Author: NH Business Review Staff

Presstek Inc., a Hudson-based maker of digital imaging machines, is acquiring the bankrupt A.B.Dick Co. for $40 million. A.B.Dick, a worldwide supplier to the graphic arts and printing industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier in July, which makes…

Park City, Utah: American Skiing Co. and Triple Peaks LLC, a group of investors led by the owners of Okemo in Vermont and operators of Mt. Sunapee in New Hampshire, announced that they have settled a lawsuit over the proposed…

Concord: USA Springs and the state have reached an agreement on a groundwater withdrawal permit allowing the Pelham-based company to build a bottling plant and collect more than 300,000 gallons a day from wells on its property in Nottingham. The…

Nashua: Two lawyers in Nashua are filing class-action lawsuits against more than a dozen lenders and credit insurance companies that they say have failed to refund insurance premiums to car buyers, as required by state law.

Manchester: Robert Scully, executive director of the New Hampshire Motor Transport Association, is warning his members to steer clear of Boston during the Democratic National Convention. Scully said law enforcement officials in Massachusetts expect a 14-mile backup and a 2-1/2…

Exeter: After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, Kitchen Etc. is closing all of its stores, including those in Nashua, Manchester, and Newington. Kitchen Etc. Inc. operates 17 retail stores in nine states, and offered its products worldwide…

Hooksett: Merchants Automotive Group has sold its rental car division to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Headquartered in Hooksett, Merchants has 17 rental locations and some 1,500 vehicles. Merchants’ operations include new and used vehicle sales and service, as well as corporate fleet…

Portsmouth: More than a year after Kathleen Stiso Mullins resigned as president of Strawbery Banke, Lawrence Yerdon has been named as the museum’s new leader. Yerdon was formerly president and chief executive officer of Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass.

Concord: Peterson Petroleum, a company accused by the state of polluting soil and groundwater at several gas stations in New Hampshire, has agreed to pay a fine of $125,000. Assistant Attorney General Richard Head said some of the contamination happened…

Concord: Kelly Ayotte has been confirmed by the Executive Council as New Hampshire’s first female attorney general, replacing Peter Heed, who resigned in June amid allegations that he inappropriately touched a woman on a dance floor at a state-sponsored conference.…

You know that companies are hiring again, but there you sit, thick in the middle of a job hunt, and you’re getting no bites from eager employers. What’s the deal? It might be a good idea to check your resume.…

Laconia: Lewis & Saunders, a manufacturer of rigid tube assemblies for the aerospace industry, has announced plans to hire 100 new workers. Lewis & Saunders, whose clients include the private sector as well as the military, is part of Smiths’…

The New Hampshire Retirement System deserves much praise for its efforts in keeping at least portions of corporate America on the straight and narrow. The retirement system, as New Hampshire Business Review’s Bob Sanders reports on our front page, has…

There is no doubt that the skyrocketing cost of health insurance is one of the biggest concerns for New Hampshire small-business owners. Ever-increasing premiums are forcing many of us to make difficult decisions, like whether to cut health benefits for…

I am a Republican who backs the war in Iraq because a genocidal tyrant was toppled. However, few will secretly disagree that oil explains why the United States intervened in Iraq, but unleashed only rhetoric against genocide in Rwanda. Oil…

In their thirst for more of our money, state administrative officials have confused the closing of an inadvertent loophole in the tax code and making a decision to impose new taxes. In doing so, they have crossed the line between…

The winds on Lake Massabesic were blowing 10-20 mph out of the west with gusts to 30 or more. We were sailing back toward the club, when I noticed an overturned kayak and someone in the water. We quickly sailed…

Leadership courses often note the ironic contrast between people with leadership qualities and those occupying leadership positions, whether elected or otherwise. Such courses ask for people to think about why many people who are leaders are not in leadership positions…

Compared to recent years, the 2004 session of the New Hampshire Legislature was pretty quiet on the utility front. If there was one characteristic common to most utility-related pieces of legislation this year, it was the desire to study the…

Q. Some time ago you offered a list of reasons companies are negligent when it comes to fostering dramatic innovation (you called it “breakout” innovation). In my experience, the real problem is managers who lack creativity and guts. Agree? A.…

The natural beauty of Lake Sunapee and the vibrant cultural offerings of the area surrounding Dartmouth College are well worth spending a day or more exploring the eastern half of our state. The Drive Coming from the southern parts of…

It may not be for everybody, but if karaoke is for you, then you won’t want to miss the Gone Country karaoke contest, a music fest and barbecue to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley.…

