Welcome to InDepthNH.org’s roundup of news that matters in New Hampshire, Dec. 19
Presidential electors face heightened scrutiny (WMUR)
MANCHESTER, N.H. — The New Hampshire Statehouse is a beacon of democracy. On Monday, it will host one of the more obscure constitutional functions of our federal republic as presidential electors cast their votes and send them to Washington.
Across New England, outdated sexual abuse laws contain loopholes that fail to protect students (Boston Globe)
Laura and Antonio Siracusa were horrified when then discovered their teenage daughter was in a sexual relationship with her Spanish teacher from Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton seven years ago.
Strategy for Balsams developer: Go north (Union Leader)
Ski-resort executive Les Otten is looking to turn the global-warming equation on its head. How so? By carving out slopes in a remote spot in northern New Hampshire that’s frigid enough to out-snowpack rivals. While lower-elevation areas wilt, the lifts on higher ground will keep on humming.
Burke, Jay Peak Receiver Hoping for Strong Winter (Caledonian Record)
BURKE — More than four feet of snow fell at Jay Peak this week, and a healthy dose dropped on Burke; covering trails and positioning the resorts for a terrific holiday week.
Epsom woman killed in crash known as beloved member of Rochester community (Union Leader)
Those who knew the 39-year-old Epsom woman who died Friday morning when she crashed into a mailbox and trees on Route 9 in Barrington say she was a dedicated employee and beloved member of the community.
Nashua reports drop in drug overdoses in past month (Union Leader)
While the heroin and fentanyl epidemic continues throughout Nashua and the rest of the state, city officials say there has been a significant decrease in drug overdoses throughout the past month.
A party full of fun, and surprises, for ‘Jane’s Kids’ (Keene Sentinel)
Nobody told the boys to stop chasing the remote-control car as it ran into people’s feet Saturday afternoon.
Dartmouth Professor Selected for Prestigious Fellowship (Valley News)
Hanover — Hany Farid, chairman of the Dartmouth College Department of Computer Science, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Brain injury is one little-known offshoot of New Hampshire’s drug crisis (Concord Monitor)
Three minutes. That’s the window of time overdose victims have before their brain starts to die.
City Rallies Coos To Fight for State Education Funds (Berlin Daily Sun)
Grenier said the loss of state education aid forces the city to raise local property taxes to continue to provide a quality education to its youth.
The News and Sentinel
Colebrook Chronicle
COLUMNS
Looking Back with Aurore Eaton: Early tourism in the White Mountains (Union Leader)
Rising to a height of 6,288 feet above sea level, Mount Washington is the most prominent peak in the Presidential Range of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, and the tallest mountain in the Northeastern United States.
For the homeless, a night of cold, fire, kindness and pain (Concord Monitor)
His gloves, so valuable these days, are useless, burned while dragging a man from a tent fire early on Saturday.
Natural nutrients; Hydroponic farm blooming in Nashua (Nashua Telegraph)
At Sara and Chris Ward’s Oasis Springs Farm, the closest thing resembling a traditional farm is a neighbor’s red barn.
AROUND THE NATION AND WORLD
Aleppo evacuation: Orphans among thousands to leave Syria city (BBC)
Thousands of people, including dozens of orphans, have left Aleppo in one of the besieged Syrian city’s biggest evacuations yet.
In two years, police killed 86 people brandishing guns that looked real — but weren’t (Washington Post)
An analysis by The Washington Post is the first accounting of fatal police shootings involving people armed with ultra-real-looking imitation firearms. Encounters involving replica guns are on the rise, officers say, but it is virtually impossible to identify them from any distance.
Policies on Slaves’ Lives Helped Build Today’s Companies (New York Times)
In its 19th-century beginnings, New York Life Insurance sold 508 policies covering slaves. Their descendants are grappling with it.
Compiled by InDepthNH.org, a nonprofit investigative news outlet published online by the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism 603-738-5635