New program will help qualifying people access the internet
By Paula Tracy - InDepthNH | May 13, 2021
CONCORD – Today, a new and temporary federal program to help people pay for access to broadband internet service from home is being launched nationally.
Residents who already receive federal benefits such as SNAP food stamps or a Pell Grant, or who may have suffered a loss of income during the pandemic can get a $50 a month discount on their broadband bill and a one-time $100 discount as $3.2 billion is being made available until it runs out.
Go to https://www.fcc.gov/broadbandbenefit, or call, seven days a week at 833-511-0311 or contact your local broadband provider to see if you are eligible.
CONCORD The House Ways and Means Committee will take its time with a Senate bill exempting Payroll Protection Program grants from the state’s business pro
Senate budget writers seek answers for mental health emergency room boarding
By Garry Rayno - InDepthNH | May 2, 2021
Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette and Dr. Ben Chan are pictured at a press conference in Concord last August in this file photo. (Paula Tracy)
CONCORD Senate budget writers began work on the state’s largest department Friday as Health and Human Services outlined budget needs and obligations.
Much of the discussion with Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette centered on the department’s actions and what it plans to do to reduce the number of children and adults waiting for mental health services in hospital emergency rooms.
CCSNH reveals ‘alternative model’ in higher education merger talks
By Paula Tracy - InDepthNH | Apr 29, 2021
Gov. Chris Sununu’s plan in his budget to consolidate the University System and the Community College System is supported by one body, but not the other.
The Senate Finance Committee heard both sides on Tuesday afternoon, including new details about an alternative model presented by the Community College System.
Catherine Provencher, chief administrative officer of the University System of New Hampshire, said a merger would be a tool to address the changes and future headwinds coming in to play with fewer students expected in the pipeline and the need to keep tuition manageable.
Somber vigil for Daunte Wright in Manchester draws 200 people
By Nancy West - InDepthNH | Apr 19, 2021
Black Lives Matter held a gathering in Derryfield Park in Manchester Saturday night. (Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS)
About 200 people gathered in Derryfield Park Saturday night to remember Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old Black man who was shot to death by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11.
The tone for the candlelight vigil was somber and sometimes tearful, with discussion focusing more on abolishing police rather than police reform.
Jordan Thompson spoke emotionally about working as an organizer of the Black Lives Matter movement in Nashua and workers in other chapters in Manchester and on the Seacoast, and how it feels to wake up to the news of yet another person of color being shot by police.