Weidman whines about pressure to come up with Charlestown affordable housing plan

How do you comply with the law when your boss, CCA founder Ruth Platner, hates affordable housing?

by Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

Charlestown Planner Jane Weidman says complying with
the state affordable housing law is "a real pain." Maybe if
she put more time into it, and less time trying to
  cover up shady deals by the Charlestown Citizens
Alliance, she could get it done.

Since last summer, Warwick Planning Director Tom Kravitz has been racing against the clock. That’s why on a recent day he locked himself in an empty office with his laptop and numerous plat maps.

“I spent four of five days, six hours in a row, really plowing through it,” he said.

“It” is the work required to overhaul the city’s municipal code, something Kravitz and his staff of seven have had to do on top of their normal workload in order to comply with state-mandated changes to the city’s zoning, planning, and permitting statutes.

The changes are required by the 13 bills passed by the General Assembly back in June to stimulate the production of more affordable housing across Rhode Island. Among the changes are provisions allowing commercial buildings to be converted to residential use, shortening the review process for plans, and shifting approval power away from local boards to their municipal planners. 

The legislation was hailed as an important step in helping remove bureaucratic hurdles that slow down development in cities and towns in order to address the state’s housing crisis. But it has placed pressure on Rhode Island’s municipal planners, who have to prepare their communities to adopt these changes by Jan. 1.

Kravitz has most of his city’s new zoning rules set. But he said the city will likely need an extra month or two to update ordinances for subdivisions and land development projects.

These are changes many planners didn’t ask for and don’t want — especially the power shift from locally-appointed planning boards to these full-time planners who prefer to work in more of an advisory role.

“This was all thrown at the towns,” said Jane Weidman, the town planner of Charlestown who only has one assistant to help address the planning needs of a 36.5 square mile town of about 8,000 people. “It’s a real pain.”

Functional fixedness

 

The artistry of the Narragansett stone masons

Protect your dog

Warning – Scientists Uncover Hidden Dangers of Feeding Dogs Raw Meat

By UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Feeding uncooked meat to dogs heightens the chance of them excreting E. coli strains resistant to the commonly used antibiotic ciprofloxacin, according to a study conducted on 600 healthy pet dogs by researchers at the University of Bristol.

E. coli, which can cause food poisoning, is also the UK’s most common cause of urinary tract and bloodstream infections, which can be life-threatening. 

Ciprofloxacin belongs to a group of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones, which are used to treat a range of bacterial infections in humans and animals. The World Health Organisation classes these antibiotics among the highest-priority critically important antibiotics.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earns Polifact's 2023 "Lie of the Year"

RFK Jr.’s Campaign of Conspiracy Theories Is PolitiFact’s 2023 Lie of the Year

Madison Czopek, PolitiFact and Katie Sanders, PolitiFact 

Credit: Dick Wright, PoliticalCartoons.com / CTNewsJunkie via
Cagle Cartoons
/ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

As pundits and politicos spar over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign will factor into the outcome of the 2024 election, one thing is clear: Kennedy’s political following is built on a movement that seeks to legitimize conspiracy theories.

His claims decrying vaccines have roiled scientists and medical experts and stoked anger over whether his work harms children. He has made suggestions about the cause of covid-19 that he acknowledges sound racist and antisemitic.

Bolstered by his famous name and family’s legacy, his campaign of conspiracy theories has gained an electoral and financial foothold. He is running as an independent — having abandoned his pursuit of the Democratic Party nomination — and raised more than $15 million. A political action committee pledged to spend between $10 million and $15 million to get his name on the ballot in 10 states.

Even though he spent the past two decades as a prominent leader of the anti-vaccine movement, Kennedy rejects a blanket “anti-vax” label that he told Fox News in July makes him “look crazy, like a conspiracy theorist.”

