The City of Nashua did not violate the First Amendment when it rejected resident Beth Scaer’s application to fly the Pine Tree “Appeal to Heaven” flag at city hall But a free speech organization representing Scaer says the fight is far from over Magistrate Judge Talesha Saint-Marc issued a report on Monday to Chief District Judge Landya McCafferty recommending the court deny Scaer’s request for an injunction against the city Scaer was seeking the preliminary injunction to prevent Nashua officials from denying their flag permit applications After being slapped with a lawsuit over free speech violations for refusing to allow Scaer to fly the historic Pine Tree Flag, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess quietly pulled down the city’s flagpole policy entirely Nathan Ristuccia, an attorney with the Free Speech Institute representing Scaer but added it’s not the final word in the case He plans to file objections to Saint-Marc’s report in the coming days “Although we are disappointed with the magistrate judge’s recommendation against the preliminary injunction this is just one early step in the legal process for defending our client’s First Amendment rights,” Ristuccia said Saint-Marc found that since Nashua’s original flag display policy explicitly states the venue is not a place for absolute free expression city officials are not violating anyone’s rights when they choose to reject some flags “During the time period relevant to the Scaers’ claims Nashua maintained a written flagpole policy with identifiable guidelines of what it wished to communicate through the flags displayed on the Citizen Flag Pole,” Saint-Marc wrote “The 2022 Flagpole Policy stated that the ‘potential use of a City flag pole is not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.’” Scaer’s attorneys argue having a policy doesn’t free the city from illegally practicing viewpoint discrimination Scaer filed her lawsuit against Nashua in September, claiming she was denied the ability to fly the historic Pine Tree flag at City Hall’s “Citizen’s Flag Pole.” According to Scaer’s lawsuit, the city used its vague policy to deny her request. The flag’s origins are linked to events in 1772 in the town of Weare, N.H. Colonists staged a pre-Revolution act of defiance against British rule Scaer planned to fly the flag to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill But Saint-Marc again sided with Nashua when she noted that different symbols the Pine Tree flag could be considered a symbol of the far right as much as a symbol of the Revolutionary War “The record also indicates that the flag was used during the Jan 2020 attack on the United States Capitol Building in Washington Scaer’s supporters are quick to note that far more U.S and the American flag currently flies outside Nashua City Hall Representing the City of Nashua before Saint-Marc last month attorney Jonathan Barnes compared flying the Pine Tree flag to displaying a Nazi symbol on Hitler’s birthday [Ristuccia] would have you believe that we can raise the Nazi flag to commemorate Hitler’s birthday and it certainly wouldn’t be in the city’s best interests to do that,” Barnes said Ristuccia did not advocate for the display of Nazi symbols Nashua would ban the national flag of Israel at City Hall as well The City has previously banned the Palestinian flag and flags supporting people who detransition after sex change procedures Saint-Marc’s report will now go to McCafferty for a final decision on the injunction Even if McCafferty agrees with Saint-Marc on the injunction “The final decision about the preliminary injunction rests with the district judge we will continue fighting to protect the rights of every citizen to express their views freely without government censorship,” Ristuccia said For Comments, Questions, Or Complaints aboutour articles please contact us InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/2024/09/09/pine-tree-riot-flag-spawns-lawsuit-against-nashua/) Nashua resident Beth Scaer says the city violated her First Amendment rights when it denied her permission to fly a Pine Tree Flag at City Hall Beth Scaer is now represented by the Institute for Free Speech in a federal lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in Concord The lawsuit alleges Nashua’s policy on its public-use flagpole is vague and gives officials the ability to censor speech Get unbiased nonprofit watchdog news sent directly to your inbox “It’s disturbing that Nashua officials can arbitrarily silence voices they disagree with,” Scaer said “The Pine Tree Flag represents an important part of our local history yet the city wouldn’t allow it to fly because it’s somehow not ‘in harmony’ with their message But this isn’t about one flag—it’s about protecting everyone’s right to free speech.” The Pine Tree Flag depicts a green pine tree on a white background with the words “Appeal to Heaven.” The flag was a popular patriot symbol during the American Revolution Scaer wanted to fly the flag at Nashua’s City Hall to honor Nashua soldiers who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill.  But the city denied her permit application to use the flagpole designated for members of the public stating the flag is “not in harmony with the message that the City wishes to express and endorse.” Institute for Free Speech Attorney Nathan Ristuccia said the city’s flag policy allows officials unchecked power to censor citizens “Nashua’s flag policy gives city officials unbridled discretion to censor speech they dislike,” said Ristuccia “The First Amendment doesn’t permit the government to turn a longstanding public forum into a personal billboard for city officials’ preferred views The Supreme Court has warned against exactly this abuse.” The 1772 Pine Tree Riot in Weare saw colonists form a violent mob to run a sheriff and his deputy out of town after the officials arrested the owner of a sawmill The miller had been taking in large pine trees a violation of the British law that designated all large pine trees as property of George III The trees were used to make masts for the Royal Navy The flag’s connection to a more recent violent mob is perhaps behind the denial The Pine Tree flag was carried by a relatively few people taking part in the Jan Nashua allows residents to use a flagpole at City Hall to fly various flags celebrating religious and ethnic heritage and other points of pride for people in Nashua.  Past City Hall displays include flags for Pride Month and the anniversary of the foundation of Nashua’s Lions Club Scaer herself used the flagpole to fly flags celebrating Martin Luther But the ability to fly flags has always come with limits In 2020 the city took down Scaer’s flag with the message “Save Women’s Sports” after City Councilor Jan Schmidt complained Nashua did not have a formal policy until 2022 That was the year the United States Supreme Court ruled the City of Boston violated the rights of a group that wanted to display a pro-Christian flag “This potential use of a City flag pole is not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public Any message sought to be permitted will be allowed only if it is in harmony with city policies and messages that the city wishes to express and endorse.” Scaer wants to fly the Pine Tree Flag this summer to mark the Bunker Hill anniversary and hopes the courts will side with her in the lawsuit Boston ended up paying out $2.1 million in its flag flap to Mat Staver This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License A generous gift in any amount helps us continue to bring you this service InDepthNH protects independent journalism that holds government accountable to the people Our investigative reporting prompts civil discourse that spurs citizens to action corruption and influence-peddling while giving voice to the disenfranchised InDepthNH fulfills the press’ watchdog role as envisioned by the founders of our democracy InDepthNH.org is published by the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A federal judge ruled Friday the City of Nashua did not violate resident Beth Scaer’s First Amendment rights when it denied her permission to fly the “Appeal to Heaven” Pine Tree flag on the citizen’s flag pole “The Magistrate Judge correctly found that the undisputed facts indicate that the flags displayed on the Citizen Flag Pole pursuant to Nashua’s 2022 Flagpole Policy constituted government speech not regulated by the First Amendment,” ruled United States District Court Judge Landya McCafferty the City of Nashua had a policy of making a flagpole at City Hall available to citizens who wanted to celebrate or demonstrate on behalf of an idea or group the “Children of the American Revolution” flag city officials took down the New Hampshire state flag to make room for a “Progress Pride” banner What the city would not allow was the flying of a flag promoting women’s rights/girls-only sports or the historic “Appeal to Heaven” Pine Tree Flag Nashua resident Beth Scaer told the city she wanted to fly the flag to commemorate the anniversary of the Bunker Hill battle in which several New Hampshire residents took part “The flag is not in harmony with the message that the city wishes to express and endorse we must deny your request,” wrote Jennifer L whose job title in city government is “risk manager.” and her cause was taken up by the Institute for Free Speech (IFS) The case went before Magistrate Judge Talesha Saint-Marc last year City Attorney Jonathan Barnes compared flying the Pine Tree flag at City Hall to flying a Nazi flag “(The plaintiffs) would have you believe that we can raise the Nazi flag to commemorate Hitler’s birthday In her report rejecting Scaer’s complaints Saint-Marc called the flag a “far-right” symbol and noted it was flown by some participants in the Jan the pine tree was a common symbol of New England during the Revolutionary War era The Pine Tree Flag was adopted as Massachusetts’ state flag for a brief period The symbol is also tied to the historic Pine Tree Riot in Weare one of the first acts of rebellion leading up to the American Revolution free speech advocates note the most commonly flown flag by the rioters was the U.S which currently flies in front of Nashua City Hall The legal issue in dispute is the city’s claim that the so-called Citizen’s Flagpole was never despite the many flags flown by many residents to promote various causes The city insists every flag was a form of “government speech not regulated by the First Amendment,” as McCafferty ruled The Greek national flag flies outside Nashua City Hall on the city flagpole usually reserved for the POW-MIA flag.