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They flee their homelands in the face of war, disaster and famine. But once here in the U-S, they face new challenges: language barriers, housing problems and, sometimes, discrimination. Now, a new report from a task force in Manchester is raising questions about how New Hampshire helps refugees build new lives in the state. Today on the Exchange we'll look at the refugee experience in the Granite State, the challenges they face, the challenges their host state and city face and explore ideas on better integrating them into New Hampshire life. Laura's guests are Mayor Frank Guinta, Mayor of Manchester; Chau Kelley, a resident of Hooksett who came to the state in 1994 as a refugee from Vietnam; Nasir Arush, Deputy Director of the Somali Development Center; and Nabil Migalli, an activist from Manchester who works with several organizations that assist refugees. We'll also hear from Amy Ignatius, director of the state's Office of Energy and Planning, which oversees the state's role in refugee resettlement.

We invite a roundtable of Lebanese and Israelis currently living in New Hampshire… to get their thoughts on the war, their families abroad, and the heartache of watching fighting unfold while living a half a world away. Laura's guests are Yeshayahu Artsy, An independent computer consultant living in Nashua, NH. Yeshayahu, was born in occupied Poland and lived for 25 years in Ashkelon, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel. Joseph Hitti, Translator and Founder of the New England Americans for Lebanon. Joseph was born in Damour, Lebanon and raised in Beirut, he currently lives in the Boston area. Talia Greenblatt, a 23 year old woman living for the past year in Manchester. Talia was born and raised in Jerusalem, she’s been in New Hampshire this year serving as a Shaliach, educating people in schools, synagogues and churches about the Israeli society outside of the conflict. Zach Bazzi, Psychology student at UNH who served for the New Hampshire National Guard in Iraq. Zach lived for the first 10 years of his life in Sidon, Lebanon and most recently was featured in the documentary "The War Tapes".

Several recent criminal cases have some state officials calling for higher minimum sentences. But critics say “one size fits all” approaches are too simplistic in a complex world. We'll look at the long-running debate over criminal sentences in New Hampshire. Laura's guests are Jim Reams, Rockingham County Attorney; Larry Vogelman, a civil and criminal defense attorney and Legal Director for the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, and Carol Ann Conboy, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court and chair of the New Hampshire Superior Court Sentence Review Board.

Laura Knoy's guests on The Exchange - Top left to right - Rockingham County Attorney; Larry Vogelman, a civil and criminal defense attorney and Legal Director for the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.
Carol Ann Conboy, Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court and chair of the New Hampshire Superior Court Sentence Review Board, and Rockingham County Attorney; Larry Vogelman, a civil and criminal defense attorney and Legal Director for the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union get set for the show to begin. Laura and her guests going over some notes before the show.
The Exchange crew in background moments before going on air.Exchange crew staff member Dan Colgan's face is reflected on the studio window as the show begins

(Cheryl Senter, NHPR)

This weekend, the DNC's rules committee meets to put the final touches on its plan for the 2008 nominating calendar. Word is that a western state or Washington DC's caucus will be placed between Iowa's "First in the Nation" caucus and New Hampshire's "First in the Nation" primary, and a southern state's primary will be placed right after New Hampshire's. Still, that's not the end of the story for New Hampshire, only the beginning, as talk of moving New Hampshire's primary up, even before Iowa's "First in the Nation" caucus is being considered. We'll look at the possibilities of the new DNC primary calendar, its effect on our own primary and what Democratic leaders plan to do to save the tradition of our "First in the Nation" status. Laura's guests are Dante Scala, Associate Professor of Politics at Saint Anselm College and author of "Stormy Weather: The New Hampshire Primary and Presidential Politics. He also writes a political blog called GRANITEPROF. Representative Jim Splaine, State Representative of Portsmouth and Newington, who sponsored 1975 and 1999 legislation that required New Hampshire to be First in the Nation Primary. Jim Splaine writes about politics for a blog for the NH Insider. We'll also be joined by Ken Rudin, Political Editor for National Public radio and writer of the Political Junkie column for NPR.org. David Yepsen, Political Columnist for the Des Moines Register and Kari Chisholm, A Political Reporter in Portland, Oregon and Publisher of the WesternDemocrat.com, A website used to promote the Western United State's political influence.

In the first half of our two hour special, we play an edited rebroadcast of a town hall style forum moderated by NHPR Executive Editor Jon Greenberg, held in Manchester July 19th. Jon and his panel discuss consumer driven health care- what it's all about, the pros, the cons and where it's going. Jon's guests are Michael Parkinson, Executive Vice President of Lumenos, Philip Boulter, former Medical Director, Tufts Health Plan, and Nancy Kane, Professor of Health Management, Harvard University's School of Public Health.