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Heath: Our kids deserve better

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Heath: Our kids deserve better


On Friday nights at our offices in Portsmouth you’ll hear the sound of laughter coming from one of the many classrooms in our building. You are likely to see a group of middle and high school students working on an art project, debriefing their school week, or talking about their latest crush. They come from diverse families and backgrounds across the Seacoast (and beyond). What ties them together is their experience as LGBTQ+ youth and students. They have an opportunity to be seen, heard, and held in a community of their peers. It is my incredible privilege as the Executive Director of Seacoast Outright to help create space for community and joy in a time when our kids (and their families) are increasingly under attack.

I have long been proud that New Hampshire has consistently, and clearly, supported the rights of LGBTQ+ Granite Staters, and in particular, those of our LGBTQ+ youth. In 2018, Governor Sununu signed a landmark transgender anti-discrimination bill into law. This bill offered critical protections in housing, public accommodations, and more for transgender Granite Staters. He also signed a bill that banned the harmful practice of conversion therapy for minors. Governor Sununu did the right thing then. My question is: what about now, Governor?

The last two years have seen unprecedented attacks on LGBTQ+ youth. We stand on the precipice of the passage of multiple pieces of devastating legislation for transgender youth and their families in New Hampshire. Despite a resounding defeat last May, we are again facing a bill that forcibly outs students to their parents. The legislature is considering multiple bans on the participation of transgender girls in sports, and a major dismantling of the 2018 non-discrimination protections our Governor was eager to sign just five years ago. But this time around, Sununu has been silent.

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On behalf of LGBTQ+ youth and families across the Granite State, I want to be loud and clear: nothing has changed since 2018, Governor Sununu. Instead, the national climate for LGBTQ+ youth has gotten more hostile, not less.

Middle school and high school are hard enough already – for all kids. Being trans in this climate makes it even harder. They don’t need politicians bullying them by allowing these dangerous bills to become law.

There is a deep and profound cost to the dehumanizing rhetoric we are seeing at the State House and the silence we are seeing from Governor Sununu. We see its impact every day at Seacoast Outright. Our kids and their families are terrified and struggling. We have lost youth in the LGBTQ+ community in New Hampshire to suicide in the last year as a result of having to watch their personhood be debated by those who are charged to protect and care for them.

The Trevor Project recently released a statistic that 47% of transgender and non-binary youth believe their chances of living to 35 are low. My heart breaks when I read that data, and yet, I understand why it can feel that way. They see too few adults working to protect and care for them, and far too many doing the opposite. 

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All of our kids deserve to be safe at school. They deserve confidential access to safe adults to process their coming out stories and identities on their own terms. They deserve access to spaces and places they need to thrive.

All of our kids deserve the protective factors that come with being part of a team sport. What young person doesn’t hope for a deeper sense of belonging, the camaraderie of their peers, and a chance to excel at something? This is an essential piece of growing up.

Instead, we are on the cusp of making schools less safe and taking away access to sports. Our kids deserve better than this, Governor Sununu. Seacoast Outright’s kids, your kids, and all of the children of the Granite State deserve better.

This is an opportunity to remember your own words from 2018: “Discrimination – in any form – is unacceptable and runs contrary to New Hampshire’s Live Free or Die Spirit. If we really want to be the Live Free or Die State, we must ensure that New Hampshire is a place where every person, regardless of their background, has an equal and full opportunity to pursue their dreams and to make a better life for themselves and their families.” 

At our Outright parents and caregivers group we ask the question: who are you here for? I’ll ask that same question to you, Governor. Who are YOU here for? Our state’s LGBTQ+ youth deserve to know. It’s time for you to speak up now. Granite Staters are waiting.

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Heidi Carrington Heath (she/hers) serves as the Executive Director of Seacoast Outright, NH’s oldest LGBTQ+ organization. Seacoast Outright serves, supports, and advocates for LGBTQ+ youth across New Hampshire. Heidi is passionate about building a Granite State where all of NH’s kids can thrive. She lives in Exeter.



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New Hampshire

Man charged with murder in death of his mother in New Hsm

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Man charged with murder in death of his mother in New Hsm


LACONIA, New Hampshire (WGME) — A man has been accused of killing his mother in New Hampshire.

Police say they found 58-year-old Linda Dionne dead in a home on Old Prescott Hill Road in Laconia on Tuesday afternoon.

Her son, 32-year-old Christopher Garon, was also at the home.

Police arrested him shortly after. Garon was charged with second degree murder.

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Police say an autopsy will take place on Wednesday.

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Garon is currently being held without bail.