(CREDIT: Beth Scaer) The IFS points out that Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess suddenly (and quietly) ended the city’s flagpole policy soon after the lawsuit was filed ‘The flagpoles on city hall grounds shall henceforth be exclusively controlled by city government,” Donchess declared “The abrupt repeal of Nashua’s flag policy is a tacit admission that the old policy was unconstitutional,” IFS attorney Nathan Ristuccia told NHJournal at the time Ristuccia told NHJournal there will be an appeal “We fully intend to appeal this decision to the First Circuit where we’ll continue arguing that Nashua’s vague and subjective flag policy created exactly the kind of viewpoint discrimination the Supreme Court has repeatedly found unconstitutional.” the city’s flag policy continues to raise questions Just days before McCafferty’s ruling the city pulled down the POW-MIA flag that traditionally flies outside City Hall and replaced it with the national flag of Greece to commemorate Greek Independence Day on March 25 “I don’t know why they ditched the POW-MIA flag but I think it is disrespectful,” Scaer told NHJournal 2022 at 8:22 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Stephen Scaer (Submitted by Stephen Scaer)Stephen Scaer Position sought (including district number if applicable) Does anyone in your family work in politics or government two years; Special Educator 27 years; Newspaper Reporter Four years Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office stephen4nh.com I'm seeking elective office to protect children from gender ideology to return women's sex-based rights to private spaces and sports and to preserve our First and Second Amendment rights The single most pressing issue facing our (board New Hampshire's laws facilitate the fast-tracking of gender-confused children through chemicals and surgeries that leave them irreversibly disfigured and with life-long regret gender identity laws that force us to pretend a man is a woman if he says so I would also ban the medicalization of gender-confused children except when they have intersex conditions What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post I might be the most outspoken person in the state about the harm done by gender ideology in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency) NH Senator Cindy Rosenwald has done nothing to stop the medicalization of gender-confused children She is endorsed by the NH Stonewall Democrats which provides wrong-sex hormones to confused minors Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform The First AmendmentWe are losing our right to freedom of speech and assembly to gender ideology and critical theory Gender identity laws are being used to compel free speech by forcing teachers and public employees to use preferred pronouns our legislature considered a bill that would force even staff and students at religious schools to pretend girls are boys if they say so The Second AmendmentThe response to riots in progressive cities demonstrate that we can’t rely on our officials to protect our lives and property and even recent history shows us how much powerful governments despise unarmed populations The Second Amendment is as important as ever Kids Need Their Moms and DadsAs President Barack Obama said in his Father’s Day speech “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives we are reminded today that family is the most important And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation.” Although no family is perfect and tragedies often separate children from their moms and dads we know children with their own dads at home have much lower rates of mental illness We need to create policies that encourage dads to stay involved in their children’s lives Educational FreedomChildren in low-income neighborhoods are often trapped in dangerous while the wealthy congregate in exclusive neighborhoods and towns with top-ranked schools or send their children to expensive private schools Moms and dads are the most qualified to find schools that meet their children’s needs and interests Pro-lifeHuman life begins at conception and deserves protection What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job My career as a special educator has taught me to be thorough and persistent in meeting the needs of my students in the face of complicated bureaucracy My mom and dad taught me to speak up against falsehoods even if it put myself in danger "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions Liberal activists insist we deny what we see and would force us to say two plus two equals five I've been visiting local towns discussing the dangers of child transgenderism and have posted billboards protesting child transgenderism I've also worked with radical feminists to post a billboard teaching the definition of "women." As your senator I'll fight to preserve your freedom of expression against the powerful lobbies that are institutionalizing false ideologies Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. © 2003 – 2020 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod David Scaer teaches a class at Concordia Theological Seminary The current presidents of both LCMS seminaries addressed a recent meeting of the LCMS Council of Presidents about current trends in seminary enrollment Get the latest information delivered to your inbox © 2003-2025 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod All Rights Reserved The research team at St. Louis University‘s (SLU) Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research (SCAER) required vast quantities of anonymized cell phone data in order to study the impacts of large-scale social problems like homelessness and access to healthcare Finding a reliable data supplier was relatively simple This blog post explains how SCAER worked with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a fast cost-effective solution for managing the growing quantities of data—and how this technology empowered researchers to tackle critical social issues head-on “The idea to use anonymized cell phone data to help with economic-development use cases came from Michael Podgursky, SCAER’s director. He chose a vendor called Veraset which coordinates and collects multiple data sets from different sources and sends it out as one large dataset,” said Shruthi Sreenivasa Murthy assistant director of research computing at SLU our center wanted to buy one year of data to try it out we realized that we needed the data to be ongoing and updated.” SCAER soon moved to receiving quarterly dumps of data—which exponentially increased the amount of information they needed to manage and store “We were trying to understand how we could put this data to use efficiently and quickly because we didn’t want researchers wasting their time in pre-processing,” said Shruthi “They could build out use cases and continue their research if we could solve this problem for them.” formatting it from Parquet to the desired data format and ensuring it was compressed enough to store affordably SCAER knew that the vast storage and compute power of the cloud was needed for the project’s success AWS wasn’t the only cloud provider the research team at SLU considered for managing the data “AWS gave us a dedicated solutions architect who would do whatever they could to help us succeed,” said Shruthi AWS also stood out in its ability to meet the unique needs of SCAER an institution inundated with unique research requests from many different SLU departments and teams The non-transferable nature of these requests required a knowledgeable technology partner to help set up the data solution correctly AWS took the challenge and ensured the SCAER team never felt alone With the help of a tech partner, Ideas2IT the SCAER team started on an innovative and money-saving path to using their giant data stream in the most effective way possible Ideas2IT brought the dual benefit of being AWS experts while also understanding the needs of an institution that relied on large volumes of data Their experience with larger pipelines and streaming real-time data was just what SCAER needed to modernize while keeping their budget under control Ideas2IT created a solution with a data-processing cost on AWS of less than $28,000 They also pre-processed more than 4.5 years of data in less than a week These results were possible by utilizing the following technical best practices: Ideas2IT also created a highly scalable pre-processing workflow that met SCAER’s unique requirements Data in raw form isn’t useful for researchers so the solution made data user-friendly and searchable With the inclusion of geocodes by region and dates data was primed for a more complete pre-processing and storage method that also reduced duplicate datasets With the data cleaned and searchable, it was now ready to be shared with researchers—and the process was easier and more secure than ever before. After a brief 30-minute training session to learn the new technology, researchers can request access to specific datasets and receive AWS logins to access the specific Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances related to their query needs “The data manager can just do the data cut and give it to the researcher without any hassle each login comes with its own permissions—including the geospatial analysis tools needed to do the research work—while restricting access to other data services The desktop application offers its own videoconferencing while preventing downloading or sharing the data outside of the AWS infrastructure “Because we are using distributed processing The SCAER team plans to continue their commitment to improving the field of research by sharing what they’ve learned through this process While their data uses may be unique to their researchers and build-time are genuine roadblocks for institutions to make data technology investments and the SCAER leadership believes more researchers should have access so other research groups can use our datasets for a small fee,” said Shruthi “Our intention is to collaborate and let many more people make use of this data.” Learn more about how higher education institutions around the world are using AWS to support research and teaching, connect the campus community, make data-driven decisions to save money and resources, accelerate research efforts, and more at the AWS Cloud for Higher Education hub Read related stories on the AWS Public Sector Blog: raises a Save Women’s Sports flag this past weekend outside Nashua City Hall; the flag has since been removed by city employees A Nashua woman has hired an attorney and filed an appeal with the city after her “Save