Weekly N.H. News Roundup

Juneteenth celebrations, to commemorate the end of slavery in the U.S., are happening around New Hampshire and online this Friday, and protests against police brutality have led to increased scrutiny of law enforcement practices in the Granite State. And at the end of the first week of reopening since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the state, we check in on the latest health updates. 

Air date: Friday, June 19, 2020.

We look at how protests of racial injustice and debates over transparency on police procedures are playing out in New Hampshire. For the second time in history, the New Hampshire House meets somewhere other than the State House. The Executive Council nixes Governor Sununu's nomination for the state Board of Education. And the Secretary of State's Select Committee on 2020 Emergency Election Support outlines recommendations for voting this year.

Black Lives Matter holds protests against racial injustice and vigils across the state in memory of those who lost their lives. After more than two months of roped off parking and patrolled sand, New Hampshire’s beaches reopen with some caveats. We discuss Nashua's emergency public health ordinance requiring masks. And he state has begun the process to allow Granite Staters to register by mail to vote in this fall’s elections and making it easier to vote absentee.

Some Granite Staters have gotten COVID-19 and recovered; we discuss how, even if you’re fortunate enough to survive the virus, it can still have long-term emotional and physical impacts. In the midst of this pandemic, we are longing for the pastimes of summer, including the sights and sounds of a Red Sox game. We talk about the cancellation of the Boston Marathon, the role of sports in our lives, and what the future may hold. And we check in on NHPR's Spanish language audio newscast, ¿Qué Hay de Nuevo, New Hampshire? (What’s New, New Hampshire?). It provides the latest information on coronavirus-related developments and other news to Spanish speakers in the state. 

With longterm care facilities accounting for over 3 out of 4 COVID-19 deaths in the state, we discuss how the state is responding. Hospitals are beginning to allow elective surgeries and other procedures. And we go to the Seacoast and the state of Maine to see what “re-opening” efforts look like there.

As the federal goverment looks for ways to protect people and businesses from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we'll speak with Congressman Chris Pappas about those efforts and what's likely to gain traction in the House. We'll also get an update from state epidimiologist Dr. Ben Chan. And we'll check in with newspaper editors from the Seacoast and the North Country about how the coronavirus is impacting those regions.  

Air date: 10-11 am, Friday, April 10, 2020

Governor Sununu issues a stay-at-home order until May 4th, and announced schools will remain closed until that date. The federal government is set to enact a $2 trillion stimulus package to support the economy as the coronavirus continues to have widespread impact on the country. And testing challenges for COVID-19 remain in New Hampshire, as healthcare facilities prepare for even more cases. 

Read all of NHPR's coronavirus coverage. 

Air date: Friday, March 27, 2020

Friday on The Exchange, it's the Weekly New Hampshire News Roundup, and we'll take stock of a week when the coronavirus pandemic life changed for so many in the Granite State. Schools shut down, restaurants closed, and large gatherings banned. We'll examine changes to the state's unemployment benefits, the capacity for testing COVID-19, and the roll out of remote learning plans. 

The growing number of COVID-19 cases has prompted governments to encourage behaviors that will slow or stop the spread of coronavirus, and in some cases, that has meant closing schools. Some large gatherings of people have been canceled, but lawmakers still gathered in Concord this week to debate legislation. 

Seven Republican lawmakers were reprimanded on the floor of the New Hampshire House for not completing newly mandatory anti-harassment and discrimination training in a contentious debate.  Lawmakers advance what they're calling a new compromise on net energy metering, and put forth new bills on gun laws and marijuana legalization. And we get an update on the seal rescued from the roadway in Rye Harbor a few weeks ago.

This week we saw the latest, smallest, and whitest Democratic debate of the cycle. How'd it go? And with the Iowa caucuses just weeks away, who has the momentum, how are candidates ramping up their door-to-door campaigning, and where does the Senate impeachment trial fit in?

Original air date:  Friday, January 17, 2020

Medicaid funding challenges for public school districts, charter school funding controversy, the latest in the debate over marijuana legalization, and updates in the trial over voter registration in NH, and the law known as SB3 - we discuss these big stories in New Hampshire news, and more. 

Original air date: Friday, December 13, 2019. 

The 100th anniversary of New Hampshire as the first in the nation primary officially begins as the candidate filing period kicks off this week. Elizabeth Warren's campaign joins the suit calling for a pause in the residency law, HB 1264, currently being challenged in court.  And wet weather delays Halloween for some towns.

The next legislative session doesn't begin until January, but intriguing legislation is being shaped now in committee meetings at the statehouse, including banning assault weapons and importing low-cost drugs.  Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky officially enters the race for governor.  Municipal aid payments, part of the budget compromise, begin reaching cities and towns. And vaping devices are included in some N.H. city's drug take-back day. 

NHPR's Casey McDermott hosts the Weekly New Hampshire News Roundup.  New Hampshire was hit with a lawsuit over its new limits on chemicals in drinking water on the same day the new regulation took effect.  In a rare reversal, the state Attorney General's office says a Claremont fatal police shooting is no longer considered legally justified.  Syringe services were long ago adopted in some parts of the country as a useful public health tool. Why, in a state hit hard by the opioid crisis, has New Hampshire been so slow to adopt them?

