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Quality of Life 21/01/14

More turkeys, or just more people noticing turkeys?

The New Hampshire Fish & Game Department recently released the results of its 2020 Winter Flock Survey, which showed that there were 2,309 reported flocks totaling 40,476 turkeys statewide. According to a news release on the department’s website, this was a significant increase over the 486 flocks totaling 9,833 turkeys reported in 2019. In 2018 there were 1,372 flock observations totaling 20,224 turkeys. “The increase in observations during the 2020 winter survey may be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic,” New Hampshire Fish and Game Turkey Biologist Allison Keating said in the news release. “With many people spending more time at home last winter there was an increase in backyard bird feeding as well as bird watching, which may have contributed to the uptick in reports.”

Score: +1 (because yay for being closer to nature!)

Comment: New Hampshire Fish & Game is asking the public to participate in the 2021 Winter Turkey Flock Survey at wildnh.com/surveys/turkey.html. The survey started Jan. 1 and runs through March 31.

Good and not-so-good pre-Covid health stats

The United Health Foundation’s 2020 annual report, which examines 74 measures of health in each state, says that New Hampshire has improved its availability of mental health services, but it has also seen more premature deaths in recent years. According to a press release, America’s Health Rankings, which was created in partnership with the American Public Health Association, highlights some of each state’s health strengths and weaknesses, pre-Covid. In New Hampshire, two of the strengths that were highlighted were an increase in the number of active mental health providers, which went up 21 percent since 2016, and an increase in the percentage of residents who get enough exercise, which went from 21.4 percent of adults to 26.4 percent between 2017 and 2019. Some of the state’s challenges, according to the release, are income inequality (the disparity between the highest and lowest income-earners has increased 10 percent since 2007), and premature death (recorded as deaths before the age of 75), which increased 22 percent between 2012 and 2018.

Score: 0

Comment: Other positive highlights for New Hampshire include a low teen birth rate and a low prevalence of household food insecurity, while other challenges include a high percentage of housing with lead risk and a low percentage of fluoridated water, according to the report.

Saving New Hampshire’s history

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, which supports the protection and revitalization of historic buildings and places, recently announced some of its stats from 2020 to highlight the work it has done throughout the year. According to a press release, the Preservation Alliance presented more than 30 public programs via Zoom, worked on more than 120 projects in more than 100 communities in the state and spent hundreds of hours coaching property owners and civic leaders by phone. Its Seven to Save program has “an impressive” 50-percent success rate, and it invested grant funding in more than 50 community landmarks. The barn tax incentive, which the Alliance helped develop to save old barns, is now used in 100 communities, where tax relief is provided to owners of historic agricultural structures.

Score: +1

Comment: It’s hard to look back on 2020 and see the positives, so QOL applauds the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance for recognizing that even during a challenging year lots of good people still made lots of good things happen for the long-term betterment of the Granite State.

QOL score: 50

Net change: +2

QOL this week: 52

With the new year, the QOL Index resets to 50.

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Letters arrive in the mail

Time to go to the mailbag.

Dear Dave: What are your biggest takeaways from NFL playoffs Week 1?Fred D. Mercury, Morristown, Florida

Dear Fred D: The reminder that being hot at the right time is more important than having the best record. The Steelers had the ’72 Dolphins nervous by flirting with an undefeated season into late November. But they suddenly somehow lost five of their last six to get badly run out on Sunday by Cleveland 48-37.

Dear Dave: How much do you think the Patriots will be harmed by Bill Belichick’s right-hand man in the personnel department, Nick Caserio, leaving to become the GM of the Texans? Randolph Scott, Peoli, Georgia.

Dear Randy: Can I call you Randy over the more stuffy Randolph? Don’t mean to pick on Saint Nick, but not much. Have you seen the Patriots’ drafts through most of the last decade? Now Bill may have been pulling the strings for all the ridiculous moves around the board on draft day, but to say the least the last five have not been very helpful. And even with some useful recent picks like Damien Harris and punter Jake Bailey in 2019, they’ve gotten no dominant players, partly because they’d had a number of big misses in high rounds like N’Keal Harry (1), Dominique Easley (1), Duke Dawson (2), Derek Rivers (3) and Cyrus Jones (2), where those players type generally come from. And even though he wasn’t a miss per se, perhaps most galling of all was using a 2017 No. 1 pick on the wrong roommate when they took oft-injured Sony Michel over Cleveland’s Nick Chubb five spots later, where he’s become one of the best and most durable runners in the NFL. So it’s the same thing I said when people were fretting over Matt Patricia leaving in 2017 as defensive coordinator: Thanks for the memories, but he’s not as good as you think and it’s time for new blood in the personnel department.

