In this RAW video, former city council candidate Bradford Hutchingson encounters Graham Colson and Rich Paul on Main St in early April. Bradford aka “King of Keene” asks for change over and over and sticks his face in Graham’s camera (he did the same thing in this video with Dave Ridley). Bradford’s behavior probably has something to do with the continuous accusation against area activists that we are “shoving” cameras in people’s faces. I’ve never put a camera near someone’s face, let alone shoved it at anyone. I’ve never seen other activists with cameras disrespect people’s personal space, either.
Graham shows again that he is capable of deescalating a violent situation very well, though the conversation does get heated and loud. Graham is a good activist and has been and will get better with time. Here’s the video, much of which is very funny, thanks to Free Keene blogger Rich Paul’s role:
Two members of a local activist group have applied for tax-exempt status, under religious considerations, for the Leverett Street property one of them formerly owned. (more…)
Do parking meter cost increases, doubling parking fines and increasing the hours for plugging the meters from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. make Keene a friendlier, more inviting place to shop?
If Nathaniel Stout (“Parking increases are the only fair way,” April 16) thinks so, he is wrong.
I have been in business on St. James Street for well over 45 years and I can tell you there is no bigger drawback to shopping in Downtown Keene than the parking meters and parking fines. It would be very unusual for our customers to choose new flooring, bedding or furniture in less than 30 minutes. So when they lose track of time and find a ticket on their windshields upon exiting our store, they get extremely upset. I have heard many customers make the comment (even after I pay their tickets) that they will never shop Downtown Keene again. (more…)
Kudos to downtown business owner Peggy Schauffler for speaking up against the parking enforcement in Keene in her recent letter to the editor to the Keene Sentinel. In the letter she describes the constant negative feedback she receives from customers regarding Keene’s parking enforcement. She indicates that people tell her they are less likely to shop downtown due to the parking enforcement and she herself says she refused to shop downtown prior to starting a business there!
If the city council wanted to do something good for the downtown, they should eliminate the parking department entirely and let business and downtown property owners decide for themselves how to handle parking. Of course, don’t expect a single city councilor to put that idea on the table. If we’re lucky, they’ll stop the proposed increase, but that won’t bring people back downtown who refuse to shop there TODAY.
Here’s Peggy’s letter:
“I hate coming to Keene!” I looked up as a customer walked through the door.
I said, knowing the root of the problem, “What’s the problem?”
They replied “I have never been in a city before where the meter people are so unfriendly.”
Conversations on meter readers is a continual topic in my store, and I have yet to hear one that is pleasant. (more…)
Out with the old, in with the new! Thanks to the help of graphic design wizard Meg McLain, NHJury.com has a brand new trifold for outreach to potential jurors and others who want to learn about the right of jury nullification!
5,000 new fliers have been printed and will be filtering to activists statewide this summer (after we run dry of the original 2011 flier).
The new version features updated text that reflects the passage of the NH Jury Nullification law in 2012 as well as a more current quote from a judge about nullification among other minor tweaks and a complete graphical redesign!
In this RAW video, former city council candidate Bradford Hutchingson encounters Graham Colson and Rich Paul on Main St in early April. Bradford aka “King of Keene” asks for change over and over and sticks his face in Graham’s camera (he did the same thing in this video with Dave Ridley). Bradford’s behavior probably has something to do with the continuous accusation against area activists that we are “shoving” cameras in people’s faces. I’ve never put a camera near someone’s face, let alone shoved it at anyone. I’ve never seen other activists with cameras disrespect people’s personal space, either.
