Dirty Beaches

Sometimes I'd just like to scream. So here goes: AAAARRRGGGHHH!

Let's see. We have a section of Third Beach permanently closed due to pollution beccause of a dirty brook which meanders through town (Bailey's Brook). The town paid a lot of money for land for a proposed town center off of High St. No go. It's polluted with arsenic. The town was given land off Valley Rd. for a police station. It's going up but not till we spent millions to clean up arsenic pollution there. We are helping to pollute First & Atlantic Beaches first with sewer leaks & overflow problems (supposedly now fixed). However the two outflow pipes onto the beach still drain there & cause problems.

Supposedly in the works is a very expensive infared light solution to clean outflow from the two pipes & the moat surrounding the ponds for the Newport Water Dept. However, it is limited in scope & is not a cure-all. So how many times have I blogged about this? Too many to count.

So surprise, surprise, two environmental groups are suing not only Newport but likely Middletown, too. Oh, the humanity! What a shock. Why would anyone want to do that?

Every week I go with my part at 6:15 AM to First Beach to test the waters. The results are not good. The testing for July (and we've had only miniscule amounts of rain) show that Kings' Park Beach is cleaner. Too bad the testing isn't conducted daily. The testing often shows acceptable pollution on some days, but really, do you want to go in the water then?

“We knew it was coming [lawsuit] after Shawn briefed us about it,” Rodrigues said. “It’s not like we’re ignoring the problem. While all of us are concerned about the environment, a lot of this comes down to dollars and cents.” (Sheley, NDN)

Gee, dollars & cents is of no concern in the Kempen affair. And now we have yet another lawsuit to worry about. Solicitor Holbrook & Town Admin. Brown: Handle it, handle it.

Both Newport & Middletown have been dragging their feet on this issue for years. Rep. Kennedy, Sen. Reed & Whitehouse have all promised to help. There isn't must that they can do, though, until the town/city make up their minds to solve this problem- now!

I've got a new link up. It's the Eastons Point Assos. They have a new, very informative website up with news & pix. Check it out. You can join (sign me up) & attend their annual meeting Aug. 7 at the Sachuet Point Wildlife center. Clean Water Access will do a presentation. We are the "water testers."

Here is Projo's take on the pending suit.

Think that this is just a beach/tourism matter? Not so, although those are quite sufficient, thank you. It's also an econ. development concern. We want good businesses to come & stay. Dirty beaches isn't exactly a c0me-on. Beaches are only test during the summer. Clean Ocean Access provides year-round weekly testing for Middletown's Atlantic Beach only.

This is the state site. They provide testing at various times & post the results. Unfortunately, must of the testing is not done very often. It's all about money, you know. We've been lucky in that while the beachest have been closed at various times, it's been a relatively dry summer so far, so there have been fewer than in the past.

New Poll!

If I leave polls on too long, people play with them to manipulate the results (and you know who you are). LOL!

So here is a new one for your perusal & entertainment. Feel free to suggest new ones.

The old one regarding allowing residents to vote on ALL the Middletown Charter Commission changes as opposed to "most" was overwhelmingly "YES!" Keep this in mind when looking at current Council candidates. ASK!

Who is in favor of placing all changes on the ballot- Ed Silveira and Robert Sylvia (current members), Eileen Spillane (me), BarbaraVonVillas, Helen Christy, & Antone Viveiros. ?Ron Santa? If I missed someone, this would be a good time to speak.

Middletown Council or "Mission Impossible"

**UPDATE** Here is Projo's Meaghan Wim's account. Her editor entitled it, "Court date possible on Kempen’s plea to be heard." That about says it all. Here is the "Newport Daily News" reporter Mike Sheley's take.

This Council takes you down a road with more twists & turns than the curls in my hair. All were present except DiPalma.

There were various discussions of work contracts that were awarded or not. Not one of the contracts went to the lowest bidder, I think, because of the lack of 5 references. Councilor Santos demurred from awarding contracts to the lowest bidders because she "would like to save money, but we have rules in place." Hmm, maybe it's time to take a closer look at these rules. Awarding contracts with frequently large money differences is costly to the town. When Councilor Sylvia asked why 5 references were req'd (as opposed to 7 or 4), he rec'd no answer that I could discern. Councilor Silveira also expressed concern over these awards.

