“N.H. Colleges Commit To Increasing High-Tech Grads”
Facing declining in-migration of skilled workers and increasing demand for them, the state is stepping-up efforts to home-grow its own modern workforce.
- Source: Seacoastonline
Latest Links: GOP Aide Resigns Amid Mileage Questions, Berlin Fire Department Faces $130,000 Shortfall
New Hampshire’s Business And Economic News In Brief
Aide resigns as mileage issue breaks – “Bob Mead has resigned from the House Majority Office following a Monitor report that he billed taxpayers for trips to Republican events where he sought to recruit House candidates.” Concord Monitor
Fire chief reports budget shortfall – “The city council Monday night received some unwelcome news from Fire Chief Randall Trull. Trull reported he expects his budget will end the fiscal year with a shortfall of over $130,000. Trull said the main cause for the shortfall is the cost of overtime pay to cover for sick or injured firefighters, including one who has been out for 44 weeks.” Berlin Daily Sun
iCAD reports $2.3m first-quarter loss – “Nashua-based iCAD lost another $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2012, about 4 cents a share, and revenues were down 14 percent, to $6.3 million, according to the firm’s most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.” New Hampshire Business Review
Gunstock took it on the chin during winter that wasn’t – “After weathering what may be one of the worst winters for snow sports in recent history, Gunstock officials are optimistic about the upcoming summer season now that the summer adventure park is complete and ready to go…visits to Gunstock during the past ski season hit a 20-year low with the state averaging a 20-percent loss in the number of visitors…” Laconia Daily Sun
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Lectures At Dartmouth
Earlier this afternoon, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a public lecture at Dartmouth College. He was scheduled to speak on the global economy and education.
- Source: Unionleader
Why NH’s Waterfront Market Might Be On The Rebound
David Salafia
Is the real estate market heating up along Lake Winnipesaukee?
“Could the era of numerous big dollar waterfront sales be returning?” That’s the question Roy Sanborn, a realtor in Meredith, NH, posed in a column on Saturday in the Laconia Daily Sun.
According to data compiled for the month of April from the Northern New England Real Estate MLS System, the average sales price of a home on Lake Winnepesaukee — $2.15-million — was more than double the average sales price last April.
Paula Hinckley of Lady of the Lake Realty in Sanbornton says her experience selling waterfront homes confirms Sanborn’s observation. “In years past there would be heavy negotiations,” Hinckley says, and buyers would get 20 percent off the asking price. Now, “those deep discounts are not happening.” Today, she says, negotiations are more often within five percent of the asking price. Continue Reading
“USA Springs Judge Puts Off Auction Decision”
The pressure’s on the failed USA Springs water bottling project to either find financing or declare bankruptcy.
- Source: Nhbr
How Market Basket’s Changing Worker Safety Rules After OSHA Settlement
Nancy D. Regan / Flickr
Many grocery stores don’t have the kinds of safety rules in place that DeMoulas recently agreed to
Recently,Tewksbury, Massachusetts-based DeMoulas Supermarkets, Inc. settled with the feds on a laundry list of major safety violations at Market Basket stores. As we’ve previously reported, OSHA slapped DeMoulas with $589,000 in fines following store inspections in Concord and Rindge. Then, after considering a the number of serious, repeat, and willful violations, the agency went so far as to demand that DeMoulas systematically overhaul safety practices at all 66 stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
That’s only the second time OSHA’s gone to that extreme. Continue Reading
Latest Links: Mild Weather Contributes to Less Maple Syrup, Parking Ordinance Hinders New Portsmouth ‘Literary Salon’
New Hampshire’s Business And Economic News In Brief
Mild Weather Contributed To Less Maple Syrup In NH – “The New Hampshire Maple Producers Association says the maple syrup season ran about seven to 10 days earlier this year, with mild weather contributing to lower-than-anticipated syrup production.” Boston.com
Portsmouth’s New ‘Literary Salon’ Faces Parking Hurdle – “Three booksellers plan to open a “literary salon” in the historic Custom House, where books would be sold, beer and wine would be poured, and “creative small plates” would be served, according to Planning Department records. The only obstacle preventing the book-bar from opening at 40 Pleasant St. is the city’s parking ordinance. …” SeacoastOnline.com
Historic Farm To Be Auctioned – “A piece of authentic town history will go on the auction block next month. The historic Hobbs Farm, with large house, carriage house and barn, will be available for the first time since the Hobbs family made the property part of their holdings in the 1700s.” SeacoastOnline.com
Sequoya Technologies Group Wins 2012 Cornerstone Award – “Sequoya Technologies Group of Peterborough was the recipient of the New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility’s 2012 Cornerstone Award.” Union Leader
“RiverRun Launches Publishing Venture”
A few months ago, this indie bookstore faced the real possibility of closure. Now, it’s starting a new publishing arm.
