PeterGlenshaw.com

Broadband in New Hampshire

This year, the big political headlines from Concord, New Hampshire have been (and will remain) about civil unions (yeah!) and the Governor's proposed education amendment (ugh!). 

I will comment on both issues in future posts, but on Friday there came news that I think has long-term importance in terms of New Hampshire's economic and educational future.

The issue involves ensuring all of New Hampshire has high-speed access to the Internet,especially in the northern portion of the state, including Grafton, Coos, and Carroll County (this is a picture of users at the Tamworth, NH, library accessing the Internet).

To a reader with only passing interest in the workings of government, the news item -- which announced that the NH Senate passed a bill allowing  the state to hire experts to study the proposed sale by Verizon of its phone lines to Fairpoint communications -- might hardly seem connected to the issue of high-speed, ubiquitious access to the Internet.

But believe me, it really does.

First, some background information.  Verizon announced earlier this year its plans to sell all of its phone lines in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to a small company based in North Carolina known as Fairpoint in a deal worth $2.72 billion.  At stake are some 1.5 million phone lines, 180,000 DSL customers, 600,000 long-distance customers, 3,000 employees, and  (by virtue of its size) the degree to which the private market will invest in robust telecommunications and Internet infrastructure in northern New England.

So it's a deal worth watching closely. 

A first-blush review suggests that there are a number of very troubling items to consider, and I expect the New Hampshire review will reveal many more.

First, the entire transaction is tax-free.  That's hardly fair or necessary.  Last year Verizon recorded $88 billion dollars in revenue and had a net profit of over $6 billion.  I think they can afford, and should be expected, a modest tax on deals such as this one.

The deal also gives Verizon the best of both worlds: the chance to shed assets it doesn't want, while still retaining control of the company and future investments in those assets.

From Verizon's perspective, rural phone and Internet lines appear to be less-than-desirable assets compared to higher-margin, fast-growth businesses like its high-speed fiber optic service in urban areas.

By dumping these lines, the deal improves Verizon's balance sheet, increases cash, and gives the company a chance to invest more in high-profit businesses. 

Unfortunately, under the terms of the agreement, Verizon will also own 60% of Fairpoint, effectively giving them control of the company. 

And how does Fairpoint do in the deal?  In a word, terribly. 

In addition to giving up ownership of the company, Fairpoint also gets saddled immediately with $1.7 billion in debt.

Given Fairpoint's debt, Verizon's control of the company, and Verizon's lack of enthusiasm for these markets, just how much investment do you think Fairpoint will really make in New Hampshire and the rest of northern New England?

To hear Fairpoint executives describe it, they can't wait to make the investment.  They have plans to hire 600 more employees and hope to have broadband throughout the region in a year.

Really?  Governance issues aside, Wall Street has a way of liking short-term returns, making long infrastructure investments by Fairpoint a not-so-sexy value proposition to its Verizon shareholders.

It's also not clear that 600 more employees are the solution.  Anyone who understand the quality of the copper in Verizon's lines in Northern New England knows that much of it needs complete replacement in order to handle broadband service.  During my campaign for Grafton County Commissioner, I remember meeting a retired Verizon poleworker who said the telephone switch for Monroe, NH was so bad it could barely provide dialtone, never mind broadband.

And then there is the broadband service itself.  Broadband is not high-speed Internet.  Typical DSL coverage is 250-500 kilobytes per second, with occasional service as high as 768 kbps. 

And frankly, that's not nearly fast enough. In most urban areas in the United States, you can get Internet access of 4-5 megabytes per second (or ten times the DSL rate).  What Fairpoint is promising by 2008 is service you could get in 2001.  That's progress?

It's also nowhere nearly fast enough to compete globally.  The United States just fell to 12th in the world in terms of broadband penetration worldwide, behind such countries as Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.  There's a great article here on the issue, but you get a feeling that the Fairpoint deal is not advancing the ball either for the public in northern New England or for the nation as a whole.

