Briefs
FDA panel recommends OK for Pfizer’s vaccine for kids 5 to 11
WASHINGTON – A federal vaccine advisory panel on Tuesday recommended authorizing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, a decision that means as soon as next week everyone in the U.S. over age 5 is expected to be eligible for a shot. The vote by the Food & Drug Administration panel, with 17 […]
Charter schools see dip in enrollment
New Hampshire’s charter schools saw a dip in enrollment this year, registering a 6 percent drop created in part by the closure of schools in Manchester and Pembroke. In total, 3,835 students were attending charter schools as of the start of the school year, according to figures presented to the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee by […]
New legislation aims to protect groundwater
A proposal to site New England’s first new landfill in over a decade in New Hampshire has sparked outrage and some local support – and also legislation. On the heels of a failed attempt to create a 2-mile buffer between landfills and state parks, a new proposal instead puts the focus on groundwater and how […]
Senate committee supports faster access to telehealth treatment for substance use disorder
One of the governor’s pandemic emergency orders allowed those with substance use disorder to get a prescription for medication-assisted treatment quickly via telehealth, without first waiting days or weeks to meet with a medical provider. It connected users with treatment the moment they decided to seek it, key advocates say, to success. When the emergency […]
Net metering, community power measures go into effect
Municipalities can now net meter up to 5 megawatts of power, thanks to a new law that went into effect on Monday. The law also contains important provisions to move community power efforts forward, with over a dozen municipalities across the state poised to start procuring their own power. Community power allows local governments, like […]
Health care providers slam Executive Council for rejecting $27 million for vaccination efforts
Health care providers joined the chorus Monday condemning the Executive Council’s Republicans for rejecting $27 million in vaccine outreach. The providers pointed to a rise in cases among children and an understaffed health care network unprepared to deliver COVID-19 and flu vaccines, as well as booster shots, while also handling non-pandemic care like pregnancies and […]
State given go-ahead to use $15.1 million in federal money to purchase Hampstead Hospital
This story was updated Oct. 22, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. after the Executive Council agenda was published. The Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee gave Gov. Chris Sununu and the Department of Health and Human Services the go-ahead Friday to use $15.1 million in federal money to purchase 111-bed Hampstead Hospital to serve as a children’s inpatient […]
$800,000 to go toward boosting learning loss programs for English language learners
When Manchester schools went remote for the 2020 school year, it wasn’t just school administrators who had to cobble together new learning programs. The team at BRING IT had to reinvent the wheel, too. For 15 years, the organization has run after-school programs in the city targeted toward New Americans, refugees, and those learning English, […]
Fiscal committee approves use of $4.7 million in federal funding for vaccination efforts
In a 10-0 vote Friday, the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee approved a Department of Health and Human Services request to use $4.7 million in alternative federal funding to do some of the vaccine-related work envisioned in the $27 million federal contracts rejected last week by the Executive Council. In arguing for increased vaccine outreach and […]
Sununu, Shibinette seek approval of new spending plan for vaccination program
Gov. Chris Sununu and Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette confirmed they have asked the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee to approve a new spending plan for the state’s vaccination program at its meeting Friday. In a letter Sununu’s office released Thursday afternoon, the two told committee members the Executive Council’s recent rejection of $27 […]
Sununu Center committee to file recommendations by Nov. 1, but with few specifics
Lawmakers charged with creating a plan for closing and replacing the state’s juvenile detention facility will file recommendations by their Nov. 1 deadline. But those recommendations will be vague because there was not time to do more, they said Thursday. During their final meeting, some committee members also expressed doubt a replacement of the Sununu […]
Legislative committee approves use of robotic delivery devices
New Hampshire could be on the path to legalizing and regulating autonomous package carriers, after the House Transportation Committee voted unanimously to recommend a bill to do so. In a 20-0 vote Tuesday, members of the committee recommended a bill that would allow a “personal delivery device” or “mobile carrier” to operate on sidewalks and […]