Sam Evans-Brown

Senate Sends Lower RGGI Cap To Governor

Sam Evans-Brown — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:36:48 +0000

New Hampshire’s Senate has joined the House of Representatives and voted to ratchet down the cap on carbon dioxide restrictions under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI. Because of the historic rise of cleaner burning natural gas, it’s been easy for carbon dioxide RGGI’s existing caps. So earlier this year, the RGGI board asked the member states to lower those caps by 45 percent.

Lead Fishing Tackle Ban Charges Through N.H. House

Sam Evans-Brown — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:24:30 +0000

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted to ban lead fishing jigs or sinkers that weigh less than an ounce.

N.H. Still Waiting For No Child Left Behind Flexibility

Sam Evans-Brown — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:14:01 +0000

New Hampshire will have to wait a little longer for more flexibility from the federal education law No Child Left Behind. The US Department of Education granted three more states waivers today, but New Hampshire was not on the list.

New Study: Lawn Fertilizer, Septic Tanks Big Contributors To Great Bay Pollution

Sam Evans-Brown — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:00:46 +0000

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has released a draft of a major study trying to pin down the sources of nitrogen pollution in the Great Bay Estuary. The results offer some insight, but few easy solutions.

N.H. Poll Finds Strong Support For Democratic Incumbents

Sam Evans-Brown — Mon, 13 May 2013 16:26:53 +0000

A poll from New England College finds broad support for Governor Maggie Hassan and Senator Jeanne Shaheen and less support for Senator Kelly Ayotte. The poll shows more voters view Hassan and Shaheen favorably by 30 and 35 point margins, respectively. The polls director, Political Science Professor Ben Tafoya, says Senator Kelly Ayotte has a narrower lead of 5 points.

Fiddleheads: Tasty Forest Secrets

Sam Evans-Brown — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:49:24 +0000

Fiddleheads are the whimsical, tightly coiled spiral of fern sprouts that push their way up from under the layers of winter debris on the forest floor. They are also a regional and seasonal delicacy, and their season is incredibly short. In some Southern parts of the state, it may already be over. For any given fiddlehead patch, it can last as little as a week and a half.

That means for those who harvest the sprouts, fiddlehead patches are closely guarded secrets.

Hassan to Malloy: Hydro Doesn't Need Support

Sam Evans-Brown — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:58:47 +0000

Governor Maggie Hassan has sent a letter to the governor of Connecticut, Democrat Dannel Malloy, asking him to reject changes to that state’s renewable energy laws, called the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The changes are seen as a boost to the controversial Northern Pass Transmission line.

The Governor Hassan’s letter says the Connecticut proposal that would allow hydro to be counted toward that state’s renewable energy goals quote, “undermines our common goal of fostering new and small-scale renewable resources here in New England.”

Connecticut Law Could Be Good For Northern Pass, Bad For N.H. Biomass

Sam Evans-Brown — Fri, 03 May 2013 01:25:13 +0000

Lawmakers in Connecticut are working to review and revamp the rules that encourage renewable electricity generation. And the changes as proposed could be good news for Canadian hydropower, and bad news New

Hampshire Biomass.

Democrat Bob Duff chairs the Energy and Technology Committee in the Connecticut State Senate. He’s also a sponsor of a controversial bill on renewable energy.

Lawmakers Weighing Wind Permit Changes

Sam Evans-Brown — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:50:41 +0000

The House Science, Technology and Energy Committee kicked off a summer’s worth of work to reform the way the state evaluates proposals for new power plants Tuesday. They heard a whole day’s worth of testimony about wind energy.

Tax Credit Ruling Likely To Head To Supreme Court

Sam Evans-Brown — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:17:59 +0000

Oral arguments were heard Friday in a lawsuit which will determine if the state’s new education tax credit is constitutional. The state argues that for the tax credit to be considered unconstitutional, the judge has to consider first if directing money through a tax credit is the same as spending money in the budget. Next the judge will have to determine if because some parents use that money to send their kids to religious schools, does that violate the state’s constitution?

Education Tax Credit To Have Its Day In Court

Sam Evans-Brown — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:13:00 +0000

A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the controversial Education Tax Credit will be heard today in Strafford County Superior Court. The law was passed last year by Republicans seeking to create more avenues for educational choice. But Democrats say it saps resources from Public schools and have targeted the law for repeal.

Stabilizing The Suncook: Pacifying A River Run Amok

Sam Evans-Brown — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:28:54 +0000

Since 2006 the Suncook River has been on a different course: it jumped its bank in the Mother’s Day flood, and the state has been trying to stabilize it ever since. Now as part of a recent fine for filling wetlands, a gravel company will give the project 8,000 tons of stone for the project. But this is only part of a continuing effort to live next to a changing river.

Invasive Beetle Survey Finds Infestation Along Merrimack River

Sam Evans-Brown — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:23:53 +0000

A survey is now underway in Concord, to determine how far an infestation of invasive beetles has spread. The Emerald Ash Borer has been detected in trees up and down the Merrimack River in Concord. But so far the survey has not found any of the pests outside of a six-mile radius of the city.

There are 25 million ash trees in New Hampshire, found mostly in western and Northern counties. They make up about 6 percent of the state’s forests. But so far, the beetle that has decimated forests in the Midwest, has only been discovered in and around Concord

Senate Unlikely To Boost University Funding

Sam Evans-Brown — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:33:22 +0000

New Hampshire’s public universities made a pitch for restored funding to the budget writers in the New Hampshire State Senate Monday, but they got a lukewarm response.

Feds O.K. SNHU's College For America

Sam Evans-Brown — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:54:36 +0000

The federal government has approved Southern New Hampshire University’s online College for America.