URI to host Rhode Island Land and Water Conservation Mini-Summit on April 8

Saturday event held in URI’s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences

Kristen Curry 

David Vissoe, URI Master Gardener and liaison to the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Kettle Pond Nature Center Native
Plant Gardens, talks to a visitor during an open house.
David will share the story of the gardens during a breakout
session at the 2023 Mini-Summit on April 8.
(Photo courtesy URI Cooperative Extension)

The University of Rhode Island’s Cooperative Extension, with the Rhode Island Land Trust Council and Audubon Society of Rhode Island, are joining forces to offer a half-day Land and Water (and Gardens) Mini-Summit at URI this year.

On Saturday, April 8, the University will host the Rhode Island Land and Water Conservation Mini-Summit, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in URI’s Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences, 120 Flagg Road, Kingston Campus.

The University is welcoming the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Land Trust Council, which have partnered since 2004 to foster connections between these dedicated grassroots organizations at the annual statewide conservation summit. 

The Ocean State is fortunate to have over 45 land trusts, a dozen watershed organizations, numerous conservation commissions and multiple education and outreach programs based at URI that rely on volunteers. 

This year, the mini-summit will honor those volunteers, and highlight many land and water conservation-related initiatives that are community-based and impactful.

The half-day mini-summit will feature a vibrant panel discussion, breakout sessions, a marketplace, and opportunities to network with other volunteers and individuals interested in land and water conservation, with a focus on land stewardship, water conservation, gardening and more. 

Long COVID Pain: Increased Rates of Chest Pain Up to a Year After Infection

We are learning more about the long-term effects of COVID

By INTERMOUNTAIN HEALTHCARE  

A study conducted by researchers from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City analyzed almost 150,000 patients for cardiovascular symptoms in order to determine the impact of Long COVID. 

The study found that individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 had a higher likelihood of experiencing chest pain in the six months to a year following the infection.

Even patients with mild COVID-19 infections can suffer from health complications for months, even years, post-infection. Nearly 19% of U.S. adults who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 report having “Long COVID,” where they experience signs and symptoms for four weeks or more after the initial phase of infection.

Rhode Island has worst roads in nation, new survey finds

Rough road

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

Have you ever felt no state has worse roads than Rhode Island? For the fourth consecutive year, those thoughts are justified, according to a new national report.

The survey conducted by QuoteWizard, the insurance division of the financial website LendingTree, lists Rhode Island as having the “worst infrastructure in the nation.” The Ocean State has ranked as the state with the worst roads every year QuoteWizard has done this study since 2019.

“I can’t think of a time where Rhode Island hasn’t been number one,” said Nick VinZant, the author of the report.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Rhode Island Current is a brand-new daily news source that is already covering issues that the ProJo, Sun and other local newspapers gutted by corporate owners no longer have the staff to cover. The Current is part of a non-profit network called the States News Service. I've enjoyed their entry to our local media market. - Will Collette

Charlestown lawyer Joe Larisa tells the RI Supreme Court to ignore Town Charter – in Richmond

Larisa backs MAGA town councilors in effort to stack the deck in the Chariho School Committee

By Will Collette

Charlestown has been dragged into the Trump-style MAGA culture war through a controversy over control of the Chariho School District. 

The struggle is between a faction that holds to normal school interests: a sound budget, good teachers, solid infrastructure and a good learning environment that prepares students for higher education and the world of work. On the other side are hard-right conservatives.

The District is hoping to win the April 4 ballot initiative in Charlestown, Richmond and Hopkinton to fund its budget despite opposition from far-right anti-public school nihilists who are at the heart of this controversy.

These are the Trumpnuts, the MAGA people, who’s fevered dreams make them fear children might be exposed to actual history – the real stuff and not the fairy tales – as well as literature, art and the skills to live in peace in places and with people who may be different than what you find in the Chariho towns.

These are the people who want to ban books, declare Michelangelo’s David to be pornography, block classroom discussion of anything remotely sexual and re-write history so only the John Wayne version is allowed.

These two factions were more or less in balance until the unexpected resignation of Richmond Democrat Gary Liquori last January.

Under the 1958 Chariho Act, vacancies are to be filled by the town council where the vacancy occurred, Richmond in this case. The Richmond Town Home Rule Charter specifically requires the town council to fill the vacancy with the next highest vote-getter.

That person is Democrat Jessica Marie Purcell who missed winning a seat in 2022 by 27 votes.

But instead of following its own Town Charter, the MAGA-controlled Richmond Town Council appointed one of Rhode Island’s top MAGA kahunas, Clay Johnson, who wasn’t even on the 2022 ballot.

In addition to being a prominent Trumpnik, Clay Johnson also owns the Rhode Island franchise of the Goddard School chain of 500+ pre-schools. The official name of the South Kingstown school is Johnson School LLC.

