Category: Quality Of Life

Take the weekend off

Lazy lawnmowers may be doing the environment a favor, according to the results of a recent research study conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Alexandra Contosta, research assistant professor at UNH’s Earth Systems Research Center, said in a press release that reducing the frequency of lawn mowing, or going “low mow,” can help to reduce carbon emissions, build soil organic matter and create better pollinating habitats for bees. “People may not think the small ecosystem in their own yard — the grass, soil and vegetation — is that important to the health of the whole planet,” Contosta said, “but taking important small steps, like not mowing as often, can have a big impact on things … which can influence climate change.”

QOL score: +1 (for giving us all a green excuse to skip mowing this weekend)

Comment: One easy way to go low-mow, Contosta said, is to skip mowing the parts of your property that are underutilized or difficult to access altogether.

Yay for birds, boo for fireworks fans

Fireworks at Hampton Beach were canceled for Memorial Day weekend and expected to be put on hold for several weeks in order to protect two nests of piping plovers that were found on the beach, according to NHPR. Piping plovers are an endangered species in New Hampshire and considered to be at risk nationally.

QOL score: 0 (-1 for the loss of some summer beach fun but +1 for leaving the birds in peace)

Comment: Hampton Beach officials said that they hope to have fireworks for the Fourth of July, according to the report.

Praise for a teacher

The Class of 2022 members of the Nashua High School South chapter of the National Honor Society have selected Nashua High School South English teacher Greg Montine as the 27th recipient of the No Bell Award. According to a press release from the school, the award, which has a symbol depicting a school bell without a hammer, is given to “an outstanding teacher who leads students; communicates enthusiasm and respect for the subject taught; inspires students to develop a hunger for learning; and serves as a role model for students.” Montine also received a $7,500 cash award, which was made possible by an anonymous donor.

QOL score: +1

Comments: Here’s hoping Montine has some relaxing summer plans.

Give blood

The American Red Cross and other blood collection organizations around the world will celebrate World Blood Donor Day on Tuesday, June 14. According to a press release from the Northern New England Regional American Red Cross, the day recognizes the importance of lifesaving blood donations and the nearly 2.5 million people who donate blood and platelets through the Red Cross every year. Blood donation numbers are often at their lowest during late spring and early summer, the release said, but the need for blood and platelet transfusions remains the same.

QOL score: +1 (especially if there’s a post-donation cookie)

Comment: To find a Red Cross blood donation site near you, enter your zip code in the blood drive locator at redcrossblood.org.

QOL score: 76

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 79

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

Record funds raised to fight homelessness

“Better Together” was the theme of the Front Door Agency’s largest fundraiser, the Gourmet Festival & Auction, which returned in person for the first time since 2019 and raised more than $238,000 in net proceeds, making it the most successful fundraiser in Front Door Agency’s 35-year history. According to a press release, the event was held May 15 at the Nashua Country Club, and more than 300 people turned out to bid on hundreds of auction items and enjoy food from local restaurants and chefs. Proceeds will help the agency fight homelessness in Greater Nashua this year, including through its Transformational Housing Program for single mothers who are working to become self-sufficient.

Score: +1

Comment: At the event, Tasha, one of the mothers in the Transformational Housing Program, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship to pursue her degree in Safety Management, the release said.

Earning bikes for an active summer

One hundred forty elementary school students in Manchester can now have healthier, more active summers, after receiving either a new refurbished bicycle package or an athletic equipment package. According to a press release, the Earn-A-Bike Program was created in 2015 by the Manchester Community Schools Project in collaboration with QC Bike Collective, Gossler Park Elementary School and Beech Street Elementary School, allowing students to earn bikes by demonstrating academic achievement and leadership skills. Last week, fourth- and fifth-graders had the chance to pick out a bike, a helmet, lights and a lock; those who already had a bike could get a sports package that included either a soccer ball or a basketball, a pump and other sports items.

Score: +1

Comment: The Manchester Police Department participated in the program by providing bike registrations for all the bikes, the release said.

