Nashua

Representatives from mental health organizations in New Hampshire gathered at Nashua City Hall on Monday night to teach the public about suicide prevention and awareness.

The training was part of an initiative from the city's suicide prevention task force.

Bobbie Bagley, director for the Nashua's Division of Public Health and Community Services, says the city is trying to make it easier to have conversations about mental health and suicide.

A group of advocates will address the issue of domestic violence in immigrant communities this weekend.

The event Saturday was spurred by incidents in the Brazilian community in New Hampshire and neighboring states, including several women killed by their partners.

The Environmental Protection Agency will move forward on a plan to cap toxic waste at a former industrial site in Nashua.

In a recently released cleanup plan, the agency says it plans to split the cost of remediating the former Mohawk Tannery with the city and a private developer.

Nashua is replacing two buses powered by diesel engines with electric hybrid vehicles. 

The company that developed the hybrids, BAE Systems, say they will avoid burning 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and reduce carbon emissions by 50 tons a year. 

Parents in Nashua are voicing concerns over a decision by the school district to bus students offsite for special education services.  

Districts in New Hampshire are required to oversee and pay for services for students with special education plans, known as IEP's, even when that student starts going to a public charter school.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office says it will increase oversight over the Nashua-based non-profit, Harbor Homes, after a review found problems with cash flow and financial management at the organization.

Harbor Homes is one of the largest organizations in Southern New Hampshire, providing mental health, addiction treatment, and low-income housing services through twelve separate non-profits that operate independently but share a common board.

State and federal officials say Nashua’s drinking water supplies are safe from contamination by a long-dormant Superfund site.

That's despite recent tests showing elevated levels of toxic PFAS chemicals in the groundwater at what's called the Sylvester site.

Nashua Drug Court held a ceremony on Thursday for four new graduates of its program to help those struggling with addiction. The program aims to reduce recidivism and harsh jail time with the alternative of rigorous drug rehabilitation.

During a campaign stop in Nashua, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris criticized a measure passed Tuesday by the Alabama legislature that would ban nearly all abortions in that state.

“Let us all agree that women’s health care is under attack, and we will not stand for it,” Harris told a standing room only crowd inside of Girls, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to empowering young women.  

The Alabama statute, which is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey, would make performing an abortion a felony except in very limited circumstances.

A series of Facebook posts by Nashua school board member Doris Hohensee has district officials calling for her to resign.

The controversy began when a Nashua High School North senior started a petition to ask the school board to reverse its decision allowing ROTC marksmanship classes on campus.

Presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar is holding a roundtable discussion at Revive Recovery Center in Nashua on Monday about her plan to improve addiction and mental health services across the country.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it will review the safety of four New Hampshire Superfund sites in 2019.

This year's reviews, which happen every five years at federally managed toxic waste sites, will include the former Pease Air Force Base and three old industrial sites and dumps in southern New Hampshire.

Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess says the city needs to focus on housing, green energy, and infrastructure to attract more young people.

In his State of the City address on Tuesday night, Donchess said his office is helping to convert the former railyard downtown into the 'Rail Yard District' with 150 housing units.

He said the 500-700 seat performing arts center in downtown Nashua should be up and running within two years.

A rail transit group formed by the Nashua Mayor’s office says a public-private partnership could bring passenger rail to the state by 2023.

The Nashua Rail Transit Committee says without a sea change in Concord or the arrival of another offer, Nashua's best chance for light rail lies with the Boston Surface Railroad Company (BSRC).

In a report to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the committee says BSRC's route would stretch from New Hampshire to Providence, R.I., with stops in Lowell and Worcester, to connect commuters to Boston.

Even if countries cut greenhouse gas emissions immediately, New Hampshire will get warmer and wetter within the next three decades, and towns need to plan accordingly.

That was the topic of Nashua's first Resilient Nashua Summit, which the city hosted Tuesday as part of a year-long initative to gather input on its plan for dealing with natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. 

The New England office of the EPA has awarded grants to Keene State College and the Nashua Regional Planning Commission for projects that aim to reduce kids' exposure to toxins.

Keene State College will use the $25,000 for a project that trains citizen scientists to monitor and reduce air pollution from wood smoke, which exacerbates childhood asthma.

On Sunday, Brazilians will head to the polls to elect their next president. For the first time, Brazilians in New Hampshire will be able to cast their ballot in state, at Nashua’s Elm Street Middle School.

In previous elections, many New Hampshire Brazilians would to head to Boston or Brighton to vote.

Cosme Neles is the president of Nashua's Latino Community Council, and he asked the Brazilian consulate in Boston to add Nashua to their list of polling places.

The Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter says it's made the first step toward expanding its homeless shelter capacity.

The organization has entered into a long-term agreement with St. Patrick's Church in Nashua to rent out the former Sacred Heart elementary school.

Michael Reinke is executive director of the Soup Kitchen and Shelter. He says the current residential facility they've used since the 80s is showing its wear.

Nashua police say a Hudson woman was arrested Friday for allegedly placing a molotov cocktail under a car.

Karen Dowling, 31, was charged with a Class B felony after officers responded to a residence Sept. 12 and located the bottle bomb device under the vehicle, police said.

Dowling is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 25 in Hillsborough County Superior Court South in Nashua.