Category: Quality Of Life

Spectacularly beautiful murals for kids

From April 16 to April 26, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua hosted Mural Fest 2026, a public art initiative that covered walls in the building’s basketball courts, swimming pool room and other large spaces with brightly colored, highly detailed murals. As described on the Club’s website, “The festival brings together professional international mural artists, Club youth, families, and community partners to create murals that celebrate creativity, unity, and youth empowerment.” The murals are stunning.

QOL score: +1

Comment: In a telephone interview, Derek Pollacchi, the director of communications for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua, explained why the murals are so important: “It really boils down to this: It’s for the kids. It’s for the members. It’s for inspiration. It’s a message. It’s hope. The kids are involved with the murals from the start, you know, underneath the mural is their touches and their art. It’s really about using the space that we have to put out a message of inspiration and hope and inclusivity for the youth that we serve.”

Fewer cigarette butts, more science

On April 20, the SEE Science Center, Manchester Connects, and the City of Manchester worked together in the second year of SEE’s Park2Park clean-up event. In an April 23 press release, SEE Science Center reported, “With the coordinated power of 227 volunteers who each spent 2 hours in this effort, 266 bags of trash and 20 containers of sharps were removed from 15 parks in 4 city wards. Volunteers at this year’s event collected 23.75 bags of cigarette butts (approximately 6,000 butts) for special recycling and also participated in citizen science recording how much trash was collected where.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the same press release, “Manchester public spaces span more than 1,400 acres of municipal property across 83 sites, including parks, trails, recreational facilities, cemeteries, and public schools.Anyone interested in how they can support Manchester’s public spaces throughout the year can learn more by visiting the division’s Adopt-a-Site and Blue Bags for Litter programs on the Manchester city website.”

QOL score last week: 44

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 46

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Turtles on the move

In an April 6 press release the Turtle Brigade (nhanimalrights.org/turtle-brigade) reminded the public that with warmer temperatures more turtles will make their way onto area roadways and depend on thoughtful humans to make it to their destinations. “From May 3 through Oct. 3, NH residents are encouraged to stay alert for turtles, especially near roads that intersect wetlands and known nesting areas,” the press release read. “In the wild, very few turtles survive to reproductive age. Those that do face significant challenges, especially when crossing roadways during nesting season. While some species can live for over a century in the right conditions, most never reach their maturity due to habitat loss and human-related threats.”

QOL score: +1 for nesting turtles

Comment: The Turtle Brigade’s first recommendation to drivers is to“Slow down and stay alert,” i.e. don’t run them over.

The ski industry is worried

A new study from the University of New Hampshire has found a “high level of alarm that is greater than the national average” among New Hampshire’s ski industry about climate change. In an April 8 press release UNH announced that “that the majority of New Hampshire ski industry professionals are concerned about the effects of global warming on the ski industry, which generates close to $278.8 million each season in the Granite State, and believe more should be done. The study released by UNH’s Carsey School of Public Policy shows that this shared unease suggests a readiness to adopt sustainable practices and advocate for industry-wide adaptations.”

QOL score: -1 for the precarious state of skiing in NH

Comment: For some Granite Staters, the best part of winter is skiing.

Where did all the eelgrass go?

In an April 15 press release, the Conservation Law Foundation (clf.org) announced that the population of eelgrass in New Hampshire’s Great Bay has fallen precipitously. “Eelgrass — underwater seagrasses that are the foundation of the Great Bay estuary’s ecosystem — has collapsed,” the press release read, “marking the most severe ecological decline seen in Great Bay in decades. According to a new study, eelgrass coverage across the estuary fell by 80 percent in a single year, dropping from more than 1,000 acres in 2024 to just 211 acres last year. Within Great Bay itself, the loss was even more dramatic, reaching 98 percent in that same period.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: The CLF report said, “The stressors on eelgrass — sediment from rain runoff and increasingly intense storms, excess nutrient pollution from wastewater and stormwater, invasive green crabs and warming water temperatures caused by climate change — have all posed challenges to eelgrass health for years.” Visit scholars.unh.edu/prep/502.

A new home for your CDs and movie posters

Red River Theatres in Concord has put out a call for donations for its Annual Movie, Music, and Poster Sale, which will take place during Market Days in June. According to an item in Intown Concord’s newsletter, The Intown Insider, “Red River Theatres is now accepting donations…. They accept your gently used: vinyl records, DVDs and Blu-rays, VHS tapes, Cassette tapes, CDs, and Music and movie memorabilia. Drop off your items at Red River Theatres during regular business hours, or email info@redrivertheatres.org to schedule a time.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: You can feel good knowing that your VHS collection of early run The X-Files episodes will find a good home.

