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Point of View

Local voices chime in on a variety of topics.

Here’s why NH Legislative Fiscal Committee must approve $40M in federal broadband funding on Dec. 2

read more…: Here’s why NH Legislative Fiscal Committee must approve $40M in federal broadband funding on Dec. 2

Imagine it’s 1936 and all the towns around you have electricity except yours. Your neighbors are using power saws to cut their cords of wood, electric washing machines to wash their clothes, getting their news and entertainment at night from radio. You are living down the road a few miles away reading your newspaper by kerosene lamp and hand sawing your dozens of cords of wood.  This is what it feels like in 2022 to be one of the thousands of residences in rural NH without access to high-speed, reliable internet.

Cat o’ Nine Tales

read more…: Cat o’ Nine Tales

My pseudo-scientific study of the names of eBay bookselling handles, scribbled on slips of paper and tossed into a sawed-off cereal box, leads me to believe that the majority of online bookseller handles fall into four broad categories: books, history, Hollywood and, of course, cats.

The Soapbox: The way we’re addressing homelessness is like the plot of ‘Groundhog Day’

read more…: The Soapbox: The way we’re addressing homelessness is like the plot of ‘Groundhog Day’

I didn’t want to write anything today. Then I got a text message and a voicemail from two separate people around Manchester telling me they are living in their cars with no place to go. I am a community organizer with Rights & Democracy, not a social worker, but people are increasingly coming to me for help – help I’m unable to provide.

The Soapbox: Speak up about proposed Nashua asphalt plant proposal

read more…: The Soapbox: Speak up about proposed Nashua asphalt plant proposal

These effects are especially concerning considering that the neighborhood is populated by a majority of low-income residents and people of color. Along with toxic chemicals, the factory would release greenhouse gas, contributing to climate change. On average, asphalt plants release around 10,000 pounds of emissions a year!

People, not political tribalism

read more…: People, not political tribalism

There will always be division. In fact, our political system was set up to be adversarial, but being adversarial while still showing respect for those who disagreed with you used to be the norm (one great example that I often talk about is the relationship between President Ronald Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill). This is not the case today.

The Soapbox: If you build it, they will come

read more…: The Soapbox: If you build it, they will come

It’s time for change. Serious change. Let’s stop designing every aspect of our communities around motorized vehicles. Let’s find balance. Create a place that gives everyone the freedom to move in the manner that best fits their needs. Whether that be by private automobile, public transit, bicycle, wheelchair, etc. What have we got to lose?

Support local businesses: ‘Shop Small’ this holiday season… and every day

read more…: Support local businesses: ‘Shop Small’ this holiday season… and every day

This year, Small Business Saturday will be held on November 26th, marking the 13th celebration of this event. Celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday is a way for consumers to make an impact in their community by supporting independently-owned businesses during the holiday season. The SBA is proud to be a cosponsor of Small Business Saturday, which was founded by American Express in 2010.

How utilities make profits in NH

read more…: How utilities make profits in NH

I’m not the fictional Captain Ahab, the monomaniacal sea captain invented by author Herman Melville in the great American novel from the Nineteenth Century, Moby-Dick.  Rather than hunt whales, I am firmly planted here on land and the target of my harpoon is bloated utility ROE.

It’s time to vote: Do your homework

read more…: It’s time to vote: Do your homework

Tomorrow New Hampshire citizens will be going to the polls to determine who will represent us in our town governments, the State House, and Washington, DC. When I first moved to New Hampshire 32 years ago, elections were an altogether different experience than they are today. Negative ads were tame by comparison, and local elections were pretty non-partisan. Today, we seem to choose people who will make truly consequential decisions that impact every constituent based on ideology and nothing more. Bi-partisanship and collaboration are openly mocked and discouraged. I do not fully understand how we got to this place, and I don’t know how we get out of it, but I know that we must try if we wish to preserve our democratic ideals.

Time to perform your civic duty

read more…: Time to perform your civic duty

Our American democracy is in trouble. In the past six years, we have watched a full-frontal assault on the objective truth, largely led by an unhinged narcissist propagating The Big Lie that our last presidential election was stolen, rigged to elect President Joe Biden. If you believe this inane falsehood, you might want to stop reading now.

“Alas, Poor Yorick! Your Subscription Has Expired and So Have You

read more…: “Alas, Poor Yorick! Your Subscription Has Expired and So Have You

Saint Anselm English Professor Gary Bouchard has penned the entertaining What News Horatio? Dispatches from Beyond the Castle Walls. The book cleverly takes a real newspaper headline such as “Missing Brains Found in Texas” and uses it as a portal for verse that attempts to tell the story behind the headline in a “What dreams may come” style. In other words, he makes it up. Add a pinch of there’s something rotten in Denmark to the telling and the result is both classical and comical.

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