In The News
NH telecoms get $2.3M in federal grants to expand Internet
by Denis Paiste
Merrimack County Telephone company has been awarded $2,021,197 in federal funds and Kearsarge Telephone Company was awarded $372,532 to expand broadband Internet to people and businesses in their service area. The funds come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. "These important investments in Merrimack County communities will create new opportunities for distance learning, health care delivery, and economic development, while connecting many homes and business to high sp… Continue Reading
August 03, 2010
Committee Approves Federal Funds For Food Bank
A new food bank is closer to becoming a reality after a Senate committee approved federal funds for the project. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced that $1.25 million was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee to help move the New Hampshire Food Bank to a larger location. The total cost of the project is $7 million, and funding from New Hampshire Catholic Charities has allowed construction to start. Food bank officials said the new facility will be double the size and allo… Continue Reading
August 03, 2010
NH food bank, warehouse project gets a boost
by Dan Tuohy
MANCHESTER - Construction of a new center to help the state's only food bank keep up with record demand is in line to get $1.25 million in federal funding, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced yesterday. The New Hampshire Food Bank project involves the purchase of the building at 700 East Industrial Park Drive in Manchester and its conversion into a major food collection, warehouse and delivery hub. Construction began in December 2009. The total cost, including building purchase, will be … Continue Reading
August 03, 2010
Senate begins debate on Kagan nomination to high court
by Bill Mears
Washington (CNN) -- Senators began floor debate Tuesday on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, with Republicans mustering little desire to delay a final vote. The 50-year-old solicitor general is expected to be confirmed as the 112th justice on Thursday, and could be sworn into her judicial post by week's end. The start of three days of off-and-on debate centered on Kagan's lack of judicial experience, and whether that would hurt her ability to sit on the nation's highes… Continue Reading
July 30, 2010
State secures $1m for groundfish permits
by Geoff Cunningham, Jr.
PORTSMOUTH - The state's struggling small-boat commercial fishing fleet received good news on Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Commerce released $1 million that will be used to buy permits critical in allowing New Hampshire fisherman to increase the amount of groundfish they are allowed to catch and sell. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced the allocation on Wednesday saying the funding will be used by the N.H. Fish and Game Department to buy federal permits that govern the amount of gro… Continue Reading
July 29, 2010
Federal money could help local YMCA programs
Money to help the Keene Family YMCA expand its pre-school and after-school programs is part of a bill to be considered by the U.S. Senate. The funds - $300,000 in all - were secured by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and are included in the Fiscal Year 2011 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill headed to a vote in the Senate. The programs will expand at the YMCA's new 67,000-square-foot building planned to open on Summit Road in West Keene next year. … Continue Reading
July 29, 2010
NH Fishermen Get Permit Help
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire is getting $1 million to buy permits for fishermen who face low catch limits this year. The money goes to the state's Fish and Game Department to help fishermen increase the amount of groundfish they are allowed to catch and sell. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced the funds Wednesday. She said low catch limits, which are part of new regulations designed to rebuild groundfish stocks in New England, have put New Hampshire's small boat fleet… Continue Reading
July 29, 2010
Shaheen announces $200,000 for North Country Biomass energy projects
WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced Wednesday that her request to support the development of North Country wood energy projects has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Shaheen secured $200,000 for the Northern Forest Center to facilitate wood energy projects in North Country communities. The Northern Forest Center works to preserve the Northern Forest of New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and Vermont, as well as foster a sustainable regional economy. Thes… Continue Reading
July 28, 2010
Shaheen talks small business in Meredith
by Lauren Tiner
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen visited the Meredith Fire Department last Friday, taking a tour and talking about what the Senate has in store for small businesses in the area. Chief Ken Jones of the Meredith Fire Department took Shaheen for a tour of the recently renovated facility, which is about twice the size it once was, with antique memorabilia displayed throughout the building. Shaheen, who has relatives in Meredith, said she enjoys visiting on the lake from time to time and was cu… Continue Reading
July 24, 2010
In Durham: Cited for innovation, Goss adapts to make wind turbines
by Jennifer Keefe
DURHAM - Sen. Jeanne Shaheen praised Goss International Friday as being "exactly the kind of company we want to grow and thrive in New Hampshire." Her comment came after a tour of the printing press company and a discussion about the manufacturing of wind turbines that will take place there later this year. Joining Shaheen on the tour were Executive Councilor Bev Hollingworth and Sen. Mandy Merrill. With support from Shaheen, Gov. John Lynch and Commissioner George Bald, Goss recently wo… Continue Reading
