Sunshine Week: Searchable database of what Concord city employees were paid in 2024

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

NOTE TO READERS: Scroll below to access the searchable Concord salary database. If you’re using a mobile device, hold it in landscape mode to get the best results.

When is your car inspection due? Maybe never

By DAVID BROOKS

Lawmakers may soon make New Hampshire the first state in the Northeast to eliminate required annual vehicle inspections, a change that would save drivers tens of millions of dollars while reducing highway funding by nearly $3 million and curtailing a program to reduce local air pollution from cars.

Granite Geek: You paid for useful data to be gathered, so why is it being hidden from you?

State police seek public’s help to locate driver of truck stolen out of Epsom Monday

State Police are asking for the public’s help to locate the driver of a black 2014 Chevrolet Silverado that was reported stolen from a Cumberland Farms gas station on Route 4 in Epsom.

USDA eliminates two local food programs that help the NH Food Bank and local schools

By REBECA PEREIRA

Two weeks into Elsy Cipriani’s new job as executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank, onboarding has not been easy. 

Ski lift problems clobber Whaleback, the unusual non-profit ski area in Enfield

By DAVID BROOKS

In a season of chairlift problems for state ski areas, the non-profit Whaleback in Enfield is facing one significant enough that it is “threatening our ability to continue operations – both this season and beyond.”

Inside the government efficiency campaign that cut $2 million from the Merrimack Valley schools’ budget

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

When Terese Bastarache returned to her truck after last year’s Merrimack Valley School District annual meeting, she cried.

Sunshine Week: Overtime, bonuses boost half of Concord public safety employees above $100K

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

NOTE TO READERS: Scroll below to access the searchable Concord salary database. If you’re using a smartphone, hold your phone in landscape mode to get the best results.

‘What the hell is going on?”: Chichester votes to defund entire town administrative office, but may reconsider

By CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN

Mike Williams was on the Chichester select board for one year. That was long enough.

Henniker ponders what is a ‘need’ and what is a ‘want’

By DAVID BROOKS

One of the most common debates during town meetings, as well as one of the trickiest, involves deciding what is “a need” and what is “a want” when it comes to government spending.

Hopkinton voters call for action on ‘inadequate’ state funding for public education

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Ian Hart praised the Hopkinton School Board and budget committee for their efforts to tame the budget increase, pointing out that the $27.4 million spending plan had only risen by 2.29% despite the pressures of inflation.

Man dies in mechanical accident with dump truck in Bow

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

A man died in Bow on Saturday morning after being trapped by a truck.

Boscawen residents vote to fund major renovation of public works building

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

When Boscawen’s snow plow operators work the night shift, they nap in their trucks. When other public works employees take their breaks, they pull up chairs and crowd around the cramped office of their boss, director Dean Hollins. And when visitors come by the Woodbury Lane building, they enter through that same office into a building that is so low and crammed with stuff that many of the town’s vehicles can’t fit inside.

‘Voting our wallets’: Loudon residents vote overwhelmingly against $1.7M bond for new fire truck

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY

A heavy pause hung over the crowd in Loudon Elementary School. People shifted in their seats, waiting for the next words out of Lisa Laughlin’s mouth.

In Pembroke, Education Freedom Accounts draw debate, voters pass budget

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Karen Yeaton is happy to talk about Education Freedom Accounts. Just not on the floor at Town Meeting. 

Constructive deliberation, Sam Lake renovation take front seat at Canterbury town meeting

By REBECA PEREIRA

Kathleen McKay is able-bodied and young.

Bow High School to get field lights, voters push for better pay for support staff

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

At Bow Elementary School, Shannon Bader’s son learned to identify different colors as his aide took him on walks around the building, pointing out different shades of green, blue, red and brown along the way. Later, the aide taught him to spell his name through a song.

Immigrants in New Hampshire face uncertainty as temporary protections expire soon

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

These days, thoughts of Husseen Sanon’s Haitian home no longer bring warmth or nostalgia. His mind is consumed with the unrelenting gang violence, the fear of kidnappings and constant worry for loved ones he left behind.

Inside EFAs: How New Hampshire’s school choice program ignited an internal feud within the state’s homeschooling community

By JEREMY MARGOLIS

Inside EFAs is a Monitor series about New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program. Check out the other stories in the series here.

Arrest made following incident at State Street Laundromat in Concord

Following the report of an assault at the State Street Laundromat early last month, Concord Police arrested a “person of interest” who was identified with help from the community.