Category: Quality Of Life

It’s pothole season

In a March 7 online article, WMUR cited Brian Desfosses, the director of public works for Bedford, explaining how potholes happen: “warm temperatures melt snow, leading to water seeping into cracks in the pavement. When the temperatures get colder, that water freezes and expands, weakening the roadway,” the article said. “As the freeze-thaw cycle continues, it could create more potholes this season,” the article said. “The best advice to avoid damage to a vehicle is to slow down and watch the road.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: Consumer Reports says, “Don’t assume a small-looking pothole doesn’t pose a threat: Deep potholes can fill up with water, concealing their true depth.” Search online for “consumer reports pothole survival guide.”

But it’s also (nearly) baseball season!

In a March 3 press release the New Hampshire Fisher Cats announced a new addition to this year’s home games at Delta Dental Stadium. The “Hot Dog Happy Hour” will include “discounted food and beverage deals, live music and acts by local artists [which] will generate a new pregame buzz to the ballpark. Pregame festivities will take place at the plaza near the main entrance of Delta Dental Stadium, next to the Samuel Adams Brewhouse.” Gates open 90 minutes before the first pitch, with Hot Dog Happy Hour scheduled for the first hour of that time.

QOL score: +1

Comment: The Fisher Cats will open their season at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, with a home game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. There will be a post-game fireworks display.

More proof that social media is the worst

As reported by Boston 25 news in a March 8 online article, “Residents of a Manchester, N.H., three-family woke up early Saturday morning to a loud kick on the front door in a prank made popular by the social media trend, the ‘Door Kick Challenge.’” Home security video showed a person “sneaking up to the door of the Derry Street building, peering through the window and violently kicking the door before running away,” the Boston 25 report read.

QOL score: -1

Comment: The website Police1.com describes the “door kick challenge”: “Participants — typically teenagers — kick or aggressively bang on random residential doors, often at night, then run away. Though reminiscent of the traditional ‘ding-dong ditch’ prank, this challenge has escalated to significant property damage and real safety concerns.”

QOL score: 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.

Dog for Hopkinton

Town elections are coming up and in Hopkinton all the town and school office races are uncontested except one. On March 10 town residents between 0 and 17 years old will be invited to vote for Dog of the Year, for which there will be five candidates, according to a story published on the NHPR website on Feb. 25. Voters will receive “I Voted” stickers designed in recent years by the town’s schoolchildren. The article noted that only one dog per household may run for the office, and candidates must be registered and have up-to-date rabies vaccination records.

QOL score: +1 for civic participation

Comments: The idea came from the new town clerk, the article said; she thought it might help remind people to register their dogs by the April 30 deadline.

A plan for plants

On Feb. 26 Merrimack’s Town Council voted unanimously for a new plan to manage invasive plants. The plan was developed by a committee formed last summer. Merrimack Outdoors, the website for the Town’s Conservation Commission, says, “The term ‘invasive’ is often misused to refer to any aggressive weedy plant. The term actually refers only to plants which are BOTH non-native to the region, AND cause environmental or economic harm, or pose a health risk to humans.” Merrimack’s invasive plant species include Japanese knotweed, kudzu, burning bush, and autumn olive.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Merrimack’s forests, wetlands, and river corridors are vital natural assets that connect the community to its ecological heritage and future,” the plan says. In a phone interview with the Hippo, the Town Manager’s Office said the plan will be available on the town website soon.

Not a lot of zombie homes

According to a Feb. 26 story published on the New Hampshire Public Radio website, New Hampshire “has the lowest ‘zombie’ vacancy rate in the nation.” A “zombie vacancy,” the story said, “is one in which the homeowner abandons the property before a foreclosure is finalized.” New Hampshire also ranked 41st in the nation in foreclosure rate, the story said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “The Granite State also had the lowest overall home vacancy rate in the country, 0.03%, and the lowest vacancy rate for institutional investor-owned properties, 0.08%,” the article said.

