Common Man opens grab-and-go eatery at Epsom traffic circle

By RAY DUCKLER

The ever-growing Common Man franchise has gotten even bigger.With 20 sit-down restaurants spread around the Granite State already in his stable, owner Alex Ray now has, as he calls it, a third “touch-and-go” business, this one at the Epsom Traffic...

Curbside Christmas tree pickup begins in Concord

Concord residents with curbside trash and recycling collection can place their Christmas trees curbside for disposal on their trash collection day through Friday, Jan. 12.Many other communities also collect Christmas trees. Bow residents, for example,...

NH DOT hoping to recruit more snowplow drivers

By MARA HOPLAMAZIAN

Between retirements and the demand for people with commercial drivers licenses at private companies, New Hampshire has had a tough time staffing the trucks that plow snow.State officials are trying a variety of things to recruit drivers: offering...

Hometown Hero: Salisbury’s Leanna Lorden plays big role at Henniker nonprofit

By RAY DUCKLER

LLeanna Lorden has a diminished role when it comes to face-to-face meetings with students at White Birch Center in Henniker. She was promoted to chief operating officer last summer, shifting to an administrative role filled with meetings and phone...

Granite Geek: It takes a lot of ice to open the ice runway, but not because of the planes

By DAVID BROOKS

As the region’s aviation community anxiously awaits the annual yes-or-no decision about whether the Alton Bay Ice Runway will open, here’s a tidbit to consider: Keeping Cessnas and Beechcraft from crashing through as they land isn’t why officials have...

Bills target out-of-state trash

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

New Hampshire has become a dumping ground for out-of-state trash.But that could change during the upcoming legislative session as lawmakers try to slam the brakes on trucks bringing waste from beyond state borders.One bill takes on the Interstate...

Pembroke gearing up for community power this spring

By DAVID BROOKS

Pembroke residents will get their chance to join the community-power bandwagon soon, with notices going out in mid-January and a Jan. 31 public meeting.The meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. in the Pembroke Academy auditorium, will explain how Pembroke...

Maintaining New Hampshire’s 7,000 miles of snowmobile trails 

By HADLEY BARNDOLLAR

For snowmobile clubs in the North Country, the equipment necessary to maintain trails can cost up to $350,000, said Dan Gould, director of the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association. Those responsible for the upkeep are mostly volunteers, too. That’s...

Outgoing Concord Mayor Jim Bouley looks back on 26 years of service

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Jim Bouley loves local government.For most, the inner working of local government is a thankless bureaucracy marked by leaf collection services and property tax hikes.But to Bouley, there’s no better job to see the results of your work, whether it’s...

LCHIP protects land on Warner River, part of continuing effort in Hopkinton

A grant from the state’s LCHIP program will help protect a piece of land abutting the Warner River, part of continuing efforts to preserve water quality upstream of Concord’s water supply intake on the Contoocook River.The $88,250 grant, one of a...

Bow School District has grown 20% in a decade while almost everybody else has shrunk

By DAVID BROOKS

As is well known, public school enrollment is slipping throughout New Hampshire and falling sharply in some places.Somebody forgot to tell Bow and Dunbarton.In the decade since much smaller Dunbarton joined Bow in a two-town school district, public...

Development debrief: Mapping Concord’s current housing projects 

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Matt Walsh can draw a timeline of development in Concord of peaks and valleys. In 1986, residential development was at a high, with colored vinyl panels and geometric shapes putting a mark on new construction. The Great Recession of 2008 marked a low...

Assessments show schools still struggle with the effects of the pandemic

By DAVID BROOKS

There may be debate among the public about the long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic but there’s no question when looking at the state’s test scores, especially the lower grades.“This is a generation that was back in pre-school when the pandemic...

Hometown Hero: Brady student has planted roots in his community

By RAY DUCKLER

Nick Pagauisan, a sophomore at Bishop Brady High School, is growing in more ways than one.While he’s at the age, 16, in which height and maturity are often on the rise, his vegetable plants are, too, giving him a green thumb that would fill the Jolly...

Granite Geek: Counties can’t do much in N.H., but they can get it on the buying-electricity game

By DAVID BROOKS

The most interesting energy thing happening in New Hampshire right now isn’t due to cool tech or federal money, it’s part of that terribly ho-hum tedious topic, local governance.Actually, it’s more ho-hum than that: It’s county governance.Compared to...

6 th Annual Colby-Bucklin Golf Tournament to Support Newfound Babe Ruth Baseball

By MARK DIONNE

On a cloud-covered and cooler than usual September Saturday, 15 teams of golfers descended upon the Den Brae Golf Course to raise funds for Newfound Babe Ruth Baseball. Ron Bucklin and Floyd Colby, from which the tournament is named, were both big...

As algae blooms in lakes get more common, spotting them by drone makes sense

By DAVID BROOKS

As more New Hampshire lakes suffer from blooms of toxic algae due to warming weather and increased development, two water bodies in Henniker were part of a study of a faster way to spot outbreaks, using drones.“With the (drone), a small lake might...

Old trees in the Granite State have lost their best friend

By RAY DUCKLER

Chris Kane treated old trees like they were his grandparents.He respected old trees, protected them, made sure they lived full, rich lives.“He could identify any plant or tree and know if it was rare or endangered,” said Kane’s lone daughter, Hilary...

Seeking Solutions: Franklin leaders have a blueprint for community investment in Salida, Colorado

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

When P.T. Wood arrived in Salida, Colo., 30 years ago, it was an old mining town that was becoming a shell of its former self. Ranching had slowed down, the railroad was leaving town and many homeowners were looking to move away.If you took a trip to...

Business Notes

NH Audubon announced at its Annual Meeting on Sept. 16, the following 2023 conservation award winners: Tudor Richards Award – Karen Bennett of Antrim, Goodhue-Elkins Award – George W. Gavutis Jr. of Kensington, John Thalheimer Volunteer Award – Sandra...