Business Investment

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Venture capitalists invested about $176 million in 30 Northern New England companies last year, according to the eCoast Technology Roundtable, a group organized by the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce.

That amount is up from about $167 million in 2003, but is down from a nearly $900 million boom in 2000.

The fourth quarter of last year brought about $45 million in venture capital investments. The money went to five companies in New Hampshire, two in Maine and one in Vermont.

The quarter’s two largest investments were $15 million to Vette Corp., a Manchester technology firm, and $14 million to BlueTarp Inc. of Portland, Maine, a financial services company.

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Fisher Sale

HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) – Hampton-based Fisher Scientific said Tuesday it plans to sell a medical company it owns for $110 million.

Nordic Capital is buying Atos Medical AB, a medical-device maker based in Sweden.

It had $35 million in sales in 2004. Its major products are devices to help patents recover their voices and lung functions after cancer treatments. It also sells devices to treat ear and sinus diseases.

Fisher said the deal likely will wrap up by the beginning of the second quarter.

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Kindergarten Bill

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The House Finance Committee has taken up a bill that would give more than $3.2 million in kindergarten funding to several towns during the next two years.

Lawmakers said the towns have started kindergarten programs, but haven’t received state aid yet.

The money will help the towns cover a gap that occurs between the time pupils register and the aid actually arrives. Lawmakers said that gap can take three years to close.

The affected communities include Merrimack, Unity, Raymond, Newton and Kingston.

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Retirement Funds

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The Department of Safety has asked permission to shift $1.8 million to cover rising retirement costs.

The money would come from the agency’s highway surplus account.

Gov. John Lynch and the Executive Council were to take up the request Wednesday.

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Police Contract

ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Negotiators have reached a sixth tentative agreement on a contract for the city’s police officers, who have worked 19 months without one.

The police union must vote on the deal before its approved, most likely Friday.

The City Council also will need to consider the agreement. It meets on April 5.

Health insurance premiums and pay raises have been key stumbling blocks during negotiations.

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Bishop’s Charity

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – New Hampshire nonprofits have received more than $125,000 in contributions from the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund, a Manchester-based Catholic charity.

The diocese said grants designed to help people pay for home heating fuel and utilities formed most of the donations.

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Ayotte-Air

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Attorney General Kelly Ayotte has joined her counterparts from 13 other states in urging the U.S. Senate to oppose legislation that would weaken the Clean Air Act.

Ayotte and the attorneys general made the request in a letter to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which scheduled a vote for Wednesday.

The letter says the Bush administration’s “Clear Skies” bill will set the nation back decades by weakening rather than strengthening the Clean Air Act and interfere with successful state efforts to reduce air pollution.

Last week, Gov. John Lynch made a similar point in a letter to the committee. He said “Clear Skies” revokes some provisions of the Clean Air Act and states should not be stripped of their legal protections.

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Crack Sentence

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A 43-year-old Manchester woman has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for pushing crack cocaine.

Prosecutors said Laurie Bohan was charged with distributing the illegal drug in Manchester.

She also was sentenced to five years’ probation after she is released from prison.

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Insurance Web

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The state Insurance Department has set up a Web site to help educate consumers about health care costs and bring greater transparency to medical pricing.

The site shows the wide variation in prices paid by insurance carriers. For example, the cost of a chest X-ray ranges from $18 to $183 depending on which insurance carrier pays which provider. Similarly, the price of a knee arthroscopy ranges from $887 to $4,362 or more.

Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny said the site was created by an advisory group working with the New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire.

The information on www.nhhealthcost.org is based on data provided by Cigna, Anthem and Harvard Pilgrim.

Consumers with high deductible health care plans can use the site to better understand and discuss costs with their health care providers, Sevigny said.

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Airport Money

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The Mount Washington Regional Airport in Whitefield has been granted $190,000 for runway approach improvements.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, to be used to for easements to remove obstructions to the runway approach, was announced Tuesday by Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H.