Category: Granite State,

Concord pushes for river access in I-93 widening project

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Granite State,Leave a comment

The plans DOT are presenting now include creating sidewalks and bicycle lanes along Loudon Road where it runs beneath the interstate, a tweak to the plan the city suggested and DOT incorporated.

But the city wants more to be included in the state’s project, such as clearing the brush that runs along the interstate for a clearer view of the Merrimack River and building pedestrian bridges for access between the river and the downtown area.

Aspell said he realizes the city’s request may be outside of DOT’s normal scope, “but we are certain that this project through the heart of Concord is unique to the state’s I-93 inventory,” he said.

Concord pushes for river access in I-93 widening project

hmmm

Nancy Pelosi is too old and too unpopular to be speaker. She’s also too good at the job to pass over

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Granite State,, Local Interest,Leave a comment

Some Democrats are trying to stop the nomination and election of current party leader Nancy Pelosi. Their reasons are understandable, but not persuasive.

…In part, her unpopularity stems from her issue positions. Conservatives think she’s too progressive. Some among her caucus think she’s not progressive enough.

…Congress is unpopular. The institution has a 21% approval rating, while Republicans, Democrats, Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are all way underwater in the public opinion surveys. Which not only puts Pelosi’s rating into context, but also raises a pertinent question: How much more popular would another Democrat be?

…Despite her occasional stumbles, the Democrats have plenty of evidence that Pelosi is up to the task of leadership. Notice that she just led her party to massive gains in the midterm elections.

…She is the Democrat best equipped to handle the institution’s main job, the crafting of laws.

The Affordable Care Act is the prime example. Pelosi shepherded it to passage when many thought that it was dead. Whoever takes the gavel in January will need that kind of skill. The presidency and the Senate are in the hands of the opposite party. Negotiating with Senate Majority Leader McConnell will be a particularly daunting challenge. He may be unpopular, but he is formidable: An inexperienced newcomer would be at risk of being eaten alive.

Nancy Pelosi is too old and too unpopular to be speaker. She’s also too good at the job to pass over – Los Angeles Times

hmmm….

…Not for nothing but some of the younger, more inexperienced Congresspeople who want the job don’t strike me all that savvy. Take Seth Moulton for example. It takes a special kind of idiot not to have any idea how badly a particular individual’s campaign will be received in the state right next door to you. …And make no mistake,  he was a big part of the colossal mistake that was his school chum’s carpetbagger campaign for congress in New Hampshire this cycle. If he wasn’t aware of how poorly that would be received in his own backyard, what does that say about his ability to assess what is and what is not feasible in DC? I’ll answer that one for you. Not frigging much.

NH sued over involuntary psychiatric boarding

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Granite State,Leave a comment

American Civil Liberties Union has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of psychiatric patients being involuntarily held in hospital emergency departments.

State law requires involuntary psychiatric patients to get probable cause hearings within three days of admission. Under the state’s interpretation, the clock starts when someone is admitted to an inpatient facility, but the lawsuit points to a Merrimack County court ruling that said the clock starts with emergency room admission.

The lead plaintiff is a 26-year-old man who was held involuntarily at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center for nearly a week without a hearing.

NH sued over involuntary psychiatric boarding

hmmmmmm

Cato Institute lauds New Hampshire as one of freest states, points to ways to get even better

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

“less-skilled workers priced out of the market by minimum wage laws”
Cato Institute lauds New Hampshire as one of freest states, points to ways to get even better | New Hampshire | watchdog.org

Oh come on Cato crew, that is fucking ridiculous. How about minimum wage workers priced out of the housing market by decades out of date wages?

Double speaking, duplicitous, simpletons.

Swing State, Swing District: House Seat Has Huge Field in NH

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,Leave a comment

Swing State, Swing District: House Seat Has Huge Field in NH | New Hampshire News | US News

Like him or hate him, there is no way anyone who is awake thinks its hard to tell what Chris Pappas stands for. Levi Sanders comes off as an arrogant, clueless asswipe. The ice cream comment is beyond obnoxious. Here’s hoping Sanders goes back to obscurity after he loses this race.

Liberty Utilities still looking to sell Concord gasholder building

On By peanutgallerynhIn Granite State,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The future of the Concord gasholder building is still up in the air despite its listing this week on the National Register of Historic Places.

The new listing makes the building eligible for certain grants and tax breaks, but does not offer legal protection: Privately owned buildings on the register can still be torn down and replaced.

…Gasholder buildings existing in most American cities before natural gas become popular and while many still exist, Concord’s may be the only one  in the country that still holds the huge machinery that was used to contain the gas. This is why it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Liberty has said that it could cost $500,000 to stabilize the building, which has suffered some damage over the years, and perhaps a million dollars to make it usable. 

