Tag: 200917

The Art Roundup 20/09/17

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

• Musical comedy at the Palace: The Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St., Manchester) mainstage production of Nunsense is on stage now through Oct. 4. When a nun accidentally poisons and kills 52 of her sisters, she and the surviving sisters at the parish put on a variety show to raise funds for the burials. The musical features “tap and ballet dancing, audience participation and comic surprises at every corner,” according to the theater’s website. Showtimes are on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sundays at noon and 5 p.m.; with an additional show on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $39 to $46 for adults and $25 for children. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.

• Outdoor violin concert: The Sunday Artists Series’ Concerts on the Green at Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury) continues with The Suzuki Strings on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 4 to 5 p.m. The Suzuki Strings is a group of about 25 violinists ages 4 through 17 from all over New Hampshire who have learned to play violin using the methodology of Japanese musician and music educator Shinichi Suzuki (1898 – 1998). The following concert will be The Wholly Rollers, a bluegrass band from Concord, on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 4 to 5 p.m. The concerts will be held on the lawn leading to and surrounding the Village’s Meeting House. Attendees should wear masks and follow the social distancing guidelines by sitting within the painted circles on the lawn. Seating is first come, first served. The concerts are free, with a suggested donation of $10. Call 783-9511 or visit shakers.org.

• Portraits with social commentary: The Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St., Concord) presents an exhibition, “Life’s Work: Occupations & Identity,” in its Carriage House Gallery now through Sept. 28. It features portrait photography by Maundy Mitchell that explores the evolution of trades and societal views on identity and jobs. Gallery hours are Monday through Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 225-3932 or visit kimballjenkins.com.

• Pandemic poetry reading: The Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library presents a virtual reading event for COVID Spring: Granite State Pandemic Poems on Monday, Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The poetry anthology, edited by New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary and published by Hobblebush Books earlier this month, features original poems submitted by 54 New Hampshire writers. The poems “provide a thirty-day snapshot of what life was like in the Granite State in April of 2020” and explore topics like Covid-related “job loss, loneliness and love, masks, social distancing, surreal visitors, uncertainty, graduations deferred, grief, neighborly and less-than-neighborly acts, observing the beginning of the pandemic and making projections about the future, recalibrating or confirming what it means to be human, to be a resident of this region,” Peary said in the anthology’s introduction. Visit newhampshirepoetlaureate.blogspot.com for the Zoom link to the event, which will be posted on Friday, Sept. 18, and for updates on more upcoming readings TBA. The book is available to purchase at local bookstores, Hobblebush Books (hobblebush.com), Small Press Distribution (spdbooks.org) and Amazon, and the publisher will donate $2 from every copy sold to the New Hampshire Food Bank to support New Hampshire residents impacted by the pandemic.

Featured Photo: Portrait photography by Maundy Mitchell, featured in “Life’s Work: Occupations & Identity” at Kimball Jenkins. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 20/09/17

Capital Arts Fest is a go

The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen announced in a press release on Sept. 14 that it will move ahead with its third annual Capital Arts Fest, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27, on South Main Street in Concord. The event will feature more than 20 craftsmen, food, and live music coordinated by the Capitol Center for the Arts. It will be held outside the League’s headquarters, across from the Cap Center, with tents spaced out up and down the street to allow for social distancing.
Score: +1

Comment: “When we surveyed our members, our first and only real concern was their health and safety, but we were overwhelmed with people who are excited to show their work and be able to do something safely in person,” Miriam Carter, executive director of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, said in the release.

Fewer people unemployed

New Hampshire saw a 1.5-percent decline in its unemployment rate from July to August, according to a Sept. 15 press release from New Hampshire Employment Security. The unemployment rate for August was 6.5 percent, an increase of 3,030 workers in the state’s labor force for a total of 737,420. “Today’s labor report shows that our approach has paid off and New Hampshire remains on track to returning to the historic economic highs we enjoyed prior to the onset of Covid-19,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement following the release of the report.
Score: 0 (+1 for the positive decline, -1 for the still-high rate)

Comment: New Hampshire’s unemployment rate of 6.5 percent remains below the national average of 8.4 percent.

