Egg-cellent news
The peregrine falcon couple that lives in the nest box atop the Brady Sullivan Building in Manchester has welcomed this year’s eggs — four, brick-red-colored eggs, with the first egg laid March 20 and the fourth laid during the afternoon on March 28, according to the daily log of the peregrine activity (find a link in the chat on the YouTube live feed of the nest box). According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, peregrine eggs take about a month to hatch, so by May Day, Manchester should have new peregrines to add to its bird count.
QOL score: +1
Comments: A live camera feed of the Brady Sullivan Nest Box can be viewed by searching YouTube for Peregrine Networks Live Peregrine Falcon Feed1.
A cleaner New Hampshire
A recently released report from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that toxic pollutants in New Hampshire have decreased over the past decade. The 2022 Toxics Release Inventory (commonly known as a TRI Report) announced that toxic releases and toxic pollutants to the air, land and water have decreased significantly over the past 10 years, and that toxic emissions have “decreased by 71% over the last 10 years, due to the significant reductions of certain TRI chemicals at several manufacturing facilities and significant reductions from power plants,” the EPA reported last week in a press release.
QOL score: +1
Comments: Nationwide, releases of TRI chemicals have decreased by 21 percent. See awsgispub.epa.gov/trina2022/summary.
Faster fire rescue responses
Last week Nashua Fire Rescue announced the launch of a new emergency vehicle traffic preemption system, replacing the outdated Opticom system that has served for nearly 35 years. As reported by Nashua Ink Link on Thursday, March 28, Nashua’s new Glance Traffic Preemption system uses GPS, cellular and 900 MHz signaling technology to alert traffic signals at more than 90 intersections across the city of the approach of a fire apparatus, and changes the lights to allow emergency vehicles through, for a faster response time. In a phone interview, Fire Dispatch confirmed that the new system went online this week.
QOL score: +1
Comments: The $600,000 project was made possible through funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and was approved by the Nashua Board of Aldermen in 2022.
A cold night out
More than 165 people signed up to raise funds for Waypoint’s 10th Annual SleepOut on Friday, March 29, according to a story in the Boston Globe. Participants spent a night sleeping outside to earn money for programs at Waypoint, a statewide nonprofit that provides services for homeless young adults across New Hampshire’s programs, the story said. According to Cindy Stewart, Development Director at Waypoint, money is still coming in from the event, but so far, this SleepOut has raised more than $420,000.
QOL score: +1 for the fundraising and fundraisers
Comments: According to Waypoint, up to 15,000 New Hampshire youth experience homelessness each year.
QOL score: 62
Net change: +4
QOL this week: 66
What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire?
Let us know at news@hippopress.com.