Tag: 261001

Quality of Life 26/10/01

Maybe just burn a pile of money, instead

As reported in a Sept. 20 online article by WMUR, the current record prices for heating oil in New Hampshire are expected to climb even more aggressively than usual. “The average house will pay 31 percent more for home heating oil,” the article read, “running the average household nearly $2,300 this winter. The rising prices are closely tied to the Iran war, and New England will feel the greatest impact, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: WMUR reported in the same article that the state recently passed new laws requiring heating oil companies to be more transparent about their fees.

“Oh, that was due this month?”

New Hampshire Public Radio reported in a Sept. 28 online article that “credit card delinquency in New Hampshire is reaching levels not seen since the Great Recession.” NHPR wrote, “The state’s Department of Employment Security recently analyzed consumer debt data for the first quarter of 2025, the most recent state-level information available. Their analysis shows nearly 12 percent of New Hampshire borrowers have severely delinquent debt, and they’re particularly behind on paying off credit card and auto loan debt. Nearly 10 percent of Granite State borrowers are severely delinquent on credit card payments, similar to the rate between 2006 and 2010 leading up to and during the Great Recession. Severely delinquent auto loans have also increased to 4.6 percent, although they haven’t reached the recession-era peak of six percent.”

QOL score: -1

Comment: NHPR said, “A borrower is considered delinquent when they haven’t paid their scheduled debt payment, and they are ‘severely delinquent’ if their bill is at least 90 days past due.”

The bird-watching equivalent of spotting a yeti

In a Sept. 16 Joy of Birding blog post the New Hampshire Audubon Society (nhaudubon.org) confirmed that a Chilean Skua, a species normally found at the very southern tip of South America, had been reliably identified near the Isles of Shoals on Sept. 8. “The two trip leaders were split,” the post read. “Steve Mirick believed we had seen a South Polar Skua, a rare sighting for New Hampshire but not totally unexpected bird (this would be the 4th record for the state), and Ben Griffith thought it was a Great Skua, a bird never seen in New Hampshire waters but that occasionally had been found in the Gulf of Maine.” Ultimately, it turned out to be a much more unlikely sighting.

QOL score: +1

Comment: An editor’s note at the end of the Audubon post put the sighting in perspective. “To understand how truly rare a Chilean Skua would be in New Hampshire and North America, visit eBird and look at past reports of Chilean Skua globally. … As far as we can tell, there are no previous records of Chilean Skua in North America, let alone New Hampshire.” Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org.

QOL score last week: 62

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 63

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

News & Notes 26/10/01

Follow-up

Some follow-up to two news stories from last week that made the QOL:

• The Manchester Police Department has “made an arrest in the vandalism of the Moka Pot” in downtown Manchester, according to a Sept. 25 department press release. “Twenty-year-old Tyler Inman of Allenstown has been charged with Criminal Mischief and Falsifying Evidence in connection with the incident,” the release said. “Given the nature of the alleged conduct, the case will be prosecuted in coordination with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office,” the release said.

• After closing on Sept. 21, the Queen City Bridge was reopened, according to a press release dated Sept. 24 from Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais’ office, posted on the Manchester Department of Public Works’ Facebook page. “[E]ngineers cleared the bridge for reopening following the additional testing and evaluation conducted in response to concerts identified during the recent inspection,” the release said. In a statement in the press release, Ruais said, “The City also appreciated the cooperation and patience of motorists who were impacted by the closure and detours.” Tim Clougherty, director of Public Works, also had a statement in the press release, saying, “The additional inspection and testing were conducted to ensure that the condition of the bridge was fully understood before it was returned to service.”

Family summit

Tickets are on sale now to the 14th Annual Strengthening Families Summit slated for Tuesday, Nov. 3, at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord and held by the NH Children’s Trust (described on its website as an organization “leading the drive to strengthen families and communities, through education, advocacy, and collaboration that prevents child abuse and neglect.”), according to a press release. The summit runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and includes a continental breakfast and a lunch as well as a keynote speech by Tim Rourke, “a national consultant and strategist focused on behavioral health policy, systems transformation and expanding equitable access to care,” according to nhchildrenstrust.org, where you can purchase tickets.

Potato & Hawk

Current and future voters can get the basics on voting and what to expect to see on election day in New Hampshire in the roughly five-and-a-half-minute video “Ed and Cate Go to the Polls,” a civic education project by the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office and KartoonEDU. The video, launched in September at Nottingham Elementary School, features Ed, a potato (the state vegetable), and Cate, a red-tailed hawk (the state raptor), according to a Sept. 4 press release. “In the video, Ed and Cate educate voters on each step of the voting process on election day, highlighting the many checks and balances in place that ensure our elections are safe, secure and accessible,” the release said. The video also includes an up-close look at ballot counting devices. Find a link to the video via the NH Secretary of State’s Facebook page or under the “Notices” section at sos.nh.gov, where you can also find voting information.

An artist reception for photographer Becky Field for the exhibit “Finding Home: Portraits and Memories of Immigrants” will be held Thursday, Oct. 1, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Proctor Academy, 204 Main St. in Andover, in the Brown Gallery, according to a press release. To view the exhibit or attend the reception, email campus curator Molly Leith at leithmo@proctoracademy.org, the release said.

The Forum Pub, 15 Village St. in Concord, will honor the late actor Tim Curry with “Tim Curry Evening and Rocky Horror Sing-along” on Saturday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 11 p.m., according to the Forum Pub’s Facebook page.

The Wilton Folk Cafe Coffeehouse at the Wilton Collaborative Space, 21 Gregg St., 2nd Congregational Church Hall in Wilton, will present Coastwise Radio, a six-piece American roots acoustic band from Massachusetts, on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m., according to a press release. Doors open at 7 p.m.; reserve seats by emailing strumma@aol.com or calling Sandy at 603-654-1245.

“Swordplay!,” a presentation that will “focus on sharp, pointy weapons with re-enactor Anne Kraemer,” is slated for the Oct. 8 Beer for History program at the American Independence Center’s Folsom Tavern in Exeter, held on select Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., according to a press release. Tickets cost $25; see aicnh.org.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!