Charlestown invites residents to meet the team behind Amtrak's New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study

Charlestown Asks Residents to Face the Boogeyman

Adriana Vossari, RI & Local Government News

The study covers the rail corridor through southern Rhode Island and could shape future track alignments, speeds and service. Charlestown residents have a direct channel to comment while the work is still at the conceptual stage.

The Town of Charlestown is inviting residents to meet with the Amtrak team running a new study of the rail corridor between New Haven and Providence — the same 65-mile stretch that produced a proposal a decade ago to cut a high-speed bypass straight through town.

The invitation appears on the town's website under the heading "Public Invitation: Amtrak Northeast Corridor Study Team Community Engagement." Charlestown has maintained a dedicated page for Amtrak matters since the last round of federal rail planning, including an email address, amtrak-comments@charlestownri.org, for residents who want their comments on the record with the town.

The study itself began in May and is scheduled to run through May 2028, according to Amtrak's announcement of the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study. It covers the Northeast Corridor main line between the two cities plus the connecting corridor through Hartford toward Springfield, and it accounts for Amtrak intercity trains, CTrail's Shore Line East and Hartford Line, and MBTA commuter rail. The Federal Railroad Administration awarded Amtrak up to $4 million on November 6, 2023, to complete the work.

What the study will and will not do matters for anyone worried about their property. Amtrak says the current phase is limited to conceptual design and analysis of alternatives. It does not include detailed engineering, land acquisition or construction. Any improvements that come out of it would then have to move through the CONNECT NEC and Capital Investment Plan processes, and later stages would depend on funding that has not been appropriated.

Amtrak also states plainly that the study "does not include a preconceived preferred alternative alignment or set of improvements," and that it will not build on NEC Future, the 2012-2017 federal planning effort. The company's own summary acknowledges that the earlier process was "unable to undertake the levels of public engagement necessary to respond to concerns raised by the public regarding that proposal."

That proposal is why Charlestown pays attention. In December 2016, the FRA published a Tier 1 Final Environmental Impact Statement naming the "Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass" as a preferred alternative. New track would have entered Charlestown from Westerly, crossed the town from its western edge to its eastern edge, and rejoined the existing line near the Great Swamp State Wildlife Management Area in South Kingstown. The route ran through Burdickville village, the Carter Preserve, the Revolutionary-era Amos Green Farm, tribal land and Historic Columbia Heights housing.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Amtrak is facing handicaps at least as severe as they were in 2017 with train-hating Donald Trump in the White House and conservative Republicans in control of Congress. With no funding or political support, the Kenyon Bypass never stood a chance.  - Will Collette

Town officials learned about it from news coverage. An online petition against the plan gathered more than 1,500 signatures within days. A public meeting in Charlestown on January 10, 2017 drew more than 400 residents along with state and federal staff. Two weeks later, Charlestown and Westerly council members led a delegation of residents to the State House.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlestown Citizens Alliance leader and Town Council President Tom Gentz admitted publicly that Charlestown had received earlier notice in a large document that he and his CCA colleagues had failed to read.  - Will Collette

On July 12, 2017, the FRA issued a Record of Decision that removed the track realignment proposal from the New Haven-to-Providence section and instead directed Connecticut and Rhode Island to collaborate on a capacity planning study. That is the study now underway. It was the win Charlestown wanted, and it also created the process that could revisit alignment questions.

The corridor's underlying problems have not changed: limited capacity and curved shoreline track that holds down train speeds.

Amtrak plans roughly 30 outreach events across the study area, beginning with appearances at community events this summer, and says it will form a public advisory committee. Not everyone is satisfied with that approach. Gregory Stroud, editor-in-chief of CT Examiner, who helped lead the opposition to the earlier proposal, has questioned whether pop-up appearances can adequately explain a complicated planning process, and said his concerns extend to how the study itself is structured.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Stroud and his CCA collaborator Ruth Platner have attempted to keep this issue alive for their own purposes even though the Kenyon Bypass issue flatlined almost a decade ago. It has helped Stroud build readership for his website and helped Platner whip up fear among the Charlestown electorate.  - Will Collette

Amtrak has set up a project website and email address where residents can ask questions, submit feedback, ask about upcoming public meetings and sign up for periodic updates. Charlestown residents who want their input logged locally as well can write to the town's Amtrak comment address. The full announcement of the study is posted on Amtrak's media site, and the town's Amtrak page collects the 2016-2017 record at charlestownri.gov.

Who’s running for town office in Charlestown?

CCA gives up on trying to regain control of the Town Council

Will Ruth Platner survive?

