McKee is no friend to RIPTA

Governor throws RIPTA riders under the bus

Rhode Island Representative Julie Casimiro (Democrat, District 31, North Kingstown, Exeter) chairs the House Oversight Subcommittee on Children and Families. She wrote the following op-ed:

Governor Daniel McKee sent a letter to the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) Board of Directors that is one of the most hypocritical public statements I have seen during my time in the State House.

In this letter, the governor says he recommended an additional $15 million in state funds to help fund RIPTA this year and that his administration provided $15 million in federal pandemic relief funds for RIPTA last year.

The facts say otherwise. Governor McKee’s proposed budget this year included zero dollars of additional funding for RIPTA. The $15 million that RIPTA is receiving was added by the legislature, not the governor. If Governor McKee thought it was important, he should have included it in his budget.

Furthermore, in the 27 amendments the governor submitted to his budget during this year’s legislative session, not a single one addressed funding for RIPTA.

Last year was a similar story in revisionist political history. The governor actually allocated $10 million in pandemic funds in his proposed budget. The General Assembly added an additional $5 million to avoid service cuts, bringing us to the $15 million total he now attempts to take complete credit for.

As a member of the General Assembly, I’m proud that we’ve stood up for RIPTA when our governor has not, and that the funding we provided this year is not from one-time funds and will continue to provide revenue for RIPTA in future years. I’m particularly proud that, as part of this year’s funding, the legislature included protections to ensure that the RIde Anywhere program, which provides door-to-door transportation for people with disabilities, cannot be cut.

For two years running, Governor McKee has left RIPTA in the lurch and relied on the General Assembly to find the money to keep this important lifeline running. Now, he’s taking credit for our accomplishments and casting himself as a champion of a public transit agency he habitually underfunds.

UPDATED: RIPTA cuts will hurt South County though Charlestown remains the only mainland town without direct bus access

Heading in the wrong direction

By Colleen Cronin / ecoRI News staff

South County Routes impacted: Routes 66, 64, 14 reduced. Routes 65, 69 and 204 eliminated.

EDITOR'S UPDATE: The RIPTA Board has postponed their vote on these proposed cuts after receiving a last-minute letter from Gov. McKee. McKee wants RIPTA to look at ways of raising more revenue (i.e. fare hikes) and other measures to deal with their $10 million deficit. - Will Collette

 As the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority holds hearings about proposed service cuts that would be the most severe in the agency’s history, advocates and riders are urging Gov. Dan McKee to find funding for the state’s bus system.

The Save RIPTA campaign, a coalition of riders, advocates, labor representatives, and elected officials, held a press conference Monday in Providence to urge the governor to plug a multimillion-dollar funding gap for RIPTA.

“There’s still time to act,” said Liza Burkin, board president of the Providence Streets Coalition. Burkin said the state has the option of flexing funding from other sources, such as the Department of Transportation, and a budget surplus from the end of debt service payments to a bond.

Of the 67 routes the RIPTA operates, the agency is proposing cuts or reductions in service to 58 lines.

Fourteen routes and two flex zones will be eliminated, and dozens of other lines will see segments of their routes eliminated, weekend service canceled, or diminished frequency, according to a RIPTA press release.

RIPTA CEO Chris Durand has said the agency will try to reduce and modify routes without laying off employees, but pay cuts could be on the table.

RIPTA is making cuts because of a $10 million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year.

You can do great things, Part 2

Take up important issues the CCA ignored

By Will Collette

Remember this guy? That's Phil Armeta who did
federal jail time for organized crime, owner of the
infamous Copar quarries in Westerly and Charlestown.
Even knowing Copar's background, ex-Town Administrator
Mark Stankiewicz issued Copar a business license.

Last night, I ran Part 1 of this series that focused on taxes and finances, issues of paramount concern to Charlestown voters and prime motivators for the town's rejection of the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) and the election of a Town Council comprised totally of members endorsed by Charlestown Residents United (CRU).

CCA control was also diminished on the powerful Charlestown Planning Commission, the only planning body in Rhode Island that is still elected, not appointed.

In Part 2, there are some recommendations to the new Council for further changes that they can make to enrich the lives of Charlestown residents. 

The first addresses the rhetorical question of "Why do business with criminals?" The answer is that we shouldn't so let's look at our options.

Bad Actor Policy.

