Also on today’s menu:
Housing Projects, Dental Coverage Approved
Donate Your Age For Newfound Scholarships
Republican Propose Expanding EFAs
Today, unlike in the past, political postcards arrive as glossy, oversized junk mail that is easy to pick out and discard without having to read any of the distortions that the political action committees and major parties are shoveling out. Almost no one pays attention to candidate postcards, which either blast opponents or peddle glossy images and sound bites.
Roberta Baker of the Laconia Daily Sun found that to be case when she stopped at coffee shops around the Lakes Region to ask people how they make their political decisions. “I discard nearly every political ad. Every candidate mailing goes in the wastebasket,” said a Meredith resident at Wayfarer Coffee Roasters.
Few people check out the voting records of those in office, either because they are not easily available or because a vote without a context is no indication of the politician’s views. Voting against a bill may indicate a problem with how it is worded, not opposition to what the bill is attempting to accomplish.
Meeting candidates in person is one of the best ways to find out where they stand, but some will say whatever that particular audience wants to hear. Still, meeting the candidate and checking out his or her positions on various issues is far better than relying on political advertising to reveal how that candidate will perform once in office.
One of the best ways to prepare for an election is to visit Citizens Count, which lists who is running for what and asks candidates where they stand on various topics, with a chance to state their positions in more detail than a simple yes-or-no, support-or-oppose answer. It also is helpful to identify candidates who refuse to answer those questions, and to find out whether their funding comes from individual contributions, political parties, or PACs.
Housing Projects, Dental Coverage Approved
The Executive Council approved 30 new housing projects that will provide 1,472 living units from Berlin to Troy. The money, which comes from federal COVID-19 relief funds, includes funds that will allow developers to build 918 “affordable” units in the next 18 months. The council also approved a contract to provide dental insurance coverage to an estimated 88,000 adults on Medicaid.
The councilors were not as generous to youths in foster care, refusing to take off the table contracts to provide a sex education program for at-risk youths in Claremont and Manchester. The contracts with two providers would have helped “kids that have been trafficked. Kids that have already had a baby trying to prevent a second pregnancy,” according to Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette.
Despite support by DHHS and Governor Chris Sununu, the Republican members of the Executive Council denied Democrat Cinde Warmington’s attempt to take the program off the table and make those programs available. Sununu said he does not know what he can do or say to convince the Republican councilors that the program requires parental permission and is needed to prevent unplanned pregnancies among youths.
Donate Your Age For Newfound Scholarships
The Blakeley-Mills Newfound Area Scholarship Foundation has started its “Donate Your Age” campaign for 2022.
It is an easy-to-afford way to make a contribution toward scholarships that help Newfound Regional High School graduates to continue their education at colleges and technical schools. By contributing an amount that matches their ages, younger donors who are establishing their careers pay less than those who have completed successful careers.
The Foundation has awarded several scholarships to help graduates further their educational goals. To support the scholarships, mail a check to: BMNASF, PO Box 691, Bristol NH, 03222; or donate online at www. newfoundalumni.com. (Note that the website is being updated, but the “donate now” button still works for 2022 donations.) The Class of ’72 holds the record for the greatest participation.
Republican Propose Expanding EFAs
After a higher-than-expected response to New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts, Republicans are proposing raising the income cap from 300 percent to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, which would increase the earnings limit for a family of four from about $83,000 to about $139,000.
Created in 2021, the EFA program aims to assist lower-income families in choosing the school that best meets their children’s needs, whether a private school or home-schooling, by allowing parents to access a portion of the adequacy grant that otherwise would go to their local public school. The EFA grant averages around $4,600 per student.
Opponents of EFAs falsely claim that, by allowing tax money to support a child’s education at a private school that might be operated by a religious order, it violates the “separation of church and state” when, in fact, it does not establish a favored religion, only allowing parents to choose what they see as the most appropriate place to meet their children’s educational needs.
Representative Alicia Lekas (R-Hudson) is proposing legislation to raise the income limit, and she also filed a separate bill that would remove the income limits entirely, providing taxpayer money to wealthier families that already have the means to send their children to private schools.
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