Oversight Agency Faults How N.H. Accounts for Federal Election Money

federal oversight agency’s review of how New Hampshire is spending $18 million in federal election money finds that the state, for the most part, follows the rules. But the back-and-forth within the audit illuminates a larger and long-running tension between the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office and the federal elections officials.

The audit by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Office of Inspector General, which New Hampshire is one of the last state’s to undergo, is intended to account for how states are spending money distributed through the 2002 Help America Vote Act, or HAVA. State election officials here have long argued the commission behind the audit lacks the authority to govern how states conduct their elections or how they spend the money distributed through HAVA. | More…

| NHPR

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Lyft now offers statewide service in New Hampshire

Lyft is driving into the countryside in an effort to raise ridership and steal market share from rival Uber.

The much smaller Lyft announced Thursday that it is offering service to passengers in every corner of 32 U.S. states, now including New Hampshire. It is even targeting hard-to-reach rural areas. The move boosts the number of states with full coverage to 40. | More…

| WMUR

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Dartmouth Seeks to Clarify Stance on Free Speech, Antifa Connection

The back-and-forth between Dartmouth faculty and College President Phil Hanlon continues over the school’s response to comments by Mark Bray. Bray is a faculty member and has been a prominent speaker on the Antifa movement since the clashes in Charlottesville.

In a statement last month, President Hanlon distanced the college from Bray’s comments around the role of violence in taking on white supremacy. | More…

| NHPR

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N.H. lottery looks to grab piece of Mass. Keno pot

New Hampshire, which already cleans this state’s clock by siphoning away retail sales thanks to its lack of a sales tax, just delivered a one-two punch that landed squarely in Massachusetts’ solar plexus. Designed to take the air out of the Bay State Lottery, New Hampshire recently approved legislation to fund all-day kindergarten by instituting Keno, while at the same time paving the way for limited online lottery sales.

That has to be the last straw for state Treasurer Deb Goldberg, who has pressed legislators for more than a year to let the Lottery move its products online. | More…

| Lowell Sun

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A Public Spat, a Political Problem and a Late-Night Car Chase

Rich started the morning by wondering about what issue was going on between NH Political Buzz’s Kimberly Morin and Raymond Buckley, before talking about news surrounding Commissioner of Education Frank Edelblut. | More…

| Girard at Large

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State committee delays Northern Pass decision until 2018

CONCORD — A state committee won’t make any decision on the proposed Northern Pass project until 2018.

The Site Evaluation Committee on Thursday said it was pushing back its Sept. 30 deadline for making a decision on the project. It now plans to make an oral decision by Feb. 28 and a written decision by March 30.

The committee will continue its hearing on the project until Dec. 31 — three months longer than scheduled. *| More…

| Union Leader

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Windham Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Defrauding the Department of Revenue Administration

Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Commissioner John T. Beardmore of the Department of Revenue Administration (“DRA”) announce that, earlier today, Maria Panourgias (age 61) of Windham, pled guilty in Hillsborough County Superior Court Northern Division to two counts of defrauding the DRA.

Panourgias pled guilty to charges stemming from her representation during a DRA audit of Stylianos Asprogiannis and his Manchester-based restaurant AEK, Inc. d/b/a/ Zoey’s Pizza. As tax preparer and power-of-attorney for the business, she willfully delivered to the DRA financial records, which she knew to be fraudulent. | More…

| DOJ NH.Gov

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New Hampshire tourism officials predict a record-breaking Labor Day

New Hampshire tourism officials are expecting a record-breaking Labor Day weekend, with more than 640,000 visitors and more than $91 million in visitor spending.

That means, according to the NH Division of Travel and Tourism Development, a 3.5 percent increase in visitors and a 4 percent increase in spending for the holiday weekend compared to a year ago. | More…

| NHBR

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New Hampshire man arrested for allegedly flashing handgun during road rage incident

LEXINGTON – A New Hampshire man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he allegedly flashed a handgun at another driver during a road rage incident.

The Massachusetts State Police said Matthew McKinney, 26, of Alexandria, New Hampshire was stopped and arrested as he tried to exit I-95 in Lexington.  A handgun and ammunition were seized.  | More…

| MassLive.com

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Police: NH Officer Struck Delivery Worker

FREMONT, N.H. (AP) — Police in New Hampshire have opened an investigation after an officer struck a delivery man with his cruiser.

WMUR-TV reports the crash happened in Fremont around 5 p.m. Thursday. According to police, the Fremont Police officer was driving out of the Village Market when he stopped short of hitting another car that was entering the market lot. | More…

| US News

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