Newport Mayor Shot Down

Yes, I'm a tad behind the times, but at least I have an excuse. Mayor Napolitano had a resolution on the Counil's agenda Feb. 11 ago in support of 3 of the Guv's ideas regarding his supplemental budget. In it she (and others) offered support for: "proposals by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri to require all public employees in the state to pay 25 percent of their health insurance costs, lift minimum staffing requirements for the police and fire departments, and streamlining the arbitration process for firefighters."

Why did the Democratic Mayor support the suggestions of the Republican Carcieri? Yup, it's definitely unusual. From the NDN: "She said the city is facing a $5 million to $6 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and that 80 percent of the city’s overall costs are for personnel." (NDN) Well, duh. Silly her. Trying to save $. And imagine thinking that the other Councilors who signed it would actually back her up (Duncan, Leonard, Connelly, & Coyne).

It is worth noting that currently only teachers pay 10.5% for their healthcare. It is also striking that firefighters are currently in arbitration for- 2006. "“To solve these problems, we have to come together,” Napolitano said. “I don’t think the entire burden should be on the backs of homeowners. I also don’t think the entire burden should be on the backs of city employees.”

Now, surprise, surprise, 150 Union backers showed up to protest their loss of bargaining rights. Seeing this, except for Napolitano, all Councilorssupporting the resolution caved. Umm, guess they didn't know what it actually, like, meant? They were shocked that there was opposition? They were, hmm, confused?

Not exactly a moment of courage here. But wait, there's more. Councilor McLaughlin who had NOT signed on to the Resolution and, in fact, opposed it, offered the Mayor her only support," ...who thanked Napolitano for putting the resolution on the agenda. Unlike the federal government, the city must balance its budget, he said." It's always good to know who your friends are. Two people of courage, no matter what you may think of the Resolution itself.

And then it gets even more & more interesting. Former Mayor, now Councilor Waluk, deep-sixed the whole matter. He refused to participate: "because he is a public employee who has a financial interest in the outcome of the proposals. He is a policy analyst in the Rhode Island House of Representatives. " Sound like an easy out? Smelly? Let's pick this apart.

Waluk doesn't stand to lose or gain anymore than any other public employee, right? So the "conflict" laws don't really apply to him. He's also not a member of the Lege who actually gets to decide on State Laws which this resolution is proposing to change. So he couldn't actually vote on changing the laws anyway. Doesn't sound like a conflict to me.

So what's up here? Hmm, I could even have lived with this. But then, then the NDN ran their "Jeers & Cheers" and gave him the old virtual tip-of-the-hat for... "In all fairness, Councilman Stephen C. Waluk recused himself because, as a policy analyst for the state House of Representatives, he is a public employee." (NDN) Hello, Hello, what happened to actual fact-checking? You accept this so easily? Why? He didn't even have an "official" opinion from the Board of Elections. It's not like he couldn't spare the time to go to Prov. to actually get one since he works there! It's things like this that make readers turn away. Why give him such a quick & easy pass on such an obviously difficult topic? Why?

The resolution is supposed to be on the agenda again for their next meeting. Wanna bet? So now you know who has courage & who is somewhat challenged.

Thanks to Sean Flynn at the NDN. Sorry, you can't actually read the articles which I refer to without $. And also noted, is the down-grading of the NDN website. Hard to believe that it could be less than what it was, but there it is.

I'M BA-A-A-CK!

So much news, so little time.

My elective surgery went well at Newport Hospital. Thanks for all the encouraging notes. I heart N.Hosp. Elective surgery ALWAYS sounds better in the abstract than in the reality. So my original problem does seem to have disappeared. But now I am sore & cannot yet stand up straight & no driving. But I only take my painkillers (LOVE THEM) at night. So I am not quite as sleepy or goofy.

I've lost 20 lbs., in 2 or 3 wks., but I don't recommend my diet: first- you have surgery; then you don't feel hungry.

I'll point you to two articles regarding R.I. both are from the NYT: one regarding marriage equality and the other regarding our economic meltdown. Thanks to friends for pointing them out.

