The Art Roundup 6/4/2020

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

Submit your photography: The New Hampshire Art Association is accepting online submissions for its 41st annual Parfitt Juried Photography Exhibition now through June 22, by 5 p.m. Both NHAA members and non-member area artists are invited to submit one to two pieces for the exhibition, which will be on display at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) from Aug. 5 through Aug. 29. This year’s juror is Don Toothaker, photographer, photography instructor and director of Photographer Adventures at Hunt’s Photo and Video in Manchester. The exhibition honors photographer Jack Parfitt, now deceased, who was a board member of the NHAA. Parfitt spent his last 12 years travelling abroad, taking photographs in Russia, China, Afghanistan, Morocco, Iceland and Africa, and was given rare permission to photograph the Great Wall of China. An opening and award ceremony is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Aug. 7, from 5 to 7 p.m., where first-, second- and third-place winners and honorable mentions will be announced. If NHAA is unable to hold the ceremony due to Covid-19 concerns, the ceremony will be held online. Visit nhartassociation.org.

Seeking inexperienced or aspiring directors: Manchester-based theater company Cue Zero Theatre Co. announced in a press release that it is looking for an early-career director to work on a production for the 2021 season. The chosen director will work with company staff, fundraise and promote and produce the show, and will have full access to all of the company’s resources for the show, including sets, costumes, props, lighting and sound equipment, social media, artist database, base-funding and more. Rehearsals and performances will be held in the greater Manchester area. If interested, email your resume and a short letter of introduction that includes a statement about the piece you’d like to pitch to [email protected]. Video chat interviews will begin on June 15. Cue Zero Theatre Co. is focused on creating professional opportunities for playwrights, directors, designers and actors in the early stages of their careers. Preference will be given to directors with limited experience who are looking to jumpstart their career. Visit cztheatre.com.

Fearless author wins more literary awards: New Hampshire Writers Project author Gledé Kabongo received multiple awards for her psychological thriller Winds of Fear, according to a press release from NHWP. Winds of Fear is the third book in Kabongo’s Fearless series. In the first book, Game of Fear, the series protagonist, Abbie, is a high school student with dreams of getting into the Ivy League, but she has a dirty secret. One day, Abbie receives a package containing photos that would reveal her secret, and the anonymous sender is willing to keep the evidence safe — for a price. The book was a No. 1 Amazon Bestseller. In its sequel, Autumn of Fear, Abbie is a college student studying to become a surgeon when she wakes up in a hospital after a violent attack with no recollection of what happened. Once again, Abbie must confront a series of secrets and lies to find her assailant and find out why he tried to kill her. The book won a National Indie Excellence Award. In Winds of Fear, Abbie is a grown adult with a family of her own, but when she meets her neighbors, who seem to have a fascination with her oldest son, she becomes suspicious. When her son turns up missing, Abbie must solve the mystery and uncover what secrets her neighbors are hiding to save her family before it’s too late. Winds of Fear was recently named an Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize Finalist and category winner and an IPPY (Independent Publisher Book Award) Silver medalist. “I’m elated that Winds of Fear has struck a chord with readers and judges alike,” Kabongo said in the press release. “I wanted each story in the series to be told with gripping suspense and powerful emotional resonance. It’s humbling that the judges of multiple literary award programs have validated that desire.” Find the Fearless books on Amazon, and visit gledekabongo.com for more information about the author.

Authors on Zoom: Gibson’s Bookstore, based in Concord, has two virtual author events coming up. On Wednesday, June 10, at 7 p.m., Concord Monitor alum Meg Heckman, in conversation with fellow Concord Monitor alum Pamela Walsh, will present her new book, Political Godmother: Nackey Scripps Loeb and the Newspaper that Shook the Republican Party. The book looks at the political life of the former Union Leader newspaper publisher against the backdrop of the right-wing media landscape of the late 20th century. On Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m., Juliet Grames, author of The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, will be in conversation with Erika Swyler, author of Light from Other Stars and The Book of Speculation. The events are free and will be streamed live via the video conferencing platform Zoom. They will not be recorded. The links to access the virtual events are posted on their respective event pages on gibsonsbookstore.com.

Musical from home: The Seacoast Repertory Theatre presents a livestream of The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns on Saturday, June 6, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 7, at 7:30 p.m. The musical comedy is a sequel to the Off-Broadway hit The Marvelous Wonderettes. Set in 1958, the musical follows four high school girls Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy as they sing about their senior year, celebrate with their fellow classmates and teachers and prepare for their future. The second act takes place 10 years later, when the girls get together once again to celebrate Missy’s marriage. Songs include “Rock Around the Clock,” “At the Hop,” “Dancing in the Street,” “River Deep, Mountain High” and 25 more hits. Livestream performances are performed live and not recorded. Tickets cost $20 per person. Visit seacoastrep.org.

Good, bad and ugly

With the arrival of June a bit of normalcy is returning to everyday life. Not totally, of course; that’s still a long way off. But while the pandemic hasn’t abated, sports is talking about getting back to work sooner than later, though to start it will be in arenas that are more like TV studios with no fans in the stands. At least until football season, which is messing with plans for having crowds of 25,000 or so socially-distanced fans on hand. We’ll leave that for a future discussion as plans become clearer in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the good, bad and ugly things that happened in and to sports while most of us had our heads down.

So what’d you do during the pandemic? For Bob Kraft it was raising $1 million to help folks affected adversely by the Covid-19 via auctioning off his Super Bowl ring from the Atlanta comeback, along with sending his plane to China to deliver medical supplies to NYC. For Tom Brady it was his TB-12 company capitalizing on it by pushing 30-day supplies of “immunity supplements” for $45.

Ex-Patriot Chad Johnson also dropped a $1,000 tip for a $37 tab at a Cooper City, Florida, restaurant with this note written on the receipt: “Sorry about the pandemic, hope this helps.”

Loved the great Red Auerbach line Dan Shaughnessy mentioned in his column on her Celtics connections upon the passing of sportscasting pioneer Phyllis George. She was married to one-time Celtics owner John Y. Brown, whom Red hated, and when John Y. was running for governor of Kentucky not too long after selling his interest in the C’s he advised bluegrass voters, “you better watch out because he’ll probably try and trade the Kentucky Derby for the Indianapolis 500.”

Also dying during the siege, though not all from the coronavirus, were:

Tom Dempsey – the New Orleans kicker whose miraculous record-setting 63-yard FG to beat Detroit as the gun sounded in 1970 happened despite a birth defect that cost him half his kicking foot.

Bobby Mitchell – the Hall of Famer RB/WR was the first African American to play for the Redskins when the NFL’s most southern city became its last team to integrate in 1962. He was traded there by Cleveland for reigning Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis to form a spectacular all-Syracuse backfield with Jimmy Brown. Sadly the doomed Davis died of leukemia before ever playing a down for Cleveland.

Bob Watson – A solid .295 lifetime hitter who hit .334 for the Sox in 1979, four years after scoring baseball’s millionth run. He later hired the then-maligned Joe Torre to manage the Yanks during a short stint as GM.

Best local back-in-the-day Twitter line goes to political gadfly Grant Bosse, who wrote after the Pats got ripped off in the Rob Gronkowski trade, “if we can only get a fourth for Gronk, what can we get for John Hannah?”

The best pandemic Twitter video was the “you get what you deserve for not social distancing” moment of a guy drilling his just-two-feet-behind-him nitwit friend in the head with his backswing while hitting off a batting tee.

On the bright side the likely cancellation of the rest of the regular NBA season probably gives us an extra year of LeBron James, which based on his 25.7 scoring average cost him 514 points.That leaves him exactly 4,300 (34,087) behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s all-time high 38,387 points. That means instead of being in range to pass Jabbar near the end of 2021-2022, it’s now more likely he’ll have to play in 2022-2023 for the record to fall.

The Patriots unveiled new uniforms. While I do really like the new/old home blue on blue uniforms they’ve worn on Sunday and Monday night games, my only reaction is, would the Yankees go away from the pinstripes for the sake of merchandising? Classic, iconic teams like the Pats have to stick with tradition; otherwise they’re just like everyone else. So boooooo!

