Author: NH Business Review Staff

What K-12 scholarships would mean for N.H.

The state Legislature is considering House Bill 1607, which would cut taxes on businesses that help families pay independent school tuition. One way to gauge the merits of this idea is to look to Florida, which enacted a similar program…

Steering clear of 3 common legal ‘accidents’

The intersection of law and business has produced some pretty impressive collisions. But by keeping your head up you can easily avoid a fender-bender. Here are a handful of the more common legal misunderstandings we see in our firm's business…

Blogging builds marketing assets

Call it a feature article, a white paper or a blog post. Maybe your written wisdom is a work of art, like a tribute, reflection or poem. Whatever it is, if it's thoughtful, articulate and valuable to an audience, it's…

When algorithms take charge of markets, anything goes

Financial advisers should not only be strong strategists for their clients, but also equally passionate educators. There is no subject that gets me going more than market volatility in general, and in particular the potential dangers of high frequency trading,…

Shining a light on the Solyndra failure

With the stir surrounding Solyndra, the Chevy Volt firestorm and escalating oil prices, renewable energy is again at the forefront. Not long ago, I did a consulting gig for a solar energy company, and it was enlightening with respect to…

Getting past the ‘Mr. Magoo Syndrome’

In the early 1950s, a cartoon character of enduring quality was born. Quincy Magoo was a nice enough person who had achieved some success in life, but suffered from a condition that only allowed him to see short distances. Subsequently,…

If your IT adviser dismisses the cloud, ask questions

What do you do when you bring up cloud computing and your IT consultant starts throwing up objections to the cloud? Should you accept them at face value? Is your IT consultant right?After all, many small and medium-sized businesses have…

Facts about New Hampshire shape the state’s future

At an interesting presentation to the StayWorkPlay New Hampshire advisory board recently, Steve Norton, head of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, reviewed how New Hampshire is changing and where its population resides.As in the past, the central…

NHBR About Town: Ledyard National Bank

From left, Jeff Marks, chief marketing officer for Ledyard National Bank, and Kathy Underwood, its president, present the bank's $50,000 contribution to the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital to its CEO, Harry Dorman, and Melanie Moore, the hospital's assistant vice…

NHBR About Town: Citizens Bank Foundation

Joe Carelli, left, New Hampshire president of Citizens Bank, presents a $10,000 grant on behalf of the Citizens Bank Foundation to Michele Peterson, chief operations officer of the abi Innovation Hub, and its CEO, Jamie Coughlin, to support Accelerate New…

NHBR About Town: Profile Bank

In partnership with the UNH men's hockey team, Profile Bank donated $1,000 to Howie's Field of Dreams, a nonprofit that aims to build a handicapped-accessible baseball field in Rochester to accommodate children who are physically or mentally challenged, in honor…

NHBR About Town: Cheshire Medical Center

The American College of Radiology has awarded Cheshire Medical Center's Radiology Department with a three-year Gold Seal of Accreditation in Mammography, which represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety. Registered technologists specializing in mammography are, from left,…

NHBR About Town: Community Guaranty Savings Bank

Community Guaranty Savings Bank has awarded Plymouth Area Community Closet a check for $1,000 from the sale of Community Cooks, a cookbook that includes 250 of the bank staff's favorite recipes, all of the profits from which went to local…

NHBR About Town: Citizens Bank & WMUR-TV

Andrew Richardson, left, Keene branch manager for Citizens Bank, presents Ted McGreer with the Heart of Your City award for his contributions to the city of Keene. McGreer is the owner of Ted's Shoe and Sport in downtown Keene, where…

NHBR About Town: Granite United Way

At its recent 2011 Southern Region Campaign Celebration, the Granite United Way presented its Chairman's Award to boys from the Mayhew Program. Each summer, the Bristol-based Mayhew Program hosts an annual tuition-free summer camp for at-risk New Hampshire boys. Last…

NHBR About Town: Laconia Savings Bank

Laconia Savings Bank recently purchased a corporate art collection for its new Rochester office from artstream studios of Rochester, including works by local artists Susan Schwake, Judith Heller-Cassell, and Jennifer Stevens-Curwood. Pictured from left are Schwake; Leslie Simpson of LSB;…

NHBR About Town: Concord Young Professionals Network

Mike Bussiere, who is on the steering committee for the Concord Young Professionals Network, congratulates Tonya Rochette on being named the group's Young Professional of the Year. Rochette is vice president of Human Resource Partners, a graduate of Leadership Greater…

RGGI ‘just another tax’

To the editor:The article by Susan Hackler re RGGI ("RGGI repeal: Twice is not the charm," March 9-22 NHBR) neglected to mention the $2 million to $3 million used of the RGGI money to help balance the budget. That is…

The state of retail in North Conway

The "winter that wasn't" spit out one storm this month, albeit followed by rain and warm temperatures. Regardless, I joined a group on our annual ski pilgrimage to the White Mountains. We stayed in Jackson and skied at Attitash, Bear…

Marriage equality repeal is a return to discrimination

The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill to repeal marriage equality. I urge our citizens to look within themselves to oppose returning to the discrimination of the past.In our world, there is nothing more important than the way we…

Career schools can meet employer skills needs now

There is a growing cadre of workers who have been laid off or want to get better paying jobs but lack the skills to advance. These individuals have usually graduated from high school and gone directly into the workforce. They…

N.H. home sales rise, prices fall in Feb.