You also have to wonder if Fairpoint can handle the transaction.  Mergers and acquisitions are notoriously difficult to implement, not only in terms of execution but also in terms of blending the culture of the two companies.  Fairpoint's corporate headquarters are in North Carolina, and the company has only some 308,000 subscribers today.  This deal will give them nearly two million subscribers, making their operation 6.5 times as big as it is today.  Will they be able to manage it?

According to the AP article on the Fairpoint review authorized by New Hampshire, "Consultants would be asked to examine FairPoint's financial, technical, managerial and overall capacity to take over and manage Verizon's assets to serve the public good."

That's the real question, whether the public good is being advanced by the Fairpoint deal.  Early indications suggest that corporate and shareholders interests will benefit from this transaction, not the public good.

Dodd @ Dartmouth

U.S. Senator and Democratic candidate for President Chris Dodd (D-Conn) came to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Sunday, April 22nd (he's shown here talking to some young supporters before the speech). 

It was part a weekend-long sting throughout the Granite State.  Based on what I could glean from the Dodd website and some of his staffers, Dodd did at least five events each day during this trip.   

House parties.  Speeches.  Kitchen table conversations.

The Hanover, NH, speech took place 6:30pm on a Saturday -- the final event on a long day that began ten hours earlier in Conway, NH.  There were about 75 people at the Dartmouth speech.  Dodd spoke for maybe 15 minutes, and then took questions for at least another hour or so.

The verdict?  Dodd wowed 'em at Dartmouth with an astonishing demonstration of competence and charm.

Full disclosure:  I was asked to introduce to Dodd at this event, and while I was happy to do so, I have decided to refrain from endorsing any of the Democrats running for President until June 2007.

But for anyone who is serious about 2008 -- who desires a Democratic candidate who knows the details of policy and issues, who comes with clear principles and values, who has a track record of success working with both Democrats and Republicans, and who can help us navigate issues like Iraq after Bush leaves office -- Chris Dodd of Connecticut is a very compelling candidate.

Let me give you one concrete example.

Like every candidate, Democrat or Republican, Senator Dodd was asked at Dartmouth about the war in Iraq.  Senator Dodd favors a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by March 31, 2008, and a surge of diplomacy to solve our issues there and abroad. 

The question he got at Dartmouth was, would his policy lead to more chaos to the country?

As I recall, his answer was something like this.

I can't promise that, but in the midst of civil war, American troops cannot achieve their mission.

And then he told the story of Captain Brian Freeman and his service in Iraq.

Captain Freeman wasn't active duty when he was called to serve -- he had left the military years ago, and was an "augmentee," called to serve as the military faced severe manpower shortages as the insurgency took hold.  He opposed the Iraq war, and yet, as West Point graduate, did not hesitate to serve.

Senator Dodd and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) visited Iraq in December 2006, and while they were on that trip, Captain Freeman approached both of them with a simple message.  US troops, he said, were stretched too thin.  They were doing jobs far beyond their capability, things for which they had never been trained.  Here he was, an armor officer, now serving as a civilian affairs officer in Iraq.

Senator Dodd returned to the United States and shared Freeman's comments, though not his name (which he could not remember), on an appearance on "Meet the Press" a week or so later.  Freeman happened to see the show, contacted the Senator, and said, "hey, that's me you talked to."

What ensued was a weekly email between Senator Dodd and Captain Freeman.

But Captain Freeman wasn't just another officer in Iraq.  He was also leading a unique humanitarian mission.  On his own time and dime while in Iraq, Captain Freeman had worked to help a young Iraqi boy, Ali, gain access into the United States for surgery to help repair a rare heart defect.  Working thru the bureaucracy of both the US military and the NGO world, Freeman managed to get clearance that the surgery would take place.

The day Freeman learned that news, insurgents dressed as Americans infiltrated Freeman's camp, kidnapping him and other American soldiers.  Shortly thereafter Freeman was tortured and killed.

You can learn more about Captain Freeman's incredible service and sacrifice here and here.

By any standard, Captain Freeman was an incredible individual, blessed with significant leadership, humanitarian, and personal skills.  He leaves behind two children, a son and daughter both under the age of three years, as well as his wife, Charlotte Freeman.

