Rhode Island DEM Closures

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

DEM ANNOUNCES ANNUAL RECLASSIFICATION OF SHELLFISH WATERS,

SEASONAL CLOSURES IN EFFECT THIS WEEKEND

 

PROVIDENCE - The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announced the reclassification of several areas of the state's shellfish harvesting waters. Areas in Sakonnet Harbor, Kickemuit River, and the East Passage have been reclassified based on water quality monitoring results.  The changes take effect at sunrise on Saturday, May 28 – along with seasonal shellfish closures. 

 

"Having clean bays, rivers, and coastal waters is vital to our state and our families,” said DEM Director Janet Coit.  “Digging for clams and other shellfish is a favorite pastime for Rhode Islanders and it also support the livelihoods of our commercial shellfishermen.  I am proud of the work our team and many partners are doing to ensure the vibrancy of our waters so we can continue to offer excellent shellfishing opportunities.”

 

Rhode Island has a diverse and dynamic commercial fishing and seafood industry.  Steeped in tradition, the industry continues to thrive due to the health and abundance of local favorites such as quahogs and littlenecks.  Last year, nearly 100 million pounds of seafood arrived to a Rhode Island port – with an ex-vessel value over $75 million and an export value of more than $1 billion.  Some 28 million shellfish were harvested from Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island coastal waters.

 

As a result of improved water quality conditions, Sakonnet Harbor in Little Compton will open for shellfish harvesting on a seasonal basis this fall.  It was previously closed year-round. This area is defined as south of a line from the light at the end of the Sakonnet breakwater to a point of land near the end of Goodrich Lane on the eastern shore of the Harbor. 

 

No changes in shellfish classification will go into effect this year for Upper Narragansett Bay; however, monitoring following rain events allowed the Conimicut Triangle area to be opened an additional 11 days and Area A, 13 days in 2015.  The lower portion of the Providence River is showing promise and may be reopened conditionally to shellfishing in future years; before this can happen, shellfish management plans must be developed to ensure long term viability of the shellfish stock in the area.     

 

Despite the overall positive results from this year’s assessments, new closures will be put into effect for a few areas around the Bay. The Kickemuit River in Bristol and Warren will continue to be operated as a conditionally-approved area.  It will be closed to shellfish harvesting for a minimum of seven days after 0.5 inches or more of rainfall/precipitation. It will also be closed to shellfish harvesting during the month of January due to elevated bacteria levels. 

 

Also, nearly five acres in East Passage Cranston Cove in Jamestown will be closed to shellfish harvesting due to elevated bacteria levels.  The area was previously open and is defined as East Passage GA6-5: the waters of Cranston Cove on the eastern shoreline in Jamestown, south and west of a line from the most southeastern in water structure of CRMC dock 771 (located offshore of 530 East Shore Road) to the most northeastern in water structure of CRMC dock 1924 (located offshore of 486 East Shore Road).  The closure includes all waters bounded by said docks to the north and south.

 

Seasonal Shellfish Closures Effective at Sunrise on Saturday, May 28

 

Consistent with U.S. Food and Drug Agency requirements, DEM closes certain areas seasonally to the harvesting of shellfish every year due to potential water quality impacts associated with marinas and mooring fields. The closures take effect this Saturday and will expire at sunrise on Tuesday, October 11.

These areas include: Block Island (Great Salt Pond and Trims Pond), Bristol Harbor, Jamestown (Dutch Harbor area), Potter Cove (Prudence Island), Sakonnet Harbor (Little Compton), and Wickford Harbor (Fishing Cove). In addition, the smaller marina closures in the south coastal ponds and the Kickemuit River will go into effect at this time.

A new interactive mapping portal is now available to view shellfish area maps online. For more information about shellfish classifications and the legal descriptions of all shellfish closures, visit www.dem.ri.gov.  DEM maintains a 24-hour shellfishing hotline, providing information on emergency and conditional area shellfish closures:  401-222-2900.

 

Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM or on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) for timely updates.

