In The News
Family of slain journalist want suspects returned to US to face trial
by Siobhan Lopez
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The families of four Americans killed by ISIS are asking the Trump administration to bring their suspected killers to the United States to face trial. It has been nearly six years since four Americans, including New Hampshire journalist James Foley, were killed by ISIS. Foley's mother, Diane Foley, is among the group of families calling on President Donald Trump to extradite suspects who are in U.S. custody in the Middle East to face trial. "I feel I owe Jim at least that … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Keene Fire to buy new breathing equipment with $370K FEMA grant
by Olivia Belanger
Keene firefighters will be able to upgrade their breathing equipment, thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agency, through its Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, awarded just over $885,000 to five fire departments across the state, New Hampshire's congressional delegation announced Wednesday. The grant program provides financial assistance to fire departments to enhance the safety of firefighters and the public, a news release from U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen… Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
https://www.nhbr.com/shaheen-urges-hud-to-adjust-application-process-for-community-development-grants/
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is concerned inefficiencies at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are holding up the distribution of $5 billion in supplemental Community Development Block Grants appropriated for communities nationwide under the CARES Act. Following a conference call earlier this month with New Hampshire housing officials and advocates, Sen. Shaheen sent a letter last Tuesday, July 21, to HUD, requesting it address a number of issues including HUD's approval process … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Berlin gets federal grant for fire department equipment
BERLIN - The city has been awarded $167,952 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to replace aging breathing apparatus for the fire department. The grant, which the city applied for in December, will replace 20 self-contained breathing apparatus along with 40 cylinders and 20 masks. The new breathing apparatus will replace equipment that ranges from 10 to 15 years old and does not meet current standards. Berlin was one of five New Hampshire communities to receive a grant from … Continue Reading
July 25, 2020
Lydall aiming to dominate the filtration market
by Kimberley Haas
A company in Rochester is positioning itself to be the largest site for meltblown filtration media production in North America and arguably the world. Meltblown filtration products include porous fabrics - or media - that are components of masks that filter liquids and gases. The media produced at Lydall is a critical layer of N95 respirators and surgical face masks, which health care workers and emergency responders need to protect themselves from COVID-19. Employees at the Che… Continue Reading
July 25, 2020
They served, too: Opening NH's 'hallowed ground' to all Guardsmen and Reservists
by Shawne K. Wickham
The first time Sy Mahfuz visited the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, he knew he wanted to make this quiet place of memory and honor his final resting place. "Nothing would make me more proud than to be buried in the cemetery with all of my friends who served," said Mahfuz, who lives in Nashua. But when he asked, Mahfuz was told he was not eligible. Although he spent six years in the Army Reserve, serving during the height of the Vietnam war, Mahfuz was told that only… Continue Reading
July 24, 2020
Lydall of Rochester breaking ground to expand N95 masks materials production
ROCHESTER - Lydall Performance Materials is set to break ground Friday after being awarded a $13.5 million contract with the Department of Defense to help increase production of N95 masks amid the coronavirus pandemic. Lydall produces fabric used in N95 masks. The company, which has headquarters in Connecticut and locations around the United States, as well as in Europe and Japan, announced it will be bringing all of the production work from this contract to its Rochester site on Chestnut Hill … Continue Reading
July 23, 2020
Shaheen, Hassan call for expanded testing in next stimulus bill
by Siobhan Lopez
MANCHESTER, N.H. - New Hampshire's U.S. senators are calling for funding for more robust COVID-19 testing in the next federal stimulus package. Democratic U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan are also calling for more funding for individuals, small businesses and industries that have yet to reopen, along with more help for schools to open safely. Shaheen said there needs to be a national strategy for testing. "Funding and a national strategy are absolutely critical, and it's unforgi… Continue Reading
July 22, 2020
Sen. Shaheen: $15 million more going to PFAS health study
by Jeff McMenemy
PORTSMOUTH - Sen. Jeanne Shaheen reported she successfully added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes $15 million for the first national PFAS health study. The amendment for fiscal year 2021 secures $5 million more in funding for the PFAS study than was included when the annual legislation passed the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. Shaheen, D-N.H., is a member of the Armed Services Committee. The added money will ensure the study into the health … Continue Reading
