In The News
NH delegation: New England nursing homes unfairly penalized
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Nursing homes in northern New England are being unfairly penalized when it comes to federal funding during the pandemic, members of New Hampshire's congressional delegation said Tuesday. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, the delegation took issue with the formula used to distribute $333 million to more than 10,000 nursing homes late last month. The nationwide average payment per facility was nearly $25,000, while New Hampshire facilities got abou… Continue Reading
November 16, 2020
Shaheen, Pappas and Hassan mourn 500th NH COVID-19 death
WASHINGTON - As New Hampshire reached its 500th COVID-19 death on Monday, Manchester's members of Congress took a moment to take stock of the grim milestone. Congressman Chris Pappas said that America has seen dark times in the past and that once again the country must unite to address the pandemic, but also mourned those who have been lost so far. "New Hampshire families are experiencing heartbreaking loss from this pandemic, and nothing can make up for the loss of loved ones taken by this te… Continue Reading
November 13, 2020
NH restaurants, hotels look for ways to stay afloat over winter
by Siobhan Lopez
MANCHESTER, N.H. - New Hampshire's hospitality industry is looking for ways to survive the coming months. Business owners who joined a call with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Friday provided a glimpse into the struggles they're experiencing and anticipating. Shaheen said she wanted to get an idea of what the businesses are dealing with and their ideas for what would benefit them when it comes to the next relief package. The call included owners of New Hampshire restaurants, hotels and performing ar… Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
U.S. Targets Insurers In Latest Round of Nord Stream 2 Sanctions
by Daniel Flatley and Dina Khrennikova
The U.S. is drawing up additional sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project, the latest obstacle in the path of the 9.5 billion-euro ($11.2 billion) Russia-to-Germany link that's been halted almost a year. House and Senate negotiators agreed to target insurers and technical certification companies working on the project in a defense bill that must pass by the end of the year, according to three people familiar with the matter. The move would add to penalties that stopped work … Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
NE drug lab, other NH projects contained in Senate spending bill
by Kevin Landrigan
A $50 million drug laboratory based in New England could emerge in final congressional negotiations over an omnibus federal spending bill, according to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Bi-partisan talks resulted in several other programs of interest to New Hampshire being included in a Senate spending package, including more than $600 million of work for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, assistance programs for first responders, a pay raise for all military personnel, relief for New England fishermen… Continue Reading
November 09, 2020
Cold weather could put restaurants into deep freeze
by Rick Green
WOLFEBORO - As the weather turns cold, the finances of restaurants in the time of COVID-19 are in danger of going into a deep chill. That's why the current brief stint of unseasonably warm weather has come as a blessing to restaurateurs who have been able to continue to use outdoor seating at a time when indoor dining is limited to allow for the social distancing required under state guidelines intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. Oral Kelly, general manager of Nolan's Brick Oven … Continue Reading
November 05, 2020
New Hampshire Food Bank forces change in distributor after families return poor quality food from USDA program
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The New Hampshire Food Bank has a new distributor after receiving complaints about low-quality food coming from a federal program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm to Trunk program started in May to help feed families during the pandemic. Food bank staff members said that at first, the food being given out was fine, but then another distributor stepped in and the quality of the food started to go down. "It does not represent what the food bank's nutritional standar… Continue Reading
November 02, 2020
Sen. Shaheen sends special message to Londonderry students
by Julie Huss
LONDONDERRY - As the national election was looming, a U.S. senator from New Hampshire wanted to send a special message to local school children. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen took on a virtual opportunity to be a guest reader for students at Matthew Thornton Elementary School, to help highlight the school's book fair event running through Nov. 8 Shaheen read the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein, part of the author's collection of humorous poems that have been classics for decades.… Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
Shaheen told COVID-19 vaccines likely to require subzero storage
by Barbara Tetreault
BERLIN - The two leading vaccines being developed for COVID-19 require being kept at subzero temperatures and local health-care providers told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen they expect cold storage equipment will be the next challenge for the supply chain. At a virtual meeting with Shaheen last Friday, Androscoggin Valley Hospital President Michael Peterson said the two pharmaceutical frontrunners in the race to develop a vaccine are Pfizer and Moderna and both are working on vaccines that will … Continue Reading
October 28, 2020
Tourist Attractions ‘Really Struggling’ Without More Federal Help
by Paula Tracy
NORTH WOODSTOCK - Tourist attraction owners in the White Mountains are facing continued business uncertainty with the pandemic and need another infusion of help from Washington to get their full-time staff through to spring, they told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Wednesday. Operators of the Cog Railway, Santa's Village, Clark's Trading Post, The Hobo and Winnipesaukee Railroad and a representative for the 17-member White Mountains Attractions, described the dire situations they face with limits on … Continue Reading
October 28, 2020
