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 HelloReturn to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to NH Outlook. |
| Intro Legislation Return to index of stories... |
The New Hampshire legislature has approved the first round of budget cuts called for Gov. Craig Benson. As Richard Ager reports, the vote was part of a busy agenda for the new governor. |
| Legislative Day Return to index of stories... |
Track: It may seem strange, but NH law requires a governor to get legislative permission to NOT spend money that has already been appropriated. So Craig Benson came to the House/Senate Fiscal committee to make his case for immediate action on the deficit. bite: tape 1 09;17:18 The news I bring is unfortunately not good news. We have a budget deficit that we're looking at on the order of $80 million at the end of this year. As a result, we have prepared these orders to attempt to deal with some of that deficit. These orders will help reduce that deficit on the order of $5-6 million as calculated by Don Hill. While this is nowhere near enough to compensate for the $80 million, it is at least a start and we are looking at further action. Graphic: The orders include a freeze on all hiring, prohibit out of state travel, limit class 30 equipment purchases, prohibit new consulting contracts and freeze computer equipment purchases. Exceptions to the hiring freeze involve workers in direct care, law enforcement, custodial care jobs and community-technical college teaching positions. Soundup: fiscal committee tape 09:20:57 "The ayes have it." Track: The fiscal committee voted to affirm the executive orders. The hiring freeze was immediately reflected at the following executive council meeting. Soundup: Executive council tape 1 10:59:55 "We're going to still approve the other ones, withdrawing those ones I just mentioned." Track: All requests to fill job vacancies or create new positions were withdrawn, as were a number of service provider contracts associated with the Dept. of Health and Human Services. bite: Executive council tape 2 12:25:00 ARE THOSE PERMANENTLY GONE OR ARE YOU RETHINKING THOSE - WHAT IS THE STATUS? We're going to go back and carefully review each and every one of them - so you may see some of them coming back. some may not come back, some may come back. Track: The most contentious item on the council agenda was $6 million for work on the Conway bypass - rejected by many conway residents but wanted by towns further north. bite; Executive council tape 1 11:27:40 The Conway bypass is a project of regional impact and answers the question often asked by the representatives of the state when they come to Berlin and Gorham: "What is it that you want us to do to help your region?" Our answer is simply: Please let this project go through as planned. Soundup: executive council tape 3 11:29:33 I think the folks deserve one more opportunity to meet with everybody. Track: Councillor Ray Wieczorek urged a delay but Transportation Commissioner said there's been enough talk. Bite: Executive council tape 3 11:37:10 The compromise that we reached with the 9 phases came hard. There was blood all over the valley and it was not just the folks in the valley or in Berlin or Gorham or the Dept. I guess a good compromise is one that no one feels good about. Bite: Executive council tape 3 11:31:50 I was 18 when this whole thing started and that's a long time to be discussing anything, and if we're going to really change state govt. collectively - you all have your own decision to make - we ought to start by making a high profile decision and showing people we mean business, and we are going to get things done. Track: The vote was 3-2 to proceed, with the swing vote coming from a councillor who had originally opposed the project. Bite: executive council tape 3 12:05:40 I voted no originally to delay this project to look at the concerns people had raised and really - I think the project is really needed and it's designed well, it's going to work well and I think there's overall support for the project and we should go forward with it. Track: for NH Outlook, I'm Richard Ager. |
| Intro Richard Return to index of stories... |
And just back from the legislature, Richard Ager. We don't usually talk amongst ourselves, but this is not exactly business as usual. |
| Richard Debrief Return to index of stories... |
Granite State Independent Living The money is all federal money intended to - part of the Ticket to Work - work incentives improvement act - federal legislation passed in 2000. As part of that initiative - center for medicaid services, dept of labor, and social security admin. issued federal grants to raise employment level of people with wide range of disabilities. Have had a contract for past two years - this is a continuation of that. Over 900 people in the state have used the services - one provides health insurance for those returning to work, benefits counselling - looking at your options - going back to work is a solution - vocational training governor's office say it was pulled by Health & Human Services. Health and Human Services said it was pulled by the governor. money comes through fiscal committee - which was accepted The Senate Democrats unveiled their legislative agenda today - focusing on access to health care, improving education and giving property taxpayers a break. Senate Democratic Leader Sylvia Larsen said she'll introduce legislation to lower the elderly's cost of prescription drugs by using the state's power to negotiate discounts. She said she'll model her program on one being challenged in Maine. She said the court challenge shouldn't stop New Hampshire from going forward with the idea. She said she'll also propose giving a tax credit to small businesses that offer health care to their employees. Senator Clifton Below of Lebanon said he's working on a property tax cap for low-income homeowners - at between six and ten percent of the family's income. Other proposals include measures to improve literacy, teacher quality and parental involvement in education. Details weren't available on many of the ideas since the bills still are being written. Benson bite: executive council tape 3 12:25:50 I have to tell you, I think all state govt. needs some fresh thinking and a new approach. That's why I'm particularly fond of Nick Vailis as a change agent to come into Health and Human Services. He's a person who thinks outside the box. He's a risk-taker, he's an innovator, and he gets things done. He's been very succesful - he's a home-grown product of NH = he went to PLymouth State college. I mean there's a lot to say about this gentleman and his accomplishments. That type of change agent - as I like to call them - is something we need in a number of different departments throughout the state. You can never have enough of them. |