By Will Collette

For more than a decade, Charlestown politics has been dominated by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) and those who oppose them, most recently Charlestown Residents United (CRU). Rituals like this year’s June 25 deadline for filing Declarations of Candidacy for election to municipal office became closely watched events.

For a decade, the CCA ruled Charlestown by creating boogeymen to sow fear while turning Charlestown into a virtual gated community for elderly rich people. That worked for a while until the CCA got caught screwing up the town’s finances, a scandal highlighted by the “$3 million Oopsie.”

That cost the CCA control of the Charlestown Town Council in 2022 and their total ouster in 2024. In short order, the CRU cleaned up the CCA’s money messes, according to the RI Auditor General.

In most recent election cycles, 10 people stepped up to compete for the five Town Council seats. The CCA would field five and their opposition would field five. This year, only eight people are running.

There are three declared Democrats: incumbent Council President Deb Carney, retired journalist Cynthia Drummond and the close-second finisher in last December’s Special Election Jill Fonneman. Democrat/CRU incumbent Peter Slom is not running for re-election.

There are three declared Republican candidates: incumbents Craig Marr and Steve Stokes as well as newcomer Matt Westover.

There are two “Unaffiliated” but CCA endorsed: Bonnita Van Slyke and Sasha Puchalski.

Last year, the CCA made a minor comeback with CCA leader Ruth Platner getting her puppet Bonnita Van Slyke back onto the Council by a thin margin in a 3-way special election to fill the late Rippy Serra’s vacant seat.

But this year, the CCA has quietly surrendered by only running Van Slyke as a bona fide CCA candidate. They have announced they are also endorsing “unaffiliated” candidate Sasha Puchalski (daughter of the well-known Sandy Puchalski), though her actual relationship to the CCA is unknown as this point.

They also endorsed two Council candidates who didn’t ask for their endorsement. One is incumbent Steve Stokes, a staunch CRU member running as a Republican. The other is Democrat Cynthia Drummond who expressly told South County Star editor Alex Nunes that the only endorsement she wanted was that of the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee.

According to Nunes, “Drummond said she will run as a Democrat endorsed by the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee… She said she will not seek an endorsement from either of the town’s rival political action committees, Charlestown Citizens Alliance and Charlestown Residents United, although she said both are supportive of her candidacy.”

So, the CCA election strategy is to endorse candidates opposed to the CCA while running their old warhorse Bonnita Van Slyke. The last time Bonnita Van Slyke ran for Council in a General Election (2024), she ran dead last. Given her dubious record, it’s unlikely she’ll do much better in November and will have to give up the seat she barely won in the Special Election.

If the CCA is too feeble to run a full slate of its own people, then stealing candidates from the opposition might be their way to claim control.

I predict that after the votes are counted, the CCA will issue a statement claiming “CCA-endorsed candidates win majorities on Charlestown Town Council, Planning Commission and Chariho School Committee.”

CCA 2026 campaign cry: Save Ruthie!

It now looks like the CCA’s focus will be to preserve founding member and de facto leader Ruth Platner’s control of the Planning Commission.

Platner has used the Planning Commission to push her radical agenda of blocking families with children by excluding affordable housing, favoring rich beachfront property owners and acquiring land through shady land deals. In recent elections, her vote tallies have denied her full 6-year terms, forcing her to run as an “alternate.”

Since she controls the CCA, she could then force the CCA Planning Commission majority into naming her as Chair despite her vote tally.

But in the 2026 election, Platner could lose her CCA majority on the Planning Commission. She herself is running for re-election as is her sidekick Frances Topping plus two CCA acolytes Coleen Yaroshenko and Gordon Willcox

Three non-CCA, CRU-leaning candidates are running against them: Laura Rom, Katherine Gingras and Cheryl Lill.

Three current Planning Commission members whose terms expire in 2028 and 2030 hold their seats. One is a Platner person (Sarah St. Laurent) and two are not (Glenn Babcock and Patricia Stamp). CCA alternative member Carol Ann Mossa is not seeking re-election and will leave the PC this year.

If Platner’s slate loses to the opposition, the new Planning Commission majority may end Platner’s to Charlestown’s Planning Commissar-For-Life position.

Indeed, there is a chance she could lose her seat. Including alternates, the Planning Commission has seven members. Three seats are held by incumbents. That leaves four seats up for grabs in November. There are seven people running, Ruth plus three CCA people and three anti-CCA people. Ruth has to finish in the top four of seven to hold onto her seat.

