Category: News

Quality of Life 25/04/24

Gold (golden brown) anniversary

As reported in an April 18 online story by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR), the chicken tender has celebrated its 50th anniversary. Manchester comedian and chicken tender activist Nick Lavallee, known as “The Mayor of Tender Town,” organized a celebration at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant on Thursday, April 17, to celebrate the chicken tender’s entry into middle age. Food historians speculate that Manchester-style chicken tenders originated at the Puritan. NHPR quoted Lavallee: “A Manchester style tendie. Not only is it marinated in a blend of pineapple juice and other things, but when it’s served fresh and hot, it’s like it’s more of a crisp than a crunch,” he said. “It’s the best. There’s nothing quite like a Manchester style tender.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: As reported by WMUR in an April 17 online article, the cast of the MTV show Jersey Shore visited the Puritan to celebrate its chicken tenders. “Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi, Ronnie Magro and the crew from the show were at the Puritan Backroom in Manchester filming a new season of their show, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, the story reported.

EZ to get scammed

An April 15 online story by WMUR stated, “The state Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are working together to combat a scam that targets E-ZPass users in New Hampshire.” Many drivers have reported receiving fake text messages saying they have outstanding balances on their EZ accounts for unpaid tolls that need to be paid immediately. (For example: “Immediate action is required to avoid penalties and enforcement actions resulting from non-payment,” as the scam text QOL received just this week said.) “The agencies are planning to use data from reports to identify patterns and potentially disrupt scam operations,” the WMUR story reported.

QOL score: -1

Comment: WMUR quoted Senior Assistant Attorney General Brandon Garod, who emphatically stated that “E-ZPass will never text someone about an unpaid bill, something it makes clear on the front page of its website.”

A very senior prom

On Thursday, April 17, Winnacunnet High School students helped throw a prom for residents at a Hampton assisted living home. As reported in an April 18, online article by WMUR, “For months, students and residents at Cornerstone at Hampton worked together to plan the event, creating centerpieces, selecting songs for the DJ and crafting a menu.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The prom’s theme was “Botanical Garden.” WMUR reported that “each resident was invited to bring a family member or friend as their prom date.”

QOL score: 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.

Draft winds blow tonight

The Big Story – NFL Draft: It comes your way on ESPN and The NFL Network starting Thursday at 8 p.m. and goes through Saturday. Picking fourth and having four in the first 77 and nine picks overall, the Patriots have major skin in the game to make it a fun weekend for Patriot Nation.

Sports 101: Name the only team since 1960 (NFL and AFL teams) to draft a QB in both the first and second rounds in the same draft.

News Item – NBA Playoffs: Nothing started off weird in the first weekend. The C’s got off nicely with an easy 103-86 Game 1 win over Orlando; OK City became the sixth team to beat an opponent by more than 50 points in a playoff game, and Golden State used its experience to frustrate upstart Houston. Only the T-Wolves thumping the Lakers was surprising in the weekend.

News Item – NFL Draft: Here are a few interesting facts, rumors and pre-draft scuttlebutt.

It was interesting to see that in a pre-draft Big Board on ESPN its author Jeff Legwold ranked presumed No. 1 pick Cam Ward as only the 20th best player in the draft.

With just four, the Vikings have the fewest picks this weekend, while the 49ers and Ravens have the most with 11 each.

One team that could move up to prevent the expected Shedeur Sanders slide is New Orleans, whose QB Derek Carr could be out for all of 2025.

Can an arm that’s 1/16 inch shorter than desired for an offensive tackle be worth all the hullabaloo we’ve heard about LSU’s Will Campbell? Seems like paralysis by over-analysis. If it were me, I’d just look at his tape.

With Matthew Judon still out there in free agency, Eliot Wolf got it right by not giving him the contract extension he demanded last summer. Instead he’ll use the 77th pick he got for Atlanta for him on Friday night.

The Numbers:

4 – errors by Gold Glover Alex Bregman, who by taking over at third base was supposed to solve the Red Sox’ defensive issues of 2024.

11 – earned runs allowed in 2.1 innings in a 16-1 loss to Tampa Bay by Tanner Houck to make it the worst start in Red Sox history, which ballooned his ERA from 4.41 to 9.16.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Joe Mazzulla: For donating his entire $3.2 million bonus to local charities. This incredibly generous act is made even more impressive because he hasn’t been collecting the big dough for very long.

Inning of the Week – the eighth in Chicago: The D-Backs scored 10 in the top half of the eighth and then the Cubs roared back to score six in the bottom half to take a 15-11 lead that became the final.

Astonishingly Incompetent Draft Note of the Week: Boston Globe columnist Chris Gasper reported last week that aside from Julian Edelman, who was a college QB, none of the 10 receivers the Patriots drafted between 2003 and 2024 had more than 58 career receptions or 750 career yards and four touchdowns. An amazing track record of abject failure.