| Thanks, Richard Return to index of stories... |
Thanks, Richard. Tomorrow we'll have the house majority and minority leaders hear to talk about fiscal policy and more. |
| Pete Townshend Return to index of stories... |
Moving on now to a topic a lot of people are talking about. Internet crime and prevention. Rock Legend Pete Townshend, the guitarist from The Who is a target in an internet child pornography investigation in the UK. Investigators say they tracked the musician when he used his credit card to access a child pornography site. Police confiscated his computer for evidence and questioned Townshend for over an hour. Townshend says he was just doing research and was released on bail. |
| Internet Poison Return to index of stories... |
In another recent internet related story, an 18 year old boy from Baltimore is facing murder charges for allegedly poisoning his friend's soda with cyanide. Police say the boy found the cyanide on the internet and ordered the poison with his mother's credit card. The boy's parents have issued a public apology. |
| Intro Internet Return to index of stories... |
These stories are becoming all too common as the use of the internet becomes part of everyday life. The number of children on the internet has also grown exponentially. So, how can we keep them safe from potentially dangerous material online? Several measures have been taken by law enforcement and legislation - but experts say that parents hold the key to children's safety. Celene Ramadan has the story. |
| Internet Safety Return to index of stories... |
Begin with Nikky - Nat sound at the computer --- Nikky Raney - Shot of her hands typing, pans up to her face. Shot of her face pans back to her hands. We got our computer when I was eight years old and then my dad kind of taught me how to do it and we have classes at school that kind of teach us how to use the Internet. And then I learned from my friends. From behind shot of her head in foreground and computer screen in background. Tilts down to keyboard in background. Nikky Raney is twelve years old and already proficient in using the Internet. She is not alone as 65% of children her age are also online. Jim McLaughlin - "Well, for a young person the Internet is very attractive because your peers are using it. - Tilt up from gun. But, as Detective Jim McLaughlin knows, the Internet poses dangers that make protecting children a challenge. Just one wrong click of a mouse can send any well-intentioned user into a bad place. Celene - Have you ever found something inappropriate while you were looking for that stuff? Nikky - Yeah. Uber-tight shot of her eyes. Well, like some inappropriate stuff popped up on the screen and, like, I kept trying to exit out and my computer, like, froze and then I was like, "Ahh!" and I had to shut down my computer. This is a common scenario. In fact, according to government statistics, one out of every four children is exposed to explicit material online. But even more dangerous than what children are seeing online is who they are talking to in chat rooms. Jim - But, the other danger, of course, with people that are out there that are specifically looking for adolescents that are socially isolated that are apt to be manipulated and apt to be sexually exploited. That's were the danger comes." Kathleen Tucker - - With kids and teens out on the Internet socializing and interacting with other people - they need to know what boundaries are. They need to know what's appropriate and what's inappropriate. Nikky - Yeah, they tell us not to give out our last name, not to give out our phone numbers and all of our personal information." Because if you give out your personal information online, someone could know who you are and come. JIM - "Well, the problem with kids is that we can tell them 'Never give out your name, never give out your address' but kids will give out other information that will lead to their identification. In fact, offenders do the same thing. And what we do in law enforcement is as we talk to an offender over many different chats we collect little bits of information. An example would be a child tells me he is in Southwestern New Hampshire, he won't tell me where he's from. In another conversation he may tell me what his school colors are. So, I can match that up with what school he's from. And on and on we go collecting little bits of information, which leads to identification. So, a lot of times we tell kids not to release the obvious but, just through normal conversations, they get sloppy and release too much." The Child Online Protection Act of 1998 set some boundaries on the Internet to reduce children's access to harmful material online. But President Bush has gone an extra step into signing a bill that would create the Dot Kids Domain - an entire online "neighborhood" designed especially for kids. Kathleen - - "Well, right now they view the internet as kind of like the wild west - they can do anything that they want they have no responsibility. So, it's important to educate students to make them aware that there are roles responsibilities and consequences to their actions online. One of the things that DOT kids will do is to help provide and environment where they're not flooded with these types of visual images. Jim - "Well, first off, we have to have parents recognize the fact that using software is never going to replace good