Author: NH Business Review Staff

Flotsam & Jetsam

Split personalitiesPerhaps medication would be able to take care of the mood swings displayed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives.As a body, under the subjugation of Republicans and through its leadership, the House has repeatedly professed the desire to…

Work is essential for people of all abilities

Here in the North Country, where the ravages of this poor economy are most evident, a higher percentage of people with developmental disabilities are employed than anywhere else in the state. I learned this statistic recently at a breakfast hosted…

Let’s resolve to help N.H. workers in 2012

New Year's resolutions generally conjure up good intentions to lose weight and reorganize our homes or office desk.But for millions of Americans, this year's resolutions are more urgent. To find a job. To keep a job they already have. To…

How RGGI benefits small businesses

Grant Bosse of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy neglects to discuss the benefits of the program as they affect small businesses and jobs in New Hampshire.Bosse suggests that the RGGI program includes reen energy boondoggles -- that is…

Deficit spending, the RGGI way

If the people running New Hampshire's RGGI program were running a business in the private sector, they'd either be fired, under criminal investigation or both. Of course, they're not. And in the world of government, they haven't done anything wrong.They've…

At 25, DES still plays a vital role

On Jan. 2, 1987, culminating years of legislative deliberations, a new environmental agency was created: the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. So this year, 2012, marks the 25th anniversary of the creation of DES and its service to the…

A trip through ‘Political Junkie Week’ in N.H.

This column is being written in the middle of what may best be dubbed, "Political Junkie Week in New Hampshire," or, "New Hampshire's Political Disneyland Vacation."This year, as everyone knows, Mitt Romney defeated Rick Santorum by eight "votes" in the…

Small Biz Day at State House set by BIA

Strategies for securing business financing, tips for how to do business with the state and a look at this year's top policy issues as seen by the state's top legislators will be on the agenda of the Business and Industry…

Senate panel backs health exchange

While presidential candidates were crossing New Hampshire on Tuesday getting in their last points about health care, the Senate Commerce Committee was acting on three major pieces of health-related legislation. Without a word of debate, the Senate unanimously voted to…

House OKs several business-related bills

As the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday hotly debated dozens of retained bills from last year -- everything from bringing back short-term loans to allowing guns on campus -- a number of measures won quiet approval. All of…

Out-of-state health insurance bill on life support

Would you like the chance to buy your health insurance out of state? Well the Senate Commerce Committee recommended earlier this week to kill a bill that would allow you to do so. But with only a 3-2 vote in…

N.H. foreclosures rise, but it's not all bad news

There were 20 percent more foreclosures in New Hampshire in November 2011 than there were in the same month the previous year, but that comparison may be misleading since many lenders had halted foreclosure proceedings in November 2010.In November 2011,…

Locally certified restaurant program slow to start

Since it was launched this summer, the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection's Certified Local program -- which gives bragging rights to restaurants in the state that serve local food on their menus -- has only received a few applications.…

N.H. bankruptcies fell 13.8% in 2011

For 4,747 New Hampshire households and businesses, 2011 was a financial disaster, a year in which they were forced to file for bankruptcy. However, that's 760 fewer -- or 13.8 percent - than those that filed in 2010.It was the…

N.H. economy moving forward — but at a snail’s pace

Despite what they're saying on the campaign trail about where the U.S. economy is going, the New Hampshire economy seems to be headed in the right direction. The question, however, is how long is it going to take to finally…

One man’s meat is another man’s passion

Smoked hams, bacon smoked over fruit chips, wieners with actual meat from parts of the pig that people have heard of -- these are some of North Country Smokehouse's specialties. But it's what makes the company different that makes it…

Financial executive nominations sought

NHBR is now accepting nominations for the 2012 Financial Executive of the Year Awards, which honor New Hampshire's top financial officers and executives for their outstanding fiscal leadership and contributions to the success of their companies.Presented in partnership with KBW…

NHBR About Town: The Prescription Center

The Prescription Center, an independent, full-service pharmacy in Concord, has been honored as an Outstanding Corporation by the Northern New England chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Council on Fundraising. Pictured left to right are Angel Matthews,…

NHBR About Town: Holy Rosary Credit Union

Holy Rosary Credit Union has closed its first home loan in conjunction with The Housing Partnership, a Portsmouth affordable housing developer, which is rehabilitating five properties for first-time homebuyers using federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the city of Rochester.…

NHBR About Town: Families in Transition

Maureen Beauregard, president of Families in Transition, accepts a check from Dick Anagnost, president of Anagnost Investments, which -- through the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority tax credit program -- has donated more than $36,500 towards the expansion of…

NHBR About Town: New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Rick Brenner, left, president of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and Joseph Reilly, president of Centrix Bank, hold a check representing the $112,196 raised for charitable organizations in 2011 through the Centrix Bank Community Outing Fundraising Program, which lets local…

NHBR About Town: People’s United Community Foundation

Dianne Mercier, New Hampshire president of People's United Bank, presents Lawrence Yerdon, president of the Strawbery Banke Museum, with a $5,000 check on behalf of the People's United Community Foundation, the bank's philanthropic arm. The grant will support History Within…

NHBR About Town: Harriman

Harriman, a full-service architectural and engineering design firm, has won a 2011 Building New Hampshire Award for its design of the Idlehurst Elementary School in Somersworth, which includes sustainable design features that it estimates will save the school $29,000 annually.…

