Also on today’s menu:
Warmington Calls For Investigation Into PragerU
Surfer Rescues One Swimmer, Another Drowns
Grafton County Wins $12 Million Broadband Grant
David J. “D.J.” Bettencourt, the former House Majority Leader who resigned in 2012 following revelations that he had falsified his internship documents while studying at the University of New Hampshire School of Law, has the full support of Governor Chris Sununu and Attorney-General John Formella in a bid for a promotion to New Hampshire Insurance Commissioner.
Bettencourt has served three years as deputy commissioner of insurance after working as Sununu’s policy director. He told the Executive Council on September 6, “The governor did not ask me to come to the insurance department as a favor or a reward.” The five-member Executive Council will have to decide whether to confirm the 39-year-old as successor to Commissioner Christopher Nicolopoulos, who has resigned.
Bettencourt told the Executive Council that he wants to make New Hampshire “the gold standard for mental health parity”; he wants to protect small group markets for affordable employee insurance; he wants to work with hospitals to ensure that insurance payments are made in a timely manner; and he wants to assist nonprofit organizations in obtaining coverage “to do the critical work they do.”
In supporting the promotion, Formella said, “I think we are living in a moment … that lacks a lot of honesty and authenticity, and that is not D.J. He’s not perfect, but I have seen D.J. in the past six years, grow professionally. … I think, while I have not made some of the mistakes D.J. has made, I would hope I would own them and work as hard as he has.”
Testifying against the promotion, Rep. Timothy Horrigan (D-Durham) said Bettencourt’s performance as deputy commissioner has been unimpressive; the fact that Bettencourt had been caught in a lie “still matters”; and “making him commissioner is too big a risk to make.”
Warmington Calls For Investigation Into PragerU
PragerU, which is seeking a contract with the state to provide a personal finance component to supplement educational programs in New Hampshire, does not claim to be an accredited university, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington has asked Attorney-General John Formella to look into whether it is engaging in a deceptive trade practice. Warmington said the “U” in PragerU implies that it is a university, making it confusing to the public.
“[There] is a statute that is intended to protect consumers against deceptive trade practices and I am wondering if there has been an investigation into whether PragerU can be offered to New Hampshire public school systems, given the use of the word ‘University’ in its name,” she said. RSA:292 prohibits any corporation from using the word “University” if it is not an incorporated institution of higher learning.
Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut has supported PragerU’s bid to provide the service, but he said, “We will go back and take a look at that and make sure there is no problem.”
Cofounded by Dennis Prager, the media nonprofit aims to indoctrinate youths into right-wing beliefs. Prager said, “We bring doctrines to children. That’s a very fair statement, … but what is the bad about our indoctrination?” The PragerU Kids YouTube channel includes a video depicting a cartoon Christopher Columbus saying slavery wasn’t an issue during his time period because of its widespread use. Another describes George Floyd, whom police killed, as a “Black man who resisted arrest.”
In July, the Florida Department of Education faced a backlash after becoming the first state to approve PragerU materials for public schools. Since then, Oklahoma also approved a contract with PragerU. So far, New Hampshire’s Executive Council has delayed a decision on accepting Edelblut’s recommendation.
Surfer Rescues One Swimmer, Another Drowns
Casey Torname, 23, of Salem, who was surfing off Hampton Beach on September 5, is credited with saving one swimmer who was calling for help, but a second swimmer drowned before help arrived.
Torname heard the two swimmers yelling for help and was able to bring Luis Colon-De-Lara, 28, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, to shore; then he called 911 to let them know that another swimmer was still missing.
Hampton Fire engaged in a search and found Wandy Bethancourt-Adames, 27, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and brought him to shore to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They took him to Portsmouth Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Luis was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Grafton County Wins $12 Million Broadband Grant
Grafton County will receive nearly $12 million in federal funding to improve internet access through “middle-mile broadband” that connects major networks to local communities. The money is part of a broadband grant program funded by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Former Bristol Town Administrator Nik Coates, serving as chair of the Grafton County Broadband Committee, previously acquired a $3.7 million American Rescue Plan grant to develop engineering plans to bring broadband to the 39-town region. The committee had formed to apply the lessons from Bristol’s pilot broadband program, now operated by Hub 66, to other communities that are under-served by existing cable companies.
Rural sections of New Hampshire have struggled to get adequate internet access because providers have not found it financially viable to extend service beyond population centers. The new grant will help to build a 222-mile fiber optic system in the county.
United States Senator Maggie Hassan said, “The new middle-mile grants represent the latest step in our efforts to expand affordable and reliable internet access to every corner of the country, including New Hampshire. In the 21st century, we know that high-speed internet access isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.”
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