Random Thoughts:

With victory margins of 25, 19, 16 and 5 not a lot of drama in the NBA’s boring play-in games to grab seventh and eighth seed in each division.

Sports 101 Answer: The 1965 NY Jets drafted Joe Namath second overall in the 1965 AFL draft and then took Heisman Trophy winner Notre Dame’s John Huarte in Round 2.

A Little History – John Huarte: Came out of nowhere to win the 1964 Heisman while leading Notre Dame to a shocking 9-0-1 season and a national title. But the pro career was a different story. He lasted just two seasons in NY and six overall where he completed just 39.1% of his 58 passes for one TD.

Final Thought – What Should The Pats Do?

I know they need a left tackle and a lead receiver going into the future. But after what Mike Vrabel and company did in free agency, unless a receiver they can get is the next Randy Moss, I’m willing to pass on both needs to do what I have to do to get Penn State edge rusher Abdul Jabar Carter. Adding a premier pass rusher to a team with three other passing threats and two very good corners gives them a chance to have a top 5 defense or maybe higher. And I’d rather have one dominating unit to always count on and a middling offense than have a 15th-ranked O and 10th-ranked D, because the latter seems to be a formula for 9-8. Then I’d add what’s needed with the 37th pick to move into the first round to get the tackle they need and hope an impact receiver will surface at the mid-year trade deadline.

Prediction – they take LSU’s Campbell in Round 1. Unless N.O. trades up with NY at 3 to get Sanders. Then it’s who’s left between Heisman winner Travis Hunter and my pick, Carter.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 25/04/24

Senate race update

U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander told WMUR that she will not seek the U.S. Senate seat in 2026, according to an April 17 report. The race will have no incumbent for the seat as Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has said she will not run for reelection. U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, a Democrat, announced his campaign for the seat in early April. Earlier this month, former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu also told WMUR that he wouldn’t run for senate. In the April 17 story, which you can find at wmur.com, Goodlander endorsed Pappas in his campaign for the seat and Pappas endorsed Goodlander in her reelection campaign to the New Hampshire 2nd District seat.

Historic marker

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire will hold an unveiling ceremony on Saturday, April 26, at 10 a.m. for a historic marker honoring author Harriet E. Wilson (the first Black novelist in the U.S. whose book was published in 1859), according to a Black Heritage Trail press release. The marker is on the historic Nehemiah Hayward Homestead (19 Maple St. in Milford) where Wilson was indentured as a child, the release said. A statue of Wilson stands in Milford in Bicentennial Park at 123 South St., where the Trail also has a marker about Wilson. See blackheritagetrailnh.org.

Weather ready

April 20 through April 26 has been designated Severe Weather Awareness Week, during which New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management will be offering information on preparedness and safety tips, according to a press release. “Flooding is the main disaster that affects New Hampshire. In recent years, the state has seen tornadoes, earthquakes, extreme heat and extreme cold,” the release said. See readynh.gov for tips as well as instructions for signing up for NH Alerts, a serive that will send information about tornades, floods, gas leaks, power outages and other emergencies to your phone or email. The N.H. Forest Protection Bureau and Gov. Kelly Ayotte have also proclaimed April 21-27 Wildfire Awareness Week in New Hampshire as spring is the beginning of wildfire season, according to a press release from the N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.

Recall reminder

Gerber Products sent out a recall reminder on April 18 for its Gerber Soothe N Chew Teething Sticks, originally recalled and discontinued Jan. 31, “due to a potential choking hazard for babies and young children,” according to the recall notice at nestleusa.com. “We are issuing a second press release about this recall due to recent reports of recalled product still available for sale on some retailer shelves and online,” the release said. The products were sold nationwide, including in New Hampshire.

Plymouth State University will host its annual Showcase of Student Research and Engagement on Friday, May 2, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the Plymouth campus in the Courtroom at HUB and at Silver Center and Museum of the White Mountains, according to a press release. Students from a variety of disciplines including the arts, humanities and sciences will present their projects on topics including mental health, biology, history and more, the release said. The event is free and open to the public. See plymouth.edu/2025-showcase-research-engagement.

Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St. in Manchester; mosaicartcollective.com) will hold a Drop + Draw on Thursday, April 24, 5:45 to 8 p.m. “Open to all to just hang out and make some art together,” according to the post on Mosaic’s Facebook page.

Craftworkers’ Guild Spring Craft Shop at Kendall House (3A Meetinghouse Road in Bedford, behind the Bedford Public Library) will open Thursday, May 1, and stay open through Sunday, May 25, Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. See thecraftworkersguild.org.