QOL score last week: 51

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 54

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Gold, silver, bronze, granite

In Olympic news, as reported by WMUR in a Feb. 19 online article, “Salem’s Caroline Harvey has been named the MVP of the women’s hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Milan.” Team USA got the gold medal with a 2-1 win over Canada in overtime. “In the tournament, Harvey was tied for the lead in points with nine and led all players in +/- at +14 and assists with seven.” A post from the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development at visitnh.gov/blog/winter-olympics-from-the-granite-state lists past and current Olympic athletes from New Hampshire and notes that Dartmouth College “has sent more athletes to compete in the winter Olympics than any other Ivy League institution.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: A Feb. 20 Instagram post by UNH (@uofnh) noted that “In 1994, UNH launched one of only three sled hockey teams in the entire country. Today, it’s an international force sending four athletes to the 2026 Paralympics.” Those games begin March 6. See nepassage.org/sled-hockey.

Don’t hit Happy Plowmore!

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation has announced the winners of its Second Annual “Name a Plow” Contest. According to the NHDOT website, “After a statewide call for submissions and more than 600 name suggestions with over 1,800 community votes, our judges tallied the results, and the winning names were chosen.” This winter’s winning names are Wicked Plowah, Plowabunga, The Blizzard Lizard, Winniplowsaukee, Sled Zeppelin, Happy Plowmore, and Skarupa Snow Scoopah, named for WMUR meteorologist Kevin Skarupa. “These plow names reflect the humor and spirit of New Hampshire and will be proudly displayed on our snow removal fleet throughout the winter,” the NHDOT website post said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Stay safe this season and remember to give snowplows plenty of room to work!” the NHDOT posted, with the hashtag #DontCrowdThePlow.

Property taxes not the highest

A Feb. 17 announcement by finance website WalletHub revealed that New Hampshire residents do not, in fact, pay the highest rates of property taxes in the country. “The average U.S. household pays $3,119 per year in property taxes on their home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau,” the announcement read. According to a ranking by the website, New Hampshire residents have the fourth highest property tax rate. According to the report, with a tax rate of 1.66 percent, the owner of a home assessed at $402,500 (the state average) owes $6,667 per year. The good news in a misery-loves-company sort of way, is that there are three states where residents pay even more.

QOL score: -1, because 4th is still pretty high

Comment: WalletHub ranked New Jersey’s tax rate the highest at 2.11 percent (an average of $6,667) and Hawaii’s the lowest at 2.7 percent (a yearly average of $2,239). Visit wallethub.com/edu.

Last week’s QOL score: 50

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 51

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Challenge accepted!

The Wildcats of Fall Mountain Regional High School faced the Purple Panthers of Nashua South last Thursday night, Feb. 12, kicking off the 44th season of the quiz show Granite State Challenge on New Hampshire PBS, in which 16 New Hampshire high school teams compete to answer questions across a range of topics, from math to ancient history. A new half-hour episode airs each week until the championship on May 21. Visit nhpbs.org/gsc to view episodes, take online quizzes, and see tournament rules and the season’s full schedule. The matchup airing Thursday, Feb. 19, at 8:30 p.m. will feature Bedford vs. Souhegan.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the GSC website, Merrimack High School took the 2025 title and holds the record for championship titles with five.

Nurses needed

As reported in the Feb. 13 issue of the New Hampshire Business Review, New Hampshire is deep into a nursing shortage. The article references “a New Hampshire Department of Employment Security estimate that, through 2026, there will be more than 900 annual openings for registered nurses and nearly 1,200 openings for nursing assistants…. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects that, by 2030, for a projected supply of 2,280 licensed practical nurses in New Hampshire, 3,640 will still be needed.”

QOL score: -2

Comment: NHBR cited a statement by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing that credited “rising stress levels, compounded by the pandemic, increased job dissatisfaction and burnout” for New Hampshire’s nursing shortage.

Hurry! Hard!

As reported by WMUR in a Feb. 15 online article, this year’s Winter Olympics has spurred a new interest in New Hampshire for the sport of curling. “…[L]ocal clubs in New Hampshire are seeing a surge in interest. Known for its precision and patience, the sport is drawing more curiosity than ever, with many people eager to try it themselves.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: Just after the Olympics, the USA National Championships will be held in North Carolina; see usacurling.org/watch-curling for links to the USA Curling YouTube channel and more information. Looking for local curling? See mvcurling.com for the Merrimack Vallley Curling Club based in Nashua.

