Healthcare partnership talks begin

Care New England and Southcoast Health consider alliance

By Tracey C O’Connell

PROVIDENCE, RI – Providence based Care New England Health System announced on Monday the signing of a letter of intent to team up with Southcoast Health System, Inc.as a potential strategic partner.

In a press release, the Rhode Island healthcare organization said the two organizations are working toward a goal of forming a new not-for-profit parent organization to oversee operations of Care New England (CNE) and the Massachusetts-based Southcoast Health System (SCH).

“In most every respect, Southcoast represents the best possible choice in enabling us to move forward strengthening quality, transitioning to population health, improving the value proposition, finding the right structural and cultural fit for both organizations, and maintaining our valued relationships with key academic, provider and organizational partners, said George W. Shuster, CNE Board Chair. “We believe this partnership will truly be a win for our community.”

Get the smelling salts for Ron Areglado

Deepwater Wind turbine components arrive in RI

Platforms for Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF)
pass by Fort Wetherill at East Passage, Jamestown in September 2015.
(Photo Tracey C. O’Neill)

Text and photo by Tracey C. O’Neill    

PROVIDENCE – The first components of Deepwater Wind’s offshore wind turbines arrived at the Port of Providence on Wednesday.

Deepwater Wind (DWW) CEO Jeff Grybowski tweeted the arrival of the firsts -first wind turbine components to arrive- for the first offshore wind farm in the country:

Arrived! #providence welcomes 1st components for @DeepwaterWind turbine from @generalelectric for #blockisland pic.twitter.com/jaAgffNgP9— Jeff Grybowski (@JGrybowski) November 18, 2015

According to a company press release, five 95-foot tall bottom tower sections landed for off-loading to a new temporary manufacturing facility that General Electric and Deepwater Wind established at the port.

“He loved his work and all the ways he could use his work for good"

Community Mourns Death of Jon C. Boothroyd, Acclaimed Coastal Geologist

By Tracey C. O’Neill

Multiple environmental agencies participated in volunteer beach profiling training led by Dr. Jon Boothroyd, Professor Emeritus, URI. In 2014 Boothroyd explains changes seen at South Kingstown Town Beach over the decades. (Photo credit Tracey C. O’Neill)

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – The University of Rhode Island announced the loss of their “beloved Geosciences Professor Emeritus Jon C. Boothroyd, a field researcher, Coastal and Environmental Geologist,  and active participant in development of the Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP).

Boothroyd provided his expertise, time and advice to students, organizations and environmental agencies across the state, and worked closely with the Coastal Resources Management Council on coastal issues including beach erosion, coastal inundation, sea level rise and climate change initiatives.

Playing monopoly, playing dirty, playing rough

Charlestown Tapas: 17 tasty nuggets for the refined news palate

By Will Collette

In case you missed it: L&M/Westerly Hospital exec wants a Westerly monopoly

Bruce Cummings is playing the blackmail game again

I had meant to comment in the last edition of Tapas about complaints by Bruce Cummings, CEO of Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the owner of Westerly Hospital, to the Westerly Town Council about South County Hospital’s plan to expand its services into Westerly through a new medical office building under construction on Route One near Dunn’s Corner.

Bruce Cummings, as you may recall, was responsible for last year’s awful strike and lock-out at L&M that put hundreds of hospital workers out of work between Thanksgiving and Christmas, 2013. Cummings hard-nosed union-busting style also shows itself with cutbacks in services not only at the parent hospital in New London but also in Westerly.

While Westerly may be somewhat indebted to L&M for keeping poorly managed Westerly Hospital open, for Cummings it was a pure business decision because he bought the distressed hospital at a bargain basement price and expanded his empire across the state line.

He has done little to improve Westerly Hospital’s less than stellar rankings for quality of care, safety and patient satisfaction, perhaps because L&M ranks pretty low among Connecticut hospitals. Clearly, workers' rights and quality care are not Cummings’ priorities.

But for Cummings to have the gall to tell the Westerly Town Council that South County Hospital is “poaching” patients and that the Council needs to be mindful of all the jobs Cummings saved by picking up Westerly Hospital for peanuts is plain outrageous.

Firefighters get hosed by the Supremes

North Kingstown Fire Fighters Union Addresses Supreme Court Platoon Structure Ruling

By Tracey C. O’Connor

EDITOR'S NOTE: Tracey has been covering this story for months and has been a frequent guest contributor to Progressive Charlestown on big issues around South County. To get the backstory on this terrible RI Supreme Court ruling, visit Tracey’s blog by clicking HERE. - WC

“We are on the right side of the issue morally and ethically, and although the Town reversed its commitment to waive the timelines that led to today’s decision in their favor, we remain undeterred in our commitment to ensuring our safety, and in turn, the safety of our residents. This dangerous experiment needs to end once and for all.” ~ Raymond Furtado

North Kingstown - The North Kingstown Firefighters (NKFFA) International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1651 responded on Friday evening to the decision of the state’s highest court rendered on consolidated appeals before them in the acrimonious and divisive discord between the Town of North Kingstown and its firefighters.

