The popularity of tea is gaining momentum on the Seacoast, as local businesses like White Heron Tea in Rollinsford and the new Teatotaller Tea House in Somersworth have made a wide variety of high quality teas more accessible to consumers.

Occupy New Hampshire seeks to ramp up its presence in 2012 with four days of events
surrounding the first-in-the-nation primary.

“A lot of people feel disenfranchised and a lot of people feel their voices are not being heard, so they’re getting involved now,” says Newmarket resident Michael Grosse. During the four days leading up to the New Hampshire primary, those voices will be aimed at Republican presidential candidates and the local voters they’re courting. The Occupy the New Hampshire Primary movement will include a series of events—marches, debates, workshops, street theater, entertainment—across the state from Friday, Jan. 6,  to Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Recent lynx sightings and an apparently growing bobcat population have raised hopes of a wild cat revival in New Hampshire.

Lynx tracks have been confirmed in the North Country seven times since 2006. But new photographs taken this fall represent the first fully documented lynx in the state since a road-killed animal was found in 1993. Even more significant, the animals appeared to be kittens, which indicates the presence of a breeding family.

With environmental pressures on Great Bay rising and funds to deal with them shrinking, stakeholders rally to come up with solutions.

A common refrain at the recent Great Bay Dialogue meeting was the need for increased monitoring to identify nitrogen sources. Then, stakeholders can determine the easiest and most cost-effective ways to eliminate the pollution. “The science is incontrovertible,” said Paul Stacey, of the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. “We can negotiate outcomes in terms of how much we want to do or how much we want to spend, policies, politics and so forth, but the science is of course deaf and immune to that. It’s going to respond the way it always will—according to the laws of nature, not the laws of man.”

The national economy has made modest improvements, with  New Hampshire continuing to lead the pack. But unemployment numbers can be misleading, and the economic forecast calls for continued hard times in 2012.

The large dip in the unemployment rate last month was due largely to the fact that 315,000 people dropped out of the labor force, meaning they gave up looking for jobs and were no longer counted as unemployed. Furthermore, 50,000 of the jobs added in November were in the retail trade, including many temporary hires for the holiday season. As those numbers demonstrate, employment statistics can be a bit deceptive. That’s also true in New Hampshire, where the state unemployment rate has remained almost four percentage points below the national rate throughout the recession. New Hampshire also has one of the nation’s highest median household incomes. Looking at those statistics, it’s tempting to think the Granite State’s economy is thriving. But economist Ross Gittell says that’s not the case.

New Hampshire Farm to School inspires students to grow and eat local food while learning about it.

Stout Oak Farm recently relocated from a leased property in Epping to a permanent location in Brentwood, just a few miles from Exeter High School, where the farm started delivering food this year. The farm delivered a variety of produce, such as carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, peppers and kale, once a week in September and October, while there was enough to go around. Kate Donald, of Stout Oak Farm, said she heard about it from parents who shop at the local farmers’ market or buy a share of her produce. Their kids knew they were now getting fresh foods from local farms in the cafeteria.

a one-stop resource to cover all your holiday shopping needs with locally sourced gifts available at local, independent stores

Why go to a big corporate box store to shop for someone you care about?  The Walmarts and Best Buys of the world, with their blinding incandescence and cookie-cutter products, are devoid of holiday charm and character. Santa would never go there, and neither should you. The real spirit of the holidays is encapsulated in the quirky local retail shops, galleries, studios and other businesses dappling the downtowns of our Seacoast communities.The Wire compiled this guide with the help of suggestions from readers for great holiday gifts, with an emphasis on items that are locally made, locally available, and awesome enough to satisfy any friend or family member on your holiday shopping list.

Efforts to rescue RiverRun Bookstore reflect a movement around the country to support small businesses with local investing.

If there was any question about whether Seacoast residents are interested in investing in the local economy, public response to the plight of RiverRun Bookstore provided the answer. Owner Tom Holbrook’s recent announcement that the store was in danger of closing triggered a torrent of support. Within days, Holbrook was convinced there might be hope of saving his business, after all.

