The Southern New Hampshire Regional Planning Commission will hold a public workshop on a proposed Corridor Access and Mixed Use Zoning Overlay Project for Second Street on Manchester’s West Side.  It will be held tonight from six to eight at St. Raphael Parish on Walker Street in Granite Square.  Planners say “the purpose of this project is to develop access management strategies and a mixed use overlay zoning district for Second Street between the Manchester Bedford town line and Granite Street at Exit 5.  In conjunction with this project, Southern New Hampshire Planning will be conducting a Health Impact Assessment on the goals and proposed zoning and access management strategies developed for Second Street to ensure health and health inequities are considered in the decision making.”  Frankly, given what Pinardville just went through, we have our doubts about what’s being done here, doubts that were turned into concerns after speaking with Manchester Planning Director Leon LaFreniere, the regional planning commission’s executive director David Preece and Ward 10 Alderman Phil Greazzo.  LaFreniere said his department pursued the grant at Greazzo’s request.  Greazzo said Pam Gaucher from the Planning Department made him aware of quote “a state grant to help with traffic and businesses on Second Street” and asked him to support it.  Preece admitted the grant comes from the same federal sustainability program that just tortured Pinardville and denied there was any proposal for a mixed use zoning overlay district, despite it being in the headline of his press release and all over the Web site referenced in that release, a Web site he claimed no knowledge of.  Folks, it just gets better from there.  We’ve linked to the release and will have something to say about this this morning.

Meanwhile, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority announced another round of grant awards using these federal HUD sustainability funds.  Communities in our listening area with something to worry about include:  Amherst, Milford, Litchfield, Deerfield, Bow and Bedford.  We’ve posted the awards with the grant summaries with this newscast.  Lots of communities about to unwittingly surrender themselves to HUD’s vision for their future.

News from our own backyard continues right after this.

The Hooksett Heritage Commission has extended an invitation to the public to the dedication of the newly restored and enhanced Veterans’ Park at Jacob Square.  The event will include the dedication of a new memorial area “to honor all who served in war and peace.”  Parking will be available in the Congregational Church parking lot, on Veterans’ Drive and, if necessary, at the Holy Rosary Church.  The event will begin at 2 in the afternoon on Sunday, October 6th.

The Manchester Historic Association’s Millyard Museum will open its doors free of charge on Saturday September 28th as part of Smithsonian magazine’s ninth annual Museum Day Live!  A nationwide event, Museum Day Live! offers free admission to visitors presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket at a participating museum or cultural institution.  To celebrate Museum Day Live! the Millyard Museum will present an entertaining living history presentation, “Meet Clara Barton:  Angel of the Battlefield & Founder of the American Red Cross” at one thirty that afternoon.  To learn more about the event and how you can get tickets, we’ve linked to the Association’s press release with all the details from this news read at Girard at Large dot com.

That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is straight ahead!