At the time of Captain Freeman's tragic, senseless death, Senator Dodd said "This was the kind of person you don't forget.  You mention the number dead, 3,000, the 22,000 wounded, and you almost see the eyes glaze over. But you talk about an individual like this, who was doing his job, a hell of a job, but was also willing to talk about what was wrong, it's a way to really bring it to life, to connect."

As Senator Dodd told this story at Dartmouth, you could have heard a pin drop on the carpet.

Dodd’s point: the treasure and political capital wasted in Iraq is one thing, but the loss of human beings like Captain Freeman's is irreplaceable.

The New Hampshire Primary has many more days to unfold, but on this particular weekend, Senator Dodd made a deep and positive impression on me and many others in the Upper Valley.

The Storm

It's been a few days since my last post.  This picture shows the reason why.

A late season storm came raging through the area on Sunday.  Initial predictions called for 6-12 inches of snow, and when we went to bed on Sunday night, it seemed as though the worst of the storm had come and gone without much damage.  By then, we had a few inches of heavy snow, a lot of rain, and not much else.

Unfortunately, that night, the worst came.  From about midnight until 7am, high winds tore through the region.  Not in steady gusts, but in small, measured bursts of terrific intensity.  Everything  would be calm, and then suddenly the house would shake as a blast of wind descended.

The power went out about 5am on Monday and though the house was cool and dark when I woke up at 6:30am, we seemed to have escaped a great misfortune.  There were no trees down near our house, which is in the center of town, and the temperatures remained above freezing, which meant the falling precipitation came down as rain instead of paralyzing snow.

The wind continued, however, and by mid-morning was still strong enough and persistent enough for a meeting of mine to be scrubbed that was to have been attended by a team of business leaders from New York City. 

With my office also closed because of lack of power, and myself scheduled to take the week off from work, it seemed high time to start the vacation, albeit in different form than originally expected.  I got the kids in the car, and we headed to Hanover to swim and shower at the Dartmouth gym, eat a hot lunch, and enjoy the warmth of the Hanover public library.  We thought about spending the night at the Hanover Inn, but I decided our problems weren't that bad, and we headed back to Lyme to spend the night. 

It was almost fun. 

"Indoor camping," I called it.  I cooked with the gas stove, we played cards by candlelight, and hauled water from the stream to refill our toilets.  The next morning was a bit chilly and kids a bit cranky, but we got ourselves dressed and fed and ready to deal with the day.

Then we got the call.  It was a reverse-911 call from the Town of Lyme, directed to all residents of the town, explaining that the town had been badly hit in the storm, that power would take 3-5 days to return, a shelter had been setup at the Lyme School, and volunteers were needed.

As we learned in the following hours and days, portions of Lyme were hit incredibly hard by these micro-bursts, as I like to call the high-intensity, short-duration wind blasts.  Trees were snapped in half.  And not just a few trees, but an entire stand of trees, 40-50-100 or more.  Telephone lines ripped from homes.   Telephone poles fallen like dominos.   Some residents reported multiple acres of downed trees.  We ourselves saw a few stands with easily 30-50 trees fallen down.

As my son, Jacob, put it: we got hit by a mini-hurricane.

After the phone call, I bundled up the kids and off we headed for the school. I signed a few volunteer forms and we figured out our next steps, which basically involved going to Hanover, NH again for the day, with a small detour to pickup water and other supplies.  The temps outside had increased to nearly 50 degrees, but that was also roughly what the temperature was indoors, too.

It looked like another cold night as I drove back to Lyme that evening.   Fortunately, the crews had been working hard and we arrived home on Tuesday night to electricity in our home and heat slowly returning to the house.  It felt like such a luxury. 

On Tuesday, the kids and I spent the morning helping a team of volunteers make certain we had identifed the whereabouts of citizens who had not responded to the E-911 call.  We also went to some of the worst areas hit by the storm, and could not believe the devastation we saw.  One report said that number of trees fallen across one driveway were stacked as high as a house.

You can see some photos from the storm here.
 