The campaign to rescue RiverRun reflects a wave of momentum behind local investing both locally and nationally. Campaigns to invest in local economies have sprouted up across the nation, and a bill currently torpedoing through Congress could make those efforts much easier. The fundamental theory behind the movement is that people are willing to invest in businesses they know and care about.

A bill to repeal N.H.’s gay marriage law recently won a key committee endorsement, but critics say the bill will fail, and several national movements in support of marriage equality are picking up steam.

It’s been almost two years since New Hampshire’s same-sex marriage law went into effect, and a recent poll found that 62 percent of New Hampshire residents support its existence. Nevertheless, the House Judiciary Committee recently voted 11-6 to recommend passage of House Bill 437, which would repeal New Hampshire’s same-sex marriage law. The Legislature will probably vote on the bill in January, and with Republicans holding strong majorities, it’s likely to pass. Whether it will attain the two-thirds majority needed to withstand Gov. John Lynch’s promised veto is less clear.

Organizations like ASCAP, BMI and SESAC say their mission is to protect the work of music creators, but local musicians and venues say they’re crushing the Seacoast scene with exorbitant fees and rigid enforcement

The organization has a field staff with 35 regional teams spread across the country. They scour the Internet looking for new businesses and check bands’ websites to see where they’re performing. They check state records on businesses that have been issued an alcohol license and then find out if they offer music. They also pay informants who are not employees to do “prospecting,” as the ASCAP general licnesing office calls it. Harvey Reid and others say they’re aware of some of these informants on the Seacoast.

Local citizens rally for good jobs and the middle class in Portsmouth, showing solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and other national movements.

For 20 years, Somersworth resident Larry Silk worked for the government, assembling, repairing and maintaining submarines. But he lost his job in May 2010 and has been unemployed ever since. Silk has submitted upwards of 70 résumés and applications, all to no avail. He’s getting desperate. “It’s become quite the juggling act, paying one bill one month, paying another bill another month, getting shutoff notices, having the gas shut off,” Silk told a crowd gathered in Prescott Park. “With a family of five to support and unemployment pretty much drawing to an end, the outlook is pretty bleak.”

the Northern Pass proposal rallies citizens versus corporations

Northern Pass Transmission is seeking to build tall towers with power lines through 180 miles of New Hampshire to bring more hydroelectricity to New England. The proposed project would add renewable energy to the grid, potentially replacing fossil fuels, according to Public Service of New Hampshire. But concerned citizens say the high-voltage lines would fragment natural habitat, devalue property and deter tourism, for the benefit of out-of-state corporations.

Rochester considers establishing the state’s first “magnet school,” potentially changing the face of education in New Hampshire.

The traditional 180-day public school year was established well over a century ago, and American students have been enjoying lengthy summer breaks ever since. But Dr. Anthony Pastelis of Rochester thinks it’s time we took another look at the school calendar, which he believes is now long outdated. “It goes back to the days when we were a farming nation and these schoolchildren needed to work the family farms,” Pastelis said. “Not many family farms in Rochester. Yet, as a nation, we keep the old calendar. It’s just silly. It’s not common sense.”

Gov. John Lynch, one of the most popular political figures in New Hampshire history, will not run for reelection in 2012.

Democrat John Lynch became New Hampshire’s 80th governor in January 2005. Who would’ve guessed that by the time his current term expires at the end of 2012, he will have served eight years as the Granite State’s top executive? And throughout his eight years, Lynch has enjoyed unwavering popularity across party lines. He has been reelected three times and would be predicted to win a fifth term in 2012 if he were running. But he isn’t running.

downtown boutique owners talk about Fashion’s Night Out and local style

Layering is an art. “Here in New England, we all want to look really glamorous, but we want to be warm, too,” said Assiah Russell, owner of Puttin’ on the Glitz, a boutique in downtown Portsmouth. “You need to have the art of layering down.”

