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Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
N.H. Democrat jumps into Manchester mayoral race to challenge Republican incumbent
'It's time the people of Manchester have a leader that represents them and the everyday struggles of working families, and Jess is that person,' Query added. Advertisement Spillers criticized the way local politicians handled the Manchester School District budget earlier this year, and said Ruais and the aldermanic board supported spending levels that were too low. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Although the school district had proposed a Ruais said local leaders struck an appropriate ' Spillers, who has college degrees in social work, is employed by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, where she specializes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — a role in which she keeps close tabs on the local impacts of federal policy decisions. Advertisement Spillers, a married mother of three, said she knows firsthand how rising costs are putting pressure on households in Manchester, and the city needs leaders ready to make investments in 'physical and social infrastructure.' Ruais, a married father of one, formally Although the mayoral race is nominally nonpartisan, leading contenders typically align openly with either Republicans or Democrats. The off-year contest has historically been viewed as a potential indicator for how voter sentiments might be shifting — so the Ruais-Spillers showdown could shape political narratives in New Hampshire ahead of the following year's state and federal elections. The city will hold a nonpartisan primary on Steven Porter can be reached at
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BAE Systems to support airborne electronic attack capabilities for Italy
HUDSON, N.H., July 21, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BAE Systems (LON: BA) has received a $12 million contract from L3Harris to support the modification of two Gulfstream G550 aircraft into airborne electronic attack (EA) platforms for the Italian Air Force. When the airframes are fitted with modern EA mission systems, they will provide Italy with powerful, long-range capabilities that disrupt and suppress enemies' command and control, communication, navigation, and air defense systems. Under its contract, BAE Systems will provide hardware to modify the aircraft, including racks, radomes, cables, and harnesses to prepare for the installation of advanced electronic warfare mission systems that will enhance Italy's ability to operate in the electromagnetic battlespace. "This modification work is a critical step toward delivering advanced EA capabilities to the Italian Air Force," said Cory Casalegno, director for Coalition Electronic Attack at BAE Systems. "Providing high-powered, long-range jamming capabilities to an important U.S. ally broadens the strength of the global allied fleet and supports the mission of the U.S. Air Force." BAE Systems' airborne EA mission systems complement the range, altitude, and endurance attributes of the G550 business jets, providing long-range jamming from safer operational distances. The systems limit adversaries' situational awareness, disrupt their use of the electromagnetic spectrum for operations, and align with the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force. BAE Systems has designed and developed advanced EA mission systems for decades, continually evolving the technology to address modern threats, and redesigning hardware for different airframes – carefully balancing the need for high-power output with size, weight, and power constraints. For additional information about BAE Systems' electronic warfare technology, visit: For more information, please contact: Mark Daly, BAE SystemsMobile: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE BAE Systems, Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Governor Ayotte vetoes ‘bathroom bill' in N.H., just as her predecessor Chris Sununu did
Ayotte said she sees 'legitimate privacy and safety concerns' on this topic, but believes HB 148 was too broad and impractical, and risked creating 'an exclusionary environment' for some community members. 'While I believe that the legislature should address this serious issue,' she said, 'it must be done in a thoughtful and narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all New Hampshire citizens.' Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up The legislation would have allowed public and private organizations to bar transgender individuals from using Advertisement Unlike the bathroom bills that have passed in other states, such as Every state in New England has adopted legal protections on the basis of gender identity. Had this bill been signed into law, New Hampshire would have become the only state in the region to add exceptions for transgender people in certain circumstances, according to Advertisement The legislation would have curtailed protections that Sununu When he vetoed a bill like HB 148 last year, Sununu Republican Representative Jim Kofalt of Wilton, the prime sponsor of HB 148, disagreed with Sununu's assessment and said school districts in New Hampshire have 'This is an important change that we need to make in our law so that we can respect everyone's privacy and security,' he told senators in May. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire opposed the bill, which policy advocate Courtney Reed called 'egregiously cruel legislation' that would permit discrimination. 'This discriminatory, detrimental, and regressive bill is an attempt to expel transgender Granite Staters from public life,' she said in a statement ahead of the bill's passage. Ayotte said in her veto message that she worried HB 148 would 'spur a plethora of litigation against local communities and businesses.' Ayotte said the provisions of HB 148 that pertain to athletics for women and girls are 'weaker' than New Hampshire's current law, which is being challenged in federal court. Advertisement Legal challenges to bathroom bans have had mixed results elsewhere. Some bans have been upheld, such as a Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Boston Globe
