The Exchange

Although long an unfortunate part of childhood, many feel it’s become more serious and more complicated, given expanded opportunities through the internet and social media.  But there’s also more scrutiny, tougher policies, and anti-bullying campaigns out in force.  We’ll get the latest from Granite Staters involved in this issue.

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After an election that saw unprecedented amounts of money spent – the call for limits has come up again, whether on dollar amounts…or more disclosure, so voters will know who’s funding what.  But these efforts, including one recently in New Hampshire, often bump into a variety of concerns.  We’ll look at the state of campaign finance in the Granite State.

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Twenty-thirteen has been dubbed the “Year of the Comet”, with three major visitors expected to give us a show.   Also, there's new findings on Mars and on Jupiter’s moon Europa that are leading scientists one step closer to the possibilities of life elsewhere in our solar system.  And a private venture hopes to send a husband and wife team to the Red Planet by twenty-eighteen.  We'll look at the top stories from space.

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The House voted to send its budget to the state Senate.   The governor has unveiled her choice for a new Attorney General.  The first Exeter-Hospital Hepatitis-C civil cases are now scheduled for trial.  And the Windham school board “takes aim” at dodge ball.  We’ll look at the top stories for the week of April 1st.

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Ten years ago, New Hampshire was chosen by members of the libertarian minded group, the Free State Project, to move here en-masse and make change.  A decade later, they’ve had some influence, on state and local politics but have also faced criticism.   We’ll look at where the Free-State movement is now…and its plans for the future.

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The European economy has been struggling for the past half-decade, now the latest trouble comes from Cyprus. Although tiny in size, many worry that its problems will spill over to larger countries and even across the Atlantic to the United States.  We’ll look closer at what’s happening and whether we’ll feel an impact in New Hampshire.

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This year, several states have passed or are debating to pass more restrictions on abortion, The toughest being in North Dakota’s which has banned the procedure after six weeks.  But in New Hampshire some predict the long time abortion-rights stance of Governor Maggie Hassan should mean a status quo here..  We’ll examine what’s behind these trends, statewide and nationwide and what it could mean for the future of laws in the Granite State.

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Stand your ground - the controversial gun law that passed last year removed the obligation that a person first consider retreating before using deadly force in a public place. Last week, the New Hampshire house narrowly voted to repeal the law, but this effort faces a steep challenge in the Senate, while the  national debate over gun laws continues.

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Next week on the exchange, we begin with the latest over the debate on the stand your ground law. House Democrats narrowly repealed this Gun-rights legislation recently, but the repeal faces a tough climb in the senate.  Later in the week we look at the Free State Movement. Ten years ago, its members began to move to New Hampshire to make political change, we’ll look at their impact and why their movement remains controversial. E-mail us at NHPR dot org and join us all next week for the Exchange, every morning live at 9/and again at 8 p m here on NHPR!

House budget writers this week got closer to a final tax-and-spending plan.  The Stand-your-Ground debate is stirring up in the legislature.  A moratorium on wind farms was proposed and New Hampshire lost a statesman…former House Speaker Harold Burns.   A roundtable of reporters discusses the top stories of the week. 

Guests

The Grand Old Party recently released a sweeping report on strategies for the next big election.  It’s been described as a hard hitting manifesto for the GOP, addressing problems ranging from a failure to attract younger voters and minorities, to a major re-vamp of the way the party chooses its President nominee.  We’ll find out what Granite State Republicans and state political analysts think.

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As the U.S. Supreme court hears two cases concerning same-sex marriage this week, we’ll get reaction from New Hampshire people involved in this issue.  Our state is among the nine which allow same-sex couples to marry.  We’ll talk with those involved in making this happen and those who believe it was the wrong choice.

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After years of dealing with state budget cuts, now UNH President Mark Huddleston is hoping his school will receive more funding.  We’ll talk about that as well as pressure on him to keep costs down, in light of burgeoning student. We’ll also cover some major ongoing initiatives at UNH including a focus on sustainability.

Guest:

Dr. Mark Huddleston - President of the University of New Hampshire

Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to ban super-sized sugary drinks in New York City was thwarted by a judge recently, but he plans to appeal.  Its brought up the question, once again, of how much of a role should government play in the fight against obesity. Supporters of this approach say it's such a serious problem that government needs to get involved, but others say these efforts amount to a nanny state and  that personal responsibility is the best approach.

Guests

Next week on The Exchange, we begin with the question of government’s role in fighting obesity, given the recent challenge to New York City’s super-size-soda ban.  Then, we sit down with Mark Huddleston, President of the University of New Hampshire.  And on Friday,  a new tradition in the making on “The Exchange”, our weekly news roundup where we look at the issues Granite Staters are talking about. E-mail us at NHPR dot org and join us all next week for the Exchange, every morning live at 9/and again at 8 p m....here on NHPR!