In this artistic, relaxing installment of AKPF #1, the audience is treated to imagery and nature sounds to fill out the twenty-nine minutes of airtime. Learn about recent celebrations in Robin Hood park, sign waves alongside the county corrections institution, and home chalking in suburban Keene.
Tired of chalking yet? Too bad. The war continues. We break down the madness from every angle • Rebels or Empire? • Keene city budget public hearing • Pumpkin fest lobbyists • What the hell is tax increment financing? • Doom movie review • James and Garret join • Show notes at: BlackSheepRising.org
It’s budget time and of course it’s going up again. Just like last year. And the year before. Surprisingly, the Parking Fund is going down $200,000 even though the city collected $80,000 less than it had planned on (no doubt thanks to Robin Hood and his merry misfits). Some have been quick to applaud the city bureaucrats in this reduction, but wait. The TIF tax portion went up $200,000. What the hell is a TIF tax? If all you saw was “tax” and you already knew it was something bad, then you would be correct. Here is a brief explanation in my LTE to the Keene Sentinel:
Tax Increment Financing is not “free money”
Who pays for Keene’s downtown parking?
If you were to ask city management, they would tell you it’s paid for through rentals, fees and fines. If you then asked them if the taxpayers paid into the parking fund as well, they would most likely tell you “no.”
This is a flat-out mistruth. Let me explain. This year, $1 million (47 percent) of the $2.2 million proposed parking budget will come from the city’s Tax Increment Finance (TIF) tax pool. This is a huge increase from $840,000 (34 percent) last year.
The TIF tax pool is generated from Keene’s two developmental districts and the revenue collected can only be spent in those districts. It cannot be spent elsewhere. The idea is the money will be put aside and used to improve the assessed value of these properties and therefore increase the potential tax revenue over time because, according to social engineer Mayor Lane, development in these areas would never happen unless they had a little help from the taxpayers. This is a ridiculous notion.
One of the biggest problems with TIF is how the money is spent. Right now, almost half of Keene’s TIF revenue goes to the parking fund. The other half is spent mostly on principal and interest. We’re talking about $2.4 million that could be going directly to the general fund to pay for city services, which would ultimately help lower the already unsustainable tax rate.
But instead it gets spent on snow removal.
Do you know this man?
Early last evening in Central Square, a troubling act of violence occurred when a local man, Matthew Oldershaw, known to many as ‘Yankee’, was shoved into the granite fountain and sustained head trauma. This occurred while Yankee was conversing near the fountain with business owner Dorrie O’Meara. An unknown man wearing a blue t-shirt and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap (now believed to be James Michael Phillips) was identified by witnesses in shaky footage from the scene as the aggressor. The man remained on the square several minutes after the attack, associating with another man wearing a bandana under a backwards cap who threatened those holding cameras and claimed ‘gang affiliations’ (since identified as Justin Paquette of Keene). Yankee was taken away on a stretcher and has since been moved to a hospital outside of Keene for additional treatment. Four KPD units responded, and left the scene without making any arrests. Images of the man have been published by Keene Peaceful Streets. Do you know who this man is, photographed smiling as he walks away after sending another person to the emergency room? What is additionally a sad reflection on society in Keene is the indifference displayed by some bystanders to a seriously injured person laying wounded in front of them. Some people can be seen casually pouring water on nearby chalkings at the same time that friends of the injured person are sobbing for someone to call an ambulance.
Bandana-wearing man claimed ‘gang affiliations’ and grabbed at cameras of bystanders. The perpetrator of the assault (wearing the blue t-shirt) that sent Yankee to the hospital smirks behind him. UPDATE: Bandana man has since been identified as Justin Paquette of Keene.
Smiling before leaving the Square, the attacker wandered off prior to the arrival of Keene police.
Keene’s very own Public access television station, Cheshire TV, which hosts a wide array of local programs such as Black Sheep Rising , AKPF#1, and others has come under attack by city officials. CTV, which operates partly off of franchise fees collected from cable provider Time Warner has recently adopted a new program in which it will begin charging an operating fee to any producers requiring assistance with their programs. Subsequently, programs produced by city bureaucrats, Kendall Lane, Chris Coats and Kris Roberts who have refused to pay the fee, have ceased production. Having co-produce 34 episodes of ShireTV, I can tell you airing a simple half hour television program in studio requires a crew to operate and hours of setup and tear-down. I am not at all surprised that station manager, Lee Perkins, came to this decision. This move by CTV may also be in part due to the City of Keene confiscating 9% of the franchise fee for its own use. Ongoing attempts by CTV to claim this portion have been rejected by city management.
Now in retaliation city mayor Kendal Lane in an interview on WKBK has hinted the city may keep all the franchise revenue and hire their “own people” to cover city council meeting and such. Cheshire TV would be left to fend for itself. I have no doubt the newly created department would also cover shows produced by city officials and friends, because that’s how the cronies roll.
The producers of AKPF #1 are pleased to present this special edition family friendly censored edition of the forty-seventh episode of controversial Cheshire television 
talk series Black Sheep Rising. In this invigorating episode which originally published to the world on 14 May 2014, Conan, James, Garret, and Shaunna discuss wordly affairs as well as the present tribulations facing the restructuring Aqua Keene Parking Force. Also featuring a special official New Hampshire state vodka tasting in the program’s second hour. See the show notes and original uncensored cut of the episode as published to the official page of the Black Sheep Rising.
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