Garry Rayno
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: The Real Value of the Claremont Education Decisions
The Supreme Court’s two Claremont Education rulings in the last century have not drastically changed the state’s public education system or the way it is funded.
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: The Politicization of the Judiciary
Unfortunately, that unbiased opinion is currently thought to be more than slightly tainted judging by some of the decisions made by courts, particularly the US Supreme Court with the potential for tarnishing New Hampshire’s.
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: Building Tribalism and Not Community
Lawmakers will be back for one more session to deal with Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s vetoes, and although it appears very unlikely, there is always the possibility of a special session for one emergency or another.
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: Some Bills Deserve to Die Thursday
During the Committee of Conference phase of this year’s legislative session, 14 bills were killed ranging from the “Charlie Act” seeking to restrict school curriculum on such things as socialism, LGBTQ topics, or anything that appears to some as Un-American to ending the state’s refugee resettlement program.
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: Legislative Created Wars Are Harming the State
When the bell rings to close this session in two weeks, three things will stand out and they are all wars or attacks.
Op-Ed
Distant Dome: State Bites the Bullet on Data Centers
The state may have bitten a bullet when Senate Bill 439 — to limit local regulation of massive “data centers” — was tabled Thursday in the House, essentially killing it for the remainder of the session.
Op-Ed
DISTANT DOME: The 30,000-Foot View of School Choice is Not Pretty
This week the House will vote on what is perhaps one of the Republicans’ biggest priorities, universal public school open enrollment or Senate Bill 101.
Feature
Distant Dome: The State’s Inequitable Tax System Impacts Communities
Newington, spends 29 percent of its total property taxes on schools; Sunapee, 52 percent; Newport, 59 percent, and Charlestown, 69 percent.
Politics
Historically Taxes Are a Reflection of the State of Our Democracy
In New Hampshire, the third rail of politics — thanks to people like William Loeb and Meldrim Thomson and now the Americans for Prosperity — is the word tax.
Education
Distant Dome: Shucking Their Responsibilities for Public Education
Gov. Ayotte signed the bill into law Friday, the first day it reached her desk, one day after the Senate passed it. The governor’s signature was a foregone conclusion as she had earlier said the judge’s decision in the Rand was wrong because state spending on public education is among the highest in the country per pupil.