PORTIONS OF RI SOUND AND LOWER NARRAGANSETT BAY AND SAKONNET RIVER CLOSED TO SHELLFISHING

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

PORTIONS OF RI SOUND AND LOWER NARRAGANSETT BAY AND SAKONNET RIVER CLOSED TO SHELLFISHING

PROVIDENCE –The Rhode Island Departments of Environmental Management (DEM) and Health (RIDOH) today announced that areas of Rhode Island Sound, lower Narragansett Bay south of the Newport Pell and Jamestown Verrazzano Bridges, and lower Sakonnet River will be closed to shellfish harvesting beginning at sunrise on Wednesday, March 1, until further notice. The closure is due to a confirmed harmful algae bloom (HAB) caused by the phytoplankton, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. The closures exclude carnivorous snails, such as whelk and moon snails.

Impacted waters include all RI waters north of a line from Point Judith to the southern tip of Gooseberry Neck, off Horseneck Beach in Westport MA, and south from the Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, south from the Newport Pell Bridge and south of an east/west line across the Sakonnet River lying one-quarter mile south of the pipeline found just south of Black Point. Shellfish harvested from the open portions of Harvester Tagging Areas 5B, 4A and 3W should temporarily be identified as 5B North, 4A North and 3W North.  

 

The shellfishing closure stems from shellfish samples collected on Sunday, February 26 and Monday, February 27 from five lower Bay locations off Jamestown, Newport, and Little Compton.  These samples were tested by the RI Department of Health Laboratories for the presence of domoic acid.  Levels of concern were found in shellfish at four locations with domoic acid levels ranging from 14 – 32 parts per million; the action level for mandatory closure of shellfishing waters established by the Food and Drug Administration is 20 parts per million.   In the coming days, DEM and RIDOH will collect additional shellfish samples from both affected waters and waters unaffected by today’s announcement to further evaluate the bloom. A similar bloom led to shellfishing closures last fall.

For updates on shellfish closure areas, contact the DEM 24-hour shellfishing hotline at 401-222-2900 and/or sign up for the DEM Marine Fisheries email list at rimarinefisheries-subscribe@listserve.ri.gov. Visit http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/water/shellfish/shellfish-monitoring.php for more information.

For more information on DEM divisions and programs, visit www.dem.ri.gov. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RhodeIslandDEM or on Twitter (@RhodeIslandDEM) for timely updates.

Foster Town Council Meeting February 23, 2017

FAA Has Approved Norwegian Air for TF Green, $69 Fare to Ireland One Step Closer

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a critical letter of approval for Norwegian Airlines. This is the most pivotal step to the realization of the high quality, low fare carrier to operate in Rhode Island.

Norwegian faced strong opposition from U.S. pilots unions and both Rhode Island Congressmen David Cicilline and Jim Langevin co-sponsored a 2016 House Resolution 5090 that if passed would block Norwegian Air’s subsidiary — the entity that will operate in Rhode Island  — from approval.
Norwegian has already held job fares in Rhode Island and may hire up to 200 to work at Green.
Latest in T.F. Green Norwegian News

In an interview on Friday, Cicilline claimed that his 2016 resolution did not specifically impact Norwegian Air. “But it is also very important that those jobs respect U.S. labor standards that what the bill did. It did not pass. I regret it didn’t. We want labor standards complied with, but your story in wrong..."
But, the Southwest Airline's Chip Hancock who heads the Governmental Affairs Committee for the pilots' union said that Langevin and Cicilline’s resolution was introduced to stop Norwegian. He and other pilot union leaders meet with the Trump White House last week asking the new administration to block Norwegian.
Hancock told GoLocal in a phone interview that “passage of HR 5090 would have stopped Norwegian’s expansion.”
Hancock said that the airline pilots union will continue to take action in federal court in the D.C. Court of Appeals.  In addition, he thought that the pilots would continue to press for legislative action in 2017.
Despite the opposition of Langevin and Cicilline, other Rhode Island business leaders and even top Rhode Island union leaders support the effort to expand the airport.
On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio told GoLocal in a phone interview that he strongly supports Norwegian Air’s arrival at T.F. Green. Ruggerio is a top labor leader and serves as an Administrator for the New England Laborers Labor Management Coop Trust.
“This could be a major addition to the airport. International flights at low fares would help the airport, tourism, business and labor," said Ruggerio. "I know some of the pilots have issues, but I strongly support the expansion of Norwegian in Rhode Island.”
Norwegian is expected to launch with $69 one way fares to Ireland — less than the cost of taking the Acela train to New York City. Maybe I can fill my bucket list of going to Ireland before I die with this option. Source: GO Local Prov

Burrillville Seeking Bids

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Town of Burrillville Request for Bids

The Town of Burrillville is seeking individual sealed bids for the Town on the following:

17-008 – Lake Shore Drive Neighborhood Reclamation and Resurfacing

Project to include drainage work, roadway pavement pulverization, re-grading, compacting and repaving.  May also include add on project if budget permits - Log Road Reclamation and Resurfacing. 

