Your tax dollars at work

The continuing adventures of Congressman
By Wiley Miller


Click here for the full cartoon

More CCA “Vox Populi” on Red Light Cameras

“Whatever it is, I’m against it!”

By Will Collette

Though the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) has not e-mailed any more of its awful anonymous comments attacking the red light camera proposal currently in the works for Charlestown, they did post a new batch on their website comment section.

This batch was posted after the CCA published a copy of the letter from Colin Foote’s family that appeared in Progressive Charlestown.

As I have in the two previous collections of CCA comments attacking red light cameras (here and here), I include my comments, corrections and retorts (since the CCA thinks all opinions are equally valid and therefore takes no responsibility to either correct or challenge the writers)

The Tea Party vs. Occupy Wall Street

Or, "The goose having been sauced, bring on the gander."


As Jon Stewart pointed out on a recent episode of The Daily Show, media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street movement has officially gone from "blackout" to "circus" (those, oddly enough, being the only two settings on the dial). But Occupy Wall Street somehow doesn't seem to be getting the same media love as the Tea Party. Why should that be?

By Linda Felaco

A look at the region's more interesting police beat stories

OMG PD.
By Scott Pickering, courtesy of South Kingstown Patch

We compile the odd, unusual and ‘oh my gosh’ police items from throughout the region.

There's good science and there's bad science

Rick Perry knows the Difference
By Ruben Bolling


Get the whole cartoon here.

UPDATED Things to do: Special Halloween edition

Riverside Farm's 2010 corn maze

This time of year, many of our local farms host autumn- and/or Halloween-themed events and attractions for adults and kids of all ages. Here's a roundup of the ones you can get to without going "north of the tower." Warning! Some events may not be for the faint of heart …

By Linda Felaco

Occupy Wall Street coming to Providence?

Occupy Providence Voices for Environment

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

PROVIDENCE —The number of participants in the daily meetings of the Occupy Providence movement has been growing along with the causes it promotes, including environmental issues.

Wendy's 'Improved' Burger

The company spent two and a half years and millions of dollars of corporate poking and prodding to "improve" a burger that doesn't compare to a backyard cookout.

By Jim Hightower

At first blush, you might think that "Dave's Hot 'N Juicy" is the title of a pornographic movie. Actually, it's only a hamburger.

Health Care Reform headed for Supreme Court

Fasten your seat belts
By Matt Bors.

The fate of the law - and with it, the fate of millions of Americans and the US economy - will soon be decided by the Supremes. Actually, by one justice, Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is the guy who decides which way all of the Court's 5-4 decisions will swing.

Click here for the whole cartoon.

How are innovations at Charlestown Wine and Spirits working?

4 Month Analysis - Projected 60% Energy Savings

From Oyster Works

Last May Charlestown Wine and Spirits opened as a Sensibly Green liquor store.  Designed and built by Oyster Works, CWS is designed to save energy, reduce our impact on the environment, and lower operating costs.      (We also wanted it to be beautiful and functional!)

Are we achieving our goals?   After the first four months of operation we analyzed the store's energy use and compared it to a U. S. Government Energy Star benchmark.  Take a look at the numbers.

Another innovative affordable housing solution

The Cube was showcased earlier this year at the
Edinburgh Science Festival.

A professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the U.K. has designed a compact home with a minimal impact on the environment. Unlike the Sleepbox, the Cube has all the standard amenities of a home. Plus it generates its own power using solar panels (no dreaded wind turbines!) and treats waste onsite with a composting toilet, meaning no need for a septic system. And best of all, it satisfies Ruth Platner's one-bedroom criterion; no room for any of those expensive-to-educate miniature humans.

As you'll see from the 360-degree panoramic tour, the Cube is not for claustrophobes. Not that affordable housing NIMBYs seem to care much about anyone's comfort but their own...

By Linda Felaco

Council meeting preview

Get the popcorn ready
By Will Collette
This Tuesday (Monday is Columbus Day), it's Town Council meeting time again. Seems like just yesterday that the Council was admonished for censorship, fought over the historical derivation of the insulting term "Frick and Frack," saw the return of Jim Mageau to combat, voted to ban wind energy, unleashed the Spanish Inquisition on a new Charlestown business and oh so much more.

The Council held its agenda meeting last night, and if you tried to figure out what they talked about by listening to Clerkbase, you'd be disappointed. As you may recall, at last month's agenda meeting, CCA Councilors Tom Gentz and Dan Slattery went on the record opposing the right of a representative of the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee to speak before the Council. Very bad indeed, especially when it's recorded. This month, the Council members spoke in code, referring to agenda items only by number and scarcely saying anything about the topics.

Despite their great care to say nothing of substance on the audio, there are going to be at least a couple of hot items (#8b and #11a). I'll get into those in more detail below, now that the Tuesday Council meeting agenda has been posted on Clerkbase.

An alternative to class war

Why raise taxes on the rich?
By Jen Sorenson


Rather than launch a class war on the innocent and unsuspecting wealthy by raising their taxes to meet the country's needs, here is a better way.


Click here to see the full cartoon.

The CCA’s latest bogus issue

Deputy Dan Slattery to lead
Charlestown Open Space Cadets?

Who knows what lurks on Charlestown’s “phantom properties?”

By Will Collette

Charlestown Citizens Alliance Town Council member Dan Slattery has another big issue he wants the town to pursue – what to do about Charlestown’s vast number of phantom properties.

Slattery has referred to this “problem” on several occasions, saying a number of citizens have raised their concerns that the town isn’t watching what's happening on town-owned land.

This issue somehow warranted Page One coverage in the Westerly Sun (free access here) on October 3.

On November 9, the Town Council and Conservation Commission will hold a special joint session to address this crisis.

So, what is this about?

Ten years after 9/11

Aerial view of the Pentagon showing emergency crews responding
when a hijacked commercial jetliner crashed into the southwest
corner of the building during the 9/11 terrorists attacks.

I might very well owe my life to the passengers of Flight 93. 

While the passengers of Flight 93 were wrestling the hijackers for control of the airliner that was headed to our nation's capital, I was in an 11^th floor office in view of the White House.