The town of Charlestown does business with a lot of businesses. We buy things, hire contractors, and issue permits and licenses. When it comes to contracts and purchases, Rhode Island courts have held that municipalities are not required to strictly take the lowest bid, but rather the lowest responsible bid.

The courts have left it to the municipalities to define what “responsible” means, granting wide discretion so long as the definition is fair and reasonable, not arbitrary and capricious.

I spent much of my working life doing background research on companies and gave this subject a lot of thought. In 2022, I wrote this article: Charlestown needs a “Bad Actor” ordinance. It details the various ways “bad actors” can be defined and stopped.

For starters, I suggest the Council initiates a policy committing Charlestown to only buying from responsible vendors and contractors while developing a more comprehensive approach that can also be applied to permits and licenses.

If we had a town Bad Actor prohibition, we could have quickly blocked the Dollar Store proposal over their health and safety as well as wage and hour violations and the Copar Quarry expansion into Charlestown over its environmental violations and ties to organized crime.

Residential Wind Power.

$225 on Amazon. That's not an endorsement but
a fact that there's a big market for small wind generators.

Despite an avowed conviction to fighting climate change through lessened use of fossil fuels, Charlestown effectively bans all wind energy of any size or type.

In 2011, Charlestown overreacted to developer Larry LeBlanc’s proposal to build two industrial sized wind turbines on what is now the Charlestown Moraine Preserve. In addition to spending $2.1 million to buy the land, Charlestown also enacted a draconian anti-wind power ordinance that creates so many town regulatory hurdles as to make it impossible for homeowners and small businesses to install small wind-to-energy devices.

Read HERE to see the details.

There is no rational scientific reason to treat small home or business wind installation any differently than the town treats residential solar panels or heat pumps where the town inspector checks to make sure the work done properly.

Arrowhead's wind turbine as art

Wind power tech has advanced to the point where many residential wind installations are not only silent and efficient but even beautiful. My favorite style are the vertical axis turbines that replace the spinning blades with what looks like a top spinning on a spindle.

Some models look a lot like the art installation Dr. Bruce Gouins installed on the grounds of Arrowhead Dental. When I first saw them, I loved the design but was disappointed that they didn’t generate electricity – a missed opportunity, in my opinion. However, if they were rigged for power, they’d be illegal under Charlestown’s existing law.

The part of the ordinance on small residential or small business wind power generators needs to be repealed posthaste.

RIPTA connection.  

Charlestown is the only RI municipality (except Block Island) that isn’t on a RIPTA bus route. Buses run regularly from Providence to Westerly, South Kingstown, Narragansett and URI and loop back. 

Why not change some of those bus routes to cross over through Charlestown? For example, the South Kingstown bus could go down Route One where we could have a bus stop anywhere along the state’s highway easement, continue to Westerly and then return to Providence.

The CRU majority already made a forward step by approving $30,000 in APRA funds, supplemented by $120,000 in state funds, for senior citizen transportation. 

The main reason Charlestown doesn’t have a bus stop is that the CCA didn’t want one. Ruth Platner explicitly said so in her Charlestown Comprehensive Plan and suggested that residents without cars can just call Uber. I’m not making this up.

How can we claim we care about the dangers posed to Charlestown by climate change and fail to make it easier for residents to use public transportation? It makes no more sense than Charlestown's ban on residential wind power.

The Town Council could simply pass a resolution calling on town staff to open up discussions with RIPTA or ask Senator Gu or Representative Spears to do so on our behalf.

Dark skies campaign.

Preserving Charlestown’s dark sky was the centerpiece of the CCA’s 2024 campaign. Obviously, the voters didn’t get it although, as a lifelong amateur star gazer, I appreciate our tiny patch of sky that is relatively free of the worst light pollution.

Even though our dark skies are popular, the Charlestown public has long resisted the CCA’s approach. In 2010, Planning Commissar Ruth Platner started out wanting to swing a heavy hammer by crafting a town ordinance that would micro-regulate all Charlestown outdoor lighting. Under her early versions, if you needed to change a lightbulb in an outside fixture, you would need to replace the fixture with a new, town-approved model.

Time and again, Ruth would come back with slightly modified versions, but still unacceptable versions. She finally ended up with an ordinance that was very narrowly focused yet still unenforceable.

Cheap and easy way to
retrofit outdoor flood lights

At the time, Charlestown’s well-respected zoning officer Joe Warner said the ordinance was strictly “complaint-driven” and that he refused to go out at night and into dark back yards to see if a light violated the town ordinance.

