Also on today’s menu:
Bristol Man Twice Arrested
Warming Waters Off The Coast
Scottish ‘First Minister’ Resigns
As he contemplates a run for United States President, Governor Chris Sununu is proposing the largest pay increase for state employees in almost 50 years, as well as offering a major change in the school support formula and $224 million in one-time funding for affordable housing. To do so, he is relying on a $253 million operating budget surplus from fiscal year 2022 and $330 million from fiscal year 2023 — money saved in part by withholding money the state formerly provided to municipalities to help fund state pensions.
The governor won praise for his proposed 10 percent raise for the state’s 10,000 employees, with an additional 2 percent raise next year, representing $100 million more over the biennium. He would provide New Hampshire schools with an additional $200 million over the next two years which, if continued, would provide an additional $1 billion over the next 10 years. He would do all that while eliminating the 7 percent tax on two-way communication, which disproportionately affects those who are least able to pay. That would reduce revenues by $28.6 million. His plan also calls for borrowing about three percent of the money for his capital budget, rather than funding it with cash.
“This budget reminds businesses across this country that New Hampshire remains a hub of innovation,” Sununu said in an obvious appeal to potential voters who might support him in a presidential run. “Here in the Granite State, we listen to and work with the businesses that are the bedrock of our communities.”
Senate President Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) responded to Sununu’s proposals by saying, “Look, the governor has done a great job in three budgets managing state affairs, making New Hampshire more competitive for business, lowering taxes, balancing our budget, restoring the rainy day fund, encouraging the economy to grow, and this budget is no different. I think it is great. We are going to try to address education funding and move up adequacy. I think that will be property tax relief across the board.”
Representative Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester), the House Democratic Leader, praised the budget but observed, “the continued insistence on downshifting costs to our municipalities, providing tax cuts to the wealthy and multi-national corporations, and sending public dollars to private, religious, and homeschools must be addressed. Today was an important first step in the process. House Democrats look forward to working with the Governor and our colleagues to craft a budget that gives all Granite Staters an opportunity to succeed.”
Bristol Man Twice Arrested
Malachyte Lamos, 19, of Bristol, whom police had arrested on February 14 at 2 a.m., after a janitor found him unconscious on the second floor of the Lakes Region Mental Health Center, was arrested a second time on the roof of the center at midday. Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield and another officer apprehended Lamos, and fire crews used a ladder truck to lower Canfield and Lamos to the parking lot before another officer transported him to the police station.
During the initial arrest, Canfield said, Lamos regained consciousness and “appeared to be under the influence of some type of drug. There was a desk that was rummaged through, and it appears a certain quantity of prescription medication was taken from the desk.” Canfield said Lamos had “various electronic devices,” including a video camera that authorities believe did not belong to him. At that time, Lamos was charged with criminal trespass.
Just hours after posting bail, Lamos again made his way to the roof of the mental health center, which is how authorities believe he originally gained entrance to the building.
Warming Waters Off The Coast
The Gulf of Maine, off the coast of Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, had an average temperature of 53.66 degrees, more than 3.7 degrees above the 40-year average, showing that it is warming faster than the majority of the world’s oceans, NHPR reports. One implication of the warming is having more species associated with southern waters spending time in the Gulf of Maine.
Marine mammals such as the North Atlantic right whale and sea birds such as Atlantic puffins are threatened by disruptions in their food supply. A report by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute says, “What is being observed in the Gulf of Maine (and elsewhere around the world … is a loss of that balance: larger fractions of recent years are experiencing above average temperatures and cold spells are becoming vanishingly rare.”
In nine of the past 12 months, the average monthly sea surface temperature was within the top three warmest years on record, the report said. November and December set new records for highest monthly average sea surface temperature in the gulf, it said.
Scottish ‘First Minister’ Resigns
Nicola Sturgeon, the longest-serving First Minister of Scotland, has resigned, saying the brutality of modern politics “takes its toll” on politicians and those around them.
As leader of the Scottish government and a member of the Scottish National Party which has focused on independence for the county, Sturgeon has sought another referendum (Scotland voted against independence in 2014), but the United Kingdom Supreme Court said Scotland could not do so without the permission of the UK government. She said the SNP would treat the next general election as a vote about independence, but there is no sign that Westminster would accept that argument, the BBC reports.
Sturgeon also been pushing for reform of gender recognition laws, addressing such questions as whether a rapist should go to a men’s or women’s prison. The UK government blocked a new law intended to allow trans people in Scotland to change their legal gender without a medical diagnosis. Under the current system, trans people must have a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and prove that they have been living in their chosen gender for two years. They also need to be at least 18 years old. Sturgeon called the UK’s intervention “a full-frontal attack on our democratically elected Scottish Parliament and its ability to make its own decisions on devolved matters.”
Sturgeon said she will remain in office until her party elects a replacement.
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