Cook On Concord
Writing a column is interesting business. Often, people comment that they have read it, bringing to mind that early advice I was given when this started: “Be careful what you say, someone might be reading it!” After writing my last…
News
Utilities Watch
Although there were few utility bills that attracted much attention during the recently completed state legislative session, the General Court did address a number of issues relating to utilities. The bill with perhaps the most far-reaching ramifications for telephone utilities…
Riding shotgun with a cell-tower troubleshooter
Bob Anderson drives his US Cellular mobile unit carefully, with one eye on the road, the other on his computer screens, and his mind on problems he hopes the company’s customers will never discover. “Most of what I’m looking at…
Tell the president about shipyard
To the editor: The Base Realignment and Closure Commission has heard loud and clear how the state of New Hampshire feels about the Secretary of Defense’s recommendation that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard should be closed. Now it’s time to tell…
Malpractice panels — the solution du jour?
In the most recent legislative session, one of the topics that put New Hampshire lawmakers through the wringer was getting a handle on the rising cost of medical malpractice insurance premiums. The debate over malpractice premiums is being played out…
Flotsam & Jetsam
Mixed review State Republican Party Chair Warren Henderson may have not have sent the precise message he wanted to when asked to respond to the recent suggestion that U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg might make a good replacement for Sandra Day…
National forests aren’t a political football
Last month there was a new wrinkle in the debate over national forest management. In an attempt to save money, New Hampshire’s U.S. Sen. John Sununu, through an amendment to a federal spending bill, proposed to limit construction of new…
A new gang in town targets school funding
Move over Claremont and the other so-called property-poor towns that started the still-unresolved Claremont education-funding lawsuit. A new gang of towns - the self-styled New Hampshire Communities for the Adequate Funding of Education - are about to ride into court.…
Improving Performance
“It’s always safer to do nothing!” So said the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming again and again and again. Dr. Deming was one of the Americans who taught the Japanese and so many others around the world how to build…
Brass Tacks
Q. I and three of my co-workers are forming a partnership to pursue a good business opportunity. Each of us is contributing something different in terms of money and expertise, and each will provide different inputs once the business is…