July 19, 2010
Oil production must require spill preparation
by Jeanne Shaheen
Benjamin Franklin once said "by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." The images of oil billowing into the Gulf of Mexico certainly reinforce the wisdom of this statement. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, oil spill prevention and response has become the focus of our government at all levels, from the White House to Congress to the various federal agencies with jurisdiction over our energy reserves and environment. It is critical that we make sure a tragedy… Continue Reading
July 16, 2010
Senate freshmen Dems call for carbon cap
by Darren Goode
Freshmen Senate Democrats are pushing legislation that prices industrial greenhouse gas emissions as part of a broader package of energy and climate initiatives. All 12 in the current freshmen Democratic class - in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Friday - say a price on carbon emissions is needed in order to provide market certainty and keep pace with major developing countries like China and India. Their call for a "polluter pays" approach to climate change echoes… Continue Reading
July 15, 2010
Shaheen sees progress in Iraq
by Shira Schoenberg
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen yesterday sounded cautiously optimistic about the progress U.S. troops are making in Iraq. Fresh off a 10-day trip to the Middle East, Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said she was hopeful that the different ethnic groups in Iraq would be able to cooperate and retake control of the country as American troops withdraw. Since Jan. 1, 2009, Shaheen said the U.S. has redeployed 70,000 troops - bringing the total number of troops in Iraq down to 76,000. "Despite the… Continue Reading
July 04, 2010
NH's Jeanne Shaheen Spending July 4th With Troops
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is spending the Fourth of July visiting with American troops in the Middle East. Yesterday, Shaheen was in Riyadh meeting with James Smith, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He is a New Hampshire native. Shaheen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will travel throughout the Middle East during the congressional recess.… Continue Reading
July 03, 2010
Stimulus grant to improve Internet service, create jobs in NH
by Jason Claffey
DURHAM - High-speed Internet service all over the state will be expanded thanks to a $44.5 million stimulus grant that could create up to a dozen local jobs. Network New Hampshire Now, composed of several organizations led by the University of New Hampshire, was awarded the money this week. The group will kick in $22 million of its own for a three-year project that will feature three major infrastructure improvements. Officials say the work will create almost 700 new jobs and provide… Continue Reading
July 02, 2010
Sen. Shaheen steps in to help Greenland widow whose Social Security funds were taken from bank account
by Geoff Cunningham, Jr.
GREENLAND - A local widow who was shocked after the government withdrew Social Security funds from her bank account without providing her notice continues to look for answers and a possible change in laws so that others don't experience the hardship she faced. And she is already receiving help in that endeavor. U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has sent a letter to the head of the Social Security Administration asking for answers and calling the erroneous and sudden reclamation of funds "disc… Continue Reading
July 02, 2010
Unemployment benefits at risk
by Shira Schoenberg
Howard Weinert has been traveling around the country looking for work. A master electrician, Weinert was first laid off in April 2009, before using up 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. He found another job at the Comerford Dam in Monroe - but was laid off again. His last week of benefits was June 13. Congress hasn't passed another extension of unemployment benefits. Weinert hasn't found a job, so he has no income. He was evicted from his home in Claremont and moved to Belmont. He fe… Continue Reading
July 02, 2010
NH broadband gets $44.4m stimulus boost
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Network New Hampshire Now, an initiative led by the University of New Hampshire, received $44.5 million to expand broadband services thorough the state. The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The announcement was hailed in a joint statement by U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Reps. Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire. "We need to make affordable, high speed Internet available in every community across New Hampshire so that busi… Continue Reading
June 19, 2010
Assistant VA secretary praises NH for cooperation
by Garry Rayno
MANCHESTER - Veterans Administration Assistant Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth was impressed with the cooperation among military and social service agencies to address the needs of veterans in New Hampshire. Duckworth helped open the Dalianis House for homeless veterans in Nashua and toured the Manchester Veterans Administration Medical Center yesterday in her first visit to the Granite State. The VA and National Guard work closely together, "which is not the case across the country," she sa… Continue Reading
June 18, 2010
Preventing a nuclear nightmare
by Jeanne Shaheen
Air raid sirens, fallout shelters, "duck and cover" drills. For years, the United States prepared for the possibility of nuclear war against the Soviet Union. But with deterrence and arms control, our nuclear nightmare was never realized. Today, the nuclear threat has evolved. The Cold War is over, and the threat of a nuclear exchange between the world's two largest nuclear powers has declined. Yet the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands increases. Nuclear terro… Continue Reading