Political trivia: the first time I ever heard of Clay Johnson was in 2012 when he was a central character in an odd little drama. CLICK HERE.

For good reason, Purcell filed a court petition to oust Johnson and get her rightful seat on the school committee.

This case is due to be heard soon by the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The Boston Globe gave it some solid coverage (something you no longer find in the ProJo and Sun whose newsrooms have been gutted by their corporate overlords).

Alex Nunes, South County Bureau chief for The Public’s Radio, takes a deep dive into the background politics of this case in THIS ARTICLE. If you want to read the hard right "interesting" version of reality, CLICK HERE.

The Purcell legal case focuses on the language of the Chariho Act and the Richmond Town Home Rule Charter – the process rather than the MAGA-political motivations that led the Richmond Council to defy the Town Charter to pick a promoter of the January 6 insurrection for the School Committee.

The Town, represented by Charlestown’s Indian-fighting lawyer Joe Larisa, argues the Chariho Act supersedes the 2009 Richmond Town Home Rule Charter and gives the town council unfettered freedom to pick anyone they want to fill the vacancy.

Purcell’s lawyer, Jeffrey L. Levy, argues there is no conflict between the Chariho Act because “The Chariho Act requires the Council to appoint a replacement, and the Charter tells them who they must appoint.”

Having read both, I find Levy’s logic to be flawless.

But Larisa’s position, not so much:

“A ministerial act is four-square inconsistent with a discretionary one. Indeed, they are polar opposites.” Larisa argues Richmond Charter takes away the Town Council’s right of “choice” under the Chariho Act because it specifies who must be appointed – the next highest vote-getter.

Hey, Joe – that’s what Richmond voters wanted when they voted for this Charter item in 2009, which was then approved by the General Assembly.

In case you don't remember the 1908 Model T, here they
are pouring out of a Ford factory (National Archives).
You'll have to ask Joe Larisa what this has to do with Chariho.

Using his familiar cornpone humor that he so often uses to cover his lapses in logic, Larisa spins a yarn: “One is reminded of what Henry Ford once said about the Model T. He opined that a customer could have it painted any color he wants, as long as it is black.”

Purcell’s lawyer points out that Larisa’s argument rests on a claim that the Chariho Act says something it does not, namely that it supersedes the member town’s own laws - which it does not.

Again, the Chariho Act and the Richmond Charter are in accord: the Act says the Council fills vacancies and the Charter prescribes how it should be done. The Richmond Charter does not give the Town Council authority to use the vacancy as a political gift.

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are set for 11 a.m. April 13.

If the Court rejects the petition to oust Johnson, expect Chariho to undergo the agonies of so many school districts around the country by tearing itself apart over phony issues promoted by MAGAnuts.

Charlestown needs to add this case to the list of reasons why Charlestown should no longer be paying Joe Larisa $25,000+ per year to do poor legal work, attacking the Narragansett Indian Tribe with racist fervor, and to embarrass Charlestown by association through his crackpot outside cases.

No tears

By Steve Breen

 

Rhode Island agriculture matters

 

Other than a cure for cancer, I can’t think of anything more important

Scientists complete first map of an insect brain

Johns Hopkins University

Researchers have completed the most advanced brain map to date, that of an insect, a landmark achievement in neuroscience that brings scientists closer to true understanding of the mechanism of thought.

The international team led by Johns Hopkins University and the University of Cambridge produced a breathtakingly detailed diagram tracing every neural connection in the brain of a larval fruit fly, an archetypal scientific model with brains comparable to humans.

The work, likely to underpin future brain research and to inspire new machine learning architectures, appears in the journal Science.

Rep. Tanzi bill to help people quit smoking passes House

Would expand ability of pharmacists to help tobacco-addicted

The House of Representatives today passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Teresa Tanzi that would allow qualified pharmacists to prescribe tobacco cessation drug therapies to patients struggling with nicotine addiction. That, advocates say, will help those who are ready to quit do so successfully.

“When someone struggling with nicotine addiction is ready to make a change, we should be there to help them,” said Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett). 

“Access to tobacco cessation drug therapies doubles their chances of successfully quitting. But a shortage of primary care providers means it can take too long for folks to get a prescription. By empowering our local pharmacists to help folks access treatment, we’ll offer them a hand up when they’re ready to grab it.”

The legislation (2023-H 5555) would allow licensed pharmacists who have completed education on FDA-approved tobacco cessation therapy drugs to prescribe such medications to eligible patients who complete an initial intake evaluation and commit to appropriate follow-up visits. It passed the house unanimously.

Study finds worrying about election stress can harm your health

What you can do about it

North Carolina State University

New research from North Carolina State University finds that simply anticipating stress related to political elections causes adverse physical health effects. 

However, the study also finds there is something people can do to mitigate those negative health effects.

