Category: Quality Of Life

Not returning

In a Feb. 26 online article, WMUR reported that Spirit Airlines will not be returning to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport a year after announcing they would suspend service from the airport. For three years, beginning in 2021, Spirit offered flights from Manchester to four cities in Florida.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the airport’s website (flymanchester.com), Manchester is currently served by Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, JetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country, American Airlines and United.

Visitors we’re happy not to see

According to a Feb. 22 report by New Hampshire Public Radio, while invasive browntail moths were technically seen in New Hampshire last summer for the first time in 75 years, they had been blown to an isolated New Hampshire island from Maine, but it is unlikely that they will spread to the mainland. Once described as “poison ivy with wings,” the browntail’s caterpillars are armed with tiny barbed hairs that can sting and irritate people, even after detaching from the caterpillars. NHPR quoted Angela Mech, a forest entomologist with the University of Maine:“It is one of the absolute worst insects to have to work with…” The good news is that Maine experienced a massive die-off of the species in 2024.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the NHPR story, insect scientists 100 years ago identified a fungus that infects this species and spread sick caterpillars across Maine. The population has not recovered significantly since.

We’re wicked smaht

According to a recent study by online finance company WalletHub.com, New Hampshire is the 8th most highly educated state in the country. The state has the fourth highest percentage of high school graduates, the eighth highest percentage of residents holding bachelor’s degrees, the ninth greatest percentage of graduate degrees, and arguably the smallest gender gap in educational attainment, the press release said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the study, Massachusetts is the most highly educated state and West Virginia is the lowest. Visit wallethub.com/latest-studies.

QOL score last week: 56

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 57

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

A really big wedding

Intown Concord will pay for the wedding of one couple who agree to get married in public at Concord’s Market Days Celebration on Friday, June 27. “Intown Concord will handle everything,” the organization announced on an online registration from, “from the ceremony to the reception — so all you have to do is show up wedding ready!” The couple selected for the public wedding will receive a ceremony with licensed officiant, a live band for dancing, a free meal and drink provided by Market Days vendors (for the couple only), ceremony seating for 20 close friends/family in front of the New Hampshire Statehouse, an ice cream cake provided by Social Club Creamery, and an overnight stay in Concord. the website said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Adventurous couples should register at marketdaysfestival.com by Friday, March 21.

Action Jack

Manchester chicken tenders booster and musician (and more) Nick Lavallee has, via his business Wicked Joyful (wickedjoyful.com),made multiple action figure works of art over the years, such as a Vermin Supreme complete with head boot and a Chicken Tender Capital of the World “Tendie” action figure. Recently he made a custom action figure of musician Jack White, which was presented to White by a show promoter after two sold-out shows in Boston, according to several social media posts by Jack White and Lavallee. “I love the orange toys r us price tag with the date of the shows encoded in it!” White said in a Feb. 20 Instagram post.

QOL score: +1 for some fame for a local artist

Comments: Lavallee crafted an action figure honoring the retiring Fritz Wetherbee, complete with “$6.03” fake price tag and “I’ll tell you the story” tagline; see the figure in a Feb. 8 post on the Wicked Joyful Facebook page.

Also a great band name

In a Feb.19 press release, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats announced the creation of a team alternate identity: theNew Hampshire Space Potatoes. “With rooted history beyond baseball in New Hampshire,” the press release read, “the Space Potatoes [will] take the field for three nights in 2025, beginning Saturday, April 19, at Delta Dental Stadium.” According to the Fisher Cats general manager Taylor Fisher, this alternate identity baseball team honors “two notable New Hampshire firsts into one brand,” New Hampshire’s official state vegetable, “first [planted in] American soil in Derry, New Hampshire, by early 18th century Scots Irish settlers” and “the infamous Barney & Betty Hill incident that occurred on Route 3 in New Hampshire’s White Mountains late in the summer of 1961, remarked as the first widely reported alien abduction in the United States.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The New Hampshire Space Potatoes will take the field against the Harrisburg Senators on April 19 at 4:05 p.m. Space Potatoes tickets and merchandise are available at milb.com/new-hampshire/team/space-potatoes.

QOL score last week: 53

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 56

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Headed for the Big Show

Venomous snake on Aisle Four

As reported by WMUR in a Feb.16 online article, an employee at the Manchester Market Basket received a surprise on Friday, Feb.14, while unloading a box of bananas: a venomous snake. According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, the snake was a 2-foot-long Ornate Cat-eye, a mildly venomous snake species native to Central America. “The snake was not harmed and given to Rainforest Reptiles Shows,” the WMUR article reported, and went on to quote Mack Ralbovsky, Vice President of Rainforest Reptiles. “We get something like this maybe three or four times a year,” Ralbovsky said. “A lot of the invasive species we see come from situations like this where an animal might be shipped in produce.”