The last time there was a concerted effort to oust Platner, in 2018, she finished last in a field of four. 

The CCA is also claiming by endorsement three candidates for the Chariho School Committee: Holly Eaves, Linda Lyall and Craig Louzon. However, all three are on the ballot as Democrats. The CCA’s primary voice on the School Committee, Donna Chambers, died earlier this year.

Two guys are running for Town Moderator, an honorific post whose only function is to chair the annual Charlestown budget meeting. CCA’s Dave Wilkinson is running for re-election against Tony Jones who is running as a Republican.

The next step is that these declared candidates will need to gather 50 signatures of registered Charlestown voters to get their names on the ballot.

I’m not running

I repeat: I am not running against our terrific incumbent state Rep. Tina Spears in the September 9 Democratic Primary despite being listed as a candidate on the Secretary of State's website.

It’s a paperwork glitch – my fault. When I filed my declaration to remain a member of the Democratic House District 36 Committee, I checked the wrong box. I’ve already notified the Charlestown Board of Canvassers and will do whatever I need to do to withdraw. And since I’m not going to collect any signatures, I will not be on the ballot.

As Civil War hero Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman said in 1884, "If nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve."

Election Year means Ruth Platner powers up the Charlestown Choo Choo for the 5th time

Enough with the irresponsible fearmongering!

By Will Collette

Since its founding in 2008, the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) used fear to gain control over Charlestown town government and to stay in power for a decade until its ouster in the 2022 general election.

The CCA’s leader and founder, Ruth Platner, has an extraordinary record of conjuring up enemies and boogeymen that only she and the CCA can conquer. As chair of Charlestown's Planning Commission, she has a platform to spread false fear. However, over the years, just about all these existential threats have been either imaginary or grossly exaggerated.

Ruth’s most persistent boogeyman has been trumped up fear that Amtrak will cut a swath through northern Charlestown, obliterating precious farmland as well as natural and historic treasures. Amtrak gave this boogeyman a name when they included it in a 2016 draft preliminary long-term plan: “the Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass.” I call it the “Charlestown Choo-Choo Hoax” because it was a goofy plan that never had chance of happening.

She's trying to raise this dead issue again, as you can read for yourself HERE. This was posted on Saturday and is her third post on the Charlestown Choo-Choo in the past month.

A stretch of the Northeast Corridor between New Haven and Westerly runs right along the shoreline in Connecticut. In my last job before retirement, I commuted to Manhattan several times a month, always taking the train and loving every minute of its passage through the salt marshes between the Westerly station and New London. I’d ride on the seaward side, count osprey nests and wonder at the beauty of that stretch, easily my favorite of any between Boston and Richmond, VA.

But that section of track faces natural destruction, either in some major storm or from climate-driven sea level rise, severing the Northeast Corridor rail line. It will have to be replaced.

The Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass was an option offered in an Amtrak in a 2016 planning document that the CCA-controlled town government failed to read. As CCA leader and Town Council President Tom Gentz said at the time, “Who has time to wade through that?”

People in eastern Connecticut were the first to begin protesting the plan. In January 2017, chagrined CCA leaders tried to catch up by painting the Old Saybrook-Kenyon Bypass as the end of the world as we know it, at least for Charlestown.

I tried to point out the chances of the Bypass were slim to none, given that newly elected Donald Trump hates trains and would never commit to a multi-billion infrastructure project in the ultra-Blue northeast. The project had no Congressional support, and in fact, Congress drastically cut Amtrak funding for Northeast Corridor improvements.

I speculated at the time that the Bypass would only be built if Trump privatized Amtrak and sold it either to Elon Musk or one of his sons.

Look, nobody liked the Bypass. I didn’t like the Bypass. Even Amtrak began distancing themselves from it. They quickly issued a legally binding Record of Decision in July 2017 effectively killing the plan only six months after Charlestown first heard of it.

That should have been the end of it. But Ruth Platner felt the CCA got so much mileage out of supposedly blocking this sketchy threat that she keeps trying to revive it to help the CCA make a political comeback. This is the fifth time she's tried to fire up Charlestown over this dead project.

Look back at Platner’s 2021 claim that “They’re Back!” See how she tried to stir the pot again in 2022 and especially weird move in 2024 attempting to use AI to simulate what a new rail line would look like.

She's at it again, recycling the same claims of a Charlestown Armageddon. On May 26, she wrote (her emphasis included):

“Amtrak made an announcement on May 21, 2026, that the study required by the FRA’s 2017 Record of Decision had finally received federal government and other funding to proceed. Amtrak estimates that the study—the New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study—will take up to two years.