But Kennedy draws bogus conclusions from scientific work. He employs “circumstantial evidence” as if it is proof. In TV, podcast, and political appearances for his campaign in 2023, Kennedy steadfastly maintained:

• Vaccines cause autism.
• No childhood vaccines “have ever been tested in a safety study pre-licensing.”
• There is “tremendous circumstantial evidence” that psychiatric drugs cause mass shootings, and the National Institutes of Health refuses to research the link out of deference to pharmaceutical companies.
• Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were discredited as covid-19 treatments so covid vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization, a win for Big Pharma.
• Exposure to the pesticide atrazine contributes to gender dysphoria in children.
• Covid-19 is “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

Maine Bars Trump From Primary Ballot

'He Is Not Qualified': 

JESSICA CORBETT for Common Dreams

Maine Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Thursday barred former U.S. President Trump from the Republican 2024 primary ballot, determining that "he is not qualified to hold the office of the president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment" to the country's Constitution.

Despite several ongoing criminal cases, Trump is currently the Republican front-runner for next year's presidential contest, in which Democratic President Joe Biden, who beat him in 2020, is seeking reelection.

The decision in Maine comes just weeks away from the Iowa caucuses and amid multiple legal battles aiming to boot Trump from ballots for inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection—including in Colorado, where the state Supreme Court disqualified him last week, a decision that could soon be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, to which he appointed three justices.

Bellows' move—which will ultimately be decided in the courts—came in response to three challenges filed to Trump's nomination, two based on the 14th Amendment and one citing the 22nd Amendment. The former bars anyone who has taken an oath to the Constitution and then engaged in insurrection from holding office again, while the latter sets a two-term limit for presidents.

Daughter of the South

A cartoon by Clay Bennett

 

Enemies of the people

Anthrobots: not sure if this is good news or bad

Scientists build tiny biological robots from human cells

Tufts University

Three examples of Anthrobots with hair-like cilia in yellow. “It is fascinating and completely unexpected that normal patient tracheal cells, without modifying their DNA, can move on their own and encourage neuron growth across a region of damage,” said Michael Levin. Images: Gizem Gumuskaya

Researchers at Tufts University and Harvard University's Wyss Institute have created tiny biological robots that they call Anthrobots from human tracheal cells that can move across a surface and have been found to encourage the growth of neurons across a region of damage in a lab dish.

The multicellular robots, ranging in size from the width of a human hair to the point of a sharpened pencil, were made to self-assemble and shown to have a remarkable healing effect on other cells. The discovery is a starting point for the researchers' vision to use patient-derived biobots as new therapeutic tools for regeneration, healing, and treatment of disease.

The work follows from earlier research in the laboratories of Michael Levin, Vannevar Bush Professor of Biology at Tufts University School of Arts & Sciences, and Josh Bongard at the University of Vermont in which they created multicellular biological robots from frog embryo cells called Xenobots, capable of navigating passageways, collecting material, recording information, healing themselves from injury, and even replicating for a few cycles on their own.

At the time, researchers did not know if these capabilities were dependent on their being derived from an amphibian embryo, or if biobots could be constructed from cells of other species.

In the current study, published in Advanced Science, Levin, along with PhD student Gizem Gumuskaya discovered that bots can in fact be created from adult human cells without any genetic modification and they are demonstrating some capabilities beyond what was observed with the Xenobots.

The discovery starts to answer a broader question that the lab has posed -- what are the rules that govern how cells assemble and work together in the body, and can the cells be taken out of their natural context and recombined into different "body plans" to carry out other functions by design?

In this case, researchers gave human cells, after decades of quiet life in the trachea, a chance to reboot and find ways of creating new structures and tasks. "We wanted to probe what cells can do besides create default features in the body," said Gumuskaya, who earned a degree in architecture before coming into biology.

Two more reasons why vulture capitalists should not own hospitals

Infections and falls more likely at private equity-owned hospitals

Patients at hospitals acquired by private equity firms saw a 25% increase in adverse events, new research shows.

