http://sunacom.com/ Lake Sunapee region, New Hampshire - Local news, info., town reporting and on-line discussion en-us Copyright 2010, Ken Schuster and respective columnists. All rights reserved. kenschuster@sunacom.com (Ken Schuster) http://sunacom.com/sunlogowhite_short.gif http://sunacom.com/ 89 13 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:30:00 EST http://sunacom.com/columnists/cunningham/cunningham-09-07-10.html "In his September 7, 2010 column on Sunacom.com, New Hampshire Representative Steve Cunningham writes "I went to the Glenn Beck rally in Washington, D.C." "If 500,000 people will take days out of their lives, spend hundreds of dollars in travel expenses, walk miles, stand in the hot sun to listen to 3 hours of hope, what does that say about the mindset of the American People." "Those there were physicians, optometrists, nurses, professors, college educated, intelligent and full of common sense." "If I were a liberal and thought I was smarter and knew better than that crowd what was good for America, I should be scared." "As the Japanese admiral said after Pearl Harbor. 'We have awoken a sleeping giant'." http://sunacom.com/columnists/cunningham/cunningham-09-07-10.html http://sunacom.com/columnists/odell/odell_09-06-10.html "In his September 6, 2010 column on Sunacom.com, New Hampshire Senator Odell writes, "Taxes should not be so burdensome that businessmen and women look for other states in which to conduct their business." "On corporate taxes, the [Tax Foundation] ranks NH 50th - dead last in the country. Part of that ranking, you can be sure, comes from having the highest business profits tax at 8.5 percent." "New Hampshire ranks 39th for unemployment insurance taxes and 40th for property taxes." "The commission will look at the current system of business taxation in New Hampshire, including the rates and allocation among taxpayers of the business enterprise tax, the business profits tax and the interest and dividends tax." "The legislature regularly raises [the tobacco tax] and yet it continues to produce increased revenue each year." "...lottery revenue, a key source of money for the education fund, has been lagging for a long time." "The lower sales of lottery and scratch cards in New Hampshire runs parallel with national trends" "...good results in August, while encouraging, are not on a scale to avoid a major challenge next year as the legislature faces a huge budget gap..." http://sunacom.com/columnists/odell/odell_09-06-10.html http://sunacom.com/columnists/grantham/grantham-09-03-10.html September 3, 2010 - Lorie McClory's Grantham area news column is online now at Sunacom.com. http://sunacom.com/columnists/grantham/grantham-09-03-10.html http://sunacom.com/columnists/jeff/feingold_09-03-10.html "In his September 3, 2010 commentary on Sunacom.com, Jeff Feingold writes "Let's face it, Kelly Ayotte wasn't at the top of anyone's list of fire-breathing conservatives before she decided to run for U.S. Senate. But she sure has been making up for lost time." "Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of the former vice president... has caused quite a stir herself among activists in the gay community for giving financial support to candidates, like Ayotte, who oppose marriage equality." "Perhaps in the next edition of Merriam-Webster's there will be accompanying photos of Timothy Horrigan and Keith Halloran to illustrate the definition of the word "stupid." "...when it comes to lobbing lobbyist insults, what goes around, comes around, doesn't it Katrina?" "Exactly what business is self-described "businesswoman" Jennifer Horn affiliated with?" "Bill Binnie's either brilliant or crazy in taking on both John H. Sununu and the Union Leader in a week's time." "[GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Kimball is] going around touting a plan to apply a lower tax rate to businesses that make more money - a move that would be against the state constitution - now is insisting that 'welfare in this state has become a way of life.' " http://sunacom.com/columnists/jeff/feingold_09-03-10.html http://sunacom.com/columnists/newlondon/newlondon-09-02-10.html "In her September 2, 2010 column on Sunacom.com, New London Town Administrator Jessie Levine writes "...as New London and the 34 other donor towns (including Newbury) send an additional $15 million to Concord, the State's two largest communities - Nashua and Manchester - stand to receive an additional $42 million between them." "...the Kearsarge Regional School District spent $13,601.07 per schoolchild in 2008-2009... but the State's "adequacy formula" only allocates a base per-pupil amount of $3,450 per pupil. While certain school and individual factors may increase the amount, it is clear that the State's cost of "adequacy" bears little relationship to the actual price of education in New Hampshire." "This return of "donor towns" brings us back to the period from 1999-2005, when New London taxpayers sent $8,210,469 to Concord for redistribution to other municipalities. The schoolchildren of New London received no direct benefit..." "New London and 34 other municipalities with high property values have long supported a constitutional amendment to allow the State to target aid only to the neediest communities. Nearly every other state uses such a "foundation aid" method of supplementing what the local community cannot raise..." "...it is essential that the residents of New London and other communities talk to their candidates about this subject." http://sunacom.com/columnists/newlondon/newlondon-09-02-10.html http://sunacom.com/index.html#lead081210 "This afternoon, NHDOT announced immediate closure of the Shaker Bridge (Main Street) over Mascoma Lake in Enfield after underwater inspection found severe corrosion in its steel supports. Message boards are alerting motorists, and detour signs direct to alternate routes via NH Route 4A and US Route 4. Built in 1938, the bridge has been on the Red List, with load restrictions for many years, due to its deteriorated condition. An average of 1,200 vehicles cross the bridge daily. An estimated $9.2 million replacement project is scheduled to begin next month." http://sunacom.com/index.html#lead081210 http://sunacom.com/columnists/croydon/croydon_08-02-10.html "In her Aug. 2, 2010 Sunacom.com column Gayle Hedrington writes about combining her love of railroads with photography." http://sunacom.com/columnists/croydon/croydon_08-02-10.html http://sunacom.com/columnists/weed/weed-07-19-10.html "In his July 19, 2010 Sunacom.com column, New Hampshire Representative Weed writes: "We have lost our sense of community, and are less willing to support universal public education, job training and accessible public health, than we are willing to support prisons, gated communities, the convenience and profit of the wealthy, and privatizing public functions." "I am aware of and disagree with the current Supreme Court interpretation of the words of the Second Amendment ... similar to my strong disagreement about the Supreme Court interpretation of the freedom of speech being equivalent to the spending of money to influence elections based on a 1976 decision." "I support gun ownership for the purposes of sport." "It makes no sense to me that armor piercing bullets or assault weapons be available commercially." http://sunacom.com/columnists/weed/weed-07-19-10.html http://www.sunacom.com/columnists/mcmahon/mcmahon-07-02-10.html "In her July 2, 2010 Sunacom.com column, Representative McMahon writes, "...unlike a number of other states [NH] has a balanced budget for FY 2010 ending June 30, 2010. There is some other good news. June revenues surpassed expectations. Approximately $37 million was generated above revenue projections at the end of this fiscal year." "...the legislature set priorities during a national economic recession that strained state budgets across the country. Despite these challenges the state budgeted nearly half (45%) of its resources in aid to municipalities (cities, towns and school districts)." "Collaborating throughout the spring, the Legislature and Governor were able to agree on the methods to close a $300 million budget shortfall." "Newbury and Sutton had an option to select a more convenient location for hearing criminal and family court cases. Each town had a different preference and both choices received legislative approval." http://www.sunacom.com/columnists/mcmahon/mcmahon-07-02-10.html