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Yahoo
7 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Best french fries in Seacoast? Here are 7 fry-tastic reader picks.
Extra crispy, hand-cut, dipped in ketchup, the question is: Where is the best place to get french fries in the Seacoast? Seacoastonline recently put the question to readers in an unscientific poll. First, we asked readers to nominate places to include in the poll on Facebook pages and Instagram; we then compiled the poll asking people to vote for their favorite. Hundreds of votes later, here are the top seven reader picks. Coming in as the crowd favorite we have Wing-Itz. With locations in Hampton, Dover and Newmarket, you have multiple opportunities to try out its french fries. Wing-Itz offers hand-cut, double cooked fries cooked in pure beef tallow, which creates crispy, flavorful, out of this world french fries. Wing-Itz also offers different flavors to pair with your fries, like yellow curry mayo, bacon jam, garlic parm, fire cider vinegar and more. Wild Willy's Burgers has locations in York, Maine and Rochester. Wild Willy's uses Green Thumb Farms potatoes exclusively to make hand-cut 'country fair' fries with the skins left on, fried and lightly salted. Choose plain, herb fries (tossed in rosemary, garlic, salt & olive oil), or dip them in a side of their cheese sauce! Wild Willy's also offers sweet potato fries on its menu. Lexie's Joint has locations in Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter and Epping. Lexie's offers fries that are cut daily with choices of plain, truffle fries that are tossed in black truffle salt and topped with parmesan and herbs, hot fries that are topped with siracha ketchup, siracha aioli, jalapenos and scallions, or bistro fries topped with herbed aioli, bacon, parmesan and herbs. Five Guys has locations in Dover, Portsmouth, and Seabrook. Five Guys offer freshly made boardwalk-style fries, cooked in pure, cholesterol-free, 100% peanut oil. They are cut fresh and cooked twice – firm on the outside and mashed potato on the inside. Try them Cajun style or doused in vinegar. Row 34 is located at 5 Portwalk Place, in Portsmouth. Row 34 offers shoestring French fries that are thin, crispy fries with a golden-brown exterior, and 242 french fries, which are hand-cut steak fries. Sweet Chix Kitchen located at 184 Lafayette Road, North Hampton, offers classic or spicy french fries, and house-made chips, with assorted dipping sauces like hot honey, lavender honey, cilantro lime, spicy mayo and scallion ranch. Kelly's Row is located at 417 Route 108, Somersworth. While they do offer plain french fries, the fries that really make them stand out are their garlic parmesan french fries. Crispy, golden-brown french fries that have been tossed in their signature garlic parmesan sauce, topped with grated parmesan and served with Heinz 57. Best burger on the Seacoast?: Here are 7 eateries our readers recommend This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Best french fry spots on Seacoast: Try these 7 picks by our readers
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill allowing 'social districts' in NH communities awaits governor's signature
A bill on Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk awaiting her signature is creating quite a buzz around the state. HB467 would allow cities and towns in New Hampshire to establish 'social districts' — areas where people are allowed to purchase alcohol at local bars and restaurants, then take it with them in a to-go cup while moving through designated 'sip and stroll' areas. State Rep. Bill Boyd, R-Merrimack, told members of the state Senate Commerce Committee he modeled HB 467 after legislation in North Carolina, working closely with Chief Mark Armaganian, director of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission's Division of Enforcement and Licensing. 'It's a local-option bill,' Boyd said. 'Should this be enacted, if communities want to have a social district, they can do so, and they can work with liquor enforcement and their local law enforcement to create a plan that makes the best sense for that community.' Voters would have to approve creation of a social district at town meeting or a city election. Local officials would determine the boundaries of the social district, then work with the liquor commission and the state to be able to make sure that all requirements under state law are met and develop a working plan to ensure safety in the district. Brodie Deshaies, a legislative advocate with the New Hampshire Municipal Association, said the association supports the bill. 'We've had members reach out in the past and contact us about how they could set up a process like this,' Deshaies said. 'There was nothing that currently permitted towns to adopt these types of districts or to allow people to carry open containers between businesses that are all in close vicinity of each other. 'We view this as a great private/public partnership, and the state helping fulfill its role to help create guidelines — or guardrails — along that process.' Gauging interest It's unclear how interested businesses in places like Manchester are in establishing social districts — at least at this time. Owners of several downtown businesses along Elm Street seemed indifferent about the concept when quizzed this past week. Jodie Nazaka, Manchester's economic development director, said her department doesn't have a position either for or against HB 467. 'I haven't had any businesses or aldermen express interest in establishing this type of district in Manchester,' Nazaka said in an email. 'If there were general interest from business owners in the downtown area, we would certainly look into the merits of the concept.' Nazaka said she has seen social districts successfully implemented in other areas of the country, including Raleigh, North Carolina, which she experienced last summer. 