OurConcord.com: No. 1 again this week ...

Here is a snapshot from the BNN index from last week where OurConcord.com was ranked the most influential blog in the state.

A little bit of bragging here: I just found out that OurConcord.com was again No. 1 in the BlogNetNews.com NH Influence Index. The site was ranked No. 1 back in the first week of January too. Clearly, the tragic passing of Gardner Hill and the tea party posts increased traffic and ranking for the site.
This doesn't mean much of anything beyond what their tracking says. But it is cool nonetheless. Thanks everyone for reading and ranking.

Beachin' it ...

I'm taking a few days off for family stuff and some rest and relaxation. Play nice while I'm gone. Be back Monday.

Tea Party in Concord

The son of former Gov. Meldrim Thompson speaks to a crowd of hundreds outside the State House in Concord on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier today, hundreds of protesters turned out to protest high taxes, high debt, the Federal Reserve, and out of control government spending. Estimates were as high as 500, according to press reports. Many more turned out to the Manchester rally later in the day.

I was one of the people invited to speak, giving a more "liberal-tarian" view of the situation. Here is the framework of my remarks although I did alter them slightly during delivery:

My name is Anthony Schinella and I’m the co-chairman of the Concord Taxpayers Association. I’ve been joking all week with friends and online that I’m probably the token liberal here today. Despite the demonization of these rallies in much of the press, I’m proud to stand here with you today.

Conservatives and liberals have common ground to till:

We all support open, honest government;
We all want the end to waste, fraud, subsidies, abuse, and corporate welfare in the halls of Congress and in boardrooms;
We need to decimate the demons of debt, derivatives, and deception in our economic system and work towards localism not globalism;
We all want a sane tax policy;
And lastly, we need to close the oppressive and bankrupt Federal Reserve system and return our monetary system back to the Congress where it belongs.

At the Concord Taxpayers Association, which is co-chaired by former judge and Rep. Chuck Douglas, we are concerned about issues at the local level. Concord is facing a multimillion dollar budget deficit. One of the main reasons is that 25 percent of the city is tax exempt, including this hallowed hall behind us. So 75 percent of the physical city foots the bill for all.

Even though there is a deficit, our leaders say there isn’t much waste in the budget. But if you look deep inside, you can find some things:

There are employees scattered around a number of departments, like parking and finance, that could be job-sharing or performing multiple tasks;
There are two assistant city managers when there used to be one;
The cable media access center burns through a quarter of million dollars a year and buys themselves all kinds of goodies like trips and benefits, and has wasted tens of thousands of dollars in supposed “development expenses”;
And despite an economic meltdown and millions in deficits, in December, the city put out an RFP to buy two new SUVs and a cruiser for the police department – even while public safety employees could be put on the chopping block. I don’t know if the SUVs are hybrids or not, but I doubt it.

A few months back, the city passed a pay as you throw trash program. Or, as we like to call it, the bag tax. Shockingly, or not so, while approving the bag tax, the city decided not to charge for leaf pickup because a few people whined about it. So, the necessity – trash pickup – gets taxed, but an extravagance – picking up leaves – does not.

In Concord, city officials often bite off more than they can chew while wasting millions. There is the boondoggle $15 million parking garage that was badly designed so few people use it. There are the millions spent on the tannery project that collapsed in Penacook.

Over on the school side, there is more mismanagement.

A couple of years ago the administration secretly purchased a number of houses around Kimball School, paying more than the assessed values at the height of the market, wasting millions. Had they waited, they could probably get those houses for a song and maybe we wouldn’t have to lay off teachers.

Then, there is the issue of the bond for Concord High School which was paid off years ago. That tax money should have been returned to the people but instead, the school administration is hoarding it for future use.

That future use is a plan to spend more than $100 million to consolidate our elementary schools. Who cares if they are warehousing our children into massive schools so long as the new buildings are “green.” Hey, I recycle. There is nothing wrong with being green. But smart people know that small schools are better, and that renovating buildings is cheaper and greener than constructing new ones.

No matter what anyone says, being critical of such fiscal nonsense is what responsible citizens are supposed to do. Commonsense positions are the only hope through decadent, dark times ... if only we can shut off American Idol long enough to educate ourselves.

