Category: News

This Week 26/01/29

Thursday, Jan. 29

The SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) will host Dancing With the Stars: Live tonight beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $85.

Thursday, Jan. 29

The Granite Stage, a community talent showcase celebrating New Hampshire’s artists, musicians, dancers, comedians and creators from Rhythm and Roots Studio (rhythmandrootsstudiollc.com), will take place tonight at the Rex Theatre (823 Amherst St., Manchester, 668-5588, palacetheatre.org) from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $30.

Friday, Jan. 30

Queen tribute act Almost Queen will perform at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $46.

Saturday, Jan. 31

Boogie Wonder Band will take the stage at Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50.

Saturday, Jan. 31

Red River Theatres in Concord will host a screening of The Testament of Ann Lee, a film starring Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, today at 4 p.m. and tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m., with both screenings featuring post-film dicussions with the Canterbury Shaker Village Museum’s curator of research & collections and archivist. Tickets are available at redrivertheatres.org.

Saturday, Jan. 31

Join Main Dunstable Elementary School PTO for a special Parents’ Night Out Clean Comedy Fundraiser in the Auditorium at Nashua South High School (36 Riverside St., Nashua) tonight at 7 p.m. Headliners Comedy Club will bring comedians Kyle Crawford, Judy Sloane and Rob Steen to the stage for a fun, feel-good evening filled with laughs that everyone can enjoy. General admission tickets are $25, and all proceeds benefit the Main Dunstable School PTO.

Sunday, Feb. 1

The Majestic Theatre (880 Page St., Manchester, 669-7469, majestictheatre.net) welcomes the Scott Spradling Band, a 12-member big band, this afternoon at 2 p.m. The performance will be held at The Majestic Theatre Studios, 880 Page St. in Manchester. Tickets are $28.

Sunday, Feb. 1

Two-time Emmy and Grammy Award winning comedian Kathy Griffin will perform at the Chubb Theatre (Chubb Theatre at CCA, 44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) as part of her “New Face; New Tour” tour tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $49.

Wednesday, Feb. 4

The Dover Public Library will present Bob Sheppard and his program “My Father, the Tuskegee Airman” about his father, Master Sergeant James A. Sheppard Jr., today at 6:30 p.m. in Room 306 of the McConnell Center, 61 Locust St. in Dover, according to a press release. The event is free and open to the public. See library.dover.nh.gov.

Save the Date! Saturday, Feb. 14
Emo Night Brooklyn, a late-night DJ-based dance party blasting emo and pop-punk jams, will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St., Nashua, 800-657-8774, nashuacenterforthearts.com). This is a general-admission open floor show. Ticketholders must be 18+. Tickets start at $26.

Featured photo: The Testament of Ann Lee will screen at Red River Theatres.

Pats Super Bowl bound

The Big Story – It’s 2013 All Over Again: Every time the Red Sox advanced in 2013, I asked, how did they do that?

Same for the Pats now as the D is becoming as reliable as Koji Uehara in 2013. After it gave up the usual (annoying) early TD, it completely shut down Denver to win the AFC Championship 10-7. And while Drake Maye had trouble throwing amid constant pressure, his 28-yard third quarter scramble set up the winning FG and his end of the game bootleg got the first down that iced it. So, so much for the “easy schedule” talk, as they’ve now beaten three playoff teams with a 40-14 combined record as the D surrendered just 26 points.

Next up is Seattle in the place no Patriots fan thought they’d be in 2025-’26, the Super Bowl.

How did they do that?

Sports 101: At 23 years and 162 days Maye will try to be the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl. He’ll also be the second youngest starter ever. Who is the youngest to start at QB in the big game and youngest to win one?

News Item – Patriots 10, Denver 7: It wasn’t pretty but they’re moving on.

Key Stat: The D gave up just 3.1 yards per play.

Improvement: Since Milton Williams returned the D has given up 8 ppg.

Backslide – Maye: No turnovers, but his 87 passing yards were his worst ever. He’s got to do better in Santa Clara.

Game Ball – The D: Yes, they were facing a backup QB, but Denver got just 181 yards overall, 79 rushing, were a +2 in TO’s, had five sacks and gave up just seven points.

The Numbers:

8 – 20+ points games off the bench already, with an eye-popping 39 vs. Miami two weeks ago, make one wonder if the Celtics should keep Anfernee Simons and his Vinnie ‘TheMicrowave’ Johnson-like instant scoring ability at the trade deadline.

