Also on today’s menu:
Is Gerrymandering Legal?
January 6 Committee Receives New Info
Governor Chris Sununu has announced a plan to spend $60 million from state surplus revenues to help all residential ratepayers in New Hampshire with electric costs. The New Hampshire Emergency Energy Relief Program, if approved by the legislature, will result in a $100-per-customer credit on ratepayer bills, Sununu said.
Some utilities are seeking a pass-through cost, resulting in electric bill increases of more than 50 percent in some cases, due to the soaring price of natural gas, which is used to make about 60 percent of the state’s electricity. Eversource, which provides power to more than 500,000 customers and is the state’s largest utility, has asked for a rate increase of just under 50 percent after the Public Utilities Commission approved a similar request for Liberty Utilities; and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative expects to seek a similar rate request at its board meeting on June 28, according to spokesman Seth Wheeler.
Sununu also announced a plan to provide air conditioning and cooling assistance for the estimated 24,000 households that qualified for the Low Income Heating Assistance Program this past winter. Because of federal money that came into the state, that program did not need to spend from its $7.5 million budget, and has that money left over from last winter.
Is Gerrymandering Legal?
With New Hampshire Democrats seeking an injunction to block the use of the new voting districts established by the legislature for the upcoming elections this year, Hillsborough County Superior Court South Judge Jacalyn Colburn has asked the Supreme Court to determine if “any provision of the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits the general court from enacting senate and executive council districts that are drawn in a manner that heavily favors one political party over another?” She also asked that, if the court determines there is a prohibition, “are political gerrymandering claims justiciable in New Hampshire state courts?” Finally, “what framework should the Court use to evaluate such claims? In other words, what must a plaintiff alleging unconstitutional political gerrymandering prove in order to be entitled to any relief?”
Testimony during public hearings on the proposed changes, designed to align voting districts with the latest state census, overwhelmingly opposed the gerrymandered districts, but given that undeclared and independent voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, it is fair to ask whether the changes will truly align with voting results.
Previous elections have seen parties go in and out of power, making New Hampshire a “purple” state. Republicans took back control of the House, Senate, and Executive Council in the 2020 election, but voters also elected two Democrats to serve in the United States Congress and elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate. The only New Hampshire Republican in higher office is the governor.
January 6 Committee Receives New Info
As the “January 6 Committee” reveals more details about what has come to light about former president Donald Trump’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and despite many Republicans’ objections that “there’s nothing to see here,” the House Select Committee is receiving enough new information that Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) announced that the hearings — originally scheduled to end in June — will now extend into July.
Representative Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), the committee chair, confirmed that British filmmaker Alex Holder has turned over additional documentary footage containing interviews with the former president and his inner circle, both before and after the insurrection.
The committee also is continuing its discussions with Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in hopes of interviewing her about her communications with Trump’s team before and on the day of the insurrection at the Capitol.
Café Chatter
On ‘Summer’s Arrival’: Oh, thank you for sharing your observations and thoughts on what seems like a wonderful, natural time and place!
— Susan Duncan, Bristol
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