Concord Monitor

A state ban on the use of lead tackle for freshwater fishing has failed to reduce the number of loons that die from ingesting the sinkers and jigs each year, Fish and Game Department officials said.

A committee of lawmakers has narrowly recommended speed limits for Lake Winnipesaukee and all of the state's lakes and rivers.

At the beginning of a public meeting last night to discuss a proposed speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee, Rep. Dave Currier asked speakers to stick to the topic.

No picketers. No handmade signs. No angry voices. Aside from the parking lot full of pickup trucks and sports cars, you'd almost never know nearly 300 people turned out last night to debate a proposed speed limit on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Marc Bourgeois hardly ever drives his boat as fast as it can go. But on a clear, calm morning on a nearly empty Lake Winnipesaukee, he finds no harm in showing passengers a little bit of what it can do.