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Funds for clean school buses coming to hundreds of districts, White House says • New Hampshire Bulletin

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Funds for clean school buses coming to hundreds of districts, White House says • New Hampshire Bulletin


WASHINGTON – As part of its ongoing effort to replace diesel-fueled school buses, the Biden administration on Wednesday said it will provide approximately 530 school districts across nearly all states with almost $1 billion to help them purchase clean school buses.

The initiative, part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program rebate competition, will give funds to school districts in 47 states and the District of Columbia to help them buy over 3,400 clean school buses. Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada are not part of this round of funding.

In New Hampshire, nine districts will get funding for the buses, according to the White House. They are (with the number of buses in parentheses): Concord (3), Derry (25), Hanover (3), Hudson (16), Lisbon (1), Litchfield (8), Moultonborough (7), Nashua (22), and Pembroke (25).

Nearly all of the clean school buses purchased will be electric, at 92 percent, according to the administration.

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“This announcement is not just about clean school buses, it’s about the bigger picture,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said during a call with reporters on Tuesday, prior to the announcement. “We are improving air quality for our children, reducing greenhouse gas pollution, and expanding our nation’s leadership in developing the clean vehicles of the future.”

Low-income, rural, and tribal communities – accounting for approximately 45 percent of the selected projects – are slated to receive roughly 67 percent of the total funding, per the administration.

Regan noted how “low-income communities and communities of color have long felt the disproportionate impacts of air pollution leading to severe health outcomes that continue to impact these populations.”

As for business and economic opportunities, Regan pointed to the development of new, well-paying manufacturing jobs and investment in local businesses stemming from the increasing demand for these clean school buses.

“As more and more schools make the switch to electric buses, there will be a need for American-made batteries, charging stations, and service providers to maintain the buses supercharging and reinvigorating local economies,” he added.

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The Clean School Bus Program has now collectively awarded nearly $3 billion to fund approximately 8,500 electric and alternative fuel buses for over 1,000 communities across the United States, according to the administration.

The program started through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden, which includes $5 billion over five years to transform the country’s existing school buses with “zero-emission and low-emission models,” per the EPA.

Among many negative health and environmental effects, especially for communities of color, diesel exhaust exposure can lead to major health conditions such as asthma and respiratory illnesses, according to the EPA.

Exposure to diesel exhaust can also “worsen existing heart and lung disease, especially in children and the elderly,” the agency said.

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New Hampshire

More Snow For New Hampshire This Week Should Make It A White Christmas

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More Snow For New Hampshire This Week Should Make It A White Christmas


But now, just days away, it looks like it will be white.

After the coldest weekend of the year — there were 20 below-zero wind chill temperatures on Sunday morning in the North Country, there will be a bit of a warm-up into the 20s on Monday with sunny skies and a light breeze.

Overnight, snow is expected sometime after 8 or 9 p.m. in Concord and the capital region, 10 p.m. on the Seacoast, and after 2 a.m. Tuesday in Nashua and Hillsborough, and Rockingham county communities, with temperatures in the teens. About an inch of snow is expected Monday evening.

Snow is expected to continue Tuesday through the early afternoon.

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Forecasters warned of possible driving issues on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

“A light snowfall is likely on Monday night into early Tuesday, bringing slick travel conditions,” the NWS hazardous weather outlook alert stated.

Accumulations will be light — no more than 2 inches in the central and southern parts of the state.

The sun returns on Tuesday afternoon, but the evening temperatures will still be chilly in the teens.

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Christmas Day will be sunny, with highs in the lower 30s during the day and in the teens overnight.

Expect similar weather on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The most up-to-date weather is available on every Patch.com site in the United States. This includes the 14 New Hampshire Patch news and community websites for Amherst, Bedford, Concord, Exeter, Hampton, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, Salem, Windham, and Across NH. Patch posts local weather reports for New Hampshire every Sunday and Wednesday and publishes alerts as needed.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella’s YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel. Follow the NH politics Twitter account @NHPatchPolitics for all our campaign coverage.



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New Hampshire

City Of Concord Library: Christmas Eve Early Closure

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City Of Concord Library: Christmas Eve Early Closure


The library will be closing early on Tuesday, December 24, at 12pm. We will be closed Wednesday, December 25th, and will resume of normal hours on Thursday, December 26th. The CPL wishes you a happy holiday!


This press release was produced by the City of Concord. The views expressed here are the author’s own.



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Hypothermic hiker rescued after stranded in waist-deep snow amid wind chills near zero

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Hypothermic hiker rescued after stranded in waist-deep snow amid wind chills near zero


MOUNT LAFAYETTE, N.H. – A hiker was rescued on Thursday after becoming lost and suffering from hypothermia during a solo hike in central New Hampshire.

Patrick Bittman, 28, of Portland, Maine, had embarked on a hike to see the sunrise from Mount Lafayette on Wednesday night.

Officials said Bittman came upon deep blowing snow near the summit of Little Haystack on Franconia Ridge, forcing him to come back down the mountain.

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On his return, however, he became lost and ended up moving into the Dry Brook drainage, where temperatures dropped to around 20 with wind chills near zero.

After spending the night lost on the mountain, Bittman called 911 on Thursday morning. He said that his limbs were frozen, he was experiencing hypothermia and that he was no longer able to move through the snow, which was several feet deep.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

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Ground crews with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and Pemi Valley Search and Rescue Team, along with an aerial crew with the Army National Guard, responded to his call.

However, they faced poor visibility from cloud cover and intermittent snow squalls over the steep terrain and thick vegetation, forcing them to adjust their approach to rescuing Bittman.

The first ground rescuers had to spend an hour bushwhacking 1,000 feet of vegetation off the trail to reach Bittman by early Thursday afternoon. By then, he was found suffering severe hypothermia and was placed in an emergency sleeping bag for shelter and given warm, dry clothes and warm fluids.

Two hours later, weather conditions allowed for the Army National Guard to reach Bittman with a medic. They hoisted the young man into the helicopter and then was flown to a local hospital for treatment. 

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“This aerial rescue saved a multi-hour carry out thru rugged terrain and is a testament as to how search and rescue works in New Hampshire with several different groups working together for a common goal,” New Hampshire Fish & Game officials said.



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