Also on today’s menu:
Chinese Student, Victim Of Cyber Kidnapping, Is Found
Bill Would Notify Local Officials Of Felons’ Name Changes
Three of the five occupants of a car that crashed and rolled over on Interstate 93 in New Hampton on December 31 were thrown from the vehicle, sustaining life-threatening injuries.
The 4:51 p.m. crash brought traffic to a halt while State Police troopers, New Hampton Fire/EMS, Sanbornton Fire/EMS, Ashland Fire/EMS, Meredith Fire/EMS, Stewarts Ambulance, police from New Hampton and Sanbornton, the Department of Transportation, and New Hampton Towing attended to the victims and removed the wreckage. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team flew in by helicopter to take one victim to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, while the other occupants of the vehicle were taken to other area hospitals.
State Police say they believe impairment was a factor in the crash.
Discussion: The fact that three people were thrown from the car indicates that they were not wearing seatbelts. Any travel can be dangerous, and travel on New Year’s Eve, when there is a likelihood of meeting impaired drivers, is especially dangerous. Add to that riding with impaired driver — which should not be done in any case — makes the wearing of seatbelts even more important. (Personally, I generally avoid travel on New Year’s Eve.)
Chinese Student, Victim Of Cyber Kidnapping, Is Found
Kai Zhuang, 17, a Chinese foreign exchange student whose parents paid an $80,000 ransom to “cyber kidnappers” who “controlled” him by monitoring his activities through cell phones, was found in a tent in rural Utah where he was living with limited food and water, a heat blanket, and a sleeping bag. Riverdale police found him with several phones that they suspect were used to carry out the kidnapping.
Police say that cyber kidnappers convince their victims to isolate themselves, and even to take pictures to make it appear they are being held captive, while remotely monitoring them through Facetime or Skype.
Kai’s parents told school officials that they had received a demand for ransom with a picture of their son, indicating he was abducted. The school then contacted the police on December 28. Officers found him on December 31, around 25 miles north of Riverdale, near Brigham City. They said he was “very cold and scared” and they checked for hypothermia. Kai asked for a “warm cheeseburger” and to speak with his family.
Discussion: This is a new one for me, but it is similar to the scam in which a relative is contacted to say a family member is in trouble and needs money. Law enforcement agencies say they have been aware of virtual kidnapping fraud for at least two decades. Until recently, the scams were mostly limited to Mexico and the Southwest border states. The con works by contacting family members to say a loved one is being held captive and they need to pay an immediate ransom to ensure a “quick release” — even though, in most cases, the loved one is never in actual physical danger. The victim is told to isolate or the family will be in danger. Foreign exchange students are easy targets because of the distance between them and their families. The FBI says anyone receiving such a call should hang up and not engage with the caller, and especially not to mention the family member’s name on the phone. Those who do engage with the caller should then attempt to reach the alleged kidnap victim through social media or on another phone to ensure their safety. The calls typically do not come from the alleged kidnapped victim’s phones, and callers will try to keep you on the phone to prevent you from reaching your family member.
Bill Would Notify Local Officials Of Felons’ Name Changes
House Bill 1003, sponsored by Windham Republican Katelyn Kuttab for the 2024 legislative session, would increase the number of individuals required to provide “a compelling reason” for a name change, as well as the number of officials who must be notified when those individuals make such an application.
Those convicted of a violent felony or a crime against a child would be added to the list of those who, under RSA 547:3-i, II, must demonstrate a need for a name change. Currently, people required to do so are those who are incarcerated, on probation or parole, or who must register as a sexual offender or an offender against children and no longer are subject to supervision by the NH Department of Corrections.
Notification of such requests go to the Department of Safety, and HB 1003 would require notification to the initial prosecuting jurisdiction, as well.
Co-sponsors of the bill are Sharon Carson, Regina Birdsell, David Love, Jason Janvrin, Denise Ricciardi, Leah Cushman, Riché Colcombe, Bill Boyd, Lisa Mazur, Emily Phillips, Lorie Ball, and Dennis Mannion.
Discussion: It makes sense to let local officials know when someone convicted of a crime in their jurisdiction is seeking a new name. Currently, the state may grant such a change without consulting the local jurisdiction. It does not mean the request is any harder or easier, although it does include a broader group of individuals who would be subject to the requirement. A request for a name change may be an attempt to start a new life without a previous conviction hanging over one’s head, or to reflect one’s change of gender, but it also may be a way to hide one’s identity from an unsuspecting community while resuming criminal activities.
Café Chatter
On ‘A New Year’: Though I fully agree that censorship is very dangerous as it can be manipulated in ways that hurt the citizens and agree that healthy debate of good and bad ideas is important for a democracy, I do not agree that censoring material that may not be age appropriate is wrong. Even through the debate on what is appropriate for children, many of the most liberal thinkers have been shocked at what some well meaning people have been exposing their children to through books and videos in schools and other venues.
— Edward Hatch
When we moved to Florida, at the time, it was a true purple state. I am not going to go through how and why DeSantis had a significant win in his second bid for the Governorship. I can guarantee it was not based on the draconian laws that now plague my new state now. The legislature bows down to any and all outrageous culture war laws proposed by him. The so called Don’t Say Gay bill has forced removal of books in even our more progressive counties. We are bleeding quality teachers who are under possible felony charges from the thought police. They are being replaced with “teachers” with no teaching degree, even allowing people who have no degree at all “if” they promise to get one. 🙄 The 6 week abortion law is very unpopular. He knew this when he signed it into law in a closed ceremony after 11 pm. No press allowed. Then decimating the one truly liberal state college and has turned into a school where freedom of expression is limited to what he says it is. Some state colleges stepped up and offered to accept students from the college with no loss of credits, and same tuition, even if the colleges have a higher tuition cost. NH and MA are two such states. Boy, I could go on. Just let me vent about a few more things. The price of home owners insurance costs have increased in some counties over 400%. Some home owners are receiving bills of over $10,000. Insurance companies are leaving. DeSantis has finally approved a small budget item to assist “some” homeowners. Florida already have home insurance costs that is well above the US costs. Same with auto insurance. Many home owners, even if they could afford the price increase have been dropped by the insurance companies. Big companies like State Farm for example. My point. Straight out lies have been used to scare citizens to into passing these bills. There is no debate. He only allows journalists that support him to press conferences and any signing of controversial bills. He basically started running for President immediately after his second win. Citizens now are not happy with him. Including many who voted for him. Many who voted for him expected him to continue to be a business focused Gov. Not culture wars. Anyway. I agree with a majority of what you say. Hard to have any kind of discussion when you are blocked from a discussion. By the way, some of those books have been, The Diary of Anne Frank, Beloved, some Shakespeare. Obviously Catch 22, Animal Farm, etc. The thought police is alive and well. I understand the concern about the book, Gender Queer, only in high school libraries though. If parents don’t want their child to read a certain book, pay attention and stop taking away these books from others. By the way the Mom’s for Liberty started in Florida. Bridget Ziegler has been asked to resign due to a sex scandal in a three way relationship. ( I frankly don’t care as long as it was consensual. But, that’s not the point.). And, her husband has been accused of sexual assault. However, the Moms for Liberty have no concerns that the Bible is still on the shelf. Multiple wives, slavery, stoning, nudity, well, you all know a bunch of what is in there that has other books been banned. Hypocrisy. Ok, really done. Thanks Tom for your thoughts.
— Candace Skurnik