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Portsmouth Activists Plan Accessible Black ...

A Black Lives Matter protest more accessible to those in the disabled community is being organized for next Friday in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth Activists Plan Accessible Black Lives Matter Protest

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The Green Economy

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The Green Economy

Across sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted businesses large and small, even forcing some local favorites to shutter for good. But for the green energy economy in the Monadnock Region and beyond, there could be a bright spot on the horizon.

According to a report published in December by the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar energy accounted for 43% of new U.S. power capacity additions through the third quarter of 2020. And the industry expects to install more than 19 gigawatts of solar this year, which is enough to power more than 3.6 million homes — a 43% increase compared to the previous year.

Monadnock Agriculture: A Year of Highs and Lows

Monadnock Agriculture: A Year of Highs and Lows

While it’s too soon to tell what the hard figures for 2020 will be for agriculture, trends emerging from the area tell a complicated story. One that Beth Hodge of Echo Farms and current Cheshire County Farm Bureau president says is “a year of highs and lows.”

With consumers looking for safe alternatives to grocery stores, the clear winners this year were produce-based businesses.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Manufacturing: Pivoting Pays Off for Area Manufacturers

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Manufacturing: Pivoting Pays Off for Area Manufacturers

Innovation and the ability to pivot and adapt to the changing marketplace became more important than ever before for manufacturers in 2020. Many Monadnock Region manufacturers predict growth in production in 2021 because of the pandemic and the varying demands it has created.

“It was an unconventional year, and it was a challenging year, but it was a good year,” notes Whitney Brothers Company President Mike Jablonski.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Retail: Still Uneasy, But More Confident of Survival

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Retail: Still Uneasy, But More Confident of Survival

Uncertainty is something that many retail owners are dealing with, both around the country and throughout the Monadnock Region. Since coronavirus shut down large swaths of the U.S. economy in March, the retail industry has been rocked. While online mega-retailers, such as Amazon, are seeing profits skyrocket, most retailers have seen a sales slump. Overall, it is estimated that the American retail market will drop more than 10% in 2020, a more significant fall than in 2009, during the Global Financial Crisis.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Health & Wellness

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Health & Wellness

For some, keeping active amidst an ongoing pandemic has posed many challenges, but for those operating various fitness centers in the Monadnock Region, a whole new set of obstacles are stretching them thin.

This past summer, local gyms and yoga studios were able to ease back into in-person activities, which helped these businesses gain momentum. But as the winter approached — and the second wave of the pandemic hit our area — gym and yoga studio attendance has fallen by the wayside.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The Pandemic & Health of Local Economy: The Numbers

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: The Pandemic & Health of Local Economy: The Numbers

In the nine-plus months since COVID-19’s torrent upending of everyday life, Michael Polizotti, a policy analyst at the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI), has concluded that, despite the economic recession induced by the coronavirus, the ability to draw comparisons between the current state of local economies and other eras of financial turmoil isn’t simply apples-to-apples.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Travel & Tourism

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Travel & Tourism

The pandemic has impacted every level of tourism in New Hampshire, from leaf peeping to the 2021 ski season. Visitors are faced with state regulations both in New Hampshire and often in their home state as well.

It’s because of these challenges that Lori Harnois, New Hampshire Tourism Director, says, “The Division is not forecasting travel or spending for the 2020-21 winter season. Similar to summer and fall, due to COVID-19, there are many unknowns and variables with the potential to impact visitation and visitor spending, making it difficult to project those figures.”

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Construction & Economic Development

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: Construction & Economic Development

While some sectors have seen business plummet due to the pandemic, the construction industry seems to be moving ahead as usual in New Hampshire. Both residential and commercial construction projects are still in demand.

“We’ve definitely still seen a steady set of pre-development activity and applications” for funding for commercial projects, notes Katherine Easterly Martey, executive director of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA). “That’s been good.”

Gyms Adapting To Business During Covid-19

Gyms Adapting To Business During Covid-19

The beginning of the year is usually the busiest time for gyms, with New Year’s resolutions resulting in new gym devotees and people coming in from the cold to work out. The recent boom in-home workout options like Peloton and Mirror makes competition fiercer, so gym owners are working hard to make clients feel safe despite the ongoing pandemic.

NH Fiscal Policy Institute Holds Panel to Address Food Insecurity

NH Fiscal Policy Institute Holds Panel to Address Food Insecurity

Trends from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI) suggest that New Hampshire’s food insecure households recovered from the Great Recession slower than the rest of the nation -- a trend that has worsened in the state as complications from the coronavirus crisis continue to arise.

