Also on today’s menu:
Executive Council Approves State School Land Swap
Beware Of Baby Formula Scams
Armando Barron of Jaffrey, charged with the first-degree murder of Jonathan Amerault on the night of Sept. 19, 2020, is blaming his wife for the slaying. In court on May 18, Britany Barron took the witness stand to describe how Amerault’s murder and the beating she took were the results of her husband’s jealousy.
The Barrons and their three young children had been living with Armando’s mother and stepfather, with the unemployed Armando homeschooling the children and Britany working at Teleflex Medical. During the summer of 2019, there was an incident (details of which are sealed) that led Britany to seek a divorce. According to Britany, Armando beat and strangled her past consciousness when she raised the issue.
After that beating, while working with Amerault on a project at work, the two formed a friendship. On Sept. 19, 2020, they exchanged texts about meeting at a park, and it was those texts that Armando discovered on his wife’s cell phone. Again, he beat his wife, breaking her nose, then lured Amerault to Annett Wayside Park in Rindge, where he beat, stomped, and tortured the younger man while forcing Britany to watch. After shooting Amerault three times, Armando shoved his body into the back of his Subaru and ordered his wife to drive to the Atkinson Gilmanton Academy Grant near the Maine border where he met her and forced her to cut off Amerault’s head.
The defense’s cross-examination is scheduled to resume today.
Executive Council Approves State School Land Swap
The Executive Council has approved a land swap with the city of Laconia to acquire a 10-acre hayfield at the corner of Meredith Center Road and Lane Road in Laconia, across the street from the Robbie Mills Sports Complex, in order to relocate the Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association’s dispatch center and the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s emergency call center. In exchange, the city will acquire part of the property that formerly housed the Laconia State School.
The plan calls for the building of a $10 million emergency 911 facility to replace the call centers currently housed in the Dwinell Building at the former State School property. Other portions of that property are up for sale.
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney of Wakefield, who represents Laconia, said he has spoken with Laconia City Manager Scott Myers and the City Council has approved the exchange.
Beware Of Baby Formula Scams
Attorney-General John M. Formella issued a warning to parents about potential scams and price-gouging that may occur during the national infant formula shortage. He also warned businesses against using unfair or deceptive practices while selling formula.
“No New Hampshire family trying to provide critical nutrition to their children should be price-gouged or scammed,” Formella said. “Anyone seeking to take advantage of this crisis in a manner that violates the law will be held accountable. If Granite State consumers notice any exorbitant spikes in baby formula prices, I encourage them to report them to my office immediately.”
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden Jr. invoked the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to push businesses and manufacturers to prioritize the delivery and production of goods and services that the president deems important to national security. Biden’s order will use the law to require suppliers of key ingredients to prioritize delivery to baby-formula producers over other customers.
The United States also is launching Operation Fly Formula to increase imports of baby formula from abroad, bypassing normal airfreight routes. To allow the imports, the Food and Drug Administration has relaxed its rules on imported formula. The U.S. has bought almost no infant formula from other countries, and the Trump Administration imposed steep 17.5 percent tariffs on most of the formula that is brought in. Other regulatory barriers have made it almost impossible for formula-makers outside the country to sell to customers in the United States.
Because of those restrictions, just four companies have controlled about 90 percent of the infant formula market, one of them being Abbott Nutrition, which had shuttered its Michigan plant after contamination that has been linked to two infant deaths. The FDA has now allowed the plant to reopen.
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