Outdated, exclusionary and unnecessary government regulations continue to block the construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing in many parts of the country, according to “Why Not in Our Community?” a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The…
Q. Can you explain the interest rate implications of a commercial mortgage loan that has an application, origination or processing fee required by the lender? A. Such fees are typically called points, but are named many things by different lenders.…
For several years I have been involved in many volunteer and pro bono efforts to better understand the “built environment” in New England. My work puts me in front of many organizations and firms developing real estate for living, working,…
The Home Builders & Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, which represents over 1,000 firms employing over 60,000 professionals dedicated to providing shelter to all New Hampshire citizens, is committed to developing credible solutions to deal with those few individuals and…
The Cooperative Research and Tech-nology Enhancement - or CREATE — Act of 2004 is a welcome change for businesses and institutions that conduct research in cooperation with external partners by removing a major disincentive from doing so. The act, enacted…
Many family-owned businesses are unprepared for the moment when life takes an unexpected turn. Owners of a successful family company are frequently reluctant to address what happens to the business when death, divorce or unforeseen life events occur. In not…
Arm yourself against fake cashier's checks Many of us grew up hearing “a cashier’s check is as good as cash,” and it has been true for decades. A cashier’s check, which is drawn by a bank on its own funds,…
I was in shock. I had called an 800 number, and it was answered by a real person! There was no “press this” or “press that,” just a friendly “Good morning.” Not even a frantic, “Can you hold?” Next, I…
Writing a press release is easy - you have current information about your company that’s just happened, and you want to tell the world about it. But what do you do when you’ve gone a few months with nothing to…
Since 1934, the federal government has had a policy that encourages the use of prison laborers but prohibits the prison from entering into competition with private enterprise. Adopting a similar sensible policy can help New Hampshire reduce the tension created…
Editor’s note: The following letter was sent by Kedar Gupta, CEO of GT Equipment Technologies/GT Solar Technologies, and Tom Zarrella, president and chief operating officer of the firm, to U.S. Sens. Pete V. Domenici, chairman, and Jeff Bingaman, ranking member,…
When it comes to lip service, there’s probably no group of Americans who can boast of vaster quantities than veterans. At election time, when federal politicians wrap themselves in the flag, there’s usually a vet or two for the photo…
A Newbury woman and her lawyer have filed what appears to be the state’s first Vioxx lawsuit. Joyce DiMauro and her lawyer, Thomas Braun of Manchester, filed the suit against Merck & Co. Inc. in U.S. District Court. They have…
You may know that the cost of insurance includes a 2 percent tax on the premiums you pay. House Bill 678, which resulted from the work of a legislative study committee, would decrease the tax from 2 percent to 1…
Hey, out there in Washington! Remember us, your constituents in New Hampshire? The people you’re supposed to represent? Think you might actually consider - and act on - OUR views, wishes and interests? Think you might stop repeating “yes” to…
Gov. John Lynch maintains he’s the one in charge of the state’s health and human services reform plan — and he will move forward cautiously in drawing it up. But Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen is lobbying hard…
The Terry Schiavo matter raised many timely and important issues relevant to New Hampshire as well as the rest of the nation. First, the extraordinary involvement in the matter by the state courts, federal courts, Congress, the president and then,…
The issues surrounding storage of high-level nuclear waste remain unsettled amid reports of falsified studies concerning the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada, development of a possible temporary storage site in Utah and federal legislation that would authorize long-term storage at…
Anne Jamieson is a registered nurse, has been a health-care manager, a clinical technology director and an attorney. She recently added chief executive officer to her list of titles. Only two months into her new role as head of Parkland…
When Celestica Inc. announced it was closing its Salem plant last month — and laying off 420 workers because it could manufacture more competitively on foreign soil - a curious fact wasn’t mentioned. During the last three years, the high-tech…
In the movie, “Field of Dreams,” the resurrected Joe Jackson looks at the ballpark built in a cornfield and asks, “Is this heaven?” “No, Iowa,” he’s told. Sports fans in New England may be feeling the same way as we…
House Education Committee members have worked nights and weekends lately, chopping and merging new plans to pay for public schools. The effort comes as taxpayers faced huge fiscal unknowns this month when they voted on town and school budgets and…
How does a former “Nader’s raider” end up as a corporate lawyer in an industry responsible for spreading disease and addiction? As David Greenberg sees it, the change was not all that dramatic. “I feel like I’ve participated in more…
Convictions key in AG's probe The partnership that owns Lakes Region Greyhound Park directly funded establishment of the International Players Association, according to documents filed March 4 in Belknap County Superior Court. Federal prosecutors have tied - but not charged…
Most of the public is unaware of the differences between banks and credit unions, but people who manage these financial institutions remain keenly aware of the legal intricacies that separate them. Many of the differences between modern-day credit unions and…
Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen says he could cut 10 percent from his department’s budget, but it would mean higher property taxes and less money for hospitals, family planning and other services for the state’s poor. His proposal,…
There’ll be a new name atop Bank of New Hampshire’s branches now that the 51 percent acquisition of Banknorth by Toronto-Dominion Financial Group of Canada has been completed. The sale of Bank of New Hampshire’s parent company was completed March…
If you regularly search for the Land of Oz in investing you may have noticed that something new and different has come to the investment vehicle neighborhood. They’re called exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. With exciting names, and even more exciting…
