New Hampshire

Take a Ride on the Oldest Floating Post Office in the U.S.

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2024

Take a Ride on the Oldest Floating Post Office in the U.S.

If you don’t do anything else: Take the mail boat lake cruise

“You have to take a trip on the mail boat because not only is it nostalgic, but it gives you an up close and personal view of the lake,” Nix says. “You get to go out to the islands and have kind of a little bit of a picture of what it’s like to be living out on the islands in the summer.

The mail cruise leaves from the dock at Weirs Beach, in the town of Laconia twice daily, at 11 am and 2 pm, rain or shine, every day except Sunday. The two-hour cruise is extremely popular with visitors, so it’s important to purchase tickets ahead of time to make sure that you don’t get left at the dock. The dock is right along the Weirs Beach boardwalk, also where the train leaves, so you can’t miss it. The mail cruise is not the only lake cruise option, but it’s certainly the most distinct. Where else can you ride along with a mail carrier, while taking a ride around a pristine lake?

Passengers board the Sophie C and ride along the delivery route, while taking in the sites of the lake—pontoon boats, massive summer homes, tiny lake cottages, and fish birds soaring overhead. At some stops, they just throw the mail bag off at the dock, but at others, Sophie‘s visit is a social event. Island residents, like Bear Island’s Barabara Laround, often come to the dock to say hello. “You get to meet people on all of the different islands, and it’s just fun,” Nix says. Barbara’s husband likes to stand at the dock and receive a line to help the deckhand out.

During the voyage, passengers are invited to fill out and mail postcards right on board, complete with Sophie’s own unique, collectible cancellation stamp, and purchase shirts and hats. The morning and afternoon routes are different. In the morning, the boat is scheduled to stop at Loon Island, Bear Island, Three Mile Island, and East Bear Island. In the afternoon, Camp Lawrence, Birch Island, Sandy Island, Cow Island, and Jolly Island are scheduled, but some islands are not even inhabited every day. Throughout the route, the Sophie C can be spotted and waved to as it passes by.

Tiny Loon Island only has one house, and the property has been in the same family for six generations. On a pretty day, don’t be surprised to be greeted by the current owner, and he may even dive in the lake as you pull off. “It’s a tradition,” Nix says. “The islanders like to jump into the wake because of the agitation of the water and how it feels against the skin.”

Three Mile Island has a distinct teenage vibe, but in an old-school kind of way. The property, including a lodge and 47 cabins, has been owned by the Appalachian Mountain Club since 1900, and campers can be found lounging on the dock when the sun’s out. “The island kids love to come down to meet Sophie so they can get a nice ice cream treat,” Nix says. When islanders go to town to shop, they have to put everything in freezer bags to keep it cool, so on hot days, it’s difficult to transport even today.

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

Published

10 hours 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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New Hampshire

New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Published

22 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Local News

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” said the family of the victim.

A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”

Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.

Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.

The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.

As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.

Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.

The newly released photo of Rosalie Miller, 36, who was strangled to death nearly 30 years ago. – Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall

“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.