'There are definitely rules and restrictions associated with these districts, so they're not as unrestricted as some might imagine, like Bourbon Street in New Orleans or the Las Vegas Strip,' Nazaka said. 'I'm interested in seeing where this conversation may lead. For now, at least to my knowledge, there isn't much interest in pursuing this in Manchester.' Boyd said communities like Raleigh and Savannah, Georgia, have had 'tremendous success' with social districts. 'There's so many different types of social districts that exist now today, in Georgia and North Carolina and Michigan, the creativity as to what can happen as a result of this particular concept can only benefit the economic development of a particular community that seeks to create it,' Boyd said. Boyd said Tuscan Village in Salem has its own social district, which operates on private property, but they worked closely with Armaganian and the liquor enforcement team to come up with something that makes sense for the site. 'Government-sponsored drinking' Not everyone loves the idea of social districts. Bob Bevill of Merrimack, a justice of the peace in Hillsborough County, submitted testimony via email opposing the bill, calling it 'government-sponsored 'pub-crawling'' that will create an enforcement burden on towns, could increase liability premiums for some businesses, and provides 'absolutely no benefit to the taxpayers.' 'Based on similar legislation from North Carolina, these 'zones' would allow for specially-marked alcoholic beverage cups to be transported out of the bars and restaurants' where people 'may freely walk from place to place carrying their alcoholic beverages in public,' Bevill writes. 'These cups would be 'containers (that) clearly displays a logo or some other mark that is unique to the social district in which it will be consumed.' Hence, government-sponsored drinking.' Bevill asked who would be responsible for determining if a customer has been overserved in a social district. 'In most establishments, it is the waitstaff or barkeep who has a running tab and knows exactly how much alcohol has been purchased,' Bevill writes. 'But between zone businesses? If someone has too much to drink and kills a family, do we apportion the damages against all of the merchants in the social district? Or do we have to investigate which establishment served them last?' Margaret Konze of Pembroke was short and to the point on the subject. 'We don't need more public drunkenness in New Hampshire.' Drew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, spoke before the Senate Commerce Committee in support of the bill. He said he often visits his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, which has a downtown social district. In the past, it was 'always the same thing, looking around at the vacant storefronts,' Cline said. 'Last year I went back, and I am not exaggerating, there is not a single vacant storefront in downtown Hickory, North Carolina. In the entire downtown. 'Hickory is a mill town, it was a textile and furniture manufacturing town — this might sound familiar to a lot of people in New Hampshire — and not a single vacant storefront.' pfeely@
New York Times
20 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Businessman Accused of Orchestrating Attacks on Journalists
A federal grand jury indicted a former New Hampshire businessman this week on charges that he orchestrated attacks on the homes of journalists who had investigated claims of sexual misconduct against him. The grand jury in Boston indicted the businessman, Eric Spofford, on four stalking-related charges after prosecutors said he had paid an associate $10,000 to vandalize the homes of a reporter and an editor at New Hampshire Public Radio, as well as the home of the reporter's parents. A lawyer for Mr. Spofford declined to comment. Mr. Spofford owned one of the largest networks of drug-rehabilitation centers in New England until he sold the business for what he said was $115 million in 2021. The next year, New Hampshire Public Radio aired a report that quoted former patients and staff members saying he had engaged in sexual misconduct. Mr. Spofford denied the allegations and threatened to sue New Hampshire Public Radio and Lauren Chooljian, the reporter who led the investigation. (His subsequent defamation lawsuit was dismissed in 2023.) After a lawyer for New Hampshire Public Radio rebuffed Mr. Spofford's demands for a retraction in the spring of 2022, men vandalized homes belonging to Ms. Chooljian, her editor and her parents, as well as a house where Ms. Chooljian previously lived. They smashed the homes' windows with rocks and bricks. One of the vandals spray-painted 'Just the beginning!' on an outside wall of Ms. Chooljian's home near Boston. The vandalism was part of a growing trend of physical attacks against journalists in the United States. At the time, Mr. Spofford, who has said he overcame drug addiction and a history of violence, denied any involvement in or knowledge of the attacks. Federal prosecutors later charged four men — at least one of whom, Eric Labarge, was an associate of Mr. Spofford's — with organizing or conducting the vandalism. All four pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison. The grand jury indictment accused Mr. Spofford of having 'devised a scheme to harass and terrorize' Ms. Chooljian and the other victims. The indictment said Mr. Spofford had instructed Mr. Labarge to arrange for the homes to be vandalized and paid him $10,000, at least some of which Mr. Labarge used to pay men he enlisted to carry out the vandalism. After selling his business, Mr. Spofford moved to Miami. He regularly posts videos of his luxurious lifestyle and coaches followers on how to build their personal brands. Julie Tate contributed research.