North Hampton Police Chief Brian Page worries about how the legislation will affect his officers on the street, who must respond to shootings. Rye Police Chief Kevin Walsh said the bill invites citizens to use poor judgment with firearms. And Hampton Police Chief Jamie Sullivan points out  that the existing self defense statutes have worked flawlessly.“What is it we’re trying to fix?” he said. “We don’t see a reason that the use of force statute needs to be fixed or changed. It’s worked well for many years and we’re pleased with the way it’s worked. We don’t believe this is a necessary expansion.”

Seven months into his first term, Congressman Frank Guinta comes home to mixed reviews.

Freshman Rep. Frank Guinta found himself both beseiged and beloved on Wednesday, Aug. 17. While touring Beckwood Services in Plaistow that morning, he was praised for his understanding of the state’s manufacturing needs and applauded for his promises to help people achieve secure employment. At a town hall-style forum in Greenland hours later, he was angrily reproached about his voting record on health care and his refusal to raise taxes on the wealthy.

The Runnymede Project and the Great Bay Wilderness and Music Camp, both of which have upcoming benefit concerts, are pioneering artistic uses for local farmland.

Many people consider their vocation a form of art, but this is a little different. These farmers see art in every act, even taking out the trash. “It’s not a new idea to say, for example, there is an art of carpentry or there is an art of cooking. But I think that can go so much further,” Wilson said. “You can say there’s just an art of being.”

Seasonal campers form a unique—and largely unseen—community beyond the hustle and bustle

Trudy Alley could stay home in Nashua for the summer and be close to her part-time job as a nurse. But there’s always something that needs to be fixed or painted, and she’d rather not get sucked into a summer routine of chores and tedium. Instead, Alley sets up a seasonal site at Old Stage Campground in Madbury, where she spent a recent afternoon reading and relaxing in her enclosed porch. It’s her 10th straight year at Old Stage, and before that she spent her summers at another campground in Lebanon, Maine, with her family. “My youngest son is 29, and he was 4 when I started camping seasonally,” Alley said. “All (three of) my kids grew up every summer at the campground.”

The abrupt closure of Memorial Bridge divide the communities, economy and culture of the Seacoast for the next three years.

The Memorial Bridge closed permanently to motor vehicles on Wednesday, July 27. Inspectors determined that rapid deterioration to the bridge’s truss joints, gusset plates and floor beams made it unsafe for vehicular traffic. “The bridge, in total, is in very poor condition,” said Jeff Brillhart, assistant commissioner of the N.H. Department of Transportation. “It’s just experiencing rust problems that are accelerating seemingly rapidly. ... We cannot take the risk to public safety given the condition of the bridge at this point.”  A replacement is not expected to open until the summer of 2014

They mean business for local hotels, restaurants, campgrounds and retail shops. And the rooms and meals taxes tourism generates is a vital source of revenue for state government. But for the local residents who actually live and work on the Seacoast, tourists are more like a seasonal disorder, whether in cars clogging the highways and meandering along scenic vistas, or on foot, bringing their vacation pace and double-wide baby strollers to city sidewalks and coffee shops.

Even the most well-intentioned innovations can have unintended consequences for the environment. Take, for instance, compostable plastics, or “bioplastics,” made from plant products like corn, potatoes or sugarcane. Cups, plates and utensils made from bioplastics are meant to be composted and converted into a useful soil additive. But if they instead wind up in a landfill or recycling bin, they can wreak havoc.

Until recently,  signs promoting “happy hour” deals in windows or entranceways were prohibited, along with advertisements in newspapers or on the radio. But under a new law, New Hampshire businesses are free to let their customers know about martini specials, reduced wine prices, beer discounts and other daily deals on alcoholic beverages. That’s good news for local businesses looking to attract customers. It’s also good news for thirsty patrons looking to enjoy a beverage on a budget.

A family with members all over the country gathers on the Seacoast to trace its 17th century roots on the Isles of Shoals.

