Fast News for Jan. 17
More caffeine
AMHERST – One more coffee shop is coming to Route 101A in Amherst, which already has two Dunkin’ Donuts, an A&E Coffee & Tea, as well as a Starbucks just over the border in Nashua, not to mention the three Dunkin’ Donuts on Route 101A in Milford.
The planning board recently gave non-residential site plan approval for an 865 square foot drive-through and walk-in Aroma Joe’s coffee restaurant at 2 Paul’s Way, near Second Avenue Consignments.
There will be no indoor seating.
Jason Hill of TF Moran represented owner Red Major LLC and Brew Crew LLC at the Jan. 2 meeting and told the board that all their concerns have been address since he was here in December.
Those concerns include landscape screening on the northern portion of the property, keeping traffic out of Paul’s Way, a cul de sac, and safe pedestrian access to the pick-up window.
The board’s vote was 4-1, with Marilyn Peterman saying she is concerned about safety with a traffic design that is so complex.
Scam warning
CONCORD -The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission is warning electric utility customers customers report receiving calls from individuals claiming to represent the customer’s utility.
The caller offers a 30 percent discount on the utility bill and may also say that the discount is part of a state program for senior citizens who are not receiving other state assistance.
Customers expressing an interest could find that their electric energy supplier has been switched from their utility to another one without their knowledge and at a higher price.
These calls are not coming from New Hampshire utility companies.
“If you receive a call from someone who says they can save you money on your utility bill, ask them what company they represent,” said Amanda
Noonan, the commission’s Director of Consumer Services. “Then check the list on the commission’s website
– www.puc.nh.gov – to see if the company is registered in the state.”
Noonan also suggested customers review the comparison shopping page on the commission’s website.
Church steeple
AMHERST – The town of Amherst will spend $7,400 for repairs to the Congregational Church’s steeple, including the alarm system, electrical upgrades and fire sprinkler repairs. The town owns the steeple, but not the church building. Selectmen’s Chairman Dwight Brew told the board last week that he, DPW Director Eric Hahn and Charlie Vars, who is managing the project for the church, looked over the proposal and it is fair. Selectmen voted unanimously to do the work.
According to a history of the church, in 1832 state law required the Amherst church to separate from the local government, but the town retained the ownership of the clock tower, the bell, and thus the steeple and weathercock. The meeting-house was sold at auction to the high bidder, the Congregational Church.
The tower and steeple of the Amherst meetinghouse are said to be the oldest and perhaps the tallest in the state. The square tower platform enclosed by a balustrade is about 60 feet above ground level, and to the top of the weathervane is about 110 feet.
The tower and steeple attached to the Second Meetinghouse have survived virtually unchanged since the building was raised on the Common in 1771 and dedicated on January 18, 1774. Inspired by becoming the shire town (county seat) for Hillsborough County in 1769, the town anticipated a population surge and the need for a huge meetinghouse.
Campaign finance reform
MILFORD – State Reps. Kat McGhee (D-Hollis) and Peter Petrigno (D-Milford) have filed a House concurrent resolution calling for New Hampshire to be counted among states petitioning Congress for a Constitutional amendment to reverse the United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
In 2010 the Court struck down the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also know as McCain-Feingold, which had limited campaign expenditures by corporations, labor unions, and other organizations. In effect the ruling now allows for unlimited campaign spending for communications.
Sixty-nine New Hampshire towns have passed ballot initiatives in support of reversing the decision. Previous attempts calling for a New Hampshire resolution failed in the state Legislature.
The resolution first must pass the State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee before moving to the House and Senate for consideration.
In his committee testimony, Petrigno said a vast majority of Americans see the need for Congress to be able to establish reasonable regulations on campaign financing and “unlimited spending by corporations, labor unions, and other organizations unfairly influences the electoral process, undermining the average citizen’s voice and the basic principles of democracy.”
Good news
MILFORD – Milford came in at No. 7 in a recent survey of the best places to live in New Hampshire by an online rankings firm called HomeSnacks.
Hanover was No. 1, Portsmouth No. 2 and Exeter No. 3, out of 25 places using criteria that included median home prices, median income, education levels, poverty rates and crime statistics.
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