Despite pandemic, some Town Meeting sessions remain in-person, indoors
Modified: 1/13/2021 2:44:48 PM
LEBANON Logistical and legal hurdles surrounding Town Meeting procedures have led at least two Upper Valley communities to schedule in-person sessions this month, despite calls from public health officials to avoid large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lebanon School District and the town of Grafton both plan to hold indoor deliberative sessions where voters can debate and amend warrant articles from the floor the morning of Saturday, Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, officials with the town of Canaan and the Mascoma Valley Regional School District say they’re likely to follow suit.
NH communities explore re-forming coalition opposing ‘donor town’ model for education funding
Modified: 1/10/2021 8:55:11 PM
LEBANON A group of communities who fear a return to New Hampshire’s “donor town” system of education funding is moving to re-form a coalition that opposed past efforts to funnel money from property-rich municipalities to their less-fortunate neighbors.
Under a proposal put forward by the city of Portsmouth, the Coalition Communities would pool money for a lobbyist and other “related experts” to advocate on their behalf at the Statehouse, according to Lebanon City Manager Shaun Mulholland.
He said Portsmouth officials are now working to craft a memorandum of understanding to govern the coalition, which once boasted 34 members, including Grantham, Hanover, New London and Sunapee.
You have probably heard of Donald Trump’s plans to skip and, if possible, upstage the inauguration of his successor, Joe Biden. Years of tweeted lies and insults have not prepared us for this affront to proper comportment. Maybe Democrats in the House.
D-H keeps ‘A’ financial rating
Staff Report
Modified: 12/24/2020 3:47:30 PM
LEBANON The credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed its ‘A’ rating for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Obligated Group, but downgraded its outlook from “positive” to “stable” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release.
The D-H group includes Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and associated clinics in southern New Hampshire; Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon; Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, N.H.; Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor; and New London Hospital.
Fitch, in its Dec. 23 release, pointed to the D-H health system’s “strong market position” and “high acuity patient mix” as reasons for affirming the ‘A’ rating, demonstrating that the agency has confidence in D-H’s ability to recover from the pandemic and see through its capital spending plans.
Stimulus funds boost Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system
In this May 17, 2011 file photo, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is seen in Lebanon, N.H. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot) Toby Talbot
Published: 12/23/2020 6:35:38 PM
After a rocky spring when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit and revenue plummeted, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health saw its operating margin climb back into the black for the quarter ending Sept. 30 thanks to federal stimulus payments.
Daniel Jantzen, the Lebanon-based health system’s CFO, described its $13.9 million, or 2.2% margin for the first three months of its 2021 fiscal year as a “dramatic recovery” from losses that occurred earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, in a filing with bondholders late last month.