New Hampshire's Business News for May 27

A look at today's top business headlines, including: Uber bill on the road to passage, state highway improvement plan OKd, community college system audit sought, coastal communities told to prepare for extreme weather, beer ban may be lifted at college sports events

Uber bill clears a key hurdle in conference committee  Measure would override local regulations, omits independent contractor definition. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

State highway improvement plan approved  House and Senate negotiators agreed Thursday on the nearly $4 billion, 10-year highway plan that includes money to pave a fourth lane for both barrels of Interstate 93 between Manchester and Salem, but nothing for commuter rail. – NH UNION LEADER

Legislators call for audit of state’s community college system  The Legislature’s Public Higher Education Study Committee has called for a performance audit for the Community College System of New Hampshire, after a student and two staff members complained about its schools. – CONCORD MONITOR

NH expects thousands of tourists for holiday  Local residents aren’t the only ones expected to take part in the area’s upcoming Memorial Day parades, ceremonies and barbecues. – LAWRENCE EAGLE-TRIBUNE

NH House-Senate panel backs FRM compensation, without money  Conference committee OKs measure for un-funded dedicated fund. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

St. Gobain evaluating water contamination suits  A plastics company says it's evaluating two lawsuits alleging chemical contamination of private drinking water wells in New Hampshire. – FOSTER’S DAILY DEMOCRAT

Coastal communities told to prepare for extreme weather  The first of two public meetings about preparing New Hampshire for storm surges, sea-level rise and extreme precipitation was held Thursday night in Greenland. – NH UNION LEADER

Duprey wins job to build new Merrimack County Superior Court  Merrimack County has awarded the job of building a new superior court to Concord developer Steve Duprey. – CONCORD MONITOR

UNH venture center: Angel investor market shrank in 2015  Total investments were up by 1.9%, but the number of ventures receiving funding declined 3.1%. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

Borealis Ventures named most active NH VC firm  Over the years, the firm has invested in dozens of seed and early-stage companies, including Adimab, Dyn, Scribe Software, Newforma, GlycoFi and Avitide. – NH BUSINESS REVIEW

Modernizing the electricity system changing our habits  Preparing for the future of electricity will require a lot of new software and hardware, but just as important, and probably more difficult, is making use of what science-fiction writers sometimes call the “wetware” – that is, people. – CONCORD MONITOR

Beer ban may be lifted at college sports events  College sports and beer go hand in hand – unless you’re in New Hampshire, where state law bans most university sports arenas from serving alcohol. – CONCORD MONITOR

Dover startups at front lines of health food revolution  The 1 Washington St. Mill in Dover has become a Mecca of sorts for food-related businesses. Two of those startups held an open house on Thursday: Popzup Factory, which is trying to revolutionize the microwave popcorn market; and Turnip the Beet, a company that makes clean meals to go with fresh organic ingredients. – FOSTER’S DAILY DEMOCRAT

Family businesses honored for helping NH's economy  Several awards were distributed to small businesses during the sixth annual Family Business Recognition Dinner hosted by the University of New Hampshire’s Center For Family Business and the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics. – NH UNION LEADER

Some Fremont residents concerned about asphalt, concrete recycling proposal  A Plaistow company’s proposal for an asphalt milling and concrete recycling operation in Fremont is stirring up concerns among some residents. – NH UNION LEADER

NH is last state in the country to create a registry of people’s immunizations  New Hampshire has joined the rest of the country by authorizing an immunization registry, a record of vaccinations that health officials say is valuable to combating outbreaks of contagious diseases. – CONCORD MONITOR

Another judge steps aside in defamation suit against Michael Gill  Another judge has recused himself from a defamation lawsuit filed against a New Hampshire businessman know for placing controversial messages on electronic signs. – NH UNION LEADER

Milne officially challenges Leahy  Republican Scott Milne, of Pomfret, Vt., a relative newcomer to politics who narrowly lost the last governor’s race, officially declared his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy on Thursday. – VALLEY NEWS

Commerce Department official to keynote NH aerospace conference  Hosted by the NH Aerospace and Defense Export Consortium, in partnership with the NH Division of Economic Development and the NH Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the conference’s theme is “Opportunities for Aerospace and Defense Products, Technologies and Services in the International Marketplace.” – NH BUSINESS REVIEW