Two separate shooting deaths in Manchester, NH today.

[zanne]

Crap. One was at around midnight in a bad neighborhood, one this afternoon about three blocks away from the first one. Police say the two are not related?!?! WTF? For a city this size, that's alot of shooting.

[jonnyblitz]

1. that is strange for Manchester? I am in the Nashua area (hollis)

quite often staying with family there and it seems like stuff is always going on in Nashua, and Lowell, MA., down the road.

[zanne]

4. People from Manchester will say that Nashua is too close to MA!

That's the old NH bias showing, isn't it?

[City of Mills]

8. Lowell MA doesn't have that many shootings

I think Lowell gets thrown under the bus a little too oft...eh, dang.

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_13625126

I still like Lowell :)

[zanne]

12. I like Lowell, too.

But you know how we are up here in NH. We talk about MA. drivers, MA taxes, etc.,etc.,etc. It's really just to have something to talk about in Cow Hampshire.

[HopeHoops]

2. Manchester isn't even a bad city!

I lived around there for 10 years. That's a pretty nice city, even at night. That news sucks.

[SoxFan]

6. The CAVEMEN are in overdrive

Since you lived here, you know the type...Citizens Against Virtually Everything Manchester Ever Needed. The cranks who infest local access cable and the Union Leader comments section. Cranky, relentlessly negative, insular, and generally useless.

Right now, the CAVEMEN are trying to spin this as a) what happens when you let the police chief live a whole 5 miles away in Bedford, and b) more proof that those nasty Spanish-speaking types from Massachooosets are nothin' but trouble.

Of course, if you ask these guys, you will discover that in Manchester/Derryfield's 250+ year history, no crime has ever been committed by a resident of French-Canadian, Irish, Yankee, or Greek descent.

[Mopar151]

7. Uh-huh..... (regarding the 3rd paragraph)

And "The Zoo" was a foundation for wildlife education. The Happy Swallow was a bird sanctuary.Dickie Dicey never sold a joint. And all these immigrants and corruption are brand new to the place. Eggs ain't poultry...

[zanne]

9. Good one, Soxfan! nt

[SoxFan]

15. You know the type, Zanne!

In fact, you get to vote against one for alderman!

[proteus_lives]

3. I've noticed that shit like that comes in clumps in medium and small towns.

I have no evidence beyond my own observations to back that up. I've lived in a lot of small communities.

[SoxFan]

5. It's been a bad week.

Fortunately, we have a good police chief. He's trying to make up for years of neglect on the part of his predecessors, ramping up community-based policing, strengthening the anti-gang unit, and building partnerships with the state police and the US Attorney's office.

I just hope that our next mayor doesn't chase him away. If Ted Gatsas wins, he might try and purge city government of all non-good old boys. Chief Mara is not a Manchester native, and Gatsas has always held that against him.

[zanne]

10. The idea of Gatsas as mayor is a nightmare. nt

[SoxFan]

16. Unless

Unless you are a 58 year old graduate of Central High School who is in real estate development and eats at Cremeland every Friday afternoon.

Seriously, this could be a debacle of epic proportions. In Ted's mind, if you aren't old-school Manchester, you aren't worth listening to. We are going to lose the opportunity to bring new and creative voices into city government.

Sadly, the local Democratic Party is almost useless when it comes to municipal politics. Unless one swears absolute fealty to AFSCME and the MEA, you are given the runaround. Consider the fact that a faux Democrat like Mike Lopez is considered a leader. This is the same Mike Lopez who ran around questioning Barack Obama's patriotism last fall.

There are a few bright spots. Patrick Arnold, Joyce Craig, Garth Corriveau, and Mike DeBlasi are all good new faces. Elise Annunziata, who lost in the Ward 2 aldermanic primary, is another sharp yung progressive who deserves better.

[graywarrior]

11. Wow!

Manchester. That is odd.

[Raven]

13. Is it me or has there been a real increase in violence in NH over

the last year or so? I've noticed it in Keene.

[Beer Snob-50]

14. down in the springfield mass area

there has been an increase in the number of shootings in the past month or so. my wife works at the local hospital and said there were three new ones yesterday alone.