Editor’s note: During the course of a week, issues are covered that might not lend themselves to full editorial comment, but they are worthy of The Sunday Telegraph weighing in – thumbs up, thumbs down or neutral.

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Thumbs Up – To U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas for their leadership and input on the PFAS Action Act of 2021. Kuster helped to introduce this legislation, alongside Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI-12), which would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a maximum contaminant level goal for PFAS and establish national drinking water safeguards for PFAS chemicals. The legislation includes Kuster’s Protecting Communities from New PFAS Act, to prevent new PFAS chemicals from being approved through the EPA’s pre-manufacture notice system. The legislation passes the House on Wednesday. With all the issues in our area with these contaminants, this certainly is a positive piece of news for local residents.

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Thumbs DOWN – As the pandemic still wreaks havoc across the country, and to the news that New Hampshire has surpassed the 100,000-case mark since its beginning in 2020. The milestone was reached Tuesday, when the state announced 61 new cases. Another 60 cases were announced Wednesday, bringing the total to 100,072, or just over 7% of the state’s population. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire has risen over the past two weeks from 21 new cases per day on July 5 to 32 new cases per day on July 19. Health officials announced the state’s first case of COVID-19 on March 2, 2020, after a hospital employee who had traveled to Italy tested positive. While progress has been made with high rates of vaccination in the Granite State, variants of the virus certainly are concerning, as is the recent uptick in cases. While drastic actions – like another shutdown – are far from warranted, we all should remain cautious, and those who have not yet been vaccinated should give serious thought to do so, if not for themselves, for those around them.

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