The library exterior repair contract was put on hold pending the answering of some questions which the Librarian was vague on. What happened to the Council liason- Barrow? Not a word. One might think that she could have, should have contributed to this discussion. What the heck does a Council liason do?

A contract award was placed on hold regarding the 2008 revaluation. Seems as if the bid loser had some complaints as to why he was not recommended even as lowest bidder. He found this out off the agenda website. This is now put on hold pending further discussions with the Town Admin. Good thing that he checked.

When former Town Admin. Kempen's letter was brought up, Councilor Sylvia recused himself as Michael Brady (Kempen's lawyer) is also his in a pending case. This supposedly is a conflict of interest, according to Carol Cummins who then continued on this topic. She seemed disappointed that Sylvia withdrew & beat her to the punch. Why? She spoke with the Ethics Commission & this was her conclusion. She's no lawyer, but plays one on t.v. She made it quite clear that this was her opinion only. No comment from the town's solicitor.

The town solicitor said that an Exec. session is a no-go as Kempen is no longer a town employee. So the Kempen complaint will go to the trust who handles its lawsuits & will comment on it in 40 days (and 40 nights). So this topic will kick around in the desert awhile longer. Councilor Silveira stated that it was "prudently responsible" to hold a meeting which will put an end to Kempen's litigation threat. He got nowhere. I think the majority would like to send him to the desert. Maybe he's already there.

Antone Viveiros spoke a number of times. He complained that his Charter-change suggestions went into "the circular file" of the Council. He thought that the whole Charter commission process was "a scam" in that ALL of its suggestions are not to be voted on and/or were changed. The Chair took great exception to this & loudly objected that Antone's comments were "inappropriate." At least he wasn't arrested.

Antone asked for a vote to "reconsider." The solicitor then ruled that this is out of order. Of course it is. What he should have asked for was a motion to "repeal" or "rescind." The solicitor still hasn't ruled on Sylvia's motion from two months ago because he wasn't familiar with it. But I digress.

Councilor Silveira thought that Antone should have been on the charter commission (he was not appointed) & agreed with "letting residents have a voice in the decision." But still, no go. We're all too darn stupid to vote on all this, that's why. Well, YOU are, not me. Not them either. Aren't we lucky to have all these deciders?

There were various clapping episodes with no police interference. I'd call it a draw myself. I think someone should make a motion to have one of those old applause meters monitored by the police officer in charge of crowd control. He/She could then holler out the winners. Perhaps there could be prizes. The winner could hold the handcuffs or become the chief "shusher." I'd be good at the latter. After all, I was a librarian. I think that qualifies me as a "professional." Why hired a copper when I'd do it for... well, very little.

It was quite a show. Councilor Barrow spoke once about wasted "energy and efforts..." but it was said so softly that I couldn't catch the rest. Oh darn. The phantom finally verbalizes (remember she changed her vote on taking Kempen up on his public meeting request) and I miss it! There was clapping involved, so perhaps one of the reporters picked up on it. Or maybe they just applauded to find out that she actually speaks.

It must be an interesting Republican Town Committee meeting with Antone, Barrow, & Santos. From what I see they agree on zilch, yet they are running together. So much for political parties. Go figure.

The finale of this ongoing episode occured as Councilor Santos decided to seperate herelf from ther herd by proposing a town food bank- for residents only. You'll have to flesh out the idea yourself though, and with no committees, thank you very much. I think it's rather ironic when having the opportunity in the past 2 yrs. to reduce taxes by using some of the reserve funds, she declined. When the opportunity presented itself to have trash removal as a town service rather than a pay-a-you-throw, she also declined. When the former Town Admin. complained of interence, she voted to pay him off & bid him bye-bye. This program is to be on a main road serviced by buses, run by high schoolers, & overseen by seniors. Details, details. The specifics need a tad of work. And it will cost the town nada. I'm speechless. Literally. Town Admin Brown- handle it!

So if you're looking for a professional wrap-up, read tomorrow's Projo or Daily News. Ron Santa of the Middletown Newsletter was not present- probably out surfing, dude. With Sen. Gibbs.

The Council divisions are present more sharply than ever. It's like the old Roman circus without the drawn swords. No wonder they need a police presence. Free tickets are abundantly awarded. Where's the bread? Hmm, garlic, I hope. Maybe some bruchetta, too. Topped with lots of tomatoes. How do I get off topic when reporting here?

"Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to bring peace and harmony to the Middletown Council & the town. As usual, should you or any member of your I.M. Force be captured or killed, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."