Yep, it’s tick season

Deer ticks, which carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, are already making themselves known this season. According to a press release from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire residents are reporting finding ticks outside, on themselves and on their pets, so it’s key to know what the potential signs and symptoms of Lyme disease are. “The classic Lyme disease symptom is an expanding, flat rash that often looks like a bull’s-eye,” Jeffrey Parsonnet, M.D., a physician at Dartmouth, said in the release. “Other symptoms are flu-like — aches, stiffness, fatigue — and might develop five to seven days after receiving a bite. More advanced disease might cause swollen joints, infection of nerves responsible for heart rhythm regulation, or neurologic disorders like Bell’s palsy … pain in limbs or, rarely, brain infection.”

Score: -2

Comment: There are ways to stay safe, including staying covered with long pants, long sleeves and socks when outdoors; using bug spray containing DEET; doing checks of your entire body after being outdoors; and removing ticks immediately, the release said.

QOL score: 76

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 76

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

Veteran appreciation

New Hampshire is 2022’s 5th best state for military retirees, according to a new report from personal-finance website WalletHub. The report looked at retirement-friendliness toward veterans, including job opportunities for veterans, housing affordability and quality of VA hospitals in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. The Granite State ranked No. 1 for percentage of veteran-owned businesses, 12th for veterans per capita and 17th for veteran job opportunities, according to the report.

Score: +1

Comment: Our sister state of Vermont ranked dead last at No. 51, the report said.

Tourism getting stronger

New Hampshire’s fall 2021 tourism season set new records as 4.3 million visitors came to the state and spent nearly $2 billion. According to a press release, the number of visitors is an increase of 38 percent from 2019, which was the previous record year, and the amount spent is an increase of 65 percent from 2019. The state has expanded its advertising to include destinations within a 600-mile radius, the release said, and investment in those markets has shown that visitors are staying longer, traveling with more people and spending more while they’re here. “In the 2021 Fall Season, the Merrimack Valley Region alone saw a 49-percent increase in spending and a 32.2-percent increase in overnight visitors to the area,” Lauren Getts, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Greater Manchester Chamber, said in the release. “As we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, [those percentages are] equivalent to $577.2 million in spending and 990k visitors — numbers that are significantly higher than any previous year in over a decade.”

Score: +1

Comment: The top activities by visitors during fall of 2021 include scenic drives, dining, shopping, visiting State Parks, hiking, wildlife-watching and visiting breweries, the release said.

Record high gas prices

QOL hasn’t mentioned gas prices in a while, but given the record highs and the effects they’re having on Granite Staters’ quality of life, it can’t be avoided. According to a press release from GasBuddy, average gasoline prices in New Hampshire have risen 15.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.67 per gallon as of May 23. Prices in the state are 64.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and $1.78 per gallon higher than a year ago, the release said.

Score: -2

Comment:Remember at the beginning of the pandemic, when one of the only good things happening was that gas prices were going down (the average price in New Hampshire was $1.92 per gallon on May 23, 2020, according to GasBuddy)? Yeah. That was nice.

Formula scams

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is warning parents about scams and potential price gouging amid the ongoing national infant formula shortage. “No New Hampshire family trying to provide critical nutrition to their children should be price gouged or scammed. Anyone seeking to take advantage of this crisis in a manner that violates the law will be held accountable,” Attorney General John M. Formella said in a press release. “If Granite State consumers notice any exorbitant spikes in baby formula prices, I encourage them to report them to my office immediately.”

Score: -1

Comment:The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is also monitoring the shortage’s impact on children and is suggesting that parents who are having trouble finding formula speak with their child’s doctor rather than watering down formula or making their own, both of which can be potentially dangerous, the release said.

QOL score: 77

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 76

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

Red and blue go head to head

The New Hampshire Legislative Softball Classic that pits Republican lawmakers against Democratic lawmakers is back after a two-year pandemic hiatus. According to a press release, this is the fourth charity game in the series, which was established in 2017 after the shooting of congressmen who were practicing for the annual Congressional Baseball Game in Washington, D.C. The Granite State version of the game will take place Sunday, May 22, at 2 p.m. at the Anheuser Busch Softball Field in Merrimack. The three previous games raised approximately $30,000 to assist the homeless, the release said. This year, the nonprofits that will benefit include Liberty House in Manchester, which helps homeless and transitioning veterans; Haven, which supports victims of domestic violence; and the Nashua Center, for children and adults with disabilities. Contact Rep. Peter Somssich at [email protected] or Rep. Tim Lang at [email protected] for more information about the Classic or on how to donate to the charities.

