Home » October 29th, 2010
Entries posted on “October, 2010”
Senate Bill 500 became an election-season punching bag this fall, but it’s the law of the land, nonetheless. Whether it remains so, and intact, will depend on the next Legislature.
Today wraps up Front Door Politics’ weeklong series of reports on SB 500, in which we’ve tried to dig deeper than campaign rhetoric in order to understand the full context of this very real public safety issue. We hear a bit from the two men fighting for the governor’s office, and we report on the practices and lessons learned in Ohio, Kansas, and Texas—states that have already walked down this road.
October 29th, 2010 | Posted in agencies & departments,Daily Briefing,Government,Justice,parole,prisons & jails,recidivism,sex offenders,state budget | Read More »
The N.H. Attorney General’s office has issued a public warning of a possible scam to suppress votes.
In a press release dated Oct. 27, Attorney General Michael Delaney reports that his office has received complaints of phone calls urging people to vote early online. “Information suggesting you can vote early online is fraudulent!” the release says. “New Hampshire does not allow voting through a website.”
October 28th, 2010 | Posted in 2010 Voter's Guide,Daily Briefing,elections | Read More »
Philip Horner has a unique perspective on the debate about New Hampshire’s new parole law: Convicted of felonious sexual assault, he served eight years in the New Hampshire State Prison. Horner has been on probation for the past two-and-a-half years, lives in Vermont and has listened to the talk about Senate Bill 500 with interest.
October 28th, 2010 | Posted in agencies & departments,Daily Briefing,Government,Justice,parole,prisons & jails,recidivism,sex offenders,state budget | Read More »
Parole laws aren’t just changing in New Hampshire. Senate Bill 500 is part of a national trend toward “justice reinvestment.”
“New Hampshire joins a lot of states in ensuring there is some form of post-release supervision,” says Michael Thompson, director of the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center, which provided research assistance to the New Hampshire team that crafted SB 500. The Justice Center has advised at least 13 other states, to date, on similar initiatives to address growing incarceration rates—and costs—that don’t seem to be improving public safety.
Front Door Politics’ weeklong series on Senate Bill 500 continues.
October 27th, 2010 | Posted in agencies & departments,Daily Briefing,drug law,federal funding,Government,Justice,parole,prisons & jails,recidivism,sex offenders,state budget | Read More »
The campaign trail is a field for political hardball, and Front Door Politics is here to referee the game.
This election season has put the spotlight on Senate Bill 500—criminal justice reform legislation that passed with resounding support last spring and suddenly lost many supporters this election season. After yesterday’s Primer on SB 500, our weeklong series on SB 500 now turns to fact-checking.
Today, we investigate the television ad “What are John Lynch’s priorities?” It was released by the group Americans for Prosperity on Sept. 30 and ran for five days. Though not mentioned, the ad is a thinly veiled reference to SB 500.
The ad’s script is in bold and in quotes. Our fact-check follows each section.
October 26th, 2010 | Posted in agencies & departments,Daily Briefing,drug law,Government,Justice,parole,prisons & jails,recidivism,sex offenders,state budget | Read More »
Before it became an election season issue for New Hampshire, Senate Bill 500 was hailed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike as an innovation in criminal justice. It would deal with the state’s problem of recidivism, fueled largely by parole and probation violations. It would reduce incarceration rates. It would improve public safety and save money along the way.
Signed into law on July 1 by Gov. John Lynch, the bill—and the people who stand behind it—have come under fire in the recent weeks of heated campaigning before next week’s mid-term elections.
This week, Front Door Politics digs into the story of SB 500 to separate the truth from the campaign “mud” and figure out what it really means for New Hampshire.
October 25th, 2010 | Posted in agencies & departments,Daily Briefing,drug law,Government,Justice,parole,prisons & jails,recidivism,sex offenders,state budget | Read More »
Created in the aftermath of the “LLC tax” controversy, the Commission to Study Business Taxes is due to issue an interim report on Dec. 1.
The 12-member commission will hold two public meetings in Concord in the next week — later today and then on Thursday, Oct. 28. The commission is looking at the current system of business taxation in the state with the business enterprise tax, the business profits tax and the interest and dividends tax.
October 22nd, 2010 | Posted in business taxes,Commerce,Daily Briefing,industry,jobs & unemployment,Money,small business,taxes,Work | Read More »
As many as 600 veterans are homeless in New Hampshire at any given time, and the state has only a fraction of the funding required to serve them. The upcoming final report of a committee studying the problem will dovetail with a recently released DHHS strategic plan to end veteran homelessness by 2014.
October 21st, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing,federal funding,Government,Health,homelessness,housing,mental health,military & veterans affairs,Property,substance abuse | Read More »
New Hampshire knows it needs a new women’s prison to replace its current, outdated facility in Goffstown. Yet, in very lean budget times, doing what is needed is rarely easy. In June, the Legislature created a study committee to make recommendations to lawmakers and policy makers for a future women’s prison and how to best utilize the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester.
October 20th, 2010 | Posted in children,Daily Briefing,executive council,Family,Government,Justice,juvenile corrections,prisons & jails,state budget | Read More »
Affordable housing in Littleon, homeless services in Derry and Laconia, and dam removal in Swanzey are just a few items on the 116-point agenda (as of Tuesday morning) the Executive Council will take up Wednesday.
It is the last regular meeting the five-member council will have with Gov. John Lynch before the mid-term elections, when all six of their seats will be decided for another two-year term. All are seeking re-election. You can view side-by-side platform comparisons of each councilor and their challengers through our online Voter’s Guide.
At its last meeting on Oct. 6, the Council approved all 93 items on the agenda. Here is a small slice of what they’ll vote on Wednesday.
October 19th, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing,Environment & Resources,federal funding,Government,homelessness,housing,Property,rivers & lakes | Read More »