Bring Back the Trades will hold a Skills Expo Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Londonderry High School (295 Mammoth Road in Londonderry) featuring more than 50 local trades organizations, according to a press release. The event is free and open to all ages and includes live demonstrations, equipment showcases and giveaways, the release said. See bringbackthetrades.org.

This Week 25/04/17

Friday, April 18

Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester, 206-3888, chunkys.com) hosts a Gilligan’s Island Paint Night this evening beginning at 7:30 p.m. Participants will be guided through painting an island landscape, looking out at the ocean, while reruns of the beloved 1960s television seriesGilligan’s Islandplay on the big screen in the background. Cocktails and snacks will be available, and there will be music to fit the evening. Tickets are $45 each.

Friday, April 18

The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org) presentsJesus Christ Superstar beginning tonight through May 11, Fridays through Sundays plus Thursday, May 8.

Friday, April18

Famed storyteller Garrison Keillor will take the stage at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com) tonight at 7:30 p.m. for an evening of stand-up, storytelling, audience song, and poetry. One man, one microphone. Tickets start at $29 .

Friday, April 18

The Salem Animal Rescue League (4 Sarl Drive, Salem, 893-3210, sarlnh.org) hosts an evening of musical bingo tonight at the Windham Country Club (1 Country Club Road, Windham, 434-2093, windhamcc.com) beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $60 each and include dinner, one drink and one Bingo card per game. Purchase tickets at tinyurl.com/SARLMusicBingo.

Saturday, April 19

Symphony NH presents a performance at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St, Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com) tonight at 7:30 p.m., consisting entirely of overtures. Appropriately titled “It’s All Overtures,” this show will feature some of the most well-known overtures, ranging from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro to Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story. Tickets start at $32 through the Center’s website.

Wednesday, April 23

Catch “A Tribute to Duke Ellington with the Aardvark Orchestra,” a free presentation of the Walker Lecture series, tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord). Doors open at 7 p.m.; see walkerlecture.org. This event is free and open to the public.

Wednesday, April 23

Celebrate “25 years of ska punk party mayhem” with The Planet Smashers along with PWRUP and Threat Level Burgundy tonight at 7 p.m. at Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St. in Manchester). Find them on Facebook

Save the Date! Saturday, April 26

Saturday, April 26, is Independent Book Store Day. Offerings usually include previews of upcoming books as well as in-store celebrations. Bookery (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) has plans for local authors, giveaways, discounts, live music and more, according to an email from the store. Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookestore.com) is also making plans, which will include “exclusive merch, giveaways, maybe even some games and activities,” according to an email from the store. Check with your favorite indie bookstore for updates.

Featured photo: Independent Bookstore Day Logo.

Quality of Life 25/04/17

*#$^&@-%! weather

A reminder that New England can still New England in April, the snow totals from last weekend’s snowfall reached 7 inches in Temple, 6 inches in Deering, 5.9 in Francestown and 8.1 in Greenville, according to a snow total rundown from WMUR on April 12. Between 2 and 4 inches seemed to be the totals for most towns between Nashua and the Concord area. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast for the coming weekend in the Manchester area is for a mostly sunny Friday (April 18) with highs near 61, a mostly cloudy Saturday with highs near 64 and a mostly sunny Sunday with highs near 56. Get predictions for weekend weather and beyond at weather.gov.

QOL score: -1

Comment: In Maine the New Hampshire Fisher Cats had two games postponed last weekend against the Sea Dogs in Portland due to snow (Saturday) and “inclement weather” (Sunday). But they’re back for this weekend’s warmer weather to play as Los Gatos Feroces and the New Hampshire Space Potatoes in Manchester.

Job opportunities in Manchester look good

According to a recent study by employment website Indeed.com that ranked 390 cities in the United States by their job prospects, Manchester is the 10th best city in the country in which to look for a job. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study reported that Manchester boasts of annual job growth of 3.5 percent, an average annual salary of $62,810, an unemployment rate of 2 percent and more than 100,000 people employed.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The top-ranked city in the study was Midland, Texas, with a job growth rate of 5.1 percent. Visit the report at indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/best-cities-for-jobs.

Clean up, clean up

Manchester organizations are collaborating to hold a city clean-up event deploying more than 200 volunteers on Monday, April 21, according to a press release. The Park2Park cleanup will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. in 14 city parks and the streets in between. The event is a joint effort of Manchester Connects, the SEE Science Center, and the city’s parks and rec department. Many local businesses and nonprofits are participating in the effort. Individuals may sign up to help SEE with the cleanup from Arms Park to Gateway Park at bit.ly/SEEPark2Park until April 15; volunteers must be 18 or older.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Is that song in your head now? You’re welcome.