JAKE JOHNSON for Common Dreams

 Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence is shown in June 2021. (Kenneth C. Zirkel/Creative Commons – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

EDITOR'S NOTE: These types of problems are evident at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence, operated by CharterCARE, which is owned by private equity company Prospect Medical Holdings.  They both were listed in the lowest ranking by safety watchdog Leapfrog. - Will Collette

A study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that patients are more likely to fall or suffer infections at hospitals owned by private equity firms, whose role in the U.S. healthcare system has grown exponentially in recent years.

The study uses Medicare claims data from between 2009 and 2019 to compare patient complications at private equity-acquired hospitals and control facilities not owned by private equity. Dr. Sneha Kannan, a critical care physician and the study's lead author, told The New York Times that she was surprised by the extent of the difference between the two.

Patients at private equity-owned hospitals saw a 25.4% increase in adverse events such as falls and dangerous central-line bloodstream infections in the three years after the acquisition, according to the new study—even though the private equity hospitals analyzed in the paper tended to have younger and lower-risk patients.

What progress in Charlestown looks like

Charlestown’s 2023 was busy but productive

By Deborah Carney, Charlestown Town Council President

Charlestown is a wonderful town with great people, beaches, parks, open spaces, businesses, and low taxes.

The Town Council and the town’s dedicated staff have had a busy and productive year!

We improved transparency and open government by holding two regular monthly meetings of reasonable length instead of one lengthy meeting, permitting more in-depth review of agenda items. 

We now require detailed minutes instead of a cursory reporting, to provide informed transparency and historical recording.

We returned a voice to the people of Charlestown by reinstating the Charter Revision Advisory Committee to a “standing committee,” providing a vehicle for residents to seek charter changes. 

The committee’s recommendations/suggestions for changes are due this spring. The council will then decide which recommendations should be placed on the ballot for the voters.

The council established an Ordinance Review Ad Hoc Committee to review and update Charlestown’s ordinances, some of which are outdated, unconstitutional or in violation of state law. 

This comprehensive review, with the assistance of General Code, is the first in approximately 20 years and was sorely overdue.

Through the Town Council Rules and Procedures, the council also guaranteed all councilors equal rights to place items on an agenda, without veto, reversing prior policy.

The Town Council contracted with Charlestown Ambulance Rescue Service, which, beginning in July of 2024, will provide critical funding for continued high-quality emergency services. 

This arrangement alleviates residents from paying directly for emergency services and ensures that CARS remains adequately staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Town Council and town staff are collaboratively examining possible improvements to provide safer travel for pedestrians and bikers along Charlestown Beach Road. No decisions have yet been made and all suggestions will be considered.

Recent discussions in Charlestown have centered on the required Ninigret Park Master Plan Update, which is five years past due. Contrary to online postings, the Town Council has not yet received the updated plan from the design consultant. 

Further, the Town Council has not endorsed any construction plan for Ninigret Park, let alone one for $20 to $30 million, as has been rumored online. 

It is important to note that the Master Plan is simply a planning guideline for possible future park improvements. The Town Council’s review of the consultant’s suggestions is anticipated to begin early in 2024.

This upcoming year, the council will also discuss the possibility of Ninigret Park becoming the first stop on a newly created whimsical “Troll Trail,” an installation by internationally known artist Thomas Dambo, which would be sponsored by the South County Tourism Council. 

The trolls are proposed to be created by collaboration between the artist and local tradespersons and would provide a year-round attraction, at no cost to the town.

In 2023, the council hired a new town administrator, Jeffrey Allen, Charlestown’s former police chief. Mr. Allen brings with him a firsthand knowledge and understanding of Charlestown and a personal interest in working to make Charlestown an even better place to live.

In addition to Mr. Allen, the town also welcomed newcomers Patrick Gormley, Jill Cuddy, Kristen Hemphill, Jan Lombardo, Drew Perry, Shirell Perry and Jim Stepalavich to our staff. We said goodbye to retirees Don Black, Lt. Kevin Kidd, Michele Voislow and Kim Wheeler and thank them for their dedicated service.