Women’s Sports” flag was removed from the citizen flag pole in front of City Hall “I think that it is really sad that defending a woman’s ability to defend their own sports would be twisted around to calling it transphobic,” said Beth Scaer of Nashua who was granted permission to fly a “Save Women’s Sports” flag until Oct raised the flag on Saturday morning and learned that it was removed by city workers Sunday morning after complaints were made to city leaders stronger and they have bigger bones and bigger muscles There is a reason we have sex-segregated sports,” she said Save Women’s Sports is a coalition that seeks to preserve biology-based eligibility standards for participation in female sports which describes the group as an ally of female sports The flag was raised to bring awareness to Selina’s Run 17-24 to raise funds for the organization and support Selina Soule a Connecticut woman who was one of the first females to speak out against biological males competing in women’s sports at the high school level after she was forced to compete against biological males in high school track very brave young woman at such a young age to stand up for herself and for other women,” said Scaer described the Save Women’s Sports organization as a “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” group Their premise is that transgender women are not women and should not be participating in women’s sports who was one of several people to contact the mayor’s office on Saturday evening requesting that the flag be removed “Nashua is a welcoming city and it has made many strides with that over the years Human rights in the city of Nashua is a priority I just thought that something should be done,” said Morton She said one of her biggest concerns was that a transgender person might arrive at City Hall Plaza on Sunday for the weekly farmer’s market and see the flag She had already organized an effort to get transgender supporters to stand under the flag with supportive signs on Sunday morning “That flag goes against everything that Nashua had been working for,” added Morton argued in a letter to Mayor Jim Donchess that the decision to remove the flag was a direct response to criticism of the content of Scaer’s expressive activity which Lehmann claims is an illegal and unconstitutional act of censorship under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution “The city does not need to permit members of the public to display flags on the citizens flag pole it must allow members of the public to do so without being subjected to viewpoint discrimination,” said Lehmann maintaining the citizen flag pole is a designated public forum is a clear constitutional violation that should not be permitted He requested that the flag be permitted to fly again Donchess said “Nashua is a welcoming community in which we embrace all people and the contributions of all are celebrated and valued.” “A flag containing a discriminatory message toward the transgender community was recently briefly hung on a flagpole at Nashua City Hall,” Donchess said “The city of Nashua does not condone discrimination against transgender persons or anyone in the LGBTQA community president of the Greater Nashua Young Democrats “This kind of thing is happening every day I’m proud of the rapid response from our community and hopeful that Nashua can inspire others to stand up for their neighbors,” said Connolly said the fact that the flag was removed so quickly underscores that it’s unsafe to even suggest that a woman is a biological female but what will happen to them if they or their parents speak out They would be labeled as transphobic haters ostracized and they would risk being blackballed from colleges and future employment,” he said explaining that by celebrating Soule’s courage it may inspire other female athletes to speak out before women’s sports disappear nashuanews@unionleader.com Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account Appealing to Heaven may not be feasible in a First Amendment dispute A Nashua official’s decision to ban the historic Pine Tree flag from outside City Hall this summer is landing Mayor Jim Donchess’ administration in court Attorneys with the Institute for Free Speech say the city’s abuse of its flagpole policy violates the First Amendment “Nashua’s flag policy gives city officials unbridled discretion to censor speech they dislike,” said Institute for Free Speech Attorney Nathan Ristuccia The Institute for Free Speech is representing Nashua resident Beth Scaer in the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court in Concord Scaer applied to fly a Pine Tree flag from the city’s flagpole in June The complaint points out that the city maintains a “Citizen Flag Pole” in front of city hall for people “to fly a flag in support of cultural heritage or support a worthy cause.” Those causes have included Pride Month and the anniversary of the founding of Nashua’s Lions Club But she started running into trouble in 2020 when her flag with the message “Save Women’s Sports” was removed after one day when City Councilor Jan Schmidt complained Nashua had no written policy on flag approval Supreme Court ruling concerning a citizen’s flag controversy in Boston prompted Nashua to draft one The Institute for Free Speech says that’s not good enough His organization filed the lawsuit that resulted in the Supreme Court ruling Nashua is accused of violating When the City of Boston banned conservative activist Hal Shurtleff from flying the Christian flag with its white banner and red cross on a blue field Staver and Liberty Counsel took the city to court They eventually won a $2.1 million award and set a legal standard at the U.S Supreme Court he says Nashua is now failing “They’re clearly violating the citizens’ right to free speech and if they don’t reverse themselves they are subject to a lawsuit It will be expensive for the city,” Staver told NHJournal Scaer’s February application to fly a flag supporting people who detransition after a sex change procedure was denied this year as it was deemed “not in harmony with the message that the City wishes to express and endorse.” Scaer sought permission to fly a Pine Tree flag around the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill in part to honor Granite Staters who fought in the battle A version of the Pine Tree flag is believed to have flown at that battle Scaer wanted to fly what is known as the “Appeal to Heaven” flag featuring that phrase (from philosopher John Locke) and a pine tree The pine tree is also a reference to the 1772 Pine Tree Riot and is widely viewed as one of the first skirmishes in the American Revolution stating the flag celebrating Revolutionary War patriots was also not in harmony with the Donchess administration’s vision The city did not explain why it found the flag objectionable The Pine Tree flag made news earlier this year when it was reported conservative U.S Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew it at his New Jersey vacation home The flag was also brandished by a handful of people in the violent mob that attacked the U.S The prevailing media narrative then linked Alito to the flag and to the Jan with barely a mention of the flag’s true origin NOTE: An earlier version of this story mistakenly reported Liberty Counsel attempted to fly the Christian Flag in Boston It was Hal Shurtleff and Camp Constitution who were later represented by Liberty Counsel I AM WRITING in response to Stephen Scaer’s November 15th op-ed “Gender-affirming care harms NH children.’’ Mr Scaer and I have something in common: both of our day jobs are focused on LGBTQAI+ youth In my role as a licensed psychotherapist with clinical expertise in this area I provide affirmation to LGBTQAI+ youth and their families Every day I see the Lazarus effects of gender affirmation which isn’t too surprising when you think about how affirmation impacts all of us when we receive it (A question for the cisgender readers: Have you ever had to ‘prove’ to providers Scaer uses the word ‘secret’ to describe the role teachers play in supporting LGBTQAI+ youth in schools a notion that the New Hampshire state legislature rejected when they voted against HB1431 in May 2022 this bill would have required schools to disclose a minority sexual orientation and/or gender identity to caregivers his word choice reveals to the reader exactly where his concern lies: he is not interested in what best practice or basic common sense tells us about gender affirmative care but instead believes what’s really at stake is (his) control over other people’s bodies and choices I could cite the many peer reviewed studies that demonstrate the significant benefits of affirming care for LGBTQ+ youth I would cite the NIH study presented at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Conference in September 2022 This study followed 316 transgender youth receiving gender affirming medical care and results indicate improvements in anxiety and life satisfaction over the two-year follow-up period I could also cite 16 other studies conducted between 2011 and 2022 all of which had outcomes that demonstrate significant reductions in anxiety and depression for gender diverse youth when they were able to access affirming medical care or the 29 other professional medical bodies all which endorse and advocate for LGBTQAI+ affirmative care because of its protective nature I could remind readers that regardless of the specific medical issue youth and their families in New Hampshire have the right to access care free from misinformation and yet I suspect that’s beside the point for Mr or enough evidence-because their real concern isn’t that there are two few happy LGBTQAI+ people The way we talk about these issues matters — it is an issue of life or death As a culture we left the territory of “just asking questions,” “just holding a sign” Scaer might say that my language here is extreme or dramatic news broke of a shooting in Colorado Springs This massacre occurred hours before Transgender Day of Remembrance started at a bar that had planned to host a drag story hour on the morning of November 20 Scaer and others actively contributes to a climate in which this is allowable — where anyone who is not the “approved category” of sexual orientation and/or gender identity is subject to dehumanization Scaer at his word that he wants to prevent harm I invite him to strongly reconsider his strategy Harvey Feldman of Concord is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and the owner of Harvey Feldman Counseling LLC Click for guidelines and instructions to contribute an op-ed column BOOK BANS and academic