The HDC and preserving Portsmouth's architecture: Letters

The HDC and preserving Portsmouth's architecture

Dec. 28 −To the Editor:

I agree with writer Susan Seiden that the Hearth is wildly inappropriate for Portsmouth's historic downtown and that its approval by the HDC shows that this commission's members have imperfect judgment. Nevertheless, I don't know that this or even sustainability concerns justify our City Council micromanaging the HDC and tying its members' hands so that they cannot perform their important duty of protecting Portsmouth's historic architecture. Our council should tread carefully before going down the path of interfering with independent boards and commissions.

Our mayor is fond of saying that Portsmouth's people are more important than its buildings, but we cannot ignore the fact that the buildings in which we live and which surround us impact us greatly. These structures have the power to either drag us down or to make our spirits soar. Our 400-year-old city possesses architectural treasures that few other communities can match. If we diminish the ability of the HDC to preserve them, this has the potential to destroy something irreplaceable. If members of the HDC have made mistakes, perhaps the solution is to shorten their terms in the future, rather than to weaken the commission's power.

When I lived in Manhattan, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was successful in preventing the construction of a modern tower above the dome of the historic St. Bartholomew's Church in mid-town. She did so citing the slogan "A landmark is forever." It would be wise to remember this phrase when dealing with similar issues in our own city, or we risk losing a piece of our city's soul.  When future residents dig up our time capsule, I hope they won't be able to say that 2024 was the year that Portsmouth stopped caring about its architectural heritage.

Christina Lusky

Portsmouth

Will Republicans choose Berlin, NH or Berlin, Germany?

Dec. 28 − To the Editor:

Sometimes you really can’t make this stuff up. The recent political news out of Berlin, New Hampshire was pretty eye opening. To think that a former US Ambassador and Governor of South Carolina would not know the reasons for the start of the US Civil War is pretty mind boggling. She obviously never went to Charleston, SC, where the first shots of the Civil War rang out. She must have forgotten that SC was the first state to secede from the Union/United States. She must not have visited downtown Charleston, where a tourist draw is the site of a former slave market.

All you have to do is turn around and look across the Cooper River and you can see Fort Sumter, where the first shots rang out. Not far from the “Old Slave Mart" is Gadsden Street. Christopher Gadsden is the namesake of the Gadsden Flag, that the Koch network/AFP backed Tea Party Movement used as a symbol and has been joined with the Confederate Flag at alt-right rallies, so “real Americans” can "own the libs."

It is no wonder that the Koch network/AFP is now supporting Nikki. She also must have forgotten that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican, and Republicans used to be proud of that, but not so much now it would seem.

President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves. That must have been the “role of government” or "how government was going to run” that Nikki was alluding to. Perhaps if Nikki is elected to the White House, she can repeal the Emancipation Proclamation, since it was merely an executive order.

Her twisted/nonsensical logic is beginning to achieve parity with the likes of Sarah Palin at this point. Former Governor Palin was the politician who used to mock "hope," which it now appears that Republicans don’t want us to have anymore. Please crack a history book Nikki.

What a choice NH Republicans have. Will they pick someone not understanding the US history of slavery in Berlin, NH or someone who is parroting the fascist talking points out of WW2 era Berlin, Germany, who wants to be a dictator.

Don Cavallaro

Rye

Facts show Biden economic policies are working

Dec. 24 − To the Editor:

The Republican playbook orders their minions to knock the economy at every turn, usually intoning things like “At times like these…,” or “With the economy in the ditch…”. The biggest problem with their view is that, start to finish, it’s wrong. Of course, being wrong never bothered Republicans, who remain happy as long as we ask no questions and follow orders. Historically, their path has gone nowhere producing the biggest budget deficits under Republicans regimes. Today they cite no data because they have none to support their gloomanomics (i.e., politically driven gloom and doom economics without reference to data). Since they have abandoned the real world of facts, we must ask for their actual goal? Distraction! Republicans want to distract us from President Biden’s excellent job.

Republican gloomanomics promoters live under dark rocks where they can’t see things like verifiable data and fact-based information. Leaving the muck behind we see clearly that Joe’s on the job and he has the facts on his side. Let’s set the record straight with data driven information of just a few economic items and remember in the primary to Write in for Biden:

Growth: The GDP growth was 5.2 last quarter.

Covid Recovery: Of all the G7 nations the US had the BEST Covid recovery.

Inflation: Last month we had Zero inflation. That’s Zero with a capital Z.

Wage Growth: Wage growth (where we feel it most) has been a robust 5%, outpacing inflation for many months.

Wealth for all: Median wealth rose by 37% from 2020-2022; for the same period.

Median wealth for 18-34 year-olds has doubled.

Jobs: We have more jobs than at any time since the 1960s.

Insured Population: We have the lowest uninsured rate in history.

J. Michael Atherton

Dover

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The HDC and preserving Portsmouth's architecture: Letters