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This was another week with a few encouraging signs in the economy. Nationally, consumer confidence rose sharply to its highest point in eight months. That boosted the mood in the stock market. Here in New Hampshire, we saw county unemployment numbers that -- in some places -- were a touch better. NHPR’s Jon Greenberg has more in his weekly economic round-up

A new report shows that thousands of young children in New Hampshire need mental health services, but few receive them.

NHPR’s Elaine Grant has more.

It’s no secret the national economic downturn has made it harder for New Hampshire lawmakers to balance the budget.

Revenues are down, demand for service is up....put it together and the state is facing a $600 million dollar shortfall.

Over the last few weeks, Senators on the Finance Committee have made very hard decisions about what programs to cut and where to bring in new revenue.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein reports that the Finance Committee’s struggle offers insight into how tight money really is in the state.

The mystique of the spawning salmon running upstream has intrigued many. But there’s another migrating fish, outside of the limelight, that also has a passionate following. It’s called the American Shad.

As part of a collaboration of Northeast stations, WFCR’s Tina Antolini reports that the number of shad is declining in many rivers, along with knowledge about the fish.

With all the talk about alternative sources of energy, it helps to remember that the first thing to do is use less.

I’m Jon Greenberg with this Energy Minute.

At the Nubanusit co-housing development in Peterborough, they did everything you could possibly imagine to shrink their carbon footprint. They’re an easy walk from downtown so residents don’t need to drive as much. They built a central boiler for heating and they run it off wood pellets that come from nearby. They’re starting a small farm so a lot of their food won’t have to be trucked from thousands of miles away.

But if you ask co-founder Shelley Hulbert, they got the biggest bang for their buck by paying for really good insulation.

HULBERT: The largest home at Nubanusit which is a 4-bedroom home, spent about a thousand dollars for the winter for heat and hot water.

Now, one thing they also did was keep their buildings small. That 4-bedroom house has less than 2 thousand square feet. But the lesson about insulation applies to homes everywhere.

With this Energy Minute, I’m Jon Greenberg.