Category: Quality Of Life

New Hampshire schools

A recent survey by financial website WalletHub.com rated New Hampshire’s school system as the fourth-best in the country. WalletHub’s report mentioned the state’s relatively high safety rating (15th in the country), our math scores (4th best), and our graduation rates (also ranked No. 4). Governor Ayotte’s office released a statement that read, in part, “New Hampshire is proud to have some of the best schools in the country, and this new ranking is a testament to our dedicated teachers, supportive parents, and hardworking students who helped make it possible…. New Hampshire will keep striving for #1 and prioritizing a best-in-class education for our kids.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Massachusetts schools received the study’s highest rating, and New Mexico scored the lowest. Visit wallethub.com/edu.

BitCoin scam – DENIED!

As reported in a July 28 press release by the Manchester Police Department, three senior customers at the Varney Street Quick Stop in Manchester were saved from an expensive scam by store employees last month. “On three occasions in July,” the press release stated, “seniors entered the store with cash they intended to deposit into a cryptocurrency ATM. Employees recognized signs of a scam, warned the customers and contacted Manchester Police. Officers responded and confirmed that all three were being victimized.” The scams would have cost the victims more than $17,000.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Before these incidents,” the press release read, “Manchester Police Fraud Detective Ray Lamy contacted the store owner to discuss scams targeting seniors. The owner educated his staff and promised to intervene when customers appeared to be at risk.”

Meteor showers are the best showers

Mid-August is one of the best times of the year to see shooting stars. That’s when the Earth passes through a cloud of space debris resulting in the Perseid Meteor Showers. As reported in an Aug. 2 online article by New Hampshire Public Radio, “as Earth plows into these tiny particles, they burn up in our atmosphere, producing bright streaks across the night sky.” Conditions for watching meteor showers should be especially good this year; the peak will coincide with a new moon. The darkness will give extra contrast to the trails the meteorites leave behind them.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The NHPR article advised stargazers to find a dark, open area away from artificial light in the hours just before dawn for the best viewing conditions. According to astronomy website earthsky.org, “the mornings of August 12 and 13 are probably your best bets [to see meteorites].”

Aren’t the mosquitoes bad enough on their own?

An Aug. 1 online article by WMUR reported that “Hampton and Derry are now the latest communities where mosquito batches have tested positive for Jamestown Canyon Virus. Positive batches have also been found in Exeter, Fremont, Kingston and Salem.” The virus can be spread to humans through mosquito bites. There have been no reported cases of human or animal infection in New Hampshire this year.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, symptoms of Jamestown Canyon Virus “can include fever, headache, and fatigue, but disease can also be more severe. No vaccines or medicines are available to prevent or treat Jamestown Canyon virus disease.” Visit cdc.gov/jamestown-canyon.

QOL score last week: 56

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 58

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Trailblazing in a tiara

As reported by the Nashua Telegraph in a July 24 online article, New Hampshire organizer, athlete and beauty contestant Christina Hurley “was recently crowned Ms. North America, becoming the first amputee to receive that honor.” Hurley, the founder of Less Leg More Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping amputees, won her title on July 17 in a ceremony in Orlando, Florida.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the pageant’s Facebook page, “the Ms. North America pageant is an international division of the North America Beauty Pageant that welcomes women aged 30 and older…”

UNH to take on ticks in a no-holds-barred grudge match

In a July 22 press release, the University of New Hampshire announced that it will launch a “statewide initiative to study ticks, diseases and the environment.” The University has received a “National Science Foundation award of $8 million to support focus on three key tick species,” the announcement read. “Ticks are an issue that touches nearly every community in New Hampshire,” the report quoted Dr. David Needle of UNH’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “By combining cutting-edge science with statewide collaboration and education, we have an opportunity to build knowledge that benefits both our state and the broader scientific community.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The initiative will be called EMBEDDEd-NH, the press release reported — Endeavor for Multi-Omics-Based Exploration, Data-Driven Modeling, and Education in New Hampshire. Visit UNH.edu/news.

Fate and drama in a bowling alley

As reported by the Concord Monitor and republished by New Hampshire Public Radio in a July 21 online article, an independent film has wrapped up filming in a Concord candlepin bowling alley. Filmmaker Carson Lund’s The Pinsetter chronicles a New England candlepin joint from 1994 to 2004, the story read. “Per its synopsis, ‘an aging, morally dubious candlepin bowling alley owner, Henry Nash, battles precarious finances, changing tastes in entertainment and a conniving local politician to keep the communal dream of his suburban alley alive at the turn of the 21st century.’” Principal bowling alley content was filmed inside Boutwell’s Bowling Center in Concord.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the article, “The aim for the independent film is for a festival premiere next summer … .”

Sourcing local lettuce

As reported in a July 25 online article by NH Public Radio, in the wake of recent cyclospora outbreaks “some people are turning to local farms to get their produce. Now is generally a time of year when people seek out fresh produce anyway, but some customers have confirmed they’re concerned about reports of parasites in produce.” The NHPR story quoted Brandy Deno of Brookford Farm in Canterbury: “Recently, Deno said, customers have been telling her they’re suspicious of lettuce from national chains. ‘They’re not trusting the grocery store lettuce anymore, and [there are] starting to be recalls, and it scares people,’ Deno said.”

