On Air News Read for August 26, 2016

Former New Hampshire State Trooper Andrew Monaco entered guilty pleas to three counts of Class A misdemeanor simple assault yesterday in Nashua District Court.  Monaco and Massachusetts State Trooper Joseph Flynn brutally beat Richard Simone, Jr. while arresting him after a high speed chase on May eleventh.

Monaco acknowledged that his use of force during that arrest was not justified.  As part of a negotiated plea agreement, he accepted criminal responsibility for punching and kneeing Simone’s upper body, causing injury.  He also apologized to the law enforcement community and to the public for his conduct.  The court sentenced Monaco to 12 months in the House of Corrections, all deferred so long as he follows the conditions of his sentence, which include he:

• be of good behavior and commit no new crimes,
• permanently relinquish his law enforcement certification,
• pursue no new career that requires the possession of a firearm,
• complete anger management counseling and any follow-up treatment recommended,
• complete 1 2 0 hours of community service, and pay restitution for Mr. Simone’s medical bills.

If Monaco does not comply with the conditions of his sentence, the twelve months in the House of Corrections may be imposed.  Said Attorney General Joseph Foster, quote:

By all accounts, Trooper Monaco’s actions were out of character with his service for the State Police, he acknowledges that they were wrong, and he has apologized for his actions…Losing one’s chosen profession is not typically an outcome of a plea to simple assault and therefore represents a severe punishment on its own.

Flynn is scheduled for a pre-trial conference in October.

The Auburn Police Department has announced it will be using the Dearborn Road Shooting Range for firearms training on Wednesday, August 30th from four P M to Midnight.  Not sure why they’re making mention of it, but I suppose people in the neighborhood will.

News from our own backyard continues after this.

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We know Governor Maggie Hassan supported the Iran Nuclear Deal, but in typical Hassan fashion, we still don’t know if she supports cash-for-hostages.  Like she has for months, she is dodging and ignoring any and all difficult questions posed by the media and organizations like ours.  Those aren’t the actions of a strong leader, but rather a career politician hoping to quietly climb the ladder to advance her own career.

Enough is enough.  Now that Maggie Hassan knows the human cost of bringing the Iranians to the negotiating table, does she still stand by her support?  Granite Staters deserve answers immediately.

That’s what Derek Dufresne of Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire had to say in a press release issued yesterday following news reports citing the Obama Administration’s payment of one point three billion dollars to Iran two days after the release of the hostages it lied about paying a four hundred million dollar ransom to free.

In demanding answers from Hassan on where she stood on the pre and post hostage payments, Dufresne provided news reports detailing how the Obama Administration gave the Iranians an additional $1.3 billion by structuring the payoff into 13 separate payments of $99,999,999.99 to avoid detection.

Dufresne referenced news reports published this week showing that the administration ordered the C I A to abandon its protocols and not support the Green Revolution movement that threatened the Iranian regime in 2 0 0 9, saying quote:

We learned this week just how far the Obama Administration was willing to go in order to bring the Iranians to the negotiating table that led to the Iran Nuclear Deal and the cash-for-hostages ransom.  They sacrificed the chance for freedom of the Iranian people.

Citing the two U S Navy ships that have been harassed by Iranian boats in the past two days, causing one of them to literally fire a warning shot across their bow, Dufresne questioned whether or not the Iranian Nuclear Deal or ransom payments has made us any safer.

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We are at a point in the revaluation process that we have preliminary results we can share.

That’s what Manchester Board of Assessors Chairman Robert Gagne put in an email to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the media last week.  So, how will property owners fair in the revaluation?  Here’s what you need to know:

Overall, including new construction and market changes, the city’s tax base increased by 5 percent.

• Residential values increased 4 percent as did single family home values
• Residential Condo values went up 1 percent
• Two families were up 10%
• Three families increased 3 percent
• Mobile home values went down 8 percent
• Multifamilies with 4 to 8 units increased 7%
• Apartment properties with more than nine units jumped 11 percent and
• Commercial/ Industrial values rose by 7 percent

Vision Government Solutions, the city’s revaluation contractor, will make adjustments and finish its analysis with the goal of delivering final values to the city by the end of September.

Gagne said the volume of hearings appointments has been substantially lower than projected.  He said it was likely a function of the modest changes in value.  Guess there weren’t a lot of guys like me who saw their values jump by more than fifteen percent.

That’s news from our own backyard!  Girard at Large hour ___ is next!