Foster Town Council Meeting May 26, 2016 Part 2

Foster Town Council Meeting May 26, 2016

Burrillville NO Power Plant Rally Today !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

When:

Today at 3 PM - 8 PM Starts in about 6 hours · 73° Partly Cloudy

Where: Rhode Island State House 82 Smith St, Providence, Rhode Island 02903 Details Do you need a ride? We have secured buses and have two departure times: 2:30 PM Sharp! 4:00 PM Sharp! Departure from St. Joseph's/Father Holland Parking Lot 180 Sayles Ave, Pascoag, RI 02830 Please call: 401-497-7984 401-309-9361 401-678-0046 ... Please come whenever you can, after work, school, etc. There will be a rally in the rotunda that will go from 3:30-7'ish and then a Hearing on the same night in front of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources from approximately 5-however long it lasts. There will be opportunity for PUBLIC COMMENT!!! We all need to make sure our voices are heard regarding our opposition to the proposed 1000 MW Power Plant in Burrillville, RI. This is not just a Burrillville issue. In a state as small as ours, it's an issue for everyone!

New Bill Lets Burrillville Residents Vote on Power Plant

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. — Opponents are looking at every angle to stop the proposed natural-gas power plant. The latest are bills filed by local lawmakers Democrat Rep. Cale Keable and Democrat Sen. Paul Fogarty that would require residents to vote on any tax deal that the Town Council approves with Chicago-based Invenergy, the developer of the proposed facility.
A tax agreement is a significant issue because it's one of the few facets of the approval process that the town has sole control of. The state Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) holds the most influence, and two state agencies will issue permits for the proposed 900-plus-megawatt Clear River Energy Center.
Opponents are fighting the project over the environmental disruption the $700 million project would bring to the rural town in northeast Rhode Island. Impacts of con

cern include noise, harmful emissions, traffic, disruption to wildlife and the use of polluted water to cool the power plant.
“We’re fighting for our survival here,” resident Donna Woods said during a May 18 meeting with residents and the Town Council.
Woods and others expressed frustration with the lack of time to stop the project. Most impact reports are due to the EFSB by Sept. 10. A decision by the EFSB is expected by the end of the year, with construction expected to start in early 2017.
“We have a huge uphill battle at the state level to stop this,” said Robin Muskian, a local resident who moderated the May 18 meeting because of her experience with state negotiations. “Realistically, we’re in a very, very bad spot to stop this.”
The 100-plus residents at the recent meeting urged the Town Council to fight the power plant instead of negotiating a tax deal with Invenergy. Some also accused town manager Michael Wood of forging a behind-the-scenes agreement with the developer to approve the project.
“Limit his role (in the project). He answers to you,” resident Jeremy Bailey told the Town Council members.
For the first time, several Town Council members expressed empathy with opposition efforts. Council president John Pacheco III said Gov. Gina Raimondo should follow through on her promise to meet with residents over the issue.
“We should hold her to it,” he said.
Raimondo's office told ecoRI News that the governor is "planning a conversation in Burrillville this summer to hear directly from the local community." The governor is still focused on energy costs and new sources of energy such as wind and solar, the spokeswoman said.
The May 18 town meeting took an interesting turn when resident Barry Craig, a retired attorney from Washington, D.C., presented several suggestions for impeding the project.
The affable Craig, wearing a T-shirt that read, “If You Met My Family You’d Understand,” recently moved to Burrillville, where he grew up, to run the Echo Lake Campground.
“Size (of the opposition) matters, e-mails matter, telephone calls matter to the appropriate public officials. They do ultimately listen to those things,” he said.

“Anything that delays this project makes it less likely,” Craig added. “Companies like (Invenergy) work on a time schedule. If they can’t get a project done within a particular time frame, they move on to the next project. They don’t waste a lot of time.”
The town can also seek to have the EFSB dismiss the application, because of the lack of time various boards have to review the project and issue an advisory opinion, Craig said. He also challenged the notion that the Town Council can't take a stand on the project, noting that the council can oppose the power plant as an intervener in the project.
The bills from Keable and Fogarty are expected to be introduced at the Statehouse during the week of May 23, with public hearings to follow. The legislative actions seek to amend a law enacted in 1987 that allowed the town to negotiate a tax deal for the construction of the 560-megawatt Ocean State Power plant. The change would simply require a vote for future tax agreements. If the vote can't be held on Election Day, the power-plant company must pay for the special election. The bills also seek to expand the EFSB from three to nine members. The change to the size of the EFSB, however, isn't expected to impact Invenergy's application.
Keable and Fogarty met with Raimondo on May 19 to urge her to reverse her support for the project. The governor's office didn't respond to an ecoRI News request for a statement following that meeting, but she was reportedly given a “No New Power Plant” T-shirt and sticker by the legislators.
A public hearing with be held at the Rhode Island State house on May 26