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen: Fighting to protect domestic violence survivors during the pandemic
by Jeanne Shaheen
These are uncertain times and too many people are struggling. Every day I hear from small businesses, school officials, and our mayors about the enormous challenges they are facing due to the pandemic. We need to get COVID-19 under control, restore our economy, and get our lives back. Sadly, in the midst of these challenges, many existing issues are being exacerbated, including domestic violence and sexual assault. In the throes of the pandemic, too many survivors of domestic violence and sexua… Continue Reading
October 27, 2020
A CIA Officer Visits Moscow, Returns With Mysterious, Crippling Headaches
by Greg Myre
During 26 years at the CIA, Marc Polymeropoulos spent a lot of time in rough places, like war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.But he never suffered any harm until December 2017, when he was sound asleep at a Marriott Hotel in Moscow near the U.S. Embassy."I was awoken in the middle of the night," recalled Plolymeropoulos, age 51. "I just had incredible vertigo, dizziness. I wanted to throw up. The room was spinning. I couldn't even stand up without falling down. I had tinnitus ringing in my ears."… Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
U.S. Still Seeking Clues to Mystery Illness Afflicting Diplomats and Spies
by Lara Jakes and Edward Wong
WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has not determined what caused some American diplomats and intelligence officers to suffer from a mysterious, debilitating affliction while they were overseas, despite devoting vast resources over more than three years to investigating it, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday. Starting in late 2016, dozens of American officials and family members living in Cuba and China or traveling for work in other countries, including Russia, reported contracting an… Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
Claremont to host state's first Family Treatment Court
by Damien Fisher
Claremont District Court Judge Jon Yazinski sees the way parental addiction and mental health problems contribute to child abuse and neglect cases. "I would say 90 percent of the abuse and neglect cases I see involve a parent with a substance abuse issue," Yazinski said. This could change as the Claremont downtown courthouse is soon to be home to the state's first Family Treatment Court. Similar to the drug courts, which offer people charged in drug crimes with alternatives to prison, … Continue Reading
October 19, 2020
NH to get $1.75 million to set up drug court
by Paul Feely
Members of the state's congressional delegation say New Hampshire is getting $1.75 million to set up a new family drug court program. The grant will fund a Family Treatment Court (FTC) pilot project in Sullivan County to improve access to services for children and families experiencing abuse and neglect, as well as those facing substance abuse and mental health issues. This will be New Hampshire's first FTC and serve as a pilot program for potential additional FTCs in other counties th… Continue Reading
October 19, 2020
U.S. Diplomats and Spies Battle Trump Administration Over Suspected Attacks
by Ana Swanson, Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes
WASHINGTON - The strange sound came at night: a crack like a marble striking the floor of the apartment above them. Mark Lenzi and his wife had lightheadedness, sleep issues and headaches, and their children were waking up with bloody noses - symptoms they thought might be from the smog in Guangzhou, China, where Mr. Lenzi worked for the State Department. But air pollution could not explain his sudden memory loss, including forgetting names of work tools. What began as strange sounds and sympt… Continue Reading
October 17, 2020
Marker to honor trailblazing Dover suffragette Marilla Ricker
by Kyle Stucker
DOVER - For over 50 years, trailblazing Dover suffragette Marilla Ricker fought for women's right to vote. In honor of Ricker, who died a few months after the 19th Amendment passed 100 years ago, the Woodman Museum will encourage voters this Election Day to place their "I Voted" stickers on a new temporary marker on its 182 Central Ave. property. "I'm hopeful it gets some attention," said Patricia Wilson, a local resident creating and installing the marker with the museum's permission. "It's a… Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
COVID-19 testing at New England schools
by Benjamin Domaingue
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) created a new coronavirus (COVID-19) processing lab in response to the pandemic, which has received national praise. The lab at UNH has been online since August 24, and with its partnership with Quest Diagnostics and ConvenientMD, over 160,000 tests have been processed since July 29. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) recently visited UNH's COVID-19 lab. "I was very impressed both with the state of the art lab itself, the equipment itself, the way it was put… Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
COVID-19 testing at New England schools
by Benjamin Domaingue
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) created a new coronavirus (COVID-19) processing lab in response to the pandemic, which has received national praise. The lab at UNH has been online since August 24, and with its partnership with Quest Diagnostics and ConvenientMD, over 160,000 tests have been processed since July 29. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) recently visited UNH's COVID-19 lab. "I was very impressed both with the state of the art lab itself, the equipment itself, the way it was put… Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
‘We need to learn’: Adults, kids wanted for Pease PFAS Health Study
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, along with community activist Andrea Amico, urged people to sign up to participate in the restarted Pease PFAS Health Study. The first-in-the-nation study on adults and children exposed to dangerous PFAS chemicals in drinking water officially restarted Thursday, after being paused in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amico, co-founder of Testing For Pease who has been nationally recognized for her work on the issue, stressed the importance of gettin… Continue Reading