Granite Staters getting vaccinated

New Hampshire is the third most vaccinated state in the country in 2020, according to a new study from personal-finance website WalletHub. According to the study, the Granite State ranks third for share of adults with tetanus vaccination; ninth for share of teenagers aged 13-17 with up-to-date HPV vaccination; 10th for share of adults aged 60 and older with zoster vaccination; 11th for share of children 19-35 months old living in poverty with combined 7-vaccine series; and 13th for influenza vaccination rate in children aged 6 months to 17 years old. New Hampshire was also in the Top 15 for flu vaccination coverage rate among adults and share of civilian noninstitutionalized population without health insurance coverage.
Score: +1

Comment:According to WalletHub, 1 in 3 Americans have said they will choose not to get a Covid-19 vaccine once it is developed.

A new local celebrity

A legally owned 40-pound African serval cat named Spartacus, owned by a family in Merrimack, has gained quite a following. After the Merrimack Police Department posted Sept. 10 on its Facebook page that Spartacus had gone missing from its owners’ home, thousands of people left comments and shared the post. A follow-up post two days later announced that the cat had been found. “It was trapped near its home and is in good health,” the post read.
Score: +1

Comment: After several Facebook commenters said they want to know more about Spartacus, the cat’s owner, Dean King, posted that Spartacus is on Instagram @spartacustheserval.

QOL score: 55

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 58

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

Can Celtics take the Heat?

In a normal year we preview big leaguewide NFL stories as the season starts moving into high gear in Week 2 September. But, since this year isn’t normal, we’ll push to next week, mentioning that Cam Newton had more rushing yards in his first Patriots game on Sunday than Tom Brady had in any entire season during 20 years in New England. Instead, with the NBA playoffs going on in September for the first time ever, we’re focused on the Eastern Conference Final matchup between the Celtics and the Miami Heat that got underway on Tuesday night.

How’s Boston Doing Without Kyrie?

Well, with much of the basketball media, including the clueless crew in New York, somehow still calling him a “superstar” after he did the same thing to the Nets he did to the Celtics, they’re going to the Eastern Conference Final for the third time in four years. The only time they didn’t go? The year Kyrie played and choked his way through Round II by shooting 30 percent as they got croaked in five by Milwaukee. As I said when he left for Brooklyn, addition by subtraction, and that’s clearly the case.

Udonis Haslem Effect: Miami must really like his effect in the locker room because the 40-year-old one-time starter hasn’t played as many as 30 games since 2015-16 and he’s still on the team. He’s also the last playing link to Matt Bonner; they were teammates when Florida went to the NCAA Finals in 2000.

Five Quick Thoughts on Miami:(1) They play great team D. (2) Bam Adebayo is a lot better than most people realize. He shot 52 percent, grabs 10 boards a game and is a solid defender. (3) Ditto for tragic Goran Dragic, a versatile and physical offensive player who averaged 19.8 vs. the Bucks. (4) They’re good and very consistent shooting threes. (5) Erik Spoelstra is an excellent coach and not in the whiney, what a tool, way Rob (good night) Nurse is.

New Hampshire Connection: The three-point bomber from New Castle, Duncan Robinson, is trying to become just the second New Hampshire native to win an NBA title. At the moment he’s seven or eight wins away from joining Bonner, who won two with San Antonio. But if the Celtics don’t take away his and Tyler Herro’s long-range shooting room, he’ll just be four shy come Sept. 30.

How’d They’d Get There? – Heat: They’re 8-1 in the playoffs and easily took out Milwaukee in five games. They did it by building a defensive wall that held 29.5 per game scoring Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 21 per and by being a whopping 63 better on threes. Part of that was due to holding Milwaukee to 32 percent behind the line to their 37 percent, but a bigger factor was taking 36 more long-range bombs.

How’d They Get There? – Celtics: Team defense and getting to the line. The Raptors were held to 32 percent on threes and 44 percent on twos when in the regular season it was 37 percent and 52 percent. Which is how they held their own despite Toronto taking 29 more shots, 20 of which were from downtown. But overall the C’s were just a +1 in points from the field. The difference was at the foul line, where they outscored Toronto 128-108 by taking it inside to get fouled (Tatum was a series best 43-54) and earning more opportunities by being better in transition.

The Key Players

Guys who need to be the game-to-game best player for their team to win.

Heat – Jimmy Butler: There are things I don’t like about him and I probably don’t give him as much credit as he deserves. But he’s a good fit in Miami because it demands maximum effort from everyone so his chirping about that is less irritating. He’s also their leading scorer and a strong defender who’ll give Kemba, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown trouble.