Tonight the Middletown Council supposedly meets... unless it doesn't. Some interesting topics- E-Z Pay trash removal program plus "Council President Semonelli and Councillor Bozyan, re: Discussion of ways of insuring public input regarding the preservation, future development or transfer of interest in Second Beach." Uh-oh. Exactly what does this mean? Some background here- thep previous Council tried to transfer all development rights at the Beach to the Land Trust. In other words, we trust ourselves, but those future Councils will likely have dopes on them & do awful things there. And you know, you Can NEVER trust those voters. Like I'm always saying, in this State, it's hard to tell the Dems from the Reps without a score card. Why we should voluntarily give up anything that we ALL own to anyone for zilch, is beyond me.

Oh, & the renewal of drain layers' licenses is also on the agenda. Sorry, I'm entitled to my little jokes. There is also Sylvia's property tax proposal for seniors. Could be lively discussions; especially since Sylvia, Silveira, and Independent VonVillas are on the out's with the Dem. Town Committee (and myself among others) & Republican Santos "In." Go figure. The more things change sometimes, the more they stay the same. But that's a topic for another day. I can't make it to the Council meeting. Anyone else care to report?

I've also been keeping a very interested eye on Newport Council meetings. Ah, the curse & blessing of living in interesting times. Then there's the Lege.

Later.

Newport Co. NAAC Candidates' Forum Thurs. at 7

I just found out about this. Hubby forgot to give me the notice. Hello!!! I was afraid that yet again, no one would have an opportunity to ask candidates questions. Hats' off to the NAACP! They are sponsoring these forums because they want EVERYONE to get out there and- VOTE!

As my mother would say- you pays your money & you makes your choice!

The Newport County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will be holding a "Candidates Forum" on Thursday, August 28th,2 008 at Thompson Jr. H.S. on Broadway- Newport, Rhode Island from will be held at 7:00 pm to 9:00pm.

The following are the rules for the Forum:

* All Candidates allowed 1/2 minute opening statement
* One minute to answer each question
* Questions will be rotated
* No personal attacks on any other candidate or person, present or not.
* This is not a debate; no questioning of candidates by each other
* Audience questions submitted in writing to moderator may be directed to a specific candidate or to all candidates.

Order of Candidates:
Middletown Town Council Candidates
PortsmouthT own Council Candidates
Newport City Council Candidates

So come already!!!

But, But, You Endorsed Them!

Today's Daily News editorial blasts the Newport City Council for not endorsing the North Side Master Plan & refers to them as the "Do-Nothing Council."

Yet they endorsed 4 of them. One rec'd no endorsement (Kathryn Leonard) as she had no opposition. They single out Mayor Waluk for rebuke, but they also endorsed him. You told us that in the next two years Newport would best be served by four of these people.

You also told us that the current sitting Middletown Council would be best for all of us (although Silveira & DiPalma rec'd lukewarm endorsements with spankings). You editorialized that Councilors Barrows, Santos, Mello, and Rodrigues were the "nucleus of a team that could move beyond the campaign rhetoric and continue to move the town forward." So, how did that work out?

Just curious. I realize that this endorsement process requies a lot of work on your part. Perhaps some revamping is called for?

Council Recusals

Thanks to John McDaid of Hard Deadlines I recently read an article of his that I missed previously. It reports on the R.I. Ethics Commission presentation made to the Portsmouth Town Council. This information was presented not only to the community as a whole, but the School board & various boards/committees. It certainly contained some info I was not aware of.


Council recusals happen rather frequently, at least in Middletown. There are rules regarding this action. For instance, you should leave the dais so as not to give any appearance of continuing to participate. This importance of this was most recently brought toattention when Councillor Mello, the acting Chair, recused herself from two matters, yet continued to sit with the Council. It was then unclear to the members, & audience, who was conducting the meeting. Removing herself would have brought attention to & settled the matter.

There is also a form or letter which MUST be filed. This is the link for the form. Has anyone ever actually done this? There are exceptions. This brings to mind yet another matter. None of these filed forms are online, including the financial disclosure forms which politicans, et al, must file. They used to be but no longer. The most recent filings I could access from another site are from 2005 & those are lege members only. Hello. What's the problem here? Keeping them on file in Prov. for 5 yrs. is not much of a help. You must also pay for hard copies.