“… The selection of the new preferred alternative will be the outcome of the study. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more, and we may also need your help in contacting our federal and state officials as we move through the planning process. We are committed to protecting Charlestown and the natural resources and public and private property that would be destroyed if anything like the “Old Saybrook to Kenyon Bypass” returns.”

I suggest you read the actual report HERE: New Haven to Providence Capacity Planning Study.

I read it. Carefully. Line by line. Guess what I found? 

Nothing, absolutely nothing about the Old Saybrook-Kenyon bypass that died 10 years ago. It’s as if it never existed. This supposedly alarming document is nothing more than a watered-down version of Amtrak's ongoing effort to try to figure out how to improve service from New Haven to Providence. On June 20, Platner's shocking reveal is that Amtrak has created a website! OMG, the horror!

But in the actual report, the only concrete item I found in the report pertaining to our area was support for making the popular improvements at the Westerly Amtrak station that our state Senator Victoria Gu has been campaigning for.

So, Ruth: STOP IT! Sure, CCA’s formula for winning elections is to claim there are monsters under every bed that only you can kill. But your cynical attempts to manipulate people’s fears come at a terrible cost.

Here's what I mean: 

From 1982 to 1999, I was organizing director for two national environmental groups, first at Lois Gibbs' Center for Health and Environmental Justice, then the Citizens Coal Council. I worked with local citizens' groups to fight hazardous waste dumps, incinerators, coal mines, sludge lagoons and more. These fights were very intense, so intense that I learned early on that they could cause marriages to break up and, in some cases, suicide. 

My staff and I were careful to NEVER exaggerate or fear-monger because that only increases the stress. I'm already hearing that Platner's irresponsible efforts to jack up tension over the Charlestown Choo-Choo is indeed doing just that.

And if that's not convincing, just look at what Donald Trump's lies and exaggerated threats are doing to his followers and the rest of the country.

During the 2024 election, I catalogued all the various threats Platner has used over the years: How the Charlestown Citizens Alliance used fake enemies and bogus emergencies to gain and keep power.

Looks like I’m going to need to do an updated version.

Charlestown Democrats - Don’t be fooled

There is only ONE Democrat running in the September 9 primary

By Will Collette

Boisclair sign in front of Jim Mageau's house.
Photo by Will Collette

The September 9 Democratic primary is important not just for the three statewide contests to pick candidates for attorney general and lieutenant governor plus the epic match-up pitting Helena Foulkes against hapless incumbent Governor Dan McKee.

Here in Charlestown, September 9 will decide who will represent Charlestown in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. 

It will feature incumbent Rep. Tina Spears, running for a third term versus self-described sex crime lawyer Leah Boisclair who is backed by rich MAGA gun nut Dave Levesque.

Here is her "menu" of sex crimes she is willing to defend from her own website:

Rape, child rape, child pornography, sex trafficking, slavery are all crimes Boisclair will defend

Boisclair is running as a Democrat even though she has no connection to the Democratic Party other than to say she’s a Democrat this year. Her signs are popping up along South County Trail, including in front of the house of Charlestown’s most vocal Trumper Jim Mageau.

Her record is that of running a law practice that takes pride in representing child abusers, rapists, spouse beaters, bad drivers, crooks and cheats. She uses her website to advertise these specialties and to seek more such clients.

Sure, under the Constitution, everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence and to legal counsel. But LAWYERS choose who they will represent.

Even public defenders have discretion under the Code of Professional Responsibility to decline representation to a client if they are unable to mount a rigorous defense. In fact, the Rhode Island version of the Code expressly acknowledges “[A] lawyer is also guided by personal conscience and the approbation of professional peers.”

Boisclair CHOOSES to represent scumbags. Don’t believe me? READ her own website, as well as the screenshots I have presented taken directly from that site. I was particularly impressed with her graphics in this section on her representation of men accused of crimes against women:

But wait, there's MORE! Here are the other types of crime she will defend:

How is Boisclair different from, for example, a mob lawyer? Or a Trump lawyer? Or a lawyer defending men in Jeffrey Epstein’s circle of friends? Or any other pedo protector? I dunno…you tell me.

I would not want to spend a lot of time in her office's waiting room.

On this alone, I could never support Boisclair. Frankly, why would ANY Charlestown voter want Boisclair to represent then in the General Assembly? I’d rather bring back Flip Filippi, even though he represented the January 6 insurrectionists, the Oath Keepers. But as the saying goes, “but wait, there’s more!”

