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by James L. Garvin, New Hampshire State Architectural Historian [Note: This article was written by Mr. Garvin on December 24, 2008. It was posted here on March 6, 2009. We pre-dated the posting to put the article into its proper historical context.—The Ed.] Memorial Bridge was the first major vertical lift bridge in the eastern United States. At its dedication in 1923, it had the longest lift span in the country (297 feet), making it the direct prototype for later vertical lift bridges with clear spans of over 300 feet. Its lift towers, extending 201 feet above mean high water, were among the highest in …

Read morePortsmouth’s 1923 Memorial Bridge in Danger

Friday, December 19, 2008—Despite a day and a half lost to the recent ice storm—no, we’re not complaining, we got off light—we published on schedule today. And so, in our annoying fashion, we’re posting here our paper of two weeks ago. In our Fortnightly Rant of Vol. 253, No. 5, published December 5, we tried to put into perspective the then-recent news that federal bank regulators working for the Bush administration had proposed tighter restrictions on mortgages way back in 2005, but were brushed aside in the usual frenzy to let the market do whatever the hell it wants, and worry about how it turns …

Read moreAnother Great Victory

Monday, December 8, 2008—The subject of our Fortnightly Rant in our Vol. 253, No. 4 was “A Tale of Three Bridges.” In it, we attempted to put into perspective the amount of money thrown at two bridges in Alaska, and the relatively paltry sum which would be required to rehabilitate a uniquely important bridge right here in our home town. Our “News Briefs,” began with a look at the efforts of Willacy County, Texas District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra to indict Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney, former Attorney General Alberto “Fredo” Gonzales, and five Texas officials for “abuse of office, profiting from office, and murder.” …

Read moreA Tale of Three Bridges

Saturday, November 29, 2008—Yes, we’ve got good news: We’re still here. These days, you can’t take that for granted. Not only are we still here, we now have some advertising space available. Anyone interested in reaching our readers is invited to download a pdf of our Ratecard. Our contact information is on the Ratecard. At a rate of about 2,000 readers per dollar spent (assuming you qualify for our local discount), we doubt you can find a better value for reaching readers in our area. It’s too late to get into our next paper, to be published December 5. But if you act now, we …

Read moreGood News!

Friday, November 21, 2008—We began this day with fresh stacks of our latest outrage, ready to distribute. Newspapers do not, of course, come “hot” off the press. Slightly warm, perhaps, but not hot. They do have a faint but distinctive scent, though. And we love it. Over the course of the next fortnight, upwards of ten thousand people will read something that hasn’t been screened through a corporate sieve. And that is how we justify to ourselves our continued consumption of oxygen. In keeping with our no-doubt-annoying practice, to celebrate today’s new paper we make available a pdf file of our previous issue (3.0 MB). …

Read moreWe Love the Smell of Newsprint in the Morning

Portsmouth, November 21, 2008—Until three years ago it looked fairly certain that the U.S. Congress was going to allocate almost $452 million to build two bridges in Alaska. The Gravina Island bridge would be longer than the Golden Gate, taller than the Brooklyn Bridge, and connect the town of Ketchikan (pop. 7,368) and Gravina Island (pop. 50). The Knik Arm Bridge, two miles long, would shorten the commute between Wasilla and Anchorage by one hour. Logic would seem to argue that such a large expenditure for projects which would benefit so few would be hard to justify. But logic had the unenviable task of arguing …

Read moreA Tale of Three Bridges