Something very rare occurred during Tuesday'a City Council pubic hearing,
A pssionate crowd of Rochester residents filled the gallery to express their displeasure and disdain over the potential construction of a data center in the Lilac City, which they said would degrade the quality of life for everyone who calls Rochester home.
Strafford Rep. Kelly Potenza argued that data centers are nothing more than "surveillance centers" and should be kept out of the city at any cost.
Rochester resident Human said any data center in the city would be a potential military target for America's enemies foreign and domestic and should be a concern for the safety and well being of all Rochester residents.
What made the public hearing and discussion among city councilors so remarkable, however, was that unlike many other public hearings where folks in the gallery are opposed to new initiatives pushed forward by the city, this night there was a Kumbaya moment.
Mayor Chuck Grassie and planning director Seth Creighton laid out plans to work on an ordinance designed to dissuade data centers from even attmpting to locate one in Rochester.
The ordinance would spell out strict rules for the enabling of such a facility and any acceptance would be on a conditional permit, which would give the planning board wide latitude to deny a permit.
Rochester resident Ray Wayman said he "applauded the city for getting ahead of the curve."
Former city councilor Sandra Keans said "the city has taken a great first step tonight."
Wouldn't it be great if Rochester public hearings could have this kind of synergy all the time?
We can only hope.
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This is the time of year I hate the most. Not because summer is on the wane, autumn is far too short and winter's just around the bend. No, it's because with primary season now fast upon and the general just 10 weeks away and me living on the border of Maine and New Hampshire I have to listen to political ads ad nauseum, mostly the same one over and over.
They're all pretty pathetic, but the one that sticks out the most from a messaging standpoint is the Chris Pappas ad where the narrator says something like "housing and rent costs are going up in New Hampshire, but Chris Pappas has a plan to lower those costs, Vote for Chris Pappas."
So how long has Mr. Pappas been in Congress? Actually he has served as the U.S. Representative for New Hampshire's 1st congressional district for more than 7 years.
Yeah, and he's finally got a plan?
Chris Pappas
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Lastly, what a night for our Boston teams.
I was going back and forth between the Red Sox and the Pats all night and fell asleep watching the Patriots fall behing in the fourth quarter just a short time after I'd stopped watching the Red Sox trail the San Francisco Giants late in the game.
Then I get up today and watch the highlights. By golly, the home boys did OK. We pulled out both contests! Woohoo!
A New Hampshire Press Association member