Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Under the governor's budget plan, the restaurant tax would go from 8 percent to 10 percent next year.
When it comes to Gov. Chafee's proposal to increase the restaurant tax from 8 percent to 10 percent, restaurant owners in Rhode Island have strong feelings. “This is a second restaurant tax,” said Matt Wronski, owner of Tio Mateo’s and Greenwich Bay Gourmet in East Greenwich. “First they added a percentage point that was going to be temporary,” he said, referring to the increase from 7 percent to 8 percent in 2003, when Gov. Carcieri was governor. That 1 percent, which is still collected, goes back to cities and towns. Chafee's 2 percent increase would go to funding education on the local level. “Once they get their fingers in your pocket, they don’t let go,” said Wronski. “I’m from Detroit. I’ve seen this movie and it doesn’t turn out …
Saturday, March 17, 2012
What to love and loathe about living in East Greenwich this week.
RANT: Cue eye roll, please. Reading the Patch article on Governor Chaffee’s decision to cut back on the state reimbursement to East Greenwich by 5 percent, your conclusion might be that we are in a big financial doo doo. One word: Perspective. Or a better word: Woonsocket. Actually, why budget myself? Let’s add Providence, Central Falls and Cranston to the mix. Do I wish that governments wouldn’t renege on its promises? Of course. But I also wish for world peace, a cell phone service that doesn't cut out on Tillinghast and a really good Indian restaurant to come back to Main Street, but I’m not holding my breath for any of those to come true either. Obviously, we will feel the state’s belt tightening in our own town’s budget. But, let’s …
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Instead of getting back 40 percent for school projects like the new Cole Middle School, EG would be reimbursed 35 percent.
Two sentences in Governor Lincoln Chafee’s proposed 2013 budget throw a little rain onto what had become a sunny story for East Greenwich: state reimbursement of school construction spending. Chafee's budget would hold reimbursement for projects such as the new Cole Middle School to 35 percent, instead of increasing to 40 percent in 2013 as had been promised in June 2011. So, under Chafee’s new budget plan, instead of getting a check from the state for $40,000 for every $100,000 paid for the new Cole, East Greenwich would get $35,000. While $5,000 may not seem like a lot, when multiplied by the actual cost of the school — $32 million — that figure grows to $1.6 million. East Greenwich voters approved spending up to $52 million for a new …
Saturday, December 10, 2011
What to love and hate about living in East Greenwich this week.
RANT: Holiday, schmoliday. Hmmm. It occurs to me that at this point, I should probably insert a WARNING and DISCLAIMER: THIS IS A RANT. Turn back now/abandon hope all ye who enter here and so forth. The content below contains language, opinion, and some general stuff that’s probably going to tick some people off and possibly even hurt feelings. So consider yourself warned and do not come whining to me if you get yours wounded - anyway, that’s what the comment box is for. Okay, still with me? All-righty. So this whole brouhaha with Governor Chafee and the holiday tree has me rolling my eyes, twisting my head 360 degrees and spewing curses. Cue the Exorcist ... now there’s a nice religious movie for the whole family. Lissenup, folks, it’s a…
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is hosting a 'holiday tree' lighting next week, despite objections.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is calling the 17-foot spruce tree that will be lit inside the Statehouse rotunda a "holiday tree," even though the General Assembly passed a resolution calling it a "Christmas tree" earlier this year. According to The Providence Journal, the governor is defending his use of the term, saying it honors Rhode Island's heritage as a refuge for religious tolerance three centuries ago. Some state lawmakers criticize his position, and an Associated Press story on the issue has been picked up across the country. News outlets such as The Washington Post, MSNBC and the Huffington Post have all run with the story. Earlier today, the Providence Journal also released the findings of a PolitiFact review, which found …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Both Sen. Dawson Hodgson and Rep. Bob Watson say the time has come to act.
After months of discussion and high-profile coverage, a 124-page proposal on pension reform hit the floor of the General Assembly Tuesday afternoon, to be taken up by state legislators in a special session. For East Greenwich legislators, it wasn’t a moment too soon - in fact, for Rep. Bob Watson, it was 15 years late, and even relative newcomer Sen. Dawson Hodgson lamented that his proposal to freeze COLAs could have been enacted last spring. The plan put forth Tuesday by General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Governor Lincoln Chafee would cut $3 billion off the $7.3-billion in unfunded commitments that state and local leaders have made to their retirees and current-day workers. It would also reduce considerably what municipalities like East…
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Division Street campus underwent a full makeover from it's business building origins.
New England Tech opened up to the public last week, showing off its completed East Greenwich campus. Gov. Lincoln Chafee was just one member of that public to take advantage of the opportunity to tour the state-of-the-art Division Street facility. The finished product was a long time in coming, to hear NEIT President Richard Gouse tell it, with land bought parcel by parcel as it became available. The jewel in NEIT’s EG crown was the purchase in 2008 of Rite Aid’s headquarters. Now, about $100 million later, the campus is fully open and houses almost all of NEIT’s programs (excluding automotive and plumbing and heating).
41.662757
-71.502928
1408 Division Rd, East Greenwich, RI
New England Tech (New campus)
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Thursday, September 8, 2011
Governor Chafee to tour the campus
Governor Lincoln Chaffee will make a stop Thursday morning at the East Greenwich Campus of the New England Institute of Technology, getting a preview look before an open house for prospective students later today and another for the general public tomorrow. The open house for prospective students and their families takes place from 4 to 8 p.m. Faculty members and admissions and financial aid personnel will be available. Friday the campus is open to the general public from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Students will take visitors on guided tours and administrative staff will be available. Steve Kitchin, vice president for corporate educational training, says the building is 99 percent complete, with only a few items left on the punch list. The …
Saturday, August 27, 2011
It's time to come inside ... or get wet
A little rain dress-rehearsal just visited. “Wait, I didn’t think the rain was going to start until tonight,” said a soaking Prospect Street resident who’d just finished securing his outdoor furniture. It was yet another reminder that the weather is not under our control. The latest word is that Hurricane Irene will hit RI Sunday morning … not in the afternoon as had been reported for the past couple of days. Police officers have been up and down Water Street and Crompton Avenue by now talking to residents about possibly seeking higher ground, according to Town Manager Bill Sequino. EG Patch checked in with Sequino at his office Friday afternoon. “We consider the waterfront to be our most serious area … because evening, come Sunday night, …
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The governor also says local tourism councils should share a message about the state.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee said he doesn’t believe that the higher state beach fees set to go into effect July 1 will hurt tourism. The governor spoke as part of a roundtable discussion with Patch staffers held on June 23 at the State House. “The beach fee increases still keep us lower than some of the town beaches,” Chafee explained, “and that hasn’t discouraged the town beaches from being used.” Beginning on Friday, the cost for season passes for Rhode Island residents will double to $60; weekday parking will go up from $6 to $10, weekend fees from $7 to $14. Out-of-state visitors will pay $20 for weekday parking (up from the current $12 fee) and $28 for weekends (previously $14), with the charge for non-resident season passes rising to $120 …
English first
2:25 pm on Friday, March 23, 2012
Wow, the last 14-16 comments got off the subject of meal tax increase. On most issues that are "discussed' on the Woonsocket Patch the subject reverts to the educational system. (Somehow that last sentence doesn't sound grammatical correct.) more ›