The final month before Charlestown town elections - early voting starts next week

Lowkey campaigns, but stark contrasts and high stakes

By Will Collette

This is the endorsed slate of Charlestown Residents United town office candidates

Early and mail-in voting starts on October 14 for the November 3 General Election. This year’s perennial struggle between Charlestown’s former rulers, the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA), and the current majority faction, Charlestown Residents United (CRU) has been pretty low-key compared to prior elections. Fewer yard signs, fewer mailers, less fireworks.

That’s because Charlestown’s new CRU leadership for the past four years has brought more competent, responsible government after 10 years of CCA chaos. Gone are the CCA’s mismanagement, secrecy and paranoia. The craziness has been turned down to a mere background buzz. Not surprisingly, the CCA has failed to come up with a full slate of candidates for town office for the first time in memory.

When Charlestown Residents United ousted the CCA’s Town Council majority in 2022, they did so after the CCA demonstrated it could not properly manage the town’s finances. The highest visibility evidence was a “misplaced” $3 million that for almost two years was somehow lost in the Byzantine system the CCA created. That's the “$3 million Oopsie” that no one in the CCA would accept responsibility for causing.

It didn’t help the CCA’s cause that they used that money, and more, to finance questionable land deals. And, completely missing the Watergate lesson that “it’s the cover-up that gets you,” the CCA tried to prevent the public from knowing what they did by having their lapdog Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz use every trick in the book to keep the records out of public view.

The CCA learned you can’t screw up the money and stay in office. The CRU by sharp contrast, resolved the financial mess the CCA created to the point where a detailed report by the Rhode Island Auditor General showed how the new CRU majority improved Charlestown’s fiscal systems:

The four years of Council control by Charlestown Residents United have been largely drama-free. Under the CCA, Charlestown seemed to be continuously assailed by “threats,” often imaginary, that supposedly only the CCA could handle.

Under the CRU, it seems the only chronic emergencies are weather related – drought, wildfires, sea level rise and severe storms – and this council has shown its ability to proactively handle these problems.

Here's a typical example of how CCA's flunky
Stankiewicz responded to open records requests. He actually
made you PAY to get records like this.

Gone is CCA lapdog Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz who told me to my face that he worked for the CCA not the people of Charlestown. He showed his mettle by covering up public records that showed how badly he and the CCA-controlled Town Council and Planning Commission screwed up the money and conducted shady land deals.

The CRU replaced Stanky with highly respected former Charlestown Police Chief Jeffrey Allen who has managed the town’s business without rancor or controversy.

The CCA first took total control of the Town Council in 2010.
Tax rate = $7.48. Under the CCA, it rose steadily to a
2016 peak of $10.21. When the CCA was booted in 2022,
the rate was $8.17. Under the CRU, the rate has dropped
to the current $5.05. The CCA's claims about the tax rate
are untrue. Source: Charlestown Tax Assessor.

During the CCA’s decade of control, they constantly touted Charlestown’s low tax rate, while failing to acknowledge that the tax rate is only one of two major factors determining how much property tax you pay. The second factor is property valuation.

But if you look at the actual numbers, under the CCA, tax rates went up every year as did the actual tax Charlestown property owners paid. 

Under Charlestown Residents United, the much-touted tax rate went down dramatically due to the sharp rise in property values.

The CCA, and especially its leader Ruth Platner who also has run the Charlestown Planning Commission, has continually tried to convince Charlestown voters that we are on the brink of environmental disaster. 

Again, says the CCA, only the CCA can save the town. This year’s theme has been “local control.” 

That’s Platner’s code for the threat that “people from Providence” might diminish her long-held sole control of what gets built in Charlestown.

To put it bluntly, Platner equates “local control” with control by her.

Charlestown property taxes are affected mostly
by market swings. Source: GoLocal

It’s been a challenging four years for Ruthie. Loss of control of the Town Council meant that she could no longer direct her Council majority to support her own anti-family, pro-nonresident agenda. And it could get worse if she loses her CCA-majority on the Planning Commission.

In the November 3 General Election, Charlestown voters could quite easily vote Platner off the Commission – she and her minions face a strong challenge from the CRU slate for Planning. With four seats on the ballot, obviously Platner needs to finish in the top four. Plus she needs to get her slate elected to maintain her majority. Otherwise, she can no longer tell any of her minions who get more votes than her to step aside so she can continue her reign as Planning Commissar.

