Author: NH Business Review Staff

Cook on Concord

A lot of things ramped up in January. There were obvious changes in Manchester, new leadership at the Business & Industry Association, a new governor with an apparent new work ethic, rumors of gambling and reminders of the importance of…

The Last Word

No one has told you this yet but you just don’t understand. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly natural. See, you’re not in Concord. I don’t understand either but I know the people who do. The informed people fall into two groups.…

Utilities Watch

The state of Vermont has decided not to bid on the 13 hydroelectric dams on the Connecticut and Deerfield rivers being sold as part of the bankruptcy proceeding involving electric generating company U.S. Gen-New England. The decision would end more…

Questions linger over gambling operation legal matters

What was the involvement of Lakes Region Greyhound Park general partner Allan E. Hart in the gambling operation that federal authorities cited in their recent indictment of the track’s general manager and assistant general manager? And was the entire management…

Top Shelf: Vodka unplugged

Nearly 30 people joined New Hampshire Business Review and the Top Shelf staff for our first “Top Shelf Tasting,” held recently at Baldwin’s on Elm in Manchester, to learn about — and more importantly, to taste — vodka. Mike Somers,…

Employers sought for UNH career fair

The University of New Hampshire’s Advising and Career Center (UACC) is seeking employers to participate in a Feb. 22 career fair for students in engineering, technology and science programs. The career fair gives employers an opportunity to meet and interview…

Artists shape rebirth of Nashua’s Picker Building

The red brick building sits in the shadow of a towering smokestack, with white lettering running its length that announces, “MILLYARD.” The Nashua River runs behind the building, as the water cuts through downtown Nashua. Wide wood-planked circular stairs carry…

N.H. 4th graders Learning by Design

There are 441 architects-in-training in New Hampshire’s 4th-grade classrooms, thanks to a program initiated by the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The Learning By Design Program in New Hampshire is an introductory architectural design program designed…

Norton on Real Estate

I had the opportunity to participate in a national telephone conference call hosted by economist Jeff Thredgold, who gave a presentation on his views of the U.S. economy for 2005 and 2006. What did Mr. Thredgold have to say? He…

Commercial Notes

Q. I have applied for a commercial loan at a bank in my town, and every time I call the loan officer to inquire about the loan approval status, she keeps asking me for more information. I still have not…

Track owner played key role in forming gambling operation

Lakes Region Greyhound Park general partner Allan E. Hart was deeply involved in establishing the gambling operation that federal authorities cited in their recent indictment of the track’s general manager and assistant general manager, according to testimony and documents filed…

Coming to a waiting line near you

It’s not another jaw-dropping Super Bowl halftime spectacle or the latest reality gimmick about another eccentric billionaire. But at a time when attention spans dwindle with each commercial break and businesses strain for creative ways to draw new customers, a…

Flotsam & Jetsam

Room to move Mount Sunapee Resort owners Tim and Diane Mueller didn’t exactly win praise recently for the way they run their Crested Butte resort in Colorado. According to a report issued by the Ski Area Citizens Coalition, Crested Butte…

Red hot downtown

Eight times a year the Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions in its district through reports from bank and branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market experts and other sources. The most recent…

Stephen outlines financial estimates for Medicaid plan

Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen has released long-awaited financial estimates for his controversial plan to reform Medicaid. According to Stephen, during the next two years, his GraniteCare plan would save about $13 million in state money — 7…

Retailers, restaurateurs gird for debates

When it comes to New Hampshire’s retailers, perhaps the biggest issue coming up in the 2005 New Hampshire Legislature is the strong possibility of an increased cigarette tax, endorsed by the new governor. But there are several minor issues that…

Study finds dearth of ‘good jobs’ in North Country

As a mechanical engineer and a consultant, Andre Caron has traveled the country in his career of more than 30 years in the telecommunications industry. He has worked in New Zealand, Bermuda and in various parts of Europe and Africa.…

Center hashes out plans for Tyco money

More than two years after Tyco International Ltd. agreed to pay $5 million to fund an investor education and corporate governance program to settle claims related to one of the biggest corporate scandals in history, it has been finally decided…

Manchester advertising exec Terry Vital

When Terry Vital founded Vital & Ryze Advertising in 1990, the World Wide Web was not so wide, cell phones weighed pounds and digital media were pretty much still in the realm of science fiction. As technology has progressed, so…

Scamman sees solution for school funding

W. Douglas Scamman Jr., the newly re-elected speaker of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, comes from a long line of farmers and politicians. The son of a former House speaker, Scamman himself served two terms as speaker during his…

Off the Clock: New Hampshire skiing — Whatta deal

New Hampshire ski areas are in full swing, or ski, as the case may be. There are all sorts of discount passes and mid-week deals at the resorts, so if you haven’t hit the slopes yet, there’s no better time…

USDA warns N.H. farmers about bird virus

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has run full-page advertisements in newspapers all across the country - including New Hampshire - warning farmers about an avian disease that has not hit almost all of America in 30 years. And they would…