There are also rules on accepting gifts. Meals, hotels, football tickets, etc. must be accounted for & are not accceptable if worth over $25 (with a yearly limit of $75).

But you need to read John's blog. No use in my re-creating the wheel. Thanks for the info, John! Sometimes I'm a bit slow.

Robber Barons Still Alive and Well in Newport

"First Marblehead" of Mass. is under investigation by the State of N.Y. regarding its student loan practices. Congress is also planning on holding investigative hearings. Sen. Kennedy's proposed Student Loan Sunshine Act is an attempt to reign in large profits at students' expense. Lest you are not up-to-date, the 20 billion dollar student loan industry is quite lucrative. These loans are easily obtained (95% approval rate) and can be done on-line with no co-signers. They are also more appealing because of the low cap on fed'l loans and the downturn of the housing market. Parents are no longer able to borrow on appreciated housing values.

'"Last year private loans amounted to some $17 billion of the $85 billion in total new student loans; government-backed loans, which First Marblehead doesn't handle, made up the rest."'
First Marblehead does not loan money itself. It acts as a middleman for those needing loans and those giving loans with as much as a 13% advisory fee up front. These loans are packaged and sold. First Marblehead does not service accounts.

Former CEO & Chairman Daniel M. Meyer (a former member of that much-beleaguered class), a major stockholder, is a prominent new Newporter who specializes in purchasing large estates, golfing, and yachting. He does this with monies realized from packaging loans offered to students, often with college logos affixed to them inviting students to believe that these are cheap loans offered through colleges' benefices. Presently he is demolishing a ten million dollar 45 acre estate on Ocean Drive, "Avalon" and is thinking of purchasing the next-door estate. Good place for a new-age robber baron. Ah, but don't forget, he's also contributing money to Lucy's Heath while doing so. Not many of us can turn a building project into a charitable contribution (donating salvaged materials' income) to help with our taxes (sigh).

Meyers (age 42) was forced to (voluntarily) resign after giving gifts of over $30,000 value to a loan officer - one of his companies biggest clients. '"Meyers, known in the investment community as Jabba the Hutt because of his girth and cantankerous disposition, was forced to step down from his executive post, though he remains a major shareholder of the company."' These are verbotten as they tend to look a lot like bribes or kickbacks. Hey, he's just a generous guy.

Students now graduate with an average of $20,000 in loans, and as I learned last summer in knocking on doors, MANY in New England with its pricey colleges owe a lot more, many of them private loans. The average indebteness of college students has more than doubled in the past decade.

A high percentage of these students apply for private loans without ever filling out the forms (estimated 20%) for the much lower priced federal loans. I would attribute this to the LENGTHY and complex form the gov't in its great wisdom provides. They then turn to the private market, not realizing the extra monies (inc. fees) involved. These loans charge up to 4 pts. more than a gov't loan plus fees. '"Today, the average rate in the First Marblehead pool is nearly 11 percent. Interest rates on federal loans, by contrast, are capped at 6.8 percent. "' And these loans, unlike federal ones, are NOT wiped out by bankruptcy. Hey, someone has to pay for the Bentley.

While it is not legal for colleges to accept incentives for government loans, not so with private ones. Salve Regina just paid a fine $26,000 fine for listing some of these loan originators as "preferred" loans while not revealing that they rec'd inventive for doing so. Students and parents often do not realize that they would be better off shopping around.

'"The student loan industry could be in for more jolts. Policy makers and regulators say that there are dangerous parallels between the private student loan and subprime mortgage markets. In both, there have been phenomenal profits, aggressive marketing and, until the recent credit market turmoil, a healthy appetite from Wall Street investors."' These are bottom feeders who hungrily sucked in huge amounts of monies while Congress & regulators slept. They made plenty of monies for themselves while others are/were left holding the bag.

"First Marblehead" is now forced to submit documents regarding to this former CEO and its lending practices going back six years. Did I mention that it's stock which had been doing phenomenally well is no longer doing so?