Jim declined this mission. Poof!

Happy 41st Birthday, Patrick Kennedy

We're practically related. Mine was Fri., his is today. I'm just a tad older- 60. He's a baby.

Disabilities' Hearing Thursday at MPL

From the Governor's Commission on Disabilities: “It is important for state policy makers and planners to hear from people with disabilities and their families their concerns about current services, needs that are not being addressed, and suggestions for improving services and expanding opportunities.

"People with disabilities and their families are invited to express their concerns about services they receive at any of six forums to be held throughout the state next week by the Rhode Island Department of Health on behalf of 20 sponsoring organizations.

Their comments will form the basis of a report to be sent to the governor, state legislators and Rhode Island’s congressional delegation. Remarks may be made in person, e-mailed, faxed, or sent by mail.

Thursday, 3 to 5 p.m., community room of the Middletown Public Library, 700 West Main Rd.

Those unable to attend one of the forums may send comments by fax to (401) 462-0106, by e-mail to disabilities@gcd.ri.gov or by mail to the Governor’s Commission on Disabilities, John O. Pastore Center, 41 Cherry Dale Court, Cranston, RI 02920-3049 by July 29.

Yup, 3 to 5 at the MPL. Makes it easy for most concerned with disabilities to attend. And utilitizing the island's outstanding public transportation system, to boot. Barring the unforseen, I'll be there with a few tidbits to share. Who else will be there? I'm betting not many. An no press. Yeah, suggestions. They want 'em. LOL. I've got 'em. Not much that $ wouldn't cure.

Thanks to Projo for the info.

Middletown Council Meets Tonight

33 items on the agenda! There is an Exec. session first, so don't expect it to start until 7 pm. So what's happening is here. Now that the leadership will be leaving, you could well see the dynamics of the Council starting to change with members actually addressing issues rather than echo votes. You will also see some candidates making moves such as Antone Viveiros, to seperate themselves from their leadership (good luck!). Even Mother Theresa Santos will be engaged in the yack-yack addressing residents' needs, whatever that means.

Open Records Veto

This is the link for the recent Daily News editorial faulting the guv for his veto of House/Senate bills broadening the open records requirement. It is, as always, well written & I won't try to improve on what professionals have written (unless I disagree). Local guvs could direct their departments to follow this lege- and they should. It just would not have the force of law behind it (state law trumps local). It would have the force of the local budget, though.

It would certainly negate Middletown's silly reg that the Council has knowledge and access to ANY public records that you requested & would know that you requested it. It especially shares this info with any Councilor seeking records. No, I'm not making this up.

Public information is just that- public. We all have the right to access these records quickly & at minimal cost. They are OUR records, after all. When I go into the Newport Clerk's office, I immediately see a posting that to access records you must simply fill out a form & pay costs. I don't see that in Middletown. You do need to write your name, though. Why? What happened to privacy? You give that up when you ask for public records? I think not.

Hey, I didn't vote for him. BTW, the Newport Daily News endorsed him.

Today is Do-or-Die for Candidates

I'll try & have a local update later today. This from Chris Barnett at the Secretary of State:

TODAY IS DO-OR-DIE FOR R.I. CANDIDATES

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 11, 2008) - Today at 4 p.m. is the deadline for candidatesto submit the signatures of enough eligible Rhode Island voters to get onthe ballot this year, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

Rhode Islanders can track the progress of all of the candidates who arevying for a spot on the ballot by visiting the Secretary of State's website at http://www.sec.state.ri.us/elections/june-25-is-deadline-for-filing-to-run-for-office-1.Every morning Mollis will update the number of signatures that have been certified for every candidate in their quest to appear on the ballot.

Signature papers already have started to trickle in to local boards of canvassers, according to Mollis. Among the candidates who appear to already have made the cut are House Majority Leader Gordon Fox and House Finance Committee Chairman Steve Costantino, both Providence Democrats.

The Secretary of State has until July 18 to finish certifying the names inorder for candidates to officially be placed on the ballot for theSeptember 9 primary or November 4 election.

The 2,800 Rhode Islanders who filed declarations of candidacy last month have had since July 1 to collect the signatures of eligible voters. The thresholds range from 50 signatures for the state House of Representativesand many municipal offices to 1,000 signatures for the U.S. Senate.