QOL score: +1 for local farms, however …

Comment: Meanwhile, the NH Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health reported in a July 23 press release that it confirmed “9 people with cyclosporiasis (Cyclospora infection) who consumed lettuce products served at the Cheshire Medical Center cafeteria in Keene” and suggests that anyone who ate lettuce at the center from early June through July 20 “who develops severe or persistent watery diarrhea should contact their health care provider for evaluation and testing for Cyclospora infection. See dhhs.nh.gov.

QOL score last week: 52

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 56

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Smoky summer

Last week saw hazy, smoky skies from Canadian wildfires. Even as conditions improved toward the weekend, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services declared a Code Orange for air quality on July 18. “A Code Orange Air Quality Alert means that air pollution concentrations may become unhealthy for sensitive groups,” according to a July 17 release. “Sensitive individuals include children and older adults; anyone with lung disease such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis; and people who are active outdoors. Even healthy individuals may experience mild health effects and should consider limiting strenuous or prolonged outdoor activities.”

QOL score: -2

Comments: You can keep an eye on air quality in New Hampshire at des.nh.gov/air, which offers information about current conditions and a forecast for a few days out. Get a look at the rest of the country at the EPA’s Fire and Smoke Map at fire.airnow.gov with explanations for what the color-coded conditions mean at airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics.

We bring tendies to the “Potluck”

For its America 250 speciality issue “America’s Potluck,” America’s Test Kitchen (the group behind Cooks Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines and the PBS series America’s Test Kitchen, among other endeavors) gathered “75+ recipes, representing every state in the USA to celebrate America’s milestone birthday,” according to the magazine’s description. New Hampshire’s contribution: “Puritan Backroom-Style Chicken Tenders” along with a “Puritan Backroom-Style Sweet and Sour Sauce.”

QOL score: +1, for New Hampshire being represented by something actually New Hampshire famous (and tasty!)

Comments:It claims that the tenders take 45 minutes plus 1 hour of marinating time. Or we can use our living-here privilege and just order.

Girl Scouts doing good

The Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains have sent out some recent press releases about Girls Scouts doing good:

• Gold Award Girl Scout Kaelyn Gagnon received a $5,000 scholarship from the Girls Scouts of the USA, according to a July 13 release. “Gagnon, 18, of Manchester, NH, earned the Girl Scout Gold Award last year for creating a Young Athletes Program through Special Olympics in Goffstown,” the release said. “The Special Olympics Young Athletes Program in Goffstown is still running strong today. Gagnon continued volunteering with the program after earning the Gold Award because it is close to her heart.”

• The Girl Scouts at Captain Samuel Douglas Academy elementary school in Brookline earned a Bronze Award for building and painting a new gaga ball pit, according to a July 15 release. According to a statement in the release, “the troop said, ‘We wanted to make a sturdy gaga ball pit that could be used by our current and future classmates.’”

• Annabelle Moriarity of Amherst earned a Silver Award by addressing “book deserts”: “She collected and distributed more than 1,000 books … created book and literacy kits and donated them to public schools in Nashua, the Boys & Girls Clubs, the Nashua Children’s Home, Marguerite’s Place, St. Gianna’s Place, and other community organizations,” according to a July 15 release.

QOL score: +3

Comments: See girlscoutsgwm.org for information about the Girl Scouts.

QOL score last week: 50

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 52

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Buttons

As reported in a July 6 press release from the National Button Society (nationalbuttonsociety.org), “a new [television] series, Hot Buttons, is under production for PBS and will be filming at the National Button Society convention in Manchester, N.H., July 27 through Aug. 1.” The series “celebrates the artistry and history of old buttons with fashion enthusiasts and hosts, [who will] embark on a worldwide adventure to discover rare and unique buttons and meet the collectors and curators who are custodians of these tiny pieces of art.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the National Button Society the group has members in 16 countries and every state.

It’s true; we are pretty damp

According to a recent analysis of Google Keyword data, of every 100,000 internet searches in New Hampshire more than 300 are related to mold and mold abatement, according to a study by Besroi Roofing and Siding. According to the study, New Hampshire ranks “2nd in the nation and leads every other state in the Northeast, despite being the 41st largest state by population.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: A key takeaway from the study, wrote its authors, is that “New Hampshire’s mold search rate of 312.90 per 100,000 is 1.37 times the national median of 228.66, confirming that mold is a materially elevated concern for residents relative to most of the country.” Virginia was the only state in the study more searchy about mold than New Hampshire. Googlers from Alaska asked the fewest mold-related questions.

