Coronavirus Coverage - Business and Economy

The Attorney General of Massachusetts is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decline a petition filed by the State of New Hampshire over cross-border income tax collections during the pandemic.

In October, New Hampshire filed a lawsuit alleging a temporary tax regulation enacted by its neighboring state during the pandemic violated New Hampshire’s sovereignty.

The Nashua Board of Health is recommending the city impose a curfew in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The 9:30 pm curfew would prohibit indoor activities at businesses including bars, restaurants and clubs. Takeout would be allowed to continue.

The city of Nashua is weighing a potential 9:30 p.m. curfew as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in New Hampshire continue to surge.

At a Board of Health meeting Wednesday, city officials said the current recommendations like mask wearing, social distancing and hand washing are no longer enough to slow the spread of the virus.

As the coronavirus pandemic began ravaging the economy last spring, Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), one of the landmark pieces of COVID-19 stimulus efforts intended to get cash to businesses quickly. Until this month, the federal government shared only limited information about the companies receiving those loans. But thanks to a coalition of news organizations who sued the government to gain access to the data, we now have a fuller picture of where the money went — in New Hampshire and elsewhere.

While many retailers are doing Black Friday a little differently this year, that didn't stop many from doing their holiday shopping in person.

At the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, it looked like almost any other Black Friday, with some parking lots nearly filled, and plenty of out-of-state license plates.

A Plaistow restaurant is being fined $1,500 for repeatedly failing to comply with the state's coronavirus  guidelines.

The state Attorney General's office has fined three New Hampshire food establishments for violating coronavirus emergency orders. 

The state is awarding $11.5 million to live music venues, stadiums and theaters as they face financial losses and an uncertain winter of cancelled and limited performances due to the pandemic.

Restaurants in New Hampshire began collecting customers' names, phone numbers and times of arrival this weekend as part of a new policy to aid the state in contact tracing.

Vermont has updated its state quarantine rules, and now includes every New Hampshire county among areas with travel restrictions.

Vermont requires a quarantine for travelers to and from any county with over 400 COVID-19 cases per million. Counties with 400-799 cases are coded "yellow," and those with more than 800 cases are "red." 

The restaurant industry is preparing for a tough winter season as dining begins to move back inside.

In Portsmouth, at least six restaurants have reported positive cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks as cases and hospitalizations across the state continue to rise, many connected to small gatherings. City officials recently extended their support for outdoor dining through the end of November, in an attempt to reduce community spread within restaurants.

The state's emergency relief program is making an effort to close equity gaps for New Hampshire small businesses with a new round of CARES Act funding.

Gov. Chris Sununu said at a press conference Thursday that the Governor's Office For Emergency Relief and Recovery is working alongside groups like the COVID-19 Equity Response Team toward ensuring equal access to $100 million in Main Street relief funds that were released last week.

LRGHealthcare, which operates Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Regional Hospital, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing a huge debt load and other financial strains compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative have voted by a wide margin to add rural broadband service to the utility’s mission.

The vote was 88 percent in favor of adding broadband to the Co-op’s bylaws, alongside electric service. An earlier campaign to do this fell just short of passing.

The state of New Hampshire announced Friday it will file a federal lawsuit against Massachusetts over its cross-border income tax collection policies during the pandemic.

The lawsuit centers on a Massachusetts emergency provision that caps how much income out-of-state residents who work for Massachusetts-based companies can deduct on their income taxes while working remotely. 

Two additional restaurant employees at Flatbread Company in Portsmouth have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Jason Lyon, company president and COO.

The new positive tests come after one staff member at Flatbread Company in Portsmouth initially tested positive this weekend. All other staff were encouraged to quarantine and get tested, even if they did not come in contact with the infected employee. 

The governor’s economic reopening task force unanimously approved Thursday a recommendation that would give New Hampshire stores the option to operate at full capacity, as well as new guidelines for the state's ski areas.

A Massachusetts-based flag football league is facing $2,000 fine for violating a New Hampshire emergency order issued as part of the state's response to COVID-19.

The New England Flag Football League hosted a tournament in Epping, N.H., toward the end of August, with teams from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin participating.

New Hampshire’s unemployment rate fell in August to 6.5 percent as hiring continued to rebound in tourism-fueled sectors including leisure and hospitality, as well as food service.

New figures released Tuesday by N.H. Employment Security show the state added 3,000 hospitality jobs last month. 

In the months following the end of state and federal eviction moratoriums, evictions in New Hampshire have been on the rise.

Since the end of June, New Hampshire courts have approved 673 orders to evict tenants.  Nearly half of those are just from the month of August.

The state’s child care licensing unit has received four applications this summer to reopen non- day care spaces as sites for child care and remote learning. 

Officials tell NHPR they did not receive applications like this last year. This comes as many businesses in the state are struggling to remain open due to the economic stress of the pandemic. 

One of the businesses applying for this license is Cowabunga - an indoor playground in Manchester that hosts parties for kids.