NH INSIDER

I’m a supporter of using rail as a transportation resource to bridge markets and create jobs. And recently, I’ve heard of a project that is doing exactly this.

It’s called RailEx. And this is a dedicated train that is running from Wallula, Washington to Rotterdam, New York. There is a second train that runs from Delano, California also to Rotterdam. The trains take about five days to arrive at Rotterdam and are loaded with fresh vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, celery, carrots and in addition the trains are also carrying wine. The RailEx train is in a cold chain meaning that the product carried is maintained at a certain temperature. When I first heard of the RailEx project I was skeptical believing that this had already been tried before, and unsuccessfully.

It has been done before the difference here is that before the railroads would try and deliver the produce laden trains directly to major metropolitan centers on the east coast i.e., New York and Boston which involve further costs and rail congestion unlike Rotterdam, NY which is close enough but still far enough away to not have these logistical issues. My sense is that recent technological improvements to train operations, computers and refrigeration are also components that will make this project successful and in the end bring fresh food and wine to New Hampshire and Northeast consumers while at the same time opening up new markets for producers in the western part of the United States.

I can hear it now. NH politicans will have plenty of wine and grapes to eat. Just like Rome!

Rotterdam, New York is a good location to serve Northeast markets but I’m just wondering if a location in places like Portsmouth, NH, Portland, Maine or White River Junction, Vermont might be even closer to the markets that are being served. RailEx has made a multimillion dollar investment in the Rotterdam, NY facility so this is done but perhaps as the rail service gets more established there might be satellite or similar operations up here in New England. But I’m not going to waste much time asking state agencies like DRED to try and advance an idea like this in the name of needed economic development and jobs. I mean no disrespect but I think Commissioner George Bald has done absolutely nothing for this state. Yet he gets renominated!   

This is a video I found on UTUBE about the RailEx service. And I’ll state my bias upfront I think the Price Chopper Supermarkets are better than the competition throughout New Hampshire such as Shaw’s, Hannaford, Deomoulas, etc.  And I think with RailEx they’ll be even better!

Source: Iowa Public Television.

In a post below a person named Leigh McNeil decries how bad things here are in New Hampshire and why the tax on LLC Corporations is bad policy. McNeil doesn’t offer much of an insight as to what areas in New Hampshire are being described as “boarded up windows and for lease signs.”

I don’t think it’s anywhere as bad as what's being described in this post.

I’m from northern New Hampshire and I had a front row seat to the decline and fall of the paper industry in Coos County this was and is closely followed by what remained of the machine tool industry including a bankruptcy filing last week by Gorham based Steel Elements Inc. which is in the steel fabrication business. Thousands of jobs have been lost.

In his post Mr. McNeil blames government he doesn’t like the LLC tax and he cites the cyclical consumer based automotive business as an example of what is wrong with New Hampshire. Instead of blaming state government and policymakers, I think Mr. McNeil should have taken the time to consider what is going right and how this will lead to the future of New Hampshire. One example of this is tourism. Even with the downturn economy I think when the tourism numbers come in they will be substantial. This is good where a door slams a window opens. I think New Hampshire should be doing everything it can to continue to support this industry. I’ve spent enough time on this board arguing for expanded casino gaming and what this would do for taxbase and needed revitalization including the boarded up windows and the for sale signs.

I don’t support increased taxation in any form including the LLC tax but until New Hampshire finds another revenue source these types of discussions are going to continue and at this point it I think it’s irresponsible for anyone to say that the state budget can be cut. If you believe I’m wrong please feel to describe exactly where it can be cut and how this would be done. This has nothing to do with big government or a center of power in Concord.  

It’s reality.  

Last Report from Killington…

Alright so I’m here at Moguls in Killington and I hear some of the challenges facing the resort area. Chief among these is the end of ski season and the start of the economic dry spell in this area of Vermont.

“Clearly the summer season there isn’t the tourism or the draw for the people to come here.” said an individual sitting near the bar area whose name I can’t now remember. I was tempted to ask about the succession movement to NH and if casino gaming had ever been considered to improve the variability in the seasons and namely, the revenue from the seasons. But I didn’t I was too tired and I really didn’t want to overturn an apple cart with criticism of politics and policy in Vermont. I think Vermont is doing a quality job on a number of issues, examples include rail transportation and foreign trade iniatives and much better than New Hampshire. And with the multimillion dollar condos I’ve seen on the hillsides surrounding Killington. If there are structural issues with tourism in this area of the world it certainly isn’t apparent on the surface.

Disadvantages of listening to people in bars. I learned this in the NH House especially at some of the after session events hosted by lobbyists in the bars and eateries on and around North Main Street.  I think the lobbyists in some of these situations can be best described as vipers. But this is a story for another day…

So the next morning I headed back to New Hampshire. By now its sub zero temperatures and I’m glad I got in the skiing when I did. I’m headed east on route 4 towards I-89 and Lebanon, NH I think I’m in Rockingham, Vermont or at least just before Woodstock and I spot the Long Trail Ale Beer Brewery on my right it looks like a very efficient operation and their must have been about 40 cars in the parking area around the old wood frame building; I’m thinking this is important because not only is local jobs in a local economy but its manufactured right here and not in Belgium.