I offered some advice at the time – unheeded by the CCA – that Charlestown would get a better result by putting together some discount deals to abate the cost of retrofitting or set up a cooperative plan like Solarize Charlestown. One-time tax credits to offset the cost of major replacement or refitting would help.

Though our dark skies will never generate the lucrative “astro-tourism” failed CCA Council candidate Sarah Fletcher promises, nonetheless, I think it’s worth protecting just for our own enjoyment. But let’s try a different approach.

Fire Joe Larisa.

Once and for all, let’s end the town’s Indian Affairs lawyer Joe Larisa’s retainer. It’s an embarrassment and a major obstacle to healing the wounds between the town and the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Read HERE for more detail on why Charlestown should end his contract. 

Besides, Larisa has one foot out the door already. According to the Providence Journal, he is one of several Republicans well known in Charlestown vying for a job with the Trump Administration in DC. Maybe as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs?

Congratulations to Charlestown’s new Town Council

You can do great things, Part 1

By Will Collette

This is the first of a two-part series. Part 2 will run tomorrow night.

For the second straight election, Charlestown voters rejected the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) and voted continued confidence in the leadership from Charlestown Residents United (CRU). This time voters picked an all-CRU slate led by newly sworn in Council President Deb Carney and Vice-President Rippy Serra. For the first time since 2008, there is no one from the CCA on the Town Council.

They held their first business meeting tonight (Dec. 9) of the new term.

The CCA’s traditional power base on the Planning Commission is no longer filled with commissioners who snap “jawohl” to every command from CCA leader and Planning Commissar Ruth Platner. In addition to newly elected CRU-endorsed Glenn Babcock, CCA stalwart Lisa St. Goddard who was just re-elected but now just resigned and will be replaced by the CRU-controlled Town Council.

CRU-endorsed Patricia Stamps is already on the Planning Commission. With the addition of Glenn Babcock and whoever is picked to replace Lisa St. Goddard, the cracks in Platner’s platform of obstructionism are becoming evident.

So Charlestown has a substantially changed power structure led by an all CRU Council. Can we hope to see some action on issues that have long been dismissed by the CCA?

Charlestown’s Town Council has a broad array of powers it can use to make change. It can pass ordinances. It can repeal ordinances. It can issue resolutions. It can direct town staff to make administrative changes. It can make recommendations to our General Assembly representatives for legislation that would help the town.

I’m particularly interested in fair taxation and believe tax reform in town is long-overdue to address these issues:

Property tax relief for volunteer firefighters.

We should not only show them our gratitude but provide incentives for recruitment and retention. This would require General Assembly approval. South Kingstown provides us with a recent example of what to do in legislation that Rep. Teresa Tanzi got passed last year.

Homestead (or Resident) Tax Credit.

First proposed by Charlestown Democrats in 2011 and crushed by the CCA on behalf of its non-resident political donors, a Homestead tax credit would give full-time residents tax relief to make up for the costs we bear to accommodate part-time residents and visitors.

Every summer, our population grows from 8,000 to 30,000. We have to maintain a year-round infrastructure to pay for that – police, roads, trash collection at public locations, strain on water, etc. We endure heavy traffic, poor drivers, increased litter

Most of Rhode Island’s coastal towns (e.g. Newport, North Kingstown, Narragansett) have had such a tax credit program for years. South Kingstown has one that is focused on seniors and is currently working on an expanded Homestead credit. It’s time for Charlestown to step up for those of us who make Charlestown our home.

In 2011, the CCA argued a homestead tax credit would piss off non-resident property owners so much that they either leave or stop using local businesses and services. They might even boycott local charities – as if they were big local givers anyway.

None of these arguments hold water. They're buying up big ticket properties in Charlestown often for DOUBLE the assessed value. A tax hike of a few thousand dollars isn’t going to phase some New York hedge fund manager who just paid $3 million for a beachfront house assessed at $1 million. 

Further, they're not going to mow their own grass, fix their own plumbing and bring their groceries with them from Manhattan. Besides, if these new Charlestown home buyers decide to actually live here, they'd get the Homestead Credit, too.

No more tax breaks for fake fire districts.

The Quonnie Central Beach Fire District's 28 acre rec center, was
assessed at $98,000. This is the photo the Charlestown Tax Assessor
posted in 2014, not the one being used today. 