QOL score last week: 44

Net change: 0

QOL this week: 44

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Rowing for a cause

A New Hampshire woman has raised money for trauma recovery programs by solo-rowing more than 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, WMUR reported in an April 9 online article. “Renee Blacken [who live in Bethlehem] began the journey in January, rowing from the Canary Islands to Antigua,” WMUR reported. After 65 days alone at sea, she made history as the first woman to row solo in the Atlantic Dash, the report said.

QOL score: +1

Comment: “Blacken raised nearly $20,000 during her journey for the nonprofit Outdoor Adventuring for Good, which supports trauma recovery programs,” WMUR reported in an April 12 article. Seeatlanticdash.com for more on the event.

Thanks a lot, ticks!

“A tick-borne illness that can leave people severely allergic to meat and dairy is becoming a growing concern in New Hampshire,” Patch.com reported in an April 10 online article. The allergy, known as Alpha-gal syndrome, can induce an extreme allergic sensitivity to meat in previously unaffected patients and can be contracted through a tick bite. “The illness is carried most commonly by the Lone Star tick,” the article read. “Alpha-gal syndrome is becoming more frequent in New England as ticks move farther north, some say, due to climate change.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: Patch.com reported that “the CDC says the condition differs from typical food allergies because symptoms are often delayed by two hours or more after exposure and can appear suddenly after years of eating meat without problems.”

An old battery can still cause problems

According to an April 6 online article in the Concord Monitor, the batteries of an electric car that had been involved in a March 31 crash at the Bedford tolls spontaneously re-ignited in Merrimack days later. The Monitor article quoted Jim Bailey Sr., owner of Bailey’s Towing and Auto Body in Merrimack, who removed the car from the original accident site: “‘[T]his morning, I moved the car carefully to a different location. Within 15 minutes, the batteries shorted out and it went into thermal runaway,” the article quoted Bailey.

QOL score: -1

Comment: According to the Monitor article, “the resulting [second] fire took hours to put out with some 60,000 gallons of water.” For more on battery fires and the safe disposal of batteries, visit nhrecycles.org/recyclerightcampaign/how-properly-dispose-batteries.

QOL score last week: 45

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 44

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Drop that … drop it!

Trupanion.com, an online pet insurance company, released a report March 24 indicating that the number of pet poisonings in New Hampshire has gone up. The study reported that there have been 701 insurance claims from New Hampshire policy holders for veterinary care to treat poisonings since 2020 (651 dogs and 50 cats). According to the study, some of the most common sources of poisoning for pets have included grapes and raisins, chocolate, and drugs (both legal and the other type). “The cost of poison-related claims ranged from $558 for onions to $1,705 for anti-freeze and detergents,” the report read.

QOL score: -1

Comment: The study found that “Louisiana had the highest rate of poison-related claims with 1.75 claims per 1,000 pets, [and] Arkansas had the lowest … with .65 claims per 1,000 pets.”

No! Not the nuggies!

According to a New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services press release from April 3: “The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert for frozen, dinosaur-shaped, ready-to-eat chicken nuggets that may be contaminated with unsafe levels of lead. This product was sold at New Hampshire Walmart locations.” “The public health alert is for 29-oz. plastic bags containing approximately 36 “Great Value Fully Cooked Dino Shaped Chicken Breast Nuggets” with the Best If Used By date “FEB 10, 2027,” lot code “0416DPO1215,” and establishment number “P44164” printed on the back of the bag. Consumers who purchased or received these chicken nuggets should check their freezers and avoid eating this product. The product should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase,” the release said.

QOL score: -2, because sometimes dino nuggies are the only form of protein in the picky-eater diet

Comment: The release warned the nuggie-consuming public that “There is no safe amount of lead exposure. Exposure to even small amounts of lead may cause behavioral, developmental and health problems. Because children under age 6 are undergoing critical neurological and physical development, they are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of lead on the body.”

How does poutine factor into that?

Researchers at Eating Disorder Solutions (eatingdisordersolutions.com) recently analyzed data from sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association to rank each state in terms of healthy diets. New Hampshire made the Top 10. “New Hampshire (9th overall) leads the country in food security (#1),” a summary of the study read, “and ranks #5 for farmers markets per capita, highlighting strong access to fresh produce.” According to the summary, there is still a lot of opportunity for improvement in our diets. “Government-backed research shows just how widespread unhealthy eating habits are in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only about 1 in 10 adults meet the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables.”

