By Dana Wormald | Editor
Good morning, New Hampshire, and welcome to Thursday. Today, Ethan DeWitt reports on EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s visit to New Hampshire, where he heard from state lawmakers about the end of state vehicle inspections. Also, in the Thursday commentary, how AI is already reshaping aspects of life in New Hampshire. And, from Maya Mitchell, an important survey begins for childcare providers in the state. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the day. — Dana
P.S.: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who donated to the Bulletin this week. Please know how much your support is appreciated.
Left to right, Reps. Henry Giasson, R-Goffstown, Ross Berry, R-Weare, Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, Environmental Protection Agency New England Administrator Mark Sanborn, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, and EPA Environmental Protection Specialist Patrick Lillis, at a roundtable to discuss New Hampshire's bid to leave the Ozone Transport Region, at St. Anselm College, Sept. 30, 2026. (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin).
By Ethan DeWitt
New Hampshire’s vehicle inspection program effectively ended in January, when state police stopped enforcing expired stickers. And the EPA under President Donald Trump did not take action against the state. Instead, the agency proposed exempting New Hampshire from its vehicle emissions testing requirement in August, and the department is aiming to finalize its decision by the end of the year, an unusually fast timeline. Now, the proponents of the inspection repeal are taking a victory lap. On Wednesday, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin arrived in New Hampshire and sat down with state officials and top Republican lawmakers to discuss the end of the state’s car inspection program and celebrate the state and federal collaboration that led to it.
You can pull over anywhere in New Hampshire and find beauty, including this roadside field in Henniker on the last morning of September 2026. (Photo by Dana Wormald/New Hampshire Bulletin)
COMMENTARY
By Dana Wormald
“I’ve spent a lot of time reading about and pondering AI recently. I’ve done the same thing with climate change and wealth inequality over the years, among a handful of other concerning subject areas. The aim is not so much to try to become smarter (and I know several of you would say it hasn’t worked anyway) but rather to calm myself a little bit. We all have that option: You can spend a sleepless night worrying about the monster you sense but can’t see or you can take a look under the bed. I’d rather look.”
By Maya Mitchell
This week, two surveys that will help assess what New Hampshire parents pay for children to attend early care and education programs and what those programs spend providing care will open. The Market Rate Survey and the Narrow Cost Analysis “help illustrate what it really takes to provide childcare in New Hampshire,” according to the UNH Carsey School of Public Policy.
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