It turns out Lyme was not the only town affected this way in northern New England.  My in-laws report that Brandon, Pittsford, and Rutland, Vermont, were similarly affected and that power is not expected to return until this weekend.  Orford, NH, was also badly hit, and many towns in southeastern New Hamsphire, such as Raymond, NH, were damaged significantly by flooding.

We're not done yet, either.

As I write, it's nearly 1am on Thursday, April 19th.  I'm writing from the lobby of the Lyme School, where an emergency shelter has been established (I have the 10pm to 2am shift).  A couple of folks from one of the power companies are asleep in the school's gym.  I heard reports today of families starting to really struggle from the burden of multiple days without heat or electricity.  Many of them are working families for whom the burden of losing a week's worth of groceries in the refrigerator or paying $20 or more per day for supplies is becoming a significant financial expense. 

Before closing, I should give huge thanks and credit to all of the volunteers and first-responders who have dealt with this storm.  Lyme, like a lot of small towns in New Hampshire, relies almost entirely on volunteers for its fire and rescue squads.  And our police force has been putting in heroic hours to deal with a crisis far beyond anyone's initial forecast.  All of them have been doing an incredible job.

Reading the Web

I sat on the couch this morning, coffee at the ready, MacBook Pro on the lap, reading the morning "papers."

Washington Post.  New York Times.  Boston Globe.  Rutland Herald.  Union Leader.  Concord Monitor. 

My youngest son, Noah, snuggled into me about half-way thru the morning read.  We chatted, I kept reading, drinking coffee, and then had to react to a stunning sound:

"Wait a minute, Dad, I'm not done.  Go back."

Go back?

What was he talking about?

"Don't move down the page so fast....I'm still reading it."

Noah?  Reading the website? 

Yupper.

There I was, reading about how the Boston Marathon was anticipating a really cold and wet race on Monday, and so was Mr. Noah Glenshaw, age seven years old. 

So we spent the next ten minutes on the article.  I helped with the really big words (e.g., hypothermia), but for the most part, Mr. Noah did an excellent job of reading the website.

Save for one thing.  When we got to the end of page one, he asked, "is it over?"

So I explained the link to page two, and off we went to that page.  But it got me thinking, isn't this a moment? 

Not just to be reading the newspaper over your father's should, but do so digitally. 

What does that mean for the future?  Will his kids get the news via their "phones" or whatever voice/data/text communication devices are called in 2032 (Noah will be 32 years old then...and I will be.....)? 

WIll there be news?  Or just streaming of content in a form that we can't imagine today?  What will Noah's son or daughter read over his shoulder?  Or in some other way?

And then I got to thinking about the past.

There's a picture, somewhere in my family's archives, of my brother, John, and I picking up The New York Times together from our front walkway.  We're about three and four years old, respectively, and dressed in our PJs and bathrobes.   I'm guessing the picture was taken in 1968.

Imagine if a similar picture of Noah and I was taken today.  What would be out of place, 40 years from now?  What would be the same?

A person can make a lot of guesses, but let me suggest one constant amidst the advancing decades and technologies:  a parent's love for his child, watching him grow, and a child's awareness of his own growth.

You might be sitting, as I was, half dressed and unshaven and trying to get a caffeine start to the day when suddenly and unexpectedly, a moment of beauty arrives.  A young person, your child, reads a sophisticated newspaper article.  And he gets it.  As he asks you yet another thoughtful questions ("25 miles an hour is pretty fast for wind, right?"), you struggle to respond. 

Your heart is butter on the frypan.  Your eyes mist.  You say, something. 

What did you say?  Who cares.

All he knows and you know is that you answered. 

And in that moment -- when I child realizes he or she is growing up, and the parent realizes at the same time -- there's an incredible feeling of time.  You sense time passing, repeating itself, and standing still.  All in the same moment.

Kinda makes the rest of the day seem trivial.

Crazy April

There's a lot of politics to write about, but for now, I'm going to write about the weather and family. 

It's a crazy time of year.   A wonderful, crazy, upside-down time of year.