I can’t wait for the games, any games, to start just so talk radio, the newspapers and pundits will stop blathering on about everything Tom Brady, and I mean everything — Belichick, golf, TB-12 and the 97 “real” reasons various experts are saying for why he left. Ditto for exhausting and redundantly vapid chatter on Jarrett Stidham. Get over it. Brady’s now one of them and Stidham’s the guy.

Finally, to those who think Coach B can’t win with a fourth-round choice as his QB: Forget the “Brady was taken 199th” argument. In 2008 he won 11 games with a guy taken 230th overall who hadn’t started or played meaningful time in any game since high school. By year’s end Matt Cassel had put four 40-plus-point games on the board, including 49 and 47 in Weeks 15 and 16. They did miss the playoffs, but after tying Miami for best record in the AFC, it was on, like the 58th tie breaker, which made them the only 11-win team this century to not make the playoffs.

So relax, people.

Quality of Life 6/4/2020

Hooray for history

The Hopkinton Historical Society’s Putney Hill Cemetery Walk has been honored by the American Association for State and Local History with an Award of Excellence, “the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history,” according to a press release from the association. The Putney Hill Cemetery Walk, performed last October, is a theatrical production about the people who were — and were not — buried in the town’s earliest cemetery. It featured local actors who portrayed 26 former Hopkinton residents, telling a story of Hopkinton’s past. DVD copies of the cemetery walk are available from the society.

Comment: In more good news for the Hopkinton Historical Society, it has received a $10,000 grant as part of the CARES Act. “Given the pandemic, …. we have been unable to open our summer exhibit and hold its associated programs, or hold our regular fundraisers,” Executive Director Heather Mitchell said in a press release. “This grant will help us rework our traditional summer exhibit into a driving tour and also help mitigate some of the losses from our fundraisers.”

All aboard for even more history!

Seven railroad depots in Warner will be featured in the first online presentation in a new series called All Aboard! Economic, Social and Environmental Change During New Hampshire’s Railroad Era, according to a press release from the Warner Historical Society. The discussion will focus on the politics behind the depots’ locations, as well as the people who laid the tracks and worked at the stations. The free presentation will be held on Zoom on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. and will offer the opportunity to ask questions and chat with the presenters, who are from the Warner Historical Society. To register and receive instructions for how to join the presentation, email [email protected].

Comment: All Aboard! Economic, Social and Environmental Change During New Hampshire’s Railroad Era is a free series that explores the impact of the railroad on rural New Hampshire towns, with support from the New Hampshire Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit nhmuse.org.

Just plane fun

The Aviation Museum of New Hampshire’s Around the World Flight Adventure received national recognition recently when it was featured in Newsweek magazine, according to a press release from the museum. The online education program is a virtual flight that took off from New Hampshire on May 1 and is circling the globe, flying over landmarks like Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace and the Eiffel Tower. Newsweek featured the flight as one of five ways to celebrate Memorial Day via livestream, as the C-47 transport plane simulator — a vintage 1930s aircraft — flew over the beaches at Normandy, where the D-Day landings took place in 1944. The program was recently awarded a $5,000 CARES grant from New Hampshire Humanities, which will help it continue the flight into the summer. According to the release, the museum is expected to open later this summer, at which time the plane will return. Visit aviationmuseumofnh.org for all archived and future flights.

Comment: Nearly 1,000 people watched the Memorial Day livestream; according to the press release, one viewer commented that it was “the best way to honor the men and women on Memorial Day that I have ever spent. I am privileged to fly along.”

Staying safe

New Hampshire has been named the eighth safest state in America in 2020, according to a WalletHub study. The rankings were released June 2 as part of National Safety Month. The study looked at data that ranged from assaults per capita to coronavirus support. The Granite State ranked second in assaults per capita, third in murders and non-negligent manslaughters per capita, eighth in loss amounts from climate disasters per capita, 13th in share of uninsured population and 19th in job security, according to the study.