Celtics – Jayson Tatum:

There was a lot of gushing over him during the Raptor series, but there was a lot to not gush about too. The rebounding, defense and passing, especially on the move, have all improved, as has his versatility in scoring, so he’s on his way to becoming something. But he needs to knock off the stream of brain dead plays that kill half-court flow and lead to turnovers or forced shots. Plus stop whining after every call and non-call. It diverts attention from getting back on D or being in the moment while building a rep as a whiner. In short, time to grow up. Though I must continually remind myself he’s just 22. By contrast Larry Bird was 26 in his third NBA season. Next step to being the Top 10 player he can be is greater full-time focus and growing maturity.

X-Factors

Things the pundits don’t talk enough about that can have a big impact.

Heat – The Bench: The mid-year additions of grizzled Andre Iguodala and old friend Jae Crowder made them more physical defensively and lengthened their bench, which could be a key since we’re never sure what the Celtics bench will do.

Celtics – Marcus Smart: It’d be nice to get Gordon Hayward back, but it’s Marcus who makes big plays in so many different ways. He’s got no fear, which is why he’s the only inconsistent shooter I’m OK seeing take the last shot because he’s convinced he’ll make it even when he’s 1-25.

Five Things Boston Must Do To Win: (1) Do not drift on Miami’s three-point shooters. Especially Robinson and Herro, who they must make put it on the floor, because when they catch and shoot they’re deadly. (2) Solid man defense on everyone because double teams and rotations leave the weak side open, where Miami kills you. (3) Win the transition game. (4) Make threes. Miami will take more, so Boston needs to shoot a better percentage. (5) Tatum can’t drift mentally, because they need him in the moment the whole series.

Pink cars and drive-ins

Change of pace for annual breast cancer fundraiser

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer movement in New Hampshire is taking a different approach to its fundraising efforts this fall. Instead of its usual community walks, Making Strides will host a series of six socially distanced events, including “Drive-in Experiences” in Nashua, Exeter, Concord/Bow and Manchester and “Rolling Pink Car Rallies” in Laconia and North Conway. Chelsea Paradore, senior manager of community development for the American Cancer Society Northeast Region, talked about what the events will look like, how people can get involved and why fundraising for cancer research is important now more than ever.

What will Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events in New Hampshire look like this year?

We have four drive-in experiences. At the largest one, which is in Concord and will be held in the evening, people can donate luminaries in honor or in memory of someone who has been affected by breast cancer or has lost their battle, and we’ll have those luminary bags lit up as people drive in. There will be a movie screen and a stage set up, so we’ll have a video ceremony; we’ll have survivor speakers; we’ll hear from a researcher; we’ll hear from some of our sponsors and different team leaders; and people will share their stories about how they’ve been affected by breast cancer. Then, after inspiring people, we want to kind of lighten things up and have a little fun, so we’ll have a live band that will play. We’re also asking people to deck out their cars in pink, so there will be prizes for the most spirited car, and we’ll have some other fun games going on throughout the evening. … Then, we have a couple car rallies, which are really more about spreading awareness. … People are asked to decorate their cars in pink and have signs on the outside. … So, it’s not going to be the three- to five-mile walk alongside survivors and caregivers that we would normally be doing, but I think we’ve figured out, this year more than ever, that this isn’t just about a walk; it’s about a movement.

How has Covid-19 impacted Making Strides/American Cancer Society?

It has severely impeded our fundraising activity this year. We’re expecting a minimum of a $200 million shortfall, just in 2020. Essentially, we have gone from a $700 million operating budget to $500 million operating budget, which we had to reduce between personnel and non-personnel expenses. We were sadly forced to eliminate approximately 1,000 staff positions nationwide. The remaining staff have had reduced salaries. Our CEO got a 25-percent reduction in salary. … That’s just the immediate impact; who knows what the next couple of years is going to look like? The scariest part is the impact on our mission. Our hallmark is research funding, and right now that’s in jeopardy. [Covid-19] is going to reduce our ability to fund cancer research by 50 percent in 2020, which is the lowest investment this century.

How does the fundraising work?

It’s actually super easy. When someone registers on our website they get a “fundraising dashboard,” and right from that fundraising dashboard they can email their friends and family, and they can start a Facebook fundraiser, which we know is wildly successful. We also have a fundraising app … which connects them right to their fundraising dashboard. They can take donations by credit card, Google Pay and Apple Pay, and they can take checks, which works just like mobile banking.

How do small community events like these help ACS carry out its mission?