censorship are in clear opposition to our state’s proud Live Free or Die spirit New Hampshire lawmakers are considering two book banning bills right now — and they already passed one legislative chamber there are many indicators that can point the way for either a growth scenario or a recession but five are the most important — inflation EVERYONE criticizes lawyers — until they need one a murderous character Dick the Butcher intones as the current attacks by President Donald Trump suggest we take pride in knowing and caring for our neighbors At Ammonoosuc Community Health Services (ACHS) our mission is rooted in that simple truth: health care should be accessible AS A lifelong tree farmer (I bought my first woodlot in 1956 at the age of 11) it has been with great interest reading the recent spate of articles and letters to the editor regarding forest-carbon contracts These contracts have been characterized as tax “loopholes” or conspiracies by West… Cruel directives of the Trump administration from January 6th on have not been stopped by laws by judges and certainly not by we who have to watch and fear a new atrocity daily I am calling for us as individual Americans to act IT IS a bit upsetting that current relations with our northern neighbor are a bit strained right now we have a special relationship with Canada In the Granite State some 8,274 residents were born in Canada making Canada the most common birthplace for foreign-born re… YOU MAY have seen the headlines about President Donald Trump’s team exploring whether federal funding for Harvard University should be reconsidered the outrage from the left came fast and furious NEW HAMPSHIRE is on the cusp of becoming a leader in a patient’s “right to try” by providing them with nation-leading access to potentially life-saving experimental treatments for terminal illnesses through passage of HB 701 AS CITIZENS across New Hampshire exercise their Second Amendment rights it remains essential that here in the Granite State and across the country that our leaders foster a culture of responsible firearm ownership a symbol tied to the Pine Tree Riot in Weare George Washington’s army at the historic Battle of Bunker Hill But thanks to Nashua Mayor Joe Donchess and his administration it won’t be flying over the Gate City any time soon Nashua resident Beth Scaer made a formal request to fly the Pine Tree Flag on a flag pole in front of city hall made available for citizens “to fly a flag in support of cultural heritage Scaer’s request was to “remember the Nashua soldiers that died in the battle including William Harris the young drummer boy and Colonel Ebenezer Bancroft who had led the march on Lexington and Concord” by displaying the flag beginning June 15 whose job title in the Donchess administration is “Risk Manager.” The city did not explain to Scaer how flying the historic flag with its iconic “Appeal to Heaven” message would violate the Gate City’s “harmony.” Neither Deschaies nor Donchess would respond to requests for comment from NHJournal In an email to the mayor on Monday requesting an appeal of Deshaies’ decision Scaer wrote that “the citizens of Nashua would be quite alarmed and ashamed to know that the City does not endorse the message of commemorating our soldiers fighting and dying at the Battle of Bunker Hill.” This isn’t the first flag to be banned from display on the community pole The Donchess administration shot down a previous request to fly the pro-life flag and a “Save Womens Sports” flag Scaer had approved to fly was quickly furled after furious complaints from some Nashua residents An Appeal to Heaven Flag in the Museum of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts Donchess may be able to spare his citizens the site of a historic flag that was the maritime flag of Massachusetts from the Revolutionary War until 1971 but he won’t be able to spare them the taxpayer expense pro-faith legal group Liberty Counsel told NHJournal Monday that Nashua’s flag policy is a lawsuit waiting to happen Staver should know. The Liberty Counsel won a $2.1 million settlement from the city of Boston after a 9-0 victory in front of the U.S Supreme Court over the city’s arbitrary policy regarding banning flags Nashua explicitly states that “the flag poles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public.” “This policy recognizes that a flag flown in front of City Hall will be deemed by many as City support for the sentiment thereby expressed city administration reserves the right to deny permission or remove any flag it considers contrary to the City’s best interest.” Staver says that is unconstitutional self-delusion “They give with one hand and then try to take away with the other,” Staver said of the Nashua policy “They have actually indicated that there’s a flagpole and that it’s available for citizens to apply and fly flags on if it meets one of these categories And the Bunker Hill Flag would certainly fall into that category.” The Pine Tree Flag has been declared “controversial” after The New York Times wrote an extensive piece about the banner flying over U.S Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s New Jersey vacation home and history buffs noted it’s flown in many places for many years without controversy the flag was unfurled outside San Francisco City Hall on Flag Day of 1964 and remained their until about a week ago For many New Englanders, the Pine Tree Flag is part of American history. It waves at the annual commemorations of the 1772 Pine Tree Riot in Weare, N.H., one of the first acts of resistance against British authority by American colonists. The pine tree logo is used by the New England Revolution soccer team There’s even a pine cone on top of the Massachusetts state house The flag was flown on George Washington’s ships during the Revolutionary War It was also brandished by a handful of the Capitol Hill rioters on Jan a fact Democrats targeting Alito have touted which is proudly flown outside Nashua City Hall viewpoint-based discrimination,” said Staver “I think the city of Nashua would be wise to quickly reverse themselves or close the forum altogether they could end up like the City of Boston.” Beth and Stephen Scaer say the City of Nashua violated their First Amendment rights by rejecting their applications to fly flags like this one deemed to be politically divisive in City Hall Plaza {p dir=”ltr”}Beth and Stephen Scaer say the City of Nashua violated their rights by rejecting their applications to fly politically divisive flags in City Hall Plaza.{/p} The above flag has been appropriated by far-right political groups Beth and Stephen Scaer say the City of Nashua violated their rights by rejecting their applications to fly what officials considered politically divisive flags in City Hall Plaza The couple are seeking to fly two different anti-transgender flags, a pro-life flag and a Pine Tree flag, which has been adopted by the Christian Nationalist movement and insurrectionists The Scaers filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S City officials said they have not violated the Scaers’ First Amendment rights and deemed the complaint a nuisance lawsuit Bolton said the flagpoles in front of City Hall are understood by citizens as supporting the causes they represent and city officials don’t agree with the messages the Scaers want to declare as views of the entire city “The city does not endorse anti-trans views The city does not endorse overturning elections,” he said Institute of Free Speech attorney Nathan Ristuccia is representing the Scaers the pole belongs to citizens who want to express their beliefs and the city’s broad policy is deliberately vague to “chill protected speech.” “The First Amendment does not allow Nashua to make its Citizen Flag Pole a ruse for discriminating against speakers and viewpoints the city dislikes,” Ristuccia wrote in an email City officials rejected applications by the Scaers to raise flags with the following messages: “Save Women’s Sports” and “Woman = adult human female.” “De-Trans Awareness” below a blue-green lizard on a black background A green pine tree on a white background with the words “An Appeal to Heaven” — a flag that’s been appropriated by far-right groups “It’s disturbing that Nashua officials can arbitrarily silence voices they disagree with,” Beth Scaer said “The Pine Tree flag represents an important part of our local history But this isn’t about one flag — it’s about protecting everyone’s right to free speech.” the Scaers also want to fly an anti-trans flag on the anniversary of Title IX next year Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination The couple also plan to apply to fly a pro-life flag on the anniversary of overturning Roe v and a Detransitioner Awareness flag during Detrans Awareness Day next year Nashua adopted a new policy in May 2022 a week after the U.S Supreme Court unanimously decided in Shurtleff v City of Boston that Boston had violated the free speech rights of a Christian group that wanted to fly its flag at its city hall The flag policy in Nashua states one of the four poles in City Hall Plaza is intended to support cultural heritage honor a special accomplishment or support a worthy cause “This potential use of a City flag pole is not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public,” Nashua’s policy reads “Any message sought to be permitted will be allowed only if it is in harmony with city policies and messages that the city wishes to express and endorse This policy recognizes that a flag flown in front of City Hall will be deemed by many as City support for the sentiment thereby expressed Bolton said the policy in no way conflicts with the Supreme Court’s ruling Nashua has denied applications to fly the Palestinian flag a porcupine flag associated with the Free State Project and Libertarian Party and a different Save Women’s Sports flag and a pro-life flag The Scaers have repeatedly applied to fly a variety of flags at City Hall Plaza since 2017 and were permitted to fly the Luther Rose Flag celebrating the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment But Nashua officials have routinely denied the anti-trans flags and far-right emblems with Mayor Jim Donchess upholding the rulings when appealed Attorneys from the Institute of Free Speech said the city’s policy limits the viewpoints of the Scaers and others The lawsuit seeks to prevent Nashua city officials from denying flag applications based on viewpoint and from enforcing parts of its flag policy that limit acceptable flags “Nashua’s flag policy gives city officials unbridled discretion to censor speech they dislike,” Ristuccia