Charlestown’s challenges for 2024 include filling its volunteer opportunities, particularly in its fire districts. For more information visit http://www.charlestownfd.org or send an email to chief@charlestownfd.org. 

Affordable workforce rental housing and homeownership for families, in the face of rising real estate valuations, will continue to be daunting, but must be addressed.

As always, the Town Council encourages residents to apply for positions on boards and committees, attend Town Council meetings and/or view them via the town’s website at www.Charlestownri.gov. 

We encourage our residents to reach out with comments, questions, and suggestions. By working together, we can accomplish many things in 2024.

Child abuse

A cartoon by Mike Luckovich

Let's do it now!

Shut off the damned phone

Switching off from work has never been harder, or more necessary

Jane Gifkins, Griffith University

Apple TV+

In the hit dystopian TV series Severance, employees at biotech corporation Lumon Industries find it easy to separate work and home life. A computer chip is inserted in their brains to act as a “mindwipe”. They leave all thoughts of home behind while at work, and completely forget about their work when at home.

While the show explores the pitfalls of such a split in consciousness, there’s no denying it’s a tantalizing prospect to be able to “flick the off switch” and forget about work whenever you’re not actually supposed to be working.

This is known as “psychological detachment”. People who can do it are happier and healthier, and experience less fatigue. But many of us struggle to detach and disconnect mentally from work, particularly when our jobs are demanding and stressful.

It may not be enough simply to be physically away from work, particularly in an era when so many of us work from home. We also have to stop thinking about work when we’re not there – whether it’s fretting over your to-do list while out at dinner, thinking about your unanswered emails while you’re at your daughter’s soccer game, or lying in bed pondering what you’ll say at tomorrow’s board meeting.

Why Aren’t More People Buying Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids?

Price, confidence, reliability and consumer education all need to be improved

By Esther Landhuis

When Frank Lin was in junior high, his grandma started wearing hearing aids. During dinner conversations, she was often painfully silent, and communicating by phone was nearly impossible. As a kid, Lin imagined “what her life would be like if she wasn’t always struggling to communicate.”

It was around that time that Lin became interested in otolaryngology, the study of the ears, nose, and throat. He would go on to study to be an ENT physician, which, he hoped, could equip him to help patients with similar age-related hardships.

Those aspirations sharpened during his residency at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the late 2000s. Administering hearing tests in the clinic, Lin noticed that his colleagues had vastly different reactions to the same results in young versus old patients. 

If mild deficits showed up in a kid, “it would be like, ‘Oh, that hearing is critically important,’” said Lin, who today is the director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health at Hopkins. But when they saw that same mild to moderate hearing loss in a 70-something patient, many would downplay the findings.

Yet today, research increasingly suggests that untreated hearing loss puts people at higher risk for cognitive decline and dementia. And, unlike during Lin’s early training, many patients can now do something about it: They can assess their own hearing using online tests or mobile phone apps, and purchase over-the-counter hearing aids, which are generally more affordable their predecessors and came under regulation by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2022.

Despite this expanded accessibility, interest in direct-to-consumer hearing devices has lagged thus far — in part, experts suggest, due to physician inattention to adult hearing health, inadequate insurance coverage for hearing aids, and lingering stigma around the issue. (As Lin put it: “There’s always been this notion that everyone has it as you get older, how can it be important?”) Even now, hearing tests aren’t necessarily recommended for individuals unless they report a problem.

Meanwhile, interest has surged in other consumer audio products that are less expensive than most hearing aids and have features that may help with mild hearing loss: wearable devices like Apple’s AirPods and Sony’s LinkBuds. And this fall, the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group representing the $505 billion U.S. consumer technology industry, released a standard metric for consumer electronics products to report a person’s hearing status.