Boisclair’s main backer, far right MAGA gun nut Dave Levesque, set up 40, count ‘em 40, political action committees under the banner of the “League of Rhode Island Businesses” (LORIB). He has a statewide plus 39 “local” PACs, supposedly for each Rhode Island city and town. Their registrations all look the same, with no local people on any of the PACs and that includes the Charlestown LORIB PAC.

See if you can find any connection to Charlestown in the Charlestown LORIB PAC:

Levesque uses these PACs to get around the state campaign finance law limiting PACs to $2000 in contributions to a single candidate. Since Levesque controls all the LORIB PACs, he simply cuts checks to endorsed candidates from several of his PACs.

Levesque owns the Brewed Awakenings coffee shop chain and is a long-time anti-gun control activist. The gun lobby is also heavily backing his candidates.

Support - LORIB Main PAC

Levesque also takes in anonymous donations. In fact, he has solicited donations by advertising how they can game the system to prevent having their names reported as LORIB donors.

He set Boisclair up with six LORIB checks totaling $10,500 coming from six LORIB PACs. There’s the Charlestown LORIB PAC of course, plus the LORIB PACs purporting to be from Westerly, South Kingstown, North Kingstown, Newport and Block Island.

Levesque also opposes any attempt to tax the rich. He was a big opponent to last year’s “Taylor Swift” tax that imposes a state levy on multi-million properties owned by non-residents. He also unsuccessfully fought this year’s “Millionaire Tax” that imposes a 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires.

His candidates, including Leah Boisclair, toe that line. They should have a generic LORIB bumper sticker reading “Don’t regulate guns. Don’t tax the rich.”

Levesque has targeted nearly every Democratic woman legislator in South County because their progressive stances. He is bankrolling opponents to our state Senator Victoria Gu as well as South Kingstown Dems Teresa Tanzi, Carol McEntee, Alana DiMario, Kathy Fogarty and Bridgette Valverde.

Sen. Alana DiMario and Rep. Kathy Fogarty, both targeted by Levesque, introduced legislation to close what ought to be called the “Levesque Loophole” (2026-S 2720, 2026-H 7450) by extending the $2000 limit to apply to multiple PACs that have the same owner. Unfortunately, that legislation did not pass.

Finally, Boisclair’s land use legal work ought to earn her the opposition of the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA), especially this case that was covered by ecoRI (CLICK HERE). So should Jim Mageau’s support for Boisclair.

Those are the negatives. Let’s look at your positive alternative

Why you should vote for Tina Spears

Here's where I stand. Photo by Will Collette

Tina Spears has served all of Charlestown and the rest of House District 36 with distinction for two terms and seeks your vote for re-election.

Tina points to these achievements from the recently completed General Assembly session:

We were able to make life in our community better by:

·       Fully funding library aid

·       Increasing education funding, especially for special education

·       Securing funding for the Charlestown Breachway rebuild

·       Passing the South Kingstown High School bond

·       Advancing legislation allowing New Shoreham to increase landing fees, manage its water district, and better structure its taxing authority. ​

I am especially proud to have sponsored and passed two bills: 

The Act on Coasts provides Rhode Island with a roadmap to strengthen coastal infrastructure in the face of rising seas. Rather than debating the causes, I am focused on preparing our communities, particularly in District 36, for the changes we are already seeing along our coastline 

The Purple Alert establishes an early alert system when individuals with disabilities go missing, making Rhode Island one of a small number of states to prioritize this vulnerable population. In partnership with advocates, families, and public safety officials, we turned a tragic situation into meaningful action that strengthens our public safety response and saves lives.​

Tina has a long record of community service, while Boisclair has none. Tina often teams up with other legislators such as state Senator Victoria Gu to boost her ability to get bills passed. She meets often with voters in her district. On top of that, she’s a genuinely kind and warm-hearted person.

Vote for Tina Spears in the September 9 Democratic primary. You must be a registered Democrat to vote in this primary.

And Tina DOES NOT protect pedos.

Great new local website breaks great news about a new Charlestown Town Council candidate

Eat your heart out, CCA

By Will Collette

This is Cynthia's Corgi, Maris, who WON'T
be on the campaign trail

Alex Nunes, former South County bureau chief for Rhode Island public radio, left the station after Donald Trump wiped out federal funding for public broadcasting. I was worried that meant an end to his outstanding coverage of local coastal issues such as the fake fire district ripoff and beach access.

Fortunately, Alex won the post of Executive Editor for the Westerly Sun and is working hard to revitalize that local institution. But having way more energy than me, he has also set up a side gig.

