Firefighters to endorse Shaheen

   Fast break: The union representing New Hampshire professional firefighters is endorsing Jeanne Shaheen in the U.S. Senate race against Republican incumbent John E. Sununu. In a bit of stagecraft, we have learned the endorsement will come tomorrow at the firefighters' hall in Manchester, the site of telephone jamming and related chicanery in the 2002 election. Shaheen never played the jamming card as a reason for the loss, but her friends sure did. Congressman Paul Hodes, the Democrat representing the 2nd District and a Shaheen family friend, is trying to fan the embers of the aging case on The Hill. The location of this endorsement ensures the Hodes/Shaheen jamming inquiry, regardless of whether or not anything comes of it, will be trumpeted by Democrats until November. It could sound like "Taps," but not if Senator Sununu has anything to say about it. Sununu, after all, was called a "giant killer" for his campaign savvy and success six years ago. He knocked off incumbent Bob Smith before defeating Shaheen, a former three-term governor.

   UPDATE: The official word from the Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire came out mid-afternoon. This campaign event is on for 1 p.m. tomorrow at the offices of the Manchester Local, 85 Sheffield Road.