said dpierce@unionleader.com carried flags from a time before we were even a nation A federal judge has ruled Nashua officials didn’t violate the First Amendment rights of a Gate City resident when they rejected her applicatio… Just days after refusing to allow the historic Pine Tree Flag to fly on the flag poles outside City Hall Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess and his administration pulled down the New Hampshire state flag and replaced it with the “Progress Pride” flag on Monday Monday was also the 249th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill the local resident who requested the opportunity to hoist the Pine Tree Flag noted the city’s removal of the New Hampshire flag and took photos of the Pride banner She also circled City Hall to confirm the state flag was not flying The New Hampshire state flag was removed from the pole on the right and replaced with the Progress Pride Flag on Monday the city’s “Risk Manager” Jennifer L and other Nashua city officials went unanswered Monday The Progress Pride flag is a variation of the better-known rainbow Pride flag representing LGBT rights. According to the group Human Rights Campaign and light blue stripe to represent the transgender community and black and brown stripes for communities of color with its historic roots in New Hampshire’s Revolutionary era past claiming it is “a symbol of violence against local state and national government.” A handful of participants in the Jan 2021 Capitol Hill riot waved the Pine Tree banner but far more of the rioters carried the U.S Asked why the former is banned at Nashua City Hall and not the other Scaer asked the city to observe the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill noting that some Nashua residents participated in that historic fight with the British in 1775 Alderwoman-at-Large Gloria Timmons had a different suggestion for her constituent June 17th is the 249th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill where African Americans were enslaved for 246 years before emancipation and Jim Crow laws took place immediately after the abolishment of slavery Will you be celebrating Juneteenth that is a National Holiday this Wednesday Will you be joining us in correcting all the wrongs that Europeans did to African Americans not to mention Native Americans?” Timmons asked in an email to Scaer A message attacking the Americans who fought in the Revolution at Bunker Hill was not what Scaer was hoping for Timmons also told her that if she wanted to commemorate that battle Two Republicans running in the Second Congressional District primary have spoken out about Nashua’s ban on the Pine Tree Flag while flying the Progress Pride banner we see the liberals with their ‘good for me but not for thee’ selective policies expressing your freedom to them is based on whether you are standing on the left or right,” said former state Rep “This drama over the flags in Nashua is more identity-driven political nonsense.” the white and blue banner with the Star of David is the official symbol of the state of Israel And yet the City of Nashua told a federal judge Israel’s flag is too controversial to fly at City Hall Plaza is more than welcome on Nashua city property despite being an entirely political symbol of the LGBT movement Nashua’s Assistant Corporation Counsel Jonathan Barnes said flying Israel’s flag would spark a flood of angry phone calls and threats while “reasonable citizens” wouldn’t be bothered by the Pride flag Those revelations came last month in federal court as part of the city’s legal defense against a lawsuit filed by resident Beth Scaer. The city rejected her requests to fly the Pine Tree Riot flag and a banner promoting girls-only sports on Nashua’s public flagpole. Scaer claims she’s the victim of viewpoint discrimination by the Democrat-controlled city. She is represented by the Institute for Free Speech and local counsel Roy McCandless In the wake of the lawsuit, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess quietly ended the city’s community flag pole tradition Nashua’s Assistant Corporation Counsel Jonathan Barnes compared the Pine Tree Riot flag to a Nazi flag and a flag for the Soviet Union Barnes also brought up the city’s decision to reject a request by Nashua resident Nick Scalera to fly the Palestinian flag on a day set to remember the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa He says that proves the city was not discriminating based on a particular viewpoint “If someone applied to fly the Israel flag I would say you would probably reject that because it’s just — you don’t want to wade into those waters You want to be able to conduct your city business without getting inundated with angry phones Saint-Marc noted that “at one point the city accepted the Pride flag That’s still a controversial position.” Barnes responded by invoking American Freedom Defense Initiative v. King County (2016) In that case ads featuring the images of Islamist terrorists were rejected by the transit system Supreme Court declined to take up the case The district court ruled the space was a “limited public forum” and that the system’s restrictions were “reasonable and viewpoint neutral.”  “In American Freedom Defense Initiative the ban on less controversial advertising was upheld It wasn’t all controversial advertising,” Barnes argued there are Pride flags flown all over the country The White House lights up with the colors in June There might be some people that are upset by that but there are some people that are upset by the American flag They would sooner (fly) the Soviet flag fly Most reasonable citizens don’t find that subject matter to be controversial,” Barnes said “I think some reasonable citizens may disagree,” Saint-Marc said The city’s argument that the official flag of the nation of Israel is too controversial to fly and suggesting that “reasonable citizens” would object “The City of Nashua’s terrifying argument demonstrates why free speech is so important,” said Institute for Free Speech attorney Nathan Ristuccia “We cannot trust the government to decide whose views are too controversial to be permitted.” Nashua’s long-time lead corporation counsel tried to clean up the city’s position He told NHJournal Barnes’ comments about Israel were part of a speculative argument that does not reflect the views of Mayor Jim Donchess or the Board of Aldermen but that’s certainly not the position of the City of Nashua,” Bolton said Barnes was not in the office Wednesday and did not respond to requests for comment Israel is a United States ally and the only democracy in the Middle East It’s also fighting a war against antisemitic terrorist organizations backed by Iran following the brutal Oct Hamas attack in which 1,300 people were murdered Scalera does not understand how Nashua is deciding which flag to fly He said he was told the city would not fly the Palestinian flag due to the ongoing war “The City of Nashua has not shied away from flying the flags of foreign nations especially foreign nations involved in active conflict in the wake of Russia’s illegal and brutal invasion of Ukraine the City proudly raised the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with the people of Ukraine as well as the Ukrainian population here in Nashua,” Scalera told NHJournal Scalera was also told by members of the Board of Alderman that Nashua would not allow a flag from a territory that is not officially recognized as a nation “However, Nashua has also raised the flag of Kurdistan which is at this point in time an autonomous region but nevertheless was not one at the time of the flag raising,” Scalera said Documents filed in the case show the city recently approved a day celebrating the Dominican Republic which is currently accused of ethnic cleansing for its handling of Haitian refugees The city also flew a Pride flag last year on orders from Donchess a request for a pro-life flag to celebrate the overturning of the Roe vs Kevin Avard (R-Nashua) when asked about the case “It all boils down to whom the mayor and alderman of Nashua are comfortable offending and who they would rather not The Pine Tree ‘Appeal to Heaven’ folks It doesn’t sound like they want to hear from people of faith.” And Rep. Judy Aron (R-Acworth), a Jewish member of the New Hampshire House and an outspoken defender of Israel, called the city’s actions “sad.” “If the leaders of the City of Nashua can’t handle free speech then perhaps the decision to end the traditional program is sad and disappointing but probably a good decision.” “They should just fly a white flag of surrender.” AcademicsPenn State Harrisburg recognizes outstanding alumni achievementThe 2021 alumni achievement award winners include — Penn State Harrisburg has announced the recipients of the college’s annual Alumni Achievement Awards One graduate from each of the college’s five academic schools earned the accolade thanks to their outstanding professional accomplishments A ceremony to recognize award recipients was held on Oct The School of Behavioral Sciences and Education recognized Jewel Cooper director of business development for LeTort Trust and Boyer and Ritter LLC she retired from BB&T where she was a senior vice president responsible for business development in Dauphin and Cumberland counties she was a regional executive with Susquehanna Bank and oversaw the Capital Region Cooper has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry Her lifelong passion has been mentoring and developing leadership qualities in others currently serving on the boards of the Dixon University Center She is an alumnus of Leadership Harrisburg a member of the Servant Leadership Society she served as past campaign and board chair of the United Way of the Capital Region;  was on the board and chair of the Rotary Club of Harrisburg; and served on the boards of the YWCA and Shalom House including the LHA Platinum Servant Leadership award Volunteer of the Year from the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and the Central Penn Business Journal’s ICON award The School of Business Administration honored Robert Scaer chairman of the board and CEO of Gannett Fleming Inc. a global infrastructure and engineering firm that provides progressive solutions for construction services Scaer is responsible for all operations of Gannett Fleming and its subsidiaries Prior to assuming the chairmanship in 2017 Scaer was president and chief operating officer and vice chair of the board of directors he testified before Congress on geospatial information technology-based systems for homeland security and the reauthorization of the transportation