Story Archives of 'ARRA'

Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter announced the following grants to NH:

Manchester Transit Authority: $92,282 for operating assistance and 24 bicycle racks.

Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation: $67,282 for operating assistance, which will allow the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) to support continued operation of current services.

University of New Hampshire Durham, Dover and surrounding communities: $38,000 for Dispatch/fleet communications system, new and upgraded radios, and miscellaneous support equipment.

The federal government has turned down the state's largest application to expand broadband. UNH had applied under the stimulus program. Washington rejected the 46 million dollar proposal to bring high-speed internet to underserved regions around the state.

It also rejected two out of three separate applications from Fairpoint Communications. A Fairpoint broadband application for Northern Grafton County is still pending.

For more details, see the Union Leader's report.

In her recent story about the ground breaking for the Seabrook drinking water plant, NHPR's Amy Quinton made an important point. She noted that of 56 drinking water projects in the state, only about 25% of them are under contract, that is, in the hands of contractors who will then do the work. This gives a sense of when one can expect jobs to appear based on these bricks and mortar projects.

When looking at the impact of the stimulus, the general forecast is that direct job creation will peak in the spring of 2010.