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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
N.H. restaurant owner who alleged conspiracy of retaliation by police reaches $75,000 settlement
Unlike Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Even if I didn't receive the outcome I desired, it still briefly held them accountable, at least in the media and in the public, and shined the spotlight on people in positions of power behaving poorly,' she said. Advertisement The story began in July 2022, when Kovacs turned to the Franklin Police Department for help after she and her business were bombarded with anonymous phone calls, fake reviews, and antisemitic messages after she condemned a white supremacist group online. Kovacs was unsatisfied with how officers handled her complaint, so she publicly criticized the department — and Police Chief David Goldstein responded by Advertisement Goldstein also strongly implied that the officer who was dating Kovacs at the time would need to choose between his girlfriend and his job, since Kovacs was promoting 'anti-law enforcement attitudes and behaviors.' News coverage spurred public debate over how Franklin officials had responded to Kovacs and how leaders everywhere should tackle bias-related incidents. Kovacs filed her lawsuit in August 2023 against the city, its police department, and eight local officials, including Goldstein, the mayor, and certain city councilors. Her attorneys, The lawsuit accused city officials of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on Kovacs, including by commenting publicly about her mental health and saying she looked 'like a thug' when she criticized police. The lawsuit also accused local officials of violating the state's public records law and trying to interfere with Kovacs's plans to meet with the New Hampshire Department of Justice's Civil Rights Unit. Officials denied the allegations, and one by one, most of them left their posts: The mayor The defendants have perhaps moved on collectively as well. Their attorneys did not respond to a request for comment. A judge in Merrimack County Superior Court signed off Friday on the joint stipulation to dismiss Kovacs's case. The $75,000 payment is due within two weeks, according to a copy of the settlement agreement. Advertisement Miriam Kovacs, owner of the Broken Spoon in Franklin, N.H., accused the city, its police department, and eight local officials of conspiring to deprive her of her First Amendment rights. Steven Porter/Globe Staff Looking ahead, Kovacs sees an uncertain future for the Broken Spoon. After closing her dine-in business temporarily in 2023, she reopened for much of 2024, but found business was considerably slower. She shuttered the eatery again, as she explores other business models, including catering and wholesale options. As far as her storefront in Franklin is concerned, Kovacs said she expects to close that permanently by the end of the year, though she hopes to hold This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Governor Ayotte racking up vetoes of N.H. bills backed by fellow Republicans
Republicans could muster enough votes to support overriding one or more of Ayotte's vetoes in the 24-seat Senate, where they hold a supermajority, but they would likely struggle to seal the deal with a two-thirds vote in the House, where their party currently holds Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up One of the bills that Ayotte nixed this week would have Advertisement Another would have Ayotte also rejected a bill that would have Advertisement She also rejected an Her vetoes this week add to a couple she issued earlier, when she opted to In total, Ayotte has vetoed 10 bills so far this session (including two that would have overlapped with other legislation that she signed into law). Her tally appears to be on par with that of her predecessor. During his eight-year tenure, Republican former governor Chris Sununu issued 123 vetoes, including six that lawmakers overrode, according to legislative records. Although most of his vetoes came in 2019 and 2020, when Democrats controlled the House and Senate, he issued 13 last year, with Republicans in charge of the Legislature. This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Ayotte vetoes N.H. book ban legislation, citing concern about subjective standards around age-appropriateness
Ayotte said she doesn't think the state should get involved in 'addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness,' particularly with legislation that includes 'monetary penalties based on subjective standards.' Advertisement While proponents said Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of their books,' said Megan Tuttle, president of the NEA New Hampshire, a teachers union, in a statement applauding Ayotte's decision. 'We hope this book ban bill veto represents a changing tide at the State House and call on lawmakers to listen to Granite Staters who overwhelmingly oppose classroom censorship efforts,' she added. This legislation would have required local school boards to adopt policies for handling complaints from parents who allege a particular piece of content is 'harmful to minors.' Those unhappy with the local board's handling of a complaint would then have been able to file an appeal with the state board of education, whose seven members are appointed by the governor. Advertisement Although Under existing state law — which borrows language from the US Supreme Court's What implications the phrase 'for minors' might carry for discussions of age-appropriateness would seem to be open to interpretation. The legislation said complaints would be decided first by the school principal, then by the local school board, and ultimately by the state board of education. Barrett M. Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said on Tuesday that his group questioned whether HB 324 was even constitutional. In some ways, its vague standard looks like the state's so-called 'divisive concepts' law, which a federal judge Christina said the NHSBA appreciates Ayotte's veto as an affirmation that 'local education decisions are best made my locally elected school board members, and not the New Hampshire legislature or the State Board of Education.' Related : Advertisement Under HB 324, if a school were to fail to follow the correct process, then anyone claiming to be aggrieved would have been authorized to sue for $1,000 per violation, plus costs and legal fees, according to the legislation. And educators would have faced the potential for professional discipline. Ayotte said she was concerned the legislation had envisioned potentially extensive civil action, 'which could open the door to unnecessary litigation from out-of-state groups.' Ayotte said an If lawmakers conclude the current law isn't being implemented adequately, the appropriate course would be to amend that law, Ayotte said. Republican state lawmakers — who hold a comfortable majority in the 400-seat House and a super-majority in the 24-seat Senate — had framed their support for HB 324 as an anti-smut campaign. 'We're not talking about 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' or some poetry that has some innuendos in it,' Republican Senator Victoria L. Sullivan of Manchester said during debate on the bill. 'We're talking about flat-out pornography.' Republican Senator Daryl A. Abbas of Salem similarly said this legislation aimed to get rid of obscene materials like 'Hustler' magazine, not ban books like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or any of William Shakespeare's works. Advertisement His point was rhetorical. No one claimed school libraries offer 'Hustler' to kids. But others have offered more literal examples of materials they view as inappropriate for K-12 school libraries. Republican Representative Glenn Cordelli of Tuftonboro, the prime sponsor of HB 324, cited New Hampshire writer Jodi L. Picoult, whose acclaimed novel ' Picoult joined with other bestselling authors who live in New Hampshire to In a wry post Advertisement 'Now that kids can't get porn on their phones while at school,' he said, 'at least they can still find it in the library.' Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Illicit massage businesses still ‘operating in plain sight,' N.H. police and nonprofit leaders say
The Coalition notched a legislative victory on this topic last month, when lawmakers approved Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Meg Chant, a Coalition program director, said law enforcement had reported seeing more illicit massage businesses migrate over the state line after Massachusetts imposed stiffer penalties, so the change in New Hampshire aims to mitigate that. Advertisement Looking ahead to the next legislative session, the Coalition will push again to reform licensing laws to improve oversight of massage businesses, an idea that has 'The way that it works right now is that, in New Hampshire, the individual massage therapists are licensed, but the business itself is not,' Chant said, 'so that leaves a gap where ultimately if there are any infractions, it's falling to the individual massage therapists — who, in these cases, are the victims — and it's very difficult for regulators to go in and do routine checks and get into these businesses to see if there are signs that it's not a legitimate business.' Advertisement Chant said people need to recognize that these establishments have been identified in all 10 of New Hampshire's counties, and it's often easy to spot clues that a particular business might not be entirely aboveboard. 'In a lot of cases, it's pretty obvious,' she said. If a massage business has unusual hours, covered windows, and patrons using a discreet entrance, those could be hints that something is amiss, Chant said. 'It's one of those things where often your instincts for just kind of feeling like this isn't quite right are probably spot on as a community member,' she said. Chant said people who are being exploited may seem isolated, fearful, or controlled by someone else. That said, not all of them will immediately identify themselves as trafficking victims, so it's important to remain receptive to listening to and believing them, she added. Landlords and residents who believe an illicit massage business may be operating on their property can contact the New Hampshire Department of Justice Anti-Trafficking Hotline at 603-271-9703. For those seeking confidential help, the Coalition offers a round-the-clock support line for victims and survivors at 866-644-3574. This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Advertisement Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
03-07-2025
- Boston Globe
After a slow start to summer tourism, New Hampshire readies for Fourth of July crowds
'We're definitely optimistic that we'll see some strong travel activity this weekend,' said Charyl Reardon, president of White Mountains Attractions Association. She said the holiday falling on a Friday could encourage more people to come for a long weekend, and she noted that Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Data from Reardon's organization shows visitation so far this summer season is about 5 percent behind last year, which Reardon attributed to the rainy weekends the state has seen. Advertisement She's not alone in gearing up for a busy weekend ahead. 'July Fourth is especially busy,' said Kathleen Flammia, executive director of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce. 'Compared to years before, the only thing that is really different is that (visitors) are waiting until the last minute to book,' she said. In late June, businesses were worried they'd be down about 10 percent compared to last year, Flammia said, but now the reservations have picked up enough to outpace last year. Advertisement Martha 'Matty' Leighton, executive director of the Central New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said people are fed up with the rain, and they're not letting it keep them inside any longer. 'People are finally, they've gotten so irritated, that they're just like, 'We'll go out in the rain. We don't care,'' said Leighton, who said she has a front row seat to tourism trends since she also works for the Leighton said she's hearing that lodging is down, but people are still visiting, which suggests more people are coming for day trips. She said if the typical Fourth of July crowds don't materialize this year, it could signal a more enduring down trend. 'If we don't see a busy weekend, that would be kind of a bellwether for us,' she said. This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Amanda Gokee can be reached at