In many ways, the Babbs’ expanding narrative of their own family story mirrors the broader narrative of America. The Babbs were here more than a century before the nation declared its independence, and some of them fought in the Revolution. They were lawmen and lawbreakers. They were landowners and entrepreneurs. They were mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers. And as America grew, so did they, spreading across the country and beyond.

Every year, new dangers emerge, and that’s why we admonish people to stay inside during the summer months. It’s increasingly perilous to walk in the woods, or through tall grass, or even down the sidewalk. Hell, the sunlight, itself, can kill you if you give it long enough. Here are a handful of other things to avoid at all costs. If you ignore our advice and go out to enjoy the warm sunshine and cool breezes, well, don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Lee resident Dennis Chasteen was up at 5 a.m. on a recent morning to harvest baby spinach from his home garden before the heat became oppressive; by 9:30 a.m., he was at the Seacoast Family Food Pantry in Portsmouth to give away the fresh produce. Chasteen makes the 30-minute trip from Lee to Portsmouth once or twice a week. Last year, he donated about 800 pounds of vegetables to the pantry, and he’s already delivered some 250 boxes of lettuce, spinach, and arugula this year.

Public art projects in Rochester and Portsmouth help build community and spark conversations, but not always without controversy.

Mixing old fashioned New England tradition with quirky local flavor, the Seacoast’s one-of-a-kind fairs and festivals bring us together to eat, drink, dance, run three-legged races, ogle tractors, kiss babies, drink beer and bark at fireworks. It’s been a long spring. Now it’s time to get out and have some fun!

This summer, movie-goers will once again be treated to comics-based films (“Thor,” “Green Lantern,” “Captain America: The First Avenger”), remakes (“Fright Night,” “Conan the Barbarian,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark), films based on cartoons (“The Smurfs”), and a whole slew of sequels (“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “The Hangover Part II,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Cars 2,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2,” “Spy Kids 4,” “Final Destination 5”). With that in mind, the conscientious cinema-goer needs guidance to sift through the flashy titles and decide what’s worth coughing up $10 to $15 for. The Wire’s annual summer film issue highlights the good, the bad and the ugly of summer movies.

“I feel like I’m at the edge of a cliff and everybody’s saying, ‘OK, Jump!’” said Joelle Calcavecchia, of Derry, about a week before graduating from the University of New Hampshire. She is amog this month’s college graduates, who will face the challenges of finding a job during a recession and living on their own with a shortage of affordable housing, while already weighed down with some of the heaviest college debt in history.

With each new election cycle, the primary season starts earlier and lasts longer. Although New Hampshire’s presidential primary is still at least eight months away, a number of prospective and declared candidates have already visited the state, including Mitt Romney, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, among others.

Most homebrewers can quickly cite the favorite batch of beer they’ve ever brewed. Portsmouth resident Raymond McGill, founder of the Seacoast Homebrew Club, pointed to a double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout, better known as a Founders Breakfast Stout. For Dover resident Ken Dunnington, it was a chocolate hazelnut porter. Rochester resident Dan Caldwell was particularly fond of a dark caramel porter. The possibilities are virtually endless. Last fall, Dunnington brewed a pumpkin ale, made with a real roasted pumpkin smothered in maple syrup. Caldwell once cooked up a recipe he calls the “kitchen sink porter,” which included jalapenos, ginger, molasses, licorice.

Portsmouth's new poet laureate wants to win you over with the power of words. “Well chosen words can stick with people and influence the way they feel the rest of their lives,” says poet John-Michael Albert.

The N.H. House of Representatives' budget would dismantle the Department of Cultural Resources and eliminate the State Council on the Arts. Opponents hope the Senate will recognize the value of art and restore at least some of those funds to the final budget bill. What follows is a series of short essays written by local people who connect arts and the community on the Seacoast. This is their argument for the future of the arts.

Despite a thousands-strong rally from state workers and citizens, the N.H. House has approved a state budget that includes drastic funding cuts to many vital services.

