Tag: 250320

This Week 25/03/20

Thursday, March 20

Tonight’s Art Off the Walls at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St., Manchester, 669-6144, currier.org) will spotlight the works of contemporary artist Ann Agee and her exhibition “Madonna of the Girl Child” is on view at the Currier from March 7 to June 5. The Art off the Walls event is tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged.

Thursday, March 20

The Manchester Garden Club will hold a meeting today at noon and feature “Go Native! Incorporating Native Plants into Your Landscapes” by Jane Raymond, Master Gardener through the UNH Cooperative Extension. The meeting will take place at St. Hedwig Hall, 147 Walnut St., Manchester, and is open to the public.

Friday, March 21

Ventriloquist and comedian Jeff Dunham will take the stage at SNHU Arena (555 Elm St., Manchester, 644-5000, snhuarena.com) tonight at 7 p.m. as part of his Artificial Intelligence Tour. Tickets start at $66.

Friday, March 21

The 11th Annual National SleepOut takes place tonight. This is a challenge to spend a night outside to raise awareness and funds to support New Hampshire’s only low-barrier emergency youth shelter and safe space in Manchester and a range of support services. Visit waypointnh.org.

Saturday, March 22

Join the fun at the Goffstown Public Library (2 High St., Goffstown, 497-2102, goffstownlibrary.com) today from 11 a.m. to noon with The Musical Baseball Show with Howie Newman, former sportswriter for the Boston Globe, the Lowell Sun, the Patriot Ledger and Associated Press. Howie will entertain with live baseball songs, stories, trivia and surprises. Register at the Library’s website.

Saturday, March 22

The Chubb Theatre (Chubb Theatre at CCA, 44 S. Main St., Concord, 225-1111, ccanh.com) presents comedian Whitney Cummings tonight at 7 p.m. on her Big Baby Tour. Tickets start at $37.50.

Saturday, March 22

There’s a Seed Starting Workshop at Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road, Canterbury, 783-9511, shakers.org) this morning from 9 to 11 a.m. Learn from Andy Messenger of Turning Mill Farm how to start your own seedlings for your garden this year. The cost is $20.

Wednesday, March 26

The Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St., Concord, 228-2793, theaudi.org) is hosting two Walker Lectures tonight, starting at 7:30 p.m.: “New England Traditions: Maple Mania” with Willa Coroka and “Discovering New England Stone Walls” with Kevin Gardner. All Walker Lectures are free and open to the public.

Save the Date! Wednesday, March 26

Join Ally the Piper on Friday, March 28, at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St., Derry, 437-5100, tupelomusichall.com). Ally is known for taking the traditional Great Highland bagpipe into the modern era. Tickets are $35.

Featured photo: Ally the Piper. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 25/03/20

Cookies for heroes

There is still time to buy Girl Scout cookies for “Hometown Heroes.” According to Ginger Kozlowski, spokesperson for the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the Gift of Caring program is a way for community members to thank active military members and other professionals who give of themselves to their communities: “Police, fire, hospitals, food banks — almost any charitable or nonprofit kind of [organization].” Gifts may be made online at https://bit.ly/4fquQeW for the rest of cookie season.

QOL score: +1

Comment: According to the website of the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains (1 Commerce Drive, Bedford, 888-471-9686,girlscoutsgwm.org), their most popular cookie is the Thin Mint. This year each box of cookies is $6, which helps support the Girl Scouts and their mission.

Concord man sets medical milestone

As reported in a March 7 online article by New Hampshire Public Radio, a Concord man has received a kidney transplanted from a pig. According to the story, 66-year-old Tim Andrews “is one of only four people in the world who have ever received pig kidneys. And he’s one of just two still living.” The two-and-a-half-hour operation took place on Feb. 7 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. According to a press release from Mass General, the kidney was “a genetically edited pig kidney with 69 genomic edits.” According to the NHPR report, Andrews is on his feet and walking independently.

QOL score: +1

Comment: As reported by NHPR, “Mass General is planning two more pig-to-human kidney transplants this year, as part of a federally approved study.” To hear more from Tim Andrews and his doctors, visit YouTube and search for “Our Milestone Second Successful Xenotransplant.”

