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 HelloReturn to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to NH Outlook. |
| Intro Dangerous Cold Return to index of stories... |
Bitter, cold temperatures have tightened their grip on New Hampshire and the rest of Northern New England. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory across the state. The combination of wind and cold air - could mean wind chills of 25 below zero overnight in some locations. Wind chill is calculated by factoring in wind speed and the temperature of the air. The "wind chill temperature" refers to how cold the air feels. The actual air temperature does not change. This sub zero weather should be with us for several days. |
| Intro Legislature Return to index of stories... |
With the Legislature in session, many proposed bills are now getting public hearings, including some that have been heard before. Richard Ager was at the statehouse today, and as he tells us, it was a reminder that many lawmakers don't regard rejection as permanent. 1;51 - 2:00 |
| Legislature Today Return to index of stories... |
soundup: tape 1 10;40:07 Since the people of this state certainly don't want an income tax nor a sales tax - basically voted against taxes - and instead of just trimming ourselves to the point of being bare-bone - do we now - the people of the state - take on something which is a little bit different in the gaming sector? Track: If there were marks for persistence, Rep. Anthony Difruscia would get a high score. A long-time supporter of expanded gambling, DiFruscia is the prime sponsor of the first gambling bill of the new session. It would allow towns and cities to allow slots or a casino with a 2/3 vote. Dirfruscia claims that expanded gambling could raise $200-300 million a year - enough to close the pending state deficit. But Republican leadership isn't biting. bite: tape 1 11:02:10 It allows a decision of significant magnitude that affects not only the host town but surrounding communities in concentric circles. It will have a tremendous impact on many of those communities with absolutely no standards, criteria or requirement that the impact on those other communities be addresed in any way, either fiscally or otherwise. Track: Hess also pointed out that a similar bill was overwhelmingly defeated last year - evidence, he says, that NH doesn't want casinos or slots. soundup; tolls Track: But we do want discounts or our tolls, and there are fears that when the state adopts the E-Z Pass electronic toll system by 2005, the current half-price deal on the tokens could be phased out along with the tokens. Bite: tape 1 11:18:33 The law says the governor and council will give a discount to those using the E-Z Pass system, but it doesn't specify the amount - so it could be as little as 1% or less. So the intent of this bill is to keep the current discount system as it presently is. Track: The hearing that drew the most public response was on a bill aimed at controlling unwanted telemarketing calls. Bite: tape 1 11:46:05 A growing number of people in our state feel that it's an unwarranted intrusion in their lives to have the kind of phone calls we have from commercial interests night after night. In my house, we have at least one every night - and my response always is - please take me off your list. Track: But that rarely works because there are so many lists. The bill would establish a single statewide do not call list that would be available to all telemarketers. There would be exemptions for charitable and non-profit organizations soliciting for donations. Standup; tape 1 14:53:58 The sponsors of the do not call bill are clearly aware of the emotional power of this issue. One commented "it would be nice to return to the days when you actually want to answer your telephone." When asked, the lobbyist for the telemarketer association refused to comment on the bill. Track: With the election of Craig Benson, Republican leadership announced several previously-vetoed bills would return. This hearing was into the establishment of committee to examine the operating efficiency of state government. 15 of its 18 members will be appointed from the private business sector - a measure applauded by Gov. Craig Benson. Bite: tape 2 12:59:11 I think this bill would go a long way to solving our problems of being more efficient, being more cost-effective, and serving our citizens much better than we do today. So I'd like to see us do that as soon as possible. It would be even better if it was one of the first bills I could sign. Track: The governor proposed that the efficiency report be ready by the end of the year. But critics of the proposal say the state should pay for the study - which would be privately funded - and questioned whether the business model - and business input should dominate the study. Bite: tape 2 13;28:50 The customers of govt. tend to be people who are people in need. If we listen to what Doug Hall has been saying the past two weeks - the places where we've seen the costs of govt. go up the fastest are places where health care for seniors are concerned. People being locked up in jail are concerned - those costs are going up. Those are places where the customer base might not be the customer base you would be looking for if you were opening a new business. It is nonetheless, the customer base that is driving some of the cost of government. Track: For NH Outlook, I'm richard Ager. |
| Intro Sprawl #2 Return to index of stories... |