Working with Sun columnist Nancy Burns-Fusaro, there’s a new media source called the South County Star where Alex is continuing to work on the stories that made him a must-read/hear source on The Public’s Radio. Call the Star another must-read source.

He just broke the story that another fine local journalist, Cynthia Drummond, will be running as a Democrat for a seat on the Charlestown Town Council. She will not seek endorsement from either the CCA or Charlestown Residents United (CRU) but WILL seek the support of the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee.

In the 25 years since Cathy and I returned to Rhode Island to live in Charlestown, we’ve enjoyed Cynthia’s work. Charlestown was lucky to have her as its Westerly Sun specialist for many years. I loved her attention to detail, witty writing style and fairness. I was sorry to see her retire, though I still followed her freelance work for such publications as EcoRI.

Charlestown Town Council President Deb Carney told Alex Nunes she was “very excited” to run with Cynthia as both will be running as endorsed Democrats, elaborating further, “I know Cynthia going back to 2010. She’s very smart. She’s very scientific. She does her research.”

As does Deb.

Here's Cynthia's bio from her stint at the Rhode Island Current:

Cynthia Drummond began her journalism career as a television reporter in Canada. She holds a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Rhode Island and worked for several years at The Westerly Sun, covering Hopkinton, Richmond, Charlestown and the Chariho Regional School District. In addition to writing for the Rhode Island Current, Cynthia covers the Town of Richmond for the Beaver River Valley Community Association.

Alex reported that she moved to the US in 1998 and became a US citizen.

One thing she won’t do as a candidate is use her beloved Corgi Maris as a political prop as so many others do. Maris is prominently featured in Cynthia’s Bluesky account and she seems like a natural campaigner.

Fourteen Rhode Island municipalities are planning to sue the state over laws designed to make it easier to build housing

Charlestown is NOT suing, at least for now

Steve Ahlquist

Charlestown Town Council gave its OK to converting
this derelict motel on Route 1 into affordable housing.
The ONLY dissenting vote was Charlestown Citizens Alliance
(CCA) rep Bonnita Van Slyke

Over the last three years or so, under the leadership of former Speaker of the House K. Joseph Shekarchi, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation designed to make it easier for developers to build housing. 

Given the massive shortage of available housing, rapidly escalating rents that harm low- and middle-income families, and a more than 400% increase in homelessness across the state, these measures, though not sufficient, are a necessary stab at mitigating Rhode Island’s housing apocalypse.

The legislation, among other things, reformed the comprehensive permitting process to better enable affordable housing development and streamlined zoning and land-use regulations. These aren’t exactly the sexiest bills; we’re talking about things like density bonuses for building near transit, adding homes in commercial lots, or infilling non-conforming lots (think weird-shaped lots that require some creative designs).

The goal of these reforms is to reduce costs and accelerate the construction of new homes. Given that Rhode Island has long been last in the nation for building homes (on a per capita basis, not because of our size), and it is estimated that the state needs to build between 15,000 and 24,000 new units to get the situation under control, it is right to ask if the state is doing enough. That said, permitting for new housing is trending up, as shown in the 2025 Integrated Housing Report from the Rhode Island Executive Office of Housing, but at our current rate of development, we are over a decade from seeing the housing market stabilize.

As Rhode Island families suffer, you’d think that local municipalities would be all in on these reforms, but of course, that’s not the case. Instead, around 14 municipalities, including Portsmouth, Tiverton, Hopkinton, Burrillville, Bristol, Smithfield, West Greenwich, East Greenwich, Lincoln, Middletown, Charlestown, and Westerly, have signed onto a Joint Municipal Statement¹ opposing the state’s efforts. The statement appears to be the brainchild of Larry Fitzmorris, President of the conservative Portsmouth Concerned Citizens, and Mark Brady, former Narragansett Planning Board Chair.

EDITOR'S NOTE: When I saw that Steve listed Charlestown among the towns planning to sue, I asked Charlestown Council President if this was true. It's not. This is what Deb said:

"My concern is the one size fits all approach to solve the housing problem.  Charlestown relies on private wells and septic systems which makes our situation different from those cities and town with public water and sewer.  Charlestown did not vote to join the lawsuit at this time. Based on the information presented at the May Town Council meeting,  it does not seem as though this lawsuit has a likely chance of success.  The Town Council will revisit the matter once new information is available."

- Will Collette

WTF is Van Slyke talking about?