Charlestown has two wealthy homeowner associations that operate as “fire districts” even though they have no trucks, equipment, fire houses or firefighters. Quonnie resident and CCA President Leo Mainelli’s fire extinguishers don’t count.

Shady Harbor Fire District pays ZERO property tax to Charlestown despite owning six prime pieces of coastal real estate. Their 19.26 acres total includes a private beach where public access is strictly forbidden, a dock, boat launch, three vacant lots on Meyerand Drive and a pumping station for private water, all worth millions. The Fire District pays nothing.

Central Quonnie FD is not tax-exempt, but its property tax assessments are insanely low. Central Quonnie owns 10 prime coastal properties totaling 38 acres with tennis courts, a sports field, private beach docks, boat launches and a beach club as well as a private water system plus five vacant lots on Surfside Ave. 

Doing a spot comparison between similar properties, it appears that non-Quonnie property is assessed at dollar values eight times higher than Central Quonnie property.

These two fake fire districts, better understood as homeowner associations, own almost 60 prime shore acres and pay almost nothing in property tax. Given the locations, these properties could be assessed at as much as $100 million or close to $600,000 in tax underpayments. 

That means all of us Charlestown taxpayers are subsidizing these posh gated neighborhoods. That’s just wrong.

I recommend a Council resolution or directive to our Tax Assessor to tax these properties as if they were owned by any other homeowners’ association.

Tina and Victoria regularly team up to help pass bills

I also suggest the Charlestown Town Council asks our state legislators, especially Rep. Tina Spears and Senator Victoria Gu – both of whom have shown outstanding work in their first terms – to craft legislation to require that any organization bearing the title and holding the privileges of fire district must use most of its resources to actually fight fires.

Ending the fake fire districts’ tax breaks would offset the cost of a firefighter tax credit and a homestead tax credit.

These proposed tax initiatives would be a big step toward much fairer taxation in Charlestown without increasing Charlestown’s overall tax burden.

Tomorrow night, I will run “You can do great things, Part 2” with more ideas how our new town government can improve the lives of Charlestown residents.

State rolls out plan to fight climate change

R.I.'s New Comprehensive Climate Strategy Recommends Action

By FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

Rhode Island released its first comprehensive climate-preparedness strategy, Resilient Rhody, the week of the July 4th holiday. 

The 44-page report combines the climate-change work of various local agencies, institutions, and environmental groups and, based off that already available information, lists five dozen recommended actions.

To ensure a common understanding of climate resilience, project participants adopted a definition to align with Ocean State priorities: “Climate resilience is the capacity of individuals, institutions, businesses, and natural systems within Rhode Island to survive, adapt, and grow regardless of chronic stresses and weather events they experience.”

For comparison sake, the Union of Concerned Scientists defines resilience a little differently. “A framework and principles to ensure that investments in climate change adaptation are scientifically sound, socially just, fiscally sensible, and adequately ambitious.”

Among the climate-related issues the report addresses is increasing heat and its impact on low-income communities. The state’s resiliency plan recommends expanding the state’s Low Income Home Assistance Program to help eligible residents pay for their air conditioning.

Resilient Rhody examines the key areas susceptible to the varied impacts of a changing climate, such as sea-level rise, storm surge, and higher temperatures, and offers recommendations to address the myriad problems. 

Here is a quick look:

Lots of environmental bills left unfinished

Chaotic Finish to 2017 General Assembly Leaves Holes

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

When Speaker Mattiello pulled the plug, that left lots of unfinished business

As the dust settles on the abrupt end to the 2017 General Assembly session, there are least a few developments to report from the session's final days.

Transportation. The elimination of the car tax is clearly in limbo with an unapproved fiscal 2018 budget. The program to fund free rides for low-income disabled and elderly Rhode Island Public Transit Authority riders was restored with the passage of H5241 by the Senate on June 30. The bill is expected to be signed by Gov. Gina Raimondo.

Electric vehicles. A state rebate of up to $2,500 for the purchase or lease of a new electric vehicle ends July 10. Even if the 2018 budget passed, there was no money in it to continue the program. The House and Senate approved a bill (H6302) June 29 that prohibits parking at an EV charging station without plugging in for a charge.

Free bus rides return for the elderly and disabled

Tanzi pleased at restoration of no-fare RIPTA pass program

Rep. Teresa Tanzi said she is very pleased that the she and fellow members of the House were able to provide funding in the state budget bill to restore no-fare RIPTA bus passes for elderly and disabled Rhode Islanders.

