NEWS & NOTES
Primary update
Ohio Gov. John Kasich became the 16th Republican running for president when he announced his candidacy at Ohio State University in Columbus on July 21. He returned to New Hampshire hours later for a town hall meeting at Rivier University in Nashua. Bloomberg Politics reported his late entry into the race may help his chances for getting included in one of the presidential debates hosted by Fox News on Aug. 6. The Union Leader scheduled its Voters First Presidential Forum for Aug. 3, which positions it to be the first GOP debate in the season. The newspaper criticized Fox for only permitting the top 10 candidates in the polls to participate in its debate. The Voters First Forum plans to include a wider field of candidates. It will be held in Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics and broadcast on C-SPAN, NH1 and iHeartRadio’s streaming service. The Union Leader originally threatened to host its debate on the same day as the Fox debate. The paper is predicting its forum will have a larger audience than Fox’s debate. Meanwhile, several Republican candidates have lambasted the recent nuclear deal with Iran. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called the treaty a historically irresponsible misstep, Politico reported. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said it legitimizes Iran and places too much trust in a nation that never keeps its promises. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker vowed to roll it back if elected and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush called it “appeasement diplomacy.” During a town hall meeting in Franklin, the Union Leader reported New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the deal was the “worst thing this president has done.” Billionaire celebrity Donald Trump made some inflammatory comments about Arizona Sen. John McCain while in Iowa when he told a crowd McCain was only called a war hero because he was captured by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. Veterans and Republicans have fired back. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush have called the statements a disqualifier for the party nomination. HIPPO | JULY 23 - 29, 2015 | PAGE 4
When asked if McCain is owed an apology during an ABC interview, Trump said “No, not at all.” Hillary Clinton hosted her first town hall meeting in Dover, where she fielded questions from residents. The Concord Monitor reported the event showed a more informal side of the former Secretary of State, who is often criticized for being too inaccessible.
Frank Guinta challenges
The latest financial filing by 1st District Congressman Frank Guinta shows a significant drop in fundraising, likely due to the recent campaign finance scandal that led many top Republicans to call for his resignation. The Union Leader reported Guinta received $11,679 from 16 individuals in the last quarterly report. He also refunded a total of $7,000 to two of House Speaker John Boehner’s political action committees. Guinta still received about $102,000 from various PACs. As his support appears to erode even among Republicans, the Concord Monitor reports Dan Innis, Guinta’s 2014 Republican primary challenger and former dean of the UNH business school, has resigned from his position as finance chairman of the state GOP and signaled an interest in running against Guinta in the September 2016 primary. Innis, an openly gay former hotel owner, finished second against Guinta in 2014 and lost by about 5,000 votes. Guinta, for his part, has said he plans to run for reelection. He hosted his first town hall meeting since the news that the Federal Election Commission found he received an illegal campaign donation of $355,000 from his parents in 2010. NHPR reported the residents at the town hall in Alton didn’t ask Guinta any questions about the FEC ruling. He held a second town hall in Plaistow on July 20. Guinta continues to maintain the money was his, though documentation provided to the press has so far failed to prove this. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire House Speaker Shawn Jasper and Senate President Chuck Morse have called for the congressman to resign and GOP Chair Jennifer Horn has said she’s lost trust in him.
Gatsas reelection
Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas has announced he’s running for reelection to lead the state’s largest city. NHPR reported three others have already filed to challenge the three-term mayor and the common platform is attracting businesses and developing the local economy. The other contenders include Alderman Joyce Craig, former Alderman Patrick Arnold, who ran against Gatsas last year (and lost by 6 percentage points) and Jawed Alibaba Shaikh, the owner of the Alibaba food store on the West Side. The elections are nonpartisan, which means Republicans and Democrats alike will compete for the top two spots in the September primary.
Gas pipeline
Kinder Morgan has modified its natural gas pipeline proposal by shrinking the diameter of the pipes from 36 inches to 30 inches. The Union Leader reported this would also mean a smaller compressor station in New Ipswich. But environmental activists say this changes nothing when it concerns the disruption caused by the construction and the potential risks to the environment. A hearing was scheduled for July 21 before the Public Utilities Commission following a challenge made by Pipe Line Awareness Network of the Northeast against a shipping agreement between Kinder Morgan and Liberty Utilities. Meanwhile, Gov. Maggie Hassan has sent a letter to federal regulators asking for more public scoping meetings than the three currently planned so more
The assistant to former Weare Police Chief John Velleca is suing the town. The Concord Monitor reported Jennifer Posteraro is claiming she was retaliated against with a hostile work environment when she filed protective orders against Velleca, with whom she allegedly had a brief affair. CONCORD
The old meetinghouse in Allenstown celebrated its 200th birthday after completing renovations, the Union Leader reported. The Old Allenstown Meetinghouse was first built in 1815 and survived arson in 1985.
Hooksett
Goffstown
Bedford
Plans for a new assisted living facility in Nashua are Amherstthe Union moving forward, Leader reported. The site of Milford the future Amherst Street facility, meant to assist Alzheimer’s patients, was sold to a Massachusetts development firm partnered with EPOCH Senior Living for $2 million.
In Deerfield, a woman has accumulated so much garbage on her property that the town is getting involved. The Union Leader reported that a petition seeking an injunction on Jennifer Kalisz accuses her MANCHESTER of violating zoning rules by storing “offensive matter” and illegally operating a junkyard.
Merrimack
Derry
Londonderry
NASHUA
residents affected by the Kind- superior court rather than going er Morgan pipeline will have a through district courts where felochance to weigh in. ny cases typically start. Proponents in law enforcement says this cuts out unnecessary delays but oppoFelonies first Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a nents among defense attorneys bill into law that starts a pilot pro- say the district courts are used to gram intended to streamline the vet cases to see if there is suffistate’s criminal justice system. The cient evidence. The new program Concord Monitor reported the bill, will start in Cheshire and Strafford known as the “Felonies First” bill, counties in January and extend to will send felony cases straight to Belknap in July 2016.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS
PLANET FITNESS’ NH EMPLOYEES
In order to fund domestic violence prevention programs in the state, Gov. Maggie Hassan signed a bill to raise the marriage license fee by $5 to $50. NHPR reported it’s the first time the fee has increased in more than 20 years. Most of the license fee ($43) will go to the grant program while the remainder will help local communities process the marriages. The bill also created a $50 fine to be levied against anyone convicted of domestic violence, which was made a distinct crime with the passing of Joshua’s Law last year. Half of the state’s homicides involved domestic violence last year.
A bill introduced late in the budget-writing process and fast-tracked by the Republicanled legislature to alter the state’s tax code was vetoed by Gov. Maggie Hassan. The AP reported that the president of Planet Fitness and former Gov. Craig Benson (who’s a current franchisee of 35 Planet Fitness gyms in New Jersey) told a Senate committee that if the law didn’t change to avoid an increase in taxes on certain increases in value from trading stocks, the company would likely move its Newington headquarters out of state. The company said the headquarters employs 150 to 175 people.