NH lawmakers want to destroy our neighborhoods: Letters
NH lawmakers want to destroy our neighborhoods
April 2 − To the Editor:
The Senate takes up SB538 on April 5th and HB1291 & HB1399 on April 8th. These bills substantially alter if not eliminate single-family zoning as we know it.
There are compelling reasons why concerned citizens should firmly oppose these bills:
∎ The State shouldn’t usurp local control to solve a problem that has always existed for everyone at some point in their lives,
∎ The State shouldn’t force urbanization with zoning, lot size and accessory dwelling unit (ADU) mandates against the will of local citizens (who vote!) by dictate or incentivization,
∎ The State doesn’t have the experience and knowledge to dictate local single-family residential use. I can name a few attacks on our neighborhoods: SB538 Section 7, appropriates local control of lot size, HB1399, Section 1, expands single family residences to 2 residential units and HB1291 allows TWO ADUs….did you expect a major change like this with rental units being allowed next door when you bought into your single-family neighborhood?
∎ The State's claws on local zoning leads to corruption and bad decisions. I witnessed this personally with 40B and "Smart Communities” in MA. Developers learned the ropes and used them to extort towns into high density projects in single-family neighborhoods that were always peaceful, safe, and family-friendly.
∎ Home ownership, especially single-family, promotes a vested interest in the Town and a sense of responsibility and freedom. It also incentivizes having a family.
∎ Eradicating single-family zoning takes away one of our living condition choices and is NOT necessary to mitigate a housing shortage. In fact, those promoting these bills admit it will not help.
It is extremely important to urge the Senate to not enable and force urbanization and fiddle with single-family zoning. Tell them to oppose SB538, HB1291 & HB1399!
Jim Avallon
North Hampton
Major arts and culture initiatives announced in Portsmouth
April 2 − To the Editor:
The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts & Nonprofits: What started out in February 2021 as a vehicle to help one another navigate the pandemic, evolved into so much more than we ever imagined.
We began in earnest, surveying the community, tracking CDC policies on masking and social distancing, best practices.
We ended up creating a new, revitalized community of arts and cultural leaders and community members.
The original committee made a number of recommendations to the City Council, and two, of note, will be its legacy: a new Cultural Plan, and the drafting and approval of an ordinance that created an Arts & Cultural Commission.
Members of new Commission have been voted in, and we look forward to them being seated, and beginning their work as laid out in the Cultural Plan.
It has been our honor to work with the many people who have been a part of both the Arts & Nonprofits Committee, as well as the Cultural Plan Subcommittee; members from both will serve on the City’s newest Commission.
Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on the Arts & Nonprofits: Genevieve Aichele, NH Theatre Project;Robin Albert, JerriAnne Boggis, NH Black Heritage Trail; Beth Falconer, Executive Director, 3S Artspace; Renee Giffroy, NH Arts Association; Jason Goodrich, Seacoast Repertory Theatre Board of Trustees; Linnea Grim, President & CEO, Strawbery Banke Museum; Courtney Perkins, Executive Director, Prescott Park Arts Festival; Tina Sawtelle, Executive Director, The Music Hall; Kathy Somssich, WSCA; Larry Yerdon, Nihco Gallo, Bill Humphreys, Martha Fuller Clark, Sean Clancy, Asst. City Mgr. for Economic Development; Stephanie Seacord, Public Information Officer, and Councilor Kate Cook, City Council liaison.
Cultural Plan Subcommittee: Karen Rosania & Alan Chase, Co-Chairs, Jeffrey Cooper, Secretary, Karen Battles, Suzanne Danforth, Ellen Fineberg, Gerard Gonzales, Jason Goodrich, Linnea Grim, Tom Kaufhold, Amanda Kidd-Kestler, John Mayer, Robin Lurie-Meyerkopf, Courtney Perkins, Tina Sawtelle, Emma Stratton, Sean Clancy, Stephanie Seacord, and Councilor Kate Cook.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve with all of these individuals, and we look with great anticipation to the work of the new Arts & Cultural Commission.
Barbara Massar
Executive Director, Pro Portsmouth, Co-Chair, Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on the Arts & Nonprofits.
Russ Grazier, Jr.
CEO, Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC), Co-Chair, Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on the Arts & Nonprofits.
US must stop supporting Netanyahu's criminal administration
April 2 − To the Editor:
As a former Biden supporter who worked hard on his past campaigns, I’m horrified that he is still sending US weapons to Netanyahu’s criminal administration.
Mortars, shells and bombs, marked from the USA, have killed tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, and now 7 workers from World Central Kitchen—apparently directly targeted, despite their clearly marked vehicles traveling on an authorized route.
It’s long past time to stop supporting Israel’s inhumane campaign that has killed tragic numbers of innocent women and children, while securing the release of all too few hostages.
The blood is on Biden’s hands and may well sink his reelection.
Malcolm Odell
Exeter
UN must push for two-state solution
Aug. 2 − To the Editor:
Israel has the absolute right to exist and to defend itself. Also, what Hamas committed on October 7th was a horrendously violent act of terrorism. However, Palestine also has the right to exist. I would urge people to read Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Palestine to get a balanced perspective. The 3 authors—Richard Falk, John Dugard, and Michael Lynk—were Special Rapporteurs for the United Nations Commission for Human Rights for 3, six-year term, from 2001 to 2022. Their reports cover the human rights conditions existing in Gaza and the West Bank up until 2022.
Since the 1967 Arab-Israel War, Israel has controlled all access into and out of Gaza by land, sea, and air. As a result of the severe restrictions imposed by Israel on all Palestinian movements into and out of Gaza, the GNP (gross national product) per capita in Gaza dropped 30% from 1999 to 2014 and the poverty rate is 80% for Palestinians living in Gaza, despite having one of the highest rates of graduate education in the world. Patients have actually died awaiting permission from Israeli authorities to exit Gaza for medical care. All these restrictions imposed by Israel only fostered an environment which was ripe for Hamas to recruit new terrorists.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Israeli Security Wall was not built on the Green Line, which represented the Israel-Palestine border established after the 1967 War, but was built well into Palestinian territory. The Wall actually annexed ~14% of the Palestinian territory and cut many Palestinians off from their farm land, places of employment, or schools. Also, Israeli settlements inside the West Bank now control ~60% of the land in the West Bank. There are 2 systems of roads in the West Bank: there are good highways reserved only for Israeli citizens and then a poorer system with multiple roadblock and check points which Palestinians must use. There are also 2 separate and entirely different systems of Justice. More than 2000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed in the West Bank and many more have been seized by Israeli settlers forcing out the Palestinian owners. In essence, Israel has occupied Gaza and the West Bank for the 57 years since the 1967 War.
Again, I want to emphasize that both Israel and Palestine have the absolute right to exist. However, the United States must push for a viable 2 State solution and not just allow Israel to eliminate all Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. The USA’s abstention from blocking the recent Cease Fire resolution at the UN Security Council is hopefully a first step in moving toward a lasting and equitable solution in the Middle East.
H. Dixon Turner, MD
Portsmouth