Shouts reverberated outside the entrance to the State House in Concord on March 31, from thousands of teachers, police officers, firefighters, health care workers, municipal employees and religious leaders gathered on the lawn. One repeated chant was specifically directed to the Republican lawmakers who, at that moment, were defending a biennial budget bill that would cut hundreds of millions of dollars for public services: “Shame on you!”

A century ago, the Weeks Act paved the way for the creation of White Mountain National Forest and 40 other federally protected lands. Locals look back on the law’s history and ahead to the next 100 years of forest conservation.

Andre Dubus, fresh off the release of his nationally acclaimed new memoir, “Townie,” describes how growing up poor and street-tough in the Merrimack Valley helped shape him as a writer.

In his new memoir, “Townie,” Dubus recalls fist-fighting his way through his teen years in the ramshackle mill towns of the Merrimack Valley. Punching someone, he explains, requires smashing through two invisible barriers, one that surrounds you and another that surrounds your opponent. It’s a violent but distinctly intimate act.  Writing is like that, too, he says. “While it is a peaceful act to become another person and write, you still have to enter the private space and actually get behind the private skin of another human being. I’m just happy I found a way to do that that’s no longer violent.”

In the waning days of winter, dirty snowbanks full of trash and pollutants are melting away—and so are winter maintenance funds.

A mountain range of hard-packed snow is the dominant feature of Peirce Island in Portsmouth, its peaks towering over Little Harbor. This is where the city disposes of the snow it removes from streets and sidewalks after a major storm. What once was pristine white flakes is now brown, crusted sediment speckled with cigarette butts and plastic bags. And there’s more pollution that’s not visible to the naked eye: dissolved road salt and de-icing materials fill snowbanks with chloride and other pollutants. It will all end up in the groundwater and could eventually make its way into streams that feed into our local estuaries.

Two locals attend the space shuttle’s launch in Cape Canaveral, as Discovery’s final flight winds down an era of space exploration

We had the privilege of watching Discovery lift off for its final mission from the Launch 39 Press Site—the very spot where, in 1967, at the Apollo 4 maiden launch of a Saturn V rocket, Walter Cronkite had commented, “Our building’s shaking here...the floor is shaking...this big glass window is shaking, we’re holding it with our hands!” Our observation would be similarly historic— the workhorse Discovery has been the go-to shuttle of the fleet, and now, it will be the first space shuttle to retire as NASA winds down its Space Shuttle program. Before the final countdown for its final mission began, we had a chance to wander the grounds and soak up our nation’s long history of space exploration.

Seacoast fans unite to promote the growth of their sport

Popular culture is filled with sword swinging heroes from Robin Hood and Peter Pan to Zorro and Westley to Captain Jack Sparrow and Hit-Girl. And yet the sport of fencing doesn’t appear to be all that popular. It’s one of the things Mike Grosse hopes to change by increasing accessibility with his TV show “Bladework.”

As the major record labels collapse, local, independent labels are rising to fill the void.

Though the market for mass-produced CDs is continually shrinking, demand for small labels that offer limited runs is on the rise. There are still plenty of collectors out there who want to hold a physical recording and admire its cover art and liner notes. That’s where labels like Burst & Bloom, Milltown, Lost Sailor Records and Flyrock come in, ensuring that the experience of a new CD is memorable. They are among a handful of small, independent record labels operating out of the Seacoast, providing myriad services to local bands. “Studio, distribution, replication of the album, booking shows, getting the artwork done, having a place to come to think and create,” says Flyrock artist Eyenine. “Pretty much everything.”

The sixth annual RPM Challenge has attracted many first-time participants. A few discuss their plans and ambitions, and what they hope to take away.

Dover resident Andrea Szirbik has been an active songwriter for roughly 10 years, and yet, she’s never recorded an album. She intends to change that as she participates in her first-ever RPM Challenge. The high school Spanish teacher is one of more than 1,500 artists from around the world who had signed up to take the sixth annual challenge as of Jan. 31. The goal is to record an entire CD of at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music within the 28 days of February. Signups remain open throughout the month at www.rpmchallenge.com.

