🌱 Medicaid Certification, Lunch Programs + Grad. Requirement Increase

Hey, everybody! It's me, Nicole Fallon-Peek, your host of the Patch newsletter. Here are all the most important things to know about what's happening in the community today.

But first, today's weather:

Sunshine, windy and cooler. High: 41 Low: 26.

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Here are the top three stories today in Manchester:

1. This year, New Hampshire is considering Medicaid direct certification to automatically enroll families in a free and reduced-price lunch program. Generally, an application is required to be considered for the federal program, which is intended to reduce childhood hunger among low-income residents, but changing to Medicaid would remove the need for an application, as it only includes family income data. Allowing Medicaid direct certification could help the state sign up an additional 7,000 students for free and reduced-price lunches who qualify now, said Laura Milliken, executive director at New Hampshire Hunger Solutions. (Manchester Ink Link)
2. The Manchester school board has approved raising graduation requirements for Manchester high school students starting next year. The changes would see an increase of 20 to 22.5 in the required number of credits needed to graduate; the requirements to receive a high school diploma with distinction will also increase from 25 to 27.5. Graduation requirements are set to take effect with the class of 2027 for freshmen entering high school next fall. (Subscription: Union Leader)
3. Manchester police are referring race-related reports to the state attorney general’s office after people found sandwich bags containing supremacist messages. According to information released Tuesday by police, the bags were partially filled with rocks and either left by a vehicle or on walkways. A few bags were found on Varney Street while others were found in driveways on Oneida Street. Anyone with information regarding these incidents is encouraged to call the Manchester Police Department at 603-668-8711 or make an anonymous report online via the Manchester Crimeline. (Manchester Ink Link)

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Today in Manchester:

• Manchester Job Fair - Manchester Career Fair, Virtual (11:00 AM)
• Open Mic Event At Queen's Pub And Grille (7:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stopped by Manchester's Saint Anselm College on Monday to speak with voters at a town hall. Christie talked about the evolution of his relationship with former President Donald Trump, U.S. support of Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the Biden administration’s economic policies. View the full conference at the link! (C-Span)
• Due to unexpected travel delays, The Resilient Raptors webinar scheduled for Mar. 28 has been postponed to Apr. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Those interested in joining still have time to register at the link. (Manchester City Library)
• The Police Commission is set to hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, Apr. 5 at 9:00 a.m. The event will be located at the Manchester Police Department Community Room. Manchester residents are invited to attend, and each attendee will be allotted three minutes during the public comment segment of the meeting to share any questions or concerns. The meeting agenda can be found on the PD’s website here. (Manchester NH Police via Facebook)

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You're all caught up for today! I'll see you soon.

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.