Special Program
10:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols

Hosted by Michael Barone, this is a live stereo music and spoken-word broadcast from the chapel of King's College in Cambridge, England. The 30-voice King's College Choir performs the legendary Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols service of Biblical readings and music.  Information is available at http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/events/chapel-services/nine-lessons.html

North Country
8:10 am
Sat December 24, 2011

State Rejects Northern Pass Objection To Balsams Conservation Easement

State officials have rejected a complaint by the Northern Pass hydro-electric project that it should have been allowed to buy land near the Balsams resort. NHPR’s Chris Jensen reports.

 

Earlier this month the Tillotson Corp. agreed to sell a conservation easement on about 5,800 acres and a right-of-way to the Society for The Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

The selling price was $850,000.

That prompted Northern Pass to complain to the attorney general’s charitable trust section. 

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Hard Times: A Journey Across America
7:04 am
Sat December 24, 2011

In Camden, S.C., A Family's Generations Talk Race

Credit Debbie Elliott / NPR
Sisters Ernestyne James Adams (right) and Althea James Truitt are concerned about the economy and today's political climate.

Originally published on Sat December 24, 2011 6:12 am

Part of a series

With the 2012 presidential election on the horizon, NPR's Debbie Elliott heads to Camden, S.C., to hear from the close-knit Gaither-James family. Like other African-Americans — considered the political base for President Obama — they're concerned about the economy and today's political climate.

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After a stint on Capitol Hill, NPR National Correspondent Debbie Elliott is back covering the news in her native South.

Based in Alabama, Elliott's reporting has ranged from hurricanes and oil spills to industry and politics. Her coverage of the BP oil spill in 2010 and its aftermath focus on the human impact of the spill, the government's response and the region's recovery. In 2010, she launched a series on Morning Edition and All Things Considered, "The Disappearing Coast," which examines the history and culture of south Louisiana, the state's complicated relationship with the oil and gas industry and the oil spill's lasting impact on a fragile coastline.

Elliott has covered the efforts to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina and the other storms that have hit the coast. She also tracks what the economic downturn means for states and municipalities, and whether the federal stimulus package is helping. In Elliott's political reporting, she watches vulnerable Congressional seats and follows southern governors who have higher political aspirations.

While based in Washington, D.C., Elliott covered Congress and was part of NPR's 2008 election team. She co-hosted late election night returns, reported live from the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver and broadcast from the grounds of the US Capitol during the Inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Elliott is a former weekend host of NPR's All Things Considered. In that role she interviewed a variety of luminaries and world leaders, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She celebrated the 40th Anniversary of "Alice's Restaurant" with Arlo Guthrie, and mixed it up on the rink with the Baltimore's Charm City Roller Girls. She profiled the late historian John Hope Franklin and the children's book author Eric Carle.

Since joining NPR in 1995, Elliott has covered the re-opening of Civil Rights-era murder cases, the legal battle over displaying the Ten Commandments in courthouses, the Elian Gonzales custody dispute from Miami, and a number of hurricanes, from Andrew to Katrina. On Election night in 2000, Elliott was stationed in Tallahassee, Fla., and was one of the first national reporters on the scene for the contentious presidential election contest that followed. She has covered landmark smoker lawsuits, the tobacco settlement with states, the latest trends in youth smoking and tobacco-control policy and regulation. She's been to a Super Bowl, the Summer Olympics and baseball spring training.

Elliott graduated from the University of Alabama College of Communication. She's the former news director of member station WUAL (now Alabama Public Radio).

Giving Matters
12:00 am
Sat December 24, 2011

American Red Cross

Credit American Red Cross

M.J. Hippern teaches health at Dover High School. She was certified to teach CPR through the American Red Cross-New Hampshire Region. In turn, she teaches CPR to her students.

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Cirtronics Voters
4:17 pm
Fri December 23, 2011

Taste Test at the GOP Primary Buffet

Credit Jon Greenberg, NHPR
Printed circuit board at Cirtronics

In the last presidential primary, Democrat candidate Bill Richardson ran ads that cast running for president as nothing more glamorous than showing up for a job interview -- with citizens doing the vetting.

A voter’s task is at least that complicated and at a certain point, the decision comes down to a gut level preference.   NHPR’s Jon Greenberg has been talking with scores of voters to see how they add things up.  His most recent trip took him to a manufacturing plant in Milford.

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Arts & Culture
4:06 pm
Fri December 23, 2011

Christmas, Auto Racing, Lights, and a Baby

When you think of Christmas, auto racing might not come to mind.

But the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon has turned a mile long race course into a Christmas display featuring more than a million LED lights.

NHPR’s Brady Carlson took his family to see the show and has this report.

I’m not really a light kind of guy – in fact, the first thing I do when I host All Things Considered is turn down the studio lights.

Winter solstice is fine with me.

But then I’m not really the target demographic for the Gift of Lights show.

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North Country
3:18 pm
Fri December 23, 2011

Northern Pass Offers $850,000 For Balsams Conservation Easement

The Northern Pass hydro-electric project says it would like to buy a conservation easement at the Balsams if the Forest Society doesn’t. NHPR’s Chris Jensen

 

Earlier this month the controversial Northern Pass project lost in its bid to use land near the Balsams resort for its power lines.

The Tillotson Corporation rejected Northern Pass’ $2.2 million offer.

Instead it agreed to sell a conservation easement for $850,000 to The Forest Society.

That easement covers about 5,800 acres. It seems to have effectively blocked Northern Pass in that area.

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Friday Journal
12:00 pm
Fri December 23, 2011

Hanukkah Lights 2011

A perennial NPR favorite, Hanukkah Lights features Hanukkah stories and memoirs written by acclaimed authors expressly for the show, as read by NPR's Susan Stambergand Murray Horwitz. This program is available on Content Depot and listener information is available at www.npr.org

Word of Mouth
10:21 am
Fri December 23, 2011

Word of Mouth for 12.24.2011

Credit (Photo by zizagou76 via Flickr Creative Commons)

                                                                            

Part 1:

Why Music Writing Matters in 2011

In his introduction to an anthology of The Best Music Writing 2011, Alex Ross shares a selection of tweets reacting to bassist and singer Esperanza Spaulding’s upset over teen star Justin Bieber for the Best New Artist Grammy.

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