The aughts are near an end, and this millennium is headed straight into its tweenage years, when we can only hope it won't plague its folks for pricier sneakers and a cooler phone. This month, George Bush will move out of the White House to make way for Barack Obama. This week, Gov. John Lynch will take the oath of office for his third term, which looks to be his toughest yet.

Here at Capital Beat, it's time for predictions. My mother always played fortune teller at my elementary school fair, so here's hoping I've inherited her way with the crystal ball. In the year 2009, I foresee:

• GAMBLING: At the 11th hour this spring, amid a budget crisis, a bill to expand gambling will emerge as a possible solu-

tion to a gaping budget hole, with proponents saying the only alternative is massive cuts. The measure will clear the Senate but hit a roadblock in the House. The key question there is: Will those Democrats who've always thought the state needs more revenue but who have their own preferred method get behind gambling? If so, it passes. If not (and my guess, having seen how feisty the House can be, would be not), probably not.

• EDUCATION AID: Lawmakers nervous about how the state will patch together a 2010-11 budget amid rising need and sinking revenue will attempt to pare back the education funding definitions established last year. More lawsuits will threaten.

• DEATH PENALTY REPEAL: The half-dozen bills that would repeal or suspend New Hampshire's death penalty will generate a lot of debate. (Criminal Justice Chairman Steve Shurtleff of Penacook said he's thinking about holding a night hearing to make sure everyone can be heard.) My guess? A bill that would suspend the death penalty clears the House but falls far short in the Senate, sparing Lynch the need to follow through on his veto threat.

• PARTY PARITY: The New Hampshire Democratic Party and Republican Party move closer to parity in fundraising, as the national Democrats' largesse to New Hampshire dries up in a non-election year and Republicans get a little more coming in with John H. Sununu at the helm. On the other hand, at the state level, Democratic leaders will have smoothed out life in the majority and Republicans will have figured out life in the minority.

• SENATE RACE: U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg will keep right on cutting a high profile, working carefully to build ties to the new administration where he can (entitlement reform, perhaps) and to be a prominent opponent to measures he will criticize as budget-busters. When I asked him recently what he'd learned from the John E. Sununu race, Gregg demurred, but my guess is that he's not going to repeat the quiet strategy we saw from Sununu and instead will work hard to remind voters why they voted him in. Meanwhile, Lord knows how or whether Democrats will avoid a bloody primary and figure out who from their long, excited bench gets to run against Gregg.

As for what others have to say, Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley predicted last week on the liberal blog bluehampshire that by the end of the year, "the 2010 Democratic ticket will be clear."

Buckley also predicted that Manchester would elect a Democratic mayor for the first time since 2005, that a Granite Stater would be an ambassador to somewhere-or-other, that Jeanne Shaheen would become a deal-crafting power player in the Senate and that Joe Kenney would run again for governor.

Buckley's Republican counterpart Fergus Cullen parried back with a few zingers of his own. "Gov. Lynch will wish that Republicans had gained a majority in the House," he said, predicting Democratic infighting on tax policy, in particular.

He also predicted "fresh faces" in the GOP emerging as state and federal candidates. "I've already been contacted by four people thinking of running for Congress, none of whom you've heard of," Cullen said.

As for the 2010 Senate race against Gregg, Cullen predicted this: "I think that the Democrats will finally field a credible candidate against him for the first time since 1992 but the political environment will increasingly favor his re-election as the year continues."

Inaugural

Lynch's inauguration on Thursday is shaping up to be a very serious affair, maybe even somber. The governor is eschewing a ball this year amid tough economic times.

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