West End businesses band together
What started out as an effort by West End Studio Theatre owner Margurite Matthews to get to know her neighbors has blossomed into an alliance of businesses along Portsmouth’s Islington Street corridor.
The West End Business Association will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, May 16, at 5:30 p.m. at the West End Studio Theatre, located at 959 Islington St. Everyone is invited.

Matthews says the association is an opportunity for businesses to get together and have a say in the future of the neighborhood known as the city’s West End.

The Islington Street area has been targeted for redevelopment in the city’s Master Plan, and earlier this year, the Economic Development Commission recommended city officials look into using tax increment financing districts in locations like Islington Street, in order to spur development. TIF districts allow the city to funnel portions of taxes collected in a designated area back into capital improvements, such as sidewalks and streetlights, in that area.

The Portsmouth City Council held a public hearing in April on an ordinance that would give the city the ability to establish TIF districts. A final version of the ordinance has not yet been passed.

Before any of the improvements envisioned for Islington Street can happen, the city must complete two steps, according to Nancy Carmer, economic development coordinator for the city. First, the city must approve a series of recommended zoning changes for the Islington Street corridor. Those changes include amending zoning regulations to include more apartment buildings along the street. Once those changes are made, the city must then conduct a feasibility on the Islington Street corridor, in order to determine what kind of development is best suited for the area.

“We feel it’s appropriate that people down here have a voice in those decisions,” Matthews says. “We want to have a voice in what happens … along the corridor, (and) we want to see what we can do about attracting more visitors in the summer months.”

The West End is home to businesses like Ken’s West End Pizza and Eagle Photo, as well as non-profit organizations like WEST, home of the Pontine Theater, and Portsmouth Community Radio. It’s also home to the Button Factory artist studios.

Matthews said West End businesses would like to be more active in the citywide events that often take place in Market Square.

“We just wanted to have an opportunity to kind of get our name out into the world and see what people’s issues and concerns are down here,” she says.

Other businesses involved in the West End Business Association include the Martin Hill Inn, Ken’s West End Pizza, Eagle Photo, and the Islington Street branch of Ocean National Bank. For more information, call Matthews at 603-436-6660.

UNH president bound for Philadelphia
University of New Hampshire president Ann Weaver Hart will pack her bags for Temple University in Philadelphia this July. On Thursday, May 4, Hart was elected as the ninth president of Temple and will take over leadership of the university on July 1.

“I am honored to be entrusted with the leadership of Temple University, an institution of profound accomplishment, relevance and promise,” Hart said in a statement. “Temple epitomizes what it means to be an urban public research university: creating knowledge, improving lives and serving the community.”

The University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees announced last week that an interim president will be appointed to take over Hart’s responsibilities while the trustees conduct a national search for a new president. The board hopes to have a new president in office by January 2007. Membership of the search committee will be announced at the end of May.

Seacoast Peace Response ends speaker series
Seacoast Peace Response wrapped up its “First Tuesday” speaker series at the South Church in Portsmouth on Tuesday, May 2, with a performance by political satirist and songwriter Dave Lippman. The series, which had been running since October 2002, brought filmmakers, authors, activists and others to Portsmouth. In an email, SPR member Amy Antonucci said the series was discontinued due to rising costs of running the event. SPR will continue to hold weekly vigils in the region and will bring in speakers when it’s feasible, according to Antonucci. For more information, visit www.seacoastpeaceresponse.org.

volunteer victims needed in Portsmouth
Put your ability to fake illness and injury to good use on Saturday, May 13, as a volunteer for the “Seacoast Response 2006” emergency exercise.

More than 100 volunteers are needed for the emergency response simulation at Pease International Airport. Regional police, fire and emergency medical service units will simulate a response to a simulated airplane hijacking and bomb detonation at Pease.

Volunteers will be asked to role-play victims with “survivable injuries.” Each victim will be assigned a color—red, yellow or green—and some victims, depending on their designation, may be transported to area hospitals in order to test response time for EMS personnel. Some volunteers may be asked to play family members of the victims. The simulation runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lunch provided. For more information visit http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwgs/survey/may13exercise.

N.H. residents like Lynch, disapprove of Bush and fear population growth
Residents have cited the rapid population growth New Hampshire is expected to experience in the next two decades as the top threat to the state’s future, according to the results of the latest Granite State Poll, conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

Twenty percent of the 506 people surveyed said population growth is the biggest threat facing the state, while 19 percent said a lack of affordable housing is a problem. Other threats include health care costs, the size of government and an increase in taxes, and a lack of high paying jobs.

The Granite State Poll was conducted by the UNH Survey Center from Feb. 10-17. A random sample of 506 adults were surveyed by phone.

And while Gov. John Lynch is enjoying a record high approval rating of 73 percent here in the state, President George W. Bush is suffering a record low approval rating. A separate poll conducted by the UNH Survey Center from April 20 to 27 found the president’s approval rating at 30 percent. Of the 509 people polled, 64 percent said they disapprove of the job Bush is doing. A similar poll conducted at the same time last year put the president’s approval rating at 50 percent. For more information, visit: www.unh.edu/survey-center.