In press release, the union addressed the court ruling as to the town’s unilateral implementation of a change in platoon structure from the 4-platoon structure maintained prior to March 2012 to a 3-platoon structure, while unilaterally changing “the terms and conditions of employment, including hours and wages, without bargaining to impasse and without exhausting all statutory dispute resolution mechanisms under the Fire Fighter’s Arbitration Act (FFAA).”

Local surfer dies in tragic accident

Matunuck mourns the tragic passing of Katie Zullo

By TRACEY O'NEILL

From Tracey's interview video with Kathy Zullo (click here)

Matunuck – Peace and prayers go out to the South County community as we have heavy hearts here in Matunuck this morning. Matunuck has lost yet another beautiful soul in the tragic passing of Katie Zullo early Thursday morning.

Our sincere condolences go out to Katie’s  family and friends.

Katie Zullo, Team Rider for Matunuck Surf Shop was killed in a car accident in Woonsocket early Thursday morning. 

Fung’s fingerprints are also on pension cuts

More Than One Candidate Supported Pension Reform

By Tracey C. O’Neill 

Visit Tracey's new and improved website, TraceyC_Online the Blog.

Providence - Pension360.org reminds Rhode Island voters that when considering state pension reform as a deal-breaker in choosing a gubernatorial candidate, Allan Fung also participated in engineering the controversial legislation adopted by the General Assembly as law.

GOP Candidate Fung Sat on the Pension Reform Panel

Quoting a September 15 article that ran on Public Sector, Inc, the organization schooled Rhode Island voters on what has been generally touted as a one-woman dictated pension reform system.

An excerpt from the article explains the fate of the City pension plan engineered on behalf of its retired first responders, a 20-year recovery effort.

“Cranston’s current employees participate in the state’s retirement system, so the city had a stake in the state-engineered reforms. But Cranston fire and police retirees and those workers who were hired before July 1, 1995 participate in a separate city-directed plan that was deeply in debt . Although the plan has just 483 members, the vast majority of which were already retired, the plan was so expensive that it cost the city $22.3 million to support this year, amounting to 20 percent of the city’s operating budget, excluding its school system.”

In a press release dated June 15, 2011, from the Office of Governor Lincoln Chafee, Fung was listed as an Advisory Group Participant.

The complete articles can be accessed here and here.

VIDEO: "My vision for the State of Rhode Island is a rebuilt economy that includes everybody.” – Gina Raimondo

Hillary and Gina Talk Women and Wages

By Tracey C. O’Neill 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our friend and colleague Tracey has recently revamped her website covering South County and statewide news and politics. Visit her site HERE. With her permission, here is more detailed coverage of Hillary Clinton’s recent RI visit in support of Gina Raimondo for Governor.

Hillary Clinton at Rhode Island College with Gina
Raimondo in October 2014. (Tracey C. O’Neill)

Providence - Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Rhode Island on Friday stumping for Gina Raimondo to become the 75th governor of the state and its first women to hold the highest office.

Meeting up on the campaign trail at Rhode Island College’s Recreation Center, Clinton and Raimondo set forth the current state treasurer’s plan for Rhode Island, focused on investment in the future of the state’s workforce, through training, education, an increase in the minimum wage and equal pay for equal work.

Highlighting the plight of women in the workforce, Raimondo, then Clinton noted the number of women in the workforce who are receiving minimum wage.

“I’m going to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour,” said Raimondo. “Right now if you work in Rhode Island making the minimum wage, you’re living on $16, 640 a year. That’s not enough and that’s not right. And two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women.”

VIDEO: High-powered endorsement

Hillary Rodham Clinton Lauds Raimondo’s Plan for RI

By Tracey C. O’Neill 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our friend and colleague Tracey has recently revamped her website covering South County and statewide news and politics. Visit her site HERE. With her permission, this is a great sample of her new features.

Video Short:  Hillary Rodham Clinton, packing a bag full of credentials that includes 8 years in the White House serving as First Lady, 4 years as Secretary of State, her service as Senator to the State of New York, and a probable run for President of the United States in the near future, visited Rhode Island on Friday to support Democrat Gina Raimondo in her bid for governor.

President and First Lady to visit this week

On Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama comes to town on Raimondo’s behalf, followed by a Presidential visit on Friday.  President Barack Obama is expected to talk about economic recovery during his visit.

The Matunuck Controversy

Coastal Communities Feel the Reality of Climate Change

BY TRACEY C. O’neill 

South Kingstown – Coastal communities, residents, business and property owners are feeling the adverse effects of climate change due to sea level rise, coastal inundation, severe storm events, flooding and coastal erosion.

Once known in the abstract as a global warming, big picture issue, the ill effects of carbon emissions and warming seas are taking their toll as government leaders at the national and local levels “prepare to prepare” their citizenry for future climate change crisis and emergent events.

Climate Change erodes Seaside Village

Matunuck Village tucked away on the south coast of Block Island Sound has residents and business owners embattled in a fight against Mother Nature, municipality and time.

The severely eroding shoreline adjacent to homes and businesses in the village created a public safety concern for the Town that pitted residents against town and the state’s Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC).

Deepwater already pays off for Block Island

Deepwater Wind Gives Back to Block Island

Jeff Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind celebrates a
moment of victory with DWW counsel, Robin L.
Maine in May. (Photo Tracey C. O’Neill)

TRACEY C. O’Neill

New Shoreham - On October 14, Deepwater Wind, developer of the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) in partnership with the Block Island Historical Society and Southeast Lighthouse Foundation, announced a “collaboration to strengthen historic preservation and heritage tourism efforts on Block Island.”

In a press release from Cultural Heritage Partners, PLLC, the partnership was touted as a collaboration that will “advance programming that benefits the entire island and its visitors. The majority of the funds will become available at the conclusion of 2016, when the Block Island Wind Farm is expected to commence operation.”

Firefighters Owed $4M Plus

NKFFA Takes the Numbers to Twitter

BY TRACEY C. O’NEILL

North Kingstown - On Monday, the North Kingstown Firefighters (NKFFA) IAFF Local 1651 took their fight with the Town of North Kingstown to Twitter, using social media streams to disseminate the numbers on damages – now more than $4 million. 

The actual amount, $4,056,268 encompasses monies owed from the date of the Town’s implementation of unilateral changes to the department’s wage, salary and platoon structure on March 11, 2012 through October 13, 2012 to its firefighters.

False claims

Town Attempts to Divide Union Leaders and Membership

Text and photos BY TRACEY C O’Connor 

Raymond Furtado, IAFF NKFFA Local 1651 President

North Kingstown - In yet another attempt by the Town of North Kingstown to separate its firefighters from their union leadership, Town Manager Michael Embury, in a recent letter to the Standard Times made self-proclaimed unfounded accusations against union leaders further defining the divide between the municipality and its first responders.

The letter from Embury – seemingly in response to a Rotarian award protested by the firefighters’ families – started in defense of Chief Fenwick Gardiner and quickly deteriorated into a political battle against the union membership, its leadership and consequently, the families Embury professed to hold in high regard.

Matunuck Businesses rally behind the Ocean Mist

Business Owners Support Finnegan’s Quest for Seawall Rebuild

Text and Photos BY TRACEY C. O'NEILL

Kingstown - The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council’s (CRMC) June 24 meeting spurred a call to action from local business owners in support of the efforts of Kevin Finnegan to rebuild the existing stone revetment on Town property adjacent to his Ocean Mist on Matunuck Beach Road.

The meeting drew near to 100 concerned residents, supporters and business owners vested in the outcome of the Town’s response presentation given under court ordered remand. The remand required CRMC to further consider the Town’s planned mitigation of adverse environmental impact and use conflicts.

Deepwater advances

Block Island Wind Farm Advances to be First in RI, First in Nation

By Tracey C. O’Neill

Jeff Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind celebrates a moment of
victory with DWW counsel, Robin L. Main on Tuesday night.
(Photo Tracey C. O’Neill/Freelance Photographer)

Providence, RI - In a unanimous vote on Tuesday evening, the Coastal Resources Management Council adopted and approved subcommittee recommendations advancing  Deepwater Wind‘s 30-megawatt Block Island Wind Farm to design and development phase.

An unprecedented project, the five turbine demonstration project wind farm is slated to be the first offshore wind farm built in Rhode Island territorial waters and the very first offshore wind farm in the U.S. “It’s a momentous night for Rhode Island,”  said Jeffrey Grybowski, CEO of Deepwater Wind. “[Rhode Island] is going to be the first.”

Waterfront property owners get a huge financial break

President Obama signs NFIP Bill into Law

By Tracey C. O’Neill

Washington, D.C. – On Friday, President Obama signed The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (H.R. 3370) into law.