QOL score: 50

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 50

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Recycling less

As reported in a Feb. 3 online article by the New Hampshire Bulletin, data from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services suggests that New Hampshire residents recycle less than had been previously thought. The calculations that Environmental Services had previously used to estimate how much material from transfer stations is recycled had to be adjusted to avoid double-counting. The most recently published data indicates that “about 16.7% of the material that municipal transfer stations reported handling in 2024 was ultimately diverted for recycling, according to the recalculated percentages,” the New Hampshire Bulletin story read. The story also said, “Since 2020, the proportion of municipal waste sent for recycling has dropped by about four percentage points, according to the department.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: To read the most recent statewide recycling data, search online for “2023-2024 NH Biennial Solid Waste Report.”

Measles vaccination rate is spotty

As reported by NHPR in a Feb. 2 online article, a recent study suggested that because of New Hampshire’s relatively low vaccination rate, it is at a higher risk of a future measles outbreak. “New England is faring better than the rest of the country when it comes to measles vaccinations,” the article read, “but a new study from Boston Children’s Hospital’s finds that New Hampshire’s vaccination rate is a little lower than the rest of the region.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The NHPR story reported that: “According to the study, Merrimack County shows a vaccination rate of 65% for children 5 and under, where Hillsborough County is 74%.” Search online for, “Parental Factors Associated With Measles” to read the study.

Plows getting plowed into

On Feb. 7, according to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation in an early afternoon post on its Facebook page, “Today alone, four NHDOT plows have been hit while crews were working to keep roads safe. Our crews are out there for you, help us keep them safe.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: NHDOT warned, “If you’re out driving, please slow down for weather conditions, move over for stopped vehicles on the side of the road, give plow crews plenty of space, and leave extra distance between vehicles.” To view real-time traffic conditions, see NewEngland511.org.

QOL score last week: 53

Net change: -3

QOL this week: 50

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Frozen pipes

As reported by WMUR in a Jan. 27 online article, the recent cold weather has led to frozen pipes throughout New Hampshire. “As frigid weather continues in New Hampshire,” the article read, “plumbers say they’re keeping busy fixing frozen pipes.” WMUR quoted Steve Labbe, a plumber who has responded to dozens of frozen pipe calls over the past week or two.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the WMUR story, Labbe said: “It mostly happens to people that go away for vacation for a week, and they don’t know when they have no heat,” he said. “And then the house freezes up. We’ve seen that. And that’s thousands and thousands of dollars to fix.”

Can she declare a recess?

The Honorable Liv Crete-Sayer of Boscawen has been sworn in. As reported on nh.kidgovernor.org, the official website of the New Hampshire Kid Governor organization, [Kid] Governor Crete-Sayer and her Kid Executive Council “were inaugurated in a ceremony on Tuesday, January 27th in the NH House Chambers. Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald administered the oath of office and Governor Kelly Ayotte and other New Hampshire dignitaries presided.” Crete-Sayer’s “platform is to educate NH kids on the dangers of smoking, vaping, and drugs,” a post on the website read.

QOL score: +1

Comment: As explained on its website, “New Hampshire’s Kid Governor is a national award-winning civics program led by NH Civics in partnership with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics”.

More hungry families

As reported by NH Hunger Solutions (nhhungersolutions.org) on its website, with the future of the State’s SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) uncertain, 76,000 New Hampshire residents are at risk of going hungry. “The cost of operating SNAP in New Hampshire has increased,” the report said. “Historically, the state and federal government split administrative costs 50/50. Now, the state is required to cover 75% of the costs — an estimated $5.75 million increase to the state’s budget to run the program…. SNAP is our first line of defense against hunger in our state”

QOL score: -1

Comment: In a Jan. 23 blog post, the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (nhfpi.org) wrote, “Food insecurity in New Hampshire, while still lower than the national average, has been rising since the Covid-19 pandemic-era low.”

QOL score: 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.