20.7 – percent of Hall of Fame voters who voted for Dustin Pedroia, leaving him well short of the 75 percent needed.

346 – passing yards and three TD’s one-time ghost-seeing ex-Jet Sam Darnold threw for in Seattle’s 31-27 NFC Title game win over L.A.

… Of the Week Awards

Quote – Curt Cignetti: “I’m gonna have a beer,” said after Indiana beat Miami 27-21 in their thrilling college football championship game.

I Did Not Know That Stat – Jhonny Peralta: The .203 career batting average against the Mets’ newly acquired ace from Milwaukee is third best in history. Behind only two one-inning-per-night closers. For context that’s one and two points better than all-timers Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax.

Sports 101 Answer: The youngest SB starting QB was Dan Marino (23 years, 123 days), in Miami’s 38-16 loss to SF in 1984, and the youngest winning QB was Ben Roethlisberger (23 years, 11 months) when he somehow won 21-10 in 2006 despite having the lowest QB rating ever in SB history (22.1).

Final Thoughts – Latest NFL News:

Milton Williams is the best Patriots DL since Richard Seymour and worth every penny paid in free agency. The struggling end of the year D went right back to early season dominance since he came back off IR.

Don’t know if the Bills have hired Phillip Rivers to be their HC. But does it make sense to fire an effective HC in Sean McDermott because he couldn’t get his team over the hump to the SB in favor of a QB (with no experience) who never could get his own team to the SB?

Wasn’t Norm Van Brocklin available?

Google him.

Is it karma for the MVP vote that Matthew Stafford’s season ends one game short as he threw for 374 yards and three TD’s while the other candidate moves on when he just threw for a career-low 87 yards and no TD’s?

Thanks to Payton for making my case from last week when I said coaches are going for it too much on fourth down and should take the FG points in the playoffs. Payton does that vs. New England in the first quarter, Denver goes to OT instead of on vacation. Just like Chicago and Jacksonville this year and Detroit last year vs. Philly. The statistics-led “go-for-it” casualties are piling up.

Not really sure how they did it. But the Pats are back!

Who’d have thunk that in August?

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Quality of Life 26/01/29

St. Patrick’s Day Parade canceled

According to its website (saintpatsnh.com), Manchester’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, originally scheduled for Sunday, March 29, has been canceled. An announcement on the website read, “The St. Patrick’s Parade committee was recently met with the logistical challenge of shortening the parade route and changing the staging areas for the parade. At this time, as a small committee, we do not feel that we are equipped to handle the changes to be able to safely stage the parade in an organized manner…. We hope to be able to take this time to plan, recruit additional, knowledgeable volunteers and be able to safely host a St. Patrick’s parade in 2027.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: An announcement from Millenium Running, organizer of the Shamrock Shuffle, a 2-mile road race usually staged in conjunction with the Parade, read,”[W]e are currently in the process of possibly reworking the Shamrock Shuffle for a possible course and/or a date change. ” Visit millenniumrunning.com/shamrock.

Chicken with listeria

According to a Jan. 16 notice by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 13,000 pounds of chicken products have been recalled in seven states, including New Hampshire, due to possible listeria contamination. “The ready-to-eat grilled chicken breast fillets were produced on October 14, 2025,” the notice read. They were produced by Sozanna’s Kitchen, a company in Norcross, Georgia. “There have been no confirmed reports of illness due to consumption of these products,” the notice said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: See fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/suzannas-kitchen-recalls-ready-eat-grilled-chicken-breast-fillet-products-due to see the product label.

Saving for a rainy day

According to a Jan. 4 report by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (nhfpi.org), a recent analysis by the Urban Institute (urban.org) reported that “nearly one in four New Hampshire households lacked $2,000 in savings for emergencies…. About 23 percent of New Hampshire households did not have non-retirement savings, such as money in a checking or savings account, totaling more than $2,000 in 2022.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: To view the data from the Urban Institute analysis, visit apps.urban.org/features/financial-health-wealth-dashboard.

QOL score last week: 58

Net change: -4

QOL this week: 54

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

News & Notes 26/01/29

Bob Baines

Bob Baines, who served as Manchester’s mayor in the early 2000s, died last week, according to a statement from his family posted on current Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais’ Facebook page. The statement, posted Jan. 23, reads: “With heavy hearts, the family of Robert ‘Bob’ Baines shares the news of his passing. Bob left us peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones. We kindly ask that you keep the Baines family in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly challenging time.”