First, the weather.  As these photos show, Easter took place last week in a weird combination of snow and warmth and cold and bare ground. 

The kids hunted for eggs in all manner of clothing, from flip-flops on my daughter's feet, to a ski-jackets on my oldest son and a fleece on my youngest son.

The day before Easter, I went for a long run (for me....50 minutes) with my gore-tex jacket tied around me, gloves, and a hat in an ever-changing landscape of snow, slush, bare ground, wind, and sun. 

And then this.  Yesterday, I went outside to cook dinner on the deck on a lovely evening with temps in the 50s and the snow nearly all gone.

  24 hours later, we're facing freezing temps and 4+ inches of snow, slush, and sleet.  We could have gotten 10+ inches of snow, and my guess is that NH and VT towns less than 20 miles north of Lyme, NH, got that kind of coverage.

More of the same is predicted for Monday.  Welcome to Mud Season!

And then this for family: this week featured student-led conferences at the Lyme School, and aside from the particulars associated with each of our wonderful children, I was struck (horribly) with the fact that they are....growing up!

Just a few short years ago, we had the modest of conferences, with a modicum of initiative and curriculum discussed at each meeting.  Now, with a 1st, 4th, and 6th grader, we are getting real content, thoughtfulness, and issues to consider.

Oh, this is not news?

Of course it's news.  I don't care how often you've gotten the advanced warning -- "your kids will grow up in a flash," etc. -- when it happens, you are surprised.  Shocked.  Saddened.  And Stunned.

How did this happen?  Who let them become so articulate?  So certain of themselves?  Is this OK?

Suddenly (or so it seems), our dinner conversations have a new flavor.  There's more spice in the stew (irony, sarcasm, insight, uncertainity, and ambiguity).  It's a conversation less directed on the part of the parents, and increasingly a meal that has five co-equal participants.  Don't be fooled: we're still in charge......but you can feel the change underneath our feet.  It's a harbinger of the next 5-10 years (or maybe longer).   

Military Families & the Vote to Leave Iraq

The Union Leader reported a few days ago that Congressman Paul Hodes faced a hostile audience of families whose sons and daughters have served in the Iraq War. 

The article was the lead story in the newspaper ("War Families hit Hodes"), and described an encounter that seemed very emotional and one-sided.  In fact, it seemed like the kind of meeting which makes everyone upset and rarely leads to progress. 

Different families spoke at the same time.  Hodes himself was constantly interrupted.  Peggo Hodes was accused of taking notes when, in fact, she was writing her email address for a member of the group.

The sentiment of the meeting seem to be expressed by one family member whose son was killed in Afghanistan:  "Can we sit by and watch the bloodbath after we pull out? Can we do that as a country?  The fact of the matter is we've gone into this country. It is now in disarray, and it would be dishonorable of us to leave it as is and leave it to the wolves."

(In the interests of full disclosure, it should be noted that this family member is well-known Republican activist and a former candidate for the NH State Senate.  The Union Leader failed to disclose this information.  And a lot else about the attendees.  Click here to learn more about them.)

The meeting, which lasted two hours and included 11 people in addition Paul and Peggo Hodes, clearly touched a nerve.  Make that, two nerves.

Obviously this war is a gut-wrenching, emotional experiences to which I cannot begin to do justice with such a modest description.  This meeting was not a debate about tax policy.  It was about life and death, as well as freedom and tyranny, and it doesn't get more powerful than that.

But the other nerve this meeting touched is less obvious, and perhaps just as important. 

We know there has an incredible gap between those who are making policy regarding the Iraq War and those who are serving in that conflict.  Certainly that has been true throughout the Bush administration.  One needs only to read about the two daughters of President Bush, who spend their post-graduate years partying in South America rather than fighting in Iraq to understand the extent of that disconnect. 

Unfortunately, that gap has the potential to be even wider for Democrats, who now effectively share governance of the country. 

As a Democrat, it helps if you are Patrick Murphy, the new Congressman from Pennsylvania who served in Iraq in the 82nd Airborne.  Or Gabby Giffords of Arizona whose boyfriend is a NASA astronaut.  Or if you are Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime supporter of the military.

