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…
Monday, January 21, 2013
Gov. Lincoln Chafee presented his budget last week. Now it's the General Assembly's turn.
EG Patch asked our state legislators what they thought of Gov. Lincoln Chafee's 2013 budget, presented on Jan. 16. Here are their responses: Rep. Anthony Giarrusso, R-Dist. 30: I haven't seen the nuts and bolts of Governor Chaffee's budget but I was inspired with what I heard and left the House Chamber with optimism. I was thrilled to hear that there were no proposals of tax or fee increases. I like the commitment to cut corporate income taxes and property taxes to make us more business friendly. I like his commitment to the increase in state aid for the school funding formula. I also like the fact that he's paying more attention to our infrastructure; our roads and bridges are in desperate need of repairs and maintenance to bring us on …
Thursday, January 10, 2013
EG's Betsy Shimberg says she's not surprised Gov. Chafee didn't nominate her.
EG's Betsy Shimberg said she wasn't surprised when Gov. Chafee announced his nominees to fill the new education board and her name was not on the list. "I wasn't appointed by Gov. Chafee, I was appointed by Gov. Carcieri," she said. "I didn't really have a relationship with Gov. Chafee." Shimberg served on the state Board of Regents for K-12 public schools for five years. The new panel – which will oversee both K-12 public schools and the state's three public higher education schools – is to be made up of nine people. Chafee's nominees include two members of the former higher ed board as well as four members of the former Board of Regents. (To read about all the nominees, click on Jennifer Jordan's story in the Providence Journal here…
Thursday, December 20, 2012
East Greenwich is holding a town-wide photo op at EGHS Sunday at noon to be put on Newtown Patch – we'll stand in the shape of a heart.
The following was provided by the Office of Governor Chafee: Governor Lincoln Chafee has declared Friday, December 21, 2012 – the one-week anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT – a "Day of Mourning" in the State of Rhode Island. To honor the memory of the 26 victims who lost their lives in the shootings, the Governor has also called for a statewide moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. on that day and has asked that buildings, which have the ability, ring bells 26 times during that moment in honor of each life that was taken. "The past week has been one of great pain for the community of Newtown, the State of Connecticut, and our country as a whole," Governor Chafee said. "Each day, we see reports of …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Gov. Chafee's office backtracks from an announcement Monday that there would be no official tree-lighting ceremony this year.
There will be a tree-lighting ceremony this year after all. Gov. Lincoln Chafee's top press aide said Tuesday she spoke in error Monday when she said there would be no tree lighting ceremony. "There will be an official tree lighting ceremony at the State House with the Governor in attendance," said Christine Hunsinger in an email statement. No date has been set. Now, the question is, will protesters turn up again as they did last year, when Gov. Lincoln Chafee referred to the large evergreen in the middle of the State House rotonda as a holiday tree instead of a Christmas tree. The tree was erected Monday. Last December, Chafee was lambasted by GOP lawmakers, some talk show hosts, and the Roman Catholic Bishop Tobin for his decision to …
Friday, September 14, 2012
The video, produced by a Chafee staffer on his own time, included the url to the governor’s state website.
A video made to announce Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month has been removed from YouTube following a complaint by a blogger for Rhode Island Patch sites. The video – which featured audio from speeches by Pres. Obama and Gov. Chafee – had ended with a list of references, including “www.gov.ri.gov.” Blogger Rene Lafayette wrote, "This is a clear violation of partisan, political use of publicly funded resources," in a blog posted on Tuesday, Sept. 11. Christine Hunsinger, Chafee's spokeswoman, said Thursday the video was made by James Alvarez, who works in the governor's communications office. He "volunteered to do it on his own time and used his own computer," …
Friday, August 17, 2012
Caleb Chafee, son of Gov. Lincoln Chafee, has been charged with violating the state's social host law.
Caleb Chafee, 18, the son of Gov. Lincoln Chafee, has been charged with one count of violating the state's social host law, the R.I. Attorney General's office announced Friday. Chafee, a graduate of the Portsmouth Abbey School, allegedly hosted a graduation party in Exeter on May 28. State Police began investigating after a "highly intoxicated" 18-year-old woman was found walking along Route 102 after apparently leaving the party. "After an investigation by the Rhode Island State Police and a review by the Office of Attorney General into the events that occurred on the Chafee property in Exeter on May 28, 2012, Caleb Chafee, 18, today was issued a summons to appear before Washington County District Court on Aug. 22, 2012, charged with …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Five things you need to know about East Greenwich today, April 24.
Presidential Primary Election day: While you may not see there's much at stake on the presidential level, there are dozens of hopeful Rhode Islanders running as delegates for the various candidates, including several from East Greenwich. To see who's running locally, click here. To read primary voting details — including the need to have an I.D. with you this time — click here. School Committee meeting: Meadowbrook parents plan to attend tonight’s meeting for the discussion of how best to proceed with planned renovations at the K-3 school. The meeting takes place at Cole Middle School starting at 7 p.m. Business Forum w/Gov. Chafee: The state Economic Development Corporation is holding a business forum with Gov. Link Chafee at New England…
Monday, April 23, 2012
The MBTA commuter rail is officially running out of Wickford Junction.
Despite the cold, damp and blustery weather, hundreds came out Monday for the grand opening of the long-awaited commuter rail station at Wickford Junction. A ceremonial first train left Providence Monday morning, bound for Wickford Junction and carrying Gov. Lincoln Chafee, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, Reps. James Langevin and David Cicilline and others. Many passengers on the train were friends of Bob Cioe, the man behind the dream of bringing rail service back to Wickford. The journey has been a long one for Cioe, owner of the Wickford Junction plaza, who bought the land 30 years ago. Gathering in the four-story parking garage at Wickford Junction, the crowd heard remarks from the governor, the congressional delegation, Rhode…
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Governor visited Meadowbrook Farms Monday to read to some second graders. He talked to them about his job and to EG Patch about his meals tax plan.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee got to spend part of his 59th birthday with second graders from Meadowbrook Farms Elementary School this past Monday — receiving a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" in the process. Afterward, he outlined why he thinks the meals tax is necessary. Chafee visited Meadowbrook to participate in Reading Week, a yearly event where a variety of celebrity "readers" are recruited to read for students. After he read Bats at the Library, by Brian Lies, the children asked Chafee some questions — "Is it hard being governor?" one young girl asked. "Yes, it is, I'll be honest," replied Chafee. "It's a very demanding, busy job." He acknowledged that "sometimes the people aren't happy, and they boooo." Some of those "boos" …
41.637844
-71.480319
Meadowbrook Farms Elementary School
2 Chestnut Dr, East Greenwich, RI
/articles/chafee-on-governance-meals-tax
1662727
/locations/6682470
Bill Pett
5:36 pm on Friday, January 11, 2013
Given that the Governor could only appoint nine members and could only include a few from each previous board, failure to appoint Mrs. Shimberg obviously doesn't reflect badly on her or the gov. The real problem is the move to combine the two boards. The bill was muscled through the legislature at the last minute by the leadership with the opportunity for any real public response, let alone … more ›