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Executive Council shelves $4 million in proposed contracts for tourism photography • New Hampshire Bulletin

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2 years ago

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Executive Council shelves million in proposed contracts for tourism photography • New Hampshire Bulletin


The Executive Council shelved an attempt by the Department of Business and Economic Affairs Wednesday to spend more than $4 million in federal money to pay for professional photographs of New Hampshire’s seasons. 

In a series of four proposed contracts, the department sought to spend the money – which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 – to pay four photography companies to develop “still images, b-roll video, and produced video segments,” according to a written explanation to the council from Commissioner Taylor Caswell.

But a number of councilors – as well as Gov. Chris Sununu – raised objections over the price tag. The contracts have been tabled, and Councilor David Wheeler, a Republican of Milford, has urged the department to find better ways to spend the money. 

“I’d like to know: What are we doing with $4 million taking pictures?” said Wheeler.

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“What are we getting for $3,000 a day out of this?” asked Councilor Cinde Warmington, a Concord Democrat. 

Under the contracts, the companies would be tasked with creating content to cover New Hampshire’s seven tourism regions in all four seasons. The content is meant to serve as a free resource for tourism businesses in the state to use in their promotional materials, and could be used by the state in its advertising efforts, too, Caswell said. 

Caswell’s department assigned different areas of the state to different contractors. Brian Nevins, a former staff photographer for Surfer and Snowboard magazines, would be awarded $1.3 million to produce content in the Lakes Region, the Dartmouth and Lake Sunapee areas, and the Seacoast. Portland Post Production LLC, which has worked with the University of New Hampshire, L.L. Bean, and Saucony, would be given $860,000 to focus on the Merrimack Valley and Monadnock areas. 

Meanwhile, Warden Co., which has worked with the department on winter photography in the past, would be awarded $860,000 to take photos and video for the Great North Woods and White Mountains areas. And Dennis Welsh, a professional photographer and videographer, would be paid just under $1.1 million to develop general content for the VisitNH seasonal campaign. 

Not all councilors appeared opposed. “The shelf life: You’re going to get five, six years out of these images, correct?” Councilor Janet Stevens, a Republican of Rye, asked Caswell. “This is an investment that could span a decade moving forward,” she said. 

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Defending the contracts, Caswell said the federal funds have been awarded to the state for very specific purposes, and that when they put the contracts out to bid, the amount reflects the offers received. 

“These were as a result the best combination of quality and cost that we saw,” he said. He said the department chose to split up the money into different contracts so that no one photography business would be tasked with developing content for the whole state.

He also said the department is running out of time to spend down the money in that program. 

“I wouldn’t necessarily be able to guarantee that we’ll be able to come up with an additional program (in time),” Caswell said, responding to Wheeler’s suggestion that they spend the money otherwise. 

The contracts can come off the table and receive an up or down from the council in future meetings. But Sununu agreed with councilors that the services were too high, even if they did come from federal funds. 

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“I have an iPhone,” the governor quipped. “And I’m like 20 bucks.” 



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New Hampshire

Cher’s Son Arrested Twice In The Granite State | Child Rapist Gets 15 To 30 | Crashes: Nearby News NH

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7 hours ago

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March 7, 2026

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Cher’s Son Arrested Twice In The Granite State | Child Rapist Gets 15 To 30 | Crashes: Nearby News NH


CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.

  1. Elijah Blue Allman Arrested Again In New Hampshire, Charged With Burglary In Windham After Concord Incident: After being accused of assault at St. Paul’s School, the son of Cher and the late Gregg Allman was arrested for mischief, breach in Windham.
  2. Elijah Blue Allman Arrested After Incident At St. Paul’s School In Concord: The son of Cher and the late Gregg Allman was accused of threatening, trespassing and assault in New Hampshire.
  3. Man From Concord Sent To Prison After Raping, Taking Pictures Of Young Girls In 2022 And 2023: Follow-Up: Jonathan Shaw of Concord pleaded guilty to sexual abuse images and sexual assault charges and was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison.
  4. Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH: Also: Teen accused of “unprovoked” attack; meth distributor sent to prison; Boston MedFlight relocates; DUI arrests; wrestling results.
  5. 4-Vehicle Crash On The Concord Heights Sends Drivers To The Hospital: Video: 2 drivers were taken to Concord Hospital after a multi-vehicle crash on Loudon Road on Wednesday afternoon.
  6. Third Arrest Made In Facebook Cleaning Services Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Stabbing Case In Manchester: Melysia Caron, a Queen City career criminal with several convictions and suspended sentences, faces robbery, kidnapping, and other charges.
  7. Mass. Man Seriously Injured After Being Struck While In I-93 Breakdown Lane: NH State Police Roundup: Londonderry man arrested after domestic incident, standoff. Plus, arrest blotters from around the Granite State.
  8. Concord Police Investigating Minivan Crashing Into Guardrail And Down An Embankment: The driver, a man from Epsom, was taken to Concord Hospital on Thursday night after a crash at Route 106 and Loudon Road.
  9. Man Struck In Breakdown Lane | Thief Accused Of Robbery | Income Tax Proposal Floated For Schools: PM Patch: Declining pool of nurses raises concerns; NH DOS settles sexual harassment lawsuit; child advocate nominee praised and criticized; more.
  10. Cher’s Son Arrested Again In NH, Accused Of Burglary | Freezing Rain, More Snow Coming | More: PM Patch NH: NH wrestlers head to New Englands; fun things to do; historical society to get climate control upgrade; nonprofits get $1.8M from casino.

Here are some other posts readers may have missed:

Identity Of 1986 Human Remains Found In Bristol Confirmed Via DNA Investigation





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New Hampshire

Donna Soucy: The road to 2028 runs through New Hampshire

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19 hours ago

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March 7, 2026

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Donna Soucy: The road to 2028 runs through New Hampshire





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New Hampshire

School health insurance rates are increasing across New Hampshire. There’s more at play than just GLP-1 weight loss drugs

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1 day ago

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March 6, 2026

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School health insurance rates are increasing across New Hampshire. There’s more at play than just GLP-1 weight loss drugs


Duane Ford has managed budgets for the Bow and Dunbarton school districts for more than a decade, but nothing quite prepared him for this year’s health insurance bill: a 16% jump in premiums, the steepest increase he’s ever seen. “It’s a part of the budget that we don’t have any control over,” he said. The […]



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