ICYMI: Senator Hassan Attends Rockingham Drug Court Recovery Commencement

BRENTWOOD – Yesterday, Senator Maggie Hassan attended the Rockingham Drug Court Recovery Commencement, where she congratulated graduates and spoke about the important role of drug courts as a tool in our efforts to combat the substance misuse epidemic.

Senator Hassan also toured the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center, where she discussed the critical role air traffic controllers play in keeping the flying public safe. At Horizon Technology in Salem, Senator Hassan highlighted the importance of supporting innovative business that help create jobs in the Granite State.

See below for highlights of the coverage:

Seacoast Online: ‘Another beginning’: Rockingham Drug Court celebrates success

By Hadley Barndollar

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan was the drug court graduation ceremony’s keynote speaker, where she congratulated Beliveau and his fellow graduate Jordan Rego for completing four phases of a strict recovery program which includes incentives and sanctions. The New Hampshire drug court system provides treatment for non-violent offenders who have committed a crime where the effects of substance abuse are likely involved.

… Hassan thanked Beliveau and Rego for their “honesty and bravery.”

“Your success is critical to the success of your communities and your entire state,” Hassan said. “I urge you to stay strong, as you graduate today, and continue to confront a chronic disease.”

Hassan said drug courts play a key role in battling addiction during a statewide, and nationwide, opioid crisis.

“At the end of the day, more than anything else, this is about believing in each other, understanding this illness for what it is and being committed to each other as Granite Staters and Americans,” she said.

Hassan said the stories of New Hampshire residents on the front lines of opioid addiction are what she brings with her to Washington, where she “helps people understand on a national level.”

Nashua Telegraph: Hassan champions air traffic controllers in Nashua

By Derek Edry

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan visited the Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center on Monday to express her support for air traffic controllers and hear their concerns.

The first-term senator, a Democrat, also visited Crane Security Technologies in Nashua, Horizon Technology in Salem and the Rockingham County Drug Court graduation ceremony in Brentwood, where she delivered remarks.

Her visit to the air traffic control center comes about a month after the Senate approved bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration.

Hassan and U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, crafted the Transparency, Improvements and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe (TICKETS) Act, which was approved as part of the bill.

The TICKETS act, Hassan said, strengthens consumer protections for public airplane passengers. It was crafted after an incident on a United Airlines plane in April where a man was violently and forcibly removed from the plane to make room for an employee.

“This prompted a look at not only that particular incident but at the general lack of transparency around consumer rights when it comes to overbooking and consumer rights when it comes to an airplane to begin with,” Hassan said.

Eagle-Tribune: Hassan visits Salem business

By Allison DeAngelis

The demand for their products is strong, but the Salem-based water testing company Horizon Technology is one of many New Hampshire businesses experiencing some growing pains.

The business' founders and other officials sat down with U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan Monday to discuss their needs. The New Hampshire Democrat toured the company's Northwestern Drive headquarters, viewing the American manufactured water sampling and testing tools that the company is now distributing worldwide.

"Growing innovation-based businesses is critically important, not only for New Hampshire's economy, but for the state's quality of life and the country's economy," the former governor said. "This is just a good way for me to touch base with business leaders in the state, their employees and hear what's on their mind."

… "As we see more of these industrial sites being analyzed and existing longer and having more seepage into the groundwater, there are more concerns," Hassan said.

… The former governor said she is looking for ways to support employers and employees at the federal level. Hassan said that she is continuing to advocate for a commuter rail to bridge the distance between employers and young employees who enjoy urban living. She has been talking to the new EPA administration about the Clean Water rule.

"We tend to have debates that regulations are either good for the environment or good for businesses. But, there are some win-wins here," she said.

###