bill before the U.S He was also the past chief information officer of Gannett Fleming and was responsible for overseeing the corporation's enterprise IT system Scaer received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Purdue University and and an MBA from Penn State Harrisburg He is a registered professional engineer in Pennsylvania Lyndsay Kensinger was honored by the School of Humanities She is the press secretary for Pennsylvania Gov she served as a deputy press secretary in the Governor’s office and served two administrations at the Department of Community and Economic Development Kensinger has also served as the governor’s liaison to several agencies including PennDOT; the Department of Community and Economic Development; the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation of Natural Resources Kensinger worked in both the non-profit and private sectors including as director of communications and community relations for the ARC of Oswego County New York; executive director of Communities in Schools of the Capital Region in Pennsylvania; and an account executive at Tierney Public Relations in Harrisburg The School of Public Affairs recognized Fred Sembach executive director of the Pennsylvania State Senate State Government Committee where he directs all legislative initiatives related to oversight responsibilities for a number of state agencies He began his career with Middletown Borough he joined the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce as a senior staff associate ultimately advancing to became assistant legislative director He later worked for the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Pennsylvania and Delaware before returning in 1991 to the Chamber as executive legislative director later serving as vice president of Government Affairs Jeff Piccola and joined Piccola’s gubernatorial campaign in that same year He has served on numerous boards in many capacities including the Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority (SARAA) which owns/operates Harrisburg International Sembach also served on the Penn State Alumni Council and as a past president of the Penn State Harrisburg Alumni Society where he helped establish the Cliff Jones Fund for Good Government to honor and continue Cliff’s work and legacy of service where he graduated from Tamaqua Area High School in 1973 and from Penn State in 1977 attending both the Schuylkill campus and University Park president of the Construction Management business line for AECOM an American multinational engineering firm He is responsible for overseeing operations and business development for all AECOM Hunt and AECOM Tishman offices and entities Badame has overseen the construction of some of the world’s most iconic projects the Pennsylvania Convention Center Expansion Badame joined AECOM Tishman in 1985 as a project engineer on the South Street Seaport renovation project in Manhattan and quickly rose through the ranks of the organization He has earned recognition on Commercial Observer’s “Power 100,” was selected as “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Concrete Industry Foundation and was named the Women Builders Council’s inaugural “He for She” awardee He serves as chair of the board of the Regional Alliance for Small Contractors co-chairman of the Building Trades Employers’ Association vice chairman of the New York Building Foundation and trustee of the Citizens Budget Commission Research Computing Group –  Saint Louis University Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research (SCAER) at Saint Louis University (SLU) is at the cutting edge of research studying human behavior and its economic impact I lead the cloud modernization projects across multiple departments and facilities at Saint Louis University we enabled researchers to provision compute resources on-demand In this post, I write about how we collaborate with MontyCloud Inc. to run an environment that is fully automated and self-managed. MontyCloud is an AWS Cloud Management Tools Competency Partner With MontyCloud DAY2, a no-code autonomous CloudOps platform available on AWS Marketplace customers can gain multi-account visibility detect and fix over 300 compliance and security issues and automate server and cloud application management—all in just a few clicks Saint Louis University is a 200+ year old Jesuit institution with campuses in St The Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research is one of the leading research centers at SLU SCAER is a pioneer in studying congregation patterns of people especially during the Covid-19 pandemic SCAER’s research helps authorities plan the number of vaccinations per day The center gets daily dumps of sensitive deidentified geo-data from various sources in petabytes We don’t get the data in workable formats for the researchers to analyze The first step is to convert the data into a workable format and keep it analysis-ready; doing this at a large scale has many challenges We must also make this data available to a group of users and some external collaborators without compromising on security The goal is to be able to analyze the data as well as archive the previously analyzed files Transforming and managing the data manually was taking the researchers more than a week for one day’s data received from Veraset This meant SCAER had to commit a few dedicated resources just for data transformation Additionally, to handle these large-size datasets we had to deploy compute-heavy Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances such as multiple R5 12X large instances Optimizing the costs and resources deployed on the cloud became a huge challenge “SCAER prides itself on being at the leading edge of advance rigorous research on economic growth and social welfare,” says Michael Podgursky have been successful in enabling our researchers to focus on research as opposed to spending time on unproductive work such as provisioning and data transformation “MontyCloud’s DAY2 has helped improve our productivity to a great extent We further estimate that we’ll save 45% in costs this year thanks to all the automations,” adds Michael Our first goal was to free SCAER researchers from performing the manual task of data transformation Automation helps us save valuable researcher time and make the data available for research faster We engaged with MontyCloud to help automate the data transformation process Veraset uploads the data as Parquet files into a secure Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) bucket every day. MontyCloud’s DAY2 platform automatically detects the upload and triggers an AWS Lambda function to start AWS Data Pipeline which transforms the Parquet files into CSV files MontyCloud DAY2 also automatically renames and reorders the data by geolocation and finally the data is deduplicated and compressed The transformed data is stored in another secure Amazon S3 bucket The researchers are notified through a Slack channel when the data is ready and their analysis algorithms are pointed to the S3 bucket This process has simplified what used to take the researchers a week per one day’s data to a hands-off data availability within 24 hours The rate of errors is also now reduced to zero The whole process is self-administered and self-maintained We did not have to hire any additional specialized talent The automation of the number of steps mentioned above has improved our researchers’ productivity by 8x Figure 1 – Automated data transformation workflow The next step is to ensure researchers deploy compliant data processing environments We use multiple Amazon EC2 r5.12xLarge and r5d.xlarge instances We wanted to enable the researchers to provision these environments on-demand, in the right virtual private clouds (VPCs), with auto scaling and auto shutdowns to save costs. We now use MontyCloud DAY2 EC2 Blueprint, which is a well-architected provisioning template that pre-configures all of the policies including auto scaling, VPCs, AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles MontyCloud DAY2 EC2 Blueprint is available to the researchers through a self-service portal; all they have to do is just click and go With the DAY2 EC2 Blueprint they no longer have to worry about the infrastructure as they are provided with the right configuration DAY2 helps us prevent inadvertent errors that can lead to cost over runs and create downstream issues Finally, MontyCloud was also able to help us automate mounting and unmounting Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volumes on demand when EC2 instances are provisioned AWS and MontyCloud DAY2 have been helping Saint Louis University’s Research Computing Group in our mission to provide cutting-edge services which eventually helps the overall research Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research (SCAER) researchers are now self-sufficient and the data transformation has improved the productivity Along with automated provisioning and automated data lifecycle policies we anticipate we’ll save more than $40,000 this year while our AWS consumption continues to grow Our goal at the Research Computing Group is to help researchers by providing the right infrastructure and computing capabilities that help them to advance their research One of our ambitious plans is to move some of the high-end applications and high-performance computing workloads from on-premises to AWS . MontyCloud is an AWS Cloud Management Tools Competency Partner whose no-code autonomous CloudOps platform reduces cloud costs and instantly upskills teams Contact MontyCloud | Partner Overview | AWS Marketplace *Already worked with MontyCloud? Rate the Partner you must be a customer that has worked with them directly on a project Gannett Fleming has named two company veterans to its top leadership positions is chairman of the board and chief executive officer; and Paul D Scaer is the eighth person in the 100-year history of Gannett Fleming to serve as chairman and CEO he is responsible for formulating and implementing the strategic action plan that guides the direction of the firm and drives the company's continued growth and expansion into new markets Scaer's experience and leadership equip the firm to continue the diversification of its service offerings raise its profile as an employer of choice and further elevate its role as an industry leader Scaer served as president and COO from 2009 through 2016 as well as the business and strategic planning firm-wide He led the firm through a reorganization in 2016 that advanced the company's collaboration ensuring the company's agility and ability to deliver value to its