Dear Dave: The rumor mill says Deshaun Watson wants out of Houston. If so, what are the chances of the Patriots trading for him?Art Thom, Bradyville, Florida.

Dear Art: Washington gave up three first-round picks and a second for RG III in 2013 because they hoped he’d turn out as good as Watson actually has. So with that uncertainty eliminated any trade starts with the RG III price. I have a hard time seeing Bill giving up that much. However, if Watson’s his QB in 2020, he knows they probably beat Denver, Buffalo the first time and Houston (since he killed them in that one) and maybe Miami the second time. Possibly even KC, as that was a close, winnable game until they were undone by terrible QB mistakes. So if he’s the difference between seven wins and 11 or even 12 in 2020, he’s probably worth all those picks. Especially if you have a lot of money to spend in free agency to get him some weapons. Though his $40 million per cuts into their free agent cash. Unfortunately, Miami for one can offer more immediate help via their own top two picks, having Houston’s top two 2020 picks from a previous trade, to go along with any of their three 2019 first-round picks, including a young QB in Tua Tagovailoa to build around. So while I’d do it, they’ll get outbid.

Dear Dave: I saw Celtics rookie Payton Pritchard play out here while in college and I’m curious what your thoughts are about him. Alex P. Keyton, Pointgard, Oregon.

Dear Alex P: While I’m not reserving Payton’s place in the Hall just yet, I do like his court awareness, hustle and ways he can score – on the break, from deep and off penetration. But what coaches want most is night in and night out consistency. But if he’s consistently still doing all that 50 games in, with Payton manning the second unit, it will be better than expected.

Dear Dave: I’m very worried about the Red Sox. So, to paraphrase Vince Lombardi, what the heck is going on down there?Theo Hiumm, Bloom Is Off The Rose, Texas.

Dear Theo: Well, given the various bargain-hunting, hope-to-catch-lightning-in-a-bottle and stat-geek-directed non-moves from the first-time GM the sickening feeling it’s going to be a five year re-build is starting to creep in. So, since you like paraphrasing, I’ll do one from Bill Clinton: I feel your pain.

Dear Dave: How about the way Tacko Fall played on Friday vs. Washington in his first real NBA minutes? Manderin Maknewt, Bol, Connecticut.

Dear Manderin: I love Tacko’s story and thought from the beginning he could be a 15-minute guy you stick in a zone to take away shots around the rim. I said that after watching him run and from when Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett get anything inside eight feet in the NCAA Tournament. So I knew he was athletic enough and, getting a computer science degree in three years while navigating a second language, smart. What he needs is playing time, which given the logjam of bigs ahead of him will be tough.

By the way, do you pronounce the K, as in Ka-Nute Rockne, or is it silent? I’m going to go with silent K, as in Ma-Noot, until I hear differently.

Dear Dave: What do you make of Bill Belichick being awarded the medal of freedom on Thursday? Robert Abraham, Lincoln, Nebraska.

Dear Bob: Well, since Coach B was friends with Mr. Trump before he became president I understand him wanting to receive that great honor from him. But the timing is bad. I mean, enough people don’t like him already. If this were a month ago, go for it. But after what happened last Wednesday at the Capitol, it will likely come off as a well-earned but sadly tainted tribute.

Lost and found

NH’s Lisa Gardner discusses her new thriller

Lisa Gardner of Jackson, known for her bestselling Detective D.D. Warren, FBI Profiler and Tessa Leoni thriller series, releases her newest, Before She Disappeared, on Jan. 19. It’s her first standalone novel since 2004. Gardner talked about the story and the inspiration behind it.

What is Before She Disappeared about?

It’s based on a new character, Frankie Elkin. She’s a recovering alcoholic, short on belongings and long on regret. She now travels from town to town trying to help [missing] people who are forgotten. In this case, she comes to Mattapan, Boston, where a 15-year-old Haitian girl went missing almost a year ago. She disappeared in the middle of the day without a trace. The police have no leads, and it’s not the kind of case that earns any media attention, but it’s exactly the kind of case that [fits with] Frankie’s mission. She is there to make a difference, no matter what the cost.

What was your inspiration for this story and character?

