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 Preshow Return to index of stories... |
Next on New Hampshire Outlook tonight. A new public opinion survey shows some people are willing to gamble on the idea to help pay for education. If they build it, the protestors will come. We'll look at a community at odds with a University plan to convert open space to soccer fields. And we'll meet the family who brought Storyland to life in the North Country. |
| Headlines Return to index of stories... |
Good Evening. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Tax Poll Return to index of stories... |
New Hampshire voters want gambling to fund education. That's according to a poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center. It was commissioned by a group called Citizens for Alternative Funding. Given the choice of six taxes -- 46 percent of those surveed favor a tax on slot machines at race tracks. An income tax, sales tax or an increase in the rooms and meals tax each got less than 20 percent. Increasing the state property tax was the least popular method, garnering only two percent. The survey of 408 randomly selected registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus five percent. |
| Senate Taxes Return to index of stories... |
Differing fiscal philosophies in the New Hampshire legislature were evident today when the Senate rejected a large portion of the House tax plan. The parts of the House bill which generated the strongest opposition were the business-tax credit and an increase in the hotel and restaurant tax. The bill remains alive, but without those components. Among the items which will remain in the legislation is a tax break for low and moderate-income residents who pay the statewide property tax. |
| Intro early learning Return to index of stories... |
The House also voted for a bill that will for the first time dedicate part of the state's education fund for pre-school children. Some representatives debated the value of early learning initiatives, and questioned whether the state should fund them. But 2/3 of the legislators voted to approve the voluntary measures to encourage literacy efforts among 3 and 4 year olds. |
| Tag Early Learning Return to index of stories... |
Because the early learning measure still must go to the House finance committee, it will not be sent over to the Senate until next year. |
| Intro Moore Field Return to index of stories... |
Over the past several months, a fight has been developing between the town of Durham and the University of New Hampshire over the university's plans to build soccer fields on a large piece of open land called Moore Field. The university says the soccer fields are badly needed. Opponents say the project could be a major environmental blunder. Producer Richard Ager brings us up to date. |
| Moore field Return to index of stories... |
Track: The university of New Hampshire takes a lot of pride in its athletic teams. Soundup: Hockey tape 01;01:2 Wide shot - cuts to player during intros Track: The men's and women's ice hockey teams regularly compete for the national championship while playing in the Whittemore Center which opened 6 years ago. Soundup; Hockey highlight Track: But outside this state of the art facility, the university's other athletes are competing on a whole different playing field. For example, Colleen Christopher who just made All-American in her chosen sport of lacrosse. This in spite of having to play most of her home games and all playoffs away from UNH, because the UNH field does not meet NCAA standards. Bite: Field House tape 11:17:35 We're on this field, and as you can see, it definitely gets tough. It's tough on the body, but it's also just tough on the team in general to have to deal with these types of situation…… it wasn't something that I had foreseen on my application to the university. Bite: Field House tape 11:22:16 The soccer fields in particular have been a source of great concern for us. If you look at how hard these are - with all the clay - it's like practicing on a parking lot. And our trainers tell me that we have a higher rate of lingering, nagging back injuries, shin splints, and the like which suggests unnecessary wear and tear because of the hard packed fields. Standup: UNH athletes need better facilities, and so do the 400 soccer players who are members of the Seacoast United Soccer Club. So more than a year ago, Seacoast United approached UNH with a proposal to build 9 and a half soccer fields here in Moore Field on Route 155, and the club would also build two fields in the current UNH Athletic complex. Best of all, the club would pay the $6 million construction cost, with UNH paying the upkeep on a project it would own. Field House tape 05;03 The Moore field project would change the scope of what we do