Community events are volunteer-led, so we have a group of volunteer committees at each of these [event] locations in New Hampshire, and they pour their heart and soul into planning these events. Volunteer-led events allow us to save money internally on staffing, and therefore more money is going to the cause. … The awareness piece of it is even bigger, in my eyes. It’s really important to reach people in the community on a local level, to let them know what the American Cancer Society can do, should they ever need to call our number; and to make sure they are getting screened properly, talking to their doctors and taking control of their health.

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
Drive-in Experiences
• Nashua South High School, 36 Riverside St., Nashua, Sunday, Oct. 4, 3 to 5 p.m.
• FieldHouse Sports, 12 Tallwood Drive, Bow, Friday, Oct. 16, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
• McDevitt Trucks, 220 Frontage Road, Manchester, Sunday, Oct. 18, 1:30 to 4 p.m.
• Lincoln Street Elementary School, 25 Lincoln St., Exeter, Sunday, Oct. 18, 1 to 4 p.m.
Rolling Pink Car Rallies
• Laconia Middle School, 150 McGrath St., Laconia, Sunday, Oct. 4, 10 a.m. arrival, 10:30 a.m. start
• Stonehurst Manor, 3351 White Mountain Highway, North Conway, Sunday, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. arrival, 10:30 a.m. start
Find registration information for all drive-in and car rally events on Facebook.

Featured photo: Chelsea Paradore. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 20/09/17

Covid-19 updateAs of September 7As of September 14
Total cases statewide7,4767,714
Total current infections statewide238291
Total deaths statewide433436
New cases201 (Sept. 1 to Sept. 7)238 (Sept. 8 to Sept. 14)
Current infections: Hillsborough County8493
Current infections: Merrimack County2022
Current infections: Rockingham County5594
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

Covid-19 news

On Sept. 4, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Exhibit Q to Emergency Order No. 29, which had been issued on April 9. Emergency Order No. 29 requires state agencies, boards and commissions to submit recommendations to Sununu if any regulatory deadlines should be adjusted in response to the state of emergency. Per Exhibit Q, all continuing education requirements for currently permitted New Hampshire septic system designers and installers who had been scheduled to renew their permits by Dec. 31 have been waived. Exhibit Q also extends certain renewal deadlines for those in the Department of Environmental Services’ Waste Management Division that hold tank operator certifications or hazardous waste coordinator certifications that have expired during the state of emergency.
On Sept. 9, Sununu issued Emergency Order No. 68, an order that expands unemployment compensation to Granite Staters. The order was issued to broaden eligibility for New Hampshire residents collecting unemployment to receive an additional $300 in federal benefits from the Lost Wages Assistance Program, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Aug. 8. The next day, during a press conference, Sununu announced that $81 million was paid out to about 57,000 people in New Hampshire through the program.
During the same Sept. 10 press conference, state Department of Health & Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette provided an update on the phased reopening statuses of New Hampshire’s long-term care facilities. She explained that long-term care facilities that operate for two weeks successfully in Phase 2 will get to move to Phase 3 if their counties drop below or maintain below 10 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 residents. Phase 3 allows up to two visitors for each resident at the facility, as well as communal dining and group activities with physical distancing. While long-term care facilities in Belmont and Coos counties were able to remain at Phase 3 of reopening, those in Grafton County fell back from Phase 3 to Phase 2. Facilities in Sullivan County were able to transition to Phase 3 of reopening for the first time, Shibinette said.
Also on Sept. 10, Sununu announced a transfer of $7 million in federal CARES act funding to the New Hampshire Department of Education to support the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School, according to a press release. The public charter school provides online virtual instruction to elementary, middle and high school students in the state. The demand from the school has nearly tripled over the summer, according to the release, with nearly 6,000 students requesting enrollment in more than 18,000 courses.
Details of Sununu’s Emergency Orders, Executive Orders and other announcements can be found at governor.nh.gov.

School funding

The New Hampshire Commission to Study School Funding recently released a report that shows that New Hampshire’s current system for funding schools “may not be working for large segments of students and taxpayers,” according to a press release. The report was prepared by the American Institutes for Research and is meant to guide the commission as it creates a new school funding model. The commission and members of the Carsey School of Public Policy at UNH will examine the report as well as possibilities for more equitable school funding, according to the release, and the commission plans to release its final report later in the year.

