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In May 2006, Fraser Papers shut the facility for good, ending a long chapter in North Country history. Now, one year later, a new chapter has begun. We’ll look at how things have progressed, from use of the mill site itself to new, broader efforts to diversify the area economy.

Guests

• Barb Tetreault, Reporter for the Berlin Daily Sun
• Edith Tucker, Reporter for the Coos County Democrat
• Pam LaFlamme, City Planner for the City of Berlin

We'll also hear from:

• Norman Charest, Economic Development Director for the city of Berlin
• Katie Paine, CEO of KD Paine and Partners in Berlin
• Charlie Bass, Senior Advisor for Laidlaw Energy Group and former six-term Republican Congressman from NH
• Paul Hodes, Democratic Congressman from Concord representing NH’s Second District

The Exchange takes a break for Memorial Day so we can play you a special program by the Hearing Voices project called “For the Fallen”. "For the Fallen" is a collection of interviews, sound pieces, emails, poems and journal readings read by soldiers ranging from World War Two veterans to troops recently returning from battle in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Bush’s sweeping immigration reform measure is being hit from all sides – conservatives, liberals, businesses, activists...even some illegal immigrants themselves. We’ll talk about this bill...and why it’s been so hard to reach consensus.

Guests

• Matthew Lee, Managing Attorney at Tocci, Goss & Lee, specializing in immigration and employment law. Lee was formerly an Assistant District Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service and a military attorney in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps.
• Eva Castillo, New Hampshire Immigrant Rights Task Force and Organizer for the New Hampshire Immigration Project.
• Andrew Samwick

, Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and Director of the The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College.

Foreclosures are on the rise in New Hampshire and along with them...the number of so-called "rescue scams"...where homeowners end up losing their homes, going further into debt or being evicted after getting lost in the red tape of the very companies or individuals who promise to help save their home from foreclosure. The New Hampshire legislature is considering a new bill that would make changes to the current system to hold these rescue companies accountable and to give the consumer more power for legal recourse.

Guests

• Sarah Mattson, staff attorney for New Hampshire Legal Assistance, specializing in consumer law, particularly payday lending and medical debt collection issues
• Peter Hildreth, commissioner of the New Hampshire Banking Department
• Brian Gottlob

, President of Polecon Research in Laconia

We'll Also Hear From

• David Gottesman, Democratic Senator from Nashua, Deputy Democratic Whip and Chair of the Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection Committee.

Today we play back for you the latest in our Writers on a New England Stage series, with celebrated crime novelist Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. Called the "Dickens of Detroit", Leonard is author of books such favorites as “Get Shorty” and “Mr. Paradise”. Last Friday, Leonard entertained a live audience at the Music Hall in Portsmouth with tales from his latest book “Up In Honey’s Room” and thoughts about writing and his illustrious career which spans a half-century.