Baines was elected mayor in 1999 and his tenure is listed as 2000-2005 on the city’s website. Baines was currently a member of Manchester’s Board of School Committee, representing Ward 9. Baines, who was born in Manchester, taught music at Alvirne High School from 1968 to 1977, was the principal of Manchester High School West from 1980 to 1999 and was named New Hampshire Principal of the Year in 1990 and Educator of the Year by Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in 1996, according to manchesternh.gov. “Mayor Baines married Maureen McCaugney of Nashua in 1974 and they have three children: Christina, Timothy and Catherine,” the city’s website said, and the Union Leader reported that they also had four grandchildren.

In the Jan. 25 issue of “Day By Day,” the Substack newsletter by local author and Hippo co-founder Dan Szczesny, Dan shared his memories about Baines: “His years as mayor coincide with myself and my two partners creating and launching HippoPress … Back then, one of our first stops … even before the paper had launched, was the mayor’s office. … Much to our surprise, he welcomed us enthusiastically. … [During] that first meeting with him (maybe the second or third) he was blunt about our chances of success, in particular because he hated the idea of the paper being called The Hippo. ‘That doesn’t even make sense!’ he’d say. We went with it anyway and the name stuck. And every time any of us saw him after that, he’d just smile and yell ‘Hey, Hippo!’ … He was a good guy. That’s it, that’s what sticks and this has played out after his passing as friends, officials and lawmakers from ever side of the political spectrum have come out to sing his praises.”

Interim chief

Deputy Chief Barrett J. Moulton has been named Interim Chief of the Concord Police Department effective Jan. 24, according to a Concord city newsletter. He takes over for Chief Bradley Osgood, who retired Jan. 23, the newsletter said. “Chief Moulton has more than 27 years of experience in law enforcement. He grew up in New Hampshire and attended Northeastern University. He joined the Concord Police Department in 2006 after serving as a Police Officer and Sergeant with the Town of Loudon,” the newsletter said.

The New Hampshire Audubon is holding an open house for raptor biologist Chris Martin, who has retired after 35 years with NH Audubon, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at the McLane Center, 84 Silk Farm Road in Concord, according to an Audubon newsletter. RSVP by Jan. 30 at nhaudubon.org.

Capitol Cross-Country Ski Day, featuring races, gear demos and free lessons, will take place Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Concord Community Nordic Trails at Beaver Meadow Golf Course in Concord, according to skithebeav.org, where you can register for the races and clinics for youth and adults.

The Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St. in Nashua, will hold its first-ever metal concert with the local death metal band Cytokine on Friday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. in the Chandler Wing, according to a press release. The concert is free and all-ages. See nashualibrary.org.

This Week 26/01/22

Thursday, Jan. 22

“Art and Bloom,” a show in collaboration with the Women’s Caucus for Art, New Hampshire Chapter, and Kimball Jenkins Estate, 266 N. Main St. in Concord, will open to the public today from 2 to 4 p.m. with an opening reception scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. The show will feature floral arrangements interpreting the works of Kimball Jenkins’ winter show “Apricity: The Warmth of Winter Sun.” The show will also be open Friday, Jan. 23, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (during the Concord NH Winter Festival; see page 15). See kimballjenkins.com.

Thursday, Jan. 22

The Manchester Community Music School (2291 Elm St., Manchester, 644-4548, mcmusicschool.org) presents Stick Figures, a percussion-focused concert featuring faculty member Adam Cahalane tonight at 7 p.m. This concert is free and open to the public.

Thursday, Jan. 22

Dynamic drum troupe and visual spectacle Drum Tao will perform at the Chubb Theatre (Chubb Theatre at CCA, 44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) tonight beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $44.25.

Friday, Jan. 23

The Majestic Academy of Dramatic Arts will present Seussical the Musical, Jr. at the Derry Opera House (29 W. Broadway, Derry, 404-2928, derryoperahouse.org) tonight at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 24, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. This production stars children and teens of The Majestic Academy. General admission tickets are $17. Visit majestictheatre.net.

Friday, Jan. 23

Laugh Attic at Strange Brew Tavern (88 Market St., Manchester, 666-4292, strangebrewtavern.net) presents The Interview tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. This is a comedy showcase where Human Resources asks the comics things you’ve always wanted to know. Tickets are $20 through eventbrite.com.

