Category: Quality Of Life

More people are making New Hampshire home

Based on a 13-percent net gain of new residents, New Hampshire was the sixth most moved-into state last year, a recent HireAHelper migration report found. According to a press release, the report analyzed 75,000 moves across the country and found each state’s net growth, which takes the number of new residents moving in and divides it by the number of individuals moving out. Topping the list was Idaho, with a net growth of 103 percent, followed by our neighbors, Vermont, which had 62 percent new growth, and Maine, which saw its net population grow by 48 percent.

Score: +1

Comment: According to the release, results of a HireAHelper survey showed that about 25 percent of the moves in the last year were related to Covid-19.

And they’re choosing the Granite State because…

New Hampshire has been ranked the fourth best state to live in, according to the recently released 2021 rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The publication analyzed data in each state from government and private sources, as well as a survey of nearly 70,000 U.S. residents, measuring things like health care, education, economy, crime and more, according to the report. New Hampshire ranked No. 1 for being low crime, No. 2 in natural environment and No. 3 in opportunity, which considers the opportunities that a state offers its residents in terms of economy, housing and equality.

Score: +1

Comment: Washington, Minnesota and Utah were ranked as the Top 3 states to live in, while in New England, Massachusetts ranked ninth, Vermont ranked 11th, Connecticut came in at No. 20, Maine was 27th and Rhode Island was 34th.

Seriously?

The residents of the nonprofit Evergreen Place Supported Assisted Living in Manchester had been looking forward to taking a scenic ride on the facility’s 15-passenger wheelchair bus, which hadn’t been used at all in the past year as residents quarantined. But according to a message on Hippo’s website from Evergreen Place President and CEO Linette D. Handschumaker, on Saturday, when the facilities manager started the bus, it was louder than it should have been, and he thought there might be rust in the exhaust. “He then shimmied under the bus only to discover that someone had CUT OUT the catalytic converter!!!” Handschumaker wrote. After a year of waiting for that scenic ride, the residents now have to keep waiting.

Score: -2

Comment: As Handschumaker wrote to the Hippo, “Just when you think you’ve seen it all….”

A week of hope and appreciation

Throughout this entire week, Catholic Medical Center will honor its workforce with “Hope Week 2021.” It was on March 14 last year that the Manchester hospital suspended its visitor policy, canceled classes and closed its Wellness Center, followed two days later by the cancellation of elective procedures, according to a press release. One year later, Hope Week kicked off Monday with the installation of more than 700 mirrored butterflies on the hospital sky bridge. The butterflies represent the Covid-19 patients who were cared for by CMC in the last year, including the 87 who were lost, the release said. Hope Week will also feature multiple drawings for gifts donated by CMC management and area companies like Millennium Running and Luxe Salon and Spa, and a donor recognition wall is now on display, thanking the hundreds of people and organizations that have supported CMC through the last year.

Score: +1

Comment: The press release said that the public is invited to send messages of appreciation and download a custom Hope Week profile frame on CMC’s social media, which includes Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

QOL score: 62

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 63

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

Work and learn

Anyone interested in joining the health care field now has the chance to work while earning a nursing license or degree — at no cost to them. Catholic Charities NH has created a program called Pathways that encourages full-time and part-time employees to develop their careers, according to a press release. Entry-level candidates can get full financial assistance to pursue an LNA Certificate program; upon its completion they will be placed into a full-time or part-time LNA role. Those who are already LNAs can get a full-tuition scholarship to attend a full-time Licensed Practical Nurse degree program at Harmony Health Care Institute in Merrimack. And there are select scholarship opportunities for LPNs to earn their Registered Nurse degrees as well. Catholic Charities NH has seven skilled nursing facilities, including three in Manchester. Visit cc-nh.org/pathways.

Score: +1

Comment: In a time where having a strong health care workforce is more essential than ever, and with post-secondary education being cost-prohibitive to many, Pathways seems like a great opportunity for anyone interested in joining the nursing profession.

A chance to volunteer

New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility will host a Virtual Volunteer Fair on Thursday, March 18, to show what some of the state’s biggest nonprofits are doing for our communities, and how volunteers can have a major impact. According to a press release, the fair will highlight all kinds of opportunities for businesses and people to get involved. Register at nhbsr.org/volunteer-fair to attend the virtual event.

