Also on today’s menu:
Sununu And Arlinghaus Exaggerate Laconia’s Role
Enhanced Security For iCloud
Efforts To Prevent Data-Sharing With China
Yesterday, we shared a trailer for our 2014 documentary marking the 60th anniversary of Santa’s Village in Bristol. It was well-received:
Oh, the video clip is great!
— Susan Duncan
As a result, we thought it appropriate to share the full documentary as the Tapply-Thompson Community Center prepares to open its 67th annual Santa’s Village and Craft Fair today from 6 to 8 p.m., as well as on Saturday, December 10, and Sunday, December 11, from 2 to 5 p.m. The video features interviews with past and present helpers, and shows how the whole thing comes together to continue serving generations of children.
For a donation of canned food this weekend, visitors will have an opportunity to see Santa’s elves working on toys and wrapping presents, enjoy one of Mrs. Claus’ cookies, and watch the North Pole train tracks while waiting to see Santa Claus and receive a commemorative Christmas ornament.
Also this weekend, there will be a free Breakfast With Santa at the Masonic Lodge on Saturday, December 10, from 8 to 10 a.m.
Sununu And Arlinghaus Exaggerate Laconia’s Role
George Bald, chair of the Lakeshore Redevelopment and Planning Commission, which had spent five years preparing to sell the 220-acre state-owned property that formerly served as the Laconia State School to someone committed to creating jobs and promoting economic development — similar to what Bald had done with the Pease International Tradeport — was unhappy when he learned from a reporter in 2021 that Governor Chris Sununu planned to take control of the property. Sununu put Charlie Arlinghaus, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, in charge of finding a developer for the property. Bald was therefore distressed when Sununu and Arlinghaus claimed this week that the commission and the city of Laconia had been involved in the selection of a controversial Manchester developer to handle the property.
“The [Lakeshore Redevelopment and Planning Commission’s] seven-member board had nothing to do with selecting somebody, nor was there a vote in selecting anybody,” Bald told Annmarie Timmons, the reporter for the New Hampshire Bulletin who revealed developer Robynne Alexander’s history with projects in the state. An investor in a Manchester project that is three years behind schedule is suing her, and she had liens placed on her Manchester properties for unpaid taxes and a contractor’s bill totaling $430,000, debts she has since paid.
Sununu also railed against Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer, who had questioned the plan to award the bid to Alexander, saying, “It just looks like incompetence when … your team, who has driven the process, is now writing a letter to slow down the process.” As a result of the city’s concerns, the Executive Council delayed awarding the bid at Wednesday’s meeting, postponing the decision to December 21.
Alexander’s $21.5 million offer far exceeds what the state thought it could get for the property, considering problems with the site which will require remediation. There are nearly 30 dilapidated buildings that must be removed or restored, and Laconia officials worry that the buyer could develop only the prime section along Route 106 and not address problems with the rest of the property.
Enhanced Security For iCloud
Apple has announced a major set of security announcements that include end-to-end encryption to iCloud backups as part of the industry’s response to data mining. Apple’s Advanced Data Protection expands the number of “data categories” protected by end-to-end encryption from 14 to 23, with backups, Notes, and Photos now covered, according to the company. Apple says the only “major” categories not covered are iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar because “of the need to interoperate with the global email, contacts, and calendar systems.”
Privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation have long called for Apple to expand end-to-end encryption to iCloud backups, but until now, Apple had reportedly scrapped plans to do so after the FBI complained. Apple also is improving iMessage security with iMessage Contact Key Verification, which the company says can alert you if state-sponsored bad actors are snooping on your chats.
The FBI, however, says “end-to-end and user-only-access encryption” will hinder “our ability to protect the American people from criminal acts ranging from cyber-attacks and violence against children to drug trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism.”
Efforts To Prevent Data-Sharing With China
While the FBI wants to access Americans’ private data, it does not want China to do so. It has warned of the possible threats to national security posed by the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, and now Texas is among a growing number of states that are barring state employees and contractors from using TikTok on government-issued devices.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, in announcing the ban, said, “Under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, all businesses are required to assist China in intelligence work, including data sharing, and TikTok’s algorithm has already censored topics politically sensitive to the Chinese Communist Party.”
South Dakota, South Carolina, and Maryland previously banned the app on government devices, and Wisconsin Republicans are urging their Democratic governor to do the same. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, which is largely subject to the Chinese government given the country's party-state system. Leaders on the Senate Intelligence Committee asked the Federal Trade Commission in July to investigate TikTok’s data practices and corporate governance.
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