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New Hampshire

Tentative deal could allow transgender girls to keep playing on girls’ sports teams in N.H. – The Boston Globe

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Tentative deal could allow transgender girls to keep playing on girls’ sports teams in N.H. – The Boston Globe


If that joint stipulation is not filed by the deadline, then a hearing will be scheduled on the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order as shortly after noon on Monday as possible, according to the records. The parties were also directed to file a joint scheduling proposal by Wednesday regarding the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.

Lawyers for Tirrell and Turmelle — who are represented by attorneys from GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, and Goodwin — asked the court to provide relief on an expedited emergency basis so Tirrell can attend practice on Monday with her teammates.

Chris Erchull, a senior staff attorney with GLAD, said barring Tirrell, a rising sophomore, from returning to practice at Plymouth Regional High School is “the perfect exemplar of why this law is so unfair and so cruel.”

Under the new restrictions, public schools that serve students in fifth through 12th grades, and private schools whose students compete against public schools, must designate each of their interscholastic sports and club athletics teams as being for either males, females, or both.

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Kyla A. Welch, superintendent of the Pemi-Baker Regional School District, which includes Plymouth Regional High School, said her leadership team had no choice but to begin enforcing the new restrictions, even though the district has yet to enact a policy to govern application of the new law. Welch noted that the new law allows private parties to sue schools for failing to enforce its restrictions. The state hasn’t provided any guidance, she said Friday, on how to handle the new law.

Proponents of the legislation, which Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed last month, said it would protect safety and fairness for girls’ sports.

“It may not be universal, but biological males have a strength and speed advantage over biological females,” New Hampshire Senate President Jeb Bradley, a Wolfeboro Republican, said during legislative debate in May.

The lawsuit contends, however, that being transgender “is not an accurate proxy for athletic performance or ability.” Tirrell and Turmell are taking puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy, so they won’t experience the muscular development and other physical changes that’s typical for testosterone-driven male puberty, their lawsuit says.

Tirrell said she has entertained hopes of one day winning an athletic scholarship, but the notion that she has an unfair advantage or poses a physical risk to her teammates doesn’t match the reality: She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and has less muscle mass than some of her female peers — not exactly the imposing presence that policy makers seem to have in mind.

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“They imagine a trans girl as a big, buff, beefy, bodybuilder man,” she said. “I feel like that’s how they picture it.”

The lawsuit, which says it would be “painful and humiliating” for Tirrell to be forced to switch from the girls’ team to the boys’ team, alleges that enforcement of the state law violates both Title IX and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

The defendants are New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, each of the seven members of the state Board of Education, the Pemi-Baker Regional School District and each member of its board, and the Pembroke School District and each member of its board.

A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Justice, which represents the state defendants, said Saturday the DOJ would not comment beyond the court filings.

Attorneys representing the Pemi-Baker Regional School District defendants and the Pembroke School District defendants did not immediately respond Saturday.

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Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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New Hampshire

Crash impacts traffic on I-95 northbound in NH

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Crash impacts traffic on I-95 northbound in NH


New Hampshire State Police responded to a crash Friday evening on Interstate 95 northbound in Portsmouth.

The crash happened near Exit 5 and closed the highway in the northbound direction, but police said around 7:45 p.m. that one lane had reopened.

Authorities did not have any word on injuries.

Drivers are being asked to avoid the area if possible. Delays and detours are expected.

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No further details were immediately available.



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New Hampshire

NH Butterfly Monitoring Network Offers Online Trainings

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NH Butterfly Monitoring Network Offers Online Trainings


CONTACT:
Heidi Holman, NH Fish and Game: 603-271-2461
Haley Andreozzi, UNH Cooperative Extension: (603) 862-5327
January 10, 2025

Concord, NH — Butterflies serve as important biodiversity indicators for ecosystem health and provide food for many speciess, such as migrating birds. There are more than 100 typess of butterflies in New Hampshire, but data on their presence and distribution is limited. With butterflies using forests, fields, wetlands, and backyards all over the state, volunteer observations are critical to providing a landscape view of these species.