RI BEACH SEASON HAS BEGUN

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Popular beaches throughout state now open during weekends  

PROVIDENCE -- The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announced several popular beaches are now open during weekends. Scarborough North and Roger Wheeler State Beaches in Narragansett, and Misquamicut State Beach in Westerly will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.  The beaches at Lincoln Woods State Park (9 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and Goddard Memorial State Park (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) are also now open on weekends.  All state beaches will be open daily, beginning Saturday, May 28.   

 

“Rhode Island is home to spectacular beaches, parks, and greenspaces that are beloved by residents and tourists alike,” said DEM Director Janet Coit.  “The opening of beach season is always a special time, and I encourage everyone to head out to one of these beautiful places this weekend.  Even on a cooler day, there is little more relaxing and majestic than watching the waves roll in or taking a walk along the water’s edge. Incredible!”     

 

Rhode Island’s outdoor recreation industry is an increasingly important part of our state’s economy, generating $2.4 billion in consumer spending and supporting 24,000 jobs annually, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. As part of a larger network of recreational opportunities in the state, beaches play an important role in attracting tourism, providing affordable staycation options for Rhode Island families, and promoting quality of life.

The state continues to invest in upgrading beach, park, and campground facilities across the state – with four construction projects currently underway: 

 

Scarborough North State Beach – The restroom and shower facilities are being renovated – with completion anticipated by July 1.

 

Roger Wheeler State Beach – The bathhouse has been painted and two new walkway ramps are being installed to improve access to the beach - with completion scheduled for Memorial Day.

 

George Washington Memorial Campground – A new restroom and shower facility is under construction – with completion scheduled for April 2017. 

 

Lincoln Woods State Park – A new "green" beach pavilion offering fully accessible restrooms and showers and an expanded educational center and concessions is being built; completion is scheduled for April 2017. The beach will be open and staffed with lifeguards for the 2016 summer season; however, beachgoers are advised that the swimming area will be restricted and visitor facilities will be limited.  Portable restrooms and limited changing facilities are available for public use; concessions and showers will be closed.  

 

All weekend openings are weather permitting.  The remaining non-surf state beaches at Burlingame State Park and Campground in Charlestown and Pulaski Memorial Recreation Area in Glocester, and Fort Adams State Park in Newport will be open daily, beginning Saturday, May 28. 

 

Daily beach parking for residents is $10/weekdays and $14/weekends and holidays. Non-resident parking is $20/weekdays and $28/weekends and holidays.  A season pass is $60 for residents and $120 for non-residents and can be purchased on weekends at Scarborough North, Roger Wheeler and Misquamicut State Beaches.  From May 28 through September 5, passes are available for purchase at all state beaches. 

A 50-percent discount on daily parking fees and season passes applies for senior citizens 65 years and older.  Fees are based solely on the vehicle registration (i.e. license plate) of each vehicle entering beach facilities. All Rhode Island-registered vehicles will be subject to resident parking rates; non-Rhode Island plates will be subject to non-resident rates.  By law, a “vehicle” is defined as any street-legal equipment, motorized or non-motorized, properly registered for over-the-road travel. 

 

DEM continues to accept applications for qualified lifeguards for state beach facilities. Entry level and senior lifeguard positions are available at numerous locations throughout the state. All lifeguard positions require certification and special training in first aid, CPR, and senior lifesaving. For more information about available positions, visit http://www.riparks.com/.

Carbon emissions rising at New England power plants

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

For the first time in five years, power plants across New England are producing more carbon emissions, dealing a setback to Massachusetts’ legally mandated efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and raising concerns that reduced production of nuclear energy will undercut environmental gains.
Last year, the region’s power plants released 5 percent more carbon dioxide than the year before, the first year-to-year increase since 2010, according to ISO New England, an independent company in Holyoke that operates the region’s power grid.

The uptick comes as Massachusetts works to curb carbon emissions in nearly every sector of its economy, in hopes of reaching its 2020 targets.