"This is the first study to show that anticipatory stress related to elections can harm our health," says Shevaun Neupert, corresponding author of the study and a professor of psychology at NC State. 

"It's well established that stress can adversely affect our health. This study tells us that thinking we're going to feel stress in the near future can also adversely affect our health."

Despite new GOP spin, it's still the guns

The Republican refusal to blame guns for mass shootings gets a new angle

Laura Clawson for Daily Kos

On March 27, a 28-year-old armed with two assault rifles and a handgun broke into a Nashville school and murdered three 9-year-old children and three adults, just the latest deadly school shooting in the United States of America.

Republicans are offering a different response than their usual, because of one fact: The shooter is reportedly transgender.

The U.S. has school shooting after school shooting, and Republicans respond with thoughts and prayers and obstruction of meaningful gun laws. But let one shooter be trans, and it’s time for action—action against trans people.

He just can't stop

By Drew Sheneman

 

See you at the movies

 

Sen. Whitehouse checks in on progress at Wood River Health

Views construction site, discusses rural health with the Board

from wood river HEALTH

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse visited Wood River Health on Monday, March 27, 2023 to meet with representatives of its Board of Directors and its leadership team and members of the local community.

During the meeting, Senator Whitehouse inquired about the recent accomplishments of Wood River Health, which serves as the largest outpatient primary care provider in southern Rhode Island. A lively discussion ensued about health care and how to overcome barriers to access. 

Discussion topics included the current challenges in delivering medical, dental and behavioral health care in a rural setting; the importance of equalizing health care reimbursement rates; the benefits of delivering a value-based system of care, the rise in popularity of telehealth, and the increase of behavioral health symptoms in patients as a direct result of COVID-19. 

“Throughout the pandemic, community health centers have served as a lifeline for thousands of Rhode Islanders,” stated Alison L. Croke, President and CEO of Wood River Health. “We are grateful to Senator Whitehouse for his ongoing support of their mission to increase access to high-quality healthcare, often for underserved communities.”

Attendees included Board Chair Regan Pennypacker and Board Members Christine Bedoya, Susan Brough, Francis Hinteregger, MD, and Frank Hopkins. Representatives of Wood River Health’s leadership included President and CEO Alison L. Croke; Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Gates, MD; Chief Dental Officer Tiffanie Waldeck, DMD; and Director of Development and Communications Sarah Channing. 

Local members of the community included Shawn Lacey, Manager of the Town of Westerly; Melissa Davy, Assistant Manager of the Town of Westerly, and Elena Nicolella, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Health Center Association. 

During his visit, Senator Whitehouse participated in a hard hat tour of Wood River Health’s 9,000 square foot expansion that is under construction by A/Z Corporation. In 2022, Wood River Health partnered with Vision 3 Architects to develop a state-of-the-art facility that will enable it to expand its programs and services, increase its patient capacity, and foster an environment that is reflective of the high-quality health care services it delivers.

Construction of Wood River Health’s new facility remains on time and on budget. It is expected to be completed in September 2023. Individuals may visit https://woodriverhealth.org/support-us/capital-campaign to see progress photos of the construction, which are updated on a weekly basis. 

Purple Vegetables and Fruits Have Anti-Diabetic Properties

Lots of tasty ways to prepare them

By UNIVERSITY OF TURKU 

Recent research has revealed that anthocyanins, which are red, purple, and blue pigments found in fruits, vegetables, and tubers, have properties that can lower the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes.

According to a recent review article that analyzed the research results on the topic, the risk of type 2 diabetes can be reduced through the consumption of anthocyanins, the red, purple, and blue pigments found in fruits, vegetables, and tubers. 

These pigments have a positive impact on energy metabolism, gut microbiota, and inflammation. The article also discovered that the beneficial effect of anthocyanins on diabetes is amplified when they are acylated, meaning that an acyl group is attached to the sugar moieties of the anthocyanin.

A great amount of acylated anthocyanins can be found in purple potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, radishes, purple carrots, and red cabbages, whereas bilberries and mulberries contain mostly nonacylated anthocyanins. Acylated anthocyanins are poorly absorbed in digestion, but they have probiotic properties and reduce the risk of diabetes more efficiently than nonacylated anthocyanins.

Magaziner Leads Effort to Protect Southern New England Coastal Economy and Environment

Even with radical Republicans controlling the House, there's still room for action

Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) announced that he is leading his colleagues from Southern New England, Reps. Cicilline, Auchincloss, and Keating, in requesting $8 million in federal funding for the Southern New England Estuaries Program (SNEP), which supports innovative solutions to ecological and economic issues in southeastern New England estuaries. 

Rep. Magaziner and his colleagues emphasized the critical role that estuaries play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, as well as the danger that human activity along coasts poses to these fragile ecosystems. They also noted that estuaries provide benefits of great economic and ecological significance, including vital nesting and feeding habitats for aquatic plants and animals.