Liberty Utilities still looking to sell Concord gasholder building

hmmm

Despite rain, nearly half of New Hampshire is abnormally dry

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Granite State,Leave a comment

According to the latest drought map, 48 percent of New Hampshire is abnormally dry, meaning there’s a fine line between being in the clear and a drought.

“We’re predicted to get more rain all the way through August, without getting dry hot conditions, which the big issue there is people using a lot of water when it’s dry and hot,” said Stacey Herbold, of the NH Drought Management Team.

Despite rain, nearly half of New Hampshire is abnormally dry

hmmm

Mystery Sting Targets U.S. Senator for Dirt on Russia Sanctions

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Granite State,Leave a comment

A staffer for the senator responded to the email and proposed a date and time for a phone call between Shaheen and Rinkevičs. The supposed Latvian official, who called himself “Arturs Vaiders” and listed his job title as the “second secretary of the state protocol,” agreed.

But before the call could take place, Shaheen’s office contacted the Latvian embassy to confirm Vaiders’ bona fides. The embassy responded that the outreach attempt was fake.

Mystery Sting Targets U.S. Senator for Dirt on Russia Sanctions

hmmmm

NH State education department official posted a lot of racist crap on his own personal facebook page. …And then whined and complained when he was called out for it

On By peanutgallerynhIn Education,, Granite State,, Race,Leave a comment

Schinella posted on his Facebook page, “Northern New England is the way it is because we’re the only people who want to be here. We’re very welcoming (see the Free State Project), but don’t come here if you’re going to change everything. We like it the way it is, which is why we are here and not where you live now.”

…“We don’t want or need New Hampshire to become any kind of cesspool. We have enough problems and many of us don’t want or need to pay more taxes because the new people moving in expect the same things they had in their other states. We are small; we don’t have the ability to tax our way out of problems.”

…“Diversity for diversity’s sake doesn’t bring us anything. An extreme example? 1,300 illegal alien Dominican drug dealers moving from Lawrence to, say, Concord will make the state 1 percent more diverse; but it would also bring more crime, higher taxes for public safety, and higher taxes for schools to teach their children.”

…”The people involved in this movement think they can bring in the ‘right’ kinds of people, but there is no guarantee of that. Central planners can’t control where people go and what they do; people move because they want to or they find opportunities; they don’t move because they don’t want to. It’s really that simple.”

NH Primary Source: State education department official says Facebook post not racially motivated

sigh….

Family Vacationing In N.H. Reeling After Arrest At Checkpoint 90 Miles From The Border

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Granite State,, Race,Leave a comment

Family Vacationing In N.H. Reeling After Arrest At Checkpoint 90 Miles From The Border | New Hampshire Public Radio

ICE is not promoting national security. They are harassing people of color and over-loading the system with people who should not be there.

…And we, as a society, pay for this garbage.

Can I see your papers?

Patient Demands Treatment And Release From NH Prison Since He Didn’t Commit Crime

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Drugs & Drink,, Granite State,Leave a comment

Patient Andrew Butler, 21, who was a well-known athlete as a Hollis Brookline High School student, argued through his attorney that he is locked up in a maximum-security prison because of mental illness even though he hasn’t committed a crime.

…“He is held as a mental health patient without being in an accredited hospital, denied contact visits with his father, denied contact visits with his attorney, forced to wear prison clothing,” wrote his attorney Sandra Bloomenthal. “He is locked down 23 hours a day. He has been tasered. The treatment he has received is cruel and unusual punishment without having been convicted of a crime and with no pending criminal process.”

…[Butler’s father] believes his son may have reacted badly to illegal drug experimentation on a trip to Vermont in late August of last year.

…The problem, he believes, was compounded by the psychotropic drugs Andrew was prescribed.

…[Andrew Butler] was civilly committed to the New Hampshire Hospital, the state’s psychiatric hospital, in the fall of 2017, then involuntarily transferred to the Secure Psychiatric Unit at the men’s prison, according to his father, Douglas Butler.

…The state labels his son as psychotic and schizophrenic, [Douglas Butler] said, diagnoses that he doesn’t believe and is unable to get a second opinion or consider alternative treatments because he is no longer Andrew’s guardian.

…Andrew Butler is being denied his “right to due process of law by the State holding him indefinitely in a maximum-security prison,” attorney Bloomenthal wrote. “He is not being treated by an accredited hospital for his mental illness and in fact his treatment is harmful and cruel and violates the Americans with Disability Act.”

Patient Demands Treatment And Release From NH Prison Since He Didn’t Commit Crime | InDepthNH.org

hmmmm