I’d love to see Charlestown voters send Ruth Platner into retirement once and for all.

I also hope that with another term for the Charlestown Residents United Town Council majority, we can see the resolution of some unfinished business. These include:

Homestead Tax Credit. The CRU majority succeeded in getting the General Assembly to authorize Charlestown to change its tax code to grant yearlong residents a break on their property taxes as other RI shoreline communities do. The CCA long opposed the Homestead tax break, arguing that this would somehow be “unfair” to nonresident homeowners, who coincidentally finance much of the CCA’s political activity. A CRU majority needs to write the ordinance to enact this long overdue tax relief.

Tax Fake Fire Districts fairly. Many coastal towns have homeowner associations (HOAs) who have found a legal loophole to style themselves as “Fire Districts” even though they have no ability to fight fires. Charlestown has two: Shady Harbor and Quonnie. Between them, they own millions of dollars in prime shoreline real estate yet pay little or no property tax, shifting those taxes on to the rest of us. These two neighborhoods are solid CCA territory so naturally they were protected while the CCA ran the town. A CRU majority needs to end the privileged tax treatment enjoyed by fake fire districts and tax their property as they would any other HOA.

Adopt prudent Bad Actor policies and practices. Charlestown buys goods and services from a variety of businesses and also awards lucrative permits and licenses to a variety of others. It does so without any policies to judge whether those businesses are honest and ethical. The CCA’s Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz actually granted the notorious Mob-connected Copar Quarry a business license to operate a quarry right off Route 91 on the bank of the Pawcatuck River. The CCA spent thousands of your tax dollars to fight the Dollar Store’s effort to site a store in the Cross Mills village district. These and other questionable businesses would have been blocked if Charlestown had enacted a policy that barred doing business with companies or individuals with bad track records. We can set our own criteria so long as they are reasonable and fairly applied. We can stop doing business with crooks. A CRU majority should make sure Charlestown does not do business with criminals.

Tax breaks for volunteer firefighters. The Charlestown Fire District is currently in another drive to recruit more volunteer firefighters. This is a regular problem when we ask people to step up for the hard and dangerous work of protecting people’s lives and property. I am in awe of those who do this and think they should be rewarded. One straightforward way to do that is to give them a generous tax break on the property or auto tax. We can work with the Fire Districts on a fair formula for earning the tax cut (i.e. length of service, response to turn-out calls, etc.) but let’s do it, both out of gratitude and to help with recruitment. A CRU majority needs to act.

All of these ideas have been kicking around a while. During the decade of CCA reign, they were all non-starters. The CRU majority has now had enough time to study these issues and, if they receive a continuing mandate from the voters on November 3, they should act posthaste.

National security trumps all

Meet Charlestown's next State Senator

More REM sleep linked to lower risk of 83 diseases

Large study shows benefits of deep sleep

PLOS

Greater amounts of REM and deep sleep were associated with lower risks of dozens of diseases, and less than 5 hours of total sleep was associated with high risks of disease, according to a new study published September 17^th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Shengzhi Sun of Capital Medical University, China, and colleagues.

Sleep quantity and quality is a priority of China’s National Health Commission and a focus in China more broadly. The most recent 2026 China Sleep Health White Paper finds that while the average surveyed Chinese person sleeps 6.97 hours per night, 23 percent sleep less than 6 hours per night. The same report notes that only 26 percent of respondents reported a consistent sleep schedule, and that disturbances to sleep have increased over time. Understanding how sleep patterns are linked to disease risk is therefore of great relevance to Chinese citizens.

There remains limited understanding of how sleep stages and other real-world sleep patterns relate to health outcomes. In part, that is because self-reported sleep measures often show poor correlation with objective assessments, making it difficult to capture real-world sleep patterns.

In the new study, researchers analyzed data from 95,559 UK Biobank participants who wore wrist accelerometers for seven consecutive days and nights. The researchers used a deep-learning algorithm to calculate sleep stages (REM, deep, and light sleep), total sleep duration, wakefulness after sleep onset, and night-to-night sleep irregularity. Participants were followed for a median of 8.9 years, and health records were available to test for associations with more than 1,000 disease outcomes.