Q&A with Tampa Bay outfielder Sam Fuld

Since he was a young boy, Sam Fuld wanted to be a big league baseball player, but he started with two strikes against him. First, he was from New Hampshire (Durham to be exact), where snow covers the baseball diamond…

NHBR About Town: Manchester Community Health Center

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, third from left, visits with Manchester Community Health Center president Edward George, physician assistant Igbal Mohamed and Dr. Laura Fry, its medical director, to find out about the challenges facing MCHC as a result of budget…

NHBR About Town: New Hampshire Lottery

During a hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade -- where he was testifying about the status of Internet gaming in the U.S. -- Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery,…

NHBR About Town: Hampshire First Bank

James Dunphy, president of Hampshire First Bank, presents a $2,500 donation to Jeanine Tousignant, CEO of the Manchester Community Music School, to support the school's New Hampshire Youth Jazz Ensemble.

NHBR About Town: Elm Grove Apartments

Elm Grove Apartments has donated $10,000 to The Way Home to help with the construction of its Laurel Keys development, which will provide permanent supportive housing to disabled and homeless veterans. Pictured with the donation are, from left, Mary Sliney…

Legislature’s energy plate will be full in 2012

The 2012 New Hampshire legislative session is approaching fast and promises to be a busy one from an energy perspective.Although not all bills have been introduced and issued, based on the titles of bills being drafted, bills from the 2011…

Hedging our citizenship

Deciphering the collective psyche of investors in the current economic climate is a challenge, to say the least. There are no easy answers -- only many complicated questions.To some, including the growing leagues of protesters, such as Occupy Wall Street,…

Leadership is not a solo sport

I have to wonder where all the great leaders are in our presidential politics. Those of a Democratic persuasion are not running because the party has already chosen their candidate, for good or bad. The Republicans seem to have a…

Is there room for ethics as a debate topic?

Since 2008, economic bad news has been the order of the day. As we close the folios of 2011 and enter 2012, along with the euro drama and the U.S. budget deficit debates, what political drama can we expect in…

Employer confidentiality policies may violate law

Q. Jim, vice president of Acme Corp., has seen too many news reports about employees' comments on Facebook and blogs and he wants to put in place a confidentiality policy to control or limit what is acceptable for employees to…

Planning for later years never more necessary

To the editor:Tom Sedoric, managing director of investments of The Sedoric Group in Portsmouth, wrote of "the growing strain of our obligations" in the Nov. 4-17 issue of NHBR.He identified the baby boomer's legacy as one of debt, due to…

Incompetence or criminal?

To the editor:This is an open letter to the government of New Hampshire.As one of the victims of the FRM fraud, I have very strong feelings about the role played -- or, more accurately stated, not played -- by the…

N.H. didn’t do its job

To the editor:FRM exploded two years ago, and the governor and government are still trying to sweep the whole mess under the proverbial carpet. Why?The most recent sweeping is by the governor's office, claiming ex-Banking Commissioner Peter Hildreth resigned his…

National debt threatens our country

To the editor:Our national debt is out of control. The security and prosperity of this nation is being put in jeopardy as a result of government inaction. The federal government must take the steps necessary to balance our budget, and…

Education is failing because of inefficiency

To the editor:J. Bonnie Newman, interim chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire, laments about the ever-rising burden of debt Granite State students carry upon leaving college ("N.H.'s dubious, and dangerous, distinction," Dec. 2-15 NHBR).The hard truth is…

Casinos would bring needed jobs to N.H. families

There seems to be an endless debate in politics about whether government creates jobs. One thing is undeniable: Government certainly can get in the way of job creation by passing bad policy or inaction.One dose of good policy that would…

What were our U.S. senators thinking?

There are not a lot of things about which New Hampshire Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Free Staters agree. But one such cornerstone in the foundation of our identity has to be the sanctity with which we hold our traditional freedoms.Rather…

More losses as 2011 closes

This column is not supposed to be the obituary page for New Hampshire Business Review! However, when significant losses occur in the political or business world in New Hampshire, as part of the documenting of history, I like to note…

Banks, lawyers team up for $28m partnership

Twenty-eight million dollars isn't small change. That's how much has been raised for legal services for the poor and law-related education programs over the past 30 years in New Hampshire through the Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts program.IOLTA is a…

Demographics and the “New Hampshire Advantage”

We're all fairly familiar with the concept of demographics and how important they are to businesses in determining where to locate. Most frequently we hear about retailers looking at population density, age, median income and educational levels, but other types…

Saab bankruptcy sideswipes N.H. dealers, owners, mechanics

[UPDATED]The bankruptcy of Swedish automaker Saab will make it tough for owners of the vehicle who need repairs in New Hampshire and beyond, according to those who own Saab specialty repair shops in the state.The Swedish automaker, long known for…

N.H. third-quarter income grew slowly

In the third quarter of 2011, New Hampshire's personal income grew by 0.2 percent -- not nearly as strong as last quarter's gains but still double the national average.Each quarter, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes state-by-state…

USA Springs bailout delayed again

Money to bail out USA Springs still has not arrived, forcing creditors to consider alternatives, including liquidation and foreclosure.Malom Group AG -- the bankrupt company's Swiss financier - was supposed to deposit $7 million on Dec. 9 into the account…

2011 future construction deals remain listless

Future construction contracts totaled $1.37 billion in New Hampshire through the end of November, down 28 percent and almost $600 million lower than the $1.92 billion recorded at the same time last year.That's according to industry information service McGraw-Hill Construction,…