DISQUS

As my elected representative in Ward 2, I wish that Rep Harvey had as equal a concern for the teenage girls in NH as she has about the climate and the environment. She voted against the parental notification bill that would have allowed a parent to be informed when her teenage daughter is about to have an abortion and kill her unborn child. Do babies have the same rights as the climate? According to the way Rep Harvey votes - the answer is no. This is a sad commentary. I am not sure - but I guess she probably voted to repeal the death penalty. I.E., the death penalty for criminals/murderers but not the death penalty for unborn babies. She may represent my ward - but she does not represent my values.

Thanks to all who came to speak in defense of free speech last night. Please remember those aldermen who voted against our right to free speech - Wilshire, Bolton, McCarthy and Tabascko. They would like nothing more than to keep Nashua dark and silent. No public opinion, no free speech and no transparency. This is just the first step. We must remain vigilant because this group will do anything and everything to hide how they run our city. My thanks to those aldermen who originally opposed our P channel and finally recognized its value to our community and supported the Mayor's resolution. My deepest thanks to Alderman Deane who salvaged this so that it could be brought to a vote before budget time.

Great editorial and performs a huge service in protecting our right to free speech through a P Channel. This ongoing saga is not about money. There is money. It comes in every quarter. It is about fear. The fear of some city leaders that they might hear some criticism about the way they run our city. Please come to the meeting tonight. Speak up for your free speech rights. If you don't, the naysayers will push our community into a pit of silence and there we will stay while they extravagantly spend our franchise fees on every various and sundry request that comes before them. They love to spend - only, not on matters that benefit the "people". Let's have one for the "people" this time.

Nashuans, Please join me on Tuesday night. If you want a P Channel in Nashua this may be our last opportunity. The Mayor wants a P Channel. The citizens want a P Channel and the cable customers want and pay for a P channel. What other tax do you pay where you get no service? None! This is the only one. Manchester spends $800,000. to fund their three access channels. One of our aldermen is always lamenting that Manchester is eating Nashua's lunch. Well, let me remind him that Manchester is eating Nashua's breakfast, lunch, dinner and every snack in between when it comes to local tv programming. Let's unite folks. Call your aldermen. Come to the meeting. Speak up for your rights or forever remain silent (exactly what the naysayers want)! Thanks.

Ja, You poor, uninformed soul - please spend some time learning about what a P channel. is Your comments are pathetic! Or, are you a naysayer alderman? If so, now I understand.

Nashua cable tv customers pay every month for a P Channel just like Chelmsford does. However, some aldermen (Tabascko, Clemons, McCarthy, and Wilshire) refuse to allow the Mayor to include our P channel in her FY2010 budget. The only justification for this attitude is a lack of understanding that our franchise fees pay for our P Channel. No tax dollars will be used. Franchise fees will be used - the very reason they are collected. Wake up "gang of four" and support the people for a change. Let's have programming like Chelmsford and we can help our unemployed find new career opportunities. In fact, the P channel will need a manager - Voila! One new job created in our City. Speak up citizens. Do you want a P channel like 45 other communities in NH have? If you do, you better speak up because otherwise it will never happen. The naysayers rule. 45 other NH communities use their franchise fees to fund their P channel. Nashua uses our franchise fees for what? Not the P Channel for which it was intended. Call your alderman. Demand that our P Channel be included in the mayor's FY 2010 budget. Do it now! If you wait, it will be too late!

Since I am new at this comment process, I failed to read my comment before posting it. Pardon me, please! My answer to Paul Johnson's question should have read "Fear, Mr. Johnson, nothing (in place of not) but pure fear of public opinion. I also note that others commenting here do not use their true name. I am happy to use my name and I am proud to support the mayor's resolution. Put the P Channel in the FY 2010 budget. It belongs there and the P Channel belongs in our local access lineup. Come to the BoA Meeting and speak up for our right to the peoples channel. Thank you.

I can speculate on an answer to Paul Johnson's question - "Why doesn't Nashua have it"? Fear, Mr. Johnson, not but pure fear of public opinion. The people's channel - the P Channel - would allow the people of Nashua the forum it needs, it longs for and pays for with our cable tv tax and some of our aldermen live in gripping fear that the "peoples channel" might lead to discussion of the way city government is conducted. Heaven forbid that the people should be allowed to exercise our free speech through our P channel. These fear mongers fail to understand the type of programming that other cities and towns enjoy through their P Channel. A few that come to mind are gardening, child care, art and crafts, cultural (and this is a big one - given the many different cultures that are present in our city), health programming, safety programming covering such matters as survival during ice storms,and fire safety. Think of the many senior citizens in our city who are an unmatched resource into the history of Nashua. Once this older population is gone the history of their past is lost. Don't let this happen. The people have paid for and waited long enough for our channel. Call everyone you know and tell them to call their aldermen and ask for support for the mayor's resolution to fund the P channel. The money is there. They just choose to use it for other matters. Don't let a few paranoid aldermen push the people into the silent background. Stand up and demand our P channel - the people's channel. We need a voice, we pay for a voice and we demand that our voices be heard. You won't be disappointed and the fear mongers will have to admit - "This ain't so bad" in fact, they will have to admit that the P-Channel is great!

No need for teachers to rally. It's a done deal. They will get what they want from the "union endorsed aldermen". It's payback time for McCarthy, Wilshire, Clemons, Plomondon, Chase, and Cox. Let the teachers stay home, grade papers and do their lesson plans. No more rallies. Your new friends are sitting on the board. You'll get everything you want and perhaps more! Just remember, the taxpayer gets the bill!

Thanks Bernie for bringing this to the attention of the public. Our franchise fees have added almost $1M this year to the city coffers with very little in return. We need to unite, show up at meetings and demand some bang for our buck. Let's do it! Other groups do and they get what they want. Sunshine in City Government must be our goal. If we get none, we have only ourselves to blame.

It is with great sadness that I read of Andrew's move to Atlanta. Andrew always treated this white-haired grandmother with the greatest respect in my novice efforts as an activist and advocate for public access tv. His reporting on interviews with me was always courteous and accurate and I will miss him greatly. I could always rely on him to steer me in the right direction in my pursuit of coverage by the media in matters that involved my particular areas of interest and concern, and for that kindness and consideration, I thank him. Nick, please let the readers know how we can email Andrew and wish him well. He was a great asset to the Telegraph news team and I don't know how you will replace him. He was a gentleman and a great reporter. I hope that during the time he reported for the Telegraph he had some understanding of how much the readers enjoyed his articles, especially "From the Inside". For those of us with ties to Atlanta perhaps we will "read" him or meet him again. Thanks Andrew and Good Luck and God Bless!