CONCORD: More than 4,500 more homes and businesses in nine New Hampshire communities will be getting broadband through an additional $14 million allocation through the Connecting New Hampshire Emergency Broadband Expansion Program. Gov. Chris Sununu, who announced the allocation, previously announced a separate broadband funding round for other communities. Together, that brings the total number of communities receiving assistance to 18: Bristol, Canaan, Clarksville, Colebrook, Danbury, Deering, Errol, Hinsdale, Hillsborough, Lempster, Loudon, Mason, Nelson, Springfield, Stewartstown, Stoddard and Washington.

GREENFIELD: Gersh Autism, an operator of schools and programs for people with autism in several states, has purchased New Hampshire’s Crotched Mountain School. The Crotched Mountain Foundation had said in June it would close its Greenfield campus by Nov. 1, but Gersh will assume full operational and financial responsibility for the day and boarding schools serving children and adults on that date instead. Gersh Autism operates schools and programs in New York, Washington state and Puerto Rico.

CONCORD: President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee want to intervene in a lawsuit by the American Federation of Teachers challenging New Hampshire’s voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic. New Hampshire Public Radio reported the union sued to force New Hampshire to extend its deadline for accepting absentee ballots by mail, to cover absentee ballot postage costs, to allow wider use of absentee ballot dropboxes and to permit third-party groups to return absentee ballots on voters’ behalf. Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, has launched a web portal hoping to hear constituents’ stories about the U.S Postal Service. Hassan sits on the committee that oversees the post office, and at a hearing in August, asked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about the decision to take sorting machines at the Manchester mail sorting facility offline. The post office has since confirmed that the Manchester sorting machines will not be reconnected.

BEDFORD: The New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority and Build Maine are teaming up to present a two-day virtual workshop designed for small-scale developers in the two states. The Incremental Development Alliance neighborhood-based development workshop, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 23-24, is designed to help attendees analyze what makes a good project, how a building makes money and how small developers interact with professionals in the built environment. For more information, visit incrementaldevelopment.org.

MANCHESTER: The New Hampshire Food Bank is joining forces with the New Hampshire Farm Bureau, New Hampshire Food Alliance and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire to launch “NH Feeding NH,” a pilot program aimed at supporting the purchase of New Hampshire-grown food to provide food-insecure Granite Staters with more access to locally grown produce, dairy and meat. Under the program, Food Bank partner agencies will be able to purchase local foods from farmers at a fair market price.

MANCHESTER: The Common Man restaurant chain has announced plans to open a new Common Man Roadside outlet at the under-construction Tru by Hilton hotel in the Manchester Millyard. The new eatery will feature a 1,600-square-foot café and coffee shop as well as a 3,000-square-foot restaurant. The Ashland-based chain operates a string of restaurants throughout New Hampshire as well as the Hooksett welcome centers on Interstate 93. The Tru by Hilton hotel, which is expected to open in the fall, still has 2,200 square feet of tenant space available.