Author: NH Business Review Staff

Bridging the generations with the Grappones

The Grappone family has been in the auto business since 1924, when Rocco Grappone opened a gas station at 167 N. State St. in Concord. Today, the Grappone dealerships at the junction of Interstates 93 and 89 are a landmark…

Taking license

An insurance broker who passed on $187,000 in illegal commission payments to a volunteer aide of Gov. Craig Benson agreed Wednesday to a one-year suspension of his license. Dennis French, president of NiBri Benefit Services of Candia, said he gave…

North Country inns reach out to gays, lesbians

When Les Schoof and Ed Butler moved to New Hampshire in 1993, they faced a big change in lifestyle. Schoof and Butler are a gay couple who had lived in Boston and New York City. Their new home would be…

Remembering Reeve

The curtain came down on one of life’s great ironies when actor Christopher Reeve died, observed Mark Lore, president and CEO of Rideaway Handicap Equipment Corp. in Londonderry. Reeve, best known for his starring role in a series of “Superman”…

Is consolidation overdue in the tech marketplace?

Few sectors of the economy have escaped consolidation. Indeed, a quick look at recent merger and acquisition activity (M&A) in banking, energy, health care and manufacturing reveals abundant examples of consolidation. What is noteworthy, however, with the exception of the…

Group efforts

Entrepreneurs from Colebrook, Harrisville, New London, Dover and Portsmouth have been honored for their efforts in helping some of the state’s smallest businesses. They were singled out during a ceremony held in conjunction with MicroCredit-NH’s fourth annual MicroEnterprise Day, Oct.…

Tyco rulings

A U.S. District Court judge in Concord has allowed a shareholder class-action lawsuit against Tyco International Ltd. to continue, but he has struck down a related shareholder derivative suit that sought damages on behalf of Tyco. Judge Paul Barbadoro’s rulings…

RE/CON Briefs

Cummings is named Realtor of Year Ann Cummings of RE/MAX Coast-to-Coast in Portsmouth has been named the 2004 New Hampshire Realtor of the Year. Cummings was honored by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, which cited her exceptional service as…

State office park named after Thomson

The all-star roster of current and former officeholders who showed up at State Office Park East on Hazen Drive in Concord included a former congressman, two speakers of the house, two governors and one all-purpose potentate. “Governor Flynn, it’s always…

Benson proposes sweeping Medicaid reforms

The Benson administration has proposed slashing New Hampshire’s nursing home population by 30 percent in the next five years with an eye toward saving $337 million that it says would go toward developing adult day-care centers and hospices. The proposals…

Ex-HHS chief launches health insurance firm

Patriot Healthcare, a newly formed insurance company headed by the state’s former health and human services commissioner, is seeking regulatory approval to do business in the state. Patriot, founded by Nicholas Vailas, is asking the state Insurance Department for permission…

Banks can help businesses offer affordable health care

A recently enacted law allows community banks, which have long demonstrated their commitment to meeting the financial needs of the small-business community, to offer their business customers, as well as their employees and their families, a new health-care option that…

Hospital offers new employees temporary housing

Low unemployment and low housing vacancies mean newcomers to southern New Hampshire often find work before they find a place to live. The housing shortage in the popular Seacoast area is so acute that Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover leases a…

Rochester businesses unite to protest SB 110

Between 15 and 20 Rochester area business owners have banded together to protest Senate Bill 110 and what they see as its accompanying increases in health insurance premiums. The business owners formed a group they call “STUNG,” which seeks to…

St. Joseph takes big step toward future as expansion begins

St. Joseph Hospital has officially stepped into the future with a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of work on a $25 million expansion project. The expansion is expected to improve patient access to innovative and clinically comprehensive health care…

UNH named a top entrepreneurial school

The University of New Hampshire has been named one of the Top 25 Most Entrepreneurial Colleges by The Princeton Review and Forbes.com, ranking 10th in the nation. The two organizations released their Top 25 picks this morning. According to The…

Fans around area celebrate Red Sox’s historic win

Christine Haskell put $25 on the Red Sox winning the World Series when she went to Las Vegas in February. She immediately called her dad to tell him the good news. “I broke the curse!” Haskell told him. “Eighty-six years…