Comment: All six New England states made it into the Top 10, with Maine and Vermont at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

QOL score: 63 (the score is temporarily suspended, but QOL will still be keeping tabs on New Hampshire’s well-being each week)

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

The State of Summer Camps

How day camps are adapting to new rules

Gov. Chris Sununu recently gave the green light for summer day camps to open on Monday, June 22, and summer overnight camps to open on Sunday, June 28, stating that summer camps are an “essential” service for New Hampshire families.
Many camps have shifted to a virtual format or canceled their programs altogether. Some will move forward with their traditional camps starting on or after June 22, but with new guidelines about face coverings, social distancing, handwashing, sanitizing, health checks and pick-up and drop-off procedures, even the “traditional” summer camp experience will look a little different than what camp staff, families and campers are used to.
“We are looking at a lot of modifications or adaptations of our regular camp activities so that we can continue to meet the needs of the families while also following the CDC and governor’s guidelines,” said Lisa Bernard, executive director for the Granite YMCA Greater Londonderry branch.

A difficult decision
Rob Dionne, artistic director and CEO of The Majestic Theatre in Manchester, said making a decision about Majestic’s summer theater camp has been “an agonizing process.” He and his staff ultimately decided to offer virtual programming only.
“We tried to hang on as long as we could,” he said. “We didn’t want to cancel too far in advance because things seem to be changing daily, but looking at how the governor has been reopening things, we [came to the conclusion that] having our camps the way we normally do just wasn’t realistic anymore.”
Majestic will offer two virtual camps. One will consist of three week-long sessions for children ages five through seven, with 45-minute interactive workshops on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The other will consist of four week-long sessions for children ages eight through 14, with one-hour interactive workshops held twice a day, Monday through Friday, exploring theater skills like acting, improv, music, choreography, character development, audition preparation and more.
The Kimball Jenkins School of Art in Concord, which traditionally holds six weeks of summer camps focused on painting, sculpting, drawing, ceramics and other artistic media, was going to start with virtual programming and consider offering in-person camps the week of July 6, but the board ultimately elected not to offer any in-person camps this summer.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision that weighed on us just about every minute of the past several months,” executive director Julianne Gadoury said. “Some of children’s best learning and joyful experiences come from summer camp. … Lasting friendships are developed. … We understand and value this. Ultimately, however, we decided that, no matter how good our [health and safety] protocols were, … there is still a risk … [and] that risk will be present in all of our lives for a long time. … For now, we decided to take a pause.”
Kimball Jenkins will have a variety of week-long virtual camps, including ones focused on theater, dance, studio arts, comic making and clay, for kids ages five through 16. Campers will have art supplies delivered to their house each week and will take part in three hour-long interactive sessions online each day providing instruction on different activities they can do with those supplies.
“For parents, this will provide some daily structure for those who are working from home or need to leave their kids at home,” Gadoury said.
The Nature of Things, a Nashua-based educational institution and child care center, is the host of three summer camps: an outdoor adventure camp called Camp Lovewell, a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) camp called Brainwave and an art camp called The Painted Turtle. President Kerry Gleeson said she believes the benefits that summer camp has for children outweigh the risks associated with the coronavirus. All three camps will run in person, with some modifications.
“We … understand the importance of children being outside and making social connections, especially at a time like this,” Gleeson said. “The public health crisis is certainly serious, but the other possible impacts on childhood development, such as psychological and emotional damages, are just as critical. It is always one of our foremost goals to ensure that we are addressing the needs of the whole child, and this is true now more than ever.”
Challenger Sports, a national soccer camp program, announced that it will offer both virtual and in-person camps, but because the in-person camps are run in partnership with community centers and organizations, they will be more limited this year than in years past.
“We have our own Covid-19 plan and restrictions, but our camps are a collaborative effort, and every organization we work with has different guidelines based on its local government,” vice president David Rush said. “Some have already told us they need to cancel camp this year, and there’s some that still have furloughed [staff], so there isn’t even anyone to talk to about camp.”
As of now, in-person Challenger soccer camps are being offered in Londonderry, Weare, Windham, New Boston, Hopkinton, Pelham and other towns and cities throughout New Hampshire, but Rush said plans are changing “on a regular basis.”
“There’s still so much uncertainty at this point,” he said. “One day we get a call saying, ‘Great news — we want to run the camp,’ and the next day we get a call saying, ‘We’re going to have to cancel.’ It’s a fluid, moving situation, but we should be able to say within the next few weeks with confidence what camps we’ll be running.”
Unfortunately, for camps like Camp Allen, a day and overnight outdoor adventure camp for children and adults with disabilities, a modified or virtual camp isn’t a viable alternative.
“When Covid-19 began to appear in the news, we started to worry,” executive director Michael Constance said. “We began to craft [health and safety] policies. … As the virus progressed, I started setting barometers as to events that would lead us to cancellation. What really made the decision was the outbreaks at two facilities that serve a similar population. I created a binder of research I collected over 30 days and presented this to the board, and the decision [to cancel] was unanimous.”