But if you are Paul Hodes and have not served in the military ever, it's a lot tougher.  Especially when you are delivering the news that President W has refused deliver for years. 

Here is the bitter medicine coming from DC:  we're losing this war.  And to make matters tougher, our presence is making the war in Iraq worse, not better.

Democrats like Paul Hodes have long recognized that the unfair and untrue perception of them as  weak on national security issues.  And when you have someone as honorable as Congressman Hodes, you have someone who is not going to play politics on this issue.  He is going to talk to each voter in a direct and straight manner. 

And while that is the right course, newspapers like the Union Leader like to exploit our Achilles Heal. 

Here it is:  not enough Democrats who oppose this war speak with to or know those familes whose loved ones are actually serving.

Say what you will about the Republicans (like the fact that they have exploited their relationship with military families in recent years -- witness the Walter Reed scandal, the failure to equip the troops properly, and the inhumane way (until recently) that soldiers killed in duty were transported back to the United States).  At least they have a relationship.

It's a real problem for Democrats.

The good news is that help might be on the way.  First, there are smart people like NH State Senator Maggie Hassen who really get this issue and have done outreach to military families throughout her district in quiet, small ways.

And there are people like Paul Hodes who listen to their constitutents, even if their opinion is different.

The other good news is that there is a national organization with whom I spoke recently who is working to further dialogue.   This group gets  a very important principle:  left-wing progressives need to understand, and respect, the role the military plays in ensuring the thriving democracy known as the US of A.

This group will be holding bi-partisan working meetings in the coming months in key, early-primary states (like New Hampshire) to explore this issue in greater detail.  But the bottom line is clear (at least to me):  we Dems need to understand and respect and connect to military families and individuals 1000% more than we do now.

I deplore the smear campaign of The Union Leader with regards to the story this past weekend.  At the same time, I recognize that anyone who opposes the war in Iraq ougth to make a concerted and consistent effort to meet, understand, and gain the trust of those families whose loved ones are serving in Iraq.  We can't simply pay lip service and say, "we support the troops."  We need to be there in good times and bad times, with those who might even oppose us politically, to let them know their service to country is respected and understood.

Congressman Paul Hodes met that standard last weekend.  The rest of us need to do the same.

A Snowy Update

A quick update on the snow.

It came, dropping about eight inches in downtown Lyme, NH.  I heard it snowed over a foot in Vershire, VT, and that the snow was heavier and caused more problems in southern NH.

We got lucky.  It was pretty and light snow, a sweet reminder of how kind and friendly Winter can be.

School was only delayed two hours today, and before heading off to the grind of teachers and books and homework, the Glenshaw kids took to the outside with their cross-country skies.  They've come up with some imaginative games this year, skiing up and down various hills with various conditions placed on themselves.

Such as:  1) no poles; 2) backwards; 3) one ski only; 4) one ski, backwards.

You get the idea. 

Fun!

Here's to Winter!  Here's to Snow!

 

Those April Showers

Wait a while.  The weather will change.

That's the advice you'll get from thousands of New Englanders, especially from those of us who live in northern portion of the region.

To wit, Town Meeting Day in Vermont 2007 was among the coldest on record.  Ever.

A week later, during many of New Hampshire's town meetings, the temperature easily crawled above 50 F for most communities. 

And now this.  For the past two weeks, temps have been above freezing.  Way above freezing.  And there's been rain, too.  So all of the snow we got since mid-February was gone, right?

Right.  Two nights ago, I was throwing the ball for my dog, Bear, in a backyard that was 90% clear of snow.

Tonight, something totally different has arrived.

There's snow everywhere.  And me and the kids are scrambling to find our winter coats. 

This is normal.  To be expected.  In just six short years of living in northern New England, I have yet to see an April without snow.  And not just snow showers, but a  substantive, fall-on-the-ground & get-your-warm-coat snowfall.

It will end soon enough.  But on this night, in the cold and quiet of a late season snowfall, I am reminded about why we live here.