Most of my books have been ripped from the headlines, so to speak. For Before She Disappeared, I had read an article in the BBC on a real-life woman, Lissa Yellowbird-Chase. She had no police background, no specialty. She’s just an everyday person who had grown increasingly frustrated by the number of women who were going missing on tribal lands and, in many cases, not looked for at all. … She decided to do something about it and got involved in finding one of the women. It’s now become her life work. She’s an ordinary person doing the extraordinary, and I was captivated by that [and the idea] that any of us could make a difference. … Then I found out that there are entire online forums that are populated by amateur sleuths, drone operators, people who are willing to donate their canines to help search for missing people … and I thought, what might [a person doing that] look like? A woman who gives up all of her belongings, has no stable relationships or job, no white picket fence? I loved that in creating Frankie Elkin. She’s leading an anti-life. She has none of the trappings that most of us would say are earmarks of success and yet … she has found herself.

Is the theme of forgotten and uninvestigated missing people something you intended to address in Before She Disappeared?

Absolutely. After reading about Lissa Yellowbird-Chase, I did more research and … became aware of such things as the Black and Missing Foundation, which has a website with hundreds and hundreds of cold cases of missing Black children, men and women. Most of these cases, we’ve never heard about. … It’s a really sad nationwide trend that, often because of socioeconomics or your skin color or where you live, you can really fall through the cracks.

This is your first standalone novel in 17 years. What made you decide to take a break from your series?

I loved this notion of writing about an everyday person trying to make a difference. All of my previous novels are about an FBI agent, a police officer, etc. … but Frankie is like you or me, so it’s [easier] to try to be in her shoes. If you showed up in Mattapan, Boston, and wanted to find a missing person, what would you do? What questions would you ask? How would you go about it? It’s fun for the reader because for once the [protagonist] has the same [lack] of training, so if Frankie can figure it out, so can you.

Do you have any plans to continue Frankie’s story?

Yes, at least one more [book]. I really ended up loving Frankie, and I think she is now one of my most compelling characters. … Detective D.D. [the protagonist of Gardner’s D.D. Warren Series] is aggressive and has the right as a police officer to bully people into answering questions. That’s not Frankie. Frankie is very vulnerable and has to use that vulnerability as her strength. She gets people to talk to her simply by making them want to share their stories. I’ve just found that intriguing and powerful. So I’ve happened to come up with yet another book. … It involves Frankie and has to do with a number of people who are still missing on national public lands. … I’m writing it now and hopefully [will have it published] by this time next year.

What has it been like, releasing a book during a pandemic?

It’s very different. I’ve worked on this book for an entire year, and I don’t want to just release it out into the wild, so to speak; I want to connect with my readers, answer their questions and hear what they have to say. … But, like all things pandemic-related, we’re learning as we go and finding different ways to connect. Zoom is great. It means a great deal to still be able to connect with some of my readers virtually.

Lisa Gardner presents Before She Disappeared
Gardner kicks off her virtual book tour with a livestream book launch on Monday, Jan. 18, at 6 p.m., hosted by White Birch Books in North Conway and 93.5 WMWV with Roy Prescott. The tour continues through Feb. 4 with virtual events hosted by bookstores throughout the country. For more information, visit lisagardner.com.

Featured photo: Lisa Gardner. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 21/01/14

Covid-19 update	As of January 4	As of January 11
Total cases statewide	47,328	52,307
Total current infections statewide	6,200	6,118
Total deaths statewide	781	869
New cases	5,658 (Dec. 29 to Jan. 4)	4,979 (Jan. 5 to Jan. 11)
Current infections: Hillsborough County	2,358	2,217
Current infections: Merrimack County	693	618
Current infections: Rockingham County	1,265	1,237

Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

On Jan. 4, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Emergency Orders No. 79 and No. 80. Emergency Order No. 79 allows registered and certified pharmacy technicians to administer Covid-19 vaccines under certain conditions. Now through the remaining duration of the state of emergency or until the order is terminated, technicians are authorized to administer vaccines while under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist who ordered it. The technician must also have a current certificate in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Emergency Order No. 80 authorizes Medicaid disaster relief for the continued administration of Covid-19 vaccines in New Hampshire, temporarily waiving certain legislative requirements in order to allow it to move forward.

Dr. Beth Daly, Chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control of the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, provided an update on vaccine distributions in the state during a Jan. 5 press conference. She reported that, to date, enough vaccine doses have been distributed to vaccinate about 73 percent of Phase 1A individuals, which include first responders, high-risk health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Those in Phase 1B, including individuals over the age of 75, corrections officers and staff, and people with two or more high-risk conditions like cancer, sickle cell disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are expected to be eligible for their vaccines next.

