Paula Tracy

A bill requiring the state Department of Environmental Services to establish a site-specific setback distance for proposed new landfills is headed to the House with a recommendation of passage following a 14-1 vote in the House Environment and Agriculture Committee Tuesday.

Despite a hiring freeze in state government, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said this week she will fill a recent vacancy as director of state parks.

From advancing efforts to create affordable housing and increasing public safety the Senate worked together in a bipartisan fashion to pass a number of bills Thursday.

A former cotton textile mill along the banks of the Sugar River in downtown Claremont was transferred from state to city hands Wednesday for housing needs and might be an excellent example of ways New Hampshire can create more spaces for people to live, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said.

The state's ski industry has been benefiting from an old-fashioned winter with all Lakes Region events from a massive pond hockey tournament to an ice fishing derby to dog sled races held without a hitch due to snow, ice and cold weather.

The Newbury Conservation Commission is asking the state to hold a public meeting to discuss the future of an aging sewage lagoon on property it leases at Mount Sunapee State Park and one legislator has also urged discussions prior to construction of a new 300-space parking lot.

To close what supporters call a gun purchase loophole in the state related to mental health, Senate Democrats again have crafted a bill authorizing the state to report mental health data to a national firearms background check and allow for the processes for confiscation of firearms.

Transgender individuals and their supporters came out in force to strongly oppose the exact same "bathroom bill" that was vetoed by the former governor last year.

A bill that would prohibit school boards from requiring facial coverings in their schools got full support for the measure during a public hearing Wednesday. It would still allow for the governor to call for mandatory masks in the case of an emergency.

An attorney for the owners of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters, Aurora Sustainables, was among opponents to an amendment related to a carbon sequestration bill being considered in the House Municipal and County Government Committee.