GRANDPARENTS

It's a sunny day in Manchester, NH, where more than two million grandparents are raising their grandchildren. It's also a day where a school principal is arrested for driving while intoxicated. It also may be a rough semester for some college students, but for those of us whose jobs require enrollment, well, I need to get a life. Here are some new pictures for you, of the amazingly sweet kid my sis left behind because she wants the easy life.

MANCHESTER GRID PATTERN

The City of Las Cruces, NM, where I live, is not set up in a grid, so the transit system does not stay on time, no matter how it is planned and re-planned. Here is the word on Manchester's grid pattern.

Geographic Context
Rimmon Heights is located in the center of Manchester’s west side. The
neighborhood is bounded by the Merrimack River to the east, the Piscataquag
River to the west, Rock Rimmon Park and Dexter Street to the north and Putnam
Street to the south. This topography has created dramatic breaks in the landscape,
developing natural boundaries for the neighborhood. Most of Rimmon Heights is
located on a large plateau-like flatland above the flood plains of the Piscataquag
and Merrimack rivers, but below the towering “Rock Rimmon.” Because the
majority of Rimmon Heights is largely flat, implementing the city’s grid pattern
was easier here than in most areas. The neighborhood is accessed from downtown
by the Notre Dame Bridge (Bridge Street bridge), the Nazaire Biron Bridge
(Kelley Falls bridge) from the west to access Pinardville and Goffstown and by a
handful of connecting streets along its northern and southern borders.


And here is a frequently asked question about the definition of a plot. Wonder if Manchester planners have done their job, at least better than was done in Las Cruces.

Question: What is a preliminary plat?

Answer: A preliminary plat is an instrument to review site design characteristics of a proposed development. The purpose of such a process is to serve as a tool to establish quality design that promotes development compatibility with the physical and cultural aspects of the community.

This process is also used as a method to determine proper site design, to mitigate traffic and drainage hazards, appropriate lot configuration and street layout. Design flexibility and imagination should also be considered.

The review process for a preliminary plat is the same as the master plan process in that they are brought to the DRC and sent forward to the P&Z. The intent of the P&Z review is to allow public input in the development process and to serve as a land planning process, not specific engineering development review.

Decisions by the P&Z are binding in that final platting must comply with the preliminary plat. Decisions by the P&Z are appealable to the City Council.

A WET VACATION!!!!!!! ( Odd, if you are from New Mexico!!)

CONCORD, N.H. -- The wet June is continuing to have an impact on farms, even as the weather improves in July.

Hay farmers in particular said they have had trouble getting their crop in. Experts said it takes about three days to cut, dry and bail hay properly.

"As far as June goes, we haven't bailed any hay at all, and that's the first time in my life that I remember not bailing any hay in June," said Robert Kimball of Beech Hill Farm in Hopkinton.

He said that puts the whole process behind and affects other farms that rely on hay to feed their animals.

Officials from the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture said the moisture is also having a negative effect on corn, potatoes and tomatoes.

Matthew McQuesten of McQuesten Farm said the corn in his fields was supposed to be ready for sale Monday.

"Due to the cold nights, it hasn't really grown," McQuesten said.

The stalks are about a foot shorter than normal. The growing season is being squeezed, and everything stops around the first frost.


My vacation is going waaaay too fast, and I feel like I've wasted it. It is a VERY wet summer in New Hampshire, and we hoped to get corn this year!!

GAGE AND ME ON SPRING BREAK

It's another beautiful day in Manchester, NH where the forecast for the week is rain, rain and more rain. New Mexico could learn a thing or two from these people. New Mexico State University's final exams are over, so it's a great time for a fiction book!! Above you will find a picture of Gage and me; this kid knows his letters and numbers. He's a lot of fun, but very tiring.


And further, have you ever only seen the good side of something, and made the wrong decision without all the facts??? Welcome to the story of my life.

DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

Don't quite know what to say here, except if you happen to stop by my blog, tell me about your opinion of the disabled community. These agencies may work for some, and I am trying to be polite on my blog, but I have not had success with these. I am eligible for services, but feel I have been taken advantage of by employers, unfair as it is. And I'm sorry that the update has taken so long; let me get you a photo.

DRIVE-THRUS

I promised good news, but I could not believe this one. Weather in NH is cool and sunny, not like New Mexico. They are still getting SNOW!!!


T.R. Brennan's redevelopment gets nod

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader
Friday, Mar. 6, 2009

MANCHESTER – The lot where Angelo's and then T.R. Brennan's once stood could host a two-building shopping center after city regulators last night approved variances that would allow a bank, drive-through restaurant, seven apartments and a Brennan's-like restaurant.

The vote by the city's Zoning Board of Adjustment came despite protests from some neighbors, who said the development would create too much traffic and congestion at the corner of Hanover and Page streets that could affect the safety of students at the nearby Weston Elementary School.

"A drive-through restaurant. I don't want that across the street from me. No way," said Sandy Kimball.

But the property's owners and board members said the location is ripe for a small-scale, mixed-use development that will cater to a neighborhood that includes some industry, commercial uses and an entrance to Interstate 93.