The Soapbox | Manchester Ink Link

Education Freedom Account handouts: Thousands of dollars for filling out a form

Saturday, March 11, 2023 Jeanne Dietsch 2

Currently, the state offers parents $3700+ for the simple act of completing an EFA registration form. Not surprisingly, thousands of private-school parents registered. Then, these parents could submit the tuition bills that they previously paid themselves to a scholarship organization. The scholarship organization pays the bills with taxpayer moneys. The state is not permitted oversight on how the money is used. READ MORE

HB 249 protects consumers with standards and framework around pet insurance

Saturday, March 11, 2023 D.J. Bettencourt 0

As animal lovers in New Hampshire understand, veterinary care can be eye-poppingly expensive. The number of American households with at least one pet is at an all-time high, as are pet care costs. This year, consumers are estimated to spend well over $30 billion on veterinarian care and product sales, according to the American Pet Products Association. READ MORE

Sununu Center: Legislature must act this year to address design and construction of new facility

Thursday, March 9, 2023 Keith Kuenning 0

O P I N I O N THE SOAPBOX Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn. The following opinion piece was originally published in NH Business Review, a Member of In 2021, the NH Legislature READ MORE

Passenger rail would cost less than it took to widen I-93

Thursday, March 2, 2023 Bryce Kaw-uh 14

Bringing passenger rail service to Manchester would cost less than the recently completed I-93 widening project. Widening I-93 between Manchester and Salem cost a total of $751 million in 2020 dollars. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $870 million today. Passenger rail would cost $597 million to build which is significantly less. You may remember the Union Leader article that claimed rail would cost $782 million, but that’s because the newspaper failed to mention that the figure was in Year-of-Expenditure (YOE) dollars, which basically takes decades of future inflation into account. READ MORE

The first 24 hours

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 Cindy Bringhurst 0

Recently, I spent the evening with a woman who was in the process of detoxing from an opioid. READ MORE

Want passenger rail in Manchester? Make your voice heard

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 Bryce Kaw-uh 17

The passage of this misguided bill would effectively kill any chance of Manchester achieving regional passenger rail service. That would throw an enormous wrench in our community’s 2019 Regional Economic Development Plan, our 2020 Transit Oriented Development Plan, and also our award-winning 2021 Master Plan. READ MORE

Why do we elect people who fleece us?

Monday, February 6, 2023 Jeanne Dietsch 2

It’s budget season at the State House as well as in towns. And the folks at the State House are jubilant that their budget is overflowing with federal monies. Local towns? Not so much. READ MORE

The Soapbox: There is insufficient demand to justify expense of commuter rail

Monday, February 6, 2023 Dick Lemieux P. E., Ret. 2

History proves that, given a choice between passenger rail and congested roads, commuters will overwhelmingly choose the latter. I-93 in Mass and I-95 in Maine are highly visible nearby examples of under-utilized trains near over-capacity roads. NH is no different. There is insufficient rail demand to justify the expense. READ MORE

A day in Central High School history that would have made Ron DeSantis’s head explode

Friday, February 3, 2023 David Scannell 2

Among those cut out of the curriculum, according to media reports, was Audre Lorde, perhaps the foremost Black woman poet of the 20th century. As famous as Lorde, who died at age 58 in 1992, is in certain circles, hers is hardly a household name, but there is a group of now-middle-aged Central High School graduates who are unlikely to forget their run-in as high school students with a woman whose work Ron DeSantis believes to be unfit for high school consumption. READ MORE

The Soapbox: Manchester needs passenger rail

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Kathy Staub 9

Did you know that New Hampshire’s Merrimack Valley is the most populous metro area in New England that does not have passenger rail service? READ MORE