Other than a finished CD, there is no material reward for completing the challenge. But participants hope to realize the personal goal of recording their own artistic creations and sharing the experience with others.

Dover resident Hao Nguyen has been following the challenge since its inaugural year in 2006, when participation was limited to New Hampshire residents, but he’s never had anything to contribute until now. “I’m out for fun. It’ll be fun, right?”

Welcome to our inaugural Readers’ Poll—it’s one part looking back, one part looking ahead, and one part gazing at our navels. In other words, it’s a perfect snapshot of the life we’re living on the Seacoast right now. This is a Readers’ Poll, not a “Best Of.” You won’t see any plaques or decals announcing the winners. This is just for us—all of us—and we hope you enjoy reading it. Go out and explore!

‘A Winter’s Tale’ and other Seacoast events foster the ancient art of storytelling.

Anyone can get together with friends or family members at a local café, bar, or in their own home to exchange stories around a cup of coffee or beer. This January, there are several opportunities to share stories in public settings.  It’s a cozy way to spend a winter’s day, and it sure beats most of the crap on TV. In the spirit of the upcoming “A Winter’s Tale” event, a number of Wire contributors have shared “starting over” stories from their own lives.

While New Hampshire’s new legislature has begun its work for 2011, assessing hundreds of proposed bills and examining myriad issues as they prepare to craft a new biennial budget, many of the Democrats who were ousted in the election last November intend to remain active in politics, and their peers say their past accomplishments should not be forgotten. On Friday, Jan. 21, an Appreciation Party will be held at the Gas Light Co. in Portsmouth to honor former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, as well as state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, Executive Councilor Bev Hollingworth and others who recently left office. The Wire reached out and asked them to reflect on their time in Concord and look ahead to what they’ll do now.

November’s landmark Republican sweep in New Hampshire produced an all-Republican Executive Council, matched by red super-majorities in both the House and Senate. Gov. John Lynch was one of a relative few Democrat survivors, and he faces a big challenge in working alongside veto-proof majorities who might not really need this historically popular governor, who’s heading into his fourth consecutive term, to get their way.
So, what’s  likely to get through the State House this year?

With growing competition from chain stores and the Internet, independent music shops are adapting to the times to keep locals rocking
A bass player trying to make a living as a musician, Gary Traversy recognized the opportunity to fill a niche on the Seacoast when he opened Gary's Guitars in 1989. At the time, the area lacked service shops that conducted in-house repairs. He opened his business and set up an Atari computer with two megabytes of memory, just enough to keep track of the store’s inventory. The business climate for music stores around the Seacoast has changed immensely in the 20-plus years since.

Sunday River was the first ski area to open on the East Coast each of the previous three seasons. This year, it was the first in the nation to open on Oct. 22.  About two hours from Portsmouth in Newry, Maine, most of the snow currently on the mountain is man-made, a costly feat of modern technology that can make or break a New England resort. Less than two months after opening, Sunday River now has top to bottom skiing with 17 miles of terrain on more than 40 trails open out of more than 130 total. But not all resorts are so successful. Jeremy Davis is an avid skier who founded New England Lost Ski Areas Project at www.nelsap.org and wrote a book on the subject. He has also been appointed to the New England Ski Museum Board of Directors. “It is fascinating, but also sad when you see photos of a thriving ski area and then visit it in 2010 and see that it has returned to nature,” Davis said. Today’s expansive resorts offer better skiing on groomed man-made snow, fast lifts, large base lodges and slope-side lodging. Resorts that can’t keep up often are lost.

N.H. author Howard Mansfield’s new book describes how shifting perceptions of time and place have made us slaves to the clock.

To Mansfield, Derby’s manuscripts serve as a kind of clock. While people tend to think of clocks as physical objects with minute and second hands, Mansfield believes there are many different types of clocks, measuring time in different ways in different places. Store records can be clocks, and so can people. “A clock is something that marks the passage of time, and there are all sorts of clocks around us,” Mansfield said. “We, ourselves, are clocks, biological rhythms upon rhythms. What defines a place is the dominant clock in that place.”