An historic number of vetoes by Governor Sununu means the legislature revisits bills on gun control, voting access laws, alternative energy and more. We get an update on continuing negotiations over the state budget.  And with a Global Climate Strike taking place Friday, we find out how New Hampshire students are participating. 

GUESTS:

We discuss how 2020 candidates fare in the third Democratic Presidential debate from a national, and Granite State, perspective.  Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts share the debate stage for the first time.  We check in on any progress in negotiations on the state budget.  And we take a closer look at the mounting pressure on leaders in Manchester to deal with a crisis of homelessness and addiction.  NHPR's Southern New Hampshire reporter Sarah Gibson is guest host.  

GUESTS:

Students are back at school and we focus on education issues. The N.H. Supreme Court is asked once again to weigh in on school funding. In Concord, the school board considers a petition to remove two administrators for how they handled allegations of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior by former teacher, Howie Leung.  We find out why the Manchester Police Department says it is losing confidence in Hillsborough County Attorney Michael Conlon.

We focus on environmental news on this edition of the Weekly New Hampshire News Roundup. We talk about climate issues on the 2020 campaign trail after the departure of Jay Inslee, and compare the climate plans offered by other Democratic candidates. Following protests at the statehouse over the Merrimack Station coal plant, we discuss the future of fossil fuel generators in the state. Plus, the latest environmental vetoes and bill signings from Governor Chris Sununu.  Annie Ropeik, NHPR's environment and energy reporter, is guest host.

GUESTS:

President Trump returns to New Hampshire, and we hear about his rally in Manchester as well as some national perspective on the 2020 Presidential Primary from NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith. With the Iowa State Fair wrapping up, a parade of Democratic candidates are coming back through the state and we catch up on the Democratic primary here. We also discuss whether Claremont is the new Dixville Notch; a bellwether for primary watchers.  NHPR Reporter Casey McDermott is guest host.

GUESTS:

Voting issues are back in the news with Governor Sununu vetoing two Democratic-backed election law bills. Meanwhile a federal judge gives the go-ahead for two Dartmouth College students to sue the state over increased regulations for student voters. 

The recent heat wave with high humidity and temperatures in the 90s may be  the weather of the future for New Hampshire.  And a bobcat burger burglar is nabbed at a Seacoast drive-through restaurant. 

We discover why Vice President Mike Pence abruptly cancelled a recent trip to N.H. Former Republican House Speaker Bill O’Brien jumps into the U.S. Senate race, hoping to unseat Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen in 2020. And Governor Sununu sets a modern record for the number of gubernatorial vetoes in a single year. 

GUESTS:

The governor signs a bill into law to protect New Hampshire children from discrimination at school. He also signed into law a bill requiring public schools to provide tampons or pads in all gender neutral and female restrooms. We discuss the controversy in Newington over Pride Month lawn signs. And the Supreme Court releases its decision on the Northern Pass appeal of the denial of its $1.6 billion high-transmission power line project.

GUESTS: 

The Executive Council shoots down the nomination of Attorney General Gordon McDonald to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Two-thirds of Medicaid recipients in New Hampshire failed to comply with the new work requirement, prompting a delay of the penalties; the Concord School Board examines how it handles allegations of sexual abuse. 

GUESTS:

• Ethan DeWitt - Concord Monitor statehouse reporter.
• Sarah Gibson - NHPR Reporter.
• Jason Moon - NHPR Reporter.
• James Pindell – Political reporter for The Boston Globe.
• Dean Spiliotes - Civic scholar in the School of Arts and Sciences at SNHU.

A crash in Randolph leaves 7 motorcyclists dead, stunning the state and making national news. After a bitter debate, state lawmakers pass a $13 billion budget along party lines and prepare for a promised gubernatorial veto. And Retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc announces he is running for U.S. Senate, the first Republican to challenge incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in her bid for re-election in 2020.

We hear about the latest development in the Bear Brook cold case; genetic genealogy helped to identify the likely killer but the victims remain unknown. In a ruling that could have far reaching impacts, a  judge has called the state's current method for funding public schools is unconstitutional. And The Mount Washington Observatory and the Cog Railway are going to court over property rights on the summit of Mt. Washington. 

GUESTS:

We recap the fate of the state's death penalty and the efforts to override the governor's veto. The state files two statewide lawsuits against eight companies, including 3M, DuPont and its spinoff, Chemours, for environmental contamination caused by PFAS chemicals. Senate budget writers try to wrap up the state spending plan with a close eye on education funding. And we preview the events in celebration of the bicentennial of the New Hampshire State House.

GUESTS:

Governor Sununu makes it official, he's running for a third term - ending speculation that he would challenge Senator Jeanne Shaheen.  After nearly a decade of debate, the Northern Pass project presents oral arguments in its appeal to the state Supreme Court.  And it took a second try to live free and fly - the red-tailed hawk is one step closer to being the N.H. state mascot.

GUESTS: