This New England

Given the uncertainies about the ethics of Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi, and some imminent legal activities, the House should postpone the vote on another term for Mr. DiMasi from tomorrow (Wednesday) at least until next week.

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As anyone who reads the brilliant special section in the Jan .3-Jan 9 Economist will know, the seas are in increasingly bad shape because of our depredations.

Consider that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is looking into whether the wolffish should be the first fish species fish in deep waters close to New England to achieve the dubious honor of being declared endangered. The fish's habitat has been devastated by fishermen dragging nets along the bottom.

Of course, the wolffish, greeting us with his engaging smile at the left, is far from the only species to be thus affected, though it might be the ugliest. Destroying one species can imperil others.

Buy that copy of The Economist!

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But environmental groups fighting a U.S. Forest Service decision to open 1,000 acres of land in New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest to logging go too far. There's little indication that such logging, north of Mt. Washington, would hurt the local environment and indeed it might help it by opening a bit of it to meadowland, which would help diversity.

And using -- very carefully! -- a New England natural resource like this is good for the economy.

Must we import EVERYTHING from outside New England and simply have the area as a big park for the affluent? Nobody who needs a job should come here? Just bring your trust fund?

And do these environmentalists use wood themselves?

Some environmentalists, especially rich ones, would like everything in our National Forests to be off limits to any economic function. But these woodlands have an legally protected economic mission as well as environmental, recreational and aesthetic ones. Opening up 1,000 acres seems responsible.

Picture of the woods here is F. Mortimer Lamb's ''Winter Sky,'' at Providence's Bert Gallery.

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There's a sad irony in that the fall in real-estate prices from their stratospheric highs not long ago is cutting real-estate transfer taxes in the region.

Some of that money goes to subsidize "affordable housing'' for low-income people. So what would seem good for the poor -- cheaper real estate -- isn't, at least not for affordable-housing programs. ("Affordable housing'' is a very subjective term in any event, and subjected to all sorts of sociological, economic and political interpretations and definitions.)

Doesn't anyone remember a couple of years back when the complaint was that high real-estate prices, especially in the Northeast, were badly hurting the poor?

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A worthy meeting announcement by the New England Board of Higher Education

Bridging the Gap to Promote
High School & College Alignment

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts

Join your colleagues in K-12, higher education and government to learn about key partnerships and best practices aimed at creating a seamless transition from high school to college and career. You will hear from national policy experts including:

Conference Keynote, Charles Desmond
Bridging the High School - College Gap: Lessons from the Past Shaping Visions for the Future

Charles Desmond, Chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education and New England Board of Higher Education Senior Fellow, will keynote this important event. Desmond, a Fulbright Scholar who has focused on community collaboration and student affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston, will draw on over 30 years of experience to discuss successful partnerships between K-12 and higher education sectors and the role of higher education leadership to shape future collaboration.

Jennifer Dounay, Senior Policy Analyst at the Education Commission of the States, who will provide state policy updates, analysis and research findings on a number of high school reform issues including graduation requirements, high school assessments and P-20 efforts around the nation.

Allison Jones, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Student Academic Support from the California State University, will discuss his work in supporting CSU's 23 campuses in the areas of K-12 academic outreach, admission and remediation. He will also share best practices in high school and college alignment, including his work with the California Early Assessment Program.

Other experts in the field will share deliberate actions leaders in both "segments" are taking in an effort to create seamless transitions to college and career, including:

Wanda Monthey, Team Leader and Policy Director, Maine Department of Education; Hector N. Torres, Program Director of College Prep, University of Massachusetts Lowell; Thomas R. Horgan, President and CEO, New Hampshire College & University Council; Lynne Miller, Professor of Education Leadership and Southern Maine Partnership Director, University of Southern Maine; and Kristi Pierce, Director of Local College Access Programs at TERI.

Invited participants include the region's higher education leaders, state higher education executive officers, K-12 commissioners, state board chairs, superintendents, principals, guidance and career counselors, state legislators, governors' education advisors and business leaders.

Register Today
Registration fee: Cost is $149 for one registrant.

Discounted rate for multiple registrants from the same organization: Cost is $129 per person.

Click here to register online with a credit card. To pay by check, P.O. or credit card, download a registration form in Microsoft Word format from our Web site, NEBHE.org.

 Tags  NOAA real-estate-transfer taxes White Mountain National Forest wolffish

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