New Hampshire
Pappas, Prescott debate over how to lower costs, fix U.S. immigration system
The top candidates running in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District outlined two different approaches to the economy and immigration in a debate at the NHPR studios in Concord Friday afternoon.
The discussion between incumbent Democratic Congressman Chris Pappas and Republican Russell Prescott was mostly cordial, and was recorded before a live studio audience who were instructed to remain silent. Aside from clear differences on how to lower costs and fix the U.S. immigration system – and an impassioned back-and-forth on abortion access – the pair generally agreed on many of the core issues. Watch and hear the full debate here.
Prescott, a former executive councilor and state senator, campaigned broadly on his belief that cuts to government spending, and reducing the federal deficit, would be the most effective way to lower consumer inflation. He said Friday that he supports trimming all federal departments by a slim margin, which he claimed could save $300 billion each year. Pappas, who has represented New Hampshire in Congress since 2019 and is seeking a fourth term, suggested expanding the child tax credit as a means to reduce the burden of costs for food and rent on many American consumers.
Leaning into his record in the state Senate, Prescott said he opposes broad tariffs, describing them as a “tax on every single person in the United States.” Instead, Prescott said he wants to balance the federal budget without increasing taxes.
“Raising taxes is the wrong thing. We’ve already had 30% inflation that’s accrued over the last four years and raising taxes would just add to that,” Prescott said.
Pappas emphasized the importance of lowering costs, noting that external pressures like global conflicts have influenced inflation rates and hit New Hampshire families hard. He said he supports expanding the child tax credit, adding that his constituents have communicated support for the policy.
“We had an expanded credit during the early years of the pandemic that cut child poverty in half in our country,” Pappas said. “It ensured that families could deal with basic, everyday expenses.”
Each candidate acknowledged that there are major problems with the immigration system. Pappas said the federal government has a role to play in countering the upstream factors that influence people to come to America from other countries, and to lean into effective diplomacy.
“We also have to be smart about how we modernize a broken immigration system and fix it so that it’s serving the needs of our country,” said Pappas, who noted his support for a bipartisan national security bill that would funnel billions of dollars into hiring more asylum officers and detention judges, expanding the number of detention beds, and other border provisions. After months of negotiations, Senate Republicans blocked the bill when former President Donald Trump opposed it.
Prescott said he supports Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, noting the Mexican people are affected just as much as Americans by immigration issues.
“This problem is not just the border north. It’s also a problem the border south,” Prescott said. “If we firm up that wall, in working with our neighbor to the south, Mexico, it helps both of us and that’s what I’m talking about: Make sure we have a plan that will help remain people in Mexico and not just Mexico. Other South American countries need to know that we are working very hard to streamline our way of becoming a citizen of the United States.”
During the discussion on abortion, Pappas offered his unwavering support for codifying abortion rights at the federal level. Pappas also leveled modest attacks at Prescott on his record, which Pappas characterized as unfavorable. Prescott countered, arguing he supports the status quo formerly codified by Roe v. Wade, and expressing his displeasure with “negative ads” about his position authored by the Pappas campaign.
“When I was in the executive council, I voted for judges that said that Roe v. Wade is concrete, it’s the law, and I voted for those judges,” Prescott said. “While I was in the state Senate, I also voted for an amendment by the Democrats to be able to make sure that we enshrine Roe v. Wade in our laws. My record stands, and I just wanted to say that I’m disappointed that Chris is having a negative campaign.”
Pappas said Prescott did support overturning Roe v. Wade, an allegation that Prescott denied, insisting he never said the rule should be overturned. Prescott told WMUR last year the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision was an effective measure to return political power to the states.
“That is bringing more power to the people to decide for themselves what that issue’s going to be like here in New Hampshire,” Prescott said. “Chris Pappas is saying, ‘No, I’ll decide for you what that is,’ and that’s not fair and that’s not good for people here in New Hampshire.”
During Friday’s debate, Pappas told Prescott, “You may be disappointed that this is a political problem for you, but the women of America are disappointed that they had a right taken away from them that was guaranteed by the Supreme Court for nearly half a century.
“The fact is that you supported overturning Roe, which has now created this new paradigm where we have a race to the bottom across the country, dangerous laws being passed that are threatening the health and safety of women,” Pappas said.
The general election is Nov. 5. Hours of operation at the polls vary throughout the state, but generally open between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
New Hampshire
N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe
One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.
The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.
“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.
A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.
Modifying civil rights standard
Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).
The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.
The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.
Open enrollment for K-12 schools
A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.
The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.
In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.
Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.
Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.
Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.
The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.
Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.
“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”
Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.
“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.
Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.
Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.
“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”
Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.
“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.
Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.
“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.
It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.
“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”
Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.
New Hampshire
Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains
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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.
Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.
When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.
HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK
An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)
Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.
Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)
Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.
FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF
Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.
Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.
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