Score: +1

Comment: One of the nonprofits that will be at the event is CASA of NH, which pairs kids in the court systems with individuals in the community who have volunteered to advocate on a child’s behalf, according to the press release, and volunteers don’t need any particular skills other than a desire to help kids.

U.K. Covid is here

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has resumed its contact tracing investigations and in doing so has confirmed six cases of the United Kingdom variant of Covid-19 in the state in people who did not travel internationally, according to a March 8 report from WMUR. “Many of these variants do not result in increased illness or risk of hospitalization or death,” Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, said in the report. “They do appear to be more transmissible and can spread more easily, so that is certainly concerning.”

Score: -1

Comment: Great, an even more transmissible version of Covid — here’s hoping that vaccinations and safety measures will make this a non-issue.

Working toward diversity in health care

Network4Health, a collaboration of more than 40 area health care providers established in 2016 to improve behavioral health services in the greater Manchester, Salem, and Derry areas, is working to increase diversity, equity and inclusion, according to a press release. James McKim — managing partner of Organizational Ignition, current president of the Manchester NAACP, and a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion — will work with N4H members on things like improving hiring practices to promote diverse, recovery-friendly workplaces; making staff feel welcome and respected; and creating equitable policies throughout an organization, the release said.

Score: +1

Comment: “We want this effort to help our partners build and leverage a diverse and inclusive workforce that mirrors the communities they serve,” Peter Janelle, executive director of Network4Health, said in the release.

QOL score: 60

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 62

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

NH is 2021’s 8th most educated state

The Granite State is smart! A recent study from personal-finance website WalletHub looked at data from all 50 states, comparing factors like educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races. According to the study, New Hampshire ranked fourth for percentage of people with high school diplomas, eighth for percentage of people who hold bachelor’s degrees, ninth for both percentage of associate’s degree holders and graduate or professional degree holders, and 16th for average university quality.

Score: +1

Comment: Some of our closest neighbors beat us in the rankings, according to the study, with Massachusetts taking the No. 1 spot and Connecticut and Vermont coming in third and fourth, respectively.

Exploring gender justice in NH

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation recently announced the launch of the Gender Justice Cafe, a series of conversations about topics that impact equity for women and girls in the state. According to a press release, the Gender Justice Cafe will begin on International Women’s Day, March 8, at 10 a.m., with a 90-minute Zoom panel that explores gender justice internationally and features New Hampshire leaders and organizations that are working to elevate the voices of women and girls on a global level. Future conversations include gender and the climate crisis, racial equity and intersectionality, and transgender justice.

Score: +1

Comment: These programs are free, and anyone interested can register at nhwomensfoundation.org/GJC.

Exploring slavery in NH

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire has released a 45-minute video called “I was a slave, even here in New Hampshire”: The Concord Black Heritage Tour, which features notable African Americans from throughout Concord’s history. According to a press release, it includes stories of enslavement, emancipation, the underground railroad, abolitionism and visits from Frederick Douglass, as well as more recent stories, like that of renowned African American illustrator Mel Bolden. The video can be accessed at youtu.be/WhNu6mWn4xI.

Score: +1

Comment: “By reintroducing these stories of New Hampshire’s early Black citizens, we create a space for dialogues around race, diversity and inclusion,” Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire Director JerriAnne Boggis said in the release. “These corrective narratives make it possible to decrease barriers of misunderstanding and decrease people’s racial anxiety.”

Concord launches citizen reporting app

The City of Concord has announced a new citizen reporting platform and mobile app that will allow the Concord community to report non-emergency quality-of-life concerns and service requests. According to a press release, community members can use the web portal on the City website or download the free MyConcordNH app to submit a request or report to the City, including things like potholes, missed trash collection, snow plowing, downtown maintenance, trees, water, sewer and more. Users can also get email updatesabout theirrequests, which are automatically directed to appropriate city staff.

Score: +1

Comment:The MyConcordNH mobile app is available for download on Android and iPhone and includes links to city services and information, and push notifications can be enabled for things like winter parking bans or delayed trash collection.

QOL score: 56

Net change: +4

QOL this week: 60

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

Bedford boy appears on Ellen

“This is awesome! I never thought I would hear my voice and now it’s on this show!” That was 9-year-old Elliot Perry’s response to Ellen DeGeneres when she asked how he was doing during his appearance on her show on Feb. 18. The Bedford resident appeared as a CHaD ambassador; after he was born several months premature, doctors said he would never walk or talk. He spent 121 days at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s intensive care nursery, and now he’s on a mission to raise $121,000 to build two playgrounds for CHaD in 2021, one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and one at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Manchester, according to a press release. During the segment, Ellen presented Elliot and his parents, BJ and Carrie Perry, with a $20,000 contribution from Shutterfly.

