CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A Bedford man is going to federal court as he tries to sue Nashua police for telling him he couldn’t dress up like a terrorist and carry a plastic gun outside a polling place last month.

A Superior Court judge has thrown out Joseph Galibois’ case, so he has filed it in federal court.

Galibois charges police violated his constitutional right to freedom of speech by ordering him to cease his political protest on Election Day. He dressed up like a terrorist campaigning for Kerry.

Police said they received complaints from drivers who were alarmed, or believed he was creating a hazard. They told him to get rid of his black mask and gun or be arrested.

He argued his props were essential to his message that terrorists would have preferred Kerry over President Bush.

Mattress Giant getting sued

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A Nashua woman is suing Mattress Giant, saying the company fired her for reporting suspected drug use among employees, including a regional manager.

Gail Leach was assistant manager of the company’s store in Manchester. According to her lawsuit, she was fired last fall, three days after calling a company drug hotline to say she was concerned the company had rehired an employee she believed was dealing drugs. She also named four other people, including a regional manager.

Leach said the company told her she was fired for leaving $20 in store proceeds in a manager’s desk. She said it was retaliation for her call. The case is in federal court.

UNH joins top Swiss hotel school

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) – The University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics is joining a top hotel school in Switzerland to offer a program for students majoring in hospitality management.

This spring, four UNH students will study at the Glion Institute of Higher Education and hospitality education in Switzerland.

Raymond Goodman, head of UNH’s Hospitality Department, said a Swiss hotel education is prized throughout the world.

Contractor Charged

LACONIA, N.H. (AP) – A contractor from Warner is charged with stealing thousands of dollars during development of a condominium project in Laconia.

Authorities accuse Walter Beede, 62, of stealing more than $31,000 from the company building the Southdown Shore condos. Beede was a subcontractor on the project.

He is charged with taking the money over five years and putting it into an account to which only he had access.

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Concord Fire

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Fire officials said a child playing with a cigarette lighter started the fire that destroyed one apartment and damaged two others.

The fire broke out around 10 a.m. Tuesday. Seven families were left homeless and one firefighter was injured.

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Building Names

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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Two state buildings on Wednesday were named after former governors.

The Executive Council named the new Department of Motor Vehicles building in Concord after former Gov. Stephen Merrill.

The council also named the new Youth Development Center in Manchester after former Gov. John Sununu.

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Flounder

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PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – A fishing commission has scheduled a hearing Tuesday on the winter flounder stocks in The Gulf of Maine.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission hearing seeks public comment on flounder managament options for commercial and recreational fisheries.

The commission serves as a deliberative body of the 15 Atlantic coastal states, coordinating the conservation and management of nearshore fishery resources, including marine, shell and anadromous species.

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Teen Burglars

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OSSIPEE, N.H. (AP) – Several Carroll County police agencies on Wednesday arrested six teenagers and charged them with a variety of burglary-related crimes in the Lakes Region.

The teens are charged with burglarizing several businesses, including a car dealership from which five vehicles were stolen and trashed.

They were arrested during raids in Wolfeboro, Tunftoboro, Ossipee and Madison. The charges range from theft to burglary and criminal mischief.

Authorities said the teens were involved in burglaries in Ossipee, Madison and Wolfeboro.