NEWS AND INSIGHTS that deliver

Fabrizia Spirits in Salem is releasing a new line of ready-to-drink canned beverages called Fabrizia Vodka Soda, diversifying the company’s existing canned cocktail lineup for a more health-conscious consumer base and breaking into a growing segment of the market.

n New Hampshire, sales of 1942 surged 64.8 percent over the last 12 months at the control state’s liquor and wine outlets, according to Joseph Mollica, chairman of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC). Just like at Lincoln Road, those numbers could have been even stronger if the state didn’t have to contend with supply shortages.

Cheshire Medical Center patients now have a round-the-clock option for virtual urgent care visits, thanks to a new initiative from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health. That virtual service is available during walk-in hours for people with primary-care providers within the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system. But last month, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health launched its own virtual urgent care service that is also open to people without providers in the system and is available 24/7.

Barton 1792 fans are getting a treat in New Hampshire, where the distillery has partnered with the Granite State’s liquor authority to release five Thomas S. Moore single barrel bourbons. The new expressions, which are all sherry cask-finished and bottled at 86 proof, are available only at a few chosen New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlet locations.

To mark Earth Day 2021, Hannaford Brothers Co. says all its stores have stopped sending food waste to landfills. The supermarket chain said extra food at all 183 of its stores goes to food banks and local partners, and it works with a food waste recycling company.

Deborah L. Birx, MD, former White House coronavirus response coordinator, will deliver the keynote address and be recognized by Plymouth State University  at its undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 8 at 10 a.m.

Milford-based Alene Candles needed many of its employees to show up to make candles, but the company is considering a hybrid model for other workers.
“We are surveying employees to ask who wants to work remote, how often people want to come in, etc.,” Rod Harl, president and CEO, said by email. “We are empowering our managers to offer flexibility.”

In New Hampshire, there has been a rise in the number of applications for nursing and related higher education programs. The increased interest is a welcomed trend with so many nurses burnt out from the continuous work during the pandemic and a need for new nurses in the Granite State and worldwide.

“It flew off the shelves,” explains Joseph Mollica, chairman of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, which runs 69 liquor stores in the state. All the more remarkable considering a whopping 415,000 cases of Peach hit the U.S. in its launch year. “Subsequent allocations sold through just as fast,” Mollica says.

Concord Regional Visiting Nurse Association and Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice announced the merger of the two agencies. The unified organization will be known as Granite VNA and will serve the home- and community-based healthcare needs of residents across 82 communities in the greater Concord area and Lakes Region of New Hampshire.

New Hampshire’s leading public relations and strategic communications firm Montagne Powers has added Melanie Preve to support its growing roster of clients.

Region’s leading strategic communications firm begins 2021 with new brand.