Score: +1

Comment: The Republicans have won all of the state’s Legislative Softball Classics thus far, the release said.

Increase in overdoses linked to fentanyl

Last week, state officials issued warnings about the recent increase in fatal overdoses in Manchester and Nashua that appear to be primarily due to easy access to cheap, potent fentanyl and fentanyl being mixed with other substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. According to a press release, fentanyl is about 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and drugs may have deadly levels of fentanyl that can go undetected because it can’t be seen, tasted or smelled. “Fentanyl is by far the most common drug implicated in overdose deaths in New Hampshire,” Dr. Jennie Duval, Chief Medical Examiner for the state, said in the release. “It is a highly potent opioid drug that may be fatal in very small amounts, alone or in combination with other drugs, medications or alcohol. Our investigations often suggest that the decedent may not have even known they were using fentanyl.”

Score: -2

Comment: The state is also reminding residents that The Doorways is available to help access any level of treatment by calling 211, the release said.

Manchester-Nashua area rent up 13.4 percent

A new report from Stessa, a digital platform that allows property investors to manage the performance of real estate assets, shows that median rent in the Manchester-Nashua metro area is now $1,571, compared to $1,385 in 2019 — an increase of 13.4 percent. According to the report, which calculated the percentage change in median rent from 2019 to 2022 in metro locations throughout the country, Manchester-Nashua had the 33rd highest increase in median rent out of 96 midsize metro areas.

Score: -1

Comment: It could be worse; the median rent in San Jose, Calif., is $3,161, the report said, and closer to home, the median rent in Boston-Cambridge-Newton is $2,308.

New businesses struggle in the Granite State

New Hampshire ranks 6th in the country for the highest percentage of businesses failing in their first year. According to a LendingTree analysis, 22.9 percent of new businesses fail in the Granite State before they make it to their one-year anniversary. On average, 18.4 percent of private-sector businesses in the U.S. fail within the first year; after five years, 49.7 percent have failed, and after 10 years, 65.5 percent have failed, the report said.

Score: -1

Comment: New Hampshire’s business failure rate after five years is 53.5 percent, while its failure rate at 10 years is 67.9 percent, the report said.

QOL score: 80

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 77

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

Stop the jumping worms!

As it prepares for its annual plant sale, the Derry Garden Club is on the lookout for “jumping worms.” According to a press release, the worms remove nutrients from the top soil, which wreaks havoc on the agricultural environment, and they have recently resurfaced in New England. The club is repotting all plants to treated vermiculite in order to keep the jumping worms at bay. Anyone who has unwanted perennials that they would like to donate to the sale can set up a time with the club to have them sort through your garden (call Sally at 432-7714).

Score: -1 for the concept of worms that jump

Comment: At least you know the plants you get at the sale on June 4 at Robert Frost Farm in Derry will be jumping-worm-free!

More affordable health care

Affordable Care Act benchmark premium rates in New Hampshire are the lowest in the country, according to a study released last month by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to a press release, benchmark premiums in New Hampshire have decreased for the second year in a row, down from $405 per month in 2020 to $333 per month in 2021 and $309 per month in 2022. The national average, on the other hand, was $453 in 2020, $446 in 2021 and $438 in 2022. The nation averaged a 2.2-percent reduction in benchmark premium rates from 2019 to 2022, while the Granite State’s reduction was 8.2 percent.

Score: +1

Comment:“Never before has New Hampshire had better access to more increasingly affordable health insurance options,” NHID Commissioner Christopher Nicolopoulos said in the release.

Middling drug problems

New Hampshire is in the middle of the pack when it comes to states with the biggest drug problems. According to a report from WalletHub, the Granite State ranked 24th in the personal-finance website’s recent study, which looked at factors like arrest and overdose rates, the number of opioid prescriptions and employee drug testing laws. In the broader category of Drug Use & Addiction, New Hampshire ranked 34th, while it ranked 15th in Law Enforcement (which included statistics like number of drug arrests) and 37th in Drug Health Issues & Rehab (which included statistics like number of people receiving substance abuse treatment per 1,000 drug users), according to the report.

