News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Julie Smith 
Some readers are already familiar with my most recent article, “The Future of Nashua’s Library,” which highlights a public comment opportunity on August 6. Additionally, there are two other events worth noting: the first is on Monday night, August 4. It’s called “Women Run” and features three public servant panelists. Shewanda Daniels Williams (SDW) was … Read more
God bless our library watchdogs, like Beth Scaer, Cindy Bennett, and Arlene Quaratiello, just to name a few who have written multiple Grok pieces on libraries. I’ve tagged them in quite a few of my own library articles, but a hat tip to Beth for bringing a near future public comment opportunity to my attention. … Read more
I’ve been accused of being like a dog with a bone, but I’m not going to apologize for obsessing about broad-based taxes, which include the cost of renewing your car’s registration. I wrote about this matter almost a year ago and revisited the topic recently in my article comparing town hall to city hall, but … Read more
On the heels of much internet chatter regarding increased vehicle registration fees, presumably in exchange for abolishing the sticker tax, a few things inspired me to revisit an article I wrote 11 months ago. They were a recent property tax due date, followed by Beth Scaer posting a picture of her ready-to-mail payment envelope (not … Read more
Great theologians and secular philosophers alike have advised us to “practice gratitude.” I think it’s a great idea and I know I should do more of that myself. One sign post reminder of that appeared in my inbox as a group email from a Ward 3 watchdog. What is high on my “gratitude list” today? … Read more
Let’s first give a hat tip to Kevin Landrigan for recognizing Victoria Sullivan’s senatorial accomplishments as a freshman, which was what inspired this article. While I certainly want to make clear that I do NOT fancy myself in the same league as Kevin Landrigan nor do I see my Spotlight of Positivity citation as having … Read more
I am convinced that Howard Pearl was invited to that exclusive Bridges House lunch with governor Ayotte shortly before the legislature met to vote on that crappy budget. Even though he’s my new senator, he will probably diss me as persona non grata for this article, but that’s ok. It’s not about me, but about … Read more
Sometime in the spring of 2022, while Senator Giuda was sitting with us in the dining room, he said, “General Bolduc can’t beat Maggie Hassan.” Before his prognostication was proven correct, my first thought was “let’s address the reasons for him saying that.” I never got into the weeds of it, which was likely due … Read more
In the late 80s, I had a boss who made us keep the radio on Oldies 103. As a young adult at the time, I had little appreciation for the genre of music popular when my parents were that age. However, I have since acquired a taste for it and a good memory of those … Read more
While I am not an unconditional member of the Massie fan club, I will share something that JR tweeted about him. The meme asks why he votes NO on every bill, and the answer is that he reads them. JR is also a gun club partner of Councilor Wheeler. I observed a conversation between Karen … Read more
When Mike Soucy was running for mayor in 2023, he made a few preemptive disclosure statements to friendly audiences to prepare his potential and future supporters for dealing with the Donchess Donkeys and their defenders. One of them had to do with his county commissioner record. The mayor regularly complained (and presumably still complains) that … Read more
It’s time to revisit SB255, Kevin Avard’s telecommunications surcharge. He sponsored it at the behest of Senator Twitley’s beloved far-left New Futures. It’s not dead. It had been in suspended animation since Regina tabled it on March 27, but it came out of hibernation on Monday afternoon in the Budget Committee of Conference, just a … Read more
NH Journal ran an article yesterday that was written by Ed Wonton, complaining about parts of HB649 being inserted into HB 2. I’d like to see the whole bill, in its original form, inserted into the budget, but there’s at least some merit to accepting half a loaf when getting all of what you want … Read more
Ever since the resurgence of BLM 5 years ago, many people have retooled the saying in the image of their own important issues. “(Your passionate issue here) matters.” Look no further than HB446, which is fortunately on its way to the Corner Office right now. That bill makes non-academic surveys opt-in by parental consent. Most … Read more
Melanie Levesque voted for an income tax. That public service reminder never grows old, even though it’s been 3 election cycles since her 2019 crime against NH. While it’s not an election year, I never miss an opportunity to remind everyone, ad nauseam. Melanie’s dear buddy old pal Rosenwald gave me that opportunity yesterday. While … Read more
What a ridiculous question it might be to ask if a red town has something in common with a blue city, especially if I make the question about 91A, but without the unpleasantness often involved in its pursuits. Every community’s operating budget has its own greedy monster, the schools, consuming about 70% of the funds, … Read more
Bullying happens at the state house. There’s so much of it that it should be renamed Fairgrounds School, known locally as the host of the Ward 6 polls and by WMUR as the Nashua epicenter of bullying. Legislator scorecards are a toned-down version of bullying in the sense that they’re carrots on a stick for … Read more
No, I’m not talking about the governor of California; my article is about the possibly only tool left in dealing with the madness of so many housing bills. If they materialize, it won’t be the local government, but the state (which could have a blue government at any time in the future) that must be … Read more
As Housing bills designed to chisel away at local decision making continue to and through their 2nd chamber of the legislature, my thoughts have returned to the skilled salesman’s mantra. Know your customer. Housing bill madness is a product presented as a solution to an imaginary crisis that’s been sold to its supporters, who range … Read more
Most people assume there’s a method to the madness when it comes to redistricting every 10 years. Having voted in the 2nd largest city for so long and having only been paying attention to such things for a short while, I became somewhat simple minded. Nashua has a population of about 90,000, and it also … Read more