Amanda Loder was StateImpact’s multimedia reporter until the project merged with the New Hampshire Public Radio site in July 2013. She now serves as a reporter and Weekend Edition Host for NHPR. You can continue to follow her work at @AmandaLoderNHPR, at nhpr.org, and on New Hampshire Public Radio.
This word cloud illustrates the overall focus of the Fed report.
In his report, Clifford uses mainly New England examples to explain why some state foreclosure mediation programs work, why some don’t, and how states can fix their systems and prevent more foreclosures. Mediation, by the way, is when a neutral third-party helps negotiate an agreement between a lender and a borrower to prevent foreclosure. (And just FYI, Massachusetts is the only state in New England that doesn’t have some sort of state or city-headed mediation program).
StateImpact read the whole Fed report, and came back with Nine Essential Takeaways: Continue Reading →
Although the price of a degree in New Hampshire continues to go up, residents are better at making their student loan payments than most of the country
Despite recent legislative budget cuts that have forced the state university system to ratchet up tuition–and student debt load–New Hampshire residents are actually pretty good at paying off their government loans. That’s according to US Department of Education numbers collected by USA Today. The feds report only 5.07 percent of Granite Staters failed to pay their loans.
That stands in stark contrast to Arizona, which has seen the highest rate of defaults–15.96 percent. New Hampshire’s situation also differs from the overarching national picture, reported on by several outlets when the Department of Education released figures for FY 2009 earlier this fall. Continue Reading →
Yesterday, Lowe’s announced it’s closing 20 under-performing stores across the country. Based on the company’s press release, we’ve generated this map of cities that will lose a Lowe’s. The Northeast by far took the biggest hit. The swath of country from New Jersey to Maine accounts for 45 percent of closures. And among all the states, New Hampshire is losing the most stores. Between closures in Claremont, Hooksett, and Manchester, 279 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs.
You can check out the larger size of this map by clicking the link below.
A Concord Monitor report lifts the veil on recent North Country land sales and the Northern Pass project
First of all, if you haven’t read Annmarie Timmins’ article in the Concord Monitor about Northern Pass developers offering big paydays to North Country landowners, you need to. Seriously. The link’s right here.
But if you’re strapped for time and just want the highlights reel, we’ve got the condensed version of Timmins’ reporting. Continue Reading →
Although Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center hopes the wave of early retirements won't affect patient care, the institution is still taking a hit
For most New Hampshire residents, last Friday was the end of a short, post-Columbus Day week. But for 100 employees of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, last Friday was their last day at work.
Like most large hospitals in the state, DHMC says changes the legislature made this summer in how the state compensates providers for Medicaid patients has forced it to take extreme measures. Unlike Catholic Medical Center, Exeter Hospital, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, and others, which laid-off hundreds of workers between them, DHMC went the early retirement route. Dartmouth-Hitchcock spokesman Rick Adams told StateImpact that 735 employees were offered the early retirement option.
Tracking down who owns what in the North Country can be tricky business...
Yesterday I forwarded along an interesting piece of info from Forbesabout how billionaire John Malone is now the largest landowner in the US. That’s thanks to a million acre purchase covering parts of New Hampshire and Maine.
So I wanted to know, where is this land? And how much of it was actually in New Hampshire?
A large New England purchase just put billionaire John Malone into the US' top landowner spot
Here’s an interesting bit of post-Columbus Day news, courtesy of Forbes. John Malone, the billionaire behind the Liberty Media empire, just bought a million acres of land in New Hampshire and Maine.
As reporter Daniel Fisher writes,
“Earlier this year Malone passed fellow media mogul Ted Turner to become America’s Biggest Landowner with 2.2 million acres, thanks to a giant investment in timberland in New England. It capped a quick ascent for the cable-television magnate, who joined the list of the nation’s land barons last year, shoving aside ranchers and timber magnates, some of whom have owned their acreage for generations. He entered the list at No. 5 after buying New Mexico’s 453-square-mile Bell Ranch in 2010, then passed Turner earlier this year after buying 1 million acres in New Hampshire and Maine from private equity firm GMO Renewable Resources.”
Although the economy has played a big role in previous debates, it's set to be the only issue at tonight's event at Dartmouth College
Tonight eight Republican Presidential candidates will be debating public policy at Dartmouth College. Specifically, they’ll be expected to focus on how they’d pump life back into our flagging economy. And although primary debates are (obviously) single-party affairs, don’t be surprised if President Obama’s American Jobs Act figures prominently in tonight’s discussions.
One out of ten houses in New Hampshire is a seasonal home; the homeowners pay taxes, just like everyone else, while demanding only a handful of services. But that could change if aging owners decide to retire here, turning their vacation homes into year-round residences. Continue Reading →
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