Nashua students cast ballots in N.H. mock election

NASHUA - Nine-year-old Erica Rosher thinks Ralph Nader should be the next president of the United States. The fourth-grader at Ledge Street Elementary School cast her ballot for Nader during the school’s mock election Wednesday because she doesn’t agree with…

Tax rate for Milford rises just 1.8%

MILFORD - A sharp drop in the state portion of the school tax rate means local taxpayers will see a tax-rate hike of less than 2 percent this year. Mike Trojano, business manager for the Milford School District, likes what…

Hearings over for concrete business plan

WILTON - The Planning Board has closed the public portion of a hearing on a proposal by Granite State Concrete to expand its existing operation onto an adjoining 120 acres about two years after the plan was first presented. The…

Pickup of oversized trash ends for year

NASHUA - The appointment-based collections are part of the revamped solid waste collection system. Regular trash must be contained in blue automated carts, and no trash left outside the carts will be picked up. Residents may continue to bring oversized…

Agency holding benefit dinner

REGION - Feel Safe Again, a Hudson-based organization that supports stalking victims, will hold a benefit dinner on Nov. 13 from 7-11 p.m. at the Silver Fox Restaurant in Everett, Mass. Thomas O’Reilly, a prosecutor for the Middlesex District Attorney’s…

Artillery Co. plans coffeehouse

LYNDEBOROUGH - The Lafayette Artillery Co. will continue celebrating its 200th anniversary with a coffeehouse on Nov. 5 from 7:30-10:30 p.m. at Citizens’ Hall. The evening will include live music, beverages and dessert. Tickets are $5 in advance, or $7.50…

Mayor’s accident under investigation

MANCHESTER - Police are still investigating a minor traffic mishap involving Nashua Mayor Bernie Streeter, spokesman Mark Fowke said. Streeter’s Crown Victoria, which is leased by the city, collided with a taxicab in a downtown intersection at 10:58 a.m. Saturday,…

Benefit for fire victims called off

The Boston Billiard Club fund-raiser planned for a local family who lost most of its belongings and two pets in a Mizoras Drive fire has been cancelled. Jennifer Butler, a bartender, said the Nov. 7 fund-raiser will not take place…

Peace Corps seeking volunteers

The Peace Corps will hold an informational meeting next month for people considering serving with the agency. A panel of returned Peace Corps volunteers will speak about their service. The meeting is scheduled for Nov. 9 from 6:30-8 p.m. in…

Aldermen stalled on charter changes

NASHUA - A divided Board of Aldermen could not agree Tuesday night on legislation that would change the city’s budget process. Aldermen instead postponed a decision on two proposals to change the city charter. Alderman-at-Large Paula Johnson said the delay…

Don’t blame voters if they’re slightly distracted

NASHUA - If David Ortiz were running for office, New Hampshire would be more than a swing state. Tuesday’s election would be a home run. But, Ortiz isn’t running for office, he’s playing baseball - the reason Nov. 2 isn’t…

Traffic study proposal sought

HUDSON - The Board of Selectmen took the first step Tuesday in looking at two busy intersections in town. The board agreed to have the Community Development Office seek proposals for a traffic study of the intersection of Central and…

Land conservation push costly up front

MILFORD - One of the prettiest views in the region may get preserved as open land, but only if Milford voters decide to support the most expensive conservation push in town history. “It’s gorgeous there,” said Town Planner Bill Parker,…

Baby falls through heat duct

NASHUA - A 10-month-old child was injured Tuesday after falling eight feet through a first-floor heating grate into the basement of his home. The child was transported by ambulance to the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center as a precautionary measure…

Merrimack women share health care woes

DOVER - Wendy Thomas of Merrimack says her 11-year-old son - one of six children - finds it hard to understand why the family has had to live paycheck to paycheck since her layoff in June. On Monday morning, Thomas…

Closing the loop

HOLLIS - Brown pine needles and fallen leaves cover the trail, blanketing stones, roots and an array of bumps. The jagged piece of terrain was a gift, one that mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians can use. It’s part of a…

Board takes up space needs

LYNDEBOROUGH - The Central School needs more space to provide special services, parking for staff and visitors, and storage. The oldest section of the school, built in 1949, has inadequate ventilation and some air quality problems, and contains rooms that…

