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| Charlestown Historical Society Fundraiser Charlestown Gallery |
As I write this article thoughts are shaded by memories of 10 years ago today. It's a day that still seems too raw in our memories to think about easily, so I'm not sure if you will see any 9/11 memorial articles here. There is plenty of coverage of this anniversary elsewhere and we encourage you to spend some time in reflection, not just on that day, but on what our country has done in reaction to it.
Reviewing the last week:
- We were extremely surprised to see the Town Council take the bold move of denying a request to speak at the next Town Council meeting on Monday. This seems to be unprecedented in the memories of those we have talked to and we wonder how this will be viewed in our town which has a proud history of permitting public speech at our public meetings.
- The Charlestown Historical Society fundraiser, held Friday evening at the Charlestown Gallery was a remarkable success. Last year's event, raising money to start construction of our museum, was very successful but preliminary numbers indicate that our town, with over 160 attendees, nearly doubled their contributions at this year's event. This will certainly help keep the museum construction moving along.
- We continue to be baffled about why the town must ban all wind powered devices (including wind generators on boats?) in order to prevent commercial-scale wind turbines in Charlestown. And why does the Westerly Sun continue to report the new ordinance as only banning commercial-scale wind when it is a blanket ban?
- We were disappointed to see that Charlestown is lagging badly in recycling efforts. Sure, we can try to use tourists as an excuse but 1) I still think it's a mystery how the commercial trash pickups don't seem to have a separate place to put stuff for recycling and 2) I have been to many other tourist towns with comprehensive programs to encourage and help tourists recycle. Maybe it's a South County Libertarian thing: "you're not gonna tell me where I can and can't toss my plastic bottles!"
- Politics on the wider scale has been amusing to us, with Rep. Doreen Costa's ecstasy about eccentric (by any standard) Sharron Angle and the very sad wildfire disasters following Rick "Goodhair" Perry's prayer days and then his complaints that the Federal government is not helping enough after advocating much smaller Federal government and making noises about secession. And, of course, there is the movement to force burials of Muslim (and all other non-Christian) veterans to use Christian prayers.
- The issues around the impact of pensions on State and local budgets is certainly serious and we posted two articles (here and here) on that topic this week.
The next week should prove to be busy and interesting for your Progressive Charlestown staff. Sign up for one of our notification services (right sidebar) if you haven't or check back often. Have a great week ahead and be sure enjoys the outdoors, and especially the beach, as the weather turns cooler. If you have a dog or two you just know they would love a walk on the beach! (but bring those baggies along!!!) You won't be breaking an ordinance to bring your dog to the beach during the day after Labor Day.
Author: Tom Ferrio