QOL score: -1 because SURPRISE!

Comment: According to Ralbovsky, while technically venomous, this species feeds mostly on lizards and amphibians, and poses little danger to humans.

NH Super Bowl bets

According to a Feb. 14 press release from the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Hampshire football enthusiasts wagered more than $7.5 million on last week’s Super Bowl game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. “Of those who wagered on the outright winner, 89% of them were correct in their bet on the Eagles,” the Lottery Commission wrote, then went on to quote Charlie McIntyre, New Hampshire Lottery’s Executive Director. “Between the standard touchdown, yardage, or MVP and the Swiftie Special betting options, the Super Bowl certainly lived up to its reputation as New Hampshire’s largest sports betting event of the year.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Since the New Hampshire Lottery and DraftKings launched mobile sports betting in New Hampshire on December 30, 2019, bettors have wagered more than $3.5 billion,” the press release reported.

Joann Fabric holding on by a thread

In a Feb. 12 online article, WMUR reported that troubled fabric and craft chain Joann Fabric has announced it will close more than half of its 800 stores, including seven of eight stores in New Hampshire. “According to court filings, the Hooksett location is the only one of the state’s eight stores expected to stay open,” the story read.

QOL score: -1

Comment: “Joann has filed for bankruptcy twice in the past year and is looking for a buyer,” WMUR reported.

Do not disturb until August

In a Feb. 15 online article, New Hampshire Public Radio reported that “New Hampshire farmers can now apply for funding in exchange for leaving their hayfields alone in the early summer.” The conservation group the Bobolink Project hopes to preserve a strong breeding environment for bobolinks, small migratory birds that nest in New England in the spring. As reported by NHPR, the group will “compensate farmers for the income they might lose by not haying in early summer, paying them to keep their fields as habitat for the birds. Keeping that habitat also helps other birds, like meadowlarks and grasshopper sparrows.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Farmers can apply to be part of the project at bobolinkproject.com/farmers.php. Applications are due by March 31.

QOL score: 53

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 53

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Headed for the Big Show

Brigid the Terrier has been tapped to compete at the most prestigious dog show in America. As reported in a Feb. 6 online article by Manchester Ink Link, Brigid, whose formal name is Kilkenny’s Smiling Face, was scheduled to compete at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden on Feb.11. The Manchester Glen of Imaal Terrier was judged on how well she conforms to breed standards, racing a 100-yard dash, and performing tricks to accumulate points toward winning the competition for Best in Breed, and — hopefully — Best in Show.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Brigid has been competing since she was 6 months old, and carries the distinction CGCA, which stands for the title of Good Ganine Citizen, Advanced, the article said.

You could be at home taking a nap

In a recent study of how workers use their available Personal Time Off, New Hampshire workers were rated eighth in the nation for not using all the time off they were entitled to last year. In a survey by internet gaming company Solitaried.com, New Hampshire workers left an average of 4.18 days unused in 2024, and 55 percent of them didn’t use all their personal time off.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Workers in Maryland, Massachusetts and Hawaii had the most unused vacation time in 2024, while Kansas, Missouri and Michigan workers had the least. See the complete survey results at solitaired.com/where-americans-left-the-most-pto-unused.

Too much lead

As reported by WMUR in a Feb. 4 online article, “A new report shows that the number of children in New Hampshire with elevated levels of lead in their blood is creeping up to the highest point since 2019.” The study examined lead exposure in children 5 years of age and under. It found more than 1,100 young children with lead levels high enough to meet the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standards to recommend quick action to find and remove the source of any lead in the children’s environment.

QOL score: -2

Comment: According to the WMUR article, “Health experts said the numbers are higher because more children are being tested…. Nationwide, the biggest source of lead exposure is old paint. Health officials said New Hampshire homes are at an especially high risk because more than half the homes statewide were built before 1980, around the same time lead paint was banned in the United States.”

The end of an era

WMUR reported on Feb. 4 that the Portsmouth Police Department has retired its last Crown Victoria. For decades, the “Crown Vic” was the car of choice for police departments across North America, until production was slashed, beginning in 2006. Portsmouth’s last Crown Vic has been donated to the “Crown Victoria Museum, a nonprofit organization near San Francisco that showcases police cars from across the country,” according to WMUR.

QOL score: +1, for contributing to history

Comment: According to the WMUR story, “Portsmouth’s Cruiser 18 will be displayed with its original markings and emergency equipment.”

