for the Seymour Planetarium in Springfield, Mass., which she hopes will spark curiosity in girls and women about what lies beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Admission costs $10 per person.

Thursday, March 14

The Greater Souhegan Annual Trivia Night starts tonight at 6 p.m. (doors open at 5 p.m.) at the Souhegan Boys & Girls Club (56 Mont Vernon St. in Milford, 672-1002, ext. 110, svbgc.org) The cost is $45 per person and includes a buffet dinner. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley and SHARE.

Friday, March 15

Catch Harry Borsh at the Tiny Loft Concert at Rambling House Food & Gathering (57 Factory St., Suite A, in Nashua, 318-3200, ramblingtale.com) tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. Borsh will perform an original blend of R&B, soul, funk and pop, according to the restaurant’s website where you can purchase tickets for $5.

Friday, March 15

The Peacock Players (14 Court St. in Nashua; peacockplayers.org) present Into the Woods Jr. starting tonight at 7 p.m. with shows running Friday through Sunday through March 24. Tickets cost $15 to $18 for adults and $12 to $15 for students.

Saturday, March 16

The Millyard Museum (200 Bedford St. in Manchester) will present a talk today at 11 a.m. on the Old Man of the Mountain, an enduring symbol of the Granite State, now 20 years since the landmark fell, according to their website. Free to attend.

Saturday, March 16

High energy punk/rock/reggae/hip-hop/pop band Crooked Coast will play at Angel City Music Hall (179 Elm St. in Manchester, 931-3654, angelcitymusichall.com) tonight at 10 p.m.. Tickets cost $15 and are available only at Angel City’s website. The show is 21+. Find more ticketed shows in our Concert listings on page 38.

Sunday, March 17

Strange Brew Tavern (88 Market St., Manchester; 666-4292, strangebrewtavern.net) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a line-up of music that starts at 9 a.m. with Andy Happel and a line-up of eats that includes corned beef, Reubens, Guinness Meatballs, Guinness Stew and more. Find more St. Patrick’s Day fun in the story on page 33.

Sunday, March 17

The Free Range Revue, an LGBTQIA+-positive interactive stage show, will hit the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) tonight at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.). The theme this week will be “It’s Reigning Marvels.” Tickets cost $13.75 in advance, $18.75 at the door.

Save the Date! Monday, April 8
The SEE Science Center in Manchester (200 Bedford St. in Manchester, 669-0400, see-sciencecenter.org) will host a local community viewing for the Monday, April 8, partial solar eclipse at Arms Park (10 Arms St. in Manchester) from 2 to 4:30 p.m., weather permitting. SEE will have safe ways to view the eclipse, activities to explain eclipse science and music with WZID.

Featured Photo: Jenny Powers presents “Woman of the Night Sky”. Courtesy Photo.

Quality of Life 24/03/14

Slow down!

Data from the New Hampshire Department of Safety and Division of Motor Vehicles showed more than 100 drivers were ticketed in the last year for driving 100 miles per hour or more in the state, according to a WMUR online news story on March 8. According to WMUR, State police ticketed 56 drivers in a three-hour span during the traffic operation on Friday, March 1; seven of those drivers were clocked going more than 100 miles per hour. One Massachusetts man was pulled over on Interstate 93 after allegedly being clocked at 128 miles per hour.

QOL score: -1

Comments: WMUR reports that according to state data 116 drivers were ticketed over the past year for driving between 100 and 109 miles per hour, and 10 for driving between 110 and 120 miles per hour.

It’s electric

The Concord Monitor reports that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport has installed a charging station for electric vehicles — both cars and airplanes. In a March 11 story, the Monitor reported that the new 320 kW DC Fast Charging station with two connections is located on the ramp at Signature Aviation, a fixed base operator that services private airplanes, so the general public will not have access to it. The airport already has electric chargers in its short-term parking lot, however, so electric car drivers will be able to top off their batteries.

QOL score: +1

Comments: Electric airplanes are expected by 2026, the story said.

Math is delicious

QOL was on the hunt to find local eateries celebrating Pi Day (March 14, celebrating the first three digits of the number pi, 3.14), which led QOL to Presto Craft Kitchen (168 Amory St. in Manchester, 606-1252, prestopastanh.com) which is offering a Pi Day Pie Flight of five mini cream pies from Mount Washington Pie Co. Presto challenges pie (and pi) enthusiasts to see how many digits of the number pi they can write out before finishing the Pi Flight. The Pi Flight is available to order online from Presto’s Facebook page at facebook.com/prestocraftkitchennh.

QOL score: +1

Comments: Now what date and tasty food items can we pair with the Pythagorean theorem?