New Hampshire is the fastest growing state in New England. According to the Office of State Planning, New Hampshire can expect to add 15,000 new residents every year in the next twenty years. There are many who say without planning, New Hampshire's landscape will change dramatically. The result could be Sprawl: the focus of our special series of reports. In this report, we look at Master Plans, something the town of Hampton has just completed. Producer Tai Freligh shows us how their plan is coming to life. |
| Master Plan Return to index of stories... |
NATSOT 14:26:56 There's the bandstand. There's the trolleys. And these all used to be seats. I liked that. I don't like it the way it is now, but that's progress. TRACK Diane LaMontagne has lived in Hampton all her life, almost 80 years. Things were different when she was a child in the thirties. SOT 14:20:59 It was hard. It was hard. And we had one car. In those days, cars weren't that good. I remember horse and buggies going up the street. **BUTT BITES** 14:18:57 We had one school bus. Jimmy Eastman was the bus driver and "If you kids don't keep quiet, I'm gonna make you walk". And when you walk, there was no road across the marsh. It was all the way up on Winnicunnet Road. If you missed the bus, you walked because your father wasn't about ready to come up town to get you. TRACK 50 years ago, there were fewer than 3,000 people living in Hampton. Now there are almost 15,000. Hampton has grown from a small seacoast town into a tourist mecca. Town managers recently hired their first town planner. The first order of business- designing a master plan to help guide the future growth of the town and the beach area. SOT @12:42:00 You can't stop growth and I don't think you want to stop growth, but you want to be able to manage it in a way that's not only satisfactory to the new people or the new growth, but to the people who live there who pay the current taxes. You want to make sure that their best interests are being watched out for. TRACK Jennifer Kimball worked with the state and town to draft a new master plan. It was adopted in November of 2001. SOT 12:27:52 The plan that was in place before, one, was out of date. You know master plans are out of date as soon as they are adopted. It didn't look at a comprehensive vision for the entire area. And it wasn't specific to the beach area. The beach is a valuable resource not only from an environmental standpoint, but from an economic standpoint. And it is important to Hampton for economics also, especially for the summer months. **BUTT BITES** SOT 12:38:57 The discussion for the beach area is to keep it kind of a low key, similar to where it is now. It's not a plan looking to make it Miami Beach or Salisbury Beach. It's not looking to make high rise developments the norm. It's looking to create some green spaces, but to basically redevelop what's there, keep the density. We're at an urban density now. When they looked at how dense we are, it's similar to like a Boston or a New York City. TRACK The 50-year plan addresses things like infrastructure, zoning, and transportation. SOT 12:30:04 Transportation and pedestrian safety is a big issue down at the beach and some of the recommendations they make in that avenue also address some other avenues. For example, one of the ideas is to close off sections of Ocean Boulevard to make it more pedestrian friendly, so you have these kind of pocket parks which would, one, prevent your cruising which is an issue for traffic, two, it would allow pedestrians to walk back and forth from maybe the beach over to the commercial side of it where you have your restaurants and stores. TRACK Trying to manage the growth of a town while preserving its character is at the heart of a master plan. While Diane has seen Hampton grow over the last 70 odd years, she says some things stay the same. SOT 14:47:40 One thing is the people. They all work together. You don't see that in cities. They don't even know their neighbors. You have neighbors, new people come in, even in the summertime, this place is crowded in the summer. I don't particularly like summers because they're rrrh. But winters, I like. Yeah, I like. Everybody's friendly. You got a nice walk up the beach. Beautiful. Even when it's cold, you bundle up for it. You bring some bread down to the birds because they're starving. But it's just a nice place to be. TRACK The first step in adopting the plan is putting forward a bill to create the Hampton Beach Area Commission. This commission would be a mid-level entity with appointed officials from the Department of Resources and Economic Development, Department of Transportation, Office of State Planning, Regional Planning Commission and the local Chamber of Commerce.. This commission will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the plan, starting with short term goals and then moving on to the long term ones. SOT 12:37:11 The plan did have short term recommendations and a lot off them were just simple things; making it a better place, starting to work on zoning, maybe cleaning up some areas. But as far as the actual hardcore construction projects, I think we need to get some things in place before we make recommendation on what to do there. TRACK Having lived in Hampton since 1926, Diane has no plans on going anywhere. And as the town grows and expands, she'll be right there growing with it. SOT 14:51:10 I ain't about ready to move for nobody. It's a good place. We have our ups and downs, we sputter. But that's living. If we didn't sputter, and everybody was doing the same thing, everybody happy, it wouldn't be interesting. TRACK In Hampton, I'm Tai Freligh for NH Outlook. |