Millions take calcium and vitamin D for bone health. A major review finds little benefit

Lower expectations

BMJ Group

Calcium and vitamin D supplements are widely taken to support bone health, especially by older adults. But a large review published in The BMJ suggests that, for most older people, these supplements provide little to no meaningful protection against falls or broken bones.

Falls are a major health concern as people age. Nearly one in three adults aged 65 and older falls each year, and those falls can lead to fractures, chronic pain, loss of independence, reduced quality of life, and in some cases a move into residential care. Finding effective ways to prevent falls and fractures is therefore an important public health goal.

Longstanding Questions About Bone Supplements

Calcium and vitamin D have long been associated with bone health. Calcium is a major structural component of bone, while vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and supports normal bone metabolism.

Even so, previous evidence reviews have generally found that taking calcium or vitamin D alone does not reduce fracture risk. Results have been less consistent when the two are taken together, and researchers have also remained uncertain about whether vitamin D can meaningfully reduce falls.

Despite those unanswered questions, vitamin D supplements (with or without calcium) are still commonly recommended by clinicians, guidelines, and regulatory agencies for bone health. Prescriptions have also risen substantially in recent years.

Wood Pawcatuck Watershed Association gets $350,000 state grant

DEM Awards Over $2M in Climate Resilience Grants

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has awarded $2,022,146 in matching Climate Resilience Fund (CRF) grants to five municipalities and three community organizations for statewide climate resilience projects. 

The grants will fund eight projects to restore and improve the climate resilience of local communities, infrastructure, and coastal habitats. The CRF is funded through 2024 Green Bond.

“Rhode Island continues to face increasing challenges from more frequent and intense weather events from climate change.  In 2026, we experienced record snowfall in February, drought conditions throughout the Spring, and then higher than average rainfalls in July.  Additionally, NOAA declared this July as the hottest July on record in our country. Our state’s communities face significant stresses and diverse risks from rising seas to severe storm events, flooding, and erosion,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. 

“These grants provide vital support for projects that strengthen the resilience of our communities, underscoring the importance of the voter-approved Green Bonds that make them possible. We urge Rhode Island voters to approve the 2026 Green Bond in November.” 

Groundwater must be part of development planning

Critical issue in communities without public drinking water

By Rep. Megan L. Cotter

There is no question that developing more homes is imperative to address Rhode Island’s housing crisis.

There is also no understating the importance of ensuring that every home, new or existing, has access to a consistent supply of the clean, healthy water its inhabitants need.

Water capacity is readily available for areas served by public water systems. But in rural communities that rely on private wells, like those in my district, how do we know the impact new development will have on groundwater? And how do we plan and manage this critical resource as we develop the housing we desperately need?

These are the questions I seek to answer with the new study commission I am chairing in the House. I sponsored the legislation to create the water supply planning commission because water capacity must be part of any serious conversation about housing growth.

Housing development and water supply planning shouldn't be framed as opposing goals. Rhode Island needs more housing, and all Rhode Islanders need safe drinking water. The underlying goal of our bipartisan commission — which includes experts and stakeholders from housing development, state and municipal decisionmakers and managers of water resources — is to connect these objectives and set our state on the path toward succeeding at both.

Who did this?

Arrowhead Dental's annual free treatment day coming October 17

On October 17th we will be holding our 16th Annual Dentistry from the Heart event. Our team and other volunteers graciously donate their time to provide dental care for those in need in the South County community . This event is intended to help those who do not have the financial means to access dental care or do not have insurance. Since our first event in 2009, Arrowhead Dental has provided over one million dollars in free dental care to those with limited means. If you know someone who could benefit from this event, we ask that you share the link provided or have them visit our website at www.arrowhead-dental.com/dentistry-from-the-heart/ for more information.

Click here to learn more!