forever. It is such an important initiative for us to take because our facilities right now are so substandard for Division 1 that they are truly affecting the quality of the student athletes that we can recruit to. Track: But Durham town officials say the project has become a perfect storm of controversy. Katie Paine/ Field tape I mean it's got soccer moms and it's got noise pollution, light pollution, birds, the Audubon Society, wetlands, town jurisdictions issues, community development issues and master plan issues- it's got everything. It's the quintessential twenty-first century controversy. Track: Complicating the fight is an apparent lack of trust between town government and the university. Katie Paine/ Field tape 01:13:50 I think the real issue that the town has is the process by which we are doing things, not so much whether there should or should not be soccer fields as much as it should go through normal developmental processes like the planning board, the conservation commission like all those things with proper plans and proper details and that's all the missing. Soundup: 11:49:45 showing me the plan - "We don't create any additional traffic for downtown Durham"… Track: The university says it has notified the town all it could, and is being unfairly criticized for being too open. Bite; Al Braun tape: 47:35 I think we went public too early. And that's mostly my fault and not the president's fault, because I encouraged her to give the plans to the town of Durham and the public early so that we could invite comment, not expecting that we would be criticized for not having completed plans, because I wanted input on the front end. Track: What will most likely decide the issue is whether or not the project site is largely a wetland. A report commissioned by Seacoast United concluded that Moore Field only contains small areas of wetland. But Fred Short, a wetlands ecologist with UNH, says that is wrong. Bite: Moore field tape #3 6:52 The area was historically wetlands. It was drained for agricultural purposes and there is a loss of habitat and general ecological value if it doesn't remain in a wetlands function and agriculture serves some of those same functions. It may not be as good as if it was a wetland as it was historically, but it has other values. Bite: Moore field tape #3 9:40 It would revert to wetland if it were left on its own, and as the drainage - in areas where the drainage has failed, it is still a wetland. Track: Short and other opponents say this is not just a local issue. Moore field tape #3 11:30 It's the loss of open space, it's the disruption of wildlife corridors and those sorts of things that are impacted. But it's partly a quality of life issue. It's the quality of life in NH. If everything is built up and developed and all the wetlands are filled, it's not going to be NH. It's not going to be attractive for people to come live here or people to stay here, so in a broad sense, I think it's a quality of life issue. It's also, from the environmental point of view, it's a wildlife issue that - this is a resting spot for migratory birds which stop here and can move to northern NH or into Maine or even into Canada. And it's an area that attracts a lot of people for looking at birds because it's very accessible here. Soundup: Canada geese tape 03:30:05 ** nice wide shot of wintry Moore field - go for sound Bite: Moore field tape #3 15:50 Stephen Mirick/ Great Bay Bird Observatory I've been spending a lot of time watching the birds here in these field for the last 20 years and it's one of only a few places on the seacoast where you can go to find several species of birds. Bite: 18:56 TELL ME ABOUT THE VIDEO OF THE RARE SPECIES YOU CAPTURED THE OTHER DAY. Bite: 16:30 Stephen Mirick/ Great Bay BirdObservatory That's the uplands sandpiper which is on the state endangered species list. And it's suffered a lot of loss and decline over the past 50 years because of destruction of its habitat. Because of reforestation of old pasture land and development pressures, the uplands sandpiper is a bird that is declining rapidly in the northeast, not only in NH but in Massachusetts and Vermont and Maine. Track; The challenge for all is how to balance the concerns of endangered birds, student athletes, and concerned citizens. For NH Outlook, I'm Richard Ager. |
| Intro guests Return to index of stories... |
There's a community meeting on the Moore Field Project in downtown Durham right now. Earlier this evening I was joined in studio by Bob Moynihan, a Lee Resident and UNH Professor and Al Braun, UNH Associate Vice President of Facilities at UNH. two people with two very different points of view. |
| BP Bump Return to index of stories... |