Dr. Daly said that between March and May, people in Phases 2A and 2B will be able to receive the vaccine. Phase 2A includes K through 12 school and child care staff, as well as people from the ages of 65 to 74. Phase 2B includes people from the age of 50 to 65. Then, from May into the summer and beyond, Phases 3A and 3B will be eligible. Phase 3A will include those who are under the age of 50 but are at a moderate risk of developing severe complications of Covid-19. Phase 3B will include everyone else not already vaccinated.

With its daily public health update on Jan. 8, New Hampshire surpassed 50,000 overall cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic last March. As of Jan. 11, there are 267 people currently hospitalized with the virus, while 45,320 have recovered and are off isolation.

Chief justice nomination

Gov. Chris Sununu has nominated Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to serve as the next Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, to succeed Chief Justice Bob Lynn, who retired in August 2019. Since then, the Judicial Branch has been led by Senior Associate Justice Gary Hicks. “Gordon has served this State with distinction as Attorney General for the last four years, and I am honored to nominate him to lead our State’s highest court,” Sununu said in a press release. Sununu had previously nominated MacDonald for chief justice, but on July 10, the Executive Council voted against the nomination. At that time, Sununu issued a statement saying that he had never seen a nominee who was so supported and that “political extremism” had been behind the vote. “It is clear that we need to take a pause on the judicial nominating process and not move forward with any nominees until I have confidence there’s appropriate perspective from the Council on their responsibilities to the process and to the state,” Sununu said at the time. MacDonald has served as the state’s Attorney General since April 2017, according to the Jan. 6 press release; prior to that, he was a partner at Nixon Peabody LLP in Manchester. “Gordon is exceptionally well-qualified for this important position. He has a long and well-deserved reputation as an outstanding lawyer. … He also brings to the Court a proven record of service in both the private and public sectors, including his admirable performance over the last four years as Attorney General of New Hampshire,” Lynn said in the Jan. 6 release.

Flags at state buildings in Concord and on all public buildings and grounds in New Hampshire were directed to fly at half-staff until sunset on Jan. 13, as a sign of respect for the sacrifice and service of U.S. Capitol Police Officers Brian D. Sicknick and Howard Liebengood and all Capitol police officers, according to a press release. “The American people will never forget Jan. 6, 2021 — a day when domestic terrorists attacked our nation’s capital,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in the release.

Disability rights activists gathered on Jan. 6 in Durham to protest the state’s House of Representatives drive-in voting session, according to a press release. The session was held in a parking lot at UNH, which activists said was not easily accessible to some. Acting New Hampshire House of Representatives Speaker Sherman Packard had said in a Dec. 28 letter to state representatives that the House had not adopted a rule that allows it to meet remotely, so it was obligated to meet in person.

Though Manchester schools were scheduled to return to in-person learning on Jan. 19, the district announced in a letter to the school community on Jan. 8 that because the number of cases of Covid-19 in the city is “extremely high,” that is unlikely to happen. According to the letter, cases must drop below the high-risk level, which is a rate of 10 or fewer new cases each day, but in recent days Manchester has seen between 65 and 72 new cases each day.

Despite having to cancel its annual plant sale and other fundraisers last year, the Nashua Garden Club voted to continue its tradition of charitable giving to four nonprofit organizations and one that focuses on gardening and landscaping education. According to a press release, the 2020 holiday contributions of $125 each went to Corpus Christi Food Pantry, Marguerite’s Place, Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, Nashua Children’s Home and Grow Nashua.

Beyond the headlines

A few weeks ago, the Union Leader printed a story with the bold headline “NH scores among the top when it comes to race and health equality.”

The article was based on a recent report by the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative and it pulled statistics stating that 67 percent of Black adults in New Hampshire have “very good or excellent” health compared to 59 percent of whites and 56 percent of Hispanics in the state.

Only at the end of the Union Leader piece was there a passing mention of the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. I am struggling to see how these facts were not taken under consideration prior to going to print.

The Governor’s Covid-19 Equity Response Team (GCERT) provided their Initial Report and Recommendations to Gov. Sununu in July 2020. In their 50-page analysis, the group of public health experts from across the state provided a clear statistical case about these disparities and highlighted the full range of determinants, which often have racial bias woven into their fabric.

