Sam Evans-Brown

New Hampshire labor unions are calling on Congressmen Bass and Guinta to avert automatic budget cuts, laid out in a deficit reduction deal between Democrats and Republicans last year. As things stand now, on January 1st mandatory budget cuts will be imposed on defense spending, Medicare, and discretionary spending – unless the current members of Congress do something to stop them.

No matter who wins on November 6th, President of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO Mark Mackenzie says, it will be this year’s lame duck Congress who will have to deal with automatic cuts.

UNH President Mark Huddleston delivered his State of the University address, Thursday. He used the speech to reiterate his call to restore the cuts to the State University funding.

In exchange for restoring the state’s nearly $50 million dollar cut from the university system Huddleston again pledged to freeze tuition for two years and increase student grants and scholarships to students.

Last month New Hampshire Charter Schools in development got some very bad news: the board of education voted that they would no longer be approving new applications. Their reason: the state is all out of funding for such schools.

Charter school advocates blasted the decision, saying it made no sense, because the new schools would fall under next biennium’s budget. Wednesday the Attorney General’s office told lawmakers if they want to get money to those schools, they’ll have to change the laws.

A lot of Americans are struggling to lose a whole lot of weight, and they try all kinds of crazy things.

Ernest Gagnon — a man from Billerica, Mass. — decided to shed pounds by getting into the often intense, high-adrenaline sport of cyclocross: racing road bikes on obstacle courses.

Two years ago, Gagnon tipped the scales at 570 pounds. He was depressed and embarrassed to leave the house.

This year there are nine state senators not returning to their seats. Most of the chairs are being vacated by Republicans, and that’s got Democrats banking on winning some of those seats back. And in district 7, one traditionally red seat is up for grabs.

With eight incumbent Republicans leaving their seats, and only one Democrat, even Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley will tell you it’s not an ideal situation.

Former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Smith will be heading up an effort to build support for the constitutional amendment banning an income tax.

The National Science Foundation has given The University of New Hampshire $750,000 to coordinate the study of the impacts of Climate Change on roads and bridges.

The grant money will establish a network of Northeast climate scientists and civil engineers led by UNH researchers.

We continue our “Issue of the Week” election series…and today we find out where the candidates for Congress, Governor, and President stand on.. education. Though all agree on the importance of strong schools and universities, candidates part ways on how to achieve this aim.  We’ll take a look at how they plan to tackle the many educational challenges, from student debt to funding state universities. 

GUESTS:

Danielle Curtis: Education reporter for the Telegraph of Nashua

Sam Evans-Brown: Education and environment reporter for NHPR

The chairman of the state board of education says it’s likely the moratorium on approval of new charter schools will be lifted later this year.

Education officials have been saying for the past two weeks that the state is $4.9 million dollars short on funding for charter schools that have already been approved this year. But speaking today on NHPR’s The Exchange, chairman of the finance committee Ken Weyler said…

Weyler: I am pretty sure that the money is there.

The campaigns of Carol Shea-Porter and Frank Guinta are trading sharp words over a Shea-Porter ad claiming Guinta voted to cut money for veterans’ programs. The ad that Shea-Porter’s campaign released last week stuck to the aggressive tone that the former congresswoman has adopted this election cycle.

Today the New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy renewed Planned Parenthood’s license to distribute prescription drugs. The decision comes despite a complaint brought by a New Hampshire Pro-Life Group.

New Hampshire Right to Life submitted a complaint last spring claiming that Planned Parenthood of Northern New England could not dispense prescription drugs without a contract with the state.

Farm-to-School programs are expanding across New Hampshire, according to a new report, but the cost of local food is still a barrier for many schools.

Stacey Purslow of New Hampshire Farm-to-School says the number of farms selling food to schools has tripled to 60 over the last three years. She says schools are buying a wider variety of products.

Purslow: We started out with apples in New Hampshire but now they get tomatoes, and cucumbers and lettuce, and corn and broccoli, and cabbage and potatoes and eggs and maple syrup and beef.