Score: +1

Comment: This is one cute kid doing a whole lot of good. The Perrys have also joined forces with Team Police forward Kyle Daly of the Manchester Police Department to raise more than $100,000 in five years through CHaD’s Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship, according to the press release. You can see Elliot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show at ellentube.com.

Fisher Cats plan their comeback

After missing the entire season last year, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats have announced a 120-game season that kicks off May 4. According to a press release, the Toronto Blue Jays Double-A affiliate will play its first home game at Delta Dental Stadium on May 11 against a new division team, the Somerset Patriots (the New York Yankees Double-A affiliate). Other highlights of the season include 18 home games against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) and 17 post-game fireworks shows throughout the season.

Score: +1

Comment: Single-game tickets for the month of May will go on sale March 15, according to the release, and single-game tickets for the rest of the season will be available in the coming months “as stadium capacity regulations continue to evolve.”

The final reel?

New Hampshire movie lovers will have fewer places to go for buttery popcorn and cinematic goodness (or cinematic badness, which can be just as fun). According to reports this week in multiple media outlets, Zyacorp Entertainment, parent company of Cinemagic theaters, announced on Feb. 22 that it is closing all eight of its New England theaters (including the three New Hampshire locations in Merrimack, Hooksett and Portsmouth). “After 20 years’ operating movie theaters … and with a heavy heart, Zyacorp Entertainment has closed its Cinemagic Movie Theaters with no plans to reopen,” according to a statement from the company as reported by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in a post on Feb. 23. (QOL attempted to contact Zyacorp by phone and email Tuesday morning but couldn’t reach anyone.) The theaters had been on “intermission till spring” since early February, which is what the website still said as of Tuesday. QOL has seen more movies at the Merrimack and Hooksett theaters than QOL can count. Returning to those theaters, loading up on snacks and watching a summer tent pole or a late-year Oscar hopeful was definitely near the top of QOL’s “things to do when This is over” list. Though southern New Hampshire is lucky to have other movie theaters in operation (and more that are still planning to return to operation), this loss of so many screens is a real blow.

QOL score: -3 (one for each of those theaters)

Comments: Sure, QOL enjoys the convenience of having the big movies hit home screens roughly the same time they’re hitting theaters but nothing quite captures the escapism of seeing a story play out on a giant screen or the joy of cheering for an action movie climax with a crowd.

QOL score: 57

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 56

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

Youth protest peacefully with art installation

A group of youth organizers hung posters and banners on the chain link fence outside a Liberty Utilities office on Feb. 13, an act of solidarity with the No Coal No Gas campaign, according to a press release from 350NH, a local climate justice organization. The posters said things like “Time for diNOsaur FOSSIL FUELS to go extinct,” and they also displayed cardboard dinosaurs to illustrate their message that fossil fuels are “antiquated and dangerous,” according to the release. The No Coal Gas campaign seeks to end the use of fossil fuels in New England and transition to 100 percent renewable energy, with the next goal being to secure a shutdown date for the Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, which uses coal.

Score: +1 (because regardless of where you stand on the matter, youth getting involved in causes they believe in — peacefully — is a good thing)

Comment: Jordan King, a senior at Milford High School and member of the 350NH Youth Team, said in the release that he participated in the protest, “Because I’m a young person, my future is on the line and I don’t want to be the next thing to go extinct.”

Gas prices rising

Speaking of fuel, gas prices keep going up, so filling up the tank is quickly getting more depressing. According to GasBuddy, New Hampshire gas prices have risen 2.6 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.42 per gallon as of Feb. 15 — that’s 12.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 3.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago — about a month before the country shut down.

Score: -1

Comment: Lower gas prices was one of the few perks of the pandemic, and QOL is not excited about GasBuddy’s prediction that increased demand will raise the national average another 10 to 50 cents per gallon this spring and summer if oil production doesn’t increase along with the demand.

On the bright side …

One of the other benefits that resulted from the pandemic is that people are pretty used to staying home, so while this week has seen more winter storm weather, the ability to work from home and have kids do school remotely is significantly easier for many people, compared to previous winters. Last year, some schools were trying to figure out how to do remote “blizzard bags” for snow days in order to call it an official school day; now remote learning is the norm.

