Merry Christmas from InDepthNH.org to you and yours.
Welcome to InDepthNH.org’s roundup of news that matters in New Hampshire, Dec. 25
Shortfall Hits $112 Million At Dartmouth (Valley News)
Hanover — With its blue-chip roster of alumni, 10-figure endowment and annual high-school senior scrum for admissions, Dartmouth College seems stable and on course. But as 2016 comes to a close, the leaders of Dartmouth find themselves navigating some rough financial waters.
N.H.: Home to heaviest drinkers (Concord Monitor)
New England is home to the nation’s heaviest drinkers – New Hampshire, where about 64 percent of residents age of 12 or older drink monthly, is tops in the country. Vermont, Maine and Connecticut also come in at drinking rates above 60 percent.
Exeter Hospital aims to reduce Seacoast suicides with grants to focus on prevention, fighting stigma (NH1)
EXETER – Exeter Hospital has launched a suicide grant program and intends to distribute $200,000 to Seacoast organizations who address issues that may influence suicide and its stigma.
Report: Sex assaults at New England colleges on the rise (NH1)
BOSTON — Reports of sex assaults at colleges across New England are on the rise. The Boston Globe reports 784 “forcible sex offenses” were reported during 2015 at 60 colleges in the region.
Manchester Police: Alleged theft suspect swims across Merrimack River (WMUR)
Manchester man in custody after attempting to evade police Friday.
Seacoast mother to face second trial for alleged tug of war over infant (WMUR)
In March 2015, Christine Tumulty received a 10- to 20-year prison sentence for what prosecutors said was her part in an October 2013 assault that left her infant child with multiple broken bones.
Keene’s Christmas tree turns 103 (Keene Sentinel)
It’s survived two world wars, 33 mayoral administrations and, this year, a possible squirrel siege. A science fiction hero it is not — it’s Keene’s traditional Christmas tree.
Berlin High School students organize food pantry (Berlin Daily Sun)
BERLIN — Earlier this week, a small group of students and advisers at Berlin High School were working after school to put together holiday food boxes for fellow students and their families.
A Christmas classic: Chef Pandora to host his 33rd Christmas Day dinner (Conway Daily Sun)
CONWAY — Just as Santa Claus knows where he’ll be on Christmas Day, so does John Pandora.
Season’s greetings; Christmas cards get holy touch with Bethlehem postmark (Nashua Telegraph)
Instead of mailing her Christmas cards from her local post office, Sherry Wareing drove 20 miles roundtrip to a small post office in Bethlehem, N.H.
Glass Wax brings you holiday cheer (Nashua Telegraph)
If Christmas brings memories of those metal quart cans of Glass Wax, fragile stencils and chunks of damp sponges, then you’re a bona fide babyboomer.
NHPR Holiday Special: ‘The Yule Log Old Time Radio Show’ with Sean Hurley and Rick Ganley (NHPR)
Join NHPR’s Rick Ganley and Sean Hurley for an old-timey hour of Christmas stories and memories. This special will become one of your family’s favorite holiday listening traditions!
The Process of Refugee Resettlement in the Granite State (NHPR)
About a dozen Syrians were resettled in New Hampshire last year, and more than 7000 refugees from many countries have come here since the 1980s. We look at the resettlement process, the challenges both newcomers and their host communities face, and what changes might be in store under a Trump administration.
Manchester police union shows Christmas spirit after purse with life savings stolen (Union Leader)
MANCHESTER — The Manchester Patrolmen’s Association surprised the Dunkin’ Donuts worker who was robbed, Rebecca St. Laurent, by presenting her with gift cards and a $1,000 check.
Nashua father and son spend Christmas deployed with the NH National Guard (Union Leader)
Staff Sgt. Paul Pakenham Sr. is a platoon leader with Echo Battery. His 26-year-old son, Spc. Paul Pakenham Jr., a radar operator, is serving alongside his dad.
The News and Sentinel
Colebrook Chronicle
COLUMNS
Mark Hayward’s City Matters: Christmas and Hanukkah together (Union Leader)
Some sort of overlap often takes place between the eight days of Hanukkah and the 12 days of Christmas. But it is rare for them to start and run simultaneously.
Write a Poem, Sing a Song. Time To Make Some Very Merry (InDepthNH.org)
Christmas is Sunday. Sunday. Are you ready? If you’re not done shopping, not completed with your gift buying, all out of cash, no worries.
A Christmas tradition that means even more (Boston Globe)
The story of Mary and Joseph searching for shelter holds significant resonance this year amid calls for deportations and walls.
Paul Feely’s City Hall: Alderman asks for reason for school drug program delay (Union Leader)
THE MONTHS-LONG DELAY in getting a new drug prevention program into Manchester’s schools has at least one alderman questioning the failure to act.
Mike Marland Gets The Boot From The Monitor, ‘InDepthNH’ Looks To Pick Him Up (InDepthNH.org)
A New Hampshire institution is being forced out of the job due to “budget cuts.” Are we going to let that happen to Mike Marland? Nope.
AROUND THE NATION AND WORLD
Russian military plane crashes in Black Sea near Sochi (BBC)
A Russian military plane with 92 people on board has crashed into the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry says.
Niceties Yield to Turf War Between Trump and Obama (New York Times)
Mr. Trump has staked out starkly different positions from President Obama on Israel and other sensitive issues, as the president has acted aggressively to protect his legacy.
Father to be charged after 3-year-old girl shoots herself (Boston Globe)
The child severely wounded her left hand when she accidentally shot herself in South Yarmouth with her father’s unlicensed and unsecured handgun.
Donald Trump vows to shut controversial Trump Foundation (BBC)
Donald Trump has announced that he plans to shut his charitable foundation, although an investigation into its practices continues.
After 80 Christmases apart, reunion is gift for birth mother and daughter (Chicago Tribune)
For more than 80 Christmases, Eileen Wagner wondered about the baby girl she gave up for adoption as a teenager. Was her daughter happy? Did her adoptive family make her feel loved? This holiday, Wagner won’t have to wonder about the whereabouts of the girl, who is now an 83-year-old retiree.
Private Profits From Public Works (New York Times)
Desperate towns have turned to private equity firms to manage their waterworks. The deals bring much-needed upgrades, but can carry hefty price tags.
Compiled by InDepthNH.org, a nonprofit investigative news outlet published online by the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism 603-738-5635