The Seacoast Region

One year ago today, Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney was killed in the line of duty as he tried to execute a search warrant.  Not long after his death, friends and family established a memorial fund to serve the Seacoast in his name. 

Current weather forecasts estimate anywhere from two to four inches of snowfall over much of the state by this evening.  Unlike the blizzard two weeks ago, this storm is moving slowly, dropping wet, heavy snow across parts of New Hampshire.  Meteorologist Alex Graves says changing temperatures today will also affect accumulation.

In 1981, playwright, performer and theater company director Carlyle Brown decided on a whim to take a trip to Africa. That launched a journey of self-discovery and an adventure that became the basis for a one-man show called “The Fula from America: An African Journey," which Brown performs tonight at The Music Hall in Portsmouth. It’s a fund-raising event for Portsmouth’s African Burying Ground, and will be followed by a candelight procession to the site where the design for a memorial will be unveiled.

Come January, New Hampshire lawmakers will consider a bevy of bills dealing with the water quality of Great Bay. Some proposals confront waste-water treatment plant costs head-on, while others skirt that controversy.

The decline in the ecosystem of the Great Bay, coupled with Portsmouth, Rochester, and Dover's decision to fight the EPA over required wastewater treatment plant to upgrades is inspiring action in Concord.

At most art exhibits, guests aren't supposed to touch the works – though the current exhibit at Discover Portsmouth is the exception to that rule. In fact, some of the pieces won't work unless you touch them.

It's an exhibit called “In Motion,” and the artist, Kim Bernard, joins All Things Considered host Brady Carlson to talk about exploring movement through visual art.

A new report out Friday finds that the Great Bay Estuary is still struggling. Every 3 years the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, or PREP releases its State Of Our Estuaries report. The report’s data plays into an ongoing battle over the cost of new wastewater treatment plants on the seacoast.

If you’ve been following the efforts of conservation groups on the Seacoast, PREP’s data from the last three years are no big surprise.

Senator John McCain was in New Hampshire stumping for presidential candidate Mitt Romney. 

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Portsmouth, McCain made the case for Mitt Romney to a gathering of veterans and their families.

Addressing the recent anti-American demonstrations in the Middle East, McCain called the president’s response to the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya a “partial apology.”

Top municipal officials of three Seacoast region communities are continuing their fight against tough new environmental regulations for their wastewater treatment plants.

Southeastern New Hampshire commuters will see mass transit improvements from newly announced Federal grants.

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a higher limit for Nitrogen discharge from Portsmouth’s wastewater treatment plant.  But city officials are still unsure whether it will actually save the city money.

Often called New Hampshire’s “hidden coast, the Great Bay is considered an estuary of national significance. Yet, its future seems in question both because pollution has taken a toll on its ecosystem and because nearby communities, activists, and officials can’t agree on how best to eradicate it, even as all realize something must be done. We'll look at the Great Bay debate and see if some sort of compromise can be made?

Guests

We learned recently that the cost of rental housing has been climbing in New Hampshire – a typical two bedroom apartment in the state now costs more than a thousand dollars a month. And in some parts of the Granite State, businesses are dealing with high rental costs as well.

Every summer, the non-profit Piscataqua Maritime Commission seeks tall ships and other historic vessels to attract residents and tourists.

Today is the first day of Sail Portsmouth, a four day festival of tall ships on New Hampshire’s Seacoast.

One of the featured ships in this year’s festival is called The Pride of Baltimore II. It’s a recreation of a topsail schooner that served as a privateer in the War of 1812 - ships that shaped the course of the war between the United States and Britain two hundred years ago.

"Short, easy, infallible"