CG:BUMP2\FOR MORE INFORMATION\Citizens Against Moore Field Project 659.8788 email: citizensexchange@aol.com UNH Fact Sheet www.unh.edu/president Citizens Against Moore Field Project 659.8788 email: citizensexchange@aol.com UNH Fact Sheet www.unh.edu/president |
| Business Outlook Return to index of stories... |
Economists with the New England Economic Project say it appears likely that New England will be able to dodge a full-blown recession before the economy rebounds. They say New Hampshire remains on a solid growth track, as the fastest growing eastern state north of Delaware. The Granite state led New England in growth of international trade - and its tourism industry posted records last year. They caution that growth in New Hampshire will be slowed, in part by the still developing 'tech wreck.' |
| Wall Street Stocks Return to index of stories... |
On Wall Street the Dow made a recovery from yesterday's 166-point fall. It ended up 39 points at ten-thousand-911. The Nasdaq rose 26 points to 21-hundred-ten. And the Standard and Poor's 500 rose nearly eight points to 12-hundred-55. CG:STOCKS\DJIA\10911.94\+ 39.30\NYSE\641.67\+3.56\Amex\939.63\+ 11.38\Nasdaq\2110.49\+ 25.99\S & P 500\1255.82\+ 7.74 |
| NH Stocks Return to index of stories... |
Here's a look of stocks of interest to New Hampshire investors. Cabletron was up one dollar and sixteen cents. Fisher Scientific was up one dollar and twenty-five cents. Lockheed dropped one dollar and six cents. Oxford Health rose one dollar and twenty cents. And Timberland company closed the day down one dollar and eighty-six cents. CG:STOCKS\Cabletron\19.41\+1.16\Fisher Scientific\26.30\+1.25\Lockheed\38.29\-1.06\Oxford Health\27.44\+1.20\Timberland Company\43.11\-1.86 |
| Intro Mt. Washington Return to index of stories... |
It was rather windy around much the granite state today. We checked in with meteorologist Charlie Lopresti at the Mountain Washington Observatory a few minutes ago to see what's in store below and above the clouds. |
| Mt. Washington Return to index of stories... |
CG:LOWER3RD\Charlie Lopresti \Meteorologist/Observer CG:WEATHER\Mount Washington Observatory\Current conditions\Temperature: 25 degrees\Blowing snow with freezing fog\Wind chill: -16 F\Winds: NW 61 gusting to 73 mph CG:WEATHER\Tonight\North\Mostly clear\Lows: 35 to 40 F\Winds: NW 10 to 15 mph\ CG:WEATHER\Tonight\South\Clear\Lows: 35 to 40 F\Winds: NW 10 to 15 mph CG:WEATHER\Tomorrow\Statewide\Mostly sunny and warmer\Highs: 70 to 75 F\Winds: Light and variable\SE at 5 to 10 mph late |
| Intro Storyland Return to index of stories... |
This week marks the opening of a New Hampshire landmark and theme park. It was designed half a century ago by a young couple who wanted to create something special in the White Mountains. Correspondent Theresa Kennett shows us it's still a family business. |
| STORYLAND Return to index of stories... |
Story Land has made its home in the White Mountains of NH for the last 50 years. Bob and Ruth Morrell started this popular attraction after returning from Germany. Over the years, the Morrell family has reinvested time and money to develop Story Land into a wonderful children's theme park. With the help of their dedicated staff they put smiles on the faces of the thousands of people who visit each year. |
| Tag Storyland Return to index of stories... |
This Saturday is NHPTV Family Day at Storyland. For more information about this event and more call 383.4186 or log on to storylandnh.com. CG:BUMP2\NHPTV FAMILY DAY AT STORYLAND\Saturday June 2 9am - 6pm 383.4186 storylandnh.com NHPTV Family Day at Storyland Saturday June 2 9am - 6pm 383.4186 storylandnh.com www.storylandnh.com |
| website Return to index of stories... |
For information on tonight's 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 and participate in our daily poll. |
| Tomorrow Return to index of stories... |
Tomorrow on New Hampshire Outlook - We'll put the week's headlines into perspective - from the Supreme Court's decision on the Portsmouth Shipyard to the state of NH's economy. USE CG TEMPLATE |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That's it for this edition of New Hampshire Outlook. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30. Good night. |
| 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 Foundadtion Public Service of New Hampshire Alice J. Reen Charitable Trust Putnam Foundation Stratford Foundation |
| School Cop Return to index of stories... |
Supporters of having a police officer assigned to Keene High School continue to try to pressure the School Board to see things their way. The board rejected a proposal this month to apply for a grant to pay for an officer. More than 600 people signed petitions in favor of the plan. Supporters took their case this week to the regional board that oversees administration of seven school districts that include Keene, hoping it would pressure the Keene school board to reverse its decision. The supporters were disappointed when the board suggested further study. |
