New Hampshire Business Review - February 13 2009

NASHUA - The Board of Education wasted little time killing a controversial proposal to eliminate interscholastic athletics at the city's middle schools. At Thursday night's meeting, the board's first action on the proposed school district budget for next year was…

MERRIMACK - More discouraging economic news clouded the Town Council's budget hearing Thursday night, as its members cautiously moved forward with a $31 million spending proposal for next year. The news stemmed from Gov. John Lynch's own budget pitch earlier…

The thousands of FairPoint customers who have faced e-mail and other Internet problems for almost two weeks may get some break on their bill as a result. "We have recommended to FairPoint that they offer compensation to customers who have…

A man who thought he was soliciting sex from a juvenile on the Internet actually was dealing with an undercover officer, police said. Joseph Gentile, 23, of 230 White Mountain Highway, Chocorua, was arrested Wednesday and charged with several felonies…

For municipal budgets across New Hampshire, the state and national fiscal crisis is proving to be a bad case of trickle-down economics. With town meeting season just around the corner, the non-property tax source of revenues for cities and towns…

Rep. Jill Schaefer Hammond learned to appreciate the state employees’ health insurance plan firsthand after her premiums, as a self-employed freelance graphic designer, rose 35 percent. She had just lost a major client and was forced to drop coverage for…

Every year, scams are becoming increasingly complex as con artists discover new, sophisticated ways to fleece the public. Unfortunately, even the well-known deceptions still fool victims. Whether new or old, con artists prey upon the same vulnerabilities in our human…

Have you ever wanted to really upset your customers? Have you ever wondered how to make sure they feel unimportant? If you have customers, who actually feel entitled to some level of service, you might want to try this to…

It’s likely that 2009 is going to be as stressful as the last half of 2008. The markets, local, regional, national and international, continue to be in disarray. Here in New Hampshire, we continue to beat the drum that we…

If you blink or take your eye off current events for a second, the whole political world can change. Just when everyone thought the players were known in New Hampshire politics for the foreseeable future (i.e., the rest of the…