DURHAM, N.H. (AP) Bumper-to-bumper parking replaced the usual shoulder-to-shoulder seating for the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday as one of the world’s largest legislative bodies convened from the socially distant confines of their cars instead of the Statehouse.
“This is my first term, I’ve never been a representative and I’ve not been to the Statehouse yet actually,” said Rep. Melissa Blasek, R-Merrimack. “We were sworn in on the field over there, and now we’re out here in a parking lot.”
More than 350 of the 400 members attended the unusual session, which was held in a parking lot at the University of New Hampshire, led by the clerk and newly elected Speaker Sherm Packard from a heated stage, and broadcast on a 16-foot screen and over the radio.
Replies(17)
House Clerk Paul Smith is pictured handing the Speaker’s gavel to Speaker Dick Hinch on Dec. 2 at Organization Day. (Paula Tracy/InDepthNH.org)
CONCORD, NH An autopsy of New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch revealed he died due to or related to COVID-19.
Hinch, a Republican state representative from Merrimack who was elected to the position Dec. 2, died Wednesday. He was 71.
The New Hampshire Attorney General s Office Thursday released autopsy information that revealed the COVID-19 diagnosis.
Subscribe During this difficult time, the family has requested that their privacy continue to be respected, Kate Giaquinto, the director of communications for the attorney general s office, said.