- Source: Seacoastonline
Regional Cap-And-Trade Slashed Energy Use By $5 Million
Bill Rosgen / Flickr
Now in its second year, RGGI is saving millions of dollars in energy usage
The region’s controversial cap-and-trade system is working–at least as far as grant-funded energy cuts are concerned. A new report released by UNH–based Carbon Solutions New England found that between the summers of 2010 and 2011, companies cut their emissions by 18,900 metric tons. As David Brooks reports for the Nashua Telegraph:
“Grants from money paid by electric utilities as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative…helped businesses reduce energy use by more than $5 million in the second year of the program, according to a new analysis…
For every dollar invested, the report said, there would be a return of $4.67 in energy savings over the lifetime of the projects: The lifetime savings from the $18.1 million spent from the fund are projected to be $84.5 million in energy costs based on current energy prices.”
As Brooks points out, RGGI has takes some heat at the statehouse,“because the cost of buying carbon-dioxide offsets is paid by utilities like PSNH, and thus helps raise electricity rates.” Supporters, however, argue that over the long run, cap-and-trade will cut down energy use, thus saving consumers money in the end.
Latest Links: Balsams Auction Empties Hotel, Portsmouth Pushing For Historic Register Listing
New Hampshire’s Business And Economic News In Brief
The Balsams Auction: The End of An Era – “The walls and the hallways are largely empty today in one of New Hampshire’s oldest and grandest hotels. As part of the plan to rebuild and renovate the Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, the hotel’s new owners auctioned off many items this past Saturday. The goal was to sell everything but photos and items of historical significance. ” NHPR
$285K set aside to offset new Memorial Bridge’s impact on history – “When the decision was made to replace instead of rehabilitate Memorial Bridge, historic preservationists said the loss of the 89-year-old bridge adversely affected the historic significance of Portsmouth and Kittery. Some $285,000 later, work is in play to prepare downtown Portsmouth for listing as a historic district with the National Register of Historic Places, and hundreds of buildings in Kittery Point are being surveyed for their historic value. An “interpretive panel” will explain the importance of John Waddell, designer of the original Memorial Bridge, and an annotated bibliography will be added to a 2009 report on the bridge.” SeacoastOnline.com
Storrs transformation stalled – “It was a bold plan to give downtown Concord a shot in the arm and transform Storrs Street into a pedestrian-friendly riverfront boulevard. At its heart was a proposal to redevelop the Capitol Shopping Center, the shopping plaza and sprawling parking lot built in the early 1960s on the site of Concord’s old train station. The center would be partially demolished, with an artificial channel creating a waterfront park connected to the Merrimack River. So, whatever happened to the Storrs Street canal?” Concord Monitor
State notifies Laconia it won’t help pay for widening portion of Main Street bridge project – “The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) has informed city officials that it will contribute 80-percent of the cost of reconstructing the Main Street bridge over the Winnipesaukee River to its existing dimensions, but will not share in the cost of widening the structure. “The long and short of it,” City Manger Scott Myers wrote In an e-mail to the mayor and City Council, “is … if the city wishes to include an additional amount of work in anticipation of future needs, we could do so during construction but the cost would fall entirely on us.”” Laconia Daily Sun