New Hampshire's Business News for June 15

A look at today's top business headlines, including: Electric Co-op buys Antrim wind power, hospital mergers scrutinized in NH, NH jobless rate ticks up, NH ranks third in U.S. drug deaths

N.H. Electric Cooperative first buyer of Antrim Wind power To the dismay of at least a few of its members, the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative has signed on as the first buyer of the energy to be produced by the Antrim Wind project.  – N.H. UNION LEADER

State panel accepts application for Seacoast power line State regulators have accepted as complete an application with the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee for a new 115-kilovolt transmission line to connect substations in Madbury and Portsmouth. – N.H. UNION LEADER

Northern Pass, PUC staff reach pact on NH utility designation Northern Pass Transmission and New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission staff have reached a settlement that would allow the company to conduct business in the state as a public utility. – RTO Insider

Settlement approved in dairy antitrust case A seven-year long battle between dairy farmers and the large dairy companies that buy raw milk came to an end last week. – N.H. PUBLIC RADIO

Hospital mergers scrutinized in NH There has been a spate of hospital mergers or proposed acquisitions in New Hampshire.  State scored a D+ in new report.  – INDEPTH NH

Second co-defendant objects in Hep C case  Triage Staffing on Monday joined the American Association of Radiologic Technologists in asking a federal judge to dismiss Exeter Hospital's claim for pay-outs they made to patients who tested negative for hepatitis C in the aftermath of the 2012 outbreak caused by lab technician David Kwiatkowski.  – EXETER NEWSLETTER

Nurses testify in suit  Current and former nurses at Greenbriar Terrace nursing home took the witness stand Tuesday, the sixth day of testimony in the Whitney family's wrongful-death lawsuit against the 290-bed, five-unit Nashua facility.  – NASHUA TELEGRAPH

Survey: 6 percent of N.H. adults have prediabetes About 6 percent of New Hampshire adults have blood glucose levels that are higher than normal, putting them at risk of developing diabetes. – CONCORD MONITOR

Canadian man pleads guilty to false statements on NH gun applications A Canadian man accused of trying to buy 100 handguns from an arms dealer in Nashua pleaded guilty to making false statements on Tuesday. – WMUR-TV

Breezeway owner says he is worried about copycat crime The owner of a local gay bar said what happened in Orlando has him rethinking security at his business. – WMUR-TV

Ruger shares jumped following Orlando night club massacre Sturm Ruger & Co. climbed 8.7 percent to $62.43 at 9:34 a.m. Monday in New York after gaining 8.9 percent, its most intraday since late February.  — BLOOMBERG

NH jobless rate ticks up New Hampshire's preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2016 was 2.7 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the April rate. – N.H. UNION LEADER

Unemployment rate up slightly in NH  New Hampshire officials say the state's unemployment rate went up slightly in May, to 2.7 percent. FOSTER’S DAILY DEMOCRAT

BIA seeks input on 2017-18 legislative agenda    The BIA will be holding a series of nine roundtables throughout the state in June, hosted by local chambers of commerce and trade associations.  – N.H. BUSINESS REVIEW

NH ranks third in U.S. drug deaths New Hampshire would be eligible for up to $5 million over two years to help expand access to treatment for opioid and heroin abusers under President Barack Obama's proposed $1.1 billion request. – N.H. UNION LEADER

Addiction recovery center to open in Claremont There’s hope for Claremont’s worsening opioid problem, and HOPE for New Hampshire Recovery wants to help with the opening of a new recovery center. – CLAREMONT EAGLE-TIMES

It’s time for NH to switch its marketing pitch For years, we’ve tried to lure companies here with some occasional success, but the value proposition is much better for employees over employers.  – N.H. BUSINESS REVIEW

Work-based learning can close NH ‘training gap’ : Many young people are struggling to find work while businesses are struggling to hire.  FOSTER’S DAILY DEMOCRAT