| Intro Sprawl #3 Return to index of stories... |
One element that is often missing from a master plan is community health. According to New Hampshire Celebrates Wellness, a health advocacy group, 55% of New Hampshire's adults are overweight or obese, and obesity is increasing among our children as well. So, they are sponsoring a program to build opportunities for exercise and recreation back into the infrastructure of our communities. The program is called "Livable Walkable Communities" and producer Chip Neal went on a local audit. |
| Livable/Walkable Return to index of stories... |
We speak with the people responsible for a program called "Livable Walkable Communities. Nancy Lynch Director of NH Celebrates Wellness, a health advocacy group and the sponsoring agency of LWC. And we speak with Meredith Cooper coordinator of LWC in NH. We taped this story in Durham because it has put in place some LWC concepts. And we spoke with James Campbell, Durham's Dir. Of Planning. LWC is trying to get communities to resist sprawl and instead build opportunities for exercise and recreation into their infrastructures, so that exercise is a part of everyday life. According to "Healthy NH" 2010, 55% of NH's adults are overweight or obese and obesity is increasing in our children as well. |
| Tomorrow Return to index of stories... |
On the next New Hampshire Outlook - Our special series of reports on Sprawl continues with a look at the State's water resources. Plus, some thoughts on the changing landscape. |
| What's on your mind Return to index of stories... |
Do you have a vision of what New Hampshire should look like in the next twenty years? Does your vision include traffic congestion, water shortages or miles and miles of housing developments? Is sprawl really a cause for concern? These are some of the questions we're asking in this series, and we want to hear from you. Please tap into our website at nhptv.org. Go to the Outlook page and click on the Sprawl icon. Along with a description of the topics you'll see covered here at New Hampshire Public Television, you can tap into our discussion forum, "what's on your mind." Start a conversation. or join one. We may use some of your comments or questions in upcoming discussions. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That's it for this edition of our program. I'm Ally McNair. Thanks for joining us |
| 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. Our special series of reports on Sprawl continues with a look at the State's water resources. Plus, some thoughts on the changing landscape. Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| Tag Master Plan Return to index of stories... |
The Hampton Beach Master Plan is available online at hampton-dot-lib-dot-nh-dot-us. Just do a search for "master plan". |
| key: Environment Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/21/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 6:00 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, we begin tonight's program with a look the bitter, cold temperatures have tightened their grip on New Hampshire and the rest of Northern New England. The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill advisory across the state. Joining us in studio with some information on how we can get through these chilly temps safely is Deputy Cheif Steve Achilles of the Portsmouth fire department. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Allison McNair NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Dep Chief Steve Achilles\Portsmouth Fire Dept |
| key: State Politics / Government Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/21/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 4:45 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, we continue tonights program with a look at the legislature and many proposed bills are now getting public hearings, including some that have been heard before. Richard Ager was at the statehouse today, and as he tells us, it was a reminder that many lawmakers don't regard rejection as permanent. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Richard Ager NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Rep. Anthony DiFruscia\R - Windham, Rep. David Hess\R - House Majority Leader, Rep. Robert L'Heureux\R - Merrimack, Sen. Andy Peterson\R - District 11, Craig Benson\NH Governor, Rep. Peter Burling\D - House Democratic Leader |
| key: Environment Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 1/20/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 13:28 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, we bring the second night of our week long series sprawl. In the first two stories we focus on Master Plans and growth in New Hampshire. In tonight's second segment on sprawl we focus on a program called "Livable Walkable Communities". PRODUCER/REPORTER: Tai Freligh, Chip Neal NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Diane LaMontagne\Hampton Resident, Jennifer Kimball\Hampton Town Planner, Nancy Lynch\Dir, NH Celebrates Wellness, Meredith Cooper\"Livable Walkable Communities", James Campbell\Dir Planning, Durham, Nancy Lynch\Dir, NH Celebrates Wellness |
| Tonight 10:00 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Join us tonight at 10:00 only on New Hampshire Outlook. |