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Mayor Gatsas’s PR stunts will not solve the substance abuse crisis

read more…: Mayor Gatsas’s PR stunts will not solve the substance abuse crisis

In what the Mayor himself acknowledged was nothing more than a measure to get media attention, he is now pushing for a 21-day State of Emergency to be called to raise public awareness of this important issue. The notion that we can solve this crisis by increasing public awareness at a time when families across our city know far too well about its devastating toll is absurd. Empty rhetoric in the face of a state-wide health crisis does nothing but put more people at risk.

Next act for Club Liquid: Sink-hole or Downtown oasis?

read more…: Next act for Club Liquid: Sink-hole or Downtown oasis?

This week we take a look at 23 Amherst St., the former Rex Theatre, and more recently Club Liquid bar-pit. The City of Manchester – via the affiliated Manchester Development Corporation (MDC) – has issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to buy-develop the site. The MDC did a good thing to acquire the property and offer it for redevelopment, or else it may have deteriorated indefinitely, as it is definitely a “challenging” property. Today I offer my 2 cents.

McQuaid’s mea culpa

read more…: McQuaid’s mea culpa

McQuaid should feel embarrassed. Not only did he endorse a dishonest candidate, but that dishonest candidate has now fully embraced the guy who went out of his way to make mincemeat of McQuaid in a bitter and very public tit-for-tat battle of the egos. And in all of this, The Union Leader failed to do the one thing it’s supposed to do: Inform readers.

Manchester’s Chase Homes: Affordable Housing for a ‘Wonderful Life’

read more…: Manchester’s Chase Homes: Affordable Housing for a ‘Wonderful Life’

It should come as no surprise that there were 800 applicants for the 30 new homes, since the going rate was $5.50 a week — no down payment — and to be on the safe side, the association also covered the cost of a $3,000 insurance policy on the man of the house “in order to safeguard widow and children in the event that calamity befall the breadwinner before the house is fully cleared.”

Beyond walls: Let’s solve addiction before we raise another generation of broken adults

read more…: Beyond walls: Let’s solve addiction before we raise another generation of broken adults

This is a problem that can’t be fixed overnight, and maybe not in the next presidency, but if a 24 year-old from New Hampshire can understand and explain some of the basic issues connected to this crisis, we need to expect the leaders of our country to do so also, instead of sticking to narrow-minded pipe dreams for their own political benefit. This isn’t a partisan issue. This is a common sense issue. And it is also an issue of life or death for the millions of Americans struggling with opioid dependence.

Frank, (part 3): One of the many forgotten prisoners languishing in a dismal system

read more…: Frank, (part 3): One of the many forgotten prisoners languishing in a dismal system

American prisons are supposed to be a cut above those of the Middle East, the Far East or in parts of Europe. Unless our system of justice works to protect and defend the rights of all citizens, incarcerated or not, we are no better than the countries who openly condone corruption.

Can access to nature lead to smarter, kinder children and communities?

read more…: Can access to nature lead to smarter, kinder children and communities?

The average American child spends four to seven minutes a day playing outside, and more than seven hours a day in front of a computer, tablet, phone, TV, or other type of screen, according to the Child Mind Institute. What impact does this have on learning, social skills, and health? Among the consequences of children spending less time outdoors are increasing obesity rates, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, and a lack of appreciation and understanding of the world around them and something called ‘nature deficit disorder,’ according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Frank the ‘pirate cat’ is ready to ship out, just needs a safe harbor

read more…: Frank the ‘pirate cat’ is ready to ship out, just needs a safe harbor

“It was immediately apparent to the adoption center clinic team that ‘Frank,’ as he has since come to be called, had suffered traumatic injury to his face, head and hips — most likely from a run-in with a fast-moving car,” Halpin said. “His right eye was so damaged it had to be surgically removed, along with a broken upper canine tooth. Frank had also suffered a broken jaw.”

Sidewalks and streetlights, thanks to humble, heroic, teetotaling Mayor Frederick Smyth

read more…: Sidewalks and streetlights, thanks to humble, heroic, teetotaling Mayor Frederick Smyth

His four terms as mayor were not without their controversies. City councilors balked at the extravagant notion of paying for city sidewalks, for example. Furthermore, Frederick Smyth’s efforts to upgrade conditions at the “House of Reformation for Juvenile Offenders ” were derided as “a $40,000 Palace for Prostitutes” – bet that headline got some pulses racing back in 1855 – but it was a time when Smyth was out of office, as was the case in July 1863, that his true commitment to public service was even more in evidence.

Open Letter to the Citizens of Manchester and Elected Officials:

read more…: Open Letter to the Citizens of Manchester and Elected Officials:

Recently, we spoke with someone who does not live in Manchester and has young children. They fully recognize that living in Manchester would highly benefit them professionally but are frankly “scared” of the Manchester School District. The reality is great work is being done under the leadership of Dr. Livingston and her staff, yet the constant barrage of negativity around our schools threatens this progress.

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