Tylenol during pregnancy not linked to autism, ADHD, major review finds

Bobby Junior, wrong again

Meghan Holohan

In the midst of increasing misinformation about acetaminophen (Tylenol) and its relationship to autism, many expecting women feel confused about what they should take if they experience a fever. A paper published today found that there’s no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism or attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  

“A widely debated question deserves more than headlines—it deserves robust evidence,” first author Hoda Tayebi Hillali, DDS, MSc, of the University of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, said in a press release from Wiley, publisher of the journal that posted the study. “Our findings show that the apparent association between prenatal paracetamol [acetaminophen] exposure and autism or ADHD weakens as methodological quality improves, challenging the interpretation of a causal link and supporting evidence-based decisions during pregnancy.” 

Magnesium supplements: what you need to know about each different type

Behind the buzz

Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University

If you’ve spent any time on social media recently, you’ve probably found yourself wondering whether you should be taking a magnesium supplement. There’s no shortage of influencers listing all the benefits that different types of magnesium supplements have – from boosting brain function to helping ease anxiety and improving sleep.

Indeed, magnesium is an essential mineral involved in hundreds of processes in the body. It helps muscles and nerves work properly, supports energy production and contributes to the maintenance of strong bones and teeth.

Magnesium is also important for maintaining a healthy heart rhythm, regulating blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Many people don’t get enough from their diet, so supplements can be useful in some situations.

But when you look closely at the research, there’s little evidence to suggest that any one type of magnesium supplement has unique benefits over another.

Magnesium glycinate

One of the most talked about types of magnesium is magnesium glycinate, often promoted as the best option for sleep. This form combines magnesium with glycine, an amino acid that may improve sleep on its own.

While some research does show that magnesium may improve sleep, these trials do not show that glycinate is any better than other forms. Glycinate’s main advantage is that it’s gentle on the stomach and well absorbed, which may make it easier for some people to tolerate.

Magnesium L-threonate

Another form that attracts a lot of attention is magnesium L-threonate. It’s suggested it can improve memory and focus.

These claims appear to come from early animal studies which suggested that L-threonate may increase magnesium levels in the brain more effectively than other forms. In these studies, which were conducted in rats, supplementation enhanced several types of memory and increased the number and function of connections between brain cells in the hippocampus – a key region involved in learning and memory.

Human evidence remains relatively limited. One study did demonstrate that in people who took 2g of L-threonate daily for six weeks, the supplement was associated with improvements in several areas of thinking and memory – including working memory, memory of past events, reaction speed and overall mental performance.

But as the supplement was only compared against a placebo, the results cannot tell us whether L-threonate is more effective than other magnesium supplements when it comes to brain function.

DHS failed to provide records supporting Trump’s allegations of noncitizen voting, watchdog says

No receipts to back claims

By Alexandra Hutzler

Key federal agencies failed to provide any records to back up President Donald Trump’s allegations that tens of thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote in various blue states, a nonpartisan government watchdog said in a new lawsuit. 

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, told a federal court in Washington, D.C., that the administration is violating an open records law by failing to hand over information on its methodology and data sources on the matter.

Trump claimed without evidence during a primetime address to the nation in July that 278,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in federal elections. The unfounded allegation is part of a pattern of Trump spreading misinformation about voting fraud since losing the 2020 presidential race as he pushes Congress to pass onerous new restrictions on voting.

CREW filed several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests asking how the administration determined that 278,000 figure.

Charlestown Gets a Seat on Amtrak Rail Study Panel

Town Administrator Jeff Allen will sit on the advisory committee for what the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) has viewed as an existential threat

By Adriana Vossari, an AI avatar used by Uprise RI to scan public records and then prepare articles like these. For more on how this is done: How a Rhode Island meeting becomes a story | Uprise RI

The study will weigh rail options between New Haven and Providence, including possible new alignments, a question that drew strong opposition in Charlestown in 2016. Residents can comment now, and the town has a seat on the advisory committee.

Charlestown Town Administrator Jeff Allen says he has been selected for the Public Advisory Committee guiding Amtrak's New Haven-to-Providence Capacity Planning Study, and he plans to attend the committee's first meeting on October 14, according to a notice posted on the town's website.

The study will look at ways to add rail capacity between New Haven and Providence, including possible new alignments and improvements to existing lines. No route has been selected, and the current phase does not include construction, land acquisition or environmental permitting.