Since February, elderly and disabled Rhode Islanders who meet income-eligibility requirements have had to pay 50 cents a ride, plus 25 cents for transfers, for rides that were previously free for them.

The budget bill (2017-H 5175Aaa) approved by the House of Representatives provides funds to restore the no-fare passes for two years, at a cost of $5 million per year.

Over this two-year period, the General Assembly is requesting that the administration find a permanent solution so that vulnerable Rhode Island residents will continue to have access to the no-fare passes.

Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, Narragansett, South Kingstown), who serves on the House Finance Committee and is chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Human Services, worked behind the scenes to free up funding to ensure the restoration.

Interesting perspective on the car tax debate

Opportunity for car tax trade-offs

By James Kennedy, transportprovidence

Poster child for the unfairness of car tax valuations: Charletown
Town Council ex-Boss Tom Gentz behind the wheel of one of THREE vintage
Porsche convertibles. Assessed tax value: ZERO. Tax paid by Gentz: ZERO.

I don’t agree with eliminating the car tax, but if it’s going to be done, are there ways for progressive legislators to use the process to better advantage?

I’ve come up with some bargaining chips that I think should be in the progressive line-up while dealing with the car tax.

Just briefly. . .

Some poor people and lower middle class people struggle mightily with the car tax, my own household being one of those. However, the car tax is paid on a per vehicle basis and according to vehicle value.

That means that a household with three new Mercedes has a lot more to gain from eliminating the car tax than a household with a junker.

A household that doesn’t drive has nothing to gain from eliminating the car tax at all, and we know that non-driving households are disproportionately poor.

A better alternative to target low- and middle-income households would be an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

But it’s unlikely that many legislators will abandon their promises to get rid of the car tax easily.

I’ve lobbied my own representative, Aaron Regunberg, who I think is one of the most honorable and thoughtful people in the State House. He disagrees with me.

So, if we can’t win on the core issue, what are the ways that progressive legislators could use the car tax fight to get a better deal for all Rhode Islanders? Here are some of my thoughts.

OMG PD

Axe Attack, Good Dog

·     By Samantha Turner in the Narragansett-South Kingstown Patch

Truly a Man’s Best Friend

One Boston man’s decision to settle an argument with a golf club turned out badly when the victim’s dog had a different agenda. The man was embroiled in an argument with two Woonsocket men last week at a party when he grabbed a golf club and allegedly hit both men in the head. That’s when the victim’s pit bull intervened and attacked the man, biting his calf, hand and chin. (Check out the mug shot to the right if you don’t believe us.)

UPDATED: Tuesday is another Bad Air Day in Charlestown

Be careful out there

Ninigret Pond & Block Island seen thru ozone haze

By Will Collette

The National Weather Service has issued another air quality alert for Tuesday that extends from 11 AM to 11 PM due to unhealthy levels of ground ozone, especially in our area and all along the south coast.

They have also added a HEAT ADVISORY from 1 PM to 7 PM warning that the combination of heat and humidity will make it feel like the temperature is 104 degrees.

Feels like I spend half my life on RIPTA

Guest post by Linda Collette

It’s Tuesday morning and once again I am riding a RIPTA bus from Central Falls to Providence, on my way to my therapy program.  It’s a long ride, meandering along Pawtucket Avenue to North Main Street to Kennedy Plaza, and then finally to a stop at the corner of Broad and Empire Streets.  I take this particular ride twice a week on route to a rehab program in Providence’s Jewelry District near Rhode Island Hospital.

I sometimes feel as if I spend half my life riding a RIPTA bus.  I have never learned to drive, always living where there is a reliable bus to take me where I need to go.  Usually, if there’s something I need to do that requires a car, there’s always someone to help me do it.  Or I do without.  When I was working, I always made sure there was bus service to my job.  If I need to shop—again, find a bus.

RIPTA cuts will hurt South County

The Westerly Sun’s Emily Dupuis wrote about threats to bus service vital to many South County residents on Sunday. Thankfully, the Sun didn’t stick her article behind their pay wall.

This will be one of Emily’s last articles before she leaves for a great new job as a researcher in Washington, DC. Her good fortune is our bad luck as another good, experienced local journalist leaves.

Her story details severe cuts in service to Route 90, one of the most important public transportation links between southwestern RI and the Providence metro area.