In The News
Child-care concerns, solutions discussed at Laconia roundtable
by Rick Green
LACONIA - Child care centers were financially vulnerable before the COVID-19 pandemic reduced attendance and made it harder to find qualified employees, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was told Tuesday during a visit to the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region. Shaheen said she was supporting an effort in Congress to include significant funding for child care in the next round of emergency relief. Chris Emond, the club's chief executive officer, urged Shaheen to emphasize that when funds are … Continue Reading
July 13, 2020
Shaheen visits Glen Ellis Falls, touts LWCF funding
by Edith Tucker
PINKHAM'S NOTCH - Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) visited the soon-to-be-renovated historic trail to Glen Ellis Falls Day Use Area on Thursday while traveling north on Route 16 from Conway to Berlin. She used the short hike as an opportunity to discuss the large backlog of maintenance projects on the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF), on which these falls are located, halfway between Jackson and Gorham. Shaheen also highlighted the importance of fully and permanently funding the Land and Wat… Continue Reading
July 13, 2020
Senator hears about lack of markets for low-grade wood
by Barbara Tetreault
BERLIN - On July 8, the day before U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen visited the Burgess BioPower biomass plant in Berlin, the plant set a record for wood chip deliveries. Dammon Frecker, executive vice president of CS Operations, reported that 202 tractor-trailer loads of chips came across the scales, far more than the 115 loads required to fuel the plant. Frecker reported that the 75-megawatt biomass plant, one of the largest in the country, is the biggest generator of renewable energy in the… Continue Reading
July 10, 2020
Congressional delegation slams ICE guidance for international college students, Dartmouth to file brief in suit
by Josie Grove
New Hampshire's congressional delegation criticized an ICE proposal that could force international college students to leave the country if they take only online classes. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the proposal last week, saying that college students from other countries will not be able to get visas if they take only online classes. In March, ICE had said international students would be able to stay in the country for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency even if they t… Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Shaheen gets the lowdown from Big Dave at small business stop
by Tom Eastman
CONWAY - "It's been a challenge, not only for us but for you and for everybody," Dave Hausman of Big Dave's Bagels in North Conway told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) during her hourlong visit Thursday morning at his shop to find out how small business in New Hampshire have been faring during the pandemic. With the Senate currently, recessed, Shaheen was eager to lobby for support of passage of the Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program (P4) Act, legislation she introduced that would al… Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Shaheen announces $400K to support Rockingham County businesses
by Hadley Barndollar
Headed to the Regional Economic Development Center in Raymond is $400,000 from the federal Economic Development Agency, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., announced Wednesday. The funds will be used to support businesses in Rockingham County. During federal budget negotiations, Shaheen led an effort to prevent the Economic Development Administration from being eliminated, and helped secure the funds, according to her office. The REDC in Raymond is one of the Granite State's four economic devel… Continue Reading
July 09, 2020
Officials: Housing needs could spike as evictions resume, jobless aid ends
by Meghan Foley
State and local advocates say the housing challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have not gone away and could even grow as an eviction moratorium ends and expanded unemployment aid expires. Representatives of state and local housing and homeless-service organizations discussed those issues with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on a conference call Wednesday morning. Among other things, they said the end-of-the-year deadline for them to use funds from the federal CARES Act has them concerned, … Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
Sen. Shaheen meets with Popovers owners in Epping
EPPING - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen met with Popovers owners John Tinios and Steve James Tuesday to learn more about their experience with the Paycheck Protection Program and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their small restaurant. Shaheen, who is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, helped negotiate the small business relief programs, including the PPP, that were established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Shahe… Continue Reading
July 08, 2020
NH renters are ‘really, really struggling’
by Bob Sanders
Of the 365 renters of affordable apartments owned by Lakes Region Community Developers, about 60% percent receive income-based subsidies. About another 30% of tenants are getting other assistance, such as enhanced unemployment benefits. But the remaining 10% "are really. really struggling," the group's executive director, Carmen Lorentz, told U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Wednesday morning during a conference call on housing issues. It's not just the loss of income, said Lorentz, it's the increased … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Runway being rebuilt at Portsmouth International Airport
by Kimberley Haas
Runway reconstruction at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease is moving forward as part of a multi-million project. Airport Director Paul Brean said Tuesday that a $19 million, 12,000-square-foot addition to the existing airport building is also planned. It will allow for another passenger jet bridge and gate so Pease can accommodate two commercial aircraft at the same time. That project includes room for private security screenings, escalators and a concession area. Barry … Continue Reading