More Granite Staters

According to a June 26 online report by WMUR, “A new report shows that New Hampshire has grown in population over the past five years, but that growth has not been spread evenly across the state.” An analysis by the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute reported that ”while New Hampshire’s population grew by about 36,590 people (2.7%) between 2020 and 2025, growth was not evenly distributed across municipalities.” Smaller communities in the southern part of the state saw noticeable growth, the analysis reported, and an influx of retirees to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains was another area of population growth. “At the same time, population growth among the state’s three largest cities, including Manchester, Nashua, and Concord, has remained relatively static over the past five years.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Between 2020 and 2025, Epping saw the fastest population increase among all of New Hampshire’s municipalities, adding about 820 residents (11.5%) over the five-year period,” the report read. Visit /nhfpi.org/blog.

QOL score last week: 49

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 50

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Missing peregrine chick has been found

As reported by NH Audubon (nhaudubon.org) in a July 1 update on its website, Madi, the sole peregrine falcon hatchling this season from the falcon nest at the Brady Sullivan Building in Manchester, has been found after “fludging” (falling rather than fledging) from the nest last week. “[She] is safe and is with local rehabber Maria Colby,” the Audubon announcement read, “while she recovers from some dehydration. We will work with Maria for the best course of action to reunite her with her parents at the Brady Sullivan Tower.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: June 30 commentary from the log accompanying nest-cam footage from the falcons’ YouTube channel reported that a volunteer “flushed her [Madi] out on W. Salmon St. in the middle of the bridge access; some construction guys came over with an empty cardboard box to put her in until Maria Colby arrived…”

Something old, something new, something Manchester

According to multiple media reports, Manchester’s own Adam Sandler officiated the big event of the Fourth of July weekend: the Friday, July 3, wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden in New York City. According to People.com, Kelce had a cameo in Sandler’s 2025 movie Happy Gilmore 2.

QOL score: +1

Comments: TMZ also reported that Sandler sang an original song for the couple. Meanwhile, Sandler’s 1998 The Wedding Singer is streaming on YouTube TV and fubo and available for rent or purchase, according to JustWatch.com.

That 2026 Taco Tour green

According to a July 1 press release from the Greater Manchester Chamber, this year’s Taco Tour generated nearly a million dollars for the local economy. “On Thursday, May 28, more than 28,000 attendees filled the streets of downtown Manchester,” the press release read, “delivering a powerful economic boost to local restaurants, retailers, and service businesses. With more than 100 participating restaurants and vendors, Taco Tour Manchester generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct spending in just four hours. Accounting for the broader economic ripple effect, the event is estimated to have generated $700K–$1 M in economic activity.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the Manchester Chamber, Taco Tour will have an ongoing effect on business in downtown Manchester. “81.7% of attendees surveyed were introduced to a restaurant they had not heard of before, and 87.4% of attendees are likely/very likely to return to Manchester’s downtown to visit a restaurant experienced at Taco Tour. 40% of surveyed attendees traveled from other NH destinations outside of Manchester. Additionally, overall attendance at Taco Tour Manchester increased by 25% from 2025.” Visit TacoTourManchester.com.

QOL score last week: 46

Net change:+3

QOL this week: 49

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

A missing fledgling

As reported by Manchester InkLink in a June 29 online article, a newly hatched peregrine falcon is missing from its nest at the top of the Brady Sullivan Building in Manchester. “What should have been the first exhilarating flight of Manchester’s only surviving peregrine falcon chick this season has instead become a mystery,” the article read. According to observers, the female chick, named Madi after Mount Madison, fludged — an unsuccessful fledging that looks more like falling than flying — off her ledge early Saturday morning. Volunteers searched the ground near the building, and likely landing spots Madi might have glided to, but she had not been located as of Monday, June 29, the article said. According to Manchester InkLink: “If you see (or hear) Madi, contact NH Fish and Game at 603 271-3421, wildlife rehabber Maria Colby at 603 428-3723 or NH Audubon at 603-224-9909.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: You can find the live feed and a daily log posted in the comments of the first feed of the peregrine nest via nhaudubon.org (find “Peregrine Falcon” under the “Conservation” tab).

Some pig!

A June 19 press release from Gov. Ayotte’s office announced that she had signed HB 1013 into law, restricting “pig scrambles.” The legislation reads, in part, “No person shall operate, run, or participate in a contest, game, or other like activity, in which a pig, greased, oiled, or otherwise, is released and where the object is the capture of the pig. Any person who violates this paragraph shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

QOL score: +1 because it sounds very stressful for the piglets … and the parents of kids who might “win” a pig?

Comment: Pig scrambles, sometimes also known as greased pig competitions, are usually activities at agricultural events and fairs.

Less good news for pigs

A recent survey conducted by fitness website InnerBody.com revealed that New Hampshire is very serious about backyard grilling. The state ranks fifth in the country in internet searches related to grilling. The same survey suggested that Granite Staters’ favorite food to grill is sausages, the 15th most popular home-grilled food, nationwide.

QOL score: +1 for getting as much outside time as we can in warm months, even when cooking dinner

Comments: According to the grilling survey, the most grill-curious states are in the Midwest, with Minnesota and Wisconsin leading online searches. Alaska and Washington, D.C., ask the fewest questions. The most popular grilled food, according to the survey, is burgers. Visit innerbody.com/americas-top-grilled-foods.

QOL score last week: 45

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 46

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.