Health and safety
In-person summer camps will look very different to campers and parents this year as the camps have made significant modifications and implemented numerous health and safety measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. One of the biggest modifications is separating campers into small, isolated groups.
“Campers and staff will be divided into groups of 10 that will serve as their cohort for the summer,” said Emily O’Rourke, communications director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire, which serves the greater Concord area and Lakes Region. “We will be spreading cohorts throughout our facilities and may be using additional facilities. Interaction with others will be limited.”
The Challenger soccer camps will follow a similar model.
“Kids will be split into groups of ten, each with their own coach, and will be spread out on different sides of the field,” Rush said. “They won’t come together for opening or closing ceremonies; they won’t have lunch together; they will never interact with the other groups at camp.”
Camps that have a spacious facility or multiple facilities, like the Boys & Girls Clubs and The Merrimack Parks & Recreation Department’s Camp Naticook, are at an advantage because they can accommodate more groups of campers while keeping them at a safe distance from each other.
“We are fortunate here that we have such a large facility with a lot of buildings to operate out of,” Merrimack Parks & Recreation director Matthew Casparius said. “Some of my counterparts in other communities aren’t able to provide camp this summer because they simply don’t have the space that they would need to meet the guidelines.”
Even with smaller group sizes, camps have eliminated field trips to reduce the risk of community transmission of Covid-19, and they have modified their activities to include those that are more conducive to social distancing, like hands-on projects that campers can do independently and outdoor recreation. Camp Naticook, for example, has terminated activities like archery, playground time, contact sports and boating activities, which would involve campers being close to other campers and staff members, or sharing and touching the same equipment and surfaces.
“We’re looking at non-contact … games and nontraditional camp activities,” Casparius said. “We are still hoping to have a complement of sports and games, nature exploration, arts and crafts and drama games.”
Parents and campers will also need to familiarize themselves with long lists of new health and safety precautions. Universal guidelines require camp staff to wear face masks, wash their hands frequently and sanitize common areas and items after every use. There will be a zero-tolerance policy for campers or staff showing any symptoms of illness. Most camps have also added additional protocols of their own. Boys & Girls Clubs camps, for example, will conduct health checks at the door every day and sanitize all personal items that the campers bring with them; and Challenger soccer camps will stagger drop-off and pick-up times in 15-minute intervals to prevent large groups of parents and campers congregating in one area.

