As the Earth Day “holiday” was celebrated this year, something else was approaching — namely, $4-a-gallon gas at the pumps. As we painfully struggle with the price of fuel to heat our homes and soaring gas prices for our vehicles…

Last year, New Hampshire enacted a renewable portfolio standard which mandates that the state generate 25 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by the year 2025. Though that deadline may seem remote, the length of time required to…

In 1980, Dave Packard, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, made famous the expression Management By Walking Around - MBWA, for short. The simple act of walking around the plant and talking casually with engineers and manufacturing floor operators gave Dave Packard a…

Every household feels at least a little financial chill when oil tops a record $100 a barrel. But for our most vulnerable families, soaring heating costs represent a clear and present danger. This season witnessed several deaths in New England,…

The budget process is complicated, and I have always believed in complete transparency; the citizens of New Hampshire deserve to know what is being budgeted and what is being spent. As a government we should be held to the exact…

A little over seven years ago, a plaque honoring the New Hampshire veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade came down from the State House wall the same day it was put up. The defenders of the Spanish Republic were not…

For millennia, “money” was gold or silver. The U.S. dollar was originally 1/20th of an ounce of gold, before the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913. The dollar traded recently at around 1/1000th an ounce of gold. So, for…

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama both support change in the country’s public school systems, be it reassessment of how schools improve or an entire restructuring of the school system. They support growth of venues like charter schools…

A recent Boston Globe headline read, “Qualified borrowers face credit squeeze,” indicating that low rates remain elusive despite drastic Fed action. On the same day, a New Hampshire daily, attempting to put a less dire spin on a very dire…

If we’re concerned about global warming, endless wars for oil, nuclear proliferation and our economic future, then we need to face four very convenient truths. Combining four very American enthusiasms — the automobile, electricity, free renewable fuel and market opportunities…

Behind the current dialogue on the smoldering mortgage crises and subsequent credit crunch — from economists, politicians and countless other talking heads — one burning question remains: Where were these same experts and would-be advocates when this whole mess began?…

The Joint Committee of House Executive Departments and Administration and House Finance has been working on a bill that would make some changes to the state retirement system. The bill has sponsors from both parties. Everyone agrees the system needs…

All challenges present opportunities. Unfortunately, in the coming years, I believe this country will look back on the recent economic stimulus package announced by President Bush as one of this country’s biggest missed opportunities in more than 70 years. Considering…

The “Frost Heaves” signs peppered over the roads are both a welcome and a warning. They are the result of the seasonal quarrel between warm and cold weather, thawing and freezing and expanding and contracting soil. Change is often a bumpy…