Saturday, Jan. 24

One of the premier Beatles tribute acts, Beatlejuice, will perform at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 through the Tupelo’s website.

Saturday, Jan. 24

There is a Winter Wonderland Masquerade Party at the Jewel Music Venue (61 Canal St. Manchester, 819-9336, jewelmusicvenue.com) tonight from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. with special performances by Wettybop, The Artist Graves, Sokomodo, SPVNYVN, and Jephirsun Danger. There will be a masquerade costume contest with a $100 cash prize. Find the event on Jewel’s Facebook page for the QR code to scan top purchase tickets.

Sunday, Jan. 25

Granite State Generosity (gsgnh.org) welcomes the start of ski and snowboard season today with the Ninth Annual Bob Gilman Fun Run Ski and Snowboard Race at McIntyre Ski Area. Visit mcintyreskiarea.com/acitivities/bobgilman to register.

Save the Date! Thursday, Jan. 29

Dancing with the Stars will burn up the dance floor at SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) on Thursday, Jan. 29, with special guest Danielle Fishel. Tickets start at $76 through gotickets.com. A VIP package is available.

Featured photo: Horton, Clover, the Grinch and the Whos!

Pats in Denver Sunday

The Big Story – Pats Win: Been saying it all year, and did it again Sunday — how are they doing it? Except they keep doing it. This time beating the tougher-scheduled Texans 28-16 to return to the AFC Title Game for the first time since 2018. The defense got five turnovers while making C.J. Stroud look awful. Next up is Denver, where old friend Jarrett Stidham will start at QB after starter Bo Nix sadly broke his ankle in the waning minutes of OT in their 33-30 win over Buffalo. Game time 3 p.m. Sunday in Denver.

Sports 101: On Monday Indiana attempted to join eight other D-I colleges who’ve won both a football and a basketball national championship. Name the other eight.

News Item – Patriots Beat Houston 28-16:

• Best Play – Kayshon Boutte: His spectacular one-handed fourth-quarter TD catch was not only the play of the game, it also iced the game.

• Key Stat: Houston had just 48 rushing yards.

• Backslide – Drake Maye: After four more fumbles you’ve got to hold on to the ball in the pocket much better, young fella.

• Game Ball – Defense: With four picks, a recovered fumble, three sacks, constant pressure on Stroud and a pick-six by Marcus Jones it was tremendous.

News Item – Red Sox: After giving Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez almost as much as Alex Bregman wanted, the Sox have prioritized starting pitching over AB and that’s hard to argue with. Now get a real second baseman and the off-season work is done.

The Numbers:

14 – after coughing up four more Sunday, Maye’s NFL-leading fumbles.

28.0 – microscopic QB rating for Stroud vs. NE — can you play any worse than that?

119 – million dollars per year is what Tucker will actually cost L.A. instead of the meager 57.1 he’ll get after exceeding every luxury tax threshold. But who cares it’s only deferred money.

… Of the Week Awards

Crybabies of the Week – Joe Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown: I’m the last person to defend NBA (or NFL) refereeing and know how frustrating inconsistent officiating can be. But after hearing Brown and Slo Joe whine after consecutive Celtic losses, come on. Brown about a big free throw disparity and Mazzulla (correctly) about a no call on a moving screen on the game-winning score. Earth to those sore losers: everyone in the NBA moves setting picks and if Joe didn’t complain when Al Horford did it on every pick he set, then why now? As for the reason the C’s are last in free throw in the NBA, it’s because they are first in 3-ball attempts. You rarely get fouled 25 feet from the basket. Stop blaming others and get to the rack if you want more foul shots.

Prediction – CFP Title Game: With the game already over, here’s my pre-game prediction. Rooting for Miami to make Notre Dame’s whining about UM getting in over them look worse. But, I got Indiana winning their first national title 31-14.

Sports 101 Answer: The dual title winners are Florida, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Syracuse, Maryland, Arkansas and Cal.

Final Thought – Fourth Down: I know going for it on fourth down is all the rage, but coaches overdo it. If I’m fourth and more than 2 in the red zone during the playoffs I’m taking the FG. Not doing that cost Chicago the game vs L.A. Sunday, when they failed three times in six fourth-down tries. They scored a TD on one of the makes, but if they made FG’s on those failed attempts instead, Williams’ miracle heave would have won the game not tied it. Of course Mike Vrabel did it Sunday and it scored the Pats’ first TD on fourth and 1 from inside the 10. But that does not change my mind.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

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