parenting. Parents have to be willing to know about technology and how to look at what their child is doing and to stay in touch with their child and recognize certain signs that things are not right. The Dot Kids domain is being created to serve as a safe haven for children 13 and under. However, this designation may be missing the group most at risk. Jim - "If you're looking at 'at risk' children, a lot of parents give a lot of thought to the younger children who are more apt to abide by parental guidelines of computer use. But the real danger is adolescents the 13, 14, 15 year olds that are out there developing some independence and rebelling against parental directions." The domain may also do away with features such as chat rooms and instant messaging. But, according to Nikky, that would make the Internet lose most of its appeal. Nikky - Because, like I go online so I can talk to people cause it's easier to talk to people online then at school, because if you're at school you're there to learn mostly and you're not like with people and talking to people all the time. But online, you can talk to people that you wouldn't normally talk to at school. Critics say that limiting young people's online experiences is not as effective as educating them to make the right decisions online. Education can start in the home, from parents. Jim - You know I tell parents if you bring a computer into the home and you don't have any knowledge and you can't adequately supervise your child's use of it. Jim - "Well, a parent can basically educate themselves by taking advantage of the courses that are offered by Internet service providers. There's a lot of online help available, or they can go to the local high schools or colleges in their area and find courses designed to educate parents about the use of the Internet and how to monitor their child's usage." Kathleen - So, just like we educated them on how to be safe in their physical environment, we need to educate them on how to be safe online." And it's those lessons that kids like Nikky are starting to learn. For New Hampshire Outlook, I'm Celene Ramadan. |
| Intro Vida Return to index of stories... |
These days you might think that the computer has replaced the good old fashioned board game. But a woman in North Conway is making a go with Vida Games, an independent game publishing company that has her working hard at playing games. Theresa Kennett has the story. |
| Vida Games Return to index of stories... |
It's 10 o'clock on a Thursday morning and Patty Lasker and her staff are hard at work - playing games. Patty at 3:43 Of course we play games at work, its our job. Jump cut to 17:44 We have to understand what's going on in the market. It gives us a chance to look at packaging, to look at colors. Lasker is owner and CEO of Vida Games, an independent game publishing company in North Conway. Patty at 4:30 - I would guess that there are roughly 250 game manufacturers in the United States. Vida games is the only game publishing company's in the state of NH. The idea for Lasker's first game, The Stock Market Tycoon, surfaced in 1999 when friends in the publishing business suggested that if Patty and her husband Owen, both long time stock brokers, came up with an investment game, they would publish it. Patty at 5:25 Game creation is really very easy it's a matter of solving a problem. So the problem was then, how do we get people to experience the emotions of the market in the course of an evening. I actually fell asleep thinking about that and when I woke up it was we'll create 10 stocks, we'll simplify the market, and we will manipulate those stocks through a series of cards so that people can play the market in a controlled environment during the course of an evening and that's what we did. Development, production, and marketing of Stock Market Tycoon took two years. Just as orders started to roll in, the publishers decided that games did not fit in with their product line and Lasker bought them out in August of 2001. Lasker at 7:26 - 7:39 My husband and I made the joint decision that I would leave my very successful career as an investment advisor and go into this new venture of selling stock market tycoon and creating a game publishing company. As sole owner of the company, Lasker found herself with over 500,000 cards and 560,000 pieces of play money all needing collating to meet a two week deadline. Lasker at 8:47 - 9:08 I went to Walmart and bought some muffin tins, and I went to RSVP and hired some senior citizens. I put tables in each room, handed these senior citizens muffin tins and they went around the table and they put cards in every single cup and that's how we collated five thousand games. Oh it was a great experience, the Muffin Tin Brigade. After September 11th, Lasker found her self trying to launch a stock market strategy game as the real market was crashing. Lasker at 9:24 -:44 By then, who cared about the stock market game. It was no longer a fun experience that everybody wanted. Buy the educational market grabbed that game and ran with it. Because, even though there are other stock market games out there, it's the only created by stock brokers. The Stock Market Tycoon strategy game is now in its third printing, its sold internationally, and the process is fully automated with a factory in China and a warehouse in Wisconsin. Lasker's company, Vida Games, has grown to include an art director, an administrative assistant, and a second game. Lasker at 12:50 - 13:01 Just when I think things are starting to stabilize around here, my customers say to me "what other games do you have coming up?" Oh my gosh more games, I need to come up with another game! This time Lasker, decided to create a card game. She went to bed thinking about the concept and woke up in the morning with a game called Double Take. Jean Simmons, Owner of Toy Chest Store, North Conway 5:50 - 6:11 We got Double Take in the beginning of October, which is a good time for us because it is the fall foliage season. The first order went right out. We have reordered and have it on our shelves, its going well. Lasker at 