LACONIA -- Governor John Lynch visited The Weirs yesterday to inspect the damage caused by the August 7 storm. He was accompanied by Phil Parr, federal coordinating officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), who expressed confidence that the federal government would contribute to the cost of reconstructing the boardwalk as well as repairing other damaged public infrastructure.
Fire Chief Ken Erickson and Public Works Director Paul Moynihan briefed the governor on the cause and extent of the damage, which Lynch said would run to "several million dollars." Lynch described The Weirs as "a real jewel" and said that the restoration of the boardwalk was "a state issue."
Phil Parr of FEMA explains disaster relief procedure and policy to Gov. Lynch, N.H. Emergency Management Director Chris Pope, Sen. Kathy Sgambati and Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson. during yesterday's tour of the Weirs Beach docks area. (Photo by Michael Kitch)
Speaking with Parr at the scene of the devastation, Chris Pope, director of homeland security and emergency management at the New Hampshire Department of Safety, stressed the importance of the boardwalk to the economy of The Weirs, which each year hosted Motorcycle Week, one of the state's premier tourist attractions. Likewise, Erickson said that the damage has already begun to adversely affect the tourist economy, noting that several businesses have reported fewer patrons and stressing the importance of reopening the boardwalk as soon as possible. ….continue reading
NH GOP Convention Delegates Not Feeling Like Honored Guests
By John DiStaso
The State Republican Party chairman and the Republican National Committee have finally figured out how the state's delegation to the national convention will be "handled" when they get to Minneapolis-St. Paul at the end of the month.
The bottom line is the sanction imposed by the RNC cutting the state's delegation in half holds firm, and it turns out half the delegation won't be delegates at all. They'll be called "honored guests."
With slightly more than two weeks to go before the big event, where the "honored guests" will sit at the Excel Center remains up in the air, although a John McCain operative says they'll all have great seats.
As you'll see below, not everyone is happy about the arrangement. Not happy at all.
As you'll also see, the chairman of the Republican State Committee tried again to muzzle his troops about the situation -- again, to no avail.
You'll remember that the RNC sanctioned Republicans in New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming for holding their primaries before the Feb. 5 date allowed under RNC rules. New Hampshire was supposed to have 24 delegates and 21 alternates go to the convention, but was cut by the RNC to 12 delegates and 12 alternates as punishment. ….continue reading
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen.
Peace Plan Offers Russia a Rationale to Advance
By Andrew E. Kramer
TBILISI, Georgia -- It was nearly 2 a.m. on Wednesday when President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced he had accomplished what seemed virtually impossible: Persuading the leaders of Georgia and Russia to agree to a set of principles that would stop the war.
Handshakes and congratulations were offered all around. But by the time the sun was up, Russian tanks were advancing again, this time taking positions around the strategically important city of Gori, in central Georgia.
It soon became clear that the six-point deal not only failed to slow the Russian advance, but it also allowed Russia to claim that it could push deeper into Georgia as part of so-called additional security measures it was granted in the agreement. Mr. Sarkozy, according to a senior Georgian official who witnessed the negotiations, also failed to persuade the Russians to agree to any time limit on their military action.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (Photo by Guillaume Paumier)
By mid-morning, European officials were warning of the risks of appeasing Russian aggression, while Georgian officials lamented the West's weak leverage.
"I'm talking about the impotence and inability of both Europe and the United States to be unified and to exert leverage, and to comprehend the level of the threat," said the senior Georgian official, who had sat in on the talks between Mr. Sarkozy and Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili. ….continue reading
Party Chair Dies After Being
Shot At State Democratic Headquarters
Obama's Hawaii Fund-Raiser Brings in $1.3 Million
By Amy Chozick
Barack Obama briefly emerged from his Hawaiian vacation to replenish the campaign coffers.
According to a pool report distributed by the campaign, the presumptive Democratic nominee left his Kailua vacation rental to attend a private reception and fund-raiser at the Kahala Hotel & Resort that brought in $1.3 million.
Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann introduced Obama who was born and raised in Hawaii and whose elderly grandmother still lives there. "It was important for him to know, that not only are we with him in mind, body and spirit. But also we're with him with money," Hannemann said. ….continue reading
LITTLE ROCK -- A gunman shot state Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney at the party's headquarters in Little Rock on Wednesday before fleeing the scene in a pickup, leading police on a chase that ended with a shootout that left the man dead. Gwatney was transported to an area hospital, where he died, police said.
During a news conference at the Little Rock Police Department, Lt. Terry Hastings said that Gwatney, 48, died at 3:59 p.m. at UAMS Medical Center.
The Little Rock police said about 2:30 p.m. that the suspect, identified later as Timothy Dale Johnson of Seracy, was dead after being shot by authorities near Sheridan, around 40 miles south of the capital city. ….continue reading
Senator Barack Obama with his wife Michelle in Honolulu, Hawaii where they're vacationing.
Once-Dumped Boehner May Fall Again If Republicans Lose
By Laura Litvan
(Bloomberg) -- House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio was dumped from a top post 10 years ago after his party lost seats on Election Day. He may face another fall this year if Republicans lose too much ground in his home state.
Democrats have at least a fighting chance in four Republican-held Ohio congressional districts in November, when Republicans across the U.S. are at risk of losing as many as two dozen House seats.
The outcome in Boehner's Buckeye State, where many voters say they're pessimistic about prospects for the economy, will help determine whether 2008 is just a disappointment or turns into a debacle for his party, said Stu Rothenberg, editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. ….continue reading
U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).
In Split Role, McCain Adviser Is Sometimes A Lobbyist
Republicans In House At Risk In Northeast
By Raymond Hernandez
WASHINGTON -- Across the increasingly Democratic Northeast, Republicans are in danger of losing half a dozen or more Congressional seats in November, as even districts once considered safe have become vulnerable to well-financed Democrats, according to political analysts and members of both parties.
In Connecticut, Representative Christopher Shays, a 10-term incumbent who barely won re-election two years ago, is facing what both parties and independent analysts agree is a tough battle.
On Staten Island, the retirement of Vito J. Fossella, who was arrested in Virginia on drunken-driving charges and later admitted to fathering a child in an extramarital affair, has combined with discord among local Republicans to give Democrats their best chance of winning the district in decades. ….continue reading
By Michael Cooper
When Senator John McCain led a Senate investigation three years ago of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist who later pleaded guilty to fraud charges, Mr. Abramoff's old firm turned to a former McCain campaign adviser for help.
The firm, Greenberg Traurig, which had quickly cut its ties to Mr. Abramoff, hired Randy Scheunemann, who had been the McCain campaign's foreign policy adviser in 2000 -- and is again this year -- for advice on handling the Senate investigation.
"After Greenberg Traurig severed ties to Mr. Abramoff, Mr. Scheunemann advised ….continue reading
Ohio voting law may be a boon for Obama supporters
By Philip Elliott
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Never mind the last days of the presidential campaign. The busiest days for Barack Obama's campaign in this perennial swing state are likely to be a month before Election Day.
Ohio has created a window in the election calendar that would allow residents instant gratification -- register one minute, vote the next. It's also given the campaigns of Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain a chance to bank thousands of first-time voters during that Sept. 30 to Oct. 6 window.
The move will benefit Obama, who enjoys a 2-to-1 lead over McCain among 18- to 34-year-olds, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. If Obama's campaign were able to tap into college campuses with one-stop voting, it would add thousands of votes to his tally in a state where, in 2004, John Kerry lost to President Bush by only about 118,000 votes, putting Bush over the top in the electoral count. ….continue reading
