Taking The Lead On Broadband
Bristol Town Administrator Talks About The Benefits Of The Rural Network
Also:
Community Watchdogs Outed Secret Webster Land Deal
White House Appeals For Cyber Precautions
Concerns About The ‘Shadow Docket’
On Aug. 30, New Hampshire Public Radio’s All Things Considered aired Peter Biello’s interview with Bristol Town Administrator Nik Coates about the town’s expansion of broadband and what it could mean for the future.
“We really essentially rebuilt the system here in Bristol to meet our needs to be able to control our destiny as a community,” Coates said. “It's going to completely improve our regional economy.”
Coates told the Liberty Independent Media Project that he is in the middle of negotiations with a top-rated internet service provider to connect the new network with local homes and businesses, and will grant an interview when the details are worked out.
Community Watchdogs Outed Secret Webster Land Deal
We previously reported on the resignation of Webster Town Treasurer Bruce Johnson over a secret land purchase that bypassed the competitive bidding process. The Concord Monitor has a story about the local community watchdogs who found out about the transaction through a public records request of the town selectmen.
Webster resident Tara Gunnigle, an advocate for government transparency, asked the selectmen to unseal the minutes of the 2019 meeting in which they approved of the sale, allowing Johnson to purchase two parcels of town-owned land for $7,000 “with the condition that future building on the lots is prohibited.” The selectmen claimed the sale was justified because the land use boards had deemed the property to have the “highest value for wildlife” and designated it as “do not sell; leave as open space.”
Former selectman Christine Schadler, who also served on the Webster Conservation Commission at the time and currently serves as chair of the commission, said selling the land to Johnson was in the town’s best interest, preserving the land while boosting revenue. She owns a camp with Johnson’s wife, Katherine, down the road from the Walker Pond lots.
White House Appeals For Cyber Precautions
Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger, speaking at the Sept. 2 White House press briefing, urged Americans to take steps during the Labor Day weekend to prevent hackers from gaining access to their computers and other devices.
Her advice included updating and patching all software; using “strong” passwords and updating them frequently; using multifactor authentication; and to “review your incident response plan and do a drill against it to ensure that, if a compromise occurs, you’re ready to react and respond quickly.” She also recommended up-to-date backups that are segregated from a network to keep them inaccessible to an attacker.
“There are a couple of other good practices to do,” she added. “Security teams should proactively hunt on a network. It’s kind of like a digital version of walking the beat. Look for any initial signs of compromise or anything unusual on a network. And everyone should be extra vigilant for phishing emails and clicking on links that may be new or something that looks unusual.”
Concerns About The ‘Shadow Docket’
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed Texas to implement what amounts to a total ban on abortions was released shortly before midnight on Wednesday, consisting of a single paragraph, without signatures and lacking a detailed explanation of the justices’ reasoning. There had been no oral arguments in which opposing lawyers could have made their cases and answered questions from the justices.
Known as the “shadow docket,” such rulings have become more common in recent years, raising concerns among lawyers, legal scholars, and legislators because the justices who support the rulings remain anonymous and lower courts have no guidance on how to handle similar cases.
During the White House press briefing, Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters, “rulings like that do raise concerns — not just for the President, but for people out there in the country — about how the Court is operating. And I’ll just note what he said, you know: ‘For the majority to do this without a hearing, without the benefit of an opinion from a court below, and without due consideration of the issues, insults the rule of law and … rights of all Americans to seek redress from our courts.’ That is, of course, of concern not just to him, but it should be to all Americans who watched the ruling this morning.”
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