That’s a good first step toward recovery
By Will Collette
The collision of the Larchmont and the SS Harry Knowlton
cost over 150 lives. It’s an interesting history, covered in a 2014 book by
Joseph Soares called The
Larchmont Disaster off Block Island, Rhode Island’s Titanic which was
reviewed HERE.
Obviously, that’s not the amusing part.
It’s good for the CCA to take a close look at historical
disasters since those mishaps have so much to teach us. Lacking a grasp of
history, the Trump administration’s decision to remove
navigation buoys off our coast takes us back to 1907 when mariners had to
“do their own research.”
I hope the CCA will also examine its own contributions to
disasters in Charlestown’s history, such as the events that took place during
their decade of control over Charlestown government from 2010 until the 2022
election.
The current Town Council comprised of members who won in
2022 and 2024 under the banner of Charlestown Residents United (CRU) are still
working at cleaning up the mess the CCA left behind.
I earnestly believe it is important to review and understand
our history. In the interest of preserving the history of Charlestown
disasters, here’s a list of some of those CCA-induced disasters. I added a link
to each item to illustrate each one:
- Financial mess. Also click HERE to see how the new CRU Town Council started cleaning up this mess and HERE for a summary of the CCA’s financial messes.
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- Shady land deals
- Secrecy in government
- Phony emergencies
- Banning residential wind power
- Blocking tax breaks for permanent residents
- Anti-family housing policies
.webp)
These bullet points provide
Charlestown voters with history they should put before themselves every time we
have municipal elections. Despite their crushing losses in 2022 and 2024, I
have no doubt the CCA will try another comeback once again hoping voters will
believe their rhetoric over historical reality.
