Sports Page building for sale

Sports Page building for sale

The Hanover Street building that currently houses The Sports Page restaurant in Portsmouth is up for sale, although the business has no intention of moving. The Kane Company in Portsmouth lists the 13,674-square-foot property at 172 Hanover St. for sale at a price of $3.65 million. But Sports Page co-owner Lee Whitney emphasized that the restaurant is not for sale.

Whitney said another local news publication was mistaken when it reported that The Sports Page itself was up for sale. The Sports Page does not own the property, and the business plans to stay put, regardless of what happens to the building, Whitney said.

Whitney confirmed that a former employee recently filed a lawsuit against The Sports Page in Rockingham County Superior Court. The suit was filed by former general manager Stephen Oates, who was terminated about a year ago for reasons Whitney declined to disclose. “This is his second attempt to do so, and it’s been going on for over a year, and I guess he’s finally found an attorney who’s willing to take the case,” Whitney said.

Noting an attorney advised him not to discuss the court case, Whitney declined to comment on what Oates is alleging or how the company responds to those allegations. A preliminary court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20.

Rite Aid expands its empire

The Rite Aid Company is expanding its pharmaceutical kingdom with the recent acquisition of all Brooks and Eckerd stores nationwide. The added 1,854 stores give the company a total of more than 5,000 locations in 31 states, making it the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast. 

The number of Rite Aids in New Hampshire will just about double over the next 16 months, rising from 38 locations to a total of 75, including new locations in Portsmouth, Stratham, Newmarket, Hampton, Durham and Lee. Rite Aid representatives say customers of Brooks and Eckerd stores can easily transfer their prescriptions. According to Rite Aid spokeswoman Jody Cook, the new stores will offer “new Rite Aid brand product choices in all the stores and a rollout of our senior loyalty program called Living More that offers savings on products for customers over 60.” 

Rite Aid plans to remodel all its new locations to reflect the corporation’s interior design layouts and storefront signs. All told, Cook expects Rite Aid to spend about $1 billion on remodeling work. But that’s a small price to pay in light of the benefits of expanding, Cook said. The latest acquisitions vault Rite Aid’s predicted annual revenues from about $17 billion to a hefty $27 billion.

Cook also promised that the merger will not have negative impacts on current Brooks and Eckerd employees. “There will be no changes for the current employees,” he said. “We’re going to be retaining all jobs and even adding some. We’re counting on our current and new associates to make this transition a success.” 

PEA takes national math honors

Should a situation arise in which you need to know the value of x, you may want to contact one of the 15 members of Phillips Exeter Academy’s 2007 math team. The crew recently took first place in the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), making it the top high school math team in the nation.

Led by co-captains Keone Hon and Sherry Gong, both of whom just graduated, the team of 15 members and seven alternates made a 10-hour trip to Pennsylvania to compete in the day-long event on June 2. More than 1,300 students participated in the meet, which is considered the World Series of mathematics.

“This is definitely a team contest: having a few very strong students is not enough; the entire team of 15 needs to be solid performers,” Hon said in statement released June 6. Hon has earned a college scholarship and is training to compete in the International Mathematic Olympiad in Vietnam this July.

The Exeter team consisted of members hailing from all over the world, including Korea, Hawaii and even Brentwood. PEA has sent a team to the ARML every year since 1998, taking third place in 2005 and seventh in 2006. But never before had the Exeter team won first place.

“This is extremely good news,” math instructor Zuming Feng said in a statement. “It is very hard to win at ARML because of the strong nature of the contest. While we have been a dominant force in math extra-curricular activities for several years now, due to the size of this competition, (teams of 15), it is very difficult for a team from one school to win the event. It requires tremendous depth and team work.”