A Black Lives Matter protest more accessible to those in the disabled community is being organized for next Friday in Portsmouth.
Since the pandemic hit, visits from family members and volunteers in nursing homes in New Hampshire have been severely curtailed. That’s to protect vulnerable residents — about 80% of COVID-related deaths in the state have occurred in long-term care facilities. Still, workers in nursing homes and family members say that residents are suffering mentally and emotionally from missing out on visits with their loved ones and social opportunities within the nursing home.
When Birch Hill owner Mary Anne Baron was losing practically all of her summer reservations and her fall dates were seeing fewer guests due to restrictions and attendees’ concerns with larger gatherings, she knew she had to think of something to recoup lost money. With all the venue’s events on her property either outside or in a barn with no heat, her season is limited.
(Chairs were spaced out for Bryan and Irma Keeler’s wedding at Birch Hill Farm in Gilford. [Courtesy/Irma Keeler])
During a year when many New Hampshire families are struggling to find childcare solutions that allow parents to work while students learn remotely, the school wanted to ensure that its 510 employees wouldn’t have to choose between working and supervising their own kids, said Timothy J. Powers, headmaster of Pinkerton Academy. The independent school has contracts with six towns — Auburn, Candia, Chester, Hampstead, Hooksett and Derry — to provide education to their high schoolers. The program, called Junior Astro Scholars, allows students enrolled in remote learning to come to work with their parents. The kids complete their assignments in a spare space at Pinkerton Academy, helped by a certified educator who was already employed by the school. The program is free for staff.
Si planeas presentar una papeleta de ausencia o votar en persona, o si aun no sabes cómo votar y necesitas más información al respecto, NHPR puede ayudarte.
Los lineamientos de los funcionarios electorales siguen en desarrollo y están publicando nueva información constantemente. Seguiremos actualizando la guía que encontrarás a continuación y haremos lo mejor en ajustarnos a la información que se publica.
(CREDIT ALLEGRA BOVERMAN FOR NHPR)
The number of families seeking food from the New Hampshire Food Bank has nearly tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic began, increasing from about 200-250 families per week to 500-650, according to Nancy Mellitt, director of development for New HampshireNH Food Bank, which runs the food bank. She said 1-in-7 Granite Staters or 14.2 percent of the population are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where they will get their next meal.
(The New Hampshire Food Bank's main headquarters is located on East Industrial Drive in Manchester./Pat Grossmith photo)
After the fireworks following President Donald Trump’s address to close out the Republican National Convention, Chris Ager started to walk back to his Washington, D.C. hotel along streets erupting with protesters. Ager, the Republican National Committeeman representing New Hampshire, walked with his jacket draped over his left arm and carried a pair of red heels belonging to the woman to his right. A crowd followed the pair in an exchange that was caught on video and viewed on social more than 3 million times by Friday afternoon.
(This image taken from Twitter shows Republican National committeeman, Chris Ager, who represents New Hampshire, trying to get back to his hotel from the White House Thursday night. Jonathan Van Fleet—Courtesy)
As a founding member of Granite State Home Educators and chairman of the Home Education Advisory Council (cq), a liaison group that connects home educators with the New Hampshire Department of Education, Michelotti has lots of experience with homeschool. She also educates her three sons, ages 13, 10 and 6. Despite her enthusiasm for homeschooling, she says that the parents who are opting to homeschool this year because of the pandemic face unique challenges.
(Kitty Michelotti and her husband Nathan Glaser, of Derry, homeschool their three sons, Riley, 13, Jack, 10, and Morgan, 6. They find that involving the boys in homeschooling decisions keeps them engaged. Courtesy photo, Kitty Michelotti.)
The New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association is currently surveying the state to find out exactly how many restaurants have closed since the start of the pandemic. It’s hard to tell now, since not all businesses publicize their closure, but the association predicts that anywhere from 50 to 300 restaurants across the state have shuttered, according to Mike Somers, CEO of the association and a member of the governor’s economic re-opening task force.
(Broken Spoon in Franklin is set to open by mid-September. Photo: Jordyn Haime, Granite State News Collaborative.)
The religious tent revival has drawn hundreds of out-of-staters to New Ipswich since it started last week. News of the coming crowd caused town officials as well as officials from neighboring towns to speak out against it, saying it is a health risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tent revival was one of the reasons Gov. Chris Sununu issued an emergency order last week that requires face masks be worn at any scheduled gatherings of more than 100 people. Additionally, a road sign flashing a COVID-19 warnings -- including “COVID RISK HIGH” -- was provided by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation through the Attorney General’s office.
The economic impact of coronavirus has been centered on industries that employ a disproportionate number of women. More women than men have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, with 11.5 million women newly unemployed between February and May compared to 9 million men, according to data from Pew Research Center. That’s different from the 2008 recession, when men were twice as likely to lose their jobs. Hispanic women have been especially hard hit this year, seeing a 21% reduction in employment between February and May.
(When she walks onto a job site, Krista McCullough says she has three disadvantages: she’s young, female, and working in safety. Courtesy photo, Krista McCullough.)
The pathogen that provoked lockdowns this past spring is only one of many worries for public school students who may be nervous watching their parents lose jobs or seeing family members get sick, or possibly die. Some students are tangled in abusive home lives they can’t escape from. They may be falling behind in their academics because of the lack of routine or a quiet place to study.
(Peer leadership students at John Stark High School work on a mental health awareness project for younger grades. (Courtesy photo))
Many areas already got a taste of what can happen with COVID-19 when the novel virus shut down most of the outdoor activities prematurely at the end of the 2019-2020 season. This season, the pandemic is giving many mountains and cross-country areas a new look. Changes will be coming in restaurants, ticket areas, rest rooms, rental areas and possibly lift lines in order to help people maintain social distance.
(Downhill ski areas have the luxury of of expansive space for plenty of social distancing. Courtesy photo by Gunstock Mountain)
En marzo, un moratorio nacional de prevención de desalojo a inquilinos de ciertas propiedades, fue incluido como parte del paquete de ayuda federal ante la situación del coronavirus. Bajo esta orden, los inquilinos en propiedades respaldadas por hipotecas federales y programas de alojamiento, podían quedarse en casa así no hayan podido pagar la renta. Sin embargo, el moratorio expiró el 25 de julio.
Miles de niños en New Hampshire podrían ser elegibles para recibir beneficios de alimentos aunque sus familias aun no reciban asistencia del Programa de Asistencia de Nutrición Suplementaria, conocido en inglés como SNAP.
Algunos defensores legales en el estado están tratando de esparcir esta información sobre los programas que han surgido durante la pandemia y trabajan con el miedo que tienen las familias de no aplicar porque piensan que no son elegibles para cupones de alimentos.
Los votos extendidos de ausencia han llegado a New Hampshire.
Desde el lunes 27 de julio, los residentes de cualquier pueblo pueden pedir y recibir papeletas de voto ausente para las elecciones primarias del estado en septiembre y para la elección general del 3 de noviembre. Esto es oficial según la secretaría del estado, la cual, maneja la distribución de papeletas en New Hampshire.
Many readers of this column are New Hampshire business owners who, from time to time, use the services of New Hampshire lawyers, and a few readers are themselves New Hampshire lawyers. The following thoughts about the short-term and long-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on New Hampshire lawyers may be of interest to these readers, but perhaps also to other readers as well.
Si New Hampshire quiere ganar la guerra contra el COVID-19, va a necesitar de un ejército de trabajadores comunitarios de salud, dice la doctora Trinidad Tellez, directora de la oficina de equidad de la salud para el departamento de salud y servicios humanos.
“No importa qué tipo de cultura, tener un miembro confiable de la comunidad es lo que brinda un trabajador comunitario de salud", dijo Tellez en inglés.
