Also on today’s menu:
Violating Hospitals’ And Patients’ Rights
Collision On Golden Pond
Ransomware Attack On US Marshals Service
The years-long fight over a proposed Granite State Landfill site near Forest Lake State Park in Dalton continues with a citizens’ effort to abolish the town’s planning board and conservation commission and an injunction filed in Coos County Superior Court to prevent that from happening at the upcoming March Town Meeting.
Adam Finkel, an alternate member of the Dalton Planning Board, and Conservation Commissioner Jon Swan filed the injunction against James Dannis, Pam Kathan, Vic St. Cyr, Robin Pilotte, and the Town of Dalton to prevent the petitioned warrant articles from going to a vote. “The Article Petitioners are seeking to reconstitute the Planning Board and Conservation Commission with members who will support the construction of a landfill in Dalton that has, to date, been opposed by a majority of the public,” the court action states.
Town residents had supported a set of temporary zoning articles aimed at stopping the landfill proposed by Granite State Landfill, a Casella Waste Systems company, but once the company withdrew its permit applications, residents voted against keeping the restrictions. Now residents have gathered the necessary number of signatures to place articles on the Town Meeting warrant that would abolish the planning board and the conservation commission.
Some of those behind the articles have been stating on social media that they want the selectmen to appoint new members to both bodies who are ready for large-scale industry. Dannis wrote that the current members are anti-development extremists who do not speak for the town’s majority. “These are extremists who want to prevent all commercial and industrial development in Dalton, or at least in our current industrial zone,” he wrote.
Violating Hospitals’ And Patients’ Rights
U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty has ruled that New Hampshire’s practice of temporarily boarding mental health patients in hospital emergency departments is an illegal seizure of the hospitals’ property that disrupts care for other patients in need. The February 23 order did not require an immediate end of the practice, but does require hospitals and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to come up with a timeline for proposing a permanent solution to the issue.
New Hampshire lacks the capacity to handle mental health cases, forcing some people in crisis to wait days or weeks for treatment. As of Friday, eight children and 38 adults — including 30 in hospital emergency departments and eight in correctional facilities — were waiting for an emergency mental health bed.
McCafferty said the state health department is failing to meet its obligation to immediately transport patients held involuntarily due to a mental health crisis out of hospital ERs and into an appropriate mental health facility. Leaving those patients in emergency departments violates the hospitals’ right to be free of unreasonable government seizures, she ruled.
Collision On Golden Pond
Jon Wardwell, 56, of Sandwich and Richard Sampson, 58, of Ashland lost consciousness when thrown from their snowmobiles during a collision on Squam Lake in Holderness shortly after midnight on Sunday, February 26. First responders found them about a half-mile from the snowmobile trail that exits the lake by Golden Pond General Store.
The collision occurred when the drive belt on Sampson’s snowmobile broke, causing a rapid deceleration. Wardwell was a short distance behind him and collided with the rear of Sampson’s snowmobile, with the impact throwing both operators off their snowmobiles. It was snowing heavily at the time, with frequent gusts of wind causing whiteout conditions, which may have been why Wardwell was unable to avoid the collision. A third snowmobiler in the group called 911 for assistance.
Stewarts Ambulance Service transported Wardwell to Concord Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Sampson refused on-scene medical care and his wife took him to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth for further evaluation.
Ransomware Attack On US Marshals Service
A security breach affecting the U.S. Marshals Service compromised “returns from legal process, administrative information, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of USMS investigations, third parties, and certain USMS employees,” according to spokesman Drew Wade.
The ransomware and data exfiltration attack affected a stand-alone USMS system which was disconnected from the network and a “senior law enforcement official familiar with the incident” said the breach did not involve the database of the Witness Security Program, commonly known as the witness protection program. The official said no one in the witness protection program is in danger because of the breach.
The official said the agency has been able to develop a workaround to be able to continue operations and efforts to track down fugitives while the Justice Department conducts a forensic investigation.
Café Chatter
On Strong-Arm Tactics: It’s why I’m no longer a Democrat. Somehow towing the party or company line just isn’t in my DNA… sometimes to my own disadvantage.
— Gail Ober
On Crisis Intervention: The botched military “rescue” of the hostages in Iran falls at Carters feet. It doesn’t matter that his only fault was the military’s failure. It was obvious, to me, that the Ayatollah was playing a long game. I still wonder why the Ayatollah wanted Regan to win. My ignorance. Carter was probably the most honest President that we have had in living memory. Regan was a disaster for working Americans. From union busting, to messing with SS, (which I was in the thick of fixing when the courts overturned his changes to disability), to Iran Contra, etc. I believe, looking back, that Carter was a much better President than he was given credit for. Just his understanding of environmental concerns. Solar panels on the White House immediately taken down by Regan. Whether anyone believes he was an effective President. No one can deny his love of Americans, and his direct support for Habitat for Humanity and, his behind the scenes work as a statesman. I hope that historians will be inspired to take a more balanced approach to his impact in America.
On The Trap: Tom, you know that the federal government can’t just print money to cover consultants. It has to be in the established budget for each agency. Yes, it’s not in comparison to Bristol. Bristol also has a budget that if the town needs consulting has to have the support of the taxpayers to accomplish. Federal agencies have to stay within their yearly budgets as well.
I was part of strategic planning for SSA, which had a few groups of consultants from, especially, disability experts to help propose changes that we could do, and others that had to be implemented by Congress.
That being said. I am a bit jealous reading of how you used your opportunities in advanced education. I am still trying to catch up. And, you came back “home”.
— Candace Skurnik
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