NEW HAMPSHIRE<\/b><\/p>\n
1. Data Center Proposed in Nottingham Stirs Community Opposition<\/b> A Seacoast entrepreneur, Thomas Moulton, is proposing to build a data center on a stretch of Route 4 in Nottingham. The Nottingham Planning Board moved its May 27th meeting to the local school to accommodate heightened community interest. Some residents warn that data centers draw huge amounts of power and water. \ud83d\udcf0 Source: NHPR<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.nhpr.org\/nh-news\/2026-05-26\/data-center-nottingham-nh-newhampshire-proposal<\/a> New Hampshire Public Radio<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Young Workers Moving to NH, But Affordability May Push Them Out<\/b> In-migration is a primary driver of population growth in New Hampshire, especially among young, working-age adults. However, concerns about the rising costs of child care, healthcare, and housing may be preventing young residents from staying long-term. As of 2024, about two-thirds of the state’s population was born outside of New Hampshire. \ud83d\udcf0 Source: NHPR<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.nhpr.org\/nh-news\/2026-05-28\/young-workers-moving-nh-affordability-concerns-hard-stay-migration-retention-nhfpi<\/a> New Hampshire Public RadioNew Hampshire Public Radio<\/a><\/p>\n 3. House and Senate Reach Agreement on Agricultural PFAS Contamination Bill<\/b> House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on a PFAS contamination bill that exempts farmers from civil liability related to PFAS contamination of their land or products due to “standard agricultural practices,” which include the spreading of treated sewage sludge, or biosolids, on farmlands. \ud83d\udcf0 Source: New Hampshire Bulletin<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/newhampshirebulletin.com\/2026\/05\/27\/house-and-senate-negotiators-reach-agreement-on-agricultural-pfas-contamination-bill\/<\/a> New Hampshire Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf32 MAINE<\/b><\/p>\n 1. Portland Teachers Union Calls on Voters to Reject School Budget<\/b> The Portland teachers union is urging voters to reject the $179.3 million school budget, with the union’s executive board arguing it is top-heavy, cutting “essential, student-facing support positions.” The vote on the school budget is scheduled for June 9th, the same day as the statewide primaries. Portland has not rejected a school budget in at least 15 years. \ud83d\udcf0 Sources: Portland Press Herald & The Maine Wire<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/2026\/05\/26\/portland-teachers-union-asks-voters-to-vote-no-on-school-district-budget-2\/<\/a> Portland Press HeraldPortland Press Herald<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Maine Upholds Decision to Suspend MaineCare Payments to Gateway Community Services<\/b> The Maine Department of Health and Human Services upheld its decision to suspend MaineCare payments to Gateway Community Services due to allegations of fraud. The fraud stories in Maine have drawn national attention from outlets including Fox News, NewsNation, and Newsmax. \ud83d\udcf0 Sources: Bangor Daily News & The Maine Wire<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.bangordailynews.com\/2026\/05\/22\/politics\/state-politics\/maine-gateway-community-services-medicaid-payments-decision-upheld\/<\/a> Bangor Daily News<\/a>The Maine Wire<\/a><\/p>\n 3. Maine Bans Cellphones in Schools \u2014 Governor Signs Law at Westbrook High<\/b> Gov. Janet Mills joined state and local lawmakers at Westbrook High School to celebrate a new statewide ban on cellphones in Maine schools. \ud83d\udcf0 Source: WABI (Bangor)<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.wabi.tv\/<\/a> WABI<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83c\udf41 VERMONT<\/b><\/p>\n 1. Vermont Senate Passes Education Reform Bill with Voluntary District Mergers<\/b> The Vermont Senate passed an education reform bill that will not force school districts to consolidate, after negotiating a compromise with Republican Gov. Phil Scott that likely averts an impasse that had been brewing for several weeks. Though Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. Phil Scott have reached consensus on school governance reforms, they remain at odds over how aggressively to rein in education spending, with lawmakers planning to adjourn by Friday night. \ud83d\udcf0 Sources: VTDigger & Vermont Public<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2026\/05\/26\/senate-passes-education-reform-bill-with-voluntary-school-district-mergers-after-compromise-deal\/<\/a> VTDigger<\/a>Vermont Public<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Partial Repeal of Vermont’s Controversial Land-Use Law Act 181 Heads to Governor’s Desk<\/b> In a victory for a rural coalition that had been protesting the state’s controversial land-use law, a bill that would partially roll back Act 181 is now headed to Gov. Phil Scott’s desk. The Vermont House had earlier voted to scrap the road rule and Tier 3 measures, which rural landowners had argued would infringe on private property rights and add costs. \ud83d\udcf0 Sources: Vermont Public & VTDigger<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.vermontpublic.org\/local-news\/2026-05-27\/partial-repeal-of-vermonts-land-use-law-act-181-heads-to-gov-phil-scotts-desk<\/a> Vermont Public<\/a>VTDigger<\/a><\/p>\n 3. UVM Seeks $15 Million in Taxpayer Funds for New 5,000-Seat Athletic Venue<\/b> Officials at the University of Vermont are asking the Legislature for $15 million in public funding to construct a 5,000-seat athletic and entertainment venue. House and Senate lawmakers are split over whether to provide the money, and the appropriation could become a key bargaining chip as they negotiate a final version of the 2027 state budget. \ud83d\udcf0 Source: Vermont Public<\/i> | \ud83d\udd17 https:\/\/www.vermontpublic.org\/local-news\/2026-05-11\/university-vermont-seeks-taxpayer-money-5000-seat-athletic-venue<\/a> Vermont Public<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NEW HAMPSHIRE 1. Data Center Proposed in Nottingham Stirs Community Opposition A Seacoast entrepreneur, Thomas Moulton, is proposing to build a data center on a stretch of Route 4 in Nottingham. The Nottingham Planning Board moved its May 27th meeting to the local school to accommodate heightened community interest. Some residents warn that data centers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":26329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-26328","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nh-now-news"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/New-England-News-3.jpeg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26330,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26328\/revisions\/26330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhtalkradio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}