He fell 60 feet off of Mount Washington – and lived to tell the tale
It was only later, he said, that the traumatic nature of seeing the bloody, fallen climber really sunk in. 'It was relatively insane,' he said. Advertisement The New Hampshire National Guard airlifted Lamb-Wotton in a helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center with injuries that officials at New Hampshire Fish and Game feared were life threatening. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Lukas Lamb-Wotton fell about 60 feet off of Mount Washington while free climbing – without ropes or a harness for protection in a fall – on July 2, 2025. 'It was kind of iffy on whether he was going to survive,' Colonel Kevin Jordan, law enforcement chief at New Hampshire Fish and Game, told the Globe. 'He had all the signs and symptoms of severe head injury.' Jordan said climbing without ropes, also known as free climbing, is 'lunacy,' and that Lamb-Wotton shouldn't have been doing it. Lamb-Wotton, 31, survived the fall and has since undergone several surgeries, including to his wrist and one that required wiring his jaw shut. Still, we caught up with him over email about what led to the accident and how his recovery is going. Advertisement This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You grew up in Maine. How old were you when you started rock climbing and what drew you to the sport? I did grow up in Maine and consider Gray my hometown. However, I did not get into climbing until after I moved to Miami for graduate school at Florida International University in 2017. I'd say I became a 'climber' in Aug. 2019. From your , it looks like you've done some free solo climbing before without ropes. What do you like about that style of climbing, and how do you think about the risks involved? I primarily free climb with ropes or boulder, but I have enjoyed free soloing without ropes as it feels like a more 'pure' version of the sport, as you just walk up to something and start climbing. I just enjoy moving through complex mountain terrain and not having a rope, which allows a feeling of added freedom. Of course, it is inherently more risky for this reason. The key is to be alert and aware of those risks at all times and provide yourself a margin for error. If I feel myself getting too close to that margin, that is where I back down and re-evaluate. Lukas Lamb-Wotton, 31, fell about 60 feet off of Mount Washington while free solo climbing there without ropes. The New Hampshire National Guard came to his rescue and flew him in a helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he has undergone several surgeries. Lukas Lamb-Wotton You mentioned you've done the route on Pinnacle Buttress twice before. How long had it been since you last attempted the route? I have completed variations of Pinnacle Buttress twice, once in the summer of 2023 and once in 2024. All were without ropes. I was not out on the face of Pinnacle. I was traversing the ridge where the climbing is segmented. You do some climbing moves followed by flat stances so I was not continuously climbing. I was very close to the top when I fell. Based on my experience in 2024, I fell on the last real climbing move. Advertisement Were you climbing by yourself or with anyone else? I was alone. What do you remember about the fall itself? I remember everything. I never lost consciousness while on the buttress. The key factor was the White Mountains had received rain the day prior to my climb and the section I fell on had some water coming out of a seam. In 2024 I used the seam to stand up and then moved left to some good holds and finished the climb. This is where my risk miscalculation happened. I knew the holds to the left were good, so I thought I could avoid the wet seam by going straight to those good holds. But since I had not stood up enough in the seam, the hold out left wasn't as good as I remembered. I tried to compensate by grabbing it with both hands and standing but this contorted me in a way that caused my heels to lift and subsequently fall. I screamed and fell about 20 to 30 feet in the air. I was wearing a backpack. Once I fell I spun around so my back was to the wall and landed on my right side. I believe I broke two ribs on the fall but that my backpack prevented me from breaking my back or neck. I then tumbled another 30 to 40 feet through a rocky gully full of vegetation. Advertisement I think I sustained most of my injuries during the tumble, including an ankle avulsion, broken left wrist, broken/dislocated jaw, and several face fractures around my left orbital and small bones in my nose and ear. I also broke about four teeth and remember spitting a fifth out after the tumble. It all happened very quickly. What happened once you were rescued? I had a lot of adrenaline pumping so I don't remember significant pain, but I was very banged up. The helicopter ride was totally fine and can't thank the search and rescue team enough. I know a heli rescue off Pinnacle was no easy task. They had to make two passes before the SAR member could reach me