Chilly Reception To Detours
Northfield Officials Complain About Franklin's New Year's Day Traffic
Also on today’s menu:
No, We Won’t Go
Split In New Hampshire House ‘An Awesome Opportunity’
Trial Underway For Salem Police Captain
Mark Hubbell, chair of the Northfield Board of Selectmen, said he has no problem with Franklin and the organizers of the New Year’s Day Winnipesaukee River Run “doing something for their city and making it better.”
“There is nobody here that is against Franklin doing whatever they want,” Hubbell said, “but it can’t be at our expense.”
He was reacting to Police Chief John Raffaelly’s complaint that Franklin officials again failed to coordinate with his department when diverting traffic from Central Street and onto Hodgdon and Cross Mill roads in Northfield. Raffaelly said the extra traffic, along with congestion at the Cross Mill Bridge during kayaking events, was a recipe for disaster. While an emergency vehicle “probably could get through, they’d probably own a couple of cars also,” the chief said during the selectmen’s January 3 meeting.
The selectmen asked Town Administrator Ken Robichaud to meet with Franklin City Manager Judie Milner to work out a plan for notifications at future events.
No, We Won’t Go
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee had set a January 5 deadline for New Hampshire officials to agree to its demand that the state expand absentee voting and eliminate the statutory requirement that the Granite State would hold the first national primary. The consequence of not complying would be for the DNC to move New Hampshire’s primary to second place.
“I regret to inform you that no legislator from any party has filed legislation that would comply with your outrageous demands,” responded House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn). “Furthermore, given your overreach into state affairs, it is likely that any legislation pertaining to these demands would be met with fierce resistance.”
Governor Chris Sununu also blasted the requests during his inauguration on Thursday. “Mark my words, come next year, Secretary of State Dave Scanlan will ensure that New Hampshire does remain the first-in-the-nation presidential primary,” Sununu said.
The committee’s recommendation calls for South Carolina to hold the first Democratic presidential primary in 2024 and that New Hampshire share the second position with Nevada a week later.
Split In New Hampshire House ‘An Awesome Opportunity’
During his inaugural speech, Governor Chris Sununu said New Hampshire’s near-even split in its 400-member House is “an awesome opportunity” to show the nation that cooperation and compromise are possible. “The voters of New Hampshire do not reward those who yell the loudest, but they reward those who work hard, roll up their sleeves and get the job done,” he said.
The four-term governor also made the case for local control, saying, “In New Hampshire, we distill decision-making down to the lowest possible levels of power, empowering individuals to make their voices heard at the local level, where their voice is the greatest.”
Outside, protesters complained about Sununu having signed a state budget two years ago that included abortion restrictions and for backing legislation they claim amounts to voter suppression. Others carried signs urging him to remove what they consider pornography from school libraries. Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said Sununu has relied “on a predictable strategy: take credit for everything good, deny blame for everything bad.”
Trial Underway For Salem Police Captain
The trial of former Salem police captain Michael Wagner got underway on January 4 in U.S. District Court in Concord, with a federal jury being asked to decide whether Wagner cheated on his taxes by not reporting income from his internet sales of 36 assault rifles which he purchased on his police discount at Sig Sauer in late 2012 and 2013, shortly after 20 children and six adults were slain at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
Prosecutors say Wagner took advantage of the speculation that the federal government would outlaw assault rifles in the wake of the massacre to boost the price of the weapons, allowing him to recognize $33,000 in unreported income.
Wagner sold the guns through websites such as gunbroker.com. He was not a federally licensed gun dealer, but his defense lawyers say he used a friend who had a license, Gary Fisher of On-Target Guns, to perform instant background checks of the internet buyers.
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