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Many Hannafords shoppers got a big shock a few weeks ago when the grocery chain acknowledged that hackers had been stealing customers’ credit card numbers for several months. This isn’t the first such security breach in the state. We’ll break down the complex process that begins each time you swipe that card, find out who’s in charge of making sure your payment goes where they’re supposed to, and look at what the private sector is doing to keep up with hackers.

Guests

• Jerry Little, president of the New Hampshire Bankers Association
• Avi Rubin, professor of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University, founder of the data security company Independent Security Evaluators and author of Brave New Ballot: The Battle to Safeguard Democracy in the Age of Electronic Voting

Supporters see it as a way to generate extra revenue for the state. Opponents see an increase in gambling addiction, abuse, and a variety of social ills that would cost the state more than the revenue would provide. But now there are new voices to the debate, anti-gambling lawmakers who are now beginning to bend due to the absolute need, they say, to get revenue into our state. And in a surprise move, the State Lottery Commission hinted at a preference for gambling. We explore the multi-dimensional debate over gambling in the Granite State.

Guests

• Jim Rubens, former State Senator and gubernatorial candidate, and Executive Committee Chair of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling
• Rick Newman, Lobbyist for The Lodge At Belmont

We'll also hear from

• Peter Burling, Democratic State Senator from Cornish
• Rick Wisler, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Lottery
• Ruth Balser, Democratic State Representative in Massachusetts who opposed Governor Deval Patrick’s plan to expand gambling in Massachusetts. Balser is also chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse in the Massachusetts state legislature

A new documentary and companion book called “Communities and Consequences” explores the human ecology of our state. The book is co-authored by demographer Peter Francese and now State Agriculture Commissioner, Lorraine Stuart Merrill. The documentary is produced by filmmaker Jay Childs and hosted by Francese. Both film and book send alarm that our ecology is very much out of balance. They suggest that we’ve become too old, that we’re driving younger families out of our state due to an irrational fear of higher taxes, that our thoughts on preservation have become skewed and that we’re in desperate need of workforce housing. And they both warn that unless this imbalance is corrected soon it may mean “economic suicide” for our state. We’ll look at the ideas of human ecology, ask if and why we may be growing older and what could be done to get our state back in balance.

Guests

• Peter Francese, demographer, coauthor of the book “Communities and Consequences: The Unbalancing of New Hampshire’s Human Ecology, and what we can do about it” and featured in the companion documentary by the same name
• Steve Norton , Executive Director of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy
• Ken Kerber , Chairman of the Planning Board in Marlborough, NH for 18 years. Ken was also in the documentary “Communities and Consequences”.
• Andy Lucier , Fire Chief, Emergency Management Director and Ambulance Director for the town of Milton, NH. Andy has been involved with the Fire Department and Ambulance for Milton for 35 years and he’s also in the documentary, “Communities and Consequences”.

High gas prices, a weak dollar, and the biofuel boom are all having an impact on what you pay at the grocery checkout counter, especially for everyday items like milk, bread, and anything made with corn. We’ll look closer at what’s driving food prices and if there’s any relief in sight.

Guests

• John Dumais, Staff specialist at the New Hampshire Grocer’s Association
• Russ Thibeault, President of Applied Economic Research in Laconia

We'll also hear from

• Tony Heath, owner of Quality Cash Market, a small family owned store in east Concord

For the first time in decades the US Supreme Court has the chance to define once and for all “the right to bear arms”. The case stems from a controversial ban on guns in D.C., which has made its way through court after court. And now, groups on both sides of the gun issue eagerly await the Justices’ ruling expected in June.

Guests

• Buzz Scherr, Professor at Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord
• Richard Feldman, President of MLS Communication, a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and author of "Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist"
• Jon Lowy, Senior Attorney for the "Legal Action Project" at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence