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Top Nine N.H. News Stories of 2014

Sara Plourde
/
NHPR

A special edition of the Friday New Hampshire News Roundup: we review the major stories of the year -- from the midterm elections to the Market Basket saga, and more. 

GUESTS:

  • Jeff Feingold – editor of the New Hampshire Business Review.
  • Dean Spiliotes - Civic Scholar in the School of Arts and Sciences at Southern New Hampshire University and author of the website NHPoliticalCapital.com

ALSO JOINING US:

  • Sam Evans-Brown -  environment and education reporter for NHPR.
  • Jack Rodolico -  health and science reporter for NHPR.
  • Josh Rogers -  senior political reporter for NHPR.

Top N.H. Stories of the Year:

  1. Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Expansion: While Obamacare succeeded inincreasing the number of insurers in New Hampshire, it has yet to decrease cost of coverage for Granite Staters. Medicaid Expansion also went into effect this year, so far exceeding enrollment predictions.
  2. Market Basket Standoff: Perhaps the biggest New England story of the year, the Market Basket saga grabbed headlines for weeks. A six-week standoff in which employees walked out and customers boycotted finally led to a deal reinstating CEO Arthur T. Demoulas.
  3. Midterms and N.H. House Speaker: While Republicans did well in 2014 midterms nationally, in New Hampshire, Democrats took three out of four major seats. In the aftermath of the election, an upset in the vote for N.H. House Speaker made headlines, with Shawn Jasper winning the House vote after the Republican caucus had nominated Bill O’Brien.  
  4. Energy Costs and Natural Gas Supply: New Hampshire continued to grapple with its energy situation this year, with a focus on whether the state needs more natural gas capacity for the coldest few days of the year when demand skyrockets, driving up electricity rates. Energy developer Kinder Morgan is facing pushbackfor its proposed pipeline route that would to run through the southern part of the state.
  5. James Foley and Steven Sotloff: The horror of ISIS reached New Hampshire this year, when New Hampshire native and journalist James Foley was beheaded by the group. Another journalist beheaded by ISIS, Steven Sotloff, also had NH ties.
  6. Wolfeboro Police Commissioner Race Comments: Bob Copeland, Wolfeboro Police Commissioner resigned after his racist remarkabout President Obama drew national attention.
  7. Thanksgiving Nor'easter: Although New Hampshire is accustomed to power outages, this year’s Thanksgiving snowstorm was one of the biggest in state history, leaving more than 200,000 customers without power.
  8. Keene Pumpkin Festival Riots: The incidents caused injuries, property damage, and embarrassment, leading to questions about whether the annual event should continue next year.
  9. Campus Sexual Assault and Dartmouth Summit: As sexual assaults on college campuses came to greater prominence across the country this year, Dartmouth College in Hanover held a summit to address the issue on its own campus and others.
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