The GCERT report examined the cases of Covid-19 based on one’s racial-ethnic identity. Unfortunately, these are not always reliable statistics, primarily because our systems often do not do a good job of capturing demographic information accurately and completely, as we’ve seen with the Covid disparities data — as is also seen across the country according to the Covid Tracking Project. Additionally, given the reality of institutional and systemic racism, some individuals may not want to reveal their true racial-ethnic identity out of concern for potential discrimination.

One important contributing factor that wasn’t covered in the article is how our relatively rural state was impacted by the opioid crisis. In our nation’s health care model, white people are often doing “better” because we are being compared to communities of color; otherwise we, too, would have poor health outcomes. The closing line in the analysis section of the HOPE report summarized this reality: “Although white populations generally fare better on most measures of opportunity than most other populations in the state, white adults in New Hampshire have higher rates of premature mortality.”

Headlines are often not the full story. If we are truly committed to being a state where everyone has equal opportunity for good health then we are going to need to seek truth in the lived experiences of people who are suffering disproportionate impacts — including for both the Covid-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis. The GCERT report provides a solid starting place to truly create a healthy state where all structures support belonging, equity and good health for all.

Hippo’s 20th anniversary

Hippo’s 20th anniversary
We take a look back at the Hippo’s two most challenging years — the first one (because starting a brand new paper is hard), and the most recent one (because global pandemic) — and we talk to some of the biggest proponents of the downtowns of Manchester, Concord and Nashua to see how far they’ve come in the past 20 years.

Also on the cover, Milford has a new spot for Texas-style barbecue, p. 24. Whip up a caramelized onion dip that won’t ruin your New Year’s eat-better resolution, p.27. And, yes, there is still live music, all week long, p. 34.

We’re 20!

Twenty years ago Hippo published its first print issue — that’s about 1,040 issues ago. At the time, we had ...

News & Notes 21/01/07

Covid-19 updateAs of December 28As of January 4Total cases statewide41,67047,328Total current infections statewide5,5086,200Total deaths statewide715781New cases4,282 (Dec. 22 to Dec ...

New in town

Jessica Martin joins Intown Concord Jessica Martin is the new executive director of Intown Concord, a nonprofit organization that promotes ...

NFL regular season wraps

It’s Jan. 7 and the Patriots are already on vacation. But that’s a problem to discuss another day. Instead we’ll ...

Quality of Life 21/01/07

More turkeys, or just more people noticing turkeys? The New Hampshire Fish & Game Department recently released the results of ...

We’re 20!

A look at Hippo’s beginnings in 2001 and at Hippo in 2020 December 27, 2001 Once we committed to publishing ...

Downtown renaissance

Manchester, New Hampshire ,USA Skyline, city, urban, building, high rise, metropolis, downtown, office building

Two decades of revitalization in Manchester, Concord and Nashua’s downtowns When the Hippo started in 2001 with the intention of ...

Blast from the past

Robinson decries white supremacy, pays homage to the ’80s in Exo-Hunter Science fiction, sociopolitical satire and 1980s nostalgia are the ...

The Art Roundup 21/01/07

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities Art by Chris Reid, featured in “The View Through My Eyes” ...

2020 gardens

What worked last year and what didn’t This past year was a tough one for many of us: isolation due ...

Kiddie Pool 21/01/07

Family fun for the weekend Math discoveries Have “Phun With Math,” a virtual program from the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (2 ...

Treasure Hunt 21/01/07

Dear Donna, For years I’ve been meaning to contact you regarding my curiosity about a basket that was found in ...

The Weekly Dish 21/01/07

News from the local food scene • Salem market moves indoors: The Salem Farmers Market will move indoors for the ...

Lone Star eats

Texas-style BBQ food truck opens restaurant space in Milford Regina and Jeremy Davison gained a devoted following after the launch ...

Southwest inspired

Trio’s Cafe & Cantina to open in Salem A new eatery coming to Salem later this month will offer family-sized ...

Meredith Touma

Meredith Touma of Derry is the owner of Sal Terrae Seasonings (salterraeseasonings.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @salterraeseasonings), a company ...

Album Reviews 21/01/07

Laraaji, Moon Piano (self-released) In news from the weird, we present this New York pianist, an 80-year-old cult artist whose ...

Exercised, by Daniel Lieberman

Exercised, by Daniel Lieberman(Pantheon, 464 pages) Your resolution is to exercise. Hasn’t it always been? Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman, however, ...

Soul (PG)