CONCORD: The state collected $147.8 million in revenues as business and hospitality taxes generated significantly more money than budget writers estimated, according to the Department of Revenue Administration. The total for the month is $25 million over the revenue plan for the year and $6 million higher than a year ago. The rooms and meals tax was the single biggest revenue producer in August, netting $35.1 million, $9.2 million more than estimates and $300,000 more than a year ago. The business profits and business enterprise taxes produced $24 million in August, which is $6.2 million over estimates and $800,000 more than a year ago.
CONCORD: New Hampshire will receive an additional $66 million in federal funding to build out broadband infrastructure in rural parts of the state still lacking access to high-speed internet, the congressional delegation announced Thursday.
The latest round of funding comes after an initial $50 million infusion in June. Together, the two installments are estimated to be enough to build coverage to 24,000 addresses in the state, or around 80 percent of addresses without broadband. Right now, that’s 30,000 addresses.
CONCORD: For the third consecutive month, New Hampshire matched its historically low 2 percent unemployment rate in August. The Department of Employment Security reported that there were 550 more residents unemployed in August than in July and 9,830 fewer unemployed than in August 2021. Also in August, gains were reported in the number of residents working: There were 1,800 more than in July and 24,160 more than in August 2021. Nationally, the unemployment rate in August was 3.7 percent, up from 3.5 percent in July, and down from 5.2 percent from August 2021.
JACKSON: Kate Fournier, co-owner of the Thompson House Eatery in Jackson has been named one of 40 fellows participating in the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program. The program is an advanced educational and networking initiative for women restaurant owners looking to expand and grow. Fournier owns the Thompson House Eatery along with her husband Jeffrey, who is the restaurant’s chef. They purchased the historic property in 2016.
CONCORD: Janel Lawton of Franconia has been named director of the NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs’ Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development. She succeeds the office’s first director, Scott Crowder, who took the job when the office was first established in 2021. Lawton joined BEA in 2021 as its rural economic development administrator, working with public and private stakeholders in six rural counties.
NEW DURHAM: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Conservation Law Foundation have reached an agreement with the NH Fish and Game Department that will require the Powder Mill Fish Hatchery in New Durham to take action to comply with the Clean Water Act by reducing its phosphorus discharges and studying the water quality impacts of historic pollution on downstream waters. Under the proposed settlement, the Department is required to make upgrades to the hatchery, including construction of a new water treatment facility to help meet permit limits by Dec. 31, 2025.
NEW LONDON: Starting next fall, Colby-Sawyer College will reduce its tuition to $17,500 — 62 percent less than the current list price of $46,346 — it announced Wednesday. The actual difference for students and families will be lower, as the new tuition brings the listed price more in line with what students are already paying, the college said. A majority of current students at the New London school receive financial aid. The goal is to make the college more competitive with New Hampshire’s public colleges, officials said.
CONCORD: The NH Automobile Dealers Association has announced plans to expand its membership offerings in Maine with the launch of the Maine Independent Motor Vehicle Association. The Association said members will include independently owned car and truck sales operations, as well as franchised and independent farm equipment, RVs, construction vehicles and motorcycles/OHRVs dealers. There are some 600 independent repair shops and dealerships in Maine, the organization said. Pete McNamara, president of the New Hampshire association, is overseeing the launch of the new association and will be supported by NHADA’s existing team.