Young poets

The top 10 participants in the 2024 New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud competition will be at Representatives Hall in the Statehouse in Concord on Friday, March 15, where competing high school students will square off to represent New Hampshire at the national Poetry Out Loud championship in Washington, D.C., later this spring. The competition will begin at 5 p.m. and is open to the public. For more information, see see nh.gov/nharts, or call 271-2789.

QOL score: +1

Comments: It will be livestreamed on the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts’ Facebook page.

QOL score: 61

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 63

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at [email protected].

Pats re-build underway

The Big Story – NFL Free Agency: While many deals had been agreed upon during the “legal tampering” period that began Monday, today is the first day agreements can be signed.

The Patriots have done a decent job in re-signing needed vets like TE Hunter Henry, though $11 million per for a third receiver like Kendrick Bourne sounds a little pricey to me. They also likely have retained Kyle Dugger by putting the transition tag on him.

And then late Monday they signed their most important free agent, Michael Onwenu, for three years. Keep Anfernee Jennings, and it’s a very successful first week. And now with Mac Jones traded and some logical bridge solutions going off the board (like Russell Wilson to Pittsburgh), signs are pointing to using the third overall pick.

After re-signing those players, they go into the week with roughly $55 million. How well they can fill glaring needs at offensive tackle and high end receiver will give a better focus on what they can do in the draft.

Sports 101: In the Belichick era the Pats used the franchise tag 10 times on nine players. How many can you name?

News Item – Mac Jones Traded: That’s all she wrote for Mac Jones in New England as he will be traded to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick by the time you read this. His tenure started with his making the playoffs and Pro Bowl as a rookie and ended after he was benched four times in 2023 when he threw just 10 TD passes and 12 picks while going 2-9 as a starter. The only question left is how much of his downward spiral is on him and how much on the chaos Coach B created by making unqualified Matt Patricia OC after Josh McDaniels left for Vegas.

News Item – Top 5 Red Sox Spring Training Stories:

After winning twice over Tampa Bay in the Dominican, the Sox were off to a nice start after their first 17 spring games at 10-6-1.

Promising second-year hurler Brayan Bello was signed to a $55 million, six-year contract extension.

The only pitcher of note added to their weak pitching staff, Lucas Giolito, could already be lost for the season with an injury to his pitching elbow.

No one had more than two homers in those first 17 games.

Believe it or not Mookie Betts will be the Dodgers’ starting shortstop on opening day.

The Numbers:

16 –if you had the under on how many games Ben Simmons would play for Brooklyn you win, as his season is over early (again) after just 15 due to back woes.

100,000 –dollars Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert was fined by the NBA for gesturing that the officials were on the take.

… Of the Week Award

Stats of Week: From Boston Globe Celtics beat writer Adam Himmelsbach, who reported that despite having the league’s best record the C’s are just 11-9 in games within 3 points in the final two minutes. Also they’re 1-6 vs. teams with a .600 or better winning percentage since Jan. 1.

Random Thoughts

How much do you want to get rid of a player if you’re willing to swallow $85 million in dead money? Answer: for the Denver Broncos it was about a 14 on a scale of 1 to 10. As that’s their cost to release Wilson just two years after paying a king’s ransom to get him from Seattle.

If tampering is bad, how can you have a “legal” tampering period?

A Little History: Stumbled-On Fact of the Week: From Bob Costas in a YouTube replay interview with Ted Williams: the sacrifice fly rule had not been adopted in 1941 when Williams hit .406. He had six that year, which means he’d have hit .412 if it had been a rule then.

Sports 101 Answer: The franchised players in the Belichick era were Adam Vinatieri (twice, 2001 and 2005), Tebucky Jones (2003), Asante Samuel (2007), Matt Cassel (2009), Vince Wilfork (2010), Logan Mankins (2011), Wes Welker (2012), Steven Gostkowski (2015) and Joe Thuney (2020).

Final Thought – Politics Not As Usual: Not too long ago Fox News know-it-all Laura Ingraham told LeBron James to “shut up and dribble.”So it will be interesting to see what she has to say about Dodgers all-timer Steve Garvey’s right to be in politics now that he just won a spot to run for the Senate from California on the GOP side. Guessing since Garvey is a conservative he’ll likely be having his tires pumped on her show at some point.

But Garvey wasn’t the only sports-in-politics story last week. Texas congressman and one-time Dallas Cowboys linebacker Colin Allred won the Democratic primary and now will challenge Ted Cruz for his Senate seat in Texas. Wonder if for him it’ll be just “shut up and tackle.”

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

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