The number of homes sold in New Hampshire continued to increase in February, and the median sale price continued to fall, according to two monthly reports released by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors and RE/MAX of New England.Both reports…

VF Corp. execs’ compensation: $25m

The top five executives of VF Corp., the new owners of The Timberland Company, received $25 million in compensation in 2011, according to a proxy filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.The South Carolina-based retail giant bought the Stratham-based…

Role of airport, I-93 will be focus of summit

Gov. John Lynch and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen are among the officials taking part in "Paths to the Future," an infrastructure summit, which will be held from 7 to 9 a.m. Friday, March 30, at The Executive Court in Manchester.The…

Law firm seeks $475k in FRM case fees

Donchess & Notinger, the Nashua law firm of Financial Resources Mortgage bankruptcy trustee Steve Notinger, is seeking more than $475,000 in interim fees and expenses for the last half year.That would bring the firm's total payment thus far -- including…

Ruger execs got big raises in ’11

Sturm Ruger & Co.'s top five executives earned compensation packages totaling $12.15 million in fiscal 2011, more than triple the amount they earned a year ago, according to the company's annual proxy.Michael O. Fifer , the company's CEO, got the…

Presstek closes year with another loss

Hudson-based Presstek Inc. lost another $3.8 million (10 cents a diluted share) in its fourth quarter -- an improvement over the previous year's finish -- but still resulting in a $12.4 million annual loss (33 cents a share), a slightly…

N.H. eligible for piece of Constellation-FERC $250m settlement

A trading group of Constellation Energy, an independent power provider for business users in New Hampshire and other states, has agreed to pay nearly $250 million to settle charges of price manipulation. A fraction of that money could be claimed…

Ex-FPU president sues Italian college over unpaid salary

George Hagerty, the former president of Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, is suing his subsequent employer, St. John International University Inc. -- a school chartered in New Hampshire but located in Italy -- for not paying him as St. John's…

Yet another extension for USA Springs financing

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge last week granted USA Springs its sixth delay since Halloween on a supposed $60 million financing of its controversial water bottling plant at the border of Nottingham and Barrington.The deadline for the financing package is…

Cleveland or else, acquired Bedford firm’s employees told

Bostonpost Technologies, a Bedford firm that makes software for companies that manage affordable housing, will be shutting its doors in New Hampshire on March 23, resulting in most employees having to look for other work.MRI Software LLC bought Bostonpost from…

BlackBerry maker buys Nashua antenna firm

Research in Motion Ltd., the Canadian company famous for its BlackBerry smartphones, has purchased a Nashua-based firm that specializes in developing antennas for mobile phones.RIM announced the purchase last week of Paratek Microwave Inc., which designs and manufactures tunable radio-frequency…

Has the value of the Red Sox diminished?

It's hardly been a storied New England winter this year, but now with baseball players in Florida, spring is definitely in the air.Yet while the advent of spring training usually puts a bounce in the step of almost all New…

Making intellectual property rights patently clear

Imagine a situation in which an employee creates an invention or produces a work for an employer. Who owns the patent rights or copyright for the invention or work?In the absence of an express, written employment contract clearly allocating ownership…

Fuel standard is bad for N.H.

To the editor:House Bill 1487 should be enacted in order to avoid costly increases in fuel and heating oil prices for New Hampshire citizens.State Representatives Holden, Bettencourt and O'Brien have co-sponsored the bill, which would require legislative approval prior to…

RGGI repeal: Twice is not the charm

Once again, a few shortsighted souls in the New Hampshire House have mounted an effort to repeal the state's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The difference this year is that, fortunately, they appear to be alone.RGGI is a…

It’s time to complete electric restructuring

Over a decade ago, the New Hampshire Legislature made the wise decision to restructure the state's electric industry and provide consumers the ability to choose their electric provider. A vibrant competitive generation market developed here and across the region.Consumers have…

Thoughts on a primary six months away

Late February is approximately six months before the state primary -- the "other" New Hampshire primary.First, this year is a presidential election year. Just a couple of months ago, it looked as if President Obama was vulnerable to almost any…

NHBR About Town: Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Hampshire, with support from its longtime partner, the New Hampshire Credit Union League, has celebrated its 1,000 wish with the building of a custom-designed, nearly three-story enchanted castle for a Wish Child David in Epping.

NHBR About Town: Family Resource Center

Audley Williams, left, station manager for WPKQ, FM channel 103.7, presents the station's "Year of Service" award to Sue Watson and Marie Demers of the Family Resource Center, a Gorham-based nonprofit that works to improve the health, welfare and educational…

NHBR About Town: Easter Seals New Hampshire

On Valentine's Day, Public Service of New Hampshire hosted the kickoff breakfast for Easter Seals New Hampshire's annual VIP campaign, in which 20 companies, or so-called "Easter Seals VIPs", work to raise $500,000 for the nonprofit to support its services…

NHBR About Town: More Than Wheels

Debby Miller, executive director of More Than Wheels, accepts a $10,000 grant from Ken Sheldon, New Hampshire president of Bank of America, which will support the nonprofit's credit repair program, which helps consumers achieve access to reliable and affordable transportation.

NHBR About Town: Citizens Bank and WMUR-TV

Terri Crossland, right, branch manager for Citizens Bank in Berlin, presents Sylvia Poulin, co-founder of the Berlin Main Street program, with the Heart of Your City award for her contributions to the state's northernmost city. Presented by Citizens Bank and…

NHBR About Town: Manchester Area Human Resources

The Manchester Area Human Resources Association has donated more than $3,000 to the nonprofit the Society of Human Resources Management, which was raised through membership donations and a silent auction and will be used to support the society's student scholarships.

NHBR About Town: Small Business Administration

In February, the Small Business Administration, the Greater New England Minority Purchasing Council and the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center jointly hosted a meet-and-greet for small and minority business owners to learn ways to expand their customer base and…

NHBR About Town: Families in Transition

Gathering to celebrate the opening of Families in Transition's new OutFITters Thrift Store Boutique on South Main St. in Concord are representatives from the nonprofit homeless services provider and local businesses that helped fund the expansion. From left, Shawna DeFrancesco,…