14:02 It flew off the shelves. I have people telling me they are addicted to that game. And its not officially introduced to the market until it goes to Toy Fair in February. So we are really excited about Double Take. Game Creation involves several different steps prior to the game reaching the store shelf. Once a concept for a new game is developed, research must be done to ensure the game doesn't already exist. Lasker at 23:09 Then we have to write rules, we have to create a working model, something rough that people can play with. Then we bring the public to test it. That is wicked fun. Oh my God is that fun and you would be surprised how people try to cheat. Stand Up @ 1:00:29 This is a prototype of a game called Green Alligators for children ages 4 through adult. Lasker and her staff will be launching this game in February and then there are a couple of ideas in the folder just waiting to be born. Lasker at 29:25 We don't talk about what's in the folder, those stay in the house, when they are in the folder they stay in the folder. Once we get to the testing its safe to talk about it because you can't beat me to the factory. Game publishing is a very competitive business and Lasker works many more hours than she did as a financial advisor. Lasker at 21:30 - 21:38 But in this company unlike the other company where I was heavily regulated, I get to write the rules, how cool is that. From Vida Games in North Conway, I'm Theresa Kennett for NH Outlook. |
| Tomorrow Return to index of stories... |
Coming up on the next New Hampshire Outlook. We'll take you to a Granite State greenhouse where the owners are growing a business, one flower at a time. And this program note. All next week. we'll be looking at New Hampshire's changing landscape. Sprawl: Managing Growth in the Granite State. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That's it for this edition of our program. For all of us here at New Hampshire Public Television, I'm Ally McNair. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| founders Return to index of stories... |
Thanks to our founding sponsors who have provided major funding for the production of New Hampshire Outlook: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Public Service of New Hampshire Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust Putnam Foundation Stratford Foundation |
| WEB PROMO Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. We'll take you to a Granite State greenhouse where the owners are growing a business, one flower at a time. Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| website Return to index of stories... |
For information on our program, and links to our guests and interviews, visit our web site at nhptv.org. You can see and hear streaming video of our broadcasts. We want to know what's on your mind. Join our discussion forum and tell us what you're thinking. If you have a story idea or comment on our program, click the feedback button. Or, call us at 800-639-2721. |
| key: State Politics / Government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/15/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 12:30 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, we begin with the New Hampshire Legislature as it approved the first round of budget cuts called for Gov. Craig Benson. Richard joined us instudio to debrief us on what happened at the state house today. He even had a chance to sit down with the Governor to see how his first days in office have been going. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Craig Benson\NH Governor, Bill Jackson\Gorham Town manager, Carol Murray\NH Commissioner of Transportation, David Wheeler\Executive Councilor - District 5 |
| key: Crime / Legal Issues / Law Enforcement Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/15/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 6:00 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, we changed gears to the recent internet stories including Pete Townshend and an 18 year old boy from Baltimore is facing murder charges for allegedly poisoning his friend's soda with cyanide that he had purchased through the internet. These stories are becoming all too common as the use of the internet becomes part of everyday life. The number of children on the internet has also grown exponentially. So, how can we keep them safe from potentially dangerous material online? Several measures have been taken by law enforcement and legislation - but experts say that parents hold the key to children's safety. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Celene Ramadan NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Det. Jim McLaughlin\Keene PD, Nikky Raney\12 years old, Kathleen Tucker\isafe America |
| key: Economy / Business Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/15/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 5:58 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, these days you might think that the computer has replaced the good old fashioned board game. But a woman in North Conway is making a go with Vida Games, an independent game publishing company that has her working hard at playing games. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Theresa Kennett NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Patty Lasker\Vida Games, Jeanne Simmons\The Toy Chest, North Conway |
| key: Recreation / Leisure / Sports Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/15/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 5:58 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, these days you might think that the computer has replaced the good old fashioned board game. But a woman in North Conway is making a go with Vida Games, an independent game publishing company that has her working hard at playing games. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Theresa Kennett NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Patty Lasker\Vida Games, Jeanne Simmons\The Toy Chest, North Conway |
| Tonight 10:00 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Join us tonight at 10:00 only on New Hampshire Outlook. |