PLYMOUTH: The NH Electric Cooperative has voted to move forward with a major expansion of its broadband efforts, authorizing NH Broadband, the co-op’s internet subsidiary, to proceed with construction of fiber-optic networks that will provide high-speed internet service to nearly 17,000 homes and businesses in 32 towns across Grafton County, which has a high concentration of areas that do not have access to broadband internet. The service will be offered to NHEC members in the towns of Ashland, Bath, Benton, Bridgewater, Bristol, Campton, Canaan, Dorchester, Easton, Ellsworth, Grafton, Groton, Hanover, Haverhill, Hebron, Holderness, Landaff, Lisbon, Littleton, Lyman, Monroe, New Hampton, Orange, Orford, Piermont, Plymouth, Rumney, Sugar Hill, Thornton, Warren, Wentworth and Woodstock.
SEABROOK: Vincent “Fatz” Caruso, a drug kingpin from Lynn, Mass., who pleaded guilty to flooding the North Shore area with thousands of fentanyl pills over a three-year period, laundered at least some of his money through the sportsbook at the Brook Casino in Seabrook, prosecutors said. Between February and June 2021, Caruso and others placed 150 bets in cash totaling more than $400,000. They lost approximately $20,000 during that period. But this meant they were able to convert $380,000 in allegedly dirty money into “legitimate” casino winnings, according to prosecutors.
LACONIA: A year after Concord Hospital acquired Lakes Region General Healthcare, Kevin Donovan, the head of the Franklin and Laconia hospitals, has announced his departure. Kevin Donovan was the president and CEO of LRGH since 2016, overseeing two hospital locations that struggled with a crippling amount of debt that led to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020. Concord Hospital purchased the healthcare system, and since 2021, Donovan has served as chief administrative officer for Concord Hospital-Franklin and Concord Hospital-Laconia.
CLAREMONT: James Roy, the longtime owner of a Claremont funeral home, has been charged with operating without a permit and other violations, the NH Attorney General’s Office announced. Roy was charged with one count of operating an unlicensed funeral home, two counts of making funeral arrangements without a license, one count of failure to transmit a death record, four counts of transporting a dead body without a burial permit and three counts of unsworn falsification. The complaint alleges that Roy continued to operate his funeral business after its license and his funeral director license expired in 2021.
NORTH CONWAY: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for an eagerly anticipated lodge at Cranmore Mountain Resort in North Conway that is the latest part of a $70 million basearea redevelopment. The redevelopment also includes the construction of on-slope housing at Cranmore, and in early April will see the removal of the current lodge and its replacement with a 30,000-square-foot structure that will have new facilities and amenities for day guests on the first floor, and 15 two-story residential condominiums.
CONCORD: The NH Women’s Foundation has launched The Women and Girls of Color Fund, a grant program for organizations and initiatives led by or serving women and girls of color. Donors have provided initial support to launch the fund and the Foundation intends to work with existing and future donors to grow this fund. The new fund will accept applications quarterly, with the first grants deadline July 1. Interested applicants can visit NH-WomensFoundation.org for more information.
LEBANON: Applications are being sought by the Upper Valley MedTech Collaborative for its upcoming Pitch ’22 MedTech Pitch Competition, set for April 27 at the Lebanon Opera House. The winner will receive $10,000 of non-dilutive funding. All northern New Englandbased medtech startups that have raised less than $2 million through institutional investment are eligible to apply. Visit uvmtc.org to learn more.
