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FETUS DEATH-CRIME
CONCORD, N.H. — Judges could hand out stiffer sentences when a fetus dies in a homicide under a bill passed Thursday by the New Hampshire House. The House voted 243-42 to send the bill to the Senate. Supporters argued the stricter penalties should be limited to cases where the mother dies, but critics said the fetus' death should be a crime if the mother lives. By Norma Love. SENT: 400 word.
ENERGY PACT
HARTFORD, Conn. — A Boston environmental group is challenging how energy policy is coordinated by New England's six governors, saying the state leaders are conducting private negotiations with the energy industry. The Conservation Law Foundation has submitted public records requests in the region's six states. It said a plan by the governors that focuses on natural gas and hydropower from Canada "appears to be the product of backroom deal-making rather than sound public policy informed by open dialogue." By Stephen Singer. SENT: 550 words.
HIJAB-GYM LAWSUIT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque Planet Fitness refused to let a New Mexico Muslim woman wear her religious head covering while she tried to work out, according to a new lawsuit. Tarainia McDaniel joined New Hampshire-based gym chain Planet Fitness in Albuquerque on a two-year contract and later transferred to another gym location. But the lawsuit said on Oct. 3, 2011 she was turned away at her new gym and was told the head covering didn't meet its dress code. SENT: 400 words.
AROUND THE STATE:
DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK-HOSPICE
LEBANON, N.H. — A $10 million gift to Dartmouth-Hitchcock will be used to create a care center for patients with life-threatening illnesses and complex medical needs. The gift, the largest in Dartmouth-Hitchcock's history, has been made anonymously. It will be used to establish a 12-bed center to fill a growing need for specialized care for seriously ill people whose needs are difficult to manage at home or in a nursing home. SENT: 200 words.
AYOTTE-UKRAINE
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte is meeting this week with government and military officials in Ukraine and Israel as part of a congressional delegation mission. SENT: 165 words.
BOOKS-SCHOOLS
WATERBURY CENTER, Vt. — Eight schools in Vermont and New Hampshire are getting free books and literacy programs valued at $25,000 from the Children's Literacy Foundation. SENT: 200 words.
IN BRIEF:
UNFIT TO DRIVE
CONCORD, N.H. — Health care providers who report to the state that a patient is medically unfit to drive would be protected from lawsuits under a bill passed by the New Hampshire House. The House voted 150-128 Thursday to send the Senate a bill that grants civil and criminal immunity to licensed providers who tell the motor vehicles division they believe someone shouldn't be on the road.
BODY FOUND
RYE, N.H. — New Hampshire State Police say a body has been recovered from the ocean near a beach in Rye. The state police Marine Patrol received a 911 call Thursday afternoon reporting a body in the water near Wallis Sands State Beach.
GAS TAX
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's Senate Finance Committee is backing a 4-cent hike in the tax on gas and diesel in a deal to finish the expansion of Interstate 93. The full Senate will vote on the revised bill next week. Sen. Nancy Stiles said Thursday the proposal would provide more money over the next two years for highway improvements, then take some of the tax proceeds to pay off $200 million in borrowing toward finishing the I-93 project.
MENTAL HEALTH-LAWSUIT
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's House has voted to provide expanded services to the mentally ill as a requirement of a settlement of a lawsuit against the state.
WINTER WEATHER-NH
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Spring's coming. Really. A winter storm preceding the Vernal Equinox has left 6 to 10 inches of snow in northern New Hampshire, and 3 to 6 inches in the Lakes Region. Concord and points south saw less.
UNITY SCHOOL
UNITY, N.H. — The future of a long-delayed new elementary school in Unity, N.H., comes down to a bond vote this weekend. Residents are voting Saturday on a $2.75 million bond at the Unity School District meeting.
UNH POOL
DURHAM, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire has released plans for its new $4.4 million outdoor swimming pool proposal, as some Durham residents still lobby to save the existing, 76-year-old pool that opened under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Foster's Daily Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/NwHxZe) Doug Bencks, director of campus planning, told a joint Durham-UNH pool working group on Wednesday the university is planning a 14,000- to 16,000-square-foot pool. It would have separate spaces for wading, laps and diving. It would be built atop the existing 42,000-square-foot pool, which doesn't meet modern standards.
OSRAM SYLVANIA-LAYOFFS
MANCHESTER, N.H. — A lighting manufacturer is closing its plant in Manchester, N.H., in September for a loss of 139 jobs, citing declining sales for traditional lighting products. WMUR-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1hFDSlm) Osram Sylvania also is closing plants in Central Falls, R.I., and York, Pa., leading to a total of 345 jobs lost.
OBAMA-SCOTT BROWN
NEWTON, Mass. — President Barack Obama says New Hampshire has a "great senator" in Democrat Jeanne Shaheen but he'd be "happy" if her possible challenger, former Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, wants to move to Texas because moderate Republicans are needed in other parts of the country.
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