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the study’s rankings, New Hampshire has a Healthy Diet Index score of 61.02. The study’s highest-ranking state, Vermont, has a score of 75.92, with more than twice as many farmers markets per capita and a high consumption rate of vegetables. “At the other end of the ranking,” the study summary reported, “West Virginia ranks last with the highest rates of obesity (#48), diabetes (#48), and high cholesterol (#48), alongside one of the lowest fruit and vegetable intake rates.”

QOL score: 47

Net change: -2

QOL this week: 45

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

I’ve been meaning to clean out my freezer, anyway

As reported on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection website (fsis.usda.gov), Ajinomoto Foods, a frozen food company that supplies many grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s, has expanded a recall of frozen rice and frozen chicken products. “The establishment is recalling approximately 33,617,045 additional pounds of various ready-to-eat (RTE) and NRTE chicken and pork fried rice, ramen, and shu mai dumpling products, for a combined total of 36,987,575 pounds subject to recall” the USDA statement read.

QOL score: -1

Comment: Approximately 9 million pounds of the recalled food was Trader Joe’s Vegetable Fried Rice. According to the USDA website, “The problem was discovered when the establishment notified FSIS that it received multiple consumer complaints involving glass found in product.”

Easter shortages

As reported by New Hampshire Public Radio in a March 23 online article, cold weather and a delayed harvest have contributed to a local carrot shortage. NHPR reported that “a mid-January freeze and exceptionally hot weather this month in California, from where the majority of the national carrot supply originates, appears to have delayed harvests in the southern San Joaquin Valley,” leading to shortages in area supermarkets. Additionally, according to a March 29 online article by WMUR, rising chocolate and candy prices have driven up the cost of this year’s Easter candy. “Along with chocolate, candy prices are up nearly 12% over the past year,” the article reported.

QOL score: -2

Comment: You could grow your own. Carrots, that is, not candy. Late spring is the time to harvest your early-spring-planted carrots.

Indoor bugs

As reported on March 26 New Hampshire Public Radio at nhpr.org, the large numbers of ladybugs that have been appearing in your house are, according to horticulturist Emma Erler, “not dangerous and they don’t hurt the structure or lay eggs, but they are annoying.” Erler said in the article that “[y]ou can vacuum them up with abandon as the species is invasive and in no danger of disappearing from the landscape.”The native New Hampshire ladybugs tend to hibernate outside and it’s the Asian ladybugs we’re seeing indoors, the article said.

QOL score: -1

Comment: One ladybug? Awww. More? Ewww.

QOL score last week: 51

Net change: -4

QOL this week: 47

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

Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Turtle road

In a March 19 press release the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department announced that the Department’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program was recently awarded a nationally competitive grant to build structures in four locations to help prevent turtles and other vulnerable wildlife from being killed in traffic. “The project will have multiple benefits including reducing wildlife mortality and improving habitat connectivity, safety ….”

QOL score: +1

Comment: The announcement pointed out that turtle populations are especially vulnerable to traffic. “Turtles have a life history that includes low annual nesting success and hatchling survival, late age of initial reproduction (14-20 years), and lengthy adult survivorship (they can live for 70 years or more),” the announcement read.

Slightly more potholes

A March 18 online article by the Concord Monitor reported that more than 1,300 potholes have been repaired in Concord’s streets. While this seems like a huge number, the article reported, it is about the same as in previous years. “According to the Concord city database, from Jan. 1 to March 16, city crews filled 1,309 potholes,” the article read. “Over the same period last year, they filled 1,262 of them. This year’s tally is 3% higher than in 2025.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: In a March 18 online article, New Hampshire Public Radio quoted Gary Stanley, who owns and operates the pothole repair business Mr. Pothole: “‘All these potholes, believe it or not, they start with one small, tiny crack,’ he said. ‘Such is life, is it not?’”

Home heating expensive this year

A March 20 online article by WMUR reported that New Hampshire homeowners pay some of the highest prices in the country for home heating oil. “The New Hampshire Department of Energy says the state ranks second in the nation for heating oil use per capita, with 42% of homes relying on it as their primary heat source,” the article read. WMUR quoted Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy, a popular mobile app that helps drivers locate the lowest gas prices using crowdsourced data: “$5.50 a gallon is certainly possible in the next couple of weeks.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: As of Monday, March 23, the price of a gallon of home heating oil in the Concord-Manchester-Nashua area ranged from $4.89 to $5.49. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average price for heating oil in New Hampshire in February was $3.91.

QOL score last week: 52

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.