Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Editor’s note: During the course of a week, issues are covered that might not lend themselves to full editorial comment, but they are worthy of The Sunday Telegraph weighing in – thumbs up, thumbs down or neutral.
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Thumbs Up – To New Hampshire’s congressional delegation for helping to funnel grants to community health centers. Ten community health centers in the Granite State will receive a total of $5.3 million through the American Rescue plan to support construction projects. The grants range from over $120,000 to over $670,000. Recipients include Health First Family Care Center, Inc.; Lamprey Health Care, Inc.; Ammonoosuc Community Health Services; Coos County Family Health Services, Inc.; Indian Stream Health Center; Amoskeag Health; City of Manchester; Greater Seacoast Community Health; Mid-State Health Center; and Harbor Homes, Inc. “Ensuring our community health care centers have the facilities and capabilities necessary to meet the needs of the patients they serve is critical, especially as many providers have been overwhelmed by the influx of Granite Staters due to COVID-19,” U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement. “That’s why securing federal assistance for our frontline providers to complete necessary construction projects was an important effort during negotiations of the American Rescue Plan.”
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Thumbs UP – To New Hampshire’s attorney general, who wants to determine if any individuals violated criminal laws after protesters disrupted an executive council meeting, forcing Gov. Chris Sununu to postpone it. Angry opponents of the Biden administration’s new vaccine mandate moved around the room in Manchester on Wednesday, shouting “Shut it down.” Sununu, a Republican, said state police had to escort state employees to their cars after “unruly and very aggressive” behavior. Attorney General John Formella on Thursday announced the start of a review “of the facts and circumstances surrounding yesterday’s conduct of individuals” at the meeting. The postponement further delayed a council vote on $27 million in federal aid to boost New Hampshire’s vaccination efforts.