Whether you’re going to participate or be a spectator, mark you calendar for the 16th annual Wildman Biathlon, one of the toughest multi-sport events in New England. Scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 — rain or shine — more…

Love the outdoors, but hate the hassle of hiking? Reserve a spot for the next Wine and Dine Naturalist Float Trip on the Androscoggin River. Sandy MacGregor, owner and operator of the Mountain Ranger Guide Service in Rumford, Maine, offers…

“I told him that I am taking a different approach than other governors.” — Gov. Craig Benson recounting what he said to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge about Benson’s decision to begin scrutinizing federal homeland security grants for what he…

Governor Benson’s decision to bury the hatchet and call on former GOP rival Bruce Keough to co-chair his 2004 campaign, albeit honorarily, was a shrewd political decision. It was also was absolutely necessary, considering that more than a few Republicans,…

Yes folks, J. Edward Kerns, the caped crusading former state rep who lived one place and represented another, has filed once again to run for the job he was forced to give up last session in the wake of an…

The Union Leader has been zealous in its defense of the right to privacy — J.D. Salinger’s right to privacy, at least. The paper published an editorial commending the good folks of Cornish for respecting and protecting the privacy of…

“Well, now lookie wha’ we got here!” the sheriff or policeman (whatever) of New Ipswich might have said when he stopped a vehicle and found it contained nine (count ‘em 9) illegal aliens. The immigration authorities in Boston were contacted…

It’s always an instructive experience when Jennifer Donahue, senior adviser for political affairs at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, appears on New Hampshire Public Radio’s “The Exchange.” In a March 9 appearance, Donahue, expounding on…

Funny that the very week that Finas Williams, attorney for the state Democrats in the GOP phone-jamming affair, had to read John DiStaso’s article in the UL to find out about the guilty plea by Allen Raymond, head of the…

Real Estate and Construction Martini Northern, a Portsmouth-based construction manager and general contracting firm, has added Kenneth Hadley of Henniker and Peter Stimmell of Northwood to its construction management team. Hadley is senior project manager and Stimmell is chief estimator.…

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) said its second-quarter profit soared 41 percent, easily surpassing Wall Street expectations with a boost from the results of newly acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp. The Charlotte-based banking giant said it earned $3.85 billion, or $1.86…

A new Monadnock Region business incubator has been born. With the purchase on July 1 of the former W.W. Cross building in Jaffrey, Monadnock Business Ventures has launched the Webster Street Incubator. The building, which is currently being renovated, will…

A Hanover-based company that has developed software to help Wall Street traders take in more data is the first investment of the Mount Washington Valley Economic Council’s First Run Angel Group. Accentus, founded in 2002 under the auspices of the…

When Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act in January 2004, companies that use e-mail to market to their customers and prospects were faced with new legal requirements designed to protect Americans from the onslaught of unwelcome spamming. Attempting to curb the…

As soon as Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry announced his choice of a running mate, Republicans were loading Web sites, e-mails, air waves and fax machines with ammunition aimed at the Democratic ticket. Much of the negative comment about John…

While you may intend it as a gesture of trust or love, naming a friend or relative as executor of your estate has serious implications. The duties of an executor are formidable — onerous, actually — and you should give…

The New Hampshire International Trade Association has set Oct. 6 as the date of “Growing Globally,” its 18th annual World Trade Forum and Governor’s Conference on Trade. The forum, to be held at the Center of New Hampshire in Manchester,…

Across the state, many a New Hampshire employer allows its employees to take vacation time before it is fully accrued. In such instances, the employer will usually have the employee sign an authorization in which the employee acknowledges that he…

Offshoring — the practice of outsourcing business functions to a vendor outside of North America - has the potential to save companies millions of dollars in labor costs. But the practice is not a panacea for bottom-line savings. Poor offshoring…

The New Hampshire Retirement System, that sleepy holder of pension funds of state functionaries, schoolteachers and municipal police, has been quietly playing a key role in the national effort for monetary damages and corporate governance reform against a variety of…

Dennis Mires, PA, The Architects of Manchester and Northcape Design Inc. of Sunapee each took home Best of Show honors in the recent Home Builders & Remodelers Association of New Hampshire’s annual Cornerstone Awards. Dennis Mires earned its Best of…

Seven rehabilitation projects were singled out last month as winners of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance annual historical preservation achievement awards. Restoration and rehabilitation awards went to: • Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Portsmouth, a statue honoring Civil War veterans that…

On July 7-8, I attended a two-day workshop on “Mediating Land Use Disputes” in Freeport, Maine, put on by the Lincoln Land Institute. A very nice venue, although they worked us too hard. My interest in mediation follows my role…