Score: +1

Comment: QOL is especially happy to be writing this from home, having avoided a stressful morning commute (and now dealing with only minor interruptions from kids who are supposedly in virtual classes but seem to have a lot of free time for snacking and video games).

Cheap-ish car insurance

New Hampshire is the 10th-cheapest state for car insurance in 2021, according to a new study from WalletHub, a personal-finance website. According to the study, full coverage car insurance costs 198 percent more than minimum coverage in New Hampshire, on average; 16-year-olds pay 453 percent more for car insurance than 55-year-olds, on average; and drivers with a DUI pay 125 percent more for car insurance than drivers with a clean record, on average.

Score: 0 (+1 for being in the Top 10, -1 for QOL, who has an almost-16-year-old and a soon-to-be-much-higher car insurance bill)

Comment: WalletHub also listed the Top 5 cheapest car insurance companies in the state: USAA ranked No. 1, followed by Concord Group, Safeco, Geico and MMG Insurance.

QOL score: 56

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 57

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

Acts of kindness

On this week’s theme of acts of kindness: The Bedford Starbucks has recently changed the traffic flow of its drive-thru line. In order to keep parking spots in front of the shop and neighboring businesses free, there is now a large “do not block” area in the middle of the line, creating a little social experiment every time you go. Who will follow the rules? Who will try to zip forward in line? Who will misjudge the amount of space they need to pull forward? On a recent visit where QOL was stopped at the breach, the car behind honked and then zipped around QOL (who responded with a too-loud, too-long honk). QOL fumed a bit but reasoned the person possibly couldn’t see why QOL had stopped in the first place (bring back the stop sign, Starbucks). When QOL got to the drive-thru, the line jumper had already paid for QOL’s order.

QOL score: +1

Comments: A serving of caffeine and faith in humanity? What a good way to start the day. (And thanks for the coffee.)

Less crime in the Queen City

For the fifth year in a row crime in Manchester has decreased, according to a Feb. 4 post on the Manchester Police Department’s Facebook page. The preliminary Crime Statistics for 2020 show the Part I crimes declined by 4 percent compared to 2019 — specifically, violent crime was down 5 percent and property crimes were down 4 percent. The city also saw “significant” declines in robberies, aggravated assaults, burglary and larceny. One area of concern is an increase in motor vehicle thefts, according to the post.

Score: +1

Comment: In response to the report, Mayor Joyce Craig issued a statement thanking the department for its service and adding, “While this is good news, we know there’s more work to do, and I’m grateful for MPD’s ongoing commitment to community relationships, transparency, innovation and progressive training.”

Bumpy road to get second vaccination

QOL has heard many stories about how difficult it has been to schedule an appointment for a second dose of the vaccine, including two-and-a-half-hour waits on hold after calling 211 and issues with the online vaccination scheduling system that prevented those who already had their first dose from making an appointment for the second within the necessary time frame. Gov. Chris Sununu acknowledged the problems with the scheduling system, WMUR reported on Feb 4, but said everyone in Phase 1B will be able to get the second dose of their vaccine within the recommended time frame. According to the report, Sununu asked for a little bit more patience and said workers were manually entering new appointment times so people would be able to sign up for them.

Score: -2

Comment: According to the report, Perry Plummer, who has been in charge of the vaccination effort, said, “We had a bump. It was bad. It was unfortunate. We own it. But we’re fixing it as quickly as we possibly can.”

Don’t Quit!

On Feb. 8, the National Foundation for Governors’ Fitness Councils announced that New Hampshire is one of four states selected for its 2021 Don’t Quit! campaign. According to a press release, three elementary or middle schools in New Hampshire will receive a $100,000 Don’t Quit! Fitness Center. “So far we’ve delivered Don’t Quit Fitness Centers to 36 states and Washington, D.C.,” foundation chairman Jake Steinfeld said in the release. “Kids are excited about working out and being physically active and … their academic performance and self-esteem have skyrocketed. Now, New Hampshire schools have an opportunity to make a change that will have a lasting impact on kids well into their future.”

Score: +1

Comment: School nominations will be accepted now through Friday, March 19; to nominate your school, visit natgovfit.org.

QOL score: 55

Net change: +1

QOL this week: 56

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