Q. After a lot of failure and frustration, it has become clear to me that I have got to get to know my employees better if we are to be successful as a team. Any suggestions as to how to…
Low-key and soft-spoken, Chief Justice John Broderick has nonetheless attracted more than a little attention in his decade on the New Hampshire Supreme Court. A veteran lawyer, the prominent Queen City Democrat was appointed associate justice in 1995 by his…
Ben Gamache has had one wife, four children and an indefinite number of loves in his life. Fortunately for his marriage, his other romances are in bricks and mortar. “I fell in love with the building,” the 46-year-old real estate…
Passed last October, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 contains many new tax rules that have an impact on nearly all taxpayers in one form or another, but one of its most significant provisions is a new business deduction…
Opponents of a proposed outlet mall in Merrimack are trying a new tactic - they hope to raise the bar for passage of a zoning amendment that would pave the way for the project. A group of residents who oppose…
As Manchester and the rest of the southern New Hampshire baseball world await the opening of the brand new $20 million home of the Eastern League champion New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the stadium still doesn’t have a corporate sponsor, nor…
As New Hampshire continues to grow at record levels, we face many challenges in helping our economy keep pace. Now is the time to identify the tools that we can use to protect and maintain our economic growth — before…
A disquieting trend is developing this legislative session. A number of bills have been introduced, ostensibly to serve a broad public purpose, when in reality they are intended to circumvent existing legal procedures for economic development projects by imposing last-minute…
Judging by the words and deeds emerging from Washington you’d never know that several high-profile corporate fraud trials are once again in the public spotlight. The trials include that of Bernard Ebbers, the former CEO and chairman of WorldCom,who on…
To the editor: Investing in the stock market can pay a higher return, but it’s not a sure thing. That’s why people are willing to forgo the potential to score big in the stock market in return for knowing that…
Six minutes is the amount of time it takes the high-speed chair lift at Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury to reach the top. On March 10, entrepreneurs, idea men and women, start-ups and established business owners alike took advantage of…
Gov. John Lynch’s new style of leadership has been in evidence and often been the subject of comment in this column and elsewhere. A striking example of the governor’s style and personal involvement was his presentation of one of the…
To this point, most critiques of the Lynch education funding plan suggest that there are only two things wrong with it — that it fails to comply with the Claremont case and that it takes state aid away from school…
Poll rage? Christopher Doyle — a duly elected Republican state rep, by the way - earned his way into the Hall of Infamy earlier this month after he realized he was losing his bid for re-election. As the numbers came…
Have you ever noticed that politicians almost never come right out and tell us they’re not going to answer a question? They generally avoid one by pretending to answer it — which has, I’ll admit, a certain entertainment value, like…
Most people know about the wonderful art collection at Manchester’s Currier Museum of Art, but unique to its collection is the Zimmerman House. The Manchester home — designed by world-renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright — is considered one of the…
Alpha Flying Inc., a Manchester-based fractional aircraft operator, has met the new 91K FAA regulations that allow fractional operators to continue to do business under private, rather than commercial, charter rules. “The new Part 91 rules avoid onerous, airline-like restrictions…
Downtown Manchester’s dining scene has grown tremendously over the last few years, so to help you eat your way down Elm Street and beyond, Intown Manchester has created “Downtown Dining in the Queen City,” a dining guide featuring 67 restaurants…
Award-winning cuisine helped Baldwin’s on Elm make a name for itself, and now that name shines even more brightly above the restaurant’s entrance at 1105 Elm St. in Manchester, thanks to a new facade purchased with the aid of a…
Results of a $3 million nurse-training program has exceeded all original expectations and created new partnerships to upgrade the skills of New Hampshire’s nurses, according to the Workforce Opportunity Council. The Nursing Workforce Partnership Project is completing its three-year program…
Is logging threatening the future of the Great North Woods? That’s the question two key industry groups will try to resolve with a study of recent timber-cutting patterns. The New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association and the Society for the Protection…
The White Mountains of New Hampshire have more visitors each year than Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks combined, Dick Hamilton notes proudly. Both the numbers and the natural beauty of the region are impressive to the 69-year-old North Conway native,…
Business and event happenings around the state of NH
The Latest is a roundup of the comings and goings of the movers and shakers in NH's business community
A federal judge heard opening arguments Monday, February 9, in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2024 state law that requires first-time voters in New Hampshire to show proof of U.S. citizenship when they register.
What employers should know for the upcoming cap season
On February 11, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the largest enforcement settlement under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), resolving claims that The Walt Disney Company failed to adequately honor consumers’ opt-out rights — a core tenet of modern privacy law.
Our post-pandemic business environment has brought about myriad challenges that make cash flow forecasting much more difficult than it was five years ago. Many businesses are navigating supply chain challenges, volatile demand and lingering inflation — all key indicators of future cash flow.
For a long time, workplace wellness was viewed through a fairly narrow lens: reminders to schedule an annual physical, a blood pressure screening, maybe a gym reimbursement. Those efforts still matter. But “wellness” has expanded, because the way we work and live has changed.
What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim
Collaboration can ensure the Granite State’s ski industry remains vibrant and resilient