"This is a very exciting time for American and Rhode Island politics. Rhode Islanders are becoming extremely active in the governmental process as evidenced by the high turnout of voters we had in March and the great number of candidates in this year's election cycle," said Mollis.

At 5 p.m. on July 18, Mollis will hold a public lottery at the State Houseto determine the order in which unendorsed candidates for Congress and the General Assembly will appear on primary ballots. The lottery will also determine the order in which recognized political parties and independent candidates will appear on the ballot for November's election.

A calendar with every key date leading up to Rhode Island's primary andgeneral election is also posted on Mollis' web site.

Secretary of State Mollis is committed to making it easier for RhodeIslanders to vote, helping businesses grow and making government more open and accessible. For more information about the programs and services theSecretary of State offers Rhode Islanders, visit www.sec.state.ri.us<http://www.sec.state.ri.us/ .

Happy Birthday to Me!

I don't usually blather on about birthdays, but this is a biggie- 60! When you have a parent who dies fairly young (dad- age 53), you learn about human frailty early. I never believed that I'd make it this far, but, I did!

I have some white hair, crows' feet, jowls, wrinkles, etc., and...I don't care!!! I'll post a close-up later. Yeah, it was touched-up. I never said that I was stupid, did I?



What have I learned in 60 years? Not a whole lot but it's time to ruminate a bit:








1. Life is not fair. Celebrate when it is. Strive for it.

2. Life is short. Have fun. It it's not fun- make it so. If you can't- pretend it is. Laugh a lot. If people don't like you doing any of the former, try to avoid them.

3. Be around kids. Play. Speak to them. Listen to their jokes. Consider it a rare honor.

4. Appreciate your surroundings & try to make them beautiful.

5. Money is important. It doesn't guarantee happiness, but it sure helps.

6. Keep educating yourself.

7. Exercise. You'll probably live longer than you think.

8. Do a favor for someone whenever you can. Be generous. Just because. It's a blessing to be able to do so.

9. Honor older citizens. Spend some time with them.

10. Try something new whenever the opportunity presents itself.

11. Enjoy your memories, but keep it short, stupid (KISS).

12. Encourage your passion.

11. Have a pet whenever possible.

12. Family is important. So are friends. Keep the good ones, maintain your distance from the others.

13. Beaches, ocean access, forests, parks, etc. are wonderful places.

Kempen Suing Middletown Unless...

It's hard to believe after all this time that this issue is still unresolved. Former Town Manager, Mr. Kempen (represented by lawyer Michael T. Brady now) is upset that various parts of his agreement with the town have been breached. In his lawyer's letter on the Council's Monday agenda, the complaint is that since the initial letter of June 10, 2008 requesting a meeting with the Council, Mr. Kempen has been stonewalled. There still is no scheduled meeting despite letters, phone calls, & personal requests.

"The Separation and Release Agreement specifically provides that a party who believes that the agreement has been breached may seek damages in a court... For over six months, Mr. Kempen... has sought to meet with the Town Council, in Open Meeting or Executive Session, [and] has sought to discuss his concerns regarding the breach of this agreement. The denials and delay in addressing the legitimate concerns of Mr. Kempen by the majority of the members of the Town Council have left him with no other option.... I [am] informing you of his intent to file suit...."

As I informed Mr. Holbrook my client does not wish to file suit against the Town
of Middletown because of the actions of some, but not all members of the Town
Council. Meeting with Mr, Kempen, in all likelihood, will put an end to this
issue. The power to avoid litigation to resolve this issue now rests solely with
the Middletown Town Council ."

Mr. Kempen is willing to meeting either in closed or open session. Which ever way it goes, the truth, along with various versions thereof, will likely be outed. The candidates aligned with both Parties are going to have trouble explaining their party leadership's poisition on this- mainly, keep it quiet. Perhaps that's why Republican candidate, Antone Viveiros, has 2 letters on the agenda- one requesting Kempen's agreement to be made public & another requesting all the Charter Review Commission suggestions to be placed on the ballot. Hard to separate yourself as one of the four Republican candidates when the two current Republican Councilors also running voted just the opposite. Both of these are fairly substantial issues. Your Party Chair also has experessed being against non-partisan elections (surprise, surprise). One might ask, why run as a Republican at all? What does that Party label stand for on the local level after all.

It would seem that if the fat lady isn't allowed to sing (or the thin man in this case), four members of the Council (Barrow, Santos, Rodrigues, & Mello) may find themselves named in a lawsuit.