clients in the years ahead He also was the chief information officer from 2004 to 2013 during which time he led the firm through a digital infrastructure transformation and oversaw the corporation's enterprise information technology (IT) systems Gannett Fleming's geospatial and IT solutions division decision-support and geographic information system that integrates transportation in-transit visibility/total asset visibility and infrastructure data in a single "You won't find a firm more committed to delivering excellence than Gannett Fleming," remarked Scaer and delivering better value to our clients and teaming partners is who we are "I'm also passionate about the vital role of diversity and inclusiveness in our company culture," continued Scaer Different people with different backgrounds will have different perspectives and that is key to helping our clients solve their most pressing infrastructure challenges." Scaer started with Gannett Fleming in 1982 upon graduating with a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Purdue University He also holds a masters of business administration from the Pennsylvania State University Paul Nowicki succeeds Scaer in the role of president and COO He is responsible for establishing Gannett Fleming's comprehensive goals for performance leading the day-to-day direction and operations and overseeing the overall performance of the company He also oversees the daily operations of more than 60 offices worldwide Nowicki demonstrates an innate ability to engage employees and inspire them to deliver unprecedented results that drive firm growth and client satisfaction Nowicki served as Gannett Fleming's Southeast Region director from 2014 through 2016 during which time he directed operations for offices in Florida He led a realignment of the region's business lines to focus on high-growth sectors which set the stage for the firm's growth and success across the southeastern U.S Nowicki served as Gannett Fleming's Northeast Region director and oversaw the operations of its New York he led the region to record growth and profits through the strategic expansion of its business lines — including transportation architectural and construction services — as well as through strategic hires that enabled the region to meet client service demands are always evolving and changing to best meet the needs of our clients It is imperative that we listen to our clients and that we listen to our employees I view my role as ensuring we are creating an environment where our employees can thrive and that includes helping them to discover their talents and gifts so they can be engaged and excited to be a part of this outstanding organization." Nowicki's career with Gannett Fleming began in Detroit as an intern in 1982 He continued with the firm during his academic studies and he moved to New Jersey where he began full-time employment with the firm Nowicki has worked on some of the largest transportation projects in Gannett Fleming's history including the extension of the New Jersey Route 18 corridor in New Brunswick for which he was responsible for managing more than $500 million in transportation improvements Nowicki holds a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of Detroit He is a registered professional engineer in New Jersey and Massachusetts The Lobos scored goals five minutes apart in the second half Tuesday night coming away with a 2-1 win over visiting Laguna Beach in a nonleague match Senior midfielder Jason Marin broke a scoreless tie off a set piece in the 61st minute and senior forward Nate Villicana’s penalty kick to follow wound up as the game-winning goal Laguna Beach’s Jack Hooper (9) goes up for a header against Los Amigos’ Brandon Medina (4) on Tuesday (James Carbone) The opening goal was furnished off a throw-in from junior defender Adrian Ramirez junior midfielder Erubey Bermudez getting his head to the ball to send it across the box for Marin to tap it in and I was just right there at the right time.” Los Amigos' Nate Villicana lifted the Lobos to a 2-0 second-half lead against Laguna Beach with this penalty kick. @LosAmigosLobos pic.twitter.com/fwecdLQCD9 It wasn’t long before the Lobos were buzzing around the box again Villicana converted the penalty kick to double the lead for Los Amigos (3-0) He had hooked a turn-around shot off the left post in the first half albeit one that was significantly shorthanded with only a couple reserves on the bench Laguna Beach (0-1-1) had generated more chances toward goal throughout the match Los Amigos midfielder Erubey Bermudez (7) dribbles between Laguna Beach’s Keanu Mir-Scaer (17) and Dylan Petrie-Norris (15) on Tuesday (James Carbone) Junior forwards Julian Reichel and Max Garner as well as junior midfielder Ty Tranbarger were effective in their combinations offensively Reichel’s determination and speed created chances late and got fouled in the box to earn a penalty kick for his side Sophomore midfielder Jack Hooper scored from the spot Jack Hooper scores a penalty kick for Laguna Beach in its nonleague match at Los Amigos on Tuesday. The Breakers cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 77th minute. @LagunaSports pic.twitter.com/Qjcmuk2jUd “He’s a leader,” Laguna Beach coach Andy Thomas said of Reichel He’s a phenomenal all-around player that can play any position so he’s the ultimate player that every coach dreams of The Breakers had little trouble getting back into the attacking third in the closing minutes The last one came from the right corner flag the ball dipping in and going off a Los Amigos defender Los Amigos midfielder Eduardo Reyes (12) dribbles around Laguna Beach defenders during a nonleague match on Tuesday (James Carbone) It bounced to the right post where freshman midfielder Brady Stringham swung his right foot through the ball but junior defender Jonathan Sanchez and sophomore goalkeeper Rene Medal (four saves) converged to deny the bid The referee’s whistle blew before the next corner kick could be taken even with two minutes to go,” Thomas added I can’t believe [the referee] blew it on the corner We were still creating chances there at the bitter end and that’s just a testament to their mentality Los Amigos goalkeeper Rene Medal (99) makes a save as Laguna Beach’s Max Garner (22) looks on during a nonleague match on Tuesday (James Carbone) Medal has earned the win in all three contests for the Lobos “Pretty cool,” Medal said of the start to his varsity career Los Amigos has loaded its nonleague schedule with a heavy dose of area competition opening with a 3-0 win against Ocean View and then a 3-2 decision over crosstown foe Fountain Valley “We obviously try to schedule these teams because we know that they’re very good teams and we want to push ourselves and see where we’re at and set the bar high,” Los Amigos coach Jesus Razo said Andrew Turner is a sports reporter for the Daily Pilot. Before joining the Pilot in October 2016, he covered prep sports as a freelancer for the Orange County Register for four years. His work also has been used by the Associated Press and California Rubber Hockey Magazine. While attending Long Beach State, he wrote for the college newspaper, The Daily 49er. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and history. (714) 966-4611 Sports News Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map Dr. Mays Imad, a neuroscience professor at Pima Community College as well as their Teaching and Learning Center coordinator, recorded a webinar on trauma informed teaching and learning in April 2020 As the education landscape shifted in response to the pandemic she shared how her background in neuroscience can inform teaching practices to be more effective in the midst of nation-wide trauma Her webinar asked the question: “How do we teach to the lonely the broken?” This question continues to be relevant as the pandemic drags on a year later and because trauma is widespread in our society for a variety of reasons.  She first explained a few definitions of trauma but emphasized the significance of neurologist and traumatologist Robert Scaer’s interpretation in the context of COVID-19 which asserts that trauma arises from negative events that put an individual in a position of helplessness she described the connection between the effect of trauma on the brain and student learning After demonstrating the mechanisms through which trauma can negatively impact students’ ability to learn Imad encourages us to ask: How can teachers best facilitate student learning during times of trauma Imad establishes four key components to trauma informed care and suggests strategies to implement them in the classroom I wanted to highlight a few key insights and facts she included that I found to be especially impactful: You can listen to the webinar or read Dr. Imad’s piece in Inside Higher Education You can read more about Dr. Robert Scaer’s work on trauma in his book The Trauma Spectrum: Hidden Wounds and Human Resiliency (W.W. Norton & Company, 2005) or his The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease (Haworth Medical Press, 2001). Or watch an interview “Understanding Trauma with Dr. Robert Scaer,” conducted by Craig Weiner 507-222-4000 Sign In Private equity firm OceanSound Partners has agreed to acquire a stake in Gannett Fleming an engineering and infrastructure consulting firm that works with government agencies and customers in certain commercial verticals Gannett Fleming's management team including CEO Bob Scaer will continue to lead the company and retain a significant ownership in the 107-year-old firm Terms of the OceanSound investment announced Monday were not disclosed Approximately 2,800 people work at Gannett Fleming such as engineers technologists and construction professionals that focus on resiliency and sustainability with respect to infrastructure projects The company's headquarters are in the Harrisburg Gannett Fleming touts its government customer base as including many departments of transportation throughout the U.S water and energy are among the highly-regulated sectors Gannett Fleming is involved in Gannett Fleming is looking to position itself for a new phase of growth amid a period of increased government outlays on infrastructure projects and efforts to ease the negative impacts of inflation on the economy “With record backlog and accelerating demand due to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act we are entering the OceanSound partnership from a position of strength," Scaer said in a release "This partnership will help us attract and retain the best talent make significant investments in emerging technologies