Also on today’s menu:
Winnisquam CTE Expansion Goes Forward
Nine Die When Two Army Helicopters Crash
Russia Charges U.S. Reporter With Espionage
The biennial budget proposed by New Hampshire’s House Finance Committee is $15.7 billion, close to $1 billion more than the current biennium’s budget, which ends June 30.
Understanding the budget proposal is complicated by the reshuffling of funds between accounts. Among the changes is the removal of several education expenses from the Education Trust Fund and placing them in the general budget.
The budget that the full House will take up on April 6, ahead of the “crossover” date for sending it to the Senate, does not include an overhaul of the state’s licensing and regulatory agencies or changing the benefits for some retirees, but it does include an increase to cover the cost of the Education Freedom Account program. While opponents complain that the popularity of the program is costing the state more (almost $30 million in the next two years) and shifts public money to private schools, the state’s per-pupil expenditure under EFA is less than the per-pupil cost of those attending public schools.
The budget reduces school building aid and Medicaid reimbursement rates, and limits the Medicaid expansion to only two more years. The Senate has voted to make it permanent, so that will be one area to resolve during “reconciliation”. Governor Chris Sununu wanted to put $75 million into the school building aid program and spend $40 million for a new men’s prison, which the House also cut.
The House plan would end the biennium with a balance of $52.2 million that would go into the rainy day fund, bringing its total to $256.1 million. The governor’s proposed budget would end the biennium with a $235.4 million surplus, with $87.4 million going into the rainy day fund, to bring the total to $341.3 million.
The House committee’s budget adds $18.5 million in state money for nursing homes in order to avoid an increase in county property tax bills.
Winnisquam CTE Expansion Goes Forward
Voters in the Winnisquam Regional School District have approved a $10.9 million expansion of its career and technical education center to accommodate students interested in precision manufacturing and cosmetology. The local cost is $3.3 million because the district anticipates receiving $7.6 million from the New Hampshire Regional Career and Technical Education grant program. The anticipated sale of the Union-Sanborn Elementary School will reduce the tax impact even more.
By the time the first bond payment for the project is due, the school district will have paid off all of its current debt.
Budget Committee Chair Nina Gardner said, “I think one of the things that makes the most sense to all of us is what this economic development does for the three communities. Having good jobs with good salaries, providing opportunities for our young people to get good jobs as they come out of school, even if they don’t have a path to college. And let’s all recognize the path to college is not the path for everyone, and it’s an expensive path. These projects coming through the CTE center give our students the opportunity to get hands-on education that will give them access to careers.”
Nine Die When Two Army Helicopters Crash
Nine members of the 101st Airborne Division died on March 29 when two HH60 Blackhawk Army helicopters crashed during a routine training mission in the Trigg County area of Kentucky, close to the Fort Campbell military base.
The 101st Airborne is the Army’s only air assault division, assigned to missions in international conflict zones.
Asked by the BBC whether the two helicopters had crashed into each other, a U.S. Army representative said the Army “was unable to confirm specifics at this time”.
Russia Charges U.S. Reporter With Espionage
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), charged with the protection and defense of the Russian Federation, has arrested Evan Gershkovich, a reporter working for the Wall Street Journal, on an espionage charge for allegedly collecting “information constituting a state secret about the activities of a Russian defense enterprise”.
Gershkovich, who had accreditation from the foreign ministry, had been working in Yekaterinburg, situated 1,100 miles east of Moscow, at the time of his detention. His last article had reported on Russia’s declining economy and said the Kremlin was having to deal with “ballooning military expenditures” while maintaining social spending.
While the Wall Street Journal said it was “deeply concerned” for his safety and denied the allegations against him, the Kremlin said the reporter had been “caught red-handed” and was “acting on U.S. instructions”.
The Lefortovo district court in Moscow ordered his detention until May 29. His lawyer said he had not been allowed into the courtroom, but Tass news agency reported that the journalist had denied the charge.
Café Chatter
On NH Border Patrol: The News Café is a place to get alternative news and those interesting stories Tom likes to share. I sometimes call out Tom in my letters, but in all I like what Tom writes. I started writing years ago and right or wrong it helps me express my view and process my thoughts. Tom is right about the Café Chatter section where the community and you get a chance to write an interesting article or comment on an article, so take the time and start writing, it just may help you process your thoughts.
On to the school shooting in TN, what a sad tragedy. Preventable, I doubt it because people are all different and we never know what will set one person off to take this action. We need to be watchful and always ready to protect others. Whose fault is this, the shooter, parents, gun shop, community, school, police, government? I know many do not like to place fault, but we all need to own what we do and speak. It’s not the gun’s fault. The gun did not pull its own trigger, it was only the weapon of choice. The shooter could have easily become the stabber, the batter or use some other weapon.
How do we fix this? I am not sure we can, but I would start with coming back to having God in one’s life which brings better morals. Jesus died for you and me so we can have a better life, an eternal life. Life does go on, it’s not just for the few years we are here on earth. Easter is coming up and Passover too, Jesus became our Passover one year so death would Passover us as it did in Egypt that one year. Ask for forgiveness and receive life eternal.
For now, I would like to see limiting/removing of video war, attack, violent games, remove the TV violence and other things that really do not bring any benefit to the community. I believe these will help, but will not solve all future tragedies.
Say a prayer for the families and friends, they all got to be hurting really bad.
— John Sellers
Support Our Efforts
Do you have a story to tell?
The News Café is a virtual meeting place where, each weekday, we discuss the news of the day: local, statewide, national, and international. Mondays are reserved for more personal observations which only paid subscribers will receive, while Tuesday through Friday will draw from news stories published by various sources.
The News Café relies on subscriptions, rather than on advertising and grants, for its support. That frees us to provide an independent focus on events and cultural issues without having to weigh whether it would upset advertisers or fit into grant guidelines. Our only obligation is to provide information we believe is useful to our readers.
Subscriptions to this newsletter are available for as little as $5 per month. Subscribers can share their knowledge, thoughts, and questions about any topic, and we may select some of those subjects for more in-depth analysis.
If you’re unable to pay but still want to receive all of the free public posts in your in-box, click the Subscribe button and select a free subscription.
Visit us at www.libertymedianh.org