NH Resources

  A number of wood biomass supporters including the son of a former governor recently appeared before a Sun editorial board with reasons why Senate Bill 365 should be overridden and continuing this North Country industry.       Unfortunately, they sung like a choir performing before the wrong audience.     Sen. Jeb Bradley, Lobbyist Jasen Stock, Tom Thompson and local forester Karla Allen all made compelling arguments for wood biomass energy production but they should have been in southern New Hampshire where the real votes are that will decide the fate of this industry on September 13th.     "If landowners who for years have been willing to share with the public and the state are going to shut access to their land down." said Tom Thompson son of the former governor best known for his ultra-conservative policies on state spending and his infamous quote, "Ax the tax!" New Hampshire was different then but Thompson is right if this override vote fails there w

 Apathy kills things faster than the politicians in Concord.   And a killing time is coming. The fate of the New Hampshire biomass industry will be decided on September 13th which is veto override day at the Statehouse.   Some things will happen before then. New Hampshire has two advocacy groups dedicated to forestry and biomass energy production. The New Hampshire Timberland Owners Association and the NH Wood Harvesting Council both have a long-term lobbying presence in Concord. But neither are doing enough statewide outreach especially as $100 million dollars, good jobs and an entire way of life that sits in the crosshairs. Apathy Kills Things. Quickly.   If the legislature does not override the veto of Gov. Chris Sununu of Senate Bill 365 means the closure of six biomass energy plants, mass layoffs and some towns will lose as much as 27% of their total property taxbase. Bethlehem and Tamworth as examples.   The economic consequences for New Hampshire are very real but th

 Gubernatorial candidate Steve Marchand is a perpetual politician that has no real plans for New Hampshire.   Marchand made a recent campaign swing through Berlin and from the article by Barbara Tetrault, "is running partly because a lot of people have urged him to make another run." Marchand says.    Not a lot of substance there. Berlin like the rest of northern New Hampshire faces mounting challenges in everything from education quality to increasing strain on the local property taxpayer. The Marchand campaign offers nothing. I wonder who these people are that are urging him to run for Governor?     Marchand seems proud of his French-Canadian heritage, yet like the rest of his empty campaign offers nothing about what New Hampshire could do with Canada.     An experienced if not career politician, Marchand tries to make the argument that "no state has less of a relationship between state and local governments. Which really isn't true. New Hampshire has a lar