Score: 0

Comment: Cross the border to Vermont and you’ll be in the state with the highest share of both teens and adults who used illicit drugs in the past month, the report said.

Magnifying youth voices

Forty-eight youth artists were featured at the 2022 Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest celebration on May 4, an event that showcased their personal struggles with mental health through artwork and stories. According to a press release, the contest was created in 2019 by the New Hampshire Children’s System of Care to give youth in grades 5 through 12 a chance to share their stories through short films, essays, poems and other expressive art, and to change the stigma around mental health. Attendees at the celebration were able to view the art as well as receive information from organizations focused on improving youth mental health and hear from keynote speaker Dr. Alison Roy, a licensed clinical psychologist and trauma expert. The People’s Choice Award went to Emily W., Emily A., Lindsey K. and Lana. G for a submission titled Short Film, which discussed mental health illnesses; audio from the video includes, “If you suffer from any of these conditions, you are not alone. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a trusted loved one or a professional,” the release said.

Score: +1

Comment: This year’s submissions will be on display June 4 through July 16 at the Jaffrey Civic Center in Jaffrey and at other events around the state. On May 15, NH CSoC will be the featured nonprofit at the Fisher Cats game in Manchester.

QOL score: 79

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 80

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

Statewide historical quest

Hit the road for a journey that could take you to more than 270 of New Hampshire’s historically significant places. The state Division of Historical Resources announced in a press release that it has created a new Historical Highway Marker Quest to entice travelers to visit the state’s historic markers. If you visit at least 10 markers you can fill out a form online at nh.gov/nhdr to get a sticker that says “I love N.H. Historical Highway Markers.” Anyone who visits any marker is encouraged to post pictures of their stops on social media using the hashtag “#NHHistoricalMarkers.” According to the release, the online N.H. Historical Highway Markers map has been upgraded to make it easier for people to find the places where they want to stop, and it includes a picture and location description of each marker. Highway markers include meeting houses, stone arch bridges, lost villages and cemeteries, as well as spots related to poets, painters, athletes and more.

Score: +1

Comment: Sounds like some fun summer road trips to QOL!

Baby falcons on board!

As of May 3, all five peregrine falcon eggs in the nest that is monitored by NH Audubon’s live falcon cam appear to have hatched. According to the falcons’ YouTube page, the first three hatched on the same day, on April 28, and the fourth hatched May 1. To see the nest, which is at 750 Elm St., you can find a link at nhaudubon.org or search for “peregrine networks” on YouTube.

Score: +1

Comment: In the coming weeks, the young falcons will learn from their parents how to hunt before they start to migrate out of the area, according to the YouTube page.

Basketball for animals

Salem High School student Noah Mustapha and his friends love a good game of pickup basketball, and he loved his experience volunteering at the Salem Animal Rescue League — so it made sense, he thought, to create a “3v3” tournament fundraiser, with proceeds going to the Rescue League. According to a press release, Mustapha and fellow students Jack Dailey and Dom Buccheri set up the basketball tournament in the high school gym and got 16 teams to join, with more than 100 fans coming to watch. The event raised almost $700 to benefit the animals.

Score: +1

Comment: “I decided to choose SARL because during the football season my team and I went to help move things around and set up the cages outside and thought it would be awesome if we could help out more,” Mustapha said in the release.

National scholars

Out of more than 5,000 candidates nationwide, six New Hampshire seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. According to a press release, the semifinalists are Abhinav S. Govindaraju of Bedford High School, Ke Nicole Hu of St. Paul’s School, Akhil S. Kammila of Nashua High School South, Lilia R. Potter-Schwartz of Portsmouth High School, Annabella Wu of Londonderry High School and Vincent H. Xiao of Phillips Exeter Academy. “These high school seniors are among a group of highly distinguished and academically-centered students who have been chosen because of their achievements both inside and outside of the classroom,” Frank Edelblut, commissioner of education, said in the release.

Score: +1

Comment: New Hampshire’s semifinalists join a group of 620 semifinalists from throughout the nation who are being recognized for their outstanding achievements in academics, the arts, leadership, school and community involvement and career and technical fields, the release said.

QOL score: 75

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 79

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