CBS News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Book excerpt: "The First Gentleman" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
Little, Brown & Co. We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. Former President Bill Clinton and bestselling author James Patterson previously collaborated on thrillers set in the White House: "The President Is Missing" and "The President's Daughter," both #1 New York Times bestsellers. Now they've joined forces for their third novel, "The First Gentleman" (to be published June 2 by Little, Brown & Co.). In their latest thriller, the president of the United States is running for re-election while her husband stands trial for murder. Read an excerpt below, and don't miss Tracy Smith's interview with James Patterson and Bill Clinton on "CBS Sunday Morning" June 1! "The First Gentleman" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. Prologue President Wright Administration Year Three: September 1 Brentwood, New Hampshire Cole Wright is sitting in the rear seat of a black up-armored Chevy Suburban, one of three in a convoy speeding its way down Route 125 in the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire. Two dark green state police cruisers, lights flashing, are leading this no-frills motorcade, scaled down for the occasion. The presidential limousine — the Beast — is back at the airport, along with the Secret Service counterassault team, support personnel, news media vans, and a fully equipped ambulance. Three years after the election, Cole still gets pumped from seeing traffic part like magic, even though he's well aware that it's for the convenience and safety of the woman sitting beside him — his wife, Madeline Parson Wright, the president of the United States. He's just the First Gentleman. A light drizzle spatters against the bulletproof windows. The agent accelerates to seventy along the two-lane highway. "Two minutes out," says Burton Pearce, the president's chief of staff. Pearce perches in a rear-facing jump seat across from the First Couple. He's pale and serious, wearing one of his many identical gray suits. "The Gray Ghost," staffers call him. The president nods without looking up. Cole glances over to see the CONFIDENTIAL stamps on the pages Maddy is reading as the convoy hums along. He knows those pages represent the biggest political gamble of her administration — of any administration. She should be in the Oval Office working the phones and twisting arms, but instead she's here with him. A powerful personal show of support. Maddy puts her briefing packet aside. Cole takes her hand and squeezes it. She squeezes back. "Don't worry," she says. "After all we've been through together, we can get through this too." The Suburban slows down to make a hard turn behind the police escort. Now the convoy is moving at just forty miles per hour. On both sides of the route, locals hold up crude hand-painted placards. WE BELIEVE IN YOU, COLE! STAY STRONG, COLE! KEEP MOVING, COLE! He looks out through the tinted side window. Almost game time. He can feel his muscles twitching, his focus narrowing, just like in his days as a tight end for New England — before the blown knee forced him out. He remembers how the tension in the Patriots locker room would build and build almost to the breaking point until the team ran out into the light, and when the cheers of the crowd washed over him, he'd think, Yeah, we're okay. We've got this. But today? Today he's not so sure. The redbrick facade of the Rockingham County courthouse comes into view. The road is lined with police barricades holding back hundreds — maybe thousands — of onlookers. Up here, some of the signs have a different tone. SCUM! MONSTER! JUSTICE FOR SUZANNE! "Don't worry about these people," says Maddy. "They don't know what they're talking about." "I don't care about the people on the road," says Cole. "I'm worried about the twelve people waiting for me inside." As the Suburban slows to a crawl, two women jump out in front and unspool a long banner. CONVICT COLE WRIGHT! SEND HIM STRAIGHT TO HELL! Thanks for the kind wishes, Cole thinks. 2 A thousand demonstrators, media people, and curious locals are crowded into the rain-slick parking lot. The convoy is passing through the tall evergreens flanking the pavement leading up to the courthouse when I realize I left my umbrella in my car. Too late. Rockingham County has never drawn security like this. Uniforms representing every law enforcement department in New Hampshire — from local cops to Fish and Game — are patrolling the courthouse steps. On the roof there's a detail of men and women in tactical gear and black baseball caps carrying sniper rifles. They're not even trying to hide. That's the job of their colleagues, posted in places nobody can see. I hear someone calling my name: "Brea Cooke? That you?" I look at the crowd. Mostly white. No surprise; the Granite State is around 89 percent Caucasian. It's a situation I got used to as a Black student at Dartmouth, about two hours north. Let's just say it's not unusual for me to stand out around