NH Senate: Should have stayed home.
The New Hampshire Senate was in session yesterday and it was a bad day for free speech. Despite the urgings of Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Sharon Carson, Republican of Londonderry, the senate voted to concur with changes made by the House to the so called Buffer Zone Bill. The vote went thirteen to ten. Seems senators don’t want to wait for the U. S. Supreme Court’s ruling on a similar law from Massachusetts, which is due next week, to find out if they can violate the First Amendment. The senate, on a twelve to eleven vote, also voted to concur with changes made by the N. H. House to the bill that would redefine political action committees to force third party groups engaged in issue advocacy advertising to disclose their donors.
Hassan: Violating her own travel ban.
Governor Margaret Wood Hassan was before the Senate yesterday as well. She was there touting her spending freeze on new hires, equipment purchases and out of state travel which has now gone into effect for everyone in state government except her. Citizens for a Strong NH issued a media release questioning why, if out of state travel is prohibited under the freeze, Hassan is taking a trip to Turkey in June. They filed a Right to Know Request with the Department of Resources and Economic Development to get the details of the trip they’ve learned will cost taxpayers fifteen thousand dollars. We’ve posted their release with the details of what they’ve discovered and asked for with this newscast at Girard at Large dot com.
Smith: Shinseki has to go
Things continue to go from bad to worse with the V A scandal that’s now engulfed Washington. Former Senator Bob Smith has called for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign in wake of the scandal. Reiterating statements he made during an interview on Girard at Large on Tuesday, he said the scandal went to the heart of our character as a nation that the honorable thing for Shinseki to do is resign given his understanding of accountability in military command.
Rubens: Senate fails again
Meanwhile rival candidate Jim Rubens has condemned the Senate for not adopting the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014, which would have made it easier to fire incompetent Veterans Affairs officials. Continuing with the theme he’s adopted with this issue since it broke in late April, Rubens said the senate did nothing about the scandal when it first surfaced two years ago and has done nothing about it again. He’s put both Senator Jeanne Shaheen and rival Scott Brown in his cross hairs for failing to act. Brown, the former Bay State Senator and member of the Armed Services Committee was present for the hearings on the scandal in two thousand twelve. Brown called for Shinseki to resign about two weeks ago.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Gossler & Parkside: Locked down
Police in Manchester temporarily put two West Side schools into lock down mode yesterday after students at Gossler Park allegedly saw two kids brandishing guns near the school during a recess period. According to the students, two boys were on bikes in the woods behind the school. The boys waved at the students and then one of the boys pointed what appeared to be a handgun in the air as they rode away. As a precautionary measure, both Gossler Park and Parkside were locked down while police checked the area. Police suspect the incident may be related to an earlier report they received that day about two young boys who fired B B guns at a couple near the bike path along the Douglas Street Extension. A couple reported they had been sitting along the river when they heard a pinging sound consistent with the discharge of a pellet or BB gun. The woman reported being hit with a pellet in the buttocks although she did not sustain an injury. The man was struck in the arm and hip where the projectile penetrated the skin and was possibly lodged in the wounds. He was brought by ambulance to CMC for further treatment of the injury. The couple described the boys as a white male, about 8 years old, and a black male about 12 years old. Manchester Police continue to investigate both events in an effort to identify the suspects.
LPD: Looking for dispatchers
The Londonderry Police Department is generating an eligibility list for the position of Police Dispatcher. The town offers a competitive salary and benefit package. The position requires word processing knowledge and an ability to work ALL shifts including, nights, weekends, and holidays. Salary range is between $43,247 and $53,926. Applications are available at the Londonderry Police Department or by contacting Bobby Jones, Telecommunications Supervisor, at 4 3 2 1 1 0 6 or email r jones @ londonderry n h . org. The deadline to submit your application, resume, cover letter and testing fee is June 15.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is straight ahead!