A five-part online training series hosted by the NH Butterfly Monitoring Network will provide information on butterflies in New Hampshire, butterfly biology and identification, and how to get involved with the Network. The NH Butterfly Monitoring Network is a collaborative effort with a goal of engaging volunteers in counting and identifying butterflies across New Hampshire. Data collected by volunteers can contribute to the understanding of long-term trends in butterfly populations and inform conservation actions for both common and declining species.

Webinars in the series will include:

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February 12, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Intro to New Hampshire Butterflies
Mark Ellingwood, Wildlife Biologist and Volunteer with the Harris Center for Conservation Education

February 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Wetland Butterflies of New Hampshire
Rick Van de Poll, Ecologist and Certified Wetland Scientist

March 12, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Butterflying New Hampshire’s Woodlands
Levi Burford, Coordinator of the Errol Butterfly Count

March 26, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Identifying New Hampshire’s Grassland Butterflies
Amy Highstrom, Coordinator of the Lake Sunapee Butterfly Count, and Vanessa Johnson, NH Audubon

April 9, 6:30–7:30 p.m.: Become a Volunteer Guide with NH Butterfly Monitoring Network
Haley Andreozzi, UNH Extension

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All butterfly enthusiasts are welcome, with or without prior experience. For more information and to register for the session(s) you are interested in, visit nhbutterflies.org.

The NH Butterfly Monitoring Network is led by the NH Fish and Game Department and UNH Cooperative Extension with collaboration from partners statewide, including NH Audubon, Tin Mountain Conservation Center, the Harris Center for Conservation Education, and Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust.



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New Hampshire

Cooper scores 20, UAlbany beats New Hampshire

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Cooper scores 20, UAlbany beats New Hampshire


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ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) — A strong second half powered the UAlbany women’s basketball team to their third conference victory in as many contests on Thursday night.

COACH COLLEEN MULLEN: “To start the game, New Hampshire had great defensive intensity and pace. Once we settled in and started moving the ball, we were able to capitalize with our inside-out game. In the second half, we had solid offensive execution and grinded out multiple defensive stops. This was a great team win on both ends.”

KEY STATS

  • Graduate student Kayla Cooper led the team with 20 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three assists while shooting over 50% from the field.
  • Fellow graduate student Jessica Tomasetti followed with nine points and five rebounds. The point guard also shot 50% from the field.
  • Junior Gabriela Falcao tallied a team-high two blocks.
  • As a team, the Great Danes totaled nine steals with 19 points off turnovers.
  • The UAlbany defense did not allow any singular Wildcat to surpass seven points.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Graduate student Lilly Phillips scored the first basket of the game after a combined four scoreless possessions.
  • That defensive nature continued throughout the rest of the half.
  • New Hampshire gained a 9-5 lead within four minutes of action but the Great Danes quickly answered to tie the score in the next two minutes.
  • UAlbany ended the quarter with a one-possession advantage, 14-11.
  • Throughout the second quarter, the Great Danes allowed just two field goals for five Wildcat points.
  • Four different Great Danes scored in a defensive quarter to make it a 24-16 game at halftime.
  • The second half was a different game – UAlbany nearly doubled its score from the first half in the third quarter alone.
  • The Great Danes began the third with a 12-2 scoring run. Ten of those points were scored in just two minutes and 23 seconds.
  • Kayla Cooper and Jessica Tomasetti combined to score 10 additional points and close the third quarter with a 22-point advantage, 46-24.
  • Cooper and Tomasetti scored all but three of the 22 points in the third quarter. Cooper tallied 12 alone.
  • Following two fourth-quarter layups from senior Laycee Drake and Phillips, the Great Danes held a 26-point lead.
  • UAlbany continued to extend their lead throughout the next seven minutes of action. The largest lead of the contest came with 1:24 left – 29 points (59-30).
  • The Wildcats got the final say to make it a 27-point decision, 59-32.

NEXT: The Great Danes will close out the week at home against Maine on Saturday (Jan. 11).



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