Big winners for tiny films

The Nashua Public Library has announced the winners of this year’s Tiny Film Festival. The Library showcased 20 local filmmakers on Friday, March 7, at this third annual event. According to a March 10 press release from the Library, “film submissions were open to everyone and featured only two criteria: the film had to be under 60 seconds and must be suitable for viewing by all ages.” The winner of the Kids 12 and Under category was Skunk Movie by Elizabeth Goemans, and the runner-up was Little Worm by Laurel Guarneri. In the Teen category, Lyriq Rivera, Vidhi Pawar and Chase Coffin won for The Other Side, with Yin vs. Yang by Gil and Roy Costa taking second-place honors. In the Adult category, Case of the Missing Pizza by Ronit Sinha and Dark by 3 by Andi Cass took first and second place.

QOL score: +1

Comment: View the films at nashualibrary.org/tinyfilmfestival.

QOL score last week: 57

Net change: +3

QOL this week: 60

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

Let us know at [email protected].

March Madness arrives

The Big Story – NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: It all started with Tuesday’s play-in games, which included San Diego State vs. (yup, once mighty) North Carolina. It goes full throttle Thursday with the top seeds being Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida. The two biggest questions are (1) Can 10-seed UConn be the first to win three straight titles since the UCLA dynasty won seven between 1967 and 1973? and (2) How close to full strength will Larry Bird play-alike Cooper Flagg be when Duke opens Friday after spraining his ankle last weekend?

Sports 101: Aside from UCLA’s seven straight titles, how many of the eight other schools to win back-to-back NCAA titles can you name?

News Item – The Good, Bad and Ugly for Pats Last Week: Good – They solidified the defense, with the best FA signings being Eagles nose tackle Milton Williams and Detriot CB Carlton Davis. Edge rusher Harold Landry’s wasn’t bad either. Bad – Maybe he can’t play anymore, but not throwing a fifth-round pick at the desperate for anything Rams to take a flier on Cooper Kupp seems dumb. Especially with him signed at manageable money for just two years. Ugly – They got no left tackle and no number one wideout, leaving their two biggest needs unfilled.

News Item – Garrett Crochet: The new Sox hurler was named the opening day starter. Given his numbers — one run allowed in four starts with a whopping 21 strikeouts in 10.1 innings — that’s hard to argue with. That’s 18.2 k’s per nine innings and is more than baseball’s all-time one-game record was for 85 years until Roger Clemens struck out 20 in 1986. Can someone please tell me why top prospect Roman Anthony only had 22 at-bats as of Monday? That he knocked in eight runs in those 22 is impressive, as that projects to 240 RBI over a full season! I know, not possible, but that’s what it comes to in a short sample size.

Biggest Sox Question – They still don’t know who the closer will be.

Biggest Sox Surprise – Trayce Thompson. Klay Thompson’s unheralded little brother has a team-leading six homers and 13 RBI in 30 AB’s.

Sox Injured List – Starters Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford will start 2025 on the IL.

News Item – NFL FA Leftovers: The vaunted QB draft class of 2021 with five taken in the first 15 picks is likely the biggest bust ever. With Justin Fields (Jets), Zach Wilson (Miami) and Mac Jones (SF) moving last week they’re all now on their third teams. Trey Lance was bounced out of SF after just two years and first overall pick Trevor Lawrence ain’t exactly the most popular guy in Jax these days. After leaving the Giants and Steelers hanging I’d tell Aaron Rodgers to stuff it. Dealing with his nonsense once might have been worth it, but now it’s a distraction.

The Numbers:

6 – record-setting number of schools Rick Pitino has taken to the NCAA Tournament after St. John’s won the Big East Tourney Saturday to join BU, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.

70 – pace for the second most wins in NBA history the Cleveland Cavaliers are on.

Of the Week:

Thumbs Up – David Andrews: A true Patriots gamer gets it on his way out the door after being released.

Random Thoughts: Calling the SEC having 14 teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament “historic” is a joke. With major conference expansions as schools defect from their traditional conferences that’s no great accomplishment, because the big schools are stuffed into half as many conferences as there used to be. Jones to SF and Jacoby Brissett to Houston. The Pats are supplying the NFL with QB’s.

Sports 101 Answer: The back-to-back winning schools are Oklahoma State (45-46), Kentucky (48-49), San Francisco (55-56), Cincinnati (61-62), UCLA (64-65), Duke (91-92), Florida (06-07) and UConn (23-24).

Final Thought – Golf Media:

After he suffered a torn Achilles last week it’s sad to see Tiger Woods hurt again. But when is the golf media going to understand that he is no longer a big story? Every time a big tournament rolls around, like last week’s Players Championship, he’s a lead story despite the fact he’s far more likely to miss the cut than finish in the Top 25. Last week’s headline was Tiger Won’t Be Here This Year. It’s just nuts. Earth to golf media: It’s over. Like with Michael Jordan, Willie Mays and Peyton Manning the end comes for everyone no matter how great they are. And then those still don’t lead Super Bowl and World Series stories.

Why don’t they just let it be and put him in the Hall? Because no matter what, he ain’t coming back to within three time zones of what he once was.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

News & Notes 25/03/20

Open senate seat in ’26

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced on March 12 that she will not seek reelection in 2026, according to a press release.

Shaheen, who is 78 according to Wikipedia, was the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire, in 1996; she served three terms, the release said. In 2008 she was elected U.S. Senator, the release said.

“There are urgent challenges ahead, both here at home and around the world. And while I’m not seeking reelection, believe me, I am not retiring. I am determined to work every day over the next two years and beyond to continue to try and make a difference for the people of New Hampshire and this country,” Shaheen said, according to the release. See shaheen.senate.gov for her video message and a video highlighting her accomplishments. Married to Dover native Billy Shaheen, Jeanne Shaheen has three daughters and seven grandchildren, the release said.

Ed commissioner

NH Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut will “complete his term in office and will continue in holdover status to support schools through the end of the school year,” according to a press release from Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s office. Edelblut is the longest-serving education commissioner in the country, having served since 2017, the release said. “My office will launch a search for our next Education Commissioner who will build on this momentum and further our goal of improving our standards and academic performance, supporting our incredible teachers, and delivering a best-in-class education for every child in New Hampshire,” Ayotte said, according to the release.

Raw milk alert

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services sent out a press release on March 14 advising consumers not to drink Brookvale Pine Farm raw milk with “best if used by” dates through March 22 because the milk “may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.” The release said that the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food notified DHHS that a cow at the farm was diagnosed with listeria infection, the release said. The milk was sold in half-gallon containers at the Brookvale Mercantile in Brentwood, the release said. “Brookvale Pines Farm is working closely with DHHS to conduct ongoing milk testing, contact customers who may have purchased raw milk from the farm, and ensure the public’s health and safety,” the release said.

“To report an illness after raw milk consumption, contact DPHS at 603-271-4496. For more information about raw milk, visit the CDC website,” cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/raw-milk.html, the release said.

The Derry Public Library, 64 E. Broadway in Derry, will host a Red Cross blood drive on Saturday, March 29, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. To register call 800-73302767 or go to redcrossblood.org.

“Worlds,” featuring works by artists Julian Kent and Emma Kohlmann, is open now at Outer Space Arts, 35 Pleasant St. in Concord. The paintings will be on view through May 18; the gallery space is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. See outerspacearts.xyz.

“Three Vignettes” is open now at the Alva de Mars Megan Chapel Art Center at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. “This exhibition comprises works from the permanent collection, with brief essays/meditations by 17 Saint Anselm College students,” according to a press release. The exhibit is open through May 9 and the gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday, 4 to 7 p.m.

The Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St. in Nashua, will hold a “Little Green Thumbs” program on Wednesday, March 26, at 4:30 p.m. for grades K through 5. Kids will learn how to plant basil seeds and take care of the plant, according to a Facebook post. See nashualibrary.org.

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