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Bill aims to give FBI control of gun background checks
State lawmakers are weighing whether to eliminate the role of New Hampshire State Police in handgun background checks and defer to the FBI instead. A bill passed by the Senate in early April would end New Hampshire’s “gun line” – the service by which state police assist firearm sellers with background checks for prospective buyers. […]
Outdoor dining gets a push for permanence – with a catch
As New Hampshire restaurants and bars gear up for a second summer of COVID-era outdoor dining – from parking lots to city side streets – some state lawmakers are pushing to make the option permanent. A bill moving through the House would allow restaurants to “expand outside wherever an outdoor dining area can be set […]
Liquor Commission sees $10 million boost in sales during pandemic
New Hampshire liquor profits have stayed strong during the pandemic – so strong that they’ve offset a rise in state Medicaid costs. As the 2021 state fiscal year nears a close, officials at the New Hampshire Liquor Commission expect to take in $151.6 million in revenue between July 2020 and June 2021, about $9.8 million […]
Job-search requirement for unemployment to be reinstated
A year after expanding the eligibility and minimum payment of New Hampshire’s unemployment system for the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Chris Sununu is moving to restrain it. In an announcement Thursday, Sununu said the state would restore the requirement that a person be actively looking for employment in order to qualify for unemployment insurance. That change […]
For youngest students and their teachers, ‘back to normal’ carries big challenges
Charlene Kurtz has weathered it all since COVID-19 hit – from screens to schedule changes. A year ago, the Manchester kindergarten and first-grade teacher wasn’t sure how she would teach core concepts to 7-year-olds over a camera and a computer. These days, she feels like she’s mastered it. “I’ll be honest: Almost all of my […]
How school lunch leftovers could help in hunger fight
New Hampshire lawmakers are hoping to tackle a persistent problem in the state’s schools: leftover school lunch food that goes to waste. House Bill 500 would allow schools to team up with nonprofit programs to redistribute leftovers. Under the law, schools could repackage perishable meals into frozen meals and send them home on Fridays for […]
Court nominee Conway withdraws her name
Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway has withdrawn her name from consideration to serve as a superior court judge, Gov. Chris Sununu announced Wednesday, a day after at least two executive councilors had raised objections. In brief remarks to the Executive Council Wednesday morning, Sununu said he had received a call from Conway. “I’ll note that […]
Some schools struggle to meet mandate on in-person learning
When Seacoast Charter School in Portsmouth opened its doors for the school year last fall, there was little in the way of hard guidelines from the state. So the district designed its own plan. The school divided its students into “cohorts.” Cohort A would come into school for in-person learning on Monday and Tuesday and […]
Voting record of superior court nominee Conway under scrutiny
The state Attorney General’s Office has been asked to investigate whether a superior court judicial nominee lived in one town and voted in another in 2008. At a confirmation hearing last week, Rockingham County Attorney Patricia Conway said she voted in Atkinson in 2008 while helping her elderly father to the polls. At that time, […]
Agreement reached on law to release ‘Laurie List’ on police misconduct
This story was updated April 17, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. Police unions, New Hampshire newspapers, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office say they have reached an agreement on a way to release the state’s “Laurie List” – a list compiled over decades of police officers with credible complaints of […]
State’s mayors seek restoration of revenue sharing
New Hampshire’s 13 mayors are turning to the Senate for an ambitious ask: a boost in municipal aid in the budget. In a letter sent Wednesday to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Gary Daniels, mayors from Claremont to Rochester urged Senate budget writers to restore revenue sharing to cities and towns – a once-standard budgeting approach […]
Budget dispute: House Finance chairman issues ultimatum to Senate colleagues
A week after passing New Hampshire’s two-year budget onto the Senate, one prominent House Republican is urging his Senate colleagues to keep some of its most controversial items in place – or risk defeat on the House floor. In an email Wednesday, House Finance Chairman Ken Weyler urged the Senate Finance Committee to keep a […]