Two district beneficiaries of Mr. Meyer's largess were Newport Councilors Charles Duncan and Steve Waluk who each rec'd maximum $1000 contributions from him in the last election - guess he's a Republican (go figure). Wonder if they'll return them?

'“There have been populations of students who have been overleveraged for 40 years,” he says. “The bigger problem is that we have students who have been underleveraged.”' Students? Underleveredged? That means your college education gives you a learning potential. You should leverage this with loans. As earnings for potential grads declines, you are being encouraged to incur greater debt that ever. '"Please note carefully that Fleece U degree cannot guarantee you a future income that will allow you to pay off your debts. Many of our most promising graduates are now, three or four years later, working for $8-12 an hour serving up lattés, counseling disturbed youth or creating business computer networks. They are set for a lifetime of debt, and we are proud that they first began to accrue it right here, on our lovely mock Oxfordian campus."'

So the next time you stand on the shore watching him sail by in his 60 ft. yacht, "Numbers" (he has two smaller yachts) give him a wave. And thank him for the recent donation of 20 mil to the Univ. of Va. After all, some of that college debt you're paying off may well have helped obtain his share of the American dream. And if you can't yet afford it (and you many never be able to), know that at the very least, you are "well leveraged."

Water, Water Everywhere Except in Middletown

**UPDATE** The water connection ban has now been lifted by the Newport City Manager. Discussions on renewal of the sewer contract will continue.

Newport has, as they say, "hand." Middletown wants new water connections & Newport ain't giving them until it gets a better deal for its sewer agreement. At a recent Middletown Dem. Town Committee we were assured this was all set & had been negotiated. The Chair & others were upset with the Newport Council & the somewhat underhanded way this was handled. It was also considered that the Newport taxpayer would not like this & those Councilors in Newport better get on the ball to straighten this out.

Naive is a polite term for this thinking. Newport needs money. Middletown has extra. "Fault" depends on which side of the net you're on - could be good news, could be bad.

The Council in Newport has dynamics just as Middletown's does. To assume that Newporters don't approve of ceasing water connections to Newport until sewer leakage problems in the system effecting the harbor are taken care of is stupid. Why should Middletowners be allowed new contruction connections when Newporters can't? Give me a break!

Councilors in Middletown weren't listening when Newport Councilors spoke. Since Newport is non-partisan (and Middletown may as well be at this point), party ties won't help. It's an interesting situation. To think that when this referendum was passed last fall in Newport, that it would have NO effect here, may have been logical thinking, but certainly wasn't lateral thinking.

Does Middletown have anything that Newport wants is the next question. I believe that it does and this arena needs to be explored. This is the price Middletown now is paying for leaving all the water & sewer infrastructure to be managed by Newport (Portsmouth has its own water system). Hey, you can pay us now or you can pay us later. Later has come & this is just the beginning. And who can blame them? I pay taxes in both places.

You may start bidding farewell to all the "extra" money in the non-reserved funds. Letting Newport become aware of all this $ just sitting there, most definitely led to this problem. Too bad more of it wasn't returned to the taxpayer. This could be bye-bye to the fire station which is the planned receiver of much of these funds.

This is going to be an on-going situation with most, if not all, discussion going on behind closed doors. Expect to also start hearing a lot of rhetoric from both sides. The town should have started this negotiation as soon as that referendum passed instead of waiting until the Spring. Uh-oh. Can you say "legal extortion" if you're Middletowner or "Windfall" if you're a Newporter?

Newport Puts Pressure on Middletown for More $

The "Newport Daily News" hit the nail on the head regarding the propriety of the Newport Council (or is it the city Manager) not allowing Middletown any new water connections until it gets a better payoff for its sewer system usage. This action should be in the Council minutes & it's not.
The "News" uses this then to wonder what else goes on behind closed doors. It might also wonder what Middletown is going to do about it. Middletown relies on Newport for much of its water & uses Newport's wastewater treatment system. Newport wants Middletown to share more of the costs (Newport is having $ troubles, too, duh).
No, none of this is on the agenda for the next Council meeting. Middletown never even told its citizenry that this has been a problem since May. I'm assuming that at least the Council Prez knew about it. But it was kept quiet. Why?