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Executive Council Takes Refugee Money from Feds, but not Healthcare Money

Staff photo

 

Refugees in the state will receive almost a half million dollars of federal funding for health and social services.

The executive council had put that money on hold last month at the request of Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas.

Councilor Ray Wieczorek says that he still has reservations about the number of refugees being resettled in Manchester.

Wieczorek: we ought to try to spread it out a little bit so that the responsibility is spread amongst at least eleven cities.

In contrast, the council voted to turn down federal money for planning a state health insurance exchange.

Councilor St. Hilaire was surprised that the vote failed.

St. Hilaire: I think at this point without accepting those funds we might see the federal government stepping in and imposing a system upon us.

The council also approved an 81 million dollar for the construction of the memorial bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery.

Sam Evans-Brown has been working for New Hampshire Public Radio since 2010, when he began as a freelancer. He shifted gears in 2016 and began producing Outside/In, a podcast and radio show about “the natural world and how we use it.” His work has won him several awards, including two regional Edward R. Murrow awards, one national Murrow, and the Overseas Press Club of America's award for best environmental reporting in any medium. He studied Politics and Spanish at Bates College, and before reporting was variously employed as a Spanish teacher, farmer, bicycle mechanic, ski coach, research assistant, a wilderness trip leader and a technical supporter.

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