A devastating impact
For some summer camps and families seeking summer camps, the challenges created by Covid-19 are insurmountable.
“[Summer camp] is one of our most popular offerings of the year and brings in a lot of income for the theater,” Dionne said. “We’re losing a lot of money, and the longer this [pandemic] goes on, the scarier it gets, and the harder it gets just to maintain the bare essential [business costs].”
LetGoYourMind, a STEM program that planned to host camps in Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Londonderry, Manchester, Windham, Salem, Nashua, Pelham and other towns and cities throughout New Hampshire, had more than 700 families registered before it decided to cancel its traditional camps and go the virtual route. According to owner Jim Harvey, the cancellation has resulted in the program losing 90 percent of its revenue and put the program in a very difficult position:
“To get [the camp] up and running, throughout the year we … budget funds for insurance, rentals and staff … [and] purchasing new Legos, robots, computers, software and other such equipment,” Harvey said. “This is all paid for in advance. … Thank goodness we were able to secure a SBA [Small Business Association] loan to return the funds to the [registered] families.”
Most camps offering virtual programs as an alternative to their traditional summer camps are doing it not for the money — the mitigation of financial loss that the virtual programs provide is negligible — but as a way to stay connected with campers and families.
“We’re still looking at a 75 to 85 percent loss of income, even with the virtual programs, so it’s not like money is what’s driving us.” Dionne said. “This is a service to our families. Our No. 1 goal right now is making sure kids still have an opportunity to do music and theater this summer.”
In-person camps are suffering a significant loss of revenue as well, since social distancing restrictions have made it harder for them to accommodate their usual number of campers.
“Due to space limitations and increased staff-to-child ratio, we do not have as many openings as usual,” O’Rourke said. “Having fewer campers definitely impacts the bottom line and, for one thing means we can’t hire as many part-time staff as we usually do.”
With camps like the Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA camps, which are primarily used as a means of summer-long child care, the space limitations affect not only the camp, but the families seeking child care, as well.
“All our camps currently are on waitlists,” O’Rourke said. “This makes it difficult for caregivers who need to get back to work, as their options may be more limited now.”
“We will be functioning at a smaller capacity because of having to split the campers into groups,” Bernard added. “We are attempting to get creative by looking for offsite locations and other spaces so that we are able to serve as many kids as we can.”
Some camp officials report that families might not yet feel comfortable sending their children to camp.
“Since the pandemic hit, people have been more cautious, and rightly so,” Rush said, “We’ve had very few new registrations since then.”
Pre-Covid-19, Challenger Sports averaged around 60,000 campers throughout the U.S. every summer, and around 2,500 in New Hampshire. This year, the program is looking at around 10,000 campers nationwide, with only 300 registered in New Hampshire so far.
“You don’t need to be a wizard with a calculator to see … that [Covid-19] had decimated us,” Rush said. “We’ve been able to weather [the financial loss] up until now because we received government aid, but the harsh reality is, that money is about the run out, and we will have to start borrowing money from the banks. It will take us, and every other camp company, two to three years to recover, because we aren’t making money this year, and next year we’ll be paying down our debt.”
Casparius noted that not only will Camp Naticook have fewer campers this summer but it will also need to hire and pay more staff since the campers will be divided into numerous small groups.
“The camp will probably lose money this summer,” he said.
Camp Naticook’s motivation for hosting summer camp this year is the same as that of The Majestic Theatre: to provide a service for campers and families.
“We are doing it because we know that families do need child care in order to go back to work themselves and kids need a sense of normalcy throughout all of this,” Casparius said. “They need to see their friends after being cooped up at home for the last few months, which they can only get at camp.”
Many camp directors said that if there is a silver lining to be found within the crippling impact Covid-19 has had on the summer camp business it’s the encouragement felt from the outpouring of support they have received from the community.
“We got a big reminder of how important camp is in people’s lives,” Constance said, “The letters and calls we have received have moved me to tears. Some families have even donated the tuition they paid to insure that we can continue what we do. I have always talked about camp being a family, and this situation has certainly reminded me of this fact.”

Photo courtesy of Camp Lovewell.

News & Notes 6/4/2020

Covid-19 updates
On June 1, state health officials announced that the total number of positive test results for Covid-19 in the Granite State has reached 4,685. Three additional deaths as a result of the coronavirus were reported on May 31, for a total of 245, or roughly 5 percent of all cases. Around 63 percent of all people in New Hampshire who have contracted the virus have since recovered, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows. The number of new positive test results for the virus in New Hampshire continues to fluctuate daily, from just 34 new cases on May 26, to 101 on May 28 and back down to 39 on June 1.

