Todd Bookman

Gov. Chris Sununu announced new measures Monday to slow the spread of the coronavirus in New Hampshire, as newly-released testing results reveal the toll the disease is taking on the state's healthcare workers.

Governor Sununu is asking the Executive Council to waive a public hearing for Eddie Edwards to serve as the director of the state’s Office of Professional Licensure and Certification.

Edwards, who ran for congress as a Republican in 2018, was nominated earlier this month.

Sununu is requesting the confirmation be fast-tracked so that Lindsey Courtney, who has been serving as interim executive director, can return to her full-time position overseeing public health licensing.

After initially resisting the idea, last week Gov. Chris Sununu implemented a historic “stay-at-home” order aimed at curbing the threat of the coronavirus, which, as of April 2, has sickened 479 in New Hampshire, and been blamed for five deaths.

The Crotched Mountain School in Greenfield is battling an outbreak of COVID-19 on its campus that has killed one resident and infected five others. The facility, which offers residential and day programs for people living with disabilities, says the outbreak is traced to a group home on its campus.

New Hampshire’s federal delegation is providing more detail on how the $2 trillion stimulus package signed into law last week will benefit the state.

Along with a previously announced $1.25 billion in aid allocated for state and local governments in response to the pandemic, U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas, say an additional $147 million will reach various corners of New Hampshire.

The driver of a pick-up truck that crashed into a group of motorcycles in Randolph last June killing seven people is requesting a bail hearing. 

Volodymyr Zhukovskyy of West Springfield, Massachusetts was indicted on 23 different charges, including seven counts of manslaughter and driving under the influence of a narcotic, for his role in the collision. 

Prosecutors allege the 25-year old drifted over the center line on Route 2, striking members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, which is made up of Marine Corps members and their families. 

The $2 trillion stimulus package passed unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday seeks to help soften the economic damage of the coronavirus. Here’s a summary of how the bill, which the House could take up as early as Friday, would likely impact New Hampshire residents and businesses. 

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As communities prepare for an anticipated surge in coronavirus cases, local police, fire and EMT responders are making due with a dwindling supply of protective gear to limit their own exposure.

But with personal protective equipment in short supply nationwide, some departments say they will have to alter their response plans to protect their staff.  

A proposed class action lawsuit against Newington-based gun manufacturer SIG Sauer has cleared a key procedural hurdle. In an order issued Monday, a federal court judge ruled against the company’s motion to dismiss.

Derick Ortiz of Snowflake, Arizona filed a proposed class action suit last September alleging the P320 pistol he purchased for approximately $500 could inadvertently discharge when dropped, due to an alleged design flaw.

In his lawsuit, Ortiz says he wouldn’t have purchased a P320, or would have paid less, had he been aware of the drop fire issue. 

With reports of busy hiking trails, New Hampshire’s search-and-rescue teams are urging people who head into the forest to use an extra degree of caution to avoid putting wilderness first responders at risk for COVID-19.

While conservation officers are carrying personal protective gear, performing rescues could expose rescuers to the coronavirus.

This weekend is usually a time when New Hampshire sugar houses are open to the public for events and tastings. But this year, the 25th Annual Maple Weekend is canceled over coronavirus concerns.

And that's been a big blow to local producers.

Sue Folsom, owner of Folsom’s Sugar House in Chester, said the annual event is a huge revenue generator for both big and small maple makers.

"Oh, it is enormously important to the maple producers in this state," Folsom said. "For a lot of producers, it is the major source of income for their maple crop every year."

Two main sources of income for family farms were uprooted this week due to the coronavirus: many of the farm-to-table restaurants that source locally grown meat and produce aren’t buying at the same volume, and spring farmers markets are now closed, as well, due to the ban on public gatherings in New Hampshire.

So to keep the lettuces, kales and cabbages moving along, some local farms on the Seacoast are banding together to offer home delivery in the region.

A Dover resident detained in Lebanon for more than six months is expected back safely in the United States late Thursday evening.

Amer Fakhoury, 56, was arrested last September after returning to his native Beirut for the first time in nearly two decades. Lebanese officials alleged that while Fakhoury served in the South Lebanon Army in the 1990s, he participated in the torture and killing of prisoners inside the Khiam prison. 

New Hampshire is prohibiting all public gatherings of more than 50 people, as well as ordering all restaurants in the state to serve customers through takeout or delivery only, in the latest moves meant to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Click here for our live coronavirus blog for the latest news updates.

On a party line vote, Senate Democrats passed a paid family medical leave bill Thursday despite a near certain veto by Gov. Chris Sununu.

As fears over the coronavirus lead to shortages on the shelves of some products, including hand sanitizer and face masks, regulators from New York to California are using their legal authority to prevent retailers from charging exorbitant prices. 

That includes the threat of financial fines, and in some states, possible criminal charges against retailers who price gouge. 

Voters in 10 communities gave in-person sports betting the green light during Town Meeting elections Tuesday.

Under a state law passed in 2019, up to 10 in-person gambling parlors can open statewide, but before a community can serve as a host, local voters first must give approval at the ballot box.

According to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, which is regulating sports wagering, voters in Belmont, Derry, Hampton, Hinsdale, Hudson, Newmarket, Pelham, Rollinsford, Salem and Seabrook approved a ballot question Tuesday.

State officials have snuffed out the last place lawmakers and legislative staff were allowed to smoke indoors at the State House complex.

State environmental regulators are ordering Ice Castles, a seasonal tourist attraction in North Woodstock where visitors can explore a frozen world of ice installations, to reapply for a storm-water permit after inspectors found multiple variations from a previously approved plan.

The Ossipee Police Department’s first-ever full-time female officer is suing the town, alleging she was the target of gender discrimination and repeated instances of sexual harassment during her six years with the force.

Democrats and Republicans appear to be at a stalemate over two competing paid family medical leave bills. 

A Senate committee heard hours of testimony on Tuesday inside an overheated conference room, with both sides presenting arguments for and against the differing versions.

That included blunt remarks from Gov. Chris Sununu, who took the unusual step of testifying in support of his preferred paid family leave proposal, Senate Bill 730.

Animal advocates filled a legislative hearing room on Tuesday as a House Committee took public testimony on four separate pet-related bills. 

Lawmakers spent the morning working on a measure that would add a definition for animal hoarding into the state’s animal cruelty statute.

Lawyers for SIG Sauer told a federal court judge in Concord Monday that a proposed class action lawsuit concerning the company’s popular P320 pistol should be dismissed because the plaintiff wasn’t harmed by the weapon.