A proposal in the New Hampshire Legislature to charge a $50 annual registration fee for bicyclists in order to use state-owned paths, trails and roadways is proving so unpopular that even the bill’s sponsor is backpedaling. 

“All bicycles and electric bicycles, if operated on a public way shall be registered with the division of motor vehicles,” the bill states. It says any bike riders who are not registered could face a fine of $100 per violation.

On the New Hampshire House of Representatives website, nearly 14,000 people have registered their opposition to the measure. Just 39 support it, as of Tuesday evening.

Republican Rep. Tom Walsh from Hooksett, who sponsored the bill, testified Tuesday before the House Transportation Committee.

“I don’t see the bill moving forward,” Walsh said, adding that the $50 amount was supposed to be a “placeholder” until it could be determined what a reasonable fee would be.

Walsh said he brought the “flawed” bill to committee because he wanted to start a conversation about paying for bike infrastructure as lawmakers consider toll hikes and other fee increases for car owners. He noted that ATV and snowmobile owners have to pay a fee to operate their vehicles on state trails.

“This was a genuine attempt at fair funding,” Walsh said. “I still believe that user fees are the best way to do that. If you want to use nice things, help us pay for these nice things.”  

Democratic Rep. Timothy Horgan of Durham called the bill an “extremely bad idea” and said rail trails are used heavily by pedestrians as well.

“Are we going to start handing out stickers on our walking shoes to use the rail trails?” he asked. “Where does this end?”

During public comment, Donna Cusack from Hudson called it a “horrible, horrible bill.” 

“If I have to pay a fee to ride on a rail trail, I’ll put my bike on the back of my car and drive 5 miles across the border and I’ll start driving on the Massachusetts rail trails where I don’t have to pay a fee,” she said.

Craig Rennie, the chief supervisor of the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails who did not take a position on the bill, said there are 320 miles of state-owned rail trails. He said their maintenance is funded with registration fees for snowmobiles and ATVs, as well as some federal grants and donations.

“If we had more funding for rail trail management, that would help with developing future trails,” he said.

You’ve heard me on The Judi & EJ Show talk about how much I love grocery shopping at Aldi — and I’ll say it again: I am an Aldi shopper through and through. Our coworker Kyle Forcini is too. We both love the tight selection of quality items, and for staples it’s the best value in Jersey. Of course, when I’m looking for specialty items, I still like to hit ShopRite, Giant, or Acme.

Why I kept driving past Amazon Fresh without stopping

Lately I’ve also been intrigued by the Amazon Fresh stores each time I drive by one. I suppose the intrigue comes from being an Amazon online shopper — you know, when I drive past and say, “oh cool, look at that Amazon supermarket.” But it seems I was just not curious enough to actually go inside. And now… I might not get the chance anyway.

Amazon announces closure of all Amazon Fresh grocery stores

Amazon just announced it’s closing all of its physical Fresh stores nationwide, which includes the ones we have right here in New Jersey. The company says it will continue Amazon Fresh as an online grocery brand, but the brick-and-mortar Fresh and cashier-less Go stores are shutting their doors because Amazon hasn’t been able to “create a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model” for expanding these stores.

New Jersey Amazon Fresh locations that are closing

In New Jersey, the Fresh locations that are slated to close include:
Eatontown – 137 NJ-25, Eatontown
Lodi – 2 Memorial Drive, Lodi
Paramus – 30 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Paramus
Woodland Park – 1510 Route 46, Woodland Park

Amazon hasn’t given a lot of details on exact closing dates here, but reports indicate most Fresh and Go stores are expected to be closed by early February 2026 as the company pivots toward other grocery formats.

Could Whole Foods replace Amazon Fresh stores in New Jersey?

Here’s an interesting twist: some of these Fresh stores could be converted into Whole Foods Markets, and Amazon plans to open more than 100 new Whole Foods and related formats in the next few years.

So, while I’ll miss the drive-by curiosity, I’ll likely be sticking with my Aldi route and grabbing specialty items where they’re easiest to find. And who knows — maybe a Whole Foods in one of these spots will give me something new to explore!

(WHTM) — Days after federal agents killed a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis, Pennsylvania State Sen. Tim Kearney (D-Delaware) stood outside an office for one of the Keystone State’s most prominent Democrats, arguing he’s not doing enough.

“It’s going to take people in the street really trying to make a difference, which is one of the reasons that I’m here today,” Kearney said Wednesday while protesting outside U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s Philadelphia office. Fetterman did release a statement earlier in the day calling for President Donald Trump to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

But State House and Senate Democrats have been pushing for several proposals that would limit what Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can do in the state. One would ban them from wearing masks, another prohibits them from making arrests on state property, court houses, and schools, while a third would let residents sue the federal government if they violate constitutional rights.

“I would hope that my colleagues across the aisle would join us in calling for accountability and calling for common sense standards for these ICE operations that have clearly gone way out of hand,” said State Rep. Tarik Khan (D-Philadelphia).

Republicans in Harrisburg and Washington mostly reject such initiatives, and Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, pushed back against the measures in a statement.

“ICE officers are facing a 1300% increase in assaults because of dangerous, untrue smears by elected Democrats,” she said. “Just the other day, an officer had his finger bitten off by a [radical] left-wing rioter. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities, and local officials should work with them, not against them. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”

State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said safety is a top priority for the Senate Republican Caucus.

“Under the tenure of the Biden Administration, state and local officials across this country sounded the alarm regarding the straining of their resources, the scourge of fentanyl deaths, the tragedy of human trafficking, including children smuggled across the border, and the flow of illegal firearms and dangerous gang members,” he said in a statement. “Collaboration between state and federal government is critical as we work to recover from the disastrous border policies of the Biden Administration and seek to protect lawful citizens.”

Meanwhile, Kearny warned Republicans that insisting on resisting bills to rein in ICE may face voters in November.

“If this stuff doesn’t move, which it hasn’t moved so far, then that’s something we can campaign on,” he said.