Governor’s updates
In the past week, Gov. Chris Sununu made multiple announcements in the state’s ongoing response to Covid-19.
On May 26, Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 48, which provides new special education requirements to support remote learning in New Hampshire. Under the order, each school district is required to hold Individualized Education Plan team meetings to consider extended school year services for every child by June 30 at the latest. Each school district must also ensure that it holds IEP team meetings for every student identified for special education services no later than 30 calendar days before the first day of that district’s 2020-2021 school year.
On May 28, Sununu announced the establishment of the Governor’s Covid-19 Equity Response Team to address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on the Granite State. The team, composed of state leaders in racial and ethnic disparities and health equity, will work on the collection and release of demographic data, as well as the analysis of social, cultural and systemic factors related to Covid-19. The team began meeting immediately and is expected to present recommendations within 30 days of May 28, according to a press release.
Also on May 28, Sununu, in a joint statement with Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette and Adjutant General David Mikoliaties, announced the state’s plans to break down most clinical surge flex facilities across the state, starting this week. The state does plan to keep four facilities operationalized in Manchester, Plymouth, Durham and Littleton. The National Guard will help hospitals, towns and the state DHHS pack up the locations. “We have ensured we have the ability to reopen four of the flexible surge sites within 48 hours if the need arises,” Shibinette said in the statement.
Also on May 28, Sununu issued a statement following President Trump’s announcement via Twitter that day that he will extend the National Guard’s Title 32 status through mid-August. Sununu said, in part, that this will “allow our National Guard to continue to provide critical services.” Sununu had written a letter to the president on May 22, urging him to extend the Title 32 status of up to 450 New Hampshire National Guard personnel from June 24 through Sept. 30.
On May 29, Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 49, extending Emergency Orders No. 2 (no dine-in restaurant services), No. 6 (temporary authorization of takeout beer and wine at restaurants with liquor licenses), No. 16 (public gatherings limited to no more than 10 people) and No. 27 (restriction of hotel services to all but essential workers) from May 31 to June 15.
Also on May 29, during a press conference, Sununu announced the release of reopening guidelines for more business sectors in the state, as part of his “Stay at Home 2.0” plan. As of May 29, behind-the-wheel driver’s education instruction was allowed to resume, as long as classroom instruction continues remotely and instructors and students wear a face mask at all times when behind the wheel. In-car time is also limited to a maximum of 60 minutes and door handles and other in-car surfaces must be disinfected before and after each drive.
In-person religious services were also able to resume on May 29, both indoors and outdoors and including weddings and funeral services. Places of worship, however, are encouraged to continue conducting services online or through means that allow participants to remain in their homes. All places of worship should limit building occupancy to 40 percent of capacity at all times.
Beginning June 5, lodging facilities such as hotels, motels, cabins, bed and breakfasts and inns will be allowed to resume services, including accepting overnight reservations from New Hampshire residents or out-of-state visitors who have met the 14-day quarantine requirement. Smaller hotels and inns can rent at full capacity, while those with 20 or more rooms must remain limited at 50 percent capacity.
Day camps in the Granite State will be allowed to open June 22, with several guidelines in place. Staff members must be state residents or out-of-staters who have met the 14-day quarantine requirement. Day camp attendees are also restricted to children who are state residents or out-of-staters who have met the 14-day quarantine requirement.
Details of all of Sununu’s announcements and orders can be found at governor.nh.gov.

Hospital clusters
Manchester hospitals Catholic Medical Center and Elliot Hospital, in conjunction with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, are each investigating a cluster of patients and staff who have tested positive for Covid-19, according to a press release. Last week, two asymptomatic patients from the same unit at Catholic Medical Center were discovered to be positive after being tested for placement in long-term care facilities. At the same time, a staff member on that unit also tested positive. CMC tested all patients on that unit out of an abundance of caution and seven patients and seven staff came back positive. None of the seven patients had shown symptoms at the time of testing. Similarly, at Elliot Hospital, five patients on the geriatric psychiatric unit have tested positive. The hospital is currently testing the remaining patients and all staff on the unit. Both hospitals remain prepared for a surge in Covid-19 patients, according to the release.

Covid-19 dashboard
State health officials have launched a new Covid-19 dashboard to help people track the impact of the coronavirus in their communities, according to a press release. The dashboard is updated daily, displaying data on virus cases, related hospitalizations and deaths, as well as additional demographic detail and county of residence. The dashboard replaces the Covid-19 Weekly Summary Report, giving residents access to the weekly report’s data on a daily basis instead of weekly. The data can be viewed on any devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones. “It is easy to access and navigate … with meaningful information about the spread of the virus,” DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette said in a statement. The dashboard can be viewed at nh.gov/covid19/dashboard/index.htm.