On a personal note, I’m incensed by the recklessness of what is going on at the national level. I have two young boys, under the age of 5, and in the last two years, the federal government has accrued so much debt in their names that they will never be able to pay it off. Think about it this way: Our government is borrowing billions from the Chinese to educate our children, the same children who will never be able to pay off the billions owed to the Chinese. At the same time, our fraudulent free trade system will put my boys in competition with Chinese workers who will earn pennies. What kind of madness is that?

We have spent trillions bailing out bandit bankers and crooks that brought our nation to the brink. And yet, they aren’t in jail – they get bonuses! Does everyone remember the three strikes and you're out law a few years back and the guy in California who stole a slice of pizza and, because it was his third strike, he went to jail for life? Well, that guy is still in jail but these people aren't. They are allowed to foreclose homes of people who bailed them out. There are families living in tents on the Merrimack River for no fault of their own but the crooks remain in their homes. I read somewhere recently that our government supposedly owns 38% of Citibank and yet, they can still charge taxpayers 19% interest – or more - on their credit cards. This is not change we can believe in – this is insanity!

In closing, let me say, as a progressive Democrat, that it is clearly time for us to cast aside our differences and come together to create real hope for the future. It is time for us to fight for economic justice, sane fiscal policies, and create true prosperity for all Americans. Thank you, God bless.

Monitor feature on Hill

Concord Monitor columnist Ray Duckler has a great column today about Gardner Hill: ["We knew so little about our good friend"]. Put together perfectly, as Duckler always does. A good job and a nice tribute.

Broadcaster Gardner Hill passes away

Long-time local radio broadcaster Gardner Hill passed away over the weekend. He was 62.
I first found out about it earlier this afternoon when people Googling Gardner's name started visiting my political Web site, Politizine.com.
WKXL 1450's Chris Ryan has an audio report here: ["WKXL Radio Legend Passes Away"].
Such a sad loss for the community and for the business.

Tea Party rally in Concord

There will be a tea party rally in Concord on Wednesday, April 15, from noon on at the State House.
I have been asked to speak at the rally, to talk about local issues going on in Concord including the bag tax and other shenanigans. It is clear from looking at the speakers below, that I'm the token liberal who has been invited to speak. But I'm proud to. I hope to see everyone there!

Concord Tea Party Rally Speakers

* Corey Lewandowski, Chairman of Americans for Prosperity NH Chapter.
* Tom Thomson, son of former Governor Meldrim Thomson.
* Rep. Neal Kurk, Member of the Finance Committee of the NH House.
* Rep. Jim Forsythe, conservative former Republican representative.
* Andy Sanborn, Small business Owner, The Draft in Concord.
* Kurt Kendall, Small Business Owner, Twins Smoke Shop in Londonderry.
* Jennifer Horn, conservative radio talk show host and Republican Nominee for Congress.
* Ed Naile, Chairman, Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers.
* Tony Schinella, award-winning newspaper editor and radio broadcaster, co-chairman of Concord Taxpayers Assoc.
* Christopher Wood, local community organizer who lead the Concord spending petition drive.
* Mike Biundo, NH Advantage Coalition

Co-sponsors:
Coalition of NH Taxpayers
Cornerstone Policy Research
The Reagan Network
NH Advantage Coalition
NH Republican Liberty Alliance
Granite State Taxpayers
Sagamore Consulting Group

Last chance on fee increases?

I missed this yesterday, while enjoying the Easter holiday, but it looks like tonight will be the last chance for residents to comment on potential fee increases: ["Last chance to weigh in on Concord fees"].
There are many problems with this.
First, we haven't seen the FY10 budget yet. So, how do we know that the city needs these fees? Sure, we know that there will be multimillion dollar deficits. But we also know that there will be cuts. But how can you raise fees when you don't know what the exact budget is?
Second, there has been a lot of talk about this supposed 0 percent increase. Mayor Jim Bouley and others have said that they have asked the city manager to put together a budget that has no property tax increases. In order to do that, they say that all departments are starting from $0 and building themselves up from there. This is called zero-based or zero-sum budgeting, depending on your definition.
In order to work towards a zero-based budget, you don't worry about the revenue side. You start from zero and build the departments you need. From there, revenue is raised to fund the budget. With zero-sum budget, coming from the zero-sum game concept which means that revenue can't just be created out of thin air, you start from zero and work your way up to what you have available for revenue.
But how can you do any of this and raise fees along the way? You can't, unless you already have a plan in place and you are trying to budget for that plan. This really makes me wonder if the city is truly budgeting from zero or not.
An example would be the bag tax. The city knows what the difference between this year's and last year's trash collection will be, as an estimated. They need to raise the difference from last year to this year. Instead of raising taxes by 3 percent, they created the bag tax [although the extravagance of left collection remains free].
A better way of doing this it would seem would be to release the budget, figure out what most people are willing to pay for via higher fees and taxes, and then raise fees and taxes accordingly - not raise fees and taxes beforehand.
A number of us have recommendations on what should get cut and how the city can do business more efficiently. While some people have been nice enough to listen, I have serious doubts that any of our "bright ideas" will be taken seriously or implemented as public policy. The ideas haven't been taken seriously in the past, why would they now?

