3,837 out of 752,252 customers (a whopping 0.0051% of the total customer portfolio of all of NH) and less total than the lowest point at the end of the previous two storms. If we're going to consider this chaotic and panic over it, then there are states to the south where folks should consider moving to. This was a non-issue of an event, plain and simple.

Edit: The headline above & the article is lazily written in a way to entice a level of panic (in this case) that's totally unnecessary. "Thousands without power" sounds like a major event until you count the total number of outage jobs left, tally all the mutual aid crews into the state, and consider how many of the remaining customers out have been out the entire time.

I don't blame folks for feeling this way: with trust in TV journalism down below 10%, news directors at local TV stations frantically pivoted to this sensationalist approach in weather to keep ratings up & ad revenue flowing. That's why you see team coverage with multiple meteorologists & reporters for the weakest systems.

I'm not an expert on family court outside of DCYF involvement. But it's all about making the judge happy. Do anything the judge asks and don't complain. Offer to do things you're not required to do. Treat the judge like a potential employer but don't schmooze too much. Judges love therapy. Get a therapist and have them write a letter. Waitlists for therapy are long right now. Get on every waitlist for every therapist and document when you got on and follow up weekly (and document that, too.) Document EVERYTHING.

Letters from non professionals (as in anyone whos not a therapist or involved in the case-- relatives, employers, pastors) aren't given a lot of weight because they could just be crazy randos.

Demonstrate your insight and parenting skills. If you're not seeing your kid at all, don't talk about how much YOU want to see them; talk about how your kid must feel unloved or unwanted or lonely. Make it all about how you can make your kid's life better. Never, ever show anger.

Xfinity mobile uses the verizon network. It seems that many people are getting worse and worse service with VZW lately around southern NH, myself included.

I think I'm going to try out google fi. I last used it in 2015 and it was worse than VZW, but I've heard it's gotten a lot better (uses TMo and US cellular networks). I'm just so tired of my phone showing 2 bars of 4G LTE and it still taking 12 minutes to load google maps for directions.

Thursday update: Thousands in New Hampshire without power after third winter storm in past week clears through

If you could change the system, how would you? How do you think the system could be more effective?

What bad things did you witness there?

If it's still out, you're part of 0.42% of Eversource's total customer portfolio without power. It's a very good thing you didn't buy the hype.

Yeah, both nh and ma really dropped the ball on that one

What can fathers do to strengthen their chance in custody battle/visitation rights? Will a statement letter help? We have fathers that are trying so hard to see their children and any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thank you for such an insightful answer! And reading some of your other answers, I’m thankful you are doing what you do. I’ve met some great DCYF workers and some burn outs. It’s a tough gig.

It’s Amazon Fresh trying to destroy the grocery industry. BOYCOTT AMAZON!

Do you mean how would someone bring them to justice? And by them do you mean DCYF or workers themselves? And with regard to what specifically?

Reunification is ALWAYS better for a child long term if it's safely possible. Growing up in a mildly traumatic home with your bio family produces a more functional human than being taken from bio family and possibly having less trauma. The trauma of being removed from parents trumps almost every other trauma there is. Many studies prove this.

There are very few cases over my career where it was immediately apparent that a child should be permanently removed forever. These cases usually involved parents sex trafficking their children. There are few real monsters in the world, most people are just hurt. The reunification period allows the agency/ worker to see if a parent is capable.

A year is not long enough for a person to conquer their lifelong demons and be ready to parent. The entire system needs to be changed in order to be best for both parents and kids. Right now, workers rush to reunify in time and give kids to parents who are teetering on the edge of being ok. Then the kids get removed again because the parent wasn't stable enough. It feeds itself.

How, in your opinion, would somebody go about bringing them to justice

Classist more than racist. But there are some f'd up views among administration. Someone who's now very high up once stated in a Cultural Competency training that most "dirty homes" are immigrants. Which is extra funny because New Americans have the cleanest homes!

They're too desperate to favor anyone outright. They'll give the kid to whoever can safely take them. They often don't have a choice, like in this most recent fatality: the law dictated that the child had to be given to the "non-offending parent."

Definitely not helicopter parent fanatics. It takes a kid wandering the street alone more than once to get DCYF involved for lack of supervision. If the kid is not actively dying, they'll do anything not to have to remove. The parenting bar is super low, again, because of how our laws are written. They have to be able to prove imminent risk of harm.

Sounds like most jobs at times.

Do you think the family reunification standards actually help families? Or do they make it harder to help kids in bad situations?

Are they racist?

Do they favor mothers over fathers?

Do they push a "helicopter parenting" agenda, and take your kids if you don't follow it?

No, because it will cost a lot more per service point in rural areas than it will in denser city areas. Yet when work like this gets done, the costs tend to be evenly distributed. Besides which, we don't need this in the cities. The power doesn't go out that often. Might be nice for aesthetic reasons but it's not worth the disruption.

> Or pay for it yourself.

That's exactly what I'm suggesting, I pay for my portion, you pay for yours, and by everyone pitching in and paying a small portion of it, we all get more reliable power.

That's reasonable

I mean I won't share anything against the ethics of the profession, or anything protected by HIPAA

>or anything unethical or illegal

What about talking about anything unethical or illegal that you witnessed?

Move back to Alaska then. Or pay for it yourself. You're not even from around here but you want people to pay to increase the reliability of your electric service? That's some entitlement.

[removed]