Massachusetts is legally required to reduce greenhouse gases 25 percent below 1990 levels by that date — part of a national effort to stave off global warming.
“We need this part of the puzzle to continue to fall precipitously in order to have a chance of meeting the 2020 goal,” said Ian Bowles, who served as energy and environmental affairs secretary during the Patrick administration and now helps finance renewable energy projects. “We need steep, sustained declines in emissions here, and not a step back.”

State officials acknowledge the need for greater reform, and have urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would substantially increase the amount of hydroelectric power that is fed into the region’s grid.
“Action is needed on existing policies . . . to further diversify our energy portfolio and meet the goals set forth in the Global Warming Solutions Act,” said Katie Gronendyke, a spokeswoman for the state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “The administration continues to work toward our state’s emission reduction goals.”

  The cold winter of 2015 may have contributed to the state’s unexpected rise in carbon emissions by increasing the use of electric heaters — which run on power produced by plants that, in turn, contribute to carbon emissions.

But the bigger factor was probably the 2014 closing of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, specialists said.
Nuclear power is largely carbon-neutral, and the loss of Vermont Yankee spurred the need for replacement energy, resulting in a 13 percent increase in the use of natural gas-generated electricity.
Such plants last year provided about half of the region’s electricity, according to ISO New England.
While natural gas is thought of as a clean energy source that produces fewer greenhouse gases than coal or oil, burning it still releases substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
A second nuclear plant, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, is scheduled to close in 2019; that will again cost the state a carbon-neutral source of electricity.
Overall, carbon emissions in New England have declined by about 25 percent in the past 15 years, and state officials released a report in January that suggested Massachusetts was still on course to meet its climate goals, set forth in a 2008 law that created a framework for reducing heat-trapping emissions.
But the report acknowledged that a significant amount of projected emissions declines depend on the expansion of cleaner energy sources.
Over the next few weeks, lawmakers will debate whether to compel utilities to enter into long-term contracts to buy hydroelectric power from Canada, or other renewable energy from outside of Massachusetts.
For much of the past decade, power plants contributed about 22 percent of the region’s carbon emissions, substantially less than cars and other forms of transportation, which emit more than 40 percent.
Most of the rest comes from homes, businesses, and industrial sources.
While not the largest source of greenhouse gases, the power sector offers the best opportunity to make drastic reductions, officials and advocates say.
“The electricity sector is by far the lowest-hanging fruit,” said Ken Kimmell, who served as commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection during the Patrick administration. “We need to make disproportionately large cuts there to meet our overall goals.”
Kimmell, now president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the region will have to make fundamental changes in its electricity production to reduce its carbon footprint, especially as more residents drive electric vehicles.
“We need to be supplying that electricity through renewable energy,” Kimmell said.
In the state’s January report, officials estimated that nearly 17 percent of required emissions cuts would come from hydropower, or other clean energy imports.
An additional 23 percent would come from increased energy efficiency, and nearly 16 percent would come from new fuel-economy standards.
But environmental advocates have raised doubts that the state can reach the 2020 target thresholds.
In January, lawyers for the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy organization based in Boston, argued before the state’s top court that the Baker and Patrick administrations had violated the law by failing to enact the policies necessary to meet the mandated levels.
Advocates have insisted that the state has fallen behind and needs a major course correction — well beyond action on the hydro plan — to meet the law’s requirements.
Even if lawmakers pass a hydroelectric bill, the expensive power lines might never get built, they say.
Some would be likely to pass through New Hampshire, where the proposal remains highly controversial, and others would require an expensive extension into Vermont.
In 2014, before Pilgrim’s owners announced that it would be closed, a collaborative effort by local environmental groups called the Global Warming Solutions Project projected that Massachusetts was on pace to reduce emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels, well short of the goal.
A more recent report by the Conservation Law Foundation, which factors in the closing of Pilgrim, estimated that the state is more likely to cut its emissions between 16 and 19 percent without major policy changes.
That begins with becoming less reliant on natural gas, environmental advocates say — even though it is cleaner than oil and coal.
“We are over-dependent on natural gas for power in New England,” said Caitlin Peale Sloan, a staff attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. “Natural gas is no longer a part of the solution in the fight against carbon emissions in New England, but part of the problem.”
Jack Clarke, the director of public policy at Mass Audubon, said the state is running out of time.
“Going backward is a major concern,” he said.Source" David Abel, Boston Globe

Bronco Girls softball dreams are still alive !