expand and deepen our geographic footprint and support our employees so they remain at the top of their field." “The need for sustainable infrastructure optimizing total lifecycle cost of ownership is becoming more urgent as climate change accelerates and decades of underinvestment in critical infrastructure accumulates," added OceanSound Managing Partner Joe Benavides "Gannett Fleming has differentiated technology-enabled solutions spanning transportation and water management that make them well-positioned to capitalize on growth of the infrastructure services market." Help us tailor content specifically for you: Thank you for subscribing! Please check out our other newsletter offerings on our Newsletter page. 2020 at 8:22 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Edith "Dee" Hogan (Provided by Beth Scaer)Edith "Dee" Hogan I have three adult daughters and three grandchildren unless you consider my 22-year-old daughter who serves in the Air National Guard I graduated from high school and I have a lifetime of learning experience as a mom I was a volunteer for 30 years in the Nashua Public Schools I was a service representative for six years for several major retailers I served one term as Vice Chair of House Children and Family Law Committee https://www.facebook.com/DeeHoganStateRep/ I'm seeking elective office because I feel that I can work in a bipartisan way with those of differing views in a civil and respectful manner The single most pressing issue is education I would work to institute school choice for families allowing a stipend for each child to attend a school of their choice I attended and represented my constituents 100% of the time as compared to only 69% I have and always will stand for our national anthem and country compared with one of my state reps who declines to stand for the anthem at House sessions I would not verbally demean opposing party members Support for Second Amendment and Constitution/Protecting Veterans Rights/Quality Education Through School Choice/Advocate for Small Business/No New Taxes/Accountable Government/Bring Back Jobs/Support Our Police/Affordable Prescription Drugs In the past I held the office of Vice Chair of the Children and Family Law Committee and showed I could hold a leadership position successfully and amicably The best advice ever shared with me was by the wife of a previous mayor of my city She told me that after representing our ward for one term as a state rep that everyone should do the same as her term gave her new perspectives on local and state government and appreciation for the effort and time it takes to represent constituents In my three terms at the state house I was recognized each year for my beliefs and my constituents: 2007/Cornerstone Policy Research Defense of Family Award 2009/NH Liberty Alliance Legislator of the Year Award and 2016/American Conservative Union Conservative Excellent Award I worked with Secretary of State Gardner to implement the photo requirement for those voters with no identification I consider myself a principled constitutional conservative The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) a national business trade association comprised exclusively of approximately 125 chief executives from the leading design and construction companies doing business in the United States and globally Emmons was elected during CIRT’s Annual Spring Conference in Washington “I am grateful to our CIRT Membership for the opportunity to serve as Chairman in the year ahead bringing design and construction leaders from across the country together to focus on the growth of our industry.” “Peter brings a dedication and perspective to the critical issues facing our community especially as they relate to safety concerns that have led to essential cultural changes in our design and construction firms.” The following members were also elected as Officers during the Round Table’s membership meeting: In addition to the executive committee elections CIRT also welcomed the following four industry leaders as new directors who will serve on the board through 2025: “CIRT is fortunate to have a dedicated board of such highly regarded industry professionals We offer congratulations to our new officers and directors; and thank all of our current and outgoing directors for their service to CIRT and its members as well as the design / construction industry,” said Casso – the parent company of STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has over forty-seven years of experience repairing Peter is a frequent speaker at the World of Concrete past president of the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) and numerous ICRI and American Concrete Institute (ACI) committees He is author of Concrete Repair and Maintenance as well as other industry papers and presentations Peter received the 2014 Jean-Claude Roumain Innovation in Concrete Award and was also a recipient of ACI’s Wason Corbetta and Whitney awards for industry contributions In 2005 he was named by Hanley Wood as the Concrete Industry’s Most Influential Person is firmly committed to its ongoing mission of making new and existing structures stronger and last longer As a recognized leader in the specialty construction industry delivers turnkey solutions that integrate technology We provide specialty contracting services through our construction companies and state-of-the-art proprietary products and engineering support services through STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGIES Our member companies meet the needs of owners and managers of infrastructure as well as designers and general contractors by providing innovative and value-added solutions to infrastructure challenges in the commercial/ public About the Construction Industry Round Table The Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) is an association of chief executive officers of America’s leading design and construction companies working to be a leading force for positive change in the industry CIRT is the only organization that serves as the single voice representing both the design and construction community The CEO members who make up CIRT lead companies that are responsible for over billions of dollars in private and public sector design and construction work; and their companies directly employ nearly one million people across the country For more information about CIRT contact, Mark Casso, 202-466-6777; or visit our website at www.cirt.org © Copyright 2012 - 2023 | citybiz | All Rights Reserved Richert was ordained and installed as the pastor of the Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Mount Pocono on Sunday as Pastor Richert was ordained and then installed at a special service after which there was a reception in the church hall which was given by Pastor Richert's father which exhorts the apostles to "Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season." The special service was attended by many fellow pastors and Rev who presided over the ordination and installation David Scaer of Concordia Theological Seminary and graduated from Monroe High School in 1983 and the University of Michigan in 1987; he graduated from the Valparaiso University School of Law in 1990 He practiced law in Monroe and then graduated from the elementary education program at the University of Michigan He eventually entered the seminary in 2002 He received a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne Indiana and came to Our Savior directly from seminary Indiana Three Rivers Festival will host its third annual drag performance Monday night In an attempt to be “inclusive,” the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne will host its third annual drag performance tonight This year’s show was initially advertised without an age restriction but later it was changed to 18+ with an admission fee of $5 Previous shows were open to all ages.  The Three Rivers Festival began in 1969 to promote business and celebrate the city’s heritage. The festival gets its name from the three rivers that meet in Fort Wayne. It has since grown to be the second-largest summer festival in Indiana with almost half a million visitors each year A drag show was added to the festival in 2021 According to polling from the American Principles Project last year a majority of Indiana voters oppose the gender ideology takeover of schools and society Almost 65 percent of likely Indiana voters support legislation banning males from competing in girls sports in K-12 schools said the festival should celebrate good things instead of promoting ugliness and mockery “They’re pushing an agenda which is breaking down all of the barriers or all the goodness of what it means to be a man and a woman and it’s very confusing for our children.” Scaer said “It sets a bad example for adults — especially for our community — to sponsor this.” The inclusion of a drag show influenced at least one sponsor’s decision to pull funding from the festival said in a statement to WANE 15 that he withdrew sponsorship last year after investing over $600,000 in the festival Bean told 21Alive News the company withdrew its support because the board parted ways with festival director Jack Hammer and politicized the festival “I had always thought of the Festival as an event that avoided political and divisive issues and my conclusion was that the board was trying to insert their personal social agenda onto the festival,” Bean said in a statement to 21Alive News “I felt this was wrong not because of the event itself but using the festival that way I would have felt the same way if they wanted to have a MAGA event.” Bean did not reply to requests for comment pulled funding from the festival this year but the company did not respond to interview requests The festival’s 62 current sponsors include the City of Fort Wayne the president of the Three Rivers Festival Board did not respond to multiple interview requests but he previously told 21Alive News that the drag show is held in an area where people will not accidentally see it It’s not in an open area that you’re going to accidentally see “You would have to bring your family into that area to see.” Nichter stood by the board’s decision to include the festival despite the backlash “We want to be inclusive of all types of people,” he told 21Alive News Scaer said having a drag show advertised at a family-friendly festival normalizes deviancy and our society is already pushing that everywhere.” Scaer is a founding member of Shepherds United and ministers gathered for the sake of life “There’s so much we should be promoting that’s natural and good A wholly independent division of FDRLST Media