DMV road tests
The New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles resumed road tests for eligible applicants on June 1, according to a May 29 press release. Prior to scheduling a road test, applicants must complete all driver licensing requirements, including successfully passing a knowledge test. Applicants who need to complete one can request an appointment at any one of the locations currently open, including in Concord, Dover, Keene, Manchester, Nashua, Newport, Salem and Twin Mountain. For licenses expiring by July 31, in-person driver’s license renewal appointments are available, although customers are encouraged to renew online if eligible.

Manchester protest
On May 30, about 800 people participated in an organized Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Manchester. The group gathered at Veterans Park around 10 a.m. and marched peacefully throughout the city before returning to the park. No arrests were made during the protest, according to a press release from the Manchester Police Department. After the protest, a group of more than 100 people marched to the Department headquarters at 405 Valley St. At around 1:30 p.m., a truck drove up and there was a verbal altercation between its occupants and the protestors. One of the occupants got out and displayed a gun. Manchester police took that person and one other into custody. They were later identified as Scott Kimball and Mark Kimball, who were both charged with felony riot and felony criminal threatening.

Concord Hospital Otolaryngology is a new practice set to open on June 8 for patients with ear, nose and throat diseases and disorders. The office will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at the Concord Hospital Medical Offices at Horseshoe Pond, 60 Commercial St., Suite 401 in Concord.

On May 29, Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, along with members of the Manchester Emergency Operations Center, received 10,500 masks donated by Taichung City, which is the Queen City’s sister city in Taiwan. “We’re so thankful for their partnership, and for their generosity,” Craig wrote on her Facebook page.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services issued an advisory on May 27 that cyanobacteria bloom had been observed on Governors Lake in Raymond. The department advises the public to avoid contact with water that has elevated cyanobacteria conditions, and to keep pets out of the water as well, as cyanobacteria can produce toxins that pose health risks to people and animals. The advisory was still in effect as of June 2 and will remain in effect until the risk has abated.

The Nashua and Manchester Doorways programs, which are part of the state’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis, have transitioned their operations to Catholic Medical Center and Southern New Hampshire Health, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. The transition will “strengthen and expand treatment and recovery services for individuals seeking help with substance use disorder,” according to the release.

Fly Manchester

One of the many advantages of living in New Hampshire is the accessibility of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Would anyone disagree that flying out of Manchester is much more convenient than flying out of Boston? There is no traffic, and the airport is modern, clean and well-maintained, with four major carriers. Then why did the airport experience its 14th straight year of declining passenger levels? In fact, the passenger levels in Manchester have dropped from a peak of 4.3 million passengers in 2005 to 1.7 million passengers in 2019.

If you ask the typical consumer, the quick response is that people choose to fly out of Boston for better flight options and/or a better price. While Boston offers more options, why is there frequently such a cost differential? Aside from Southwest, Manchester offers no other low-cost airlines. Jet Blue, Frontier and Spirit all serve Boston. Allegiant Air flies out of Pease Air Force Base. And, in 2009, Southwest decided to serve Boston as well as Manchester, causing Manchester to lose many of its daily flights. These low-cost carriers have taken a pass on Manchester because data tells them the passenger count is not there, and the Cost Per Enplanement (CPE) fees are high in Manchester.

In 2019, Airport Director Ted Kitchens received city approval to restructure three bond obligations with the intention of attracting more airlines to Manchester. The debt restructure would allow for a reduction in the CPE fees over the next few years. Fast forward to March 2020 when the pandemic started to impact the United States. Mirroring trends nationally, passenger levels were down 95 percent in April and 81 percent in May, year over year. Fortunately, Manchester received $12.1 million in federal funds to ensure the continued operation of the airport during this crisis.

Given the strength of New Hampshire’s economy prior to Covid-19, the continued declining passenger rates are a worrisome trend. While passengers are willing to pay at a certain level for the convenience of flying out of Manchester, there is a point where price trumps convenience. The airport is a critical component of our state’s economic engine. As we begin to ease out of isolation, it’s important for consumers to “Fly Manchester” when possible, and equally important for the airport to make it feasible for them to do so.

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