NHFPI hosted a virtual event Wednesday (Feb. 3) featuring guest speakers from the New Hampshire Food Bank and New Hampshire Hunger Solutions in an effort to understand trends of food security in the midst of the pandemic. The presentation, titled Food Insecurity and Economic Conditions During the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Crisis, highlighted New Hampshire residents’ ongoing struggles with food insecurity and endeavors to combat the issue.

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Data suggests racial bias in NH traffic stops

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Data suggests racial bias in NH traffic stops

State Trooper Michael Arteaga was parked in an unmarked cruiser on the north side of the Hampton tolls on a clear spring evening in 2018, when he noticed two men driving north in a late model Cadillac sedan with Connecticut plates.

[. . .]

The trooper eventually turned on his blue lights and had the Cadillac pull over, ostensibly for going 67 mph in a 50-mph zone and for making a lane change without timely use of signals. What followed was an interrogation and a search that turned up contraband.

Changes May Be Coming In How Police Are Deployed In Schools

Changes May Be Coming In How Police Are Deployed In Schools

When it comes to the question of armed and uniformed police officers as a permanent presence in the public school system, emotions run high on both sides of the argument. Debate over school resource officers, as they are known, has for years been a regular feature of New Hampshire town meetings and school board deliberations.

Local officials will soon have new guidance on the issue, thanks to the work of the governor’s commission on police accountability. Officially known as the New Hampshire Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community and Transparency, the 14-member commission was appointed by Gov. Chris Sununu last spring amid national protests over systemic racism in policing.

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State Commission Makes Recommendations on Pretextual Stops

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State Commission Makes Recommendations on Pretextual Stops

[Pretextual stops are] when an officer pulls over a motorist for a minor traffic or equipment violation and proceeds to investigate more serious crimes, usually drug related. Many in law enforcement insist the stops are useful for investigating a variety of crimes, especially drug trafficking, while civil rights and racial justice advocates say the stops disproportionately target people of color.

The issue of pretextual stops was front and center in the deliberations of a commission appointed by Gov. Chris Sununu over the summer, tasked with improving law enforcement accountability and transparency after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.

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Police Academy Expands Implicit Bias Training from Two Hours to Two Days

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Police Academy Expands Implicit Bias Training from Two Hours to Two Days

Members of New Hampshire’s Commission on Law Enforcement Accountability, Community and Transparency (LEACT) attended Fridell’s program last year to help brainstorm a new two-day seminar on implicit bias training in the Granite State that launched at the police academy on January 14.

The expanded program for police recruits is one of 48 recommendations the LEACT committee advanced after meeting during the summer months. The 16 hours of implicit bias training draws on the philosophies from the FIP program. It also models lesson plans from Ohio’s Peace Officer Basic Training for Community Diversity & Procedural Justice.

Current outbreaks take deadly toll at nursing homes

Current outbreaks take deadly toll at nursing homes

Despite all that has been learned and all the precautions taken, COVID-19 has continued to find its way into New Hampshire nursing homes with alarming regularity and deadly consequences.

The virus has killed 168 people just in current or recently closed outbreaks in congregate living facilities in the state, according to statistics compiled by the Health and Human Services Department. Hundreds more died in previous outbreaks.

A variety of factors may contribute to some nursing homes having a much worse experience than others, Health Commissioner Lori Shibinette said.

LAWYERS SHOULD DRAFT LEGAL DOCUMENTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH

LAWYERS SHOULD DRAFT LEGAL DOCUMENTS IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Many readers of this column are business owners, and many of them have a need from time to time to hire a lawyer to draft a contract for them. These contracts might include, for example, a contract between your company and its employees or independent contractors; an asset or stock purchase agreement, a nondisclosure agreement or an LLC operating agreement.

CAN NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESSES AFFORD A $15 MINIMUM WAGE?

CAN NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESSES AFFORD A $15 MINIMUM WAGE?

President Biden’s first 100 days in office began, of course, on January 20. It is certain that before the end of January, he will introduce in Congress one or more bills aimed at dealing not only with the devastating health impact of the Covid pandemic on American middle- and low-income workers but also on the pandemic’s devastating economic impact on them.

Districts See More Remote, Hybrid Learning For Second Half of School Year

Districts See More Remote, Hybrid Learning For Second Half of School Year

In the middle of March when coronavirus first hit the United States, many thought it was a rogue wave: stunning, but isolated and not long-lasting. Schools reacted quickly, thinking that remote education would be a short-term response.

But like everything else since the pandemic hit, there were no timetables in the early going. And decisions having to be rescinded due to spikes and clusters has many parents heads spinning. As the second half of the school year begins, parents and educators alike are overwhelmed by the ongoing uncertainty.