Photo by Call Ernest Brown     My neighbor Sammy Hopkins denies North Smithfield Runner !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

BURRILLVILLE — In the span of 24 hours the Burrillville softball team was involved in a pair of walk-off contests.
The road to those walk-offs, however, couldn’t have been any different.
One day after Davies defeated the Broncos by scoring the only run in the bottom of the seventh inning, Burrillville trailed Blackstone Valley rival North Smithfield by seven runs after the third inning. The Broncos scored twice in the fourth and seven times in the sixth to help send the game to extra innings.

After Northmen freshman Hannah Gaboriault singled to put her team ahead in the top of the eighth, Marissa Ramos tripled in freshman pinch runner Jane Simoneau and the junior won the game when freshman Jenna Deschamps lofted a sacrifice fly to center field for an 11-10 Division II-North home victory in eight innings.
“It was crazy because I knew I just needed to hit the ball,” Deschamps said after scoring a run and driving in a run. “I knew I needed to get her in. I wasn’t overthinking it and I just wanted to hit the ball. This is very important and can turn our whole season around.”
“Of course, I was confident she was going to drive me in,” Ramos said. “We needed to win this game really bad.”
How badly did the Broncos need a victory? Burrillville (5-8 Division II-North) entered the day tied with the Patriots for last place in the division, but Friday afternoon’s win means Burrillville is just two games out of second place following first-place Woonsocket’s one-run victory over Scituate.
The Broncos end the season with games against the four teams which sit in front of them, so coach Bill Lacey isn’t counting out winning the II-North title. Source: Woonsocket Call

Jesse M. Smith Public Library Book Sale

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Spring Book Sale
Saturday, May 14
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Friends Only pre-sale sale starts at 9:00 a.m. Come early and purchase a membership at the door!

Seventh-graders at Northern Michigan Christian School win DNR's 'A Year in the Life of a Bear' contestPoste

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

The Department of Natural Resources congratulates Mrs. DeMott's seventh-grade class at Northern Michigan Christian School in McBain, Michigan, for winning the DNR's 2015-16 "A Year in the Life of a Bear" contest.

Northern Michigan Christian School bear video thumbnailThis group of seventh-graders participated in the A Year in the Life of a Michigan Black Bear education program throughout the 2015-16 school year, learning all about Michigan black bears and applying what they learned to create an entertaining presentation.

See Northern Michigan Christian School's winning presentation.

Classrooms that meet the requirements of the education program are eligible to submit an entry to the Year in the Life of a Bear contest.

The A Year in the Life of a Michigan Black Bear education program is free of charge and open to all interested sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade educators in Michigan.

Participants will learn about the life cycle of the Michigan black bear, general black bear biology and behavior, as well as how the DNR manages and maintains a healthy black bear population.

Over the school year participants also will get to "follow" a bear by using actual data points from a radio-collared Michigan black bear to track the bear through its seasonal movements.

Gobles Middle School bear presentation thumb nail. For the contest, classes use what they have learned about bears to interpret or tell the story of a year in the life of a Michigan black bear. Classes can retell the actual journey of the bear they followed, or get creative and use the information they've learned over the year to interpret a typical bear's activities throughout a year.

The first-place contest winners are awarded a $1,000 gift certificate to purchase science supplies for their classroom. Prizes are provided by the Michigan Bear Hunters Association and the DNR.

Mrs. Herman's sixth-grade class at Gobles Middle School in Gobles, Michigan, placed second and will be awarded a $500 gift certificate. View the Gobles Middle School presentation.

West Utica Elementary bear presentation videoMrs. Jonkman's sixth-graders at West Utica Elementary in Utica, Michigan, placed third and will receive a $250 gift certificate. View the West Utica Elementary presentation.

To learn more about the bear education program, please visit mi.gov/dnrteachers and click on the Wildlife Education and Outreach link. The online application form should be submitted by Sept. 1 in order to receive the materials for the upcoming school year.

Educators need to have access to a computer lab and the Internet for the students to be able to use the mapping application to follow the bear. Educators also need to be able to access the Internet (YouTube) in their classrooms. An Educator Guide with activities, as well as video lessons, is provided to participants.

Explore additional DNR education and outreach opportunities at mi.gov/dnreducation.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.