Astronomy Bowl 2009 winners announced

Participants in the 2009 Astronomy Bowl are pictured here at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

The McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center hosted New Hampshire's third annual "Astronomy Bowl" on Saturday March 28. Kritlapas Chanchaiworawit, of Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, took first place with a scholarship of $1,000. Second place winner Samantha Ryan, from Lakes Region Christian Academy in Laconia, was awarded a $500 scholarship. In third place was Preston Morrissette, from Lakes Region Christian Academy in Laconia, who was awarded a $250 scholarship.

The Astronomy Bowl is a statewide competition for high school students to compete by answering questions about constellations, planets, stars, and other objects projected in the Discovery Center’s state-of-the-art planetarium. The top three Astronomy Bowl winners received silver commemorative “astronomy” bowls, presented by NASA astronaut Dr. Jay Buckey. The scholarship awards will be formally presented at Spacetacular Saturday on May 2, 2009, an annual event at the Discovery Center in celebration of Astronomy Day. The winners will also receive special recognition at the State House from Governor John Lynch and the members of the Executive Council.

The Astronomy Bowl was generously sponsored by All Metals Industries, Inc.; Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Rath, Young & Pignatelli, P.C.; Laconia Savings Bank; Eastpoint Stategies; Bianco Child & Family Therapy, LLC; and Lincoln Financial Group.

The new McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is a lively science center, featuring 21st century interactive exhibits on aviation, astronomy, and Earth and space sciences, a state-of-the-art planetarium, and a variety of science and engineering programs. The engaging, robust educational programs are geared towards families, teens, seniors, students, community groups, and lifelong learners. For a full schedule of programming, visit www.starhop.com.

Another hot month!

A quick note to readers: Thank you, once again, for making March 2009 the best month yet for page views and unique visits! March was just a tad higher than February which was our best month ever. I appreciate everyone checking out the site, reading what is posted, and writing notes of comment and concern.
As the city of Concord gets into budget season, I expect that the site will have a lot more posts and more information than previous months. So do stay tuned and I'll do my best to keep up with everything.

Austism awareness registration held April 22

From the inbox:

Community Bridges in Concord will hold an Autism Awareness 9-1-1 Registration on Wednesday, April 22 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM. The event is sponsored by the Bagan Foundation.

This is an opportunity for families who have a member with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to register their family member with the Concord Police department as well as the NH Department of Safety 9-1-1 office. Families will also be instructed on how to register with their local police department if they are not Concord residents.

For families who have a member with autism, safety is a constant concern. People with autism often lack an awareness about danger and are not able to follow rules about safety that neuro-typical people learn and follow with no effort. This characteristic can lead to situations where first responders need to become involved and having them aware that a person with autism is involved can be critically important.

In addition, children and teenagers with ASD should have repeated opportunities to meet and interact with law enforcement and other first responders. This is important so they can recognize a person in uniform and know they are safe and proper to approach when help is required. The person with ASD also needs to be repeatedly taught appropriate behavior when interacting with law enforcers, as it is estimated that an individual with ASD is up to seven times more likely to have an encounter with a law enforcer than the neuro-typical population.

The 9-1-1 registration at Community Bridges will have police officers, fire fighters and EMT’s on hand to interact with the children while a family member fills out the registration forms. There will also be a Safety Packet for Autism available to all of the families and a window decal for the family vehicle. There is no charge for this event.

For more information, please contact Adra Darling at Community Bridges, 225-4153 ext. 387 or email her at adarling@communitybridgesnh.org. For more information visit the website at: www.communitybridgesnh.org.