due to winds. They did everything they could to assist me and make me feel comfortable and cared for. They have my enduring gratitude. The same goes for the two climbers who sprang into action after hearing me fall. A group of hikers in Huntington Ravine saw me fall and heard me scream. They helped direct the climbers to my position. Climber Mike (Reid) then rappelled down to me and secured me. Then he and his partner got me to a stable position. Mike and I ascended the whole gully I had tumbled down. Once in a stable location they talked me through everything and were the ones to call search-and-rescue. My rescue would have been much more complicated and arduous without them. I feel forever indebted to them and can't thank them enough for what they did. Lukas Lamb-Wotton, 31, fell about 60 feet off of Mount Washington while free solo climbing there without ropes. The New Hampshire National Guard came to his rescue and flew him in a helicopter to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he has undergone several surgeries. Lukas Lamb-Wotton What surgeries have you had so far? How long do you think it will take to make a full recovery? Advertisement I had wrist surgery last week where a plate was used to stabilize my ulna. A pin was also placed in my hand to stabilize two dislocated metacarpals. I had a second surgery on Monday to repair my facial fractures and work on my jaw. I have a third surgery upcoming to finish fixing my jaw. My jaw is partially wired shut now and will be fully wired after my last surgery. I will probably be at Dartmouth another week but I'm sure it will be two to three months before my bones fully heal. Then, I will need physical therapy and out-patient services. I saw was created for you! It lists your injuries as: 'multiple orbital and naso-cochlear fractures, a dislocated jaw, broken ribs, a number of missing teeth, along with numerous injuries to his wrists and ankles.' Is that correct? Yes, generally. Do you have any idea of how much your medical care has cost so far? Do you know if the search and rescue team is charging anything for your rescue or the use of the helicopter? The cost of my medical bills is not clear but is sure to exceed $15,000. I have health insurance but it's not clear to me what will be covered. I will also need dental surgery to fix all my teeth once my jaw is healed and out-patient services during recovery. I have not talked to the search and rescue team yet but have friends in contact with them. ( Colonel Kevin Jordan said he hasn't made a determination yet about whether to charge Lamb-Wotton for the helicopter rescue. Typically, Fish and Game only charges if they determine that someone was negligent or reckless, but Jordan said he takes pause in the case of injuries as serious as Lamb-Wotton's. He said it can cost up to $80,000 to use a helicopter with a medical evacuation crew, but typically, the National Guard writes these rescues off as a training expense, in which case the state doesn't have to foot the bill.) Advertisement How, if at all, does this accident change your relationship to rock climbing? Do you think you'll do anything differently in the future? I will definitely get back to climbing as soon as I recover but I don't believe I will be doing any more free solos. My gut and intuition told me to back down on the move but I pushed on with dire consequences. This experience has reinvigorated my mentality on risk assessment and management as split-second decisions are what matters in these situations – rock climbing and beyond. Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Boston Globe
04-07-2025
- Boston Globe
After an art heist hit a New Hampshire town, ‘the banana is back'
Franconia Police Chief Martin 'Mac' Cashin said in a video accompanying the social media post that he had confirmed the banana was the original artwork and not a duplicate banana. 'I would like to very much thank whoever returned it for doing so,' he said. 'It was the right thing to do.' In the original banana's absence, other bananas were affixed to the large steel fishing-rod, which was part of the original artwork. Cashin said those additions would remain on display, alongside a game camera, padlocks, and zip ties contributed by the police department to ensure the sculpture remains intact. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Enjoy your artwork, Franconia,' he said. Advertisement The piece was made by Massachusetts-based sculptor and art educator 'It's been the funniest outcome of any of my art ever,' Belenky said. 'I'm absolutely obsessed.' He said the police department is now planning to put it on a float for a town celebration on July 12. The banana was missing for about two weeks from late May into June. The artwork, entitled 'Elevated Fruit,' was installed on the front lawn of a local restaurant as part of the Advertisement The foam-and-fiberglass banana was only on display for four days before it first went missing, prompting community members to rally around the artwork, asking whoever had taken it to please bring it back. Someone apparently heeded their cry. Kathie Lovett, co-chair of the Franconia Artwalk, said one morning in June, the banana had been restored. During its hiatus, people had put up real bananas and inflatable bananas, Lovett said, in addition to a wooden banana her friend carved with a chainsaw. Lovett said she took the banana lookalikes down after a few days. She said everyone she spoke to was happy the banana was back. 'It felt like the banana crisis was sort of calming down,' she said. 'We said that we loved it, and somebody brought it back,' she said. Amanda Gokee can be reached at