The Last Word

Only Nixon could go to China, the saying went. In February 1972, President Richard Nixon made history by visiting mainland China in the middle of the Cold War — the first time a U.S. president had set foot in that…

New Frontier explored for highway sound barriers

Recognizing that relationships are the key to building and retaining business, the New Hampshire Business Resource Center, in cooperation with the state Department of Transportation, has been working with New Frontier Industries Inc. of Milton to research and develop soundwall…

RE/CON Notes

Coos County timber cuts cause concern Concerns that the North Country’s logging industry is growing too quickly and eventually could cripple itself have prompted calls from some lawmakers for tighter restrictions. This year’s logging plans call for sharp increases, threatening…

Parkland Medical names new CEO

Anne Jamieson, vice president of operations at Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Mass., has been named the new chief executive officer of Parkland Medical Center in Derry. William Schuler, president and CEO of Portsmouth Regional Hospital, has been serving as…

Grant to aid nurse program expansion

The New Hampshire Technical Institute has been awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help the school build a new wing for its nursing program. NHTI began a $3 million capital campaign for the project in 2004 and has so far…

Enviro issues win attention of lawmakers

Second of two articles. Home improvement contractors would have to get a license. Merchants could sell only cigarettes that don’t start fires. And anyone who uses spyware to sell their wares — beware. In the previous issues we focused on…

NH Opinions: Unjust firings are simply business as usual

It’s a sad commentary on our time that the subject of workers’ rights has receded so far from public view. In the last election cycle, both locally and nationally, the rights of workers were a non-issue. The implicit message: Workers…

Letter to the Editor

To the editor: Thomas Thomson’s guest editorial touts the “positive partnership” with private landowners that makes New Hampshire’s $1.2 billion snowmobile industry possible (“Private landowners a key link in N.H.’s economy,” Jan. 7-20 New Hampshire Business Review). Private landowners allow…

News & Analysis: Notes

Keene: Whatman PLC, the London-based owner of biotechnology firm Schleicher & Schuell, is closing the Keene company’s doors, eliminating or moving its 76 high-tech jobs after 52 years in Keene. Whatman, which bought Schleicher & Schuell Dec. 1, said it…

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‘Six Feet’ close-up You wouldn’t think that a headstone company would need marketing brochures - they are guaranteed customers - but Rock of Ages has great ones. So good in fact, the producers of the Emmy award-winning HBO series “Six…

It’s in the bag for Mirror Lake firm

If you shopped for any Cartier, Estée Lauder, Gucci or Chanel gift items this past holiday season, you probably brought home a little bit of Mirror Lake, N.H., as well. These high-end retailers join other internationally known brand names -…

Top Shelf

In January, those winds off the Merrimack River seem especially frosty while slogging to and fro from the Top Shelf offices. By the time we get home, we’re all so frozen we can barely scan the latest Robb Report for…

Commercial Notes

Editor’s Note: “Commercial Notes,” a new monthly column written by David Eaton, president of Manchester-based Eaton Partners Inc., provides answers to reader questions related to commercial real estate financing. Questions can be submitted to him at Commercialnotes@eatonpartners.com. Q. I want…

Norton on Real Estate

There is no question that traffic has increased in New Hampshire. More people mean more cars because north of Metro Boston there are few public transit alternatives. Concord CAT carried 100,000 riders last year, and Advance Transit in the Upper…

N.H. firms benefit from favorable world market conditions

While technological improvements and quality enhancements provide an advantage in selling goods abroad, export success is still determined by how much money foreign buyers have and how weak the dollar is against the buyers’ national currency. New Hampshire exporters have…

The Last Word

The following is the text of a citizen’s letter mailed to the White House on Christmas Eve. Dear Mr. President: I am writing this on December 24th, as I am finally in “the spirit of the season.” So if it…

State lawmakers should start believing in ghosts

In Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge was visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Future. The ghost of Christmas Future was the most frightening of the three. “It was shrouded in a deep black…

What is N.H. getting for its education dollar?

We’ve got a brand new year and a brand new governor, and education is looming as a subject slated for attention ... again. Unfortunately, while education is a subject worthy of continual attention, our interest seems to concentrate only on…

Looking back on the Benson era

The recent and brief administration of Gov. Craig Benson calls to mind Harry Truman’s explanation of why he considered General Douglas MacArthur “worse than the Cabots and the Lodges—they at least talk to each other before they tell God what…

Guest Opinion: Private landowners key to N.H. economy

Thank you to all New Hampshire landowners who maintain open space and share it with the general public and our state. New Hampshire is the second most heavily forested state in the nation (Maine is No. 1), with a total…

Letter to the Editor

To the editor: I am outraged at the recent appointment of Rep. Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett, as chairman of the House Public Works & Highway Committee. This committee is responsible for approving hundreds of millions of dollars for construction projects throughout…

Brass Tacks

Q. My company is two years old and growing fast. I’m soon going to need more cash. I’ve been advised to try and sell some stock to friends and family, since such funding involves no interest cost or principal repayments.…