New Hampshire Had 4th Lowest Unemployment Rate in U.S. in October 2019
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According to New Hampshire Employment Security, New Hampshire's 2.6% preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2019 was ranked fourth lowest in the nation, tied with Colorado, Iowa, South Carolina and Virginia, based on data released this morning by BLS.    

 

Lowest were: 

Vermont --- 2.2%

North Dakota --- 2.5%

Utah --- 2.5%

 

New England states -- seasonally adjusted:

Vermont --- 2.2% -- lowest

New Hampshire --- 2.6% -- 4th lowest (tie)

Maine --- 2.8% -- 10th lowest (tie)

Massachusetts --- 2.9% -- 12th lowest (tie)

Connecticut --- 3.6% -- 29th lowest (tie)

Rhode Island --- 3.6% -- 29th lowest (tie)

 

Highest rates:

Alaska --- 6.2%

Mississippi --- 5.5%

District of Columbia --- 5.4%

 

https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

 

For further information, please contact:

Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau

(603) 228-4124

Krempels Center and Cornerstone VNA Honor The Fabulous Find
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(l to r) Board Members Marcye Philbrook, President; Anne Hunter, Vice President and Store Manager; Deb Higgins, Treasurer; and Judy Hansen from The Fabulous Find accept their award.On Friday, November 8th, The Fabulous Find, a nonprofit upscale resale boutique in Kittery, ME, received the 2019 Outstanding Non-Profit Corporation Award at the Annual Conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Northern New England Chapter (AFP-NNE).  This award was given in celebration of National Philanthropy Day® (NPD), which is a special day set aside to recognize the great contributions of philanthropy, and those people active in the philanthropic community.  First held in 1986, NPD celebrates the endless contributions of individuals and organizations across the world make to countless causes and missions.

Becky Kates, Development Director of Krempels Center in Portsmouth, NH, and Erika Lee, Advancement Director of Cornerstone VNA in Rochester, NH, nominated The Fabulous Find for this special award due to its tremendous impact on local nonprofits.  Both nonprofit organizations have benefitted from the kindness of The Fabulous Find and teamed up to submit a nomination to AFP-NNE.  “When we found out that the AFP-NNE selected The Fabulous Find to receive this award, we were thrilled,” Kates remarks.  She adds, “Erika and I were very excited for the opportunity to introduce The Fabulous Find during the conference luncheon and thank them for their incredible efforts of supporting over 150 local nonprofits, including Krempels Center and Cornerstone VNA.”

The Fabulous Find is a 501c3 non-profit corporation, listed by the IRS under the name ‘A Caring Community’. Its roots began in 2010 when a small group of Seacoast Maine and New Hampshire women had a vision for a non-profit resale boutique that would benefit a variety of other worthy non-profits in the seacoast region. Located on State Road in Kittery, Maine, it started with a volunteer board, minimal staff, a dedicated cohort of volunteers, and donors from the community.

Unlike other resale or consignment stores, the Fabulous Find focuses on designer clothing, jewelry, home accessories, and furniture, with an emphasis on ‘upscale donations’, providing shoppers an opportunity to catch incredible bargains.  Each month, they select three nonprofits in the community, and give away the profits generated from that month’s sales to the chosen nonprofits.  Since 2010, The Fabulous Find has donated more than $1.6 million to over 155 area non-profits.

Erika Lee explains, “the members of this wonderful organization have created something really special and we know they will continue to make a difference in our local communities.”  Lee adds, “it was an honor to recognize The Fabulous Find and we encourage the community to continue to donate and shop at this very unique boutique.”

“It was such an honor to be recognized for what we do,” said Marcye Philbrook, President of the Board of The Fabulous Find.  “We’ve got a very special team that works very hard, and they couldn’t do it without such amazing support of donations and shopping from the public. We love the non-profits that we donate to…they are such an integral part of what makes the Seacoast a wonderful place to live.”

To learn more about The Fabulous Find call 207-439-8669 or visit www.thefabulousfind.org.  They are located on 139 State Rd., Kittery, ME and are open Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30, Sat 9:30-5:30, and Sunday 11:00-4:00.

