Author: NH Business Review Staff

Old statehouse group needs proposal

PORTSMOUTH (AP) - Members of a group hoping to save New Hampshire’s first statehouse have been told they need to do more homework before federal funding would be available. A spokesman for Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., told the Save the…

Destination ImagiNation Results

HUDSON - Here are the results of the March 13 Destination ImagiNation regional event held at Alvirne High School. All teams advancing to the state finals are listed, as well as local teams that participated. The state finals are April…

Town to recount Board of Selectmen’s race

LYNDEBOROUGH - Sharon Boisvert has formally requested a recount of the race for Board of Selectmen and a ballot question dealing with a new ordinance regulating use of off-road vehicles on state-sanctioned trails. The votes were taken Tuesday. She presented…

Aldermen ponder new fiber-optic lines

There is a maxim that one needs to spend money to save money. That’s the quandary the Board of Aldermen faced as it weighed whether to borrow $1.3 million to pay for a fiber-optic cable system to connect city facilities.…

Wal-Mart’s wetlands plan draws flak

NASHUA - Aiming to open its first store in the city, Wal-Mart is applying for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Services to fill an acre of wetlands, drawing criticism from local environmental leaders. Last fall, the Conservation…

Title, Part II

DURHAM - At about 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday, 15 minutes after his team clinched a semifinal victory over Bishop Brady and earned a spot in Saturday’s Class I finals, Souhegan High School boys basketball coach Mike Facques did something that…

Lyndeborough generous with warrant articles

LYNDEBOROUGH - Voters at Town Meeting added $1,000 to a study of the fire and police stations and indefinitely postponed action on designating French Road as “scenic,” but otherwise accepted everything on the warrant. The three-hour meeting was held Saturday…

Suspect sought in dam destruction

MERRIMACK - Town police are assisting state Fish and Game Department officials in seeking a suspect who destroyed at least five beaver dams in White Pine Swamp. Four of the dams were located in the town-owned Horse Hill Nature Preserve,…

Fires getting two separate investigations

MILFORD - Authorities are investigating an attempt to burn down the gazebo on the Milford Oval, but won’t say whether it is connected to the late-night arson fire that gutted the Garden Street School. “They are being treated right now…

Bond for roof repairs OK’d

MONT VERNON - Years of moldy classrooms, ice dams and ceiling leaks so extensive that they closed school for a week led Mont Vernon School District voters to overwhelmingly approve a $600,000 bond for extensive repairs to the roof of…

Garden Street School blaze ruled arson

MILFORD - The fire that gutted the Garden Street School was definitely arson and followed an “unlawful entry” into the building, say investigators, but otherwise the early Monday blaze remains under investigation. “Evidence collection is going on, as are interviews.…

Milford school burns just before vote on its demolition

MILFORD - Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire that virtually destroyed the 77-year-old Garden Street School early Monday, the day before voters are to decide whether to tear it down. Hampered by the dangerous condition of…

Former Milford high school burns

MILFORD - One day before voters were set to decide whether to tear it down, the 77-year-old Garden Street School has been gutted by a fire. The school, one block south of the Oval in the center of town, burned…

Interfaith network assisting homeless

MEETING INFO NASHUA - Area residents have the opportunity to learn how they can help families in need tonight at Grace Lutheran Church. The Greater Nashua Interfaith Hospitality Network will celebrate the area congregations that have joined to shelter homeless…

Health contract investigation results

Here are the major developments resulting from Attorney General Peter Heed’s investigation into the awarding of an $866,000 health-care consulting contract: RESIGNATION: State Director of Personnel Joseph D’Alessandro resigned under fire, minutes before Heed issued the report calling for his…

Remembering Marilyn with Schani Krug

The cliche is sometimes right -- truth is stranger than fiction. The story of Portsmouth-based Valhalla Productions and its first film, “Marilyn’s Man” -- a documentary about the love affair between Marilyn Monroe and her first husband, Jim Dougherty --…

Study tracks recovery in Seacoast market

Signs of a recovery in the commercial office and industrial markets have emerged in the Seacoast, according to a study conducted by The Kane Company. An analysis of the 2003 fourth quarter shows that office vacancy rates fell and rents…

Anatomy of a move: How 75 jobs were brought to N.H.

A relationship that began more than six years ago has wound up bringing Vermont-based Janos Technology Inc., and 75 jobs, to New Hampshire. Janos -- a maker of advanced infrared optical components and assemblies -- decided on moving to the…

Tax considerations before renting out a second home

Renting out a second home or vacation home for part of the year can actually be an excellent way to earn additional income and get a nice tax break at the same time. Of course, as always, there are rules…

Remembering Marilyn with Schani Krug

The cliche is sometimes right -- truth is stranger than fiction. The story of Portsmouth-based Valhalla Productions and its first film, “Marilyn’s Man” -- a documentary about the love affair between Marilyn Monroe and her first husband, Jim Dougherty --…

Study tracks recovery in Seacoast market

Signs of a recovery in the commercial office and industrial markets have emerged in the Seacoast, according to a study conducted by The Kane Company. An analysis of the 2003 fourth quarter shows that office vacancy rates fell and rents…

Tax considerations before renting out a second home

Renting out a second home or vacation home for part of the year can actually be an excellent way to earn additional income and get a nice tax break at the same time. Of course, as always, there are rules…

Anatomy of a move: How 75 jobs were brought to N.H.