Not that the Europeans make a bad beer.

Still from Killington…

One of the signs leading into Killington terms the ski area The Vail of the East. This is only the second time I’ve ever skied at Killington and before today I really never understood what this means. Well now I do.

From the skier perspective, it’s the length of the actual runs. The runs at Killington average about 3-4 miles and one is actually over five miles. Even Cannon and Wildcat which have some significant trails are the closest, I think to Killington in terms of length of the runs. So I ended up skiing most of the day on the hard packed machine surface that was at least until the massive snow squalls started descending over the region. The environment changes very rapidly, snow frozen surfaces are quickly transformed into fluffy white powder which, nice to ski in made it a little bit tougher especially in the shins right above my ski boots. But we’re continuing on. It gets to about 3:30 and the darkness begins to descend over the whole area. By now I’m basically exhausted, the snow is coming down my legs are tired the kids on snowboards are clipping by like there’s no tomorrow and now I’m having painful visions of what’s it going to be like trying to take my ski boots off.  Just then as I’m thinking that the darkness will prevail one of my friends says two words that completely transformed the whole situation from darkness to light.

Hot tub.

It’s amazing how two words can transform a whole situation. The same is true in New Hampshire politics. One of the masters of saying the right thing at the right time was former Democratic Minority Leader Rick Twombly who would often speak on the floor of the house about issues that face everyone, the people of New Hampshire. Right place at the right time and more often than not this would often provoke thought that would change the course of the debate, legislation, etc. I think some of this is needed right now as I’m watching on WMUR the Commissioner of Health & Human Service talk about cuts in programs to close the budget deficit. I don’t think the Commissioner is displaying any real emotions about what is going to happen to real NH people when these cuts are made in areas like: single parents, addiction among others. I’m confident that the results here are going to be dreadful and issues that won’t be resolved with two words. I’m actually surprised that the NH legislature is allowing the cuts at NH Health & Human Services to move forward. Maybe they need to be talking or hear some testimony from former Democratic Leader Rick Twombly. Or at least be talking to some of the people and families that are facing the cuts.

Later I emerged from an outdoor hot tub at Killington my friends and I decided to head downtown. Where there is a lot to choose from, and unlike Vail in the west it relatively affordable and this is where I would hear of some of the challenges that face Killington in this downturn economy. I ended up at the really neat sports bar called moguls. As you might imagine it has everything a sports bars has: widescreens, pool tables, etc. But on this freezing cold night they were getting ready for my favorite Texas Holdem. I’d love to say that I turned the felt on fire and raked in a few pots but that didn’t happen. By now I’m too tired to even think about suited connectors instead I settled for a charbroiled Angus Burger and some fries but I would hear about the dry season in Killington and why this is becoming more of a challenge as each year passes.

To be continued…

This is continued from last week.

So I’m over here at Killington the skiing conditions are awesome. I didn’t get a chance to ask the Vermonter in my high-speed gondola what his position was about the upcoming race for Governor in the Green Mountain state.

I have my own ideas and speculation. For starters I think the Republican nominee has more or less been decided and this Lt. Governor Brian Dubie, former Air Force F-16 Pilot and officer in the Vermont and later Massachusetts Air National Guard. Some politicos I’ve spoken to in Vermont say that Lt. Governor isn’t much more than a ceremonial position. I’m not sure if this is the case but it appears to me that Dubie has really used the office to advance some issues most namely would be some his trade missions that have produced tangible results. One of these trade missions has been to South Korea where a biotech company is announcing in the Caledonian Record newspaper plans to build a factory near Jay Peak Ski Resort which will employ over 350 people. Jay Peak is near Newport, Vermont and the Canadian border and has some of the highest unemployment rates in the state. I wish projects like this were happening over here in New Hampshire. When Dubie speaks in public I think he comes across as plain spoken which resonates well with many voters, at least it did when he ran for Lt. Governor. But this is a state that has sales, income taxes and property taxes that are commensurate with New Hampshire.

Every Vermonter I’ve spoken with says taxes are just too high in Vermont for what the state is providing.

The Democratic candidate will be a bit harder to call. The leading name I’m hearing is former Senator Doug Racine who comes from the right area of Vermont to be a Democrat, Burlington. I think there is at least one analysts report out there that says no candidate for major office in Vermont in the past 30 years has ever won without first gaining the political and financial support from sources that originate in Chittenden County. So if this is the case I think it will be interesting to see which way the pendulum will swing. I’ll give a slight advantage to Dubie in this one.

I’m thinking about this race because I think there are so many areas in which Vermont and New Hampshire could be working together on issues that face both states in issues that range from education to transportation systems. I’ve been attending meetings of the Vermont Rail Council which meets quarterly in Montpelier. The Vermont Rail Council was created about seven years ago via an executive order and as such the council which is comprised of appointed members serves as a major policy arm of both the Governor and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. And right now the big news in Vermont is the federal grant for $50 million dollars to upgrade the trackage of the New England Central Railroad (NECR) which is the major north-south rail artery through Vermont.

And a project that will indirectly affect New Hampshire.