The comprehensive legislation repealed rate increases mandated under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, some which have already gone into effect.

“This legislation is good news for homeowners and provides much-needed relief for those who were facing staggering increases in their flood insurance premiums,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) in press release, upon the Senate’s passage of the bill. 

Firefighters and Town Square Off Over Stern’s Decision

One more trip to the state’s highest court may follow

By Tracey C. O’Neill

North Kingstown - The Town of North Kingstown responded to Judge Brian P. Stern’s ruling in favor of the town’s firefighters on Tuesday. The judge’s ruling came as no surprise said Daniel Kinder, counsel for the Town in an email to members of the press.

After all, Judge Stern already ruled against the Town in December of 2012.

The Town reasoned that in upholding a State Labor Relations Board (SLRB) Unfair Labor Practices ruling against the town, the judge was simply upholding his own previous “Unring the Bell” decision, subsequently adopted by the Labor Board.

“The court’s decision is no surprise. The Labor Board adopted Judge Stern’s prior decision in its decision.  Now, Judge Stern has upheld that decision, again. The Supreme Court, however, has stayed Judge Stern’s prior decision, and Judge Stern has stayed this decision, pending further consideration by the Supreme Court,” said Daniel K. Kinder. EDITOR'S NOTE: Kinder also serves as Charlestown's lawyer on labor issues.

Firefighters Win Big

Stern Upholds SLRB Decision

By Tracey C. O’Neill

North Kingstown  - Just as the word eviscerate is sure to evoke thoughts of carnage and plunder, the phrase “tautological and without merit” bespelled certain doom and nightmarish failure in battle to the Town of North Kingstown in its quest to keep its firefighters at bay.

On Monday, Judge Brian P. Stern, rendered his decision in the Town’s action against  the Rhode Island State Labor Board (SLRB) in opposition to its September 27, 2013 decision and order in favor of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) North Kingstown Firefighters Union Local 1651 (NKFFA).

Charter argument nullified

“The Town’s argument – that the Labor Board has concluded that the SLRA and the FFAA conflict with the Town’s authority to unilaterally implement changes to the fire department’s organization guaranteed to the town through the Charter – is tautological and without merit.”  ~ Brian P. Stern, Justice RI Superior Court

The SLRB decision ordered the Town to immediately restore the firefighters’ schedule, hours of work, and hourly rate of pay to that which existed upon the expiration of the 2010-2011 CBA. The order required that every member of the department be made whole and assessed 12 percent annual interest from June 2012 through the date of payment.

Taylor Swift – is her new seawall legal or illegal?

Causing a stir even though she’s not in town

By Will Collette with commentaries from Tracey O’Neill and Samuel Howard

Not meant to be aesthetic in nature, large stones provide more
protection against coastal storms. (photo by Tracey C. O'Neill)

Taylor Swift. Just mentioning her name, especially in a headline, will generate lots of Google search hits for Progressive Charlestown. 

Country music diva Swift is our neighbor, living just a few miles down the beach in her $17 million Watch Hill mansion, though she really lives in another dimension of time and space.

Even though Ms. Swift is not in residence, she’s causing another major stir by building a major piece of construction on her beachfront, a huge seawall to protect her property from coastal storms. Lots of property owners along our coast line are fortifying their properties against the inevitable next big storm. But Swift’s project is attracting lots of attention, mainly because she’s Taylor Swift and we’re kinda starved for celebrity gossip in our area.

There has been some outcry over this project and the official reaction to it. Some charge Swift is infringing on public access rights to the beach. Others say it's not so simple. It’s hard to predict the half-life of this controversy, but it’s getting a lot of attention.

To get the ball rolling, please read on for two different takes on the Taylor Swift Wall by two guest columnists I’ve frequently featured in Progressive Charlestown. The first is Sam Howard who appears frequently at Rhode Island’s Future. The second is Tracey O’Neill whose blog OnLinewithTraceyC offers great coverage on politics and the environment.

Planning ahead to preserve Rhode Island’s Coast

CRMC Announces SLAMM Study Participation, Sea-Level Rise Planning

By Tracey C. O’Neill

Succotash Salt Marsh, East Matunuck, RI

(photo credit Tracey C. O’Neill)

Narragansett - The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography Coastal Resources Center was the site of the most recent gathering of the Rhode Island Beach SAMP, drawing a full auditorium of coastal environmentalists, students and residents concerned with continuing changes to the states shoreline.

The December 9 meeting of the Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP), focused on the issue of seawalls and man-made coastal armoring, unveiled Rhode Island’s pending participation in a federal Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)sea-level rise planning program for wetlands.