CCA Town Council mouthpiece warns spending emergency money on an emergency will decrease the amount in Charlestown’s emergency fund

By Will Collette

Joined at the hip

After years of trying to make sense out of the nonsensical, maybe I should quit trying. After all, no amount of fact-checking and debunking seems to stop the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA’s) only Town Council member, Bonnita Van Slyke from making foolish remarks.

Her latest nonsense is a critique of Charlestown’s proposed budget, due for a vote on June 1 to take effect July 1. In it, she argues that the town should defer major spending to repair significant winter storm damage to Town Hall until the Town’s 5-year capital improvement plan is adopted.

She criticized an April 27 decision by the Town Council majority to transfer $650,000 from the town’s bloated emergency fund (a.k.a. Unassigned Fund Balance) to deal with short-term costs exceeding the town’s Capital Maintenance account.

To understand why this gives Van Slyke agita, remember that the CCA holds as a sacred principle that we must accumulate a very large, unassigned fund balance – their goal seems to set a target of 100% of town operating costs– to deal with unforeseen emergencies.

Apparently, the extensive, costly damage done to Town Hall by our recent brutal winter doesn’t qualify as “unforeseen” and thus does not warrant drawing down emergency funds. As Van Slyke puts it:

The Town Council cannot draw down Unassigned Fund Balance year after year to lower/maintain a relatively low tax rate without jeopardizing services and /or without, eventually, services being reduced or the tax rate increased substantially. [Emphasis is Van Slyke’s]

During the Charlestown Citizens Alliance decade of control of the Town Council and Planning Commission, the unassigned fund balance was often used to fund over-priced land acquisitions by the CCA’s de facto leader, Charlestown Planning Commissar Ruth Platner. 

They would pay cash so they could argue that paying way over assessed value for Ruthie's deals was somehow offset by not paying interest on voter-approved $2 million Open Space bond. Also, Platner could keep buying land using the excuse that there was still leftover open space bond money even though that was a fiction.

The open space bond fund is still a sore subject for Platner and the CCA, especially after Town Council President Deb Carney moved to correct the misuse of funds. Carney’s motion directed that just over one million dollars be transferred from the open space account back to the unassigned fund balance.

That’s the amount the CCA lifted from the unassigned fund balance to fund Ruth’s shady land deals instead of using the bond fund the way voters intended. But OMG, you would think that someone pissed on Platner’s petunias! Oh the horror!

Other than that, Van Slyke’s and presumably her master’s voice Ruth Platner, haven’t got much to say about the substance of the budget. Expenses are increasing modestly, requiring 2.5% more tax revenue. Despite that, the Budget Commission projects that our tax rate will actually DROP from the current $5.93 to an estimated $5.07.

Van Slyke asks the obvious question: how can expenses go up and the tax rate go down? For once, she actually gives the accurate answer: the tax base, i.e. property values, went way up.

There was a time when all the CCA cared about was the tax rate. They took credit for Charlestown’s comparatively low rate even though actual taxes people paid during their reign constantly increased. 

Now that the Town Council is controlled by Charlestown Residents United (CRU) and tax rates have dropped dramatically, the CCA no longer cares about tax rates.

It’s an election year and you can be sure the CCA will make another run at regaining control of the Town Council. But they haven’t got much to go on when it comes to local issues.

Their main theme so far this year seems to be “local control over zoning,” a flawed local campaign issue for two reasons. First, it’s a dispute between Ruth Platner and the state legislature. Second, there’s no one arguing AGAINST local control in zoning although the subject is not as black and white as Platner and Van Slyke would have you believe.

We still have a while to see whether voters care as much about zoning as Platner hopes they will.

Asphalt is everywhere, but is it bad for our health?

It's the material chosen by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) for a vanity project

By Joanna Allhands, Arizona State University

Edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

In Charlestown, we have "Faith's Folly," a lasting monument to the Charlestown Citizens Alliance's hypocrisy and cronyism. Despite opposing asphalt use elsewhere in Charlestown, the CCA allowed tons of asphalt to be used on a bike path pushed by CCA founding member Faith LaBossiere. LaBossiere sold the project to the CCA-controlled Town Council claiming it would only cost $7000 (see below). The actual cost turned out to be $266,927 plus interest on the bond leading to a cost over-run of 4,000%.

If you piled all of Phoenix's pavement into one spot, it would be enough to cover San Francisco four times over. Roads, parking lots, and other paved surfaces blanket a lot of land—an estimated 40% of Arizona's capital city.

From the Power Point presentation shown the Council
by Faith Labossiere.

Pavement absorbs heat during the day and releases it slowly at night via the urban heat island effect, increasing the amount of energy that cities consume.

