STATE'S DEFEAT OF CABLE ACCESS SEEN SPARKING SIMILAR ACTIONS

CONCORD - If it's going to be that way in New Hampshire, well,it's good enough for the rest of the country.

That's the message taken on the road, with considerable success,by Peter Arnold, executive director of the Washington-based lobbyinggroup, Hands Off the Internet.

After testifying against a bill that would have forced cablecompanies to share their lines into people's homes with competitorsfor a fee, and seeing the measure defeated, when Arnold went beforelegislative committees in other states he touted the fact that NewHampshire, the state with the highest per capita employment in hightechnology, had nixed cable-sharing.

"When I testified in Virginia I told them that if New Hampshire,the state with the highest per capita employment in high technology,soundly rejects the idea, why would Virginia go where New Hampshiredidn't tread?" he said. "New Hampshire really did spark something."

A New Hampshire House committee voted, 14-3, against the so-called open access bill preceding its defeat by the full House.

Shortly after, similar bills were turned down in Virginia,Pennsylvania, Idaho, Utah and Kansas, Arnold said.

"New Hampshire sparked a trend that could be felt in otherlegislatures," he said.

Boxing wins round after heavy debate

First it would be boxing, then football, basketball and soccerwould be sure to follow, Representative Laura Pantelakos, aPortsmouth Democrat, warned the House when it considered whether toplace additional state safety sanctions on a sport.

Although the bill sponsored by Republican Representative JamesPilliod, a physician from Belmont, never mentioned the word "boxing,"debate centered around that one sport.

The proposed legislation, however, said only that it wouldprohibit "minors from participating in any athletic activity whoseobject is to cause, induce or otherwise encourage the direct andpurposeful striking of the head of another participant in suchactivity."

"Every day I look at our license plate, `Live Free or Die,' "Pantelakos said. "This bill takes freedom away from a parent todecide whether they want their child to be an Olympic boxer."

But Pilliod, who sponsored the legislation that went down todefeat, said the measure was not about putting limits on anyone.

Rather, he said, it would have been a "loud and clear" message tothe US Boxing Association that having youths under 18 hit in the headis an unacceptable risk.

He said although the group "stops a bout after a knockout or aftersigns of injury to the head, as a physician I have to point outthat's just a few minutes too late."

But other legislators argued that if the measure passed it wouldeliminate amateur boxing in the state.

After considerable debate, lawmakers decided, by a resounding 238-123, to keep boxing by the association's rules, without adding anylocal restrictions.

Big, small screens get state's messages

The state is going on the silver screen.

Executive councilors have approved spending more than $40,000 towage an advertising campaign in the state's cinemas against underagedrinking.

And, not to be left out from the smaller screen, the councilorsalso approved $12,000 to produce two short videos and one 30-secondpublic service announcement promoting the use of emergency 911 in NewHampshire.