Community Bulletin Board
Weddings, anniversaries, engagements, Valentine’s Day love notes, military promotions or accolades, graduation shout-outs, obituaries or tributes to a loved one, pet obituaries/tributes, and other personal news and milestones shared by you, the community.
Also a place where conversation happens – from Letters to the Editor and Op/Eds to The Soapbox, you’re welcome to tell us how you really feel.
Are you a serial returner?
read more…: Are you a serial returner?Am I the only one who does this? I haven’t seen MeetUp or AA-type groups for serial returners.
An Existential Pug makes a Christmas List
read more…: An Existential Pug makes a Christmas ListAnd peace on Earth. But if world peace can’t be procured, I’ll take Cheese of any kind, but I have a penchant for Brie and Sharp Cheddar.
Prayer, songs, and tears at vigil to memorialize unhoused residents
read more…: Prayer, songs, and tears at vigil to memorialize unhoused residentsOn the evening of the winter solstice–the longest night of the year—a gathering of over 60 city residents, activists, and outreach coordinators assembled under the Christmas tree in Veteran’s Park alongside a row of memorial luminarias.
Dear Hope Nation: Don’t be alone this season. Don’t give up. Things will be different. You will be different.
read more…: Dear Hope Nation: Don’t be alone this season. Don’t give up. Things will be different. You will be different.Christmas is almost here, followed by Boxing Day, then New Year’s Eve, then New Year’s Day. For some of us, this is the most wonderful time of the year! For some, though, this two-week period should be balled up and thrown in a waste basket. Wherever you fall, you’re in for feelings galore.
SBA: Making the dream of business ownership a reality into 2023 and beyond
read more…: SBA: Making the dream of business ownership a reality into 2023 and beyondAs we wind down the holiday season and 2022, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on a new report released by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and our Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. As the Regional Administrator for New England, it was my honor to be appointed to this role by the President a year ago to work closely with businesses, local, state, and federal officials to lead our way out of the pandemic.
Christmas traditions and our family ‘light runs’
read more…: Christmas traditions and our family ‘light runs’I agree that Christmas can be very commercial – and I am not a fan of retailers opening on Thanksgiving or wicked early on “Black Friday” (like 3 a.m. or some time like that) – though I haven’t seen much of that with the current staffing shortages. But there are many aspects of Christmas that are not commercial, such as family time and traditions.
Don’t hate me* because I am a ‘Happy Holidays’ person
read more…: Don’t hate me* because I am a ‘Happy Holidays’ personOver the decades, I have heard the back-and-forth of people preferring the “Merry Christmas” greeting. I see my friends eagerly (or with great stress) preparing for Christmas Day and the days surrounding it as both a religious celebration and one that brings family and friends — and even strangers— together to bring joy and light to the season. It is indeed a happy and merry time of year.
The Definitive List of Christmas Songs that Rock
read more…: The Definitive List of Christmas Songs that RockFull disclosure: I listen to Christmas music stations—during the commercial breaks on The Sports Hub—when I’m driving alone. I suppose it’s fair to say that I enjoy Christmas music, even if I’m not gung-ho about the holiday itself.
A soccer fraud invites you to Wednesday’s World Cup Semifinal
read more…: A soccer fraud invites you to Wednesday’s World Cup SemifinalEveryone’s invited to Hope Recovery on Wed. Dec. 14 to watch the World Cup semi-finals. It promises to be a great game. You can take it from me, a soccer fraud. Let me explain.
Notes from self-isolation
read more…: Notes from self-isolationSo, here I am, nearing the end of my stint of isolation in my house—mostly alone—and maybe my biggest takeaway so far involves the eradication of a certain tired phrase from my personal lexicon. The phrase: “I’m too busy.”
Open letter to the city regarding RAISE Grant and pedestrian bridge alternatives
read more…: Open letter to the city regarding RAISE Grant and pedestrian bridge alternativesWhere this trail system needs investment is in its crossing of Queen City Avenue. Attached is a visual of the neighborhood where the South Manchester Rail Trail doesn’t have a way to cross Queen City Avenue along with three options that we commissioned from a Boston-based Urban design architect, Urban Lab Idea. They studied our city, our plans, and this area in-depth in the summer of 2021 and came up with three options to solve this problem.
Nashua mayor voices opposition to proposed asphalt manufacturing plant
read more…: Nashua mayor voices opposition to proposed asphalt manufacturing plantMayor Jim Donchess on Thursday said he stands in opposition to the construction of an asphalt manufacturing plant on a portion of land on the east end of Temple Street.
Here’s why NH Legislative Fiscal Committee must approve $40M in federal broadband funding on Dec. 2
read more…: Here’s why NH Legislative Fiscal Committee must approve $40M in federal broadband funding on Dec. 2Imagine it’s 1936 and all the towns around you have electricity except yours. Your neighbors are using power saws to cut their cords of wood, electric washing machines to wash their clothes, getting their news and entertainment at night from radio. You are living down the road a few miles away reading your newspaper by kerosene lamp and hand sawing your dozens of cords of wood. This is what it feels like in 2022 to be one of the thousands of residences in rural NH without access to high-speed, reliable internet.
Cat o’ Nine Tales
read more…: Cat o’ Nine TalesMy pseudo-scientific study of the names of eBay bookselling handles, scribbled on slips of paper and tossed into a sawed-off cereal box, leads me to believe that the majority of online bookseller handles fall into four broad categories: books, history, Hollywood and, of course, cats.
Give ‘em Rocks for the Holidays
read more…: Give ‘em Rocks for the Holidays“Daddy…” My daughter was frozen in place, a tiny Indiana Jones unable to comprehend the wonders in front of her eyes – like those old adventure movies where the explorer stumbles into an ancient cave, stacked with gold and diamonds. “Daddy, what do we do?”
What to do when the holidays don’t make you happy
read more…: What to do when the holidays don’t make you happyMaybe you should make yourself watch “Elf” and crank up the Dean Martin Christmas tunes, deck the freaking halls, pick out a tree and decorate it with tinsel and lights and bright-colored bulbs. Or maybe the only thing you can do is wait out the storm.
The Soapbox: The way we’re addressing homelessness is like the plot of ‘Groundhog Day’
read more…: The Soapbox: The way we’re addressing homelessness is like the plot of ‘Groundhog Day’I didn’t want to write anything today. Then I got a text message and a voicemail from two separate people around Manchester telling me they are living in their cars with no place to go. I am a community organizer with Rights & Democracy, not a social worker, but people are increasingly coming to me for help – help I’m unable to provide.
The Soapbox: Speak up about proposed Nashua asphalt plant proposal
read more…: The Soapbox: Speak up about proposed Nashua asphalt plant proposalThese effects are especially concerning considering that the neighborhood is populated by a majority of low-income residents and people of color. Along with toxic chemicals, the factory would release greenhouse gas, contributing to climate change. On average, asphalt plants release around 10,000 pounds of emissions a year!