| Intro Superchallenge Return to index of stories... |
And finally tonight- Granite State Challenge wrapped up it's 20th season with the SuperChallenge. Here's a look at the games final moments of last night's live broadcast here on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| Property Tax Return to index of stories... |
To make sure property taxes are fair and up to date - the house has joined the senate in approving two committees which will oversee the process. One board would develop assessing standards and the other would oversee equalization, the system used to achieve town-to-town fairness. This is one of several tax system fixes lawmakers are considering after the state Supreme court mandated that local property values, not just those covered by the state's education tax, must be brought in line with market values every five years. |
| Discussion Return to index of stories... |
In February of 2000, the state Dept. of Environmental Services wrote the university a letter. It described the project as "unrealistic" and reminded the university that The letter also stated there is no demonstrated need for this project since "soccer fields can be located elsewhere in the seacoast where adequate upland exists without disturbing wetlands." It concluded that the UNH master plan "did not account for the presence of natural resources as limiting factors in the planned growth." |
| Teacher Tenure Return to index of stories... |
In Concord today, the House voted on a number of controversial education issues. House members voted overwhelmingly to amend a Senate education bill by imposing limits on so-called "teacher tenure". The amendment is aimed at making it easier for school boards to fire incompetent teachers. The bill would also establish a system of giving grades to every school in the state. It would impose sanctionson schools that receive failing grades. That bill will now go back to the Senate for debate. |
| Tag Superchallenge Return to index of stories... |
Congratulations to both teams. And you can look for a new season of Granite State Challenge with 32 new teams this fall. |
| Zip Code Return to index of stories... |
After years of living in postal obscurity, townspeople in Chichester have finally gotten what they asked for-- their own zip code. Actually, the town got back its old zip code, which was retired more than 20 years ago when the Chichester post office closed. Since that closure, Chichester's mail has been routed through post offices in Epsom, Pittsfield and Concord. Residents, however, complained of inefficient mail delivery and started a petition drive two years ago to get their own zip code. Folks in Chichester say they're glad to have their postal "identity" back. The new zip code will be 0-3-2-5-8, but it won't go into effect until July first. |
| Tonight 7:30 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. We'll put the week's headlines into perspective - from the Supreme Court's decision on the Portsmouth Shipyard to the state of NH's economy. Join us tonight at 7:30 only on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Tonight 11:30 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. We'll put the week's headlines into perspective - from the Supreme Court's decision on the Portsmouth Shipyard to the state of NH's economy. Join us tonight at 11:30 only on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Monday 7:30 Return to index of stories... |
Monday on New Hampshire Outlook. It's day one of financial fitness week. Another day older and deeper and debt. Get your shovel and prepare to dig out. Monday on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Tonight at 7:30 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Another day older and deeper and debt. Day one of our Financial Fitness week. Tonight at 7:30 on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Monday 11:30 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. Another day older and deeper and debt. Day one of our Financial Fitness week. Tonight at 11:30 on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| Spaulding Turnpike Return to index of stories... |
State officials say that more preparation needs to be done before work can begin on the Spaulding Turnpike widening project---and that will delay the starting date. Construction on the 83 million dollar expansion was scheduled to begin in 2003, but now will not start until 2004. In addition to the completing the final design, the state needs to buy property and move utility lines near the project site. Construction is expected to last several years. The expansion will add one lane in each direction of the turnpike, between exits 11 and 16. |