But for Elham Fini, a senior scientist affiliated with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University, pavement's potential impact on our health deserves as much attention as its carbon or energy footprint.

"To make something truly sustainable," she said, "you cannot ignore the human side of it."

Asphalt fumes can be hard on health

Fini—a faculty member in ASU's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment—spent years studying why asphalt breaks down so quickly.

Suliman Rashid, a graduate teaching associate in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, moves samples of an asphalt binder made from leftover forest-thinning material. Credit: Joanna Allhands

That work pointed her toward the volatile organic compounds that escape from bitumen, the black, sticky petroleum byproduct that holds asphalt together.

Two studies in the Journal of Hazardous Materials and Science of the Total Environment shed light on how the compounds that give asphalt its trademark scent change after sunset and form ultrafine particles, which can worsen air quality.

These carbon-based vapors are continuously released but become more noticeable on hot, sunny days. They can cause dizziness and difficulty breathing in the short term.

Long-term exposure also can elevate the risk of lung cancer, a major concern for construction workers who regularly breathe these fumes without a respirator.

Former Charlestown road safety activist Robin Foote, age 76, dies

Campaigned for accountability for chronic traffic violators

By Will Collette

Robin Foote, Providence Journal photo by Kathy Bourchers

The Jamestown Press reported former Quonnie resident and traffic safety activist Robin Foote died on March 27 due to complications following surgery.

Mr. Foote became a public figure unwillingly, spurred by the May 2010 unlawful death of his son Colin at the intersection of Route 1 and West Beach Road. He was killed by Laura Reale, a habitual dangerous driver, when she ran the red light and broadsided Colin, killing him on the spot.

Robin and his wife Maryann worked closely with then state Rep. Donna Walsh to win the 2011 passage of “Colin’s Law” that cracked down on habitual offenders like Reale.

Reale gamed the system at the time to avoid serious consequences for her repeated arrests for dangerous driving. Reale is also the niece of Charlestown’s longtime state Senator Dennis Algiere. He denied using his substantial political influence to prevent Reale from losing her license.

The Foote family also became major advocates for installing red-light cameras on Route 1, including the one that now covered the intersection where their son Colin died. They overcame the vehement resistance to the cameras from the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) followers. I believe Robin and Maryann helped sway public opinion enough to force the CCA-controlled Town Council to greenlight the cameras.

These issues may figure in this year’s Democratic primary on Wednesday, September 9. That primary will feature a challenge to our hard-working state Rep. Tina Spears by a MAGA DINO Leah Boisclair. Tina holds the House District 36 seat that was once held by Donna Walsh.

Boisclair is supported by the League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB), run by Republican MAGA and gun wingnut David Levesque. Boisclair is a lawyer whose practice is focused on defending clients charged with some of the most heinous crimes (e.g. sex crimes against children) but also including this self-promo on her website:

 

If Robin was still alive, I think I know where he would stand.

Chariho Schools Superintendent Gina Picard pays tribute on the death of Charlestown's school committee rep Donna Chambers

Dear Chariho Colleagues,

It is with deep sadness that I share the news that Chariho School Committee member Donna Chambers has passed away.

Donna served the Chariho community with remarkable dedication for more than a decade, representing the Town of Charlestown on the School Committee since 2013. Her service reflected a lifelong commitment to education, learning, and public service.

Before returning to Rhode Island, Donna built a distinguished career in education, including teaching, adult education, and educational consulting. She brought that depth of experience to her work on the Chariho School Committee, where she was known for thoughtful preparation, strong advocacy for students, and a deep belief in the power of education to change lives.

When I think of Donna, one phrase always comes to mind: courage of convictions.

Donna approached every decision with careful thought and a deep sense of responsibility. She believed that public service required both integrity and the willingness to speak honestly about what she believed was right for students. Even when perspectives differed, her focus never wavered. Students were always at the center of her thinking.

Public education relies on individuals who are willing to give their time, energy, and voice to strengthening schools for the next generation. Donna embodied that spirit of service. Her contributions helped shape the work of the Chariho Regional School District and will continue to influence our schools and students for years to come.

On behalf of the Chariho administration, faculty, staff, and students, I extend our deepest condolences to Donna's family and loved ones. We are grateful for her many years of dedication to our district and to the students of Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton.

Donna's commitment to education and to the students of Chariho will not be forgotten.

Sincerely, Gina Picard

The Town Council will appoint a replacement to represent Charlestown on the Chariho School Committee. That person will serve until the November election.