It’s a Matter of Taste: Defining Local Food is Difficult

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Is local food about location or practices? After all, even monoculture farms and factory farming are local to someone. A rural egg farmer may be operating less than a mile from your home, but the farm keeps its hens in battery cages. The business is certainly a local food producer, but some consumers may be against the farm’s practice of keeping hens in crowded cages.
The farm stand on the outskirts of the city sells locally grown corn, but it’s GMO corn. Some consumers don’t consider genetically modified food local.
Defining what “local” means, especially when it comes to food, is a daunting task. There’s no standard definition, and many businesses, big and small, abuse the label for profit.
What local ultimately means comes down to what an individual values: ingredients; where the food was grown or produced; miles traveled; transparent business practices; fair labor; animal welfare; organic certification; or some combination of these and other consumer principles.
The local food movement represents an alternative to the global food model — a system that moves food long distances and often abuses workers. Despite this model’s huge carbon footprint and large-scale environmental degradation, the food manufactured by this system is often cheaper, both in terms of affordability and nutritionally.
A local food system involves building relationships between producers, distributors, retailers and consumers. This model increases food security, and helps create economic, environmental and social sustainability. To get there, however, requires changing a four-decade-old system controlled by Big Business that has left many areas, most notably urban cores, without access to local food, which is typically healthier and more expensive.
The loss of inner-city grocery stores during the past 40-plus years occurred as populations shifted to the suburbs, leaving fewer urbanites and reducing urban purchasing power. This left residents of low-income city neighborhoods with limited access to high-quality food and fewer options.
Since the 1980s, the role of neighborhood variety stores also has changed. These inner-city mainstays used to feature meat, dairy and produce, but now they primarily sell cigarettes, lottery tickets and highly processed foods.
Making local food affordable to everyone while also enabling local producers and farmers to make a living is a tricky problem many people and institutions are grappling to solve. It’s a matter of scale.
However, much of the answer lies with farmland preservation. The reason is obvious: If there are no local farms, there’s no local food. Even if farmland affordability and development pressures weren’t an issue — they are, most notably in Rhode Island — supply-chain infrastructure isn’t built to accommodate a local food system. The region lacks certified slaughterhouses, distribution centers, processing facilities and de-boning centers for fish.
The local food movement’s infrastructure problem is similar to what the renewable-energy sector is now facing with an outdated power grid and resistance to change it.
About 90 percent of the food consumed in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island comes from outside New England. Farmland in southern New England, for the most part, is expensive. Many of the region’s small-scale farmers have second or third jobs, and often rent land from people unfamiliar with farming’s demands or see it as nothing more than a placeholder until the property can be sold to a developer.
These reasons and others, such as changing and often short growing seasons, combined with the power and influence wielded by Big Ag, explain why local food production in southern New England is limited. In Rhode Island, for example, local food only accounts for only about 5 percent of the food consumed in the Ocean State.
Low percentages like that are what helps make the definition of “local” so subjective.
Lisa Raiola, founder of Warren,R.I-based Hope & Main, likes to think of local food this way: “Choice is small but trust is high. That is good.”
Editor’s note: ecoRI News is holding a panel discussion titled “The Dark Side of Local Food” that will address labeling and other issues associated with the local food movement. The event is being held May 18 at AS220, 115 Empire St. in Providence, and will feature panelists Cassie Tharinger, co-founder of the Urban Greens Food Co-op; Ken Ayars, chief of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Agriculture; Lisa Raiola, founder and president of Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s first culinary business incubator; Matt Tracy, of Red Planet Farm, which grows chemical-free vegetables in Johnston, R.I.; and Jesse Rye, co-executive director of Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Tickets cost $10. For more information, click here.
Source: FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff

North Smithfield approves up to $75K for purchase of lights.....

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

NORTH SMITHFIELD – A plan to purchase the town’s streetlights from National Grid moved forward this week when the Town Council agreed to pay up to $75,000 for the asset, and to contract with a nonprofit for future maintenance of the lights.
The decision is expected to save the town more than $100,000 a year, a figure that could be increased if councilors agree to the next step in the process and replace all of the current bulbs in the fixtures with brighter LEDs. That decision, which comes with an initial expense of some $428,000, is expected to come back before the board at a future meeting.
The Partnership for Rhode Island Streetlight Management first brought a plan to purchase the lights to the town last year, and began an audit of the lighting system in October.
The town, PRISM officials explained, has been paying National Grid more than $250,000 per year to operate and maintain the lights, but the cost could be reduced by purchasing the system and converting to energy-efficient LEDs.