QOL score last week: 54

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 53

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Return of the Hero Pups

As reported in a Feb. 2 online article by WMUR, the Merrimack County Department of Corrections has relaunched its Hero Pup program. “Selected inmates will work with the nonprofit,” the article read, “to train and care for puppies that will become support dogs for veterans and first responders.” The program began six years ago but was paused due to the pandemic. The first group of this round of inmates began working with the puppies earlier this week, the story said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: Commenting on the inmate training program, the Hero Pups website (heropups.com) reads, “This will help the pups on their path to service work, but it will also help the inmate participants learn new skills to give them more tools for success.”

A historic church passes into history

On Jan. 26, Manchester Ink Link reported that one of the city’s churches will shutter its doors after 140 years. The Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church has voted to close in May. The article quoted a statement by Gethsemane’s Church Council: “[The Church] has existed at its location on Sagamore Street in Manchester since the 1880s, when a group of Swedish immigrant workers from the Amoskeag Mills constructed its church on land donated by the Amoskeag Company. Services were held in Swedish until the early 1950s ….”

QOL score: -1

Comments: According to the Ink Link article the church is for sale and listed at $1.2 million.

Doom spending

A recent survey by BTCpostage (btcpostage.com) had good news and bad news about spending money in times of increased stress in New Hampshire. On the one hand, New Hampshire ranks 31st in the nation in stress-spending. On the other hand, 80 percent of New Hampshire respondents reported “doom spending.” As reported by BTCpostage, “48 percent say politics drive them to doom spend (2nd highest in the U.S.), 26 percent say climate change drives them to doom spend (7th highest in the U.S.), and 37 percent say the fear of not being able to retire drives them to doom spend (9th highest in the U.S.)”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The report indicates that nationwide the largest increases in spending are in the areas of food, entertainment and clothing. Visit btcpostage.com/blog/doom-spenders.

UNH helps NASA stare really hard into deep space

New Hampshire Public Radio reported on Feb. 3 that an instrument developed at the University of New Hampshire has been installed in a spacecraft that is getting ready to launch. The device, called IMAP-Lo, will be part of a mission to study the space between solar systems. The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, or IMAP, mission is scheduled to launch later this year. “[UNH’s instrument] was built to collect and analyze invisible particles — neutral atoms — that make up the interstellar medium,” NHPR reported

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Measuring galactic material will help scientists understand more about the age of the universe and the evolution of the galaxy,” NHPR wrote. “It could also help reveal where, exactly, we are in the universe.”

QOL score last week: 54

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 54

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

One way to wake up on a Monday morning

According to the United States Geological Survey (usgs.gov), there was a 3.8 magnitude (wmr) earthquake at 10:22 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, off the coast of Kittery, Maine. It was felt throughout southern Maine and eastern New Hampshire and as far away as the Canadian border.

QOL score: +1, for the novelty

Comment: According to the USGS, an earthquake of this magnitude is generally “felt quite noticeably by persons indoors, especially on upper floors of buildings. Many people do not recognize it as an earthquake. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Vibration similar to the passing of a truck.” Visit earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map.

Missing

As reported by WMUR in a Jan. 26 online article, a half-ton historical marker has disappeared in Henniker. A granite slab and plaque dedicated to the historic Ocean Born Mary House disappeared sometime within the past few months. WMUR quoted Sue Fitzer, a Henniker Historical Society board member. “Where is the marker and who took it and why and where is it? Because we’d really like it back,” she said. The stone slab is over 6 feet tall and weighs approximately 1,000 pounds, the story said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: WMUR reported that replacing the marker would cost approximately $2,000. There is a $500 reward for information leading to the marker’s return; ontact the Henniker Police Department.

Flu season

According to a Jan. 26 online story by WMUR, New Hampshire has one of the highest rates of respiratory illness risk in the United States. WMUR reported that “the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says it’s recorded 11 adult deaths so far this flu season.” At this time, health officials are especially concerned with flu cases. The article quoted Dr. Lukas Kolm, Medical Staff president and director of emergency services at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. “Even though we’ve had an uptick in Covid cases, I haven’t seen the same severity and symptoms as for the flu,” Kolm said.

QOL score: -2

Comment: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists New Hampshire as one of three states with high respiratory illness risk per its latest data,” WMUR reported, “alongside New Jersey and Wisconsin. The latest numbers show Covid-19 and RSV viruses are also having their own smaller bumps at the same time as the flu.”

Tracking down yetis

The Southern New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Haverhill Bank, wants you to take selfies with yetis. According to a post on the Chamber’s Facebook page, from Feb. 17 until March 9 people who take pictures of themselves with yetis at participating business throughout the area and post them online will be entered into a raffle to win prizes, including a cruise vacation for two. Cindi Woodbury, executive director of the Southern New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, told Patch.com, “The Great Yeti Quest isn’t just about finding Yetis — it’s about discovering new ways to support local businesses.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: For a complete list of participating businesses and full contest details, visit linktr.ee/SouthernNHChamber.

QOL score: 55

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 54

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.