Opinion

N.H. should take a pass on Northern Pass

Public Service of New Hampshire just can't stop denying the obvious. You won't see their high-voltage towers, even when they're outside your kitchen window. Nor will your property values drop once the 135-foot tower interrupts that "million-dollar view" you pay…

Downshifting: What it is and what it isn't

While campaigning for office last fall, Republicans promised no new taxes or fees and no borrowing gimmicks.We also campaigned on no additional downshifting of costs to local communities. But exactly what is downshifting?First, an example of actual downshifting from the…

Republicans have broken their promises

When elected to a super-majority last fall, Republicans in the Legislature promised to cut the state budget without downshifting costs to communities, without raising taxes and without resorting to budget gimmicks. Guess what? Six months into their reign, they’ve broken…

Give manufacturers the right tools

Step into any high school classroom on career day, or check in at an unemployment center, and you are not likely to hear discussions about "manufacturing" as a future career possibility. That's too bad, because as a New England Council…

Nonprofit housing developers: a breed apart

A recent Washington Post report on mismanagement at the Department of Housing & Urban Development described several instances in which nonprofit housing development organizations failed to complete projects for which they had received federal funding, at considerable cost to taxpayers.While…

Needed: Town meeting thinking in Concord

Political scientists point to New England town meetings as an example of direct democracy, where decisions are made by the people, instead of by mayors, aldermen, or representatives. The current political climate provides another reason to admire town meetings: the…