CONCORD: New Hampshire bankruptcy filings shot up last month after repeated record lows, but it’s too early to tell whether they have bottomed out and a new trend is just beginning, or if it’s just a statistical fluke. Some 64 individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy in March, a 53 percent increase over the 42 that filed in February, which was one shy of the modern record set in January. But the March total is still over 30 percent better than March of 2021, when there were 92 filings, so New Hampshire at this point is still on track for another record low year. There were four business-related filings in March, compared to one in January, but two were filed by individuals with business debt. The other two businesses filed directly.
NASHUA: Southern New Hampshire Health has named Colin McHugh its new president and CEO, effective April 25. Since 2019, McHugh has served as senior vice president and chief value officer of SolutionHealth, the regional health system created when Southern New Hampshire Health and Elliot Health System combined in 2018. McHugh served as interim president of Southern New Hampshire Health when the organization was transitioning leaders in 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic had started.
CONCORD: The preliminary unemployment rate in New Hampshire for March was 2.5 percent, down from 2.7 percent the month before, according to the Department of Employment Security. The March 2021 seasonally adjusted rate was 3.9 percent. Seasonally adjusted estimates for March placed the number of employed residents at 740,030, an increase of 3,840 from the previous month and an increase of 13,800 from March 2021.
HUDSON: A month after the last legal obstacles to a major warehouse complex in Hudson disappeared, Amazon says it is pulling out of the project. Amazon was to be the
primary tenant of the 2.6-million-square-foot Hudson Logistics Center
project on the site of the Green Meadow golf course property. The
company was supposed to occupy two of the three proposed buildings and
about 2 million square feet.
HANOVER:
The renovated and expanded Hopkins Center for the Arts includes a new
recital hall and a dance performance space between the existing arts
center and the Hanover Inn, adding a new feature to the view from the
green. A preliminary design describes significant changes to the
60-year-old arts center, and an estimate shows the project will cost $88
million, about $13 million more than estimates from a year ago. The
project, which calls for 15,000 square feet of new construction and
55,000 square feet of renovated space, is slated to break ground this
fall, with construction expected to last until early 2025.
MANCHESTER:
Ron Covey, president and CEO of St. Mary’s Bank, will be honored as the
next Greater Manchester Chamber Citizen of the Year. Covey, 65, a
Hooksett resident, has led the credit union for the last 14 years. He
will be honored during a celebration at 5 p.m. June 15 at the DoubleTree
by Hilton in Manchester. For more information, manchester-chamber.org.
MANCHESTER:
Stay Work Play is now accepting nominations for its 13th annual Rising
Stars Awards, which recognize Granite Staters 40 and under and the
businesses that do most to recruit and retain them. Two new categories
have been added to this year’s event, the Changemaker of the Year Award
and Artist of the Year Award. Other categories are: College Student of
the Year Award; Coolest Employer for Young People Award; Entrepreneur of
the Year Award; High School Student of the Year Award; Young Person of
the Year Award; To submit a nomination visit, stayworkplay.org/risingstarsawards. Deadline is May 9.