Specifications for the above may be obtained in person for a fee of $25 at the Town Clerk’s Office, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville, RI during regular business hours or for free at burrillville.org/bids.  Bid documents will be available February 21, 2017.

Bids for 17-008 are due by 2:00 pm, Tuesday March 14, 2017.  Bid opening will take place immediately after and recorded in the Town Hall, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville, RI.

17-009 – Construction of New Public Works Facility

Project to include a 27,000 s.f. pre-engineered metal building with 4,000 sf administration/office fit out located within. Construction of a new salt shed and fuel depot.  May also include add on project if budget permits - Renovations to Burrillville Animal Shelter. 

Specifications for the above may be obtained in person for a fee of $25 at the Town Clerk’s Office, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville, RI during regular business hours or for free at burrillville.org/bids.  Bid documents will be available February 27, 2017.

Bids for 17-009 are due by 2:00 pm, Tuesday April 4, 2017.   Bid opening will take place immediately after and recorded in the Town Hall, 105 Harrisville Main St., Harrisville, RI.

The Town of Burrillville reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to waive any informality in the proposals received, and to accept the proposal that is considered to be in the best interest of the Town of Burrillville.

Rose Doughty, Acting Treasurer

Read more: http://www.burrillville.org/node/25073

Foster Town Council Meeting February 16, 2016

Winter fun – right in your neighborhood !

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

I got my first taste of winter fun in the 1950s  I still have that sled today.  It gave us some fresh air and socialization. Mapleville did not have a lot of street traffic back then and apparently the roads remained snow covered longer than they do today. My parents stored the sled in the garage after I outgrew it and after 60 years of looking at it, I decided to use it but in a totally different way. Country Folk Art. When I was old enough to venture outdoors on my own I was fortunate to have an abundance of places for winter fun. There was a lot of open land in Burrillville back in the 1950s. By then I was old enough to be outside with my friends. This meant numerous opportunities for year round outdoor fun. Kids were outside 12 months of the year. When it was cold out you dressed for the weather and headed outside to play with your friends. Over the past 60 years, I have seen my personal “playgrounds” disappear as streets were added and houses were built in the neighborhood. I remember sliding down hills that now serve as my neighbors’ backyards. There were all sorts of ways to navigate those hills. The first method used by everyone was a Flexible Flyer sled. They were made of wood with metal runners and were equipped with a steering bar. Mine had a rope to pull it. I remember being dressed in so many layers of clothes that I waddled over to the hill dragging my sled behind me. Some kids sat on the sleds but most of us “belly-flopped” onto them with excess clothing as our padding and down the hill we went. Some of the hills were several hundred feet long. We got our exercise pulling the sleds up the hill so we could zip down them once again. Round silver colored “coasters”, made of metal, were also popular. You sat on them and put your hands through two loops. There was no method for steering them other than leaning your body in a certain direction. We loved it when the hills got icy making it really fast for both the sleds and coaster's. I had one method of going down hills that no other kid had. My brother George had a old car for parts and my brother Paul and I took off the hood and flipped it up side down and went down Cooper Hill Road and had no way to stop it. It was made of thick steel and we waxed it to make it faster.  You held on for dear life as you whipped down the public town road. All the kids wanted to take a turn and I had many requests to bring it along when the neighborhood gang got together. We went down at 30 miles per hour and with the  roads being so ice packed because most cars used tire chains met no traffic and flew over the Mapleville bridge and came to rest at Carriere's Variety store by mowing down his front posts and heard him yell, those darn Barbers boys are at it again. Just a few bruises and then Leo Carrierre burst into laughter when his own son Andre was next in line for a thrilling sled ride.When we needed a change of pace from sledding, we could ice skate without leaving our neighborhood. Just down the street from my home was the Ice House pond .Trouts ,Gillerans. What more could a kid ask for? Sometimes we just wanted to make our own fun. So we cleared off places where excess water had formed small ponds. These provided additional skating rinks. They were far from smooth but provided what we thought of as a secret place to meet. We cleared them with our parents’ shovels and brooms and got some exercise that didn’t seem like work at all.  In the summer it was a place to catch frogs and salamanders and in the winter it was where area kids met to skate. I am sure that other locations in Burrillville had their own versions of natural made neighborhood skating rinks. The ones in my neighborhood are now part of someone’s back yard. Apparently, the water issues were resolved so houses could be built. As I look around on my neighborhood walks, I still remember the places we went sledding and skating. They may be gone now but the memories remain. Once in a while we wanted to have some fun outside of our own neighborhood. On weekends we would build a fire on the ice to keep warm and to cook .Ice Fishing was added later.If you wanted to meet your school friends for public skating, the popular spot was the Levy Rink in Harrisville for my sons which was built a lot later.Memories from my days in those places are a story in themselves. Looking back at them will provide future reminiscing. -

Looking for Wildlife by their Tracks. Kids in the Outdoors

Wild Turkey

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Foster Town Council January 12, 2017