News
With less than three months left, Concord Casino hasn’t found a buyer
By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN
At the start of the year, Concord Casino was ordered to close its doors and sell the business within six months, but, so far, no buyers have stepped forward to acquire the establishment.“There’s been no change in the status of the Concord facility,”...
From a book to bread, Merrimack Valley High School students show off their senior projects
By JEREMY MARGOLIS
In January, Merrimack Valley High School senior Lena Pelleteri’s mother passed away following a multi-year battle with cancer.For her senior project, Pelleteri put her “pain on paper”, as she put it, writing a 40-page book that delved into her...
‘We’re just kids’: As lawmakers debate transgender athlete ban, some youth fear a future on the sidelines
By ERIC RYNSTON-LOBEL
Maëlle Jacques has read the articles written about her.“Winner of NH Girls High Jump is Biological Male.”“Transgender girl blasted after dominating New Hampshire girls high jump.”“U.S. ‘Full of Failing Gutless Mothers and Fathers’: High School Boy...
What’s in a name? Ask an Epsom Yeaton.
By RAY DUCKLER
Norm Yeaton dropped a stack of papers three inches thick, attached by a clip, onto his living room table.The thud said a lot, that an arduous research project by Yeaton – in an attempt to understand the sheer volume of people in Epsom whose last name...
Young adult author Gordon Korman visits Bow Memorial School
By JEREMY MARGOLIS
Horseback riding, Greek mythology, the soccer field, a New Hampshire-inspired repressive society.For 31 Bow Memorial School students who participated in a writing workshop led by legendary young adult author Gordon Korman, wherever things could go...
Vandals hit mausoleum of Tilton's namesake
By GABRIEL PERRY
The Tilton family mausoleum was vandalized Monday night, according to cemetery officials. The mausoleum, which sits atop the tallest hill in the cemetery and was constructed to house the crypts of the Tilton family members, was constructed in the 19th...
Beekeepers, farmers square off in NH Senate committee hearing
By RICK GREEN
Farmers and beekeepers seem like natural allies, but they disagreed Thursday on House Bill 1698, which would allow people to spray pesticides from drones without first notifying neighbors.Mary Ellen McKeen, president of the N.H. Beekeepers...
Conway selectmen condemn racist remarks from resident
By DAYMOND STEER
On Tuesday, Conway Selectmen Steve Porter and Ryan Shepard condemned racist comments that were made against a hotel developer at the April 11 planning board meeting.The comments were made during a conceptual review of Ashok Patel's proposal to...
The fraught path forward for cannabis legalization, explained
By ETHAN DeWITT
New Hampshire’s cannabis legalization effort has reached a tricky crossroads.A year after Gov. Chris Sununu announced he would support a legalization approach that meets a number of strict conditions, the New Hampshire House has passed a bill. That...
Mother of two convicted of negligent homicide in fatal Loudon crash released on parole
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
Maggie Doorlag said she could picture her life outside the walls of the women’s prison, where she’d spent the last 17 months. She’d be reunited with her husband and two young daughters. She would get her cosmetology license and continue with...
After delay over neighbors’ concerns, Christ the King Food Pantry headed for rebuild
By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN
Plans for a new building for Christ the King Parish’s food pantry are moving forward after they were held up due to safety concerns, and a lack of communication with abutters, in February.The city Planning Board approved revised plans this week, which...
Casinos can no longer charge rent to charities
By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN
Governor Chris Sununu has signed legislation that no longer allows casinos to impose rent charges on charities.On Tuesday, House Bill 1203 was signed into law, allowing charities to keep the entirety of the money they receive from casinos, some of...
Students’ first glimpse of new Allenstown school draws awe
By JEREMY MARGOLIS
Jaws dropped and cheers erupted as Allenstown students entered their new school building for the first time Thursday morning.“Yo, this looks like a mall,” said an eighth grade boy in a Bruins shirt. “Smell that new school smell,” observed another.“We...
‘Bridging the gap’: Phenix Hall pitch to soften downtown height rules moves forward
By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN
Sue McCoo knew that adding flexibility to downtown zoning to allow for the repurposing of Phenix Hall would mean her store, Hilltop Consignment, would probably lose its longtime home on Main Street. The zoning change would open the door for the...
Man granted parole for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of 2 Dartmouth College professors
By KATHY McCORMACK
A man who has served more than half of his life in prison for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors as part of a plan to rob and kill people before fleeing overseas was granted parole Thursday.James Parker...
‘I was scared:’ Meehan takes the stand in lawsuit alleging NH enabled child abuse at YDC
By JASON MOON
The man whose accusations of child abuse at New Hampshire’s former Youth Development Center (YDC) inspired more than 1,100 others to come forward began testifying in Rockingham Superior Court Wednesday.David Meehan took the stand in a closely-watched...
‘It all feels so magical’: New England college students celebrate an LGBTQ prom at Dartmouth
‘Money is a driver’: Amid inflation and tight labor market, city fighting to stem employee outflow
By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN
In another move to stem the flow of city employee turnover, Concord city councilors approved a package of increased leave and other perks last week. Previous efforts — including bonuses and a temporary increase in overtime pay for police, weekly cash...
Pembroke seminar on climate change aims to set the record straight
By RAY DUCKLER
Ayn Whytemare doesn’t like the view from the top of her hayfield in Pembroke.From there, rising from pines like a lonely skyscraper, stands the smokestack used by the Bow coal plant, the last facility of its kind in New England. And while the visible...
Pay-by-bag works for most communities, but not Hopkinton
By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN
Every time Jolene Cochrane clocks in for her shift at the Hopkinton Transfer Station, she sees residents driving in with their household waste bagged in various colored trash bags.With 19 years of experience at the station — a few years longer than...