Politics
Total Agreement: How area members of Congress voted over the previous week
Targeted News Service
Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed the following bills: the Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act (H.R. 259), to create an online...
As Democrats press to increase school funding, different approaches emerge
By ETHAN DEWITT
Democrats and public school advocates have pushed for years to increase the default amount the state pays public schools per student. This year, Rep. Tom Schamberg, a Wilmot Democrat, has a simple solution: Calculate the average amount school...
Trump opens 2024 run, says he’s ‘more committed’ than ever
By MEG KINNARD, HOLLY RAMER and JILL COLVIN
SALEM — Former President Donald Trump kicked off his 2024 White House bid with a stop Saturday in New Hampshire before heading to South Carolina, appearances in early-voting states marking the first campaign events since announcing his latest run more...
Bill expands workers’ comp cancer presumption in NH
By JEFF FEINGOLD
Legislation filed in the New Hampshire Senate would make all types of cancer among firefighters a presumptive occupational disease eligible for workers’ compensation.Under Senate Bill 71, sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, cancer diagnoses...
More scrutiny sought for reproductive health care
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Reproductive health care centers warned lawmakers Thursday that a bill requiring they do a second audit of how they spend public funds would leave them less money to provide basic health care to low-income patients. State law already requires the...
Dems vote to give states more time on new primary calendar
By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON — A Democratic National Committee panel voted to give New Hampshire and Georgia more time to make changes that would allow both to be part of a revamped group of five states leading off the party’s presidential primary starting next year....
On the Trail: Trump makes his return to NH on Saturday
By PAUL STEINHAUSER
Former President Donald Trump returns Saturday to the state that first launched him toward the presidency as he takes his latest White House bid into a more active phase.Trump, who in November announced his third presidential campaign, will visit New...
Democrats seek to limit EFA program
By ETHAN DEWITT
A Democratic bill seeking to limit New Hampshire’s “education freedom accounts” to students who have spent at least one year in public school has reignited debates over who should have access to the program.Sponsored by Rep. Dave Luneau, a Hopkinton...
Solutions to child care crisis
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Massachusetts child care workers earn about $10,000 more a year than their New Hampshire peers. It’s a parent’s gross income, not what’s left after paying the mortgage, food, and other bills that determines their eligibility for child care assistance....
New marijuana legalization bill gets New Hampshire hearing
By HOLLY RAMER
The New Hampshire Legislature is once again debating recreational use of marijuana but efforts to legalize it still face significant hurdles.In the decade since the state legalized medical marijuana, the House has passed recreational marijuana bills...
Supporters bet on online casino games, expanded wagers to grow NH's gambling scene
By TODD BOOKMAN
Lawmakers in New Hampshire are considering a range of gambling bills that could bring online casinos, more bingo nights and larger poker tournaments to the state.Under a bipartisan bill introduced in a Senate committee Wednesday, private companies...
Shaheen helps introduce bill to help local governments reduce homelessnes
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen introduced $1 billion of spending to help combat homelessness in communities, through the Fighting Homelessness Through Services and Housing Act.The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California,...
Bills could expand state aid for school building projects like Rundlett
By EILEEN O’GRADY
Following a record year for school building aid applications in New Hampshire, state legislators are introducing bills this month aimed at increasing the amount of funding available for school construction and renovation projects.One of the bills,...
Proposed housing bill would give tenants 60 days notice to sale of a multifamily home
By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI
If Cairnie Pokorney’s landlord sold his apartment building in Derry, he may never be notified of the sale. The new owners could then increase the rent as they wish, or tell Pokorney to hit the road because they are renovating.For a young professional...
After a century, many Dems want change
By ARIT JOHN
WASHINGTON — Phil Hatcher and his wife moved to New Hampshire from the Midwest in 1986, and soon got a taste of what makes the state’s first-in-the-nation primary so special to the people who live there.The Rev. Jesse Jackson gave their young daughter...
Trump planning NH visit Saturday
By JOSH ROGERS
Former President Donald Trump is returning to New Hampshire Saturday to speak at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s annual meeting in Salem. It will be his first visit to the state — and one of his first major campaign appearances at all — since he...
Bill would allow cities and towns to pass rent control
By ETHAN DEWITT
New Hampshire cities and towns would be allowed to set their own rent controls on large developments – including limitations on how quickly rents could rise – under a bill proposed in the House this year. House Bill 95 would allow municipalities to...
Drive Free or Die? NH considers restricting pets in cars
By HOLLY RAMER
New Hampshire is the only state that allows adults to drive without wearing seatbelts. Want to use your dog instead? Go for it, for now.While the state currently has no lapdog-related laws, the Legislature is considering a bill that would make it...
Cities, towns hoping state will make retirement contributions permanent
By ETHAN DeWITT
When New Hampshire lawmakers consolidated the state’s public retirement systems in 1967, they offered cities and towns a deal: Add municipal employees to the system, and the state would pick up 35 percent of the cost.At the time, the offer was deemed...
On the trail: Two weeks until DNC vote on presidential primary
By PAUL STEINHAUSER
Time is running out for New Hampshire Democrats in their campaign to keep the Granite State’s cherished first-in-the-nation presidential primary status in the Democratic National Committee’s nominating calendar for 2024.The full DNC is scheduled to...