Equity in voting

In a letter sent last week to Secretary of State William Gardner, the Manchester Mayor’s Multicultural Advisory Council has expressed concerns about access to voting in the general election. One issue, the letter said, is that immigrants are at risk of missing out on the voting process because materials that explain how to vote are only available in English. “Since expanded Covid-related absentee registration and voting is new and unusual, people who don’t speak English at an advanced level may have difficulty finding out how to exercise their right to vote,” the letter reads. It calls on the state to make the materials available in languages such as Nepali, Swahili, Spanish and French. The second issue is that ballot drop boxes outside of City Hall hours are not allowed. “If there were some drop-off boxes, perhaps at City Hall for a few days before the elections and at the polling places on Election Day, people could drop off their ballots without risk of contracting Covid-19 or having them get delayed or lost in the mail,” the council wrote. The letter invited Gardner to contact the council if he wanted to discuss the matters.

Aluminum tariff

In a letter sent to President Donald Trump on Sept. 8, Gov. Chris Sununu, along with Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, asked Trump to reverse the re-imposition of a 10-percent tariff on imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum from Canada, according to a press release. The letter said that the tariff will raise costs and reduce competitiveness for aluminum-consuming industries in New England, which would disrupt manufacturing and technical production supply chains. “Ultimately, artificially inflated costs will be passed on to consumers who are already struggling with the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the press release said.

Variance denied

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics’ Feb. 11, 2021, deadline for completing construction and installation of a regenerative thermal oxidizer at its Merrimack facility, meant to control the emission of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), will stand after the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services denied Saint-Gobain’s request for a one-year extension, citing a danger to public health. According to a press release, Saint-Gobain submitted a variance petition for the extension in June, requesting the extension due to delays caused by the pandemic as well as the Town of Merrimack’s appeal of an air permit that was issued by NHDES in February. The variance request was denied, according to the release, because of a state statute that says a variance cannot be granted to anyone who is causing air pollution that creates a danger to public health. “The current emission of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) and precursors continue to contribute to an exceedance of ambient groundwater quality standards,” the press release said. Saint-Gobain has 30 days from the time of the decision to appeal.

The White Mountains ranked fourth in USA Today’s top 2020 fall foliage destinations, according to a press release. The only other spot in New England to make the top 10 was Stowe, Vermont, which ranked sixth

Concord is hosting its annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day for Concord and Penacook residents on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Everett Arena. Hazardous waste includes cleaners, oil-based paint, pesticides, adhesives, polishes and fuels, according to a post on concordnh.gov. Proof of residency is required.

The Solinsky Center for Cancer at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, which opened in August, received a $100,000 donation last week from Brady Sullivan Properties. The news center offers “state-of-the-art cancer care and treatment,” according to a press release.

Register now to take part in a blood drive for the American Red Cross on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from noon to 5 p.m. at LaBelle Winery in Amherst. Blood donation time slots are available every 15 minutes and all donors will be tested for Covid-19 antibodies, according to a press release. To reserve a donation time, go to redcrossblood.org/give.html/find-drive.

Voting principles

Being first in the nation for the presidential primary, we in New Hampshire take our politics seriously. Our residents generally take the time to educate themselves before heading to the polls and make a considered, thoughtful vote. The pandemic has changed the way we live our lives and restricted our freedom in many ways. Fortunately, it didn’t slow our desire or ability to vote in the primary on Sept. 8. With more than 90,000 absentee ballots cast, Secretary of State Bill Gardner reported a record turnout with total ballots cast of over 300,000. If you voted in person, there were mask requirements, social distancing, hand sanitizer, and for those who refused to wear a mask, outside voting stations were available in many towns. The months of preparation for a smooth and successful primary election were on display.

In the “Live Free or Die” state we call home, our residents typically have strong convictions and principled views, making it sometimes nearly impossible to prepare for every circumstance during voting day. Just ask Exeter Town Moderator Paul Scafidi. After he informed a voter that she could not wear an anti-Trump T-shirt inside the polling place, the woman surprised everybody by simply taking the T-shirt off and voting topless. In Portsmouth two individuals took exception with being asked to wear a mask to vote, or alternatively to vote in the tented area outside. Both individuals refused to comply with either request, necessitating a call to the police. Ultimately they were allowed to vote inside without a mask, with one noting they “stood up for the courage of our convictions,” according to media reports.

There is an awful lot we don’t agree on these days — who to vote for, Covid-19, mask requirements, in-person or remote learning, and the list goes on. One thing our spirited residents do agree on is the importance of casting your ballot. Gov. Chris Sununu recently tweeted, “Make no mistake: the election will happen in New Hampshire on November 3rd. End of story. Our voting system in NH is secure, safe, and reliable. We have done it right 100% of the time for 100 years – this year will be no different.” Well said. May the Granite State tradition continue.

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