The Corral returns

As reported by Patch.com on April 13, nearly 200 people waited in line for the official re-opening of Manchester’s Golden Corral Buffet & Grill on Thursday, April 10. “The restaurant at 655 South Willow Street had closed in September,” Patch.com reported. Many of the people in line were previous customers who were excited about the re-opening of the popular buffet restaurant, and others queued for a chance to win free dinners for a year.

QOL score: +1

Comment: While there are more than 370 Golden Corral locations, according to its Wikipedia entry, this is the only one in New Hampshire.

QOL score last week : 60

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 62

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Celtics go for 19th title

The Big Story – Celtics Begin Title Defense: The play-in Tournament Tuesday to send four teams to the NBA’s main playoffs which starts Saturday. The Celtics begin their title defense Easter Sunday. Enjoy.

Sports 101: Just four players in NFL history have had four consecutive 100-catch, 1,000-receiving-yard seasons. Name them.

News Item – NBA Regular Season Ends: A few season notables.

Nikola Jokic became the third to average a triple double — 29.8 points, 12.8 assists and 10.3 assists.

Denver and Memphis fired their coaches two weeks before the playoffs start. Sayonara to them.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in scoring at 32.7 ppg and OKC won a fourth best ever 68 games.

How bad was the Southeast Division? Only 41-41 Orlando wasn’t below .500.

Coaches who once got unfairly fired in Kenny Atkinson and Doc Rivers got their measure of revenge on their nemeses. Doc by digging out of a big early hole to be the 4-seed in Milwaukee, as Philly, who fired him, finished 24-58. For Atkinson it was winning the East in Year 1 with the Cavs, while the punks who stabbed him in the back in Brooklyn (just because they could) got theirs — Kyrie Irving with the latest injury, a torn ACL, and after costing a billion draft picks to get Kevin Durant to form a supposed super team, the 36-46 Suns didn’t even make the playoffs.

Brooklyn, who let those two do that to Atkinson, went 26-56 and is farther away than ever.

After going 20-7 since falling into their lucky trade for Luka Doncic, the Lakers are a real threat to re-tie Boston for first in championships with 18.

SGA gets MVP over Jokic because he is by far the most valuable player on the team with the best record.

News Item – College Football: Who didn’t see NIL holdouts coming?

Well, it happened at Tennessee last week when starting QB Nico Iamaleava sat out spring practice amid contract talks. UT’s response was “go fly a kite” and they immediately dropped him from the program.

News Item – The Masters: Notable happenings over the weekend.

Rory Mcllroy finally held onto a lead to win and become the sixth to win golf’s grand slam. But with all those makeable missed putts on that rollercoaster of a back nine he sure didn’t make it easy for those rooting for him

Clutch putt on the 72nd hole by Justin Rose to force the playoff, then he missed basically the same putt on the same hole (18) in the playoff to lose.

Sixty-seven-year-old Bernard Langer missed the cut by one shot in his final Masters thanks to a double bogey on the dastardly 15th hole.

Scottie Scheffler buried a 62-foot putt during Thursday’s opening round.

The Numbers:

19 – MLB-leading errors the Red Sox committed in their first 15 games. Meanwhile Dave Dombrowski’s Phillies have made just three all year.

31 – first-half points scored by the jacked and pumped Doncic in his return to Dallas before finishing with 45 in L.A.’s 112-97 win.

80 – hard-to-believe age legendary baseball reporter Peter Gammons turned last week.

… Of the Week Awards

Better Late Than Never Award – NCAA Final Word: We’re 10 days past Florida’s win over Houston for the national basketball championship. But it’s worth mentioning the most amazing stat of that game is that Florida somehow managed to win despite trailing for 38 minutes and 57 seconds of its 40 minutes. Big D that forced Houston turnovers in the final two minutes was the difference. It was the first time since 1989 that a freshman didn’t play in the game.

Sports 101 Answer: The four 100-1,000 players are Antonio Brown, Marvin Harrison, Dasante Adams and newly signed Patriot Stefon Diggs.

Final Thought – Celtics Playoff Keys: Having won 22 of 27 since the All-Star break, they go in playing well, with the quest for Title No. 19 starting Sunday. Here are their keys for a solid run:

Having an inside scoring Plan B for when the 3’s aren’t falling, which inevitably will happen.

Health — Brittle Kristaps Porzingis is always just one play away and the big unknown is the knee issue dogging Jaylen Brown. Is it just an annoyance or worse?

Thus they need no disappearing games from Jayson Tatum, which has been a past playoff (and Olympics) issue for him.

Consistency from the Top 3 on the bench.

Can Mazzulla please come up with a better end of the game (quarter) scoring play beyond the isolation fall away that Tatum always misses?

Hoping for the Knicks in Round 2 and the Lakers in the Finals.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

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