here. I turn around. "Ron Reynolds!" Ron is a friendly face from the old days when he and my partner, Garrett Wilson, both reported for the Boston Globe. He's wearing his standard outfit — tan overcoat, khaki pants, and a tweed cap. His big press pass is dangling around his neck. I give him a quick hug. "Guess we both forgot our umbrellas." A guy in a thick camo jacket jostles by us and flicks a finger at Ron's press pass. "Fake news!" the guy shouts. Ron ignores him. "So why are you here?" I ask. "You could be in one of those gyms right now, dry and toasty. Probably getting a better view than this." "I get paid to get wet," says Ron. "Even if nothing happens." But something is happening. I've been waiting for this day a long time. I see flashing lights coming up the drive. Two state police cars and three big black SUVs. "It's them!" The lights are getting closer. I'm in the middle of the crowd, but suddenly I feel as alone as I've ever felt in my life. I close my eyes for a second. My mind whispers, Garrett. I blink hard. Not now! I need to focus. Capture this scene for my book. Our book. The one Garrett and I were working on together. Until he ... Ron points to the courthouse steps. "See the podium and the camera stands up there?" I nod. "What about them?" "All for show. No way the Secret Service allows the president and First Gent to go through the front entrance." "The crowd won't appreciate being tricked like that." "You're right," says Ron. "They came to witness history." So did I. The first time in history that a president's spouse is going on trial for murder. 3 The convoy crawls toward the entrance as cops push the crowds back. Inside the six-ton Suburban in the middle, Cole rubs his hands together nervously. Pearce leans forward in his jump seat and says, "The county sheriffs, state troopers, and Secret Service have carved out a path so we can go around to the rear of the courthouse. By the time the crowd and the press catch on, we'll be inside and out of sight." Hidden away, Cole thinks. "No," he says quietly. "That's not going to happen." Pearce blinks. "Excuse me?" "I said no. Going in through the rear of the courthouse signals that I'm guilty, that I have something to hide. Screw that. I'm going to run the ball straight through the line of scrimmage." The Suburban moves toward the driveway turnoff. Pearce is getting testy. "Cole, plans have been in place for days. Best to arrive via the rear from both a safety and PR viewpoint." But Cole is firm. "We go through the front door. That's final." He turns to his wife. "Maddy, will you say a few words on the courthouse steps?" It's a big ask. Maddy doesn't need to tell him the source of the tension in her eyes. The conflict between being his loving partner while serving as POTUS, leader of the free world, is etched on her face. Maddy looks at her chief of staff. "Cole is right, Burton. We go through the front entrance, heads held high." "But, ma'am, we're just about there. Arrangements have been made." Cole sees Maddy shift into commander-in-chief mode. Cool. Crisp. Decisive. "You've got a phone," she says. "Make new arrangements." 4 They're getting out!" Ron grabs my sleeve. Sure enough, I hear the slamming of heavy car doors and see movement at the front of the courthouse steps. The Secret Service is scrambling to clear a path to the podium. "That takes some brass ones!" Ron calls to me above the rising noise. A ring of dark suits surrounds President Wright and her broad-shouldered husband. The president walks up the wide steps and pivots to the podium. The crowd surges forward. Cops push back. Secret Service agents watch the sea of faces. And hands. Especially the hands. Looking for weapons. President Wright squeezes her husband's arm just before she leans into the microphones. "Ladies and gentlemen, my dear friends, I will make this short and to the point." I hear her voice echo across the parking lot. She pauses after each phrase to let the words sink in. "I have full faith and confidence in my husband's innocence, and I trust that the good citizens of New Hampshire, who have stood by my side over the years, will also support my husband during this time of crisis." The president turns and kisses her husband's cheek, making sure the cameras have a good angle. Then, as if it's an after-thought, she steps up to the mics again and says, "I believe in our legal system, and I'm confident justice will be done here." She takes her husband's hand. The Secret Service team surrounds them. As a unit, they walk up the steps to the courthouse doors. "Quite a performance," says Reynolds. "It was a performance all right. Pure theater. They're not a couple — they're a damn criminal enterprise." My outburst must surprise Ron. A second later, he heads off to gather quotes. Once again, I'm alone. I scan the masses. Almost every man, woman, and child is looking toward the courthouse, trying to get one last glimpse of the First Couple. On the far side of the parking lot, I spot the lone exceptions: a man and a woman, looking straight at me. I've seen these two before. My