Allowing for investments as low as $100 to $1,000, “crowdfunding” proposals before the Senate Banking Committee could open up an enormous pool of capital for small business entrepreneurs who badly need it. Hundreds of ventures have already been launched with the help of donation-based crowdfunding through sites like Kickstarter and Kiva. What if these willing donors were offered a stake in the venture? How much more working capital would that generate?

Jean said his top priority as mayor is to expand the city’s commercial tax base and help foster job growth, and progress is being made on both fronts. Safran USA is constructing a 275,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on a 50-acre site in the Granite State Business Park off Route 108. Safran will partner with Albany Engineered Composites (site of Vice President Joe Biden’s recent visit) to manufacture jet engine components. The new facility, expected to open in the summer of 2013, will bring 400 advanced manufacturing jobs to Rochester, Jean said.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has requested another round of base closures, potentially threatening the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Panetta asked Congress to authorize the Base Realignment and Closure process on Jan. 26.

Voters have turned in more than 105,000 signatures in support of putting gay marriage to another statewide vote. If enough of the signatures are certified by election officials, a gay marriage question will be included on the November ballot.

Deputy House Speaker Pamela Tucker of Greenland is seeking a seat on the Republican National Committee. Tucker announced on Jan. 23 she would run for the position to be vacated by current committeewoman Phyllis Woods of Dover.

Seacoast-based Parma Recordings helps bring to life the musical vision of Pete Townshend.

The 100th release from Seacoast label Parma Recordings can trace its origins all the way back to 1971. That’s when Pete Townshend, legendary English guitarist and songwriter for The Who, came up with his vision for the Lifehouse Method. The idea was to create a system of distinct musical portraiture. Filtered through the years and multiple collaborations, the new "Method Music" double-album is co-produced by Townshend and Bob Lord, best known on the Seacoast as bassist for rock band Dreadnaught. It was released by Navona Records, an imprint of Parma, which Lord founded in 2008 and operates out of North Hampton.

It’s already common knowledge around these parts that The Press Room is a regional bastion of live music. According to DownBeat magazine, the Portsmouth bar and restaurant is also one of the top live jazz venues in the world.

For the last six months, The Stone Church in Newmarket has been hosting high-energy electronica acts every Thursday night in its A-Helix series. The event comes to a close on Feb. 2 with one last memorable live experience.

UNH stages a reading of “8,” about California’s landmark ruling on gay marriage, in collaboration with Broadway Impact.

As the N.H. Legislature reviews a case for the repeal of 2009’s marriage equality law, Broadway Impact and the American Foundation for Equal Rights are shedding new light on the struggle. For two nights, local theater-goers will have the chance to get a new perspective on the debate and learn how to actively take part.

Portland Museum of Art exhibits photographic portraits of actors and artists.

The Portland Museum of Art’s growing collection of celebrity portraits reveals the ways appearance helps define public perception of an artist’s work. In Doisneau’s “Poster Artist Savignac,” the artist appears to be interacting with or even part of his painting of a man playing chess. Saul Steinberg is captured from afar as if part of the mural on the wall, while Fernand Leger is shown among his works with similar clothes and expression to his subjects.

N.H. Audubon’s annual winter bird survey tracks diversity, and you can help.

If you can tell the difference between a blue jay and a cardinal, New Hampshire Audubon could use your help with its annual Backyard Winter Bird Survey, to be conducted on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 11 and 12. This year’s bird count will contribute to more than 20 years of data, which biologist use to find patterns in population changes.

Essay Films, 1974: Fran and Miriam are two beautiful bisexual vampires who roam the English countryside looking for prey. They lure their victims back to their opulent estate for orgies of sex and bloodsucking. All goes according to plan until a young vacationing couple, John and Harriet, decide to park their camper near the castle for a few days.

Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival: The lineup for the inaugural Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival runs the spectrum from legendary stars to rising local acts, April 20 to 22 at The Music Hall and The Loft. Bookending the event are headlining performances by Merle Haggard and the Strangers on Friday night and Rosanne Cash on Sunday night, both in the main theater. Former Seacoast resident Elsa Cross will open the Haggard show.

As locals gear up for the 2012 RPM Challenge and the screening of a new Portsmouth music documentary, musicians reflect on the history of our diverse and storied local scene.

"With the Sunday open mike at The Stone Church in Newmarket, Monday at The Rosa in Portsmouth, and Tuesday at The Press Room, usually with free beer for the musicians, there was a lot of socializing among the local artists. The town was not big enough to support a blues bar and a folk bar, so we all drank together. It’s the only place in the country I have ever seen where artists as diverse as Larry Garland (jazz), Joe Queer (punk), Tom Hall (Celtic), Frank Corso (blues) and I (folk) could be found leaning on the same bar and hanging out." - Harvey Reid

"Alex started playing a low, ominous drum beat as I read from the tract in an overly dramatic voice. Then Bex, done up in working lady garb, lit a bunch of candles illuminating Paul, who was dressed as a priest. Bex ripped open Paul’s shirt, poured candle wax on his chest and then started whipping him as she pulled her own top off. It definitely went further than we’d talked about." - Guy Capecelatro III

"Do you want to join five bands in one week? Do you want them all to play different genres? Do you want them all to have gigs that people go to? Then you should move to the Seacoast." - Nick Phaneuf