A relationship that began more than six years ago has wound up bringing Vermont-based Janos Technology Inc., and 75 jobs, to New Hampshire. Janos -- a maker of advanced infrared optical components and assemblies -- decided on moving to the…

Program helps companies win federal contracts

Anyone who’s ever tried to navigate the complicated and time-consuming process involved in trying to win a federal contract knows that the effort can be potentially lucrative -- and aggravating. Granite State businesses looking for help in charting those waters…

Golf Club of New England: anatomy of a failure

How could the Golf Course of New England fail? That’s what its first members apparently thought when they plucked down as much as a $65,000 initiation fee -- some even before the first shovel of dirt was moved. After all,…

Longtime resident mourned

BROOKLINE - Town residents, especially the many who were touched by her far-reaching, gentle hand of kindness, are mourning the recent death of Frances Kowalski, who lived in town with her family from 1969-94. From the time she spotted a…

OSHA fines Pennichuck

NASHUA - Pennichuck Corp. was fined $52,750 by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Wednesday for allegedly failing to protect workers from cave-in hazards during a Main Street water main break in January. OSHA inspectors found workers exposed…

Think New Hampshire

You’re responsible for a strategic planning meeting for 15 executives or you’re helping select the site for your association’s 2005 annual meeting. Your first step? Deciding what geographic location makes the most sense for your group. For New Hampshire-based businesses…

Planning an event: tips from the trenches

Not too long ago, someone asked me if I had a master’s degree in “corporate event planning” from a notable New England university. I guess the puzzled look on my face must have answered the question, “Do they have such…

A Crash Course from 'Promotional University'

Tchotchkes! Premiums! Giveaways! Gifts! Gizmos! Gadgets! Whatever you call promotional products, they are an essential piece to the puzzle of meetings, conferences and conventions. But with over 400,000 products to choose from, how do you decide which is appropriate for…

Trash cash comes up short

MERRIMACK - Sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older, if not deeper in debt, if you’re talking about the amount of trash being taken to the town’s new transfer station, which opened in January. Under the current…

Think New Hampshire

You’re responsible for a strategic planning meeting for 15 executives or you’re helping select the site for your association’s 2005 annual meeting. Your first step? Deciding what geographic location makes the most sense for your group. For New Hampshire-based businesses…

Planning an event: tips from the trenches

Not too long ago, someone asked me if I had a master’s degree in “corporate event planning” from a notable New England university. I guess the puzzled look on my face must have answered the question, “Do they have such…

A Crash Course from 'Promotional University'

Tchotchkes! Premiums! Giveaways! Gifts! Gizmos! Gadgets! Whatever you call promotional products, they are an essential piece to the puzzle of meetings, conferences and conventions. But with over 400,000 products to choose from, how do you decide which is appropriate for…

Ordinance idea rejected by board

BROOKLINE - After a little conflict in opinion, selectmen agreed they’d support a committee to study the town’s conflict-of-interest policy. However, board members Monday night unanimously opposed a petitioned warrant article that calls for a conflict-of-interest ordinance. Selectmen held a…

Board balks at raising car registrations

MERRIMACK - Selectmen killed a proposed warrant article Thursday asking voters to raise some vehicle registrations by $2 to $5. Board members voted 4-0 to eliminate the motor vehicle trust fund warrant article at a selectmen’s meeting. Selectman Dick Hinch…

Wilton students learn about rain forest

There were several unusual visitors at Florence Rideout Elementary School in Wilton on Thursday, but the hit of the day was clearly a 3-foot American alligator named Fluffy. Fluffy, and friends Zoe, a 6-foot Argentine boa, Georgie, a South American…

Lawmaker resigns after ethics panel decision

CONCORD - Bedford Republican state Rep. John E. Kerns ducked a move to expel him from the Legislature by resigning Thursday. Kerns, 23, said he’s undecided about seeking a comeback election this fall or whether he would drop a lawsuit…

A FIRST peek

Whiz kids and their creations were the attraction at Nashua High School’s north campus Thursday night as about 400 people turned out for the unveiling of some local entries in this year’s FIRST robotics competition season. Members from eight high…

Bellavances deliver through the generations

Theodore Roosevelt was president when Joseph A. Bellavance founded J. A. Bellavance & Co. in 1902 in a Canal Street building in Nashua. The business in those days was located in a saloon that also served as a wholesale beer,…

Bellavances deliver through the generations

Theodore Roosevelt was president when Joseph A. Bellavance founded J. A. Bellavance & Co. in 1902 in a Canal Street building in Nashua. The business in those days was located in a saloon that also served as a wholesale beer,…

The curious custody battle for Skyhaven Airport

Skyhaven Airport in Rochester is typical of the state’s smaller municipal airports. It has a 4,000-foot runway, more than three dozen hangars, tie-downs for planes based there, a fixed base operator and, for the first time in years, it recently…

Initiatives squeezing independent pharmacists

Michael Smith packed it in at the beginning of last year after some 26 years in the business, leaving Ossipee without an independent pharmacist. “You can only sell loss leaders for so long,” he said. “Some people will pack it…

Health history requirement bogs down SB 110 competition

In the last five years, have you ever been treated for “reproductive systems disorders”? How about your spouse? Or your daughter? Has anyone had any counseling for “emotional health” issues? Have you tested positive for HIV? Have you had intestinal…

Lawmakers question technology promises

A legislative leader says lawmakers were duped about promises of big savings that were to be made by consolidating the state’s computer operations. Bob Anderson, who promised to modernize New Hampshire’s computer systems and save $11 million, resigned in January,…