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As New Hampshire voting machines age, state weighs alternatives
New Hampshire cities and towns received a clear warning in 2020: The Accuvote machines used by many communities to count ballots at elections are growing old. In a July 2020 letter to cities and towns, LHS Associates, the Salem-based vendor that sells and services the machines, said it would “continue to provide services and parts […]
Rents continue to climb in New Hampshire amid sluggish construction
Across the American West, construction of new homes is booming, and the cost of rent is falling. New housing starts increased by double-digit percentages there in May, and rents fell about 2 percent. But in New Hampshire, the picture is different. Construction starts have declined in the last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. […]
New Hampshire students are learning faster than in 2019, helping close COVID learning gap
New Hampshire students are learning at a faster pace in 2023 than in 2019, new figures suggest – an indication that schools and teachers are beginning to turn around learning loss from COVID-19. Data from the New Hampshire Student Assessment System shows that New Hampshire students in third to eighth grade are learning at a […]
As foreclosures inch back up, advocates tout housing assistance fund
In the years after COVID-19 arrived, foreclosures in New Hampshire dropped. That was intentional: The federal government imposed a moratorium preventing lenders from carrying out foreclosures on federally backed mortgages, and offered forbearances to allow homeowners to pause their existing payments. Those programs ended last year. And now, the rate of foreclosures across the country […]
Executive Council to weigh new housing units for homeless residents with disabilities
The New Hampshire Executive Council will vote Wednesday on whether to spend $1.6 million to create long-term rental units for homeless residents with disabilities. The contract, submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services, would give the money to Cross Roads House, a Portsmouth-based organization that provides shelters and transitional housing to homeless residents. […]
‘Deepfake’ computer images can constitute harassment, NH Supreme Court holds
The harassment started after the two graduated high school. And the methods were alarmingly modern. The offender would post comments expressing fantasies that the victim would be raped or shot, according to court documents. He uploaded a profile of her onto an online dating app, using her own profile picture. And he used software to […]
With new law, withdrawing from a cooperative school district just became easier
For Mason, New Hampshire, entering a regional cooperative school district was far easier than leaving it. In 1961, schools across the Granite State were consolidating, taking advantage of an expansion in the 1947 state law creating “cooperative school districts.” Mason was part of that; it joined with Greenville, Lyndeborough, New Ipswich, and Wilton to create […]
The Supreme Court ended ‘independent state legislature theory.’ Here’s what that means for NH.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt the final blow to “independent state legislature theory.” Amid blockbuster decisions around affirmative action and student debt relief, the U.S. Supreme Court also ruled on a legal theory that experts said could disrupt the checks and balances over each state’s election laws. In Moore v. Harper, a 6-3 […]
Sununu signs bill raising charitable gaming bet limits
Gov. Chris Sununu signed a wide-ranging bill last week that expands how much people in the state can spend at charitable gaming casinos. Senate Bill 120 allows people to spend up to $50 per individual wager in a game of chance, such as poker, blackjack, and roulette – up from the current cap of $10. […]
Sununu vetoes eating disorder bill after upheaval at national organization
It was a simple idea: a bill requiring the National Eating Disorders Association helpline to be added to New Hampshire student identification cards. But in the months since House Bill 35 was introduced to lawmakers in January, the national organization that runs that hotline has faced major turmoil. In May, it announced it would be […]
Competency-based learning standard for NH schools takes center stage in rules debate
This story was updated on June 28 at 12:00 p.m. to correct the title of Manchester Superintendent Jennifer Gillis. At the Parker-Varney school in Manchester, grades are not part of the curriculum. “Mastery” is. Students work their way through individual concepts, like long division or the mathematical order of operations. There are no letter grades […]
Lawmakers are at odds over bail reform: Here’s what to watch in talks this summer
On a recent Saturday evening, the Manchester Police Department arrested a man they say waved a box cutter at a Dollar Tree employee during a shoplifting attempt. The man, Scott Titus, had recently been released on bail, the department said. He was charged with robbery and violating his bail. Last week, that example made its […]