July 21, 2020
Shaheen, delegation push Navy for virus safety at Portsmouth shipyard
by Hadley Barndollar
KITTERY, Maine - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen led the New Hampshire and Maine congressional delegations in a letter to the Navy secretary Tuesday regarding the health and safety of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard workers as the base returns to full strength. Shaheen, D-N.H., U.S. Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and Democratic Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas of New Hampshire and Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden of Maine, inquired to Navy Secretary Kenneth … Continue Reading
July 19, 2020
Smiths Medical in Keene enlisted in COVID-19 fight
by Damien Fisher
KEENE - The Smiths Medical facility on Bowman Drive is joining the U.S. government's effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic through a $20 million investment. The company, based in Minnesota and with plants throughout the world, announced the investment last week. The investment will enable the company to expand the Keene facility and hire 100 more employees. The expansion will allow the company to manufacture the first order of 78.6 million syringes and hypodermic needles needed for an expected… Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Safe Station program goes mobile to connect homeless with addiction, mental health services
by Mark Hayward
With the original services of the once-innovative Safe Station program now available through Catholic Medical Center, the Manchester Fire Department has begun a new phase of Safe Station. It's gone mobile. Three times a week, a team that includes firefighters, mental health workers and shelter managers has been visiting homeless camps in the city. Fire Chief Dan Goonan said the effort is to get some 175 homeless camp residents more connected with the help they need to fight problems su… Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Camps quieter this summer
by Madeline Hughes
SALEM, N.H. - It was quieter than usual at Camp Otter. The 20-acre camp that normally hosts 250 campers a day during the summer had only 53 kids, Camp Director Ryan MacRae said as she led U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on a tour of the facilities. Areas like the archery pit were noticeably empty as campers spread out on benches to wait and take turns shooting. Shaheen met with MacRae and other camp officials to talk about how to help summer camps. Shaheen knows summer camp in New Hampshire is vital… Continue Reading
July 16, 2020
Crashing coastal property values and the economic fallout of climate change
by Jeanne Shaheen and Sheldon Whitehouse
Climate change has taken hold here in New England. From the White Mountains to Narragansett Bay, there have been more frequent heat waves; native wildlife and plants are shifting north; and there have been troubling upticks in climate-related ailments like tick-borne diseases and asthma. But nowhere is climate change more apparent than along the coast, where warming and acidifying waters and rising sea levels are taking a toll, disrupting fisheries and eroding coastal marshes and beaches. These… Continue Reading
July 15, 2020
NH school districts working on plans to prepare for return of students
by Jennifer Crompton
MANCHESTER, N.H. - New Hampshire school districts are working to finalize plans for the return of students in the fall. After the state released guidance Tuesday that left many decisions in the hands of local officials, districts are taking different approaches to reopen. In Rochester, school officials have been setting up classrooms to space desks 3 and 6 feet apart. "We're trying to make sure people have the best information and the science behind the decisions so people can make an info… Continue Reading
July 15, 2020
Senators host talks with community leaders
by Jordan J. Phelan
NEWPORT - U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) met with local community leaders, government officials and employers on Monday to learn more about their experience with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and discuss the need for further financial relief in response to economic hardships caused by the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Seated around a conference table positioned in the center of the former Pepsi building, Scott Reed, owner of Reed Truck Services, welcomed the senator to his Ne… Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
In Keene, Shaheen touts solar energy projects
by Mia Summerson
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen says it's important to find ways to keep supporting solar projects at a time when many of them have been canceled or delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shaheen, D-N.H., visited Keene's police station and public works facility on Marlboro Street on Monday to hear about the 2,000-panel solar array that tops its roof. Nationally, she said, around a million energy sector jobs were lost due to the pandemic, about 600,000 of them in solar and other clean energy industr… Continue Reading
July 14, 2020
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
