Commission's Proposal Would Shift Cost Of Mutual Aid
By Michael Kitch
LACONIA -- The Belknap County Commission's recommendation to eliminate Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association from the county budget and require the agency to bill the eleven municipalities directly would turn some into winners and others into losers.
The association dispatches fire and medical emergencies for 36 municipalities in five counties -- Belknap, Carroll, Grafton, Merrimack and Strafford. Only the 11 municipalities of Belknap County, the charter members of the association, pay their share of the association's operating costs through the county budget. Belknap County is the only one of the five to have all of its municipalities included in the association. The remaining 25 municipalities in Carroll, Grafton, Merrimack and Strafford counties are each billed directly.
For 2009, the association has requested a budget of $967,216, of which $478,335, or 49-percent, is born by the 11 municipalities of Belknap County. If the cost remains part of the county budget, it would be apportioned among the 11 separate municipalities according to their respective shares of the total assessed property value of the county. By this formula, Alton would pay $68,776, Barnstead $23,668, Belmont $32,943, Center Harbor $19,196, Gilford $75,171, Gilmanton $22,376, Laconia $94,760, Meredith $84,603, New Hampton $12,232, Sanbornton $18,527 and Tilton $26,083. ….continue reading
Cheney, Gonzales, Lucio Indicted In Willacy County, Texas
By Emma Perez-Trevino
MCALLEN, Tex. - A Willacy County grand jury indicted several high-profile public officials on Monday including Vice President Dick Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.
The indictment charges Cheney with illegally profiting, by virtue of his office, from $85 million in investments in the Vanguard Group. The group invests in companies that house federal detainees. He also is charged with exerting pressure on how much prisons are paid to house detainees.
Dick Cheney
Alberto Gonzales
Eddie Lucio Jr.
For now, Cheney's office did not comment. "I haven't seen the indictment," Cheney's spokeswoman Megan Mitchell said Tuesday, indicating that it would be reviewed.
The indictment further alleges that Gonzales used his position to stop investigations into assaults committed in the private prison managed by the GEO Group in Willacy County. ….continue reading
Eric Holder Is Obama's Top Pick For Justice Department
By Carrie Johnson
Eric H. Holder Jr., a former Justice Department official who was President-elect Barack Obama's campaign co-chairman, is the leading candidate to serve as the next U.S. attorney general, according to Democratic sources familiar with the choice.
Holder, 57, was offered the job late last week and tentatively accepted it, sources said. The Obama team intends to make the nomination official if he receives at least moderate support from Republican lawmakers and completes the vetting process, the sources said. Intermediaries began to reach out to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and the vetting pace accelerated yesterday. ….continue reading
Eric Holder
Begich Defeats Stevens In Alaska U.S. Senate Race
By Sean Cockerham
ANCHORAGE - Mark Begich has defeated Sen. Ted Stevens in the election for U.S. Senate.
The Democratic Anchorage mayor widened his lead to 3,724 votes in today's counting of absentee and questioned ballots. The only votes left to count are approximately 2,500 special absentees from people living outside the U.S. or in remote parts of Alaska with no polling place.
The state will count those final ballots on Nov. 25.
Begich issued a statement just before 5 p.m. claiming victory, saying "I am humbled and honored to serve Alaska in the United States Senate." ….continue reading
Anchorage Mayor
Mark Begich
Incumbent U.S. Senator
Ted Stevens
Malia And Sasha Make The Rounds Of Washington Schools
By Lisa Tolin
WASHINGTON - Malia and Sasha Obama got a tour of their new White House digs from Jenna and Barbara Bush on Tuesday and checked out potential schools, capping a busy few days looking into their new life in the nation's capital.
President George W. Bush's twin daughters showed their rooms to Sasha, 7, and Malia, 10, as they toured the residential areas of the White House with their mother at the invitation of first lady Laura Bush. The Obamas spent about an hour at the mansion, said Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush.
Mrs. Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, was also with the group.
"The first lady graciously invited Mrs. Obama, her mother and the girls to visit what will be their new home," said Michelle Obama's spokeswoman, Katie McCormick Lelyveld. ….continue reading
Michelle and Barack Obama with their daughters Sasha and Malia at a rally earlier this year in Pueblo, Colorado.
Automakers Warn Of Failure Without Taxpayer Rescue
By Lori Montgomery
WASHINGTON - The chieftains of Detroit's Big Three automakers made a desperate appeal to skeptical lawmakers yesterday for $25 billion in emergency loans to forestall the possible collapse of the domestic auto industry, offering to cut their own salaries in exchange for government aid.
But the chances were looking increasingly bleak that Congress would quickly approve a lifeline to help the firms survive some of the most devastating economic conditions since Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Co. in 1903.
In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, the chief executives of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler blamed the failure of the global credit system for driving down auto sales and plunging their firms into crisis. ….continue reading
