I recently spoke with newly confirmed commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Christopher Clement, about the current budget constraints at the DOT and also his plan on how to finish the $800 million expansion of Interstate 93 without federal dollars. The project, which began in 2007, is an expansion of I-93 from a […]
The road back from the recession for some towns in New Hampshire could be slowed due to deep budget cuts affecting highway expansion and bridge maintenance. The state Department of Transportation is grappling with budget cuts of $30 million in motor vehicle fees and a likely $40 million cut in federal highway funds each year. […]
The big national news this week has been the failure of the bipartisan congressional “super-committee” to reach a deficit deal. So unless Congress comes up with another plan over the next year or so, in 2013 a series of automatic spending cuts across the federal government go into effect. On the defense side, reporter Anna […]
Just a little bit ago, when we announced our plans to live-blog the New England Economic Partnership’s regional conference tomorrow. Economists, demographers, and sundry analysts will provide their best predictions–based on the numbers–of what the near future holds for the six New England states. We also noted that the press has been treated to some […]
Fygget / Flckr New Hampshire may lose millions In vital infrastructure money. A recent failure to pass a bill that would have provided states with federal highway money is making New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen nervous. Congress has not yet reauthorized the federal highway bill and House Republicans want to cut funds by 35 […]
Democrat Maggie Hassan, 53, who recently announced her candidacy for governor, said one of her major goals is to focus on creating jobs in New Hampshire, and suggested that gambling in the state ought to be expanded in order to boost state revenue. The former Democratic Senate majority leader spoke to the Portsmouth Press Herald: […]
Yesterday, along with a group of business folks from across New Hampshire, I learned about the difference between “soft” and “hard” infrastructure. “Hard” is the obvious: roads, bridges etc. “Soft” infrastructure is human capital and institutions that cultivate it, such as community colleges and universities. Apparently, the state has deficits in both areas.
Yesterday, Lowe’s announced it’s closing 20 under-performing stores across the country. Based on the company’s press release, we’ve generated this map of cities that will lose a Lowe’s. The Northeast by far took the biggest hit. The swath of country from New Jersey to Maine accounts for 45 percent of closures. And among all the […]
As part of a national campaign by the AFL-CIO, New Hampshire union workers and some small businesses will rally tomorrow to protest the loss of higher paying jobs in the state. According to figures from The New Hampshire Labor Market Information Bureau,2,300 state and local government jobs have been cut in the last year. The […]
Tonight eight Republican Presidential candidates will be debating public policy at Dartmouth College. Specifically, they’ll be expected to focus on how they’d pump life back into our flagging economy. And although primary debates are (obviously) single-party affairs, don’t be surprised if President Obama’s American Jobs Act figures prominently in tonight’s discussions. Luckily for New Hampshire […]
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