On Monday, they told the council that their team found 180 discrepancies between what the town was receiving from National Grid and what it was paying for.
“The lights are older and many of them are smaller than what National Grid was billing you for,” said PRISM Executive Director Jeffrey Broadhead.
While it is unclear yet if the council will move forward on the conversion to energy-efficient lighting, an investment that comes with a larger up-front expense, some of which could be refunded through grants, they have agreed to move to the system with lower maintenance costs.
PRISM’s maintenance plan will come up to just $51,000 a year, placed in a contingency account for issues such as light knockdowns, and the money, they said, will stay in the town’s account if it is not used.
The town is still waiting for National Grid to determine how much it will cost the to purchase the lights, but the expense has been estimated around $48,000. On Monday, the council gave PRISM officials the requested “wiggle room” to make the deal happen, approving spending of up to $75,000.
“When their numbers come in you have to be able to move really quickly,” Broadhead explained.
Phase 3 of PRISM’s plan, which will include exact costs for the conversion to LEDs, is expected to come before council at future date.Source:

SANDY SEOANE, Valley Breeze Staff Writer

Happy Mothers Day

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

MAY 7 Free Comic Book Day at Green Dragon Comics

Posted by Wayne G. Barber


When: 10 AM - 6 PM

Where: Green Dragon Comics

401 Putnam Pike, Unit 1, Glocester, Rhode Island 02829

Plaza to the left of the Harmony Post Office

Details

Free comics!!!!! (WHILE SUPPLIES LAST)
Free to play board games
Come down to see what is on sale!
Rhode Island comic con will be making an appearance for the day!!!!!! ( they will have a bunch of stuff for free to hand out)


So come down and check out the fun!!!!!!!!
P.S. cosplay is always welcome!

Please support local business and local tax payers

Workshop Tonight on Proposed Power Plant in Burrillville

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

At the Town Council meeting of Wednesday, April 28, 2016, Burrillville Town Council President John F. Pacheco III announced the dates of workshops related to the proposed Invenergy power plant. The workshops are scheduled as follows:

Wednesday May 4, 2016

7:00 p.m.

Beckwith-Bruckshaw Memorial Lodge 50 Lodge Road, Pascoag

2016 03 23 Burrillville Town Council 06

Financial Town Meeting May 3, 2016

Synopis of the Town Meeting in Foster

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Well last nights FTM was pretty quiet until the end. We will be posting the video. Out out over 4000 residents in town the budget of roughly 13 million dollars was set by the 113 people in attendance. It was a increase of 3.4% with all departments being passed as presented. The largest increase was the police dept with 9.16 % increase. I'ts a $1.11 increase per thousand of assessed value of your property. For a example:

$222.00 increase on a house valued at $200,000
$333....00 increase on a house valued at $300,000
$444.00 increase on a house valued at $400,000
$555.00 increase on a house valued at $500,000

Its important to note that this is the 3rd or fourth year of a 3 to 4% increase, so the increase your getting has been compounded year after year. If you multiply your above tax increase x 4 and see what you get. If you really want to get depressed, multiply that out for the next 10 years, and ask yourself - can you afford your taxes in 10 years? And that would not include any bonds for future discussed plans for a new ball field , library, and police station, as any bonds are outside of the state max cap of 4% increase on the tax levy. We all love to live in Foster, but can we continue to live in town without making changes that are beneficial for ALL residents? Change is hard and difficult. Two issues were put up at last night's meeting, and to some extent, party politics brought both down. It would have been a good opportunity to talk about some facts even if they didn't move forward at that point. Emotions took front stage instead, and all taxpayers suffer the results.

Source: Synopis by Heidi Rogers on a Facebook Public Share

Foster Town Council Meeting April 28, 2016 Part 1

Foster, Rhode Island Budget !

Posted  by  Wayne G. Barber

FINANCIAL TOWN MEETING TOMORROW NIGHT MAY 3, 7PM PAINE SCHOOL FOSTER,R.I.
this is the meeting the taxpayers present set the tax rate for all town's people. You can add or cut the bottom line of each dept as presented.
By simple making a motion someone must 2nd at which point the room votes.