UNH Research Confirms Migration is Biggest Driver of Population Change in N.H.
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DURHAM, N.H.—The Granite State continues to depend on migration for the majority of its population growth, according to new research released by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. Population growth has recently started to increase after a decline during the recession and its aftermath. The state’s population grew by more than 7,000 annually between 2016 and 2018, and most of the gain resulted from more people moving to the state from other U.S. destinations. Immigration also contributed to the gain. In contrast, the excess of births over deaths has diminished so much that its contribution to population gain is now minimal.   

“Migration is important to New Hampshire’s future because it brings in younger people of working age at a time when the state’s workforce is aging,” said Kenneth Johnson, professor of sociology and senior demographer. “In-migrants to the state have been better educated than those leaving and that has resulted in an increase in the state’s store of intellectual capital.”

Johnson noted that while New Hampshire is often characterized as a state where residents’ lineage goes back generations, in reality, it is one of the most mobile populations in the country. Only 42% of the state residents were born in New Hampshire, far less than for New England (58%) of the United States (59%).

“The future economic and social well-being of New Hampshire communities depend on their ability to anticipate change and respond appropriately,” said Johnson. “This analysis of how the state’s population is growing and changing can help to inform policy and contribute to the efforts of policymakers, nonprofits, and businesses to consider the future needs of the state’s people, institutions and organizations.”

The Carsey School of Public Policy is nationally recognized for research, policy education and bringing people together for thoughtful dialogue to address important societal challenges. The school develops and facilitates innovative, responsive and equitable solutions at all levels of government and in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. 

The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation, and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health, and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. As one of the nation’s highest-performing research universities, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and receives more than $110 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea, and space.

UPDATE: Barrington Man Pleads Guilty to Production of Child Pornography
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A 39-year-old Barrington resident, Thomas Whitney, has pled guilty in federal court to the production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray announced recently. Whitney was charged with creating visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct using a cell phone. The charges, which involve a 5-year-old child, happened on or before September 19, 2018.  Whitney is scheduled to be sentenced on January 13, 2020. 

“Mr. Whitney is finally accepting responsibility for his heinous actions – coercing a 5-year-old child into sexually explicit conduct,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the FBI Boston division. “The FBI will continue to do everything in its power to stop children from being exploited and bring to justice those responsible for terrorizing them.” 

According to the terms of a plea bargain agreement between Whitney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Krasinski, the prosecuting attorney, Whitney could serve up to 16.5 years in federal prison. With the acceptance of the plea bargain agreement, Whitney has waived his right to both a jury trial and an appeal of the case. A federal judge will determine his final sentence.  Whitney remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing.

Whitney will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements when he is released from prison to ensure his current address, employment information, and other relevant personal information are provided to authorities.

According to the City-Data.com website, there are 18 registered sex offenders in Barrington, as of November 16, 2019.  You can access the list of offenders and their addresses at their website here: http://www.city-data.com/so/so-Barrington-New-Hampshire.html.

In a recent article in Seacoast Online magazine, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) reported 425 investigations and 56 arrests between July 1, 2018, and June 30, 2019, compared to 202 investigations and 27 arrests during the same time period from 2017 to 2018.

“It is never-ending,” John Peracchi, commander of the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force reportedly said. “The number of investigations we’ve had, the number of arrests we’ve had, all increased by more than 100%. We have search warrants backed up, ready to go.”

A September 2019 NY Times article notes an even more alarming nationwide statistic.  “Last year, tech companies reported over 45 million online photos and videos of children being sexually abused — more than double what they found the previous year.” The article notes that despite the passage of federal legislation to combat child sexual abuse in 2008 (The Protect our Children Act of 2008), the prevalence of these images have overwhelmed law enforcement efforts to identify and prosecute the perpetrators.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which is funded in part by the U.S. Department of Justice, reports receiving over 42.9 million reports of suspected child sexual abuse as of November 2018.  NCMEC provides educational materials to help educate children and families about how to protect themselves at two websites: Netsmartz (https://www.missingkids.org/NetSmartz ) and KidSmartz (https://www.kidsmartz.org/). NCMEC also operates a Cyber Tipline for the public to report incidents of suspected child sexual exploitation at https://report.cybertip.org/.