The Soapbox: New Hampshire can’t afford to abandon the arts

Friday, May 23, 2025

The State Council on the Arts has been reduced by the Senate Finance Committee to a single dollar. One dollar. Lawmakers have asked the Council to become a volunteer operation and rely entirely on private donations—despite knowing this move could lead to the loss of all support staff and federal matching grants. This isn’t just a budget adjustment. It’s a slow erasure.

The Soapbox: Medicaid cuts will hurt our state

Thursday, May 22, 2025

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced a plan to slash $700+ billion from Medicaid over the next decade—marking the largest proposed cuts in the program’s history. These cuts are designed to fund massive tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. For New Hampshire, the consequences would be devastating.

The Soapbox: Root out the laziness and incompetency rot at Manchester City Hall

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Some of Manchester’s aldermen, including Ward 6 Alderwoman Crissy Kantor, who is now running for mayor, may be outsourcing their jobs to Rich Girard, an unelected political operative with a track record of advocating for policies that harm Manchester’s core institutions. They’re either too lazy, too incompetent, or too indifferent to do the work themselves. This is a blatant failure of leadership and a slap in the face to every voter who expects elected officials to earn their keep.

We need to be in the business of housing people and solving the real problem

Tuesday, May 6, 2025Tuesday, May 6, 2025

I’ve heard elected officials in Manchester responding to criticisms about their mishandlings of the homelessness crisis by saying “homelessness is a complicated problem”. For those of us who face the horrific consequences of these mishandlings out on the streets it certainly can be complicated. However the solution is quite simple.

The Soapbox: New Hampshire’s public media is here for you – be here for public media

Friday, April 25, 2025Friday, April 25, 2025

The White House wants to eliminate federal support for public media. Congress will vote soon on a proposal to slash millions from NHPR and NHPBS’ budgets. About six percent of NHPR’s annual budget and 18 percent of NHPBS’ is at risk. This funding sustains our statewide emergency alert system, local watchdog reporting, and shows like Morning Edition, PBS News Hour, Granite State Challenge, and Civics 101.

The Soapbox: The smoke and mirrors of Mayor Ruais’ budget

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

For the second consecutive year, Mayor Jay Ruais has proposed a tax increase, despite his oft-made promises to not only “never raise taxes,” but also “reduce spending to finally deliver a tax cut.”

The Soapbox: When local police enter into agreements with ICE to conduct immigration enforcement, our communities suffer

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The Trump Administration is targeting immigrant communities and significantly increasing the operations of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, including contributing to mass deportations. This is happening right here in New Hampshire.

The Soapbox: Medicaid – A lifeline for the Granite State

Saturday, April 5, 2025

His life is a beautiful, complex tapestry of obstacles and achievements. None of which would be possible without Medicaid providing caregivers to get him out of bed, cleaned, dressed and fed. Intrepid hard workers help him access the community and communicate with people who can’t understand him.

The Soapbox: A parent’s perspective on transgender-abuse legislation

Tuesday, April 1, 2025Tuesday, April 1, 2025

O P I N I O N THE SOAPBOX Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn. As a parent leader

The Soapbox: New lives on hold as Trump ends legal immigration

Tuesday, March 25, 2025Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Trump administration has repeatedly stressed that its focus is to deport violent criminals who entered the United States illegally. According to the President, he wants to deport “the worst first.” Few people would argue with that goal. However, recent actions of the Trump administration make clear that even migrants who entered the county legally may be subject to detention and deportation. The abrupt termination of the CBP-One program by executive order is one glaring example.

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