Customers help put out store fire

MERRIMACK - Showing they in fact could do it with the help of store clerks, customers aided in extinguishing a small fire at Home Depot on Monday afternoon. Customers and workers using portable fire extinguishers had the small blaze nearly…

Cupboards becoming bare at food pantry

NASHUA - This is the inventory at the Corpus Christi Food Pantry: eight cans of meat, a few cans of soup and vegetables, some jars of peanut butter and jelly, some boxes of pasta, and no rice. That’s not close…

Board OKs student rep

NASHUA - When John Kelley’s youngest son, Donald, was in high school, he and his classmates had trouble getting their opinions into the ears of school officials. Seventeen years later, when Kelley became a Nashua Board of Education member, he…

Burn victim in ‘good’ condition

NASHUA - A 12-year-old boy who got burned while playing with gasoline and matches Sunday evening was listed in good condition Monday at Shriners Hospital in Boston, a spokeswoman said. The boy, a student at Elm Street Middle School, was…

Streeter in minor accident

Nashua Mayor Bernie Streeter got into a minor traffic accident over the weekend in Manchester while driving the 2002 Ford Crown Victoria the city leased for his office. “It was just a minor fender-bender,” Streeter said Monday, and his account…

Halloween hoopla

NASHUA - Imagine giving a party for about 1,000 guests and finding yourself facing a crowd of 6,000. That’s what happened last year when the Great American Downtown organization hosted the Great American Ghost Town, a Halloween trick-or-treat event on…

Fund-raiser to benefit fire-stricken family

NASHUA - Co-workers of a Boston Billiard Club employee whose family lost nearly everything - including two pets - in a fire on Friday are hosting a fund-raiser for the family. “At Boston Billiard Club, we are all family,” said…

Local Trick or Treating

This is a list of trick-or-treat times on Sunday in area communities: Amherst: 6-8 p.m. Brookline: 6-8 p.m. Greenville: 6-8 p.m. Hollis: 6-8 p.m. Hudson: 6-8 p.m. Litchfield: 6-8 p.m. Londonderry: 6-8 p.m. Lyndeborough: 6-8 p.m. Mason: 6-8 p.m. Merrimack:…

Hazardous-waste collection slated

Residents of Amherst, Brookline, Hollis, Hudson, Litchfield, Merrimack, Milford, Mont Vernon, Nashua, Pelham or Windham may discard household hazardous waste Nov. 6 at the Public Works Garage on Riverside Street in Nashua. The collection will run from 8 a.m.-noon. The…

Route 3 widening work wraps up

REGION - Drivers on Route 3 in Massachusetts now have three lanes in both directions all the way from Route 128 (Interstate 95) to the New Hampshire border. The third lane opened Saturday on an eight-mile stretch on the southbound…

Haunted house on tap this weekend

As Halloween approaches, the American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, Junior Auxiliary and Sons of the Legion are sponsoring their seventh annual Haunted House. There will be free face painting, brochures, puzzles and fun for the family. The Legion family will…

Fun fest planned for Halloween

The Salvation Army is hosting a Family Fun Fest on Sunday from 3-4 p.m., including carnival games, candy, hot dogs and free drawings. The Halloween event is free and open to the public, and people may come in costume or…

Nashua church sings Sox's praises

BOSTON (AP) - Some say sports is a religion in New England. A trip to some churches Sunday morning would have confirmed that, as parishes around Red Sox Nation took a moment to meditate on the hometown team. At the…

Drivers injured in turnpike crashes

MERRIMACK - Two Bedford residents were injured Friday night in two separate, but related crashes on the F.E. Everett Turnpike near Exit 10 in the northbound high-speed lane. Both injured residents were driving. One of the drivers was charged with…

12-year-old suffers burns

NASHUA - A Nashua sixth-grader burned his leg while playing with gasoline and matches Sunday evening and was transported to a burn center, according to his older brother. Larry Nelson said the accident happened to his 12-year-old brother, David Ganley,…

Trailer, building damaged by fire

NASHUA - A box trailer behind a vacant business at 9 Canal St. caught fire Saturday night, working its way into the empty building where it caused minor damage. City fire and police departments received the call at 8:28 p.m.…