New Hampshire's Business News for April 7

A look at today's top business headlines including: Cannon stops free skiing for residents over 65, Plymouth State selects Engelberth Construction to build new residence hall, Atlas fireworks faces criminal charges, Maine company to lay off 900 and Patriots fans sue NFL for first-round draft picks

State senator, former lobbyist approved to be next banking commissioner  The Republican-controlled Executive Council approved Weare Sen. Jerry Little as the state’s new banking commissioner Wednesday in a 3-2 vote along party lines. – CONCORD MONITOR

Council backs Sunapee expansion; opponents threaten legal action  The Executive Council approved a contentious plan Wednesday to expand the Mount Sunapee ski resort in a 3-1 vote, ending the latest chapter in a long effort by the resort, but potentially opening the door to another – in court. – CONCORD MONITOR

Lost revenue could spell end for senior citizen discount at Cannon Mountain  After a fiery debate, the NH House approved a bill that would halt free skiing for residents over 65. – CONCORD MONITOR

Saint-Gobain will pay for residents' bottled water  Days after state officials sent Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics a formal request to correct water contamination around its facility, the company says it will pay for bottled water for select residents. – NH UNION LEADER

Litchfield town manager on PFOA: residents concerned about health, home values  State environmental officials continue to investigate to what extent drinking water systems in southern New Hampshire have been contaminated with the chemical known as PFOA. – NH PUBLIC RADIO

Engelberth picked to build Plymouth State’s new residence hall  Engelberth Construction of Keene has been selected as the contractor for Plymouth State University’s planned Merrill Place Residence Hall and Conference Center, a new 350-bed residence hall to accommodate growing enrollment and the need for on-campus conference facilities. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

Financing in place for downtown Concord renovation  Sugar River Bank leads Vegas Block restoration funding effort. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

North Country Healthcare up and running  The long-planned affiliation of the four North Country hospitals — Androscoggin Valley Hospital, Berlin; Littleton Regional Healthcare; Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital, Colebrook; and Weeks Medical Center, Lancaster – became official with the completion of closing documents. – THE BERLIN DAILY SUN

Atlas PyroVision Entertainment Group and its Jaffrey landowner are facing criminal charges. Prosecutors allege they stored and buried computer/television monitors with cathode ray tubes without a permit. – THE KEENE SENTINEL

Maker of AfterBite expands in Littleton  Tender Corp. CEO Jason Cartwright presided over a ribbon–cutting April 1 at his company’s new, 117,000-square-foot building at the Littleton Industrial Park. – NH UNION LEADER

Contractors air frustrations about Portsmouth inspections department  A group of contractors met with city officials on Wednesday, to complain about problems with new inspections managers when, witnesses said, tempers flared, F-bombs were dropped and a near-fight was broken up by the deputy city manager. – PORTSMOUITH HERAL

Jailed homeless man's death in NH renews debate over excessive bail for poor  The recent death of a homeless man in a New Hampshire jail has brought renewed attention to the practice of jailing people for minor crimes when they can’t afford bail. – NH PUBLIC RADIO

Board of Medicine finalizes changes to new opioid prescribing rules  The new rules, which come amid the state’s heroin and opioid epidemic, offer a stricter framework for doctors who prescribe opioids to patients with chronic and acute pain. – CONCORD MONITOR

Exeter Hospital settles with more than 200 patients in hepatitis C case  Exeter Hospital is seeking compensation from agencies it says played a role in the 2012 hepatitis C outbreak after reaching settlements with 33 former patients who became infected with the virus and another 188 who tested negative but threatened legal action for the stress it caused. – NH UNION LEADER

GOP candidates for governor sound off on Medicaid expansion  Frank Edelblut hopes to make Medicaid expansion the “defining issue” in the governor’s race. – NH UNION LEADER

LePage says southern Maine company will shed 900 jobs  The governor talked about the job losses during a town hall meeting in Orono, but did not name the company. – PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

Former IBM plant and 10 others to be tested for contaminant  The state will begin testing drinking water in the vicinity of 11 more Vermont manufacturers, including the former IBM plant in Essex Junction, as it expands the scope of its investigation into contamination by perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA. – VTDIGGER

Patriots fans sue NFL over 'Deflategate' punishment  A group of New England Patriots fans have sued the NFL in an effort to recover the first-round draft pick that was taken from the team as punishment for the "Deflategate" scandal. – NH PUBLIC RADIO