For Charlestown, the subject is familiar. A decade ago, a federal rail plan proposed a new stretch of track that would have cut through the area, and residents pushed back hard.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Even though the so-called Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass was never a serious threat, as I explain HERE, and died in 2017, the CCA has repeatedly attempted to revive this issue each election cycle. The CCA has always run on fear by raising up some demon, often imaginary, and presenting themselves as the only protection Charlestown has. Kind of Trumpian even before Trump emerged on the scene. I have also gotten a little Trumpy by calling this obsession the Charlestown Choo-Choo Hoax. - Will Collette

What Allen's role is

Amtrak invited Allen to join the committee in an August 19 letter signed by Jennifer Mitchell, Amtrak's executive vice president for strategy and planning. The letter, attached to the town notice, describes the committee as a group of 10 to 15 community representatives.

Members are expected to help shape the study's outreach, goals and development of alternatives, and to review the alternatives analysis, according to the letter. Amtrak said it expects the committee to meet quarterly over a roughly two-year study, with three rounds of public open houses at key milestones.

Even Joe couldn't make it happen

The committee is advisory. It does not give Charlestown authority to pick or block a route. In his notice, Allen said his participation will let him bring Charlestown's perspective to the process and stay informed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since major renovations to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor has no support in the Trump Administration or in the GOP-controlled Congress, this is likely to be a very boring process where they will brainstorm what might hypothetically happen. It's worth noting that even under Uncle Joe Biden's administration, there was no movement and certainly no existential threat to Charlestown. Given Joe's famous love of Amtrak and Congressional support for infrastructure investment, Charlestown remained safe and secure from any choo-choo invasions.  - Will Collette

What the study covers

Amtrak announced the study on July 7. The agency is working with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, the Connecticut and Massachusetts transportation departments, the MBTA, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Northeast Corridor Commission.

The study area is wider than its name suggests. According to a study FAQ published in June, it runs from New Haven east to New London, north to Hartford, and northeast to Providence. It covers passenger service on Amtrak, CTrail Shore Line East, the Hartford Line and MBTA Commuter Rail.

Any alternative must begin in New Haven and end in Providence, but options may vary in how they connect the two, the FAQ says. Issues on the table include capacity limits on the existing corridor, movable bridges, roadway grade crossings and shoreline exposure.

In its announcement, Amtrak said it has no preconceived preferred alignment or package of improvements and is not using the earlier federal plan as its starting point. The study stops at conceptual design and alternatives analysis. Amtrak said any project that came out of it would require separate planning, design and environmental-permitting work.

The study website says work began in mid-2026 and will include about 24 months of engagement, coordination and analysis.

How Charlestown got here

The earlier plan, known as NEC Future, was a Federal Railroad Administration effort to chart the Northeast Corridor's long-term future. Its December 2016 final environmental impact statement identified a preferred alternative that included a new rail segment between Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and Kenyon, Rhode Island.

Normally, fellow CCA leader and Charlestown Planning \
Commissar Ruth Platner (left) would read reports and
tell Gentz (R) what they mean. Photo by Will Collette

That proposal drew opposition in Charlestown and nearby communities. Public comments recorded by the FRA include concerns from Charlestown-area residents about home values, private wells and quality of life.

EDITOR'S NOTE: One reason the CCA got so worked up about the Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass is because they MISSED it when it was referenced in a report sent to the town months earlier. As former CCA leader and Town Council President Tom Gentz said at the time, "Who's got time to read this stuff."

The FRA's final decision, issued July 12, 2017, did not adopt that segment. The record of decision selected no capacity-expanding infrastructure between New Haven and Providence. Instead, it called for a later capacity-planning study that would examine options both on and off the existing corridor, including inland and shoreline routes. The current study is that follow-up.

The Charlestown Citizens Alliance, a local advocacy group, has warned that the new study could again consider a bypass-like route. EDITOR AGAIN: Of course, they do. It's an election year and they need a boogeyman. The group also criticized the notice and format of an Amtrak pop-up session held August 6 at Ninigret Park.

How to weigh in

Residents can submit comments and sign up for study updates on the official website, newhavenprovidencestudy.com. Amtrak also takes questions and feedback by email at info@newhavenprovidencestudy.com. Neither the website nor Amtrak's announcement lists a closing date for comments.

The advisory committee's first meeting is set for October 14, according to Allen's notice.

No expectation of privacy

What they stand for