watchers. Damn. Not again. The crowd shifts, and they disappear. All around me, people are chattering and yelling, but their words are a blanket of white noise. Again my mind whispers, Garrett. I hold out my hand, half expecting to see him reaching for me. I fight back the tears as reality hits home. The love of my life, Garrett Wilson, is dead. And I believe the man inside that courthouse is responsible for his death. The First Gentleman. He might even have pulled the trigger. From "The First Gentleman" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson. Copyright © 2025 by James Patterson and William Jefferson Clinton. Reprinted by permission of Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group. All rights reserved. Get the book here: "The First Gentleman" by Bill Clinton and James Patterson Buy locally from For more info:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rep. Weyler, chair of House Finance Committee, calls NH school boards ‘corrupt'
CONCORD — The chair of the House Finance Committee called the state's school boards corrupt at a meeting Wednesday during a debate over expanding the Education Freedom Account program. Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, called the boards corrupt because he claimed they have not done anything to raise student performance levels. 'This education system we have in our state is a failure. It just keeps going up in cost and no increase in testing results,' Weyler said. 'There is no discipline at all on education because the school boards are just corrupt, they do not do anything about the failures.' Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, and a former Hopkinton school board member, tried to interrupt Weyler saying, 'That is just offensive,' but Weyler continued. 'Some parents are taking action against this by moving their children,' he said. 'It is quite a sacrifice by the parents to do this because they have to provide the transportation and all the other things involved.' The New Hampshire School Boards Association defended their members saying they work hard to address educational needs while the state has continually underfunded its obligations. 'Locally elected school board members across New Hampshire work diligently to address the needs of students, families, educators, taxpayers and local communities,' said the association's Executive Director Barrett Christina. 'Despite decades of the state underfunding its own mandates and downshifting education costs to local school districts, towns and municipalities, our local school boards have consistently supported and developed educational programs that serve diverse student populations and contribute to New Hampshire's standing among the top three public education systems in the nation. 'Recent remarks by Representative Weyler do not reflect the dedication and hard work of our local school board members, nor do we believe they represent the views of the local community members and the taxpayers who elect them,' Christina said. Weyler said all the talk about the expense of the EFA program loses sight of the fact it should save school districts money when kids leave public schools. Very few of the 5,300 students in the EFA program left public schools to join, about 75 percent of the students in the program were in private or religious schools or homeschooled when their parents applied for grants making it largely a subsidy program for parents paying the cost of their children's non-public education. 'There should be savings for every child that leaves if we're spending over $20,000 per student,' Weyler said. 'When that student leaves the local schools, there should be big savings in property taxes. That is never mentioned.' Responding to statements that opponents of the state's voucher plan far outnumber supporters, Weyler blamed educators for skewing the numbers. 'You have thousands of people working for this corrupt system and they are the ones making the phone calls,' Weyler said, 'and I object to it.' Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, asked Weyler to apologize to the hundreds of school board members across the state as she was at one time along with another member of the committee. 'We have done our best for our communities,' she said. Weyler said perhaps he exaggerated but for the last 20 years he had not seen any improvement in the operations of schools and the accomplishments of the students. 'Perhaps I exaggerated, but it is a failure,' he said Rung asked him to come to Merrimack to a board meeting and see how what he said is not accurate. Weyler said he watched the scandal in his local school board. Rep. Kate Murray, D-New Castle, reminded the committee that New Hampshire public school students rank third in the country overall. The committee voted 14-11 down party lines to recommend Senate Bill 295 expanding the voucher plan be passed by the full House. The vote could come as early as next week. Garry Rayno may be reached at This article first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: House Finance Chair Ken Weyler calls NH school boards 'corrupt'