July 07, 2020
Laconia, Concord temples on list for security grants
by Rick Green
New Hampshire houses of worship, including Temple B'Nai Israel, will share in $635,000 through a federal program to improve security, the state's congressional delegation announced this week. The Laconia temple is to receive a $38,500 grant. Ira Keltz, president of Temple B'Nai Israel, said that as part of the grant application process, a security review was done in collaboration with Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield, FBI representatives from New Hampshire and Jewish Federation consultants. … Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Shaheen demands answers on plans for COVID-19 vaccine
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen questioned federal health officials at a hearing Thursday on the research, manufacture and distribution of a safe coronavirus. Shaheen asked CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield how seniors and people with underlying conditions like diabetes will be prioritized once there is a vaccine. "In New Hampshire, 80% of our COVID-19 deaths had been in long-term care facilities. That's the highest percentage in the country," said Shaheen, D-New Hampshire. Redfield told her… Continue Reading
July 02, 2020
Shaheen, Hassan press tax software makers on their post-Wayfair products
by Jeff Feingold
New Hampshire's U.S. senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, are joining with Oregon's senators in calling on firms that produce sales tax compliance software to address questions about the accuracy and affordability of their products. The senators, who come from two states that don't have a general sales tax, say the information is essential in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 Wayfair decision, which allowed states and other jurisdictions with sales taxes to collect taxes on sales… Continue Reading
April 07, 2020
NH community health centers to receive $6.8 million in emergency CARES Act funding
by John DiStaso
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Nine community health centers and the city of Manchester will receive $6.8 million in federal funding to help support their efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state's congressional delegation said Tuesday. The funds are part of the $2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law March 27, and are in addition to about $1.4 billion received by the state, or entities in the state, so far. That $1.4 billion includes $1.25 billion in base aid that th… Continue Reading
April 06, 2020
Hanover teen makes it home from study abroad
by Adam Sullivan
HANOVER, N.H. (WCAX) Thousands of Americans remain stranded overseas because of the ongoing pandemic, including dozens from our region. Our Adam Sullivan spoke with a Hanover teen who made it back. Seventeen-year-old Isabel Estes entered Peru by bus March 13th with a groups of students studying abroad. Three days later the borders of the South American country were closed. Thankfully, with the help of New Hampshire's Congressional delegation, the Hanover teen was able to get home. "Seeing my d… Continue Reading
April 05, 2020
Q&A with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
by Jeff Feingold
Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire's senior U.S. senator, was among a bipartisan group of senators who negotiated the provisions that focus on the needs of small businesses in the recently enacted federal CARES Act. She recently discussed the measure with NH Business Review. Q. What were the provisions you insisted on being in the CARES Act, and did they all get in? A. This is an incredibly challenging time for small business owners and I know many of them are staying awake at night wonder… Continue Reading
April 02, 2020
Exeter family stranded in Peru since coronavirus outbreak returns to US
by Patrick Cronin
EXETER - An Exeter family stranded in Peru due to the coronavirus pandemic recently returned home thanks to the help of U.S. Sen Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen, D-N.H., announced Thursday that her office successfully helped Julie Givens and Javier Jimenez and their three children return to the U.S. after being stuck in Peru for several weeks. Her office helped arrange for the Exeter family to board a flight organized by the State Department. The Peruvian government ordered a state of emergency March … Continue Reading
April 02, 2020
New Hampshire to get $11.7M to help communities, homeless
by Kathy McCormick
CONCORD - New Hampshire is getting an additional $11.7 million from the massive federal coronavirus relief package to help community service programs and the homeless, the state's congressional delegation announced Thursday. Here are the latest coronavirus developments across the state: AID FOR COMMUNITIES, HOMELESS The $11.7 million in additional federal funding can be used to expand community health facilities, child care centers, food banks and senior services. The money will also support… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
With VAWA talks deadlocked, lawmakers push for domestic-violence emergency funds
by Erin Durkin and Zach C. Cohen
Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act remains stalled in Congress. But lawmakers and advocates are trying to find ways to help victims of domestic violence who are forced to shelter in place in unsafe homes during a pandemic. Groups that lobby on domestic-violence policies say they welcomed the money lawmakers provided for certain programs in the third coronavirus package, which passed last week. For the next bill, they are pressing for even more funding to ensure the needs of domes… Continue Reading
April 01, 2020
Older Americans Act Reauthorized
by Staff
President Donald Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Senators Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, which will strengthen and increase funding for Meals on Wheels and other programs critical to older Americans. Since 1965, the Older Americans Act has supported and improved the lives of seniors through support for transportation options, caregivers, employment and community service opportunities, and other services. This year's reauthor… Continue Reading
