Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Your guide for life in East Greenwich today, May 21.
School Committee meeting: On the agenda is the second reading and vote on a policy on extracurricular fundraising and commercial activities. In the library at Cole Middle School at 7 p.m. Municipal Land Trust meeting: Along with reports and review of Land Trust properties, there will be a recognition of departing member Peter Swaszek, who has served on the Land Trust for many years. At Town Hall at 7 p.m. Trivia Contest @ The Grille: Tuesday night is Trivia Night at the Grille on Main . It’s loads of fun whether you compete with a large group or just with your date. There are prizes every round, as well as a grand prize. The only catch? You have to be there by 8 p.m. to enter. Safety Town 2013 Registration: Open for all kindergarten …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Eva-Marie Mancuso, the state’s new Board of Education chair, uses courtroom demeanor to try to convince angry teachers and nervous parents that change is necessary.
Eva-Marie Mancuso enjoys a lively debate but is clear about one thing: When it comes to educating Rhode Island’s children, the status quo is not an option. At a recent Q&A session in East Greenwich, the state’s new Board of Education chair, sparred with state Sen. James Sheehan (D-NK, Narr.) over teacher evaluations, cajoled teachers to work with the state, and tried to reassure at least one parent that using passage of a test as a graduation requirement is the right move. The forum, organized by the EG Democratic Town Committee, was held at EG’s Town Hall, the former Kent County Courthouse. The setting suited Mancuso, a personal injury lawyer. Although the new Board of Education for the first time combines all levels of public education …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Town Council must approve the idea, which requires the Planning Department to come up with a more permanent ordinance.
The East Greenwich Planning Board voted to recommend to the Town Council a six-month moratorium on all wind turbines at a meeting Wednesday night during which time a more-permanent ordinance would be written. No one has proposed building a sizeable wind turbine in East Greenwich. Rather, the move is seen by the board and the Planning Department as a way to anticipate and perhaps discourage requests. As added incentive, Town Planner Lisa Bourbonnais said a bill was introduced in the General Assembly this session that would limit a municipality's ability to regulate wind turbines. "The town doesn’t have a wind ordinance that actually permits these things in certain locations and sets standards for how tall they can be or what their fall …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The total includes a budget for fire and rescue services, in anticipation of the town's takeover of the EG Fire District.
This story was amended at 8:30 a.m., May 15. The East Greenwich Town Council approved a $58 million budget for fiscal year 2014 Monday night, which included money for fire and rescue services in anticipation of Gov. Chafee's signing of the bill to merge the East Greenwich Fire District and the Town of East Greenwich. The budget will be presented to voters at the annual Financial Town Meeting in June. The tax rate would rise to $22.94 per $1,000 of assessed property value, up 70 cents over the current year's tax rate of $22.24* – a 3.14 percent increase. (*An important distinction here: $22.24 represents $20.14 for the Town of East Greenwich and $2.10 for the EG Fire District.) For a house valued at $400,000, that would mean a $9,176 tax …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The new, as yet undetermined location would still offer PO boxes,
After a preliminary announcement last June, the U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with its plans to sell the East Greenwich Post Office building on Post Road and open a much smaller, retail-only office in town. It comes down to money, U.S. Postal Service real estate specialist Joseph Mulvey told the Town Council at a meeting Monday night. Mail service is down 40 percent in recent years so savings must be found, he said. One way to do that is to move the delivery aspect of the business to the larger North Kingstown Post Office, further south on Post Road. That would mean EG mail carriers would start and end their days in North Kingstown. But, Mulvey emphasized, all the window-service amenities customers are used to would still be …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Results from a recent executive survey ranked Rhode Island 37th for business.
A CEO magazine ranks Rhode Island as one of the worst states in the nation for business. Chief Executive Magazine ranked Rhode Island 37th based on a survey of corporate leaders. Survey respondents rated the Ocean State poorly in the area of taxation and regulations. Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked even worse. Massachusetts was ranked 47th and Connecticut came in at 45th place. The worst three ranked states in the survey were California, New York and Illinois. Texas, Florida and North Carolina, on the other hand, were ranked as the three best states in which to do business. What do you think about Rhode Island’s business climate? Is this a good state in which to do business?
School Committee officials won't commit to paying half the cost; Town Council members appear ready to proceed regardless.
Police Chief Tom Coyle wants a second school resource officer for the EG schools and, after a discussion Monday night, it looks like he will get it, whether or not the schools want to help pay for it. "I would support just proceeding with this. It’s worth doing for enhanced security," said Council President Michael Isaacs at a meeting of School Committee and Town Council members at Swift Community Center Monday night. The cost of adding a second school resource officer is budgeted at $60,000 for 2014, but that cost would rise in 2015, since the fiscal year begins July 1 and any new officer wouldn't start until sometime after that. "The full amount would not hit this budget mainly because of timing," said Isaacs. The cost of the first …
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Step by step, inch by inch, the demise of the East Greenwich Fire District and creation of a town fire department draws closer.
It's all over but the governor's signature. And possibly another quick vote or two in the General Assembly. Depends who you talk to. What's known for sure is the state Senate passed 35-0 legislation that would abolish the East Greenwich Fire District and make way for a town fire department. That follows a similar outcome in the state House last week. The bills are identical, with no traditional "reconciling" to be done. Still, there are two bills. The governor will sign only one. Which one? But that is a parlor game. The fact is, sometime soon, Gov. Chafee will very much more than likely sign into law a bill calling for the 216-year-old East Greenwich Fire District to cease to exist. That all this takes place just as the budget for …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The station, on the northeast corner of South County Trail and Frenchtown Road, will be able to handle up to 5 cars at a time.
The Planning Board approved an application last week by Mike Flood to put in a five-bay quick-oil-change station at South County Trail and Frenchtown Road. The ruling means the property – once a gas station, more recently empty or seasonally rented – would once again serve automobilies. "I think when everything’s said and done, it’s going to be a great-looking facility," said Flood, who also owns the Flood Ford car dealership across the street. The dealership is one of the reasons he wanted to build the quick lube, he told Planning Board members Wednesday night, noting it can take up to 45 minutes to get an oil change at the Flood Ford dealership. "We’re going to get our customers using the quick service. So the person comes in, and in …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Gov. Chafee signs the bill into law after final passage in the House; East Greenwich residents react.
In a jubilant ceremony on the steps of the Rhode Island State House Thursday afternoon, Governor Lincoln Chafee signed legislation making same-sex marriage legal in Rhode Island. It becomes the tenth state with such a law. His signature came after the state House of Representatives formally passed the legislation Thursday with a vote of 56-15. The first bill proposing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island was introduced 16 years ago. Felicia Revens, owner of Felicia's Coffee on Post Road in East Greenwich, was glad the bill had become law, but she was even just happy it was finally allowed to be voted on by both houses of the General Assembly. "At least everyone voted one way or another," she said via text. "I think it's just another step in…
EG Resident
1:57 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
I want to add that East Greenwich Schools claim that they are world class schools. What a joke! Why wasn't anyone in this community challenge it? It is simply because there is no measurement to compare EG schools to other schools in the world. more ›