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Storms tapering off; Warm Wednesday ahead for NH with scattered evening showers

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Storms tapering off; Warm Wednesday ahead for NH with scattered evening showers


After several rounds of thunderstorms moved through New Hampshire on Tuesday, quieter and milder weather is expected Wednesday. OVERNIGHT Any lingering showers will taper off over the next few hours, with partial clearing overnight.Temperatures will fall into the 40s in northern areas 50s in southern parts of the state. WEDNESDAY Wednesday will start with a mix of clouds and sunshine. Highs are expected to reach the 70s before clouds increase. A system approaching from the west will bring scattered afternoon showers, though severe weather is not expected. UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES LATER THIS WEEKThe unsettled pattern continues Thursday, with slightly cooler air, more clouds and occasional showers.By Friday, brighter conditions return, with highs rebounding into the mid to upper 70s. Temperatures will generally remain in the 60s and 70s into the weekend, with periodic chances for showers. Saturday currently looks like the driest day.This unsettled stretch is expected to end as a front moves through New Hampshire Sunday afternoon into the evening, shifting winds to the northwest just in time for Marathon Monday.Be weather aware! Download the WMUR app and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.Get storm coverage through the free Very Local app on your smart TV.Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media:Mike Haddad: Facebook | XKevin Skarupa: Facebook | XHayley LaPoint: Facebook | XJacqueline Thomas: Facebook | XMatt Hoenig: Facebook | X

After several rounds of thunderstorms moved through New Hampshire on Tuesday, quieter and milder weather is expected Wednesday.

OVERNIGHT

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Any lingering showers will taper off over the next few hours, with partial clearing overnight.

Temperatures will fall into the 40s in northern areas 50s in southern parts of the state.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday will start with a mix of clouds and sunshine.

Highs are expected to reach the 70s before clouds increase.

A system approaching from the west will bring scattered afternoon showers, though severe weather is not expected.

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UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES LATER THIS WEEK

The unsettled pattern continues Thursday, with slightly cooler air, more clouds and occasional showers.

By Friday, brighter conditions return, with highs rebounding into the mid to upper 70s.

Temperatures will generally remain in the 60s and 70s into the weekend, with periodic chances for showers. Saturday currently looks like the driest day.

This unsettled stretch is expected to end as a front moves through New Hampshire Sunday afternoon into the evening, shifting winds to the northwest just in time for Marathon Monday.

Be weather aware! Download the WMUR app and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.

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Get storm coverage through the free Very Local app on your smart TV.

Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media:



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New Hampshire towns opt out of hosting casinos – Valley News

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New Hampshire towns opt out of hosting casinos – Valley News


Eight New Hampshire municipalities have moved to block the opening of casinos within their borders, taking advantage of a new state law that gives communities the power to opt out of hosting gambling establishments.

Amy Manzelli, president of the board of Granite Staters for Responsible Gaming, said the law, which took effect last year, has been widely welcomed by residents who value the ability to have a direct say in which establishments shape the character of their town or city.

“In New Hampshire, there’s a pretty deep and passionate vein of local control,” she said.

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Henniker, N.H., Candia, N.H., Bedford, N.H., Barrington, N.H., Hancock, N.H., New London and Littleton, N.H., voted to bar casinos within their municipal boundaries. The city of Portsmouth, N.H., moved to block gambling establishments within its city limits within three months of House Bill 737 being signed into law by the governor.

Conway, N.H., is expected to hold a similar vote on April 14.

This is separate from the option towns and cities have to opt out of Keno, a state-run lottery game.

State Rep. Bill Boyd, R-Merrimack, who sponsored both the casino opt-out bill and the legislation allowing social districts in municipalities last year, said the two laws share the same philosophy: giving towns more control over what is allowed within their boundaries.

“I’m not surprised, but I’m very happy with the immediate engagement because it tells me that people are paying attention to local control and how they want their communities to look,” Boyd said of the number of towns that have already acted under the new law.

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When gaming establishments were first legalized in New Hampshire, they were envisioned as small, locally-owned operations. The industry has since grown dramatically, with gaming halls now functioning as large-scale entertainment venues complete with restaurants and live shows. New Hampshire’s gaming industry is on track to become a $1.1 billion market within three years, according to experts.

That rapid growth has left many communities uneasy about the demands large gambling venues could place on local infrastructure, including emergency services and traffic management, Manzelli said.

“New Hampshire doesn’t really have a great mechanism for making sure municipalities have a way of dealing with those impacts,” she said. “As the gaming industry evolved, the laws were written for your classic ‘Mom and Pop’ type bingo night, very small-scale establishments.”

The law includes a grandfather clause protecting casinos that are already operating or were in the pipeline at the time a community votes to opt out.

In Littleton, plans for a casino proposed by an out-of-state operator have been in development for at least three years. In February, a casino developer, GSG Littleton Propco LLC, purchased a property in town for a gaming establishment, according to state and town records.

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Since those plans predate the town’s opt-out vote, they would not be affected by it, Boyd said.

Under the law as written, it only prevents new casinos from being sited in communities that have passed such a vote.

“Even if towns like Littleton don’t want you, you’ve got 260-some odd cities and towns that exist in the state of New Hampshire. “I would think they (casinos) could find a community that would say, ‘we really want you to come to our community,’ and they will welcome them with open arms and work with their local system to make the facility happen,” Boyd said.



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