New Hampshire

GRAHAM: Hey, Buttercups! The Sucking Has Just Begun. – NH Journal

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2024

GRAHAM: Hey, Buttercups! The Sucking Has Just Begun. – NH Journal

Biden supporter and former N.H. Democratic Party chair Kathy Sullivan.

“Suck it up, Buttercup.” — Former NHDP chairwoman Kathy Sullivan, to New Hampshire Democrats complaining Joe Biden shouldn’t be their nominee after watching his disastrous debate performance.

Bad news, “Buttercup.” If you’re a New Hampshire Democrat, the sucking has just begun.

Think about it: You woke up Sunday morning with Joe Biden as your presumptive nominee, your ears still ringing with assurances from U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan and state Sen. Donna Soucy that “Dark Brandon” was rock solid for another four years.

But by the time you went to bed Sunday night, Biden was out, Vice President Kamala Harris was in, and your convention delegates were already pledged to the Veep in the upcoming “open primary.”

Whether you liked it or not. Not that New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley or Democrat lackey Kathy Sullivan care what you like.

In a WMUR news story time stamped 9:16 pm, Buckley assured Democratic primary voters that the awarding of convention delegates “is going to be a process. And [Harris] will earn the votes of the delegates.”

Two hours later, another WMUR story: “New Hampshire Democratic Pledged Delegates Unanimously Endorse VP Harris.”

Wow. That’s some “process.”

The political realities are such that Harris is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee, for good or ill. But how did it come to this? Granite State Democratic primary voters being declared supporters of Kamala Harris without being asked?

New Hampshire Democrats are now on the hook for the same Kamala Harris who blew them off in the 2020 First in the Nation primary. She thought so little of the Granite State, she didn’t even bother to show up at the Secretary of State’s office to file her paperwork.

During her rare visits to the Granite State that year, Harris repeatedly suggested that race was a factor in her failure to gain traction. She even found a racial “inference” in local reporters asking how often she would be campaigning in New Hampshire (answer: not very.)

By the way, when Harris completely bailed on New Hampshire in October 2019 to plant her flag in Iowa, she was at three percent in Hawkeye State polls. After a month of non-stop barnstorming through corn country, she had soared to 3.3 percent. What a political talent!

But hey — suck it up, Buttercup. Just like you did for Biden during the First in the Nation primary fiasco.

Once again, what was the average New Hampshire Democrat thinking as they went to the polls to write in the name of a politician who said their primary was too racially suspect for him to participate in?

At the time, Democrats were told they had to do it to help Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump. What you Democrats didn’t know — but Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Rep. Chris Pappas, Buckley and the gang did –was that Biden was too old and infirm to be part of a traditional New Hampshire-style, retail politics primary. With a guaranteed win waiting in South Carolina, Biden just had to avoid being embarrassed. The calendar made it all but impossible for a viable candidate to enter with a serious shot at winning.

New Hampshire Democrats did the work of organizing a write-in campaign, while Biden got to hang out at his Delaware beach house. Nobody had to watch him struggle with the stairs at the Exeter Town Hall.

The “Hiden’ Biden” strategy worked — until it didn’t. After the debate debacle, Biden couldn’t hide it anymore. And what did Democratic leaders say?

“Suck it up, buttercup!” Having been deceived about the depths of Biden’s health issues, it was your duty to stick with him — cringe-inducing press conferences be damned.

Only when it became apparent Biden was going to lose in November did Pelosi and Co. grab their political crowbars and pry him out of the race.

Now the same geniuses who got Democrats to this point have found the way forward. It’s Kamala or bust!

What sort of candidate will Harris be? Who knows? She didn’t have to campaign to get this nomination. It’s being handed to her right now.

Some smart political observers say she’s actually improved over the past three years, that Republicans expecting her to run as “Coconut Tree Word Salad” are in for a rude awakening.

Others in D.C. are recycling a joke they used to use about another less-than-impressive vice president. “Dan Quayle is smarter than you think — but not by much.”

Whatever sort of candidate she turns out to be, New Hampshire Democrats have their marching orders.

Right, Buttercup?

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

3 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

Sign up for weather SMS alerts

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New Hampshire

Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

Published

15 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim

New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.

Notice compliance

One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.

At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:

• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.

• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.

• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.

Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)

Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.

Salaried vs. hourly employees

Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.

Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.

Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.

Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.

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