Hi,
I sent the following 'Letter to the Editor' to Foster's on May 15th, and they have yet to contact me regarding publication. I suspect I may have been a little too harsh on them, though my comment on "newspaper owners" was meant for more than just them.
In any case, if you'd be willing to print this in your blog, I'd really appreciate it. I'm starting to doubt that it'll get published anywhere else.
Thanks,
Dave Sanborn
To the Editor:
Apparently, my wife's been holding out on me. If you were to believe the spin presented in Foster's list of the salaries and benefits received by Dover's school teachers in 2007, she took home over $62,000.
Like Pavlov's dog, I'm sure that the usual suspects are already salivating over the numbers, ready to whine about out-of-control salaries, and teachers who live like Donald Trump. And without fully digesting what these numbers mean, it would be real easy to buy into such suggestions. But since when does ANYONE tack on their employer's insurance and benefit costs to their take-home pay?
Ignoring any concerns about privacy in this discussion (thanks for setting the bar, Foster's!) my wife's PRE-TAX salary was actually $39,000 last year, which came after 10 years of teaching. For those of you about to roll your eyes and suggest that her salary comes easily, don't. Summer vacations are a trade-off for the fact that her workday seldom ever ends when the bell rings..
Educating our children is an important task, with plenty of inherent challenges. Being forced to endure attacks from the more well-heeled members of our community (like, say, those who own newspapers) shouldn't be one of them.
Regards,
David Sanborn
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Bell Center closes doors
You have been sent this message from Good for Dover as a courtesy of fosters.com.
Arts and cultural venues are good for Dover. Let's support those that remain.
Bell Center closes doors
To view the contents on fosters.com, go to: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008210566152
Dover was sold a bill of goods
Dover was sold a bill of goods
To the editor: And so, the poorly-conceived tax cap falls on its face.
Well done, Counselor Scott and crew. In not fully thinking through how the cap would be implemented, you've shackled us to both state and country taxes, as well as the much more restrictive annual average CPI-U. This scenario was raised repeatedly by Mayor Myers (and our much maligned city manager) in the run-up to the vote. But you pooh-poohed the critics, and weren't willing to listen to reality.
Even amid all the recent bickering of our City Council, when Mike Joyal continued to insist that the Laconia model was the correct one, it took a handful of lawyers to convince you otherwise. How much did their services cost our city, counselor?
So much for fiscal responsibility. Dover has been sold a bill of goods.
David Sanborn
Dover
To the editor: And so, the poorly-conceived tax cap falls on its face.
Well done, Counselor Scott and crew. In not fully thinking through how the cap would be implemented, you've shackled us to both state and country taxes, as well as the much more restrictive annual average CPI-U. This scenario was raised repeatedly by Mayor Myers (and our much maligned city manager) in the run-up to the vote. But you pooh-poohed the critics, and weren't willing to listen to reality.
Even amid all the recent bickering of our City Council, when Mike Joyal continued to insist that the Laconia model was the correct one, it took a handful of lawyers to convince you otherwise. How much did their services cost our city, counselor?
So much for fiscal responsibility. Dover has been sold a bill of goods.
David Sanborn
Dover
Letter to the Editor in Foster's - April 3, 2008
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Joyal may sue council: Says vote on tax levies violates City Charter
If you haven't been watching city council meetings, this article may help reveal some of the ridiculous behavior of our elected officials.
To view the contents on fosters.com, go to: http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008670902358
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Tax Cap Session Excerpt on YouTube
Open Letter Sent to City Councilors, local press and Good for Dover:
Dear Councilors,
I am surprised to read in the paper and see in the workshops that several of you are uncertain whether to include the county and state property tax portions of our tax bill under the new tax cap. Since the tax cap was such a significant issue, I had assumed you had all invested the time prior to the election to familiarize yourselves with the issue. To refresh your memories, I have posted relevant video of Councilor Scott's public information session on YouTube; you may find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5ERKMqoQ4 .
---Jan Nedelka
Dear Councilors,
I am surprised to read in the paper and see in the workshops that several of you are uncertain whether to include the county and state property tax portions of our tax bill under the new tax cap. Since the tax cap was such a significant issue, I had assumed you had all invested the time prior to the election to familiarize yourselves with the issue. To refresh your memories, I have posted relevant video of Councilor Scott's public information session on YouTube; you may find it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5ERKMqoQ4 .
---Jan Nedelka
Monday, January 28, 2008
Good for Dover to offer program with study circle expert Jim Noucas on Feb. 7
In its continuing effort to promote civic engagement and encourage healthy dialogue about issues that impact the community, Good for Dover invites all Dover citizens and elected officials to attend a presentation by Jim Noucas, an expert on study circles. The program will take place on February 7 at 6 p.m. at the McConnell Center in Meeting Room 3 on the third floor. Study circles are moderated volunteer citizen groups organized to discuss and gather information on specific community issues and have been successful in bringing people together for nearly a century.
"Recent events in Dover have had a tendency to divide our community,” said Bill Garrison, Good for Dover chairman. “People on both sides of the issues want the same thing: to make Dover a better community. We need to find ways to put aside our differences and unite our community toward common goals.”
Mr. Noucas, co-chair of the community group Portsmouth Listens (www.portsmouthlistens.com), has a decade of experience in this grass-roots form of democracy. According to Noucas, some of the advantages of the study circle process are that it involves more and different people in community affairs and fosters new relationships. Portsmouth residents have successfully employed study circles to provide input on a variety of issues, including school redistricting and the city’s master plan.
“It’s getting people together on a level playing field. At a traditional public hearing, there is no interaction. When you get people together in small groups, they all can contribute and create a marketplace of ideas,” said Noucas.
Good for Dover is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of concerned residents who are dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life for Dover citizens and the community as a whole. Since it’s inception in the spring of 2007, the group has drawn interest from many individuals in the community who want to be informed about important issues and happenings in Dover. New members are welcome. For additional information, please visit www.goodfordover.org.
"Recent events in Dover have had a tendency to divide our community,” said Bill Garrison, Good for Dover chairman. “People on both sides of the issues want the same thing: to make Dover a better community. We need to find ways to put aside our differences and unite our community toward common goals.”
Mr. Noucas, co-chair of the community group Portsmouth Listens (www.portsmouthlistens.com), has a decade of experience in this grass-roots form of democracy. According to Noucas, some of the advantages of the study circle process are that it involves more and different people in community affairs and fosters new relationships. Portsmouth residents have successfully employed study circles to provide input on a variety of issues, including school redistricting and the city’s master plan.
“It’s getting people together on a level playing field. At a traditional public hearing, there is no interaction. When you get people together in small groups, they all can contribute and create a marketplace of ideas,” said Noucas.
Good for Dover is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of concerned residents who are dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life for Dover citizens and the community as a whole. Since it’s inception in the spring of 2007, the group has drawn interest from many individuals in the community who want to be informed about important issues and happenings in Dover. New members are welcome. For additional information, please visit www.goodfordover.org.
Check out the Poll Question. Blog Coming Soon
We hope to be up and blogging very shortly. In the mean time, check out our first poll.
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