- Whalerock finale approaches
- NK Green – no complaints
- Tina Jackson racks up the fines
- RISC silent on six straight years of Charlestown tax increases
- Charlestown unemployment jets up
- Bogus Obamacare phone calls
Last chapter in
Charlestown’s Moby Dick tale?
For three years, the town has been in turmoil over this project. For many years before that, various plans for the land by developer Larry LeBlanc have stirred up high emotion.
At
this point, Charlestown seems to be close to a consensus that buying that land
for open space – proposed price: $2,114,400 – is the best way to go. Unsettled:
whether the Town Council majority will honor past precedent and their own
promises by giving Charlestown voters the last word through a special
referendum. And now the Planning Commission has added a new wrinkle that could unravel the emerging consensus.
 |
| Buy the land then give it away. Yeah, that's the ticket |
Instead of simply stating their support, the Planning Commission made the disturbing proposal that Charlestown should make a deal with another entity – such as the federal Fish and Wildlife Service or Nature Conservancy – to take actual custody or ownership.
So, it seems, the CCA Party and Ruth Platner want to use up every single nickel of available open space-recreation funding to buy the property... and then they want to give it away.
Classic!
The
Planning Commission is also fast-tracking a proposal by LeBlanc’s partner,
James Barrows, to carve out two house lots from the 81 acres (leaving 78 acres
to be purchased). This carve-out
would actually add back some taxable property to the tax base which would offset
taking the rest of the Whalerock property off the tax base as open space.
The
Charlestown Democratic Town Committee came
out in favor of buying the land last May and renewed
its support this week, but called for a town vote.
NK Green – no
complaints
 |
| NK Green - no complaints |
It would look remarkably like the NK Green project in North Kingstown (next to Wickford Junction) which has been operational for almost a year.
Recently, I reported that the first lawsuit has been filed against that project, but over a contract dispute, not the actual wind turbine.
A few days ago, the North Kingstown Patch published a report that even among those who were once vocal opponents of the projects, the turbine and the neighborhood are coexisting quite pleasantly.
One
of the converts quoted was Colleen Clare who said "I was a vocal opponent. I was angry because I thought it was
taking away from our future. Now it doesn’t bother me." She continued,
"As vocal and angry as I was before,
I don’t see it as much of a problem."
It
helps that the 413-foot turbine was built right in the back yard, literally, of
developer Mark DePasquale and that DePasquale is also sharing the profits from
the turbine with his neighbors.
GOP House candidate Tina Jackson racks up more fines
Tina Jackson
of Charlestown, the unsuccessful 2012 Republican challenger to state Representative Donna
Walsh, has failed to file her last five campaign finance disclosure reports
with the state Board of Elections and has ignored attempts by the BOE to
contact her about her delinquency.
Jackson
made a big deal about government accountability, openness and transparency during her campaign. But as I have previously reported, Jackson’s
own record for abiding by the law is marred by multiple arrests and convictions
for criminal offenses (drugs, assault, bad checks, etc.) as well as disregard
for the basic requirements that all candidates for public office must follow.
As
of August 19, according to the Board of Elections, Jackson’s fines totaled
$1,529 and were growing by $8 daily.
Speaking of
hypocrites in politics….
 |
| "Sorry I can't give you a tip...I spent all my money" |
One of their biggest issues has been the issue of government spending and how it’s totally irresponsible to spend more than you take in, a rule they themselves haven’t followed.
They
are also adamantly opposed to raising taxes, especially when it isn’t
necessary. I just wonder why RISC hasn’t said a word about the CCA-Party
controlled Charlestown Town Council’s sixth consecutive year of raising taxes,
despite the large surpluses Charlestown seems to accumulate each year.
Big Jump in
Charlestown Unemployment
After
five straight months of declining unemployment, Charlestown’s most
recent numbers show a large and disappointing increase. July unemployment
in Charlestown hit 9.4%, up from June’s figure of 7.1%. That's a 33% increase in unemployment in just one month.
The
number of unemployed Charlestown residents increased by 111. The total
workforce increased by 78 people. Because there are so few jobs in Charlestown,
most Charlestown workers have to commute to jobs in other municipalities.
Contrary to popular belief that Charlestown is a town of elderly retirees, almost 60% of Charlestown's population works for a living, or at least tries to. Children outnumber the elderly by 1506 to 1383. Those numbers bear no resemblance to who actually runs this town.
Contrary to popular belief that Charlestown is a town of elderly retirees, almost 60% of Charlestown's population works for a living, or at least tries to. Children outnumber the elderly by 1506 to 1383. Those numbers bear no resemblance to who actually runs this town.
Next phase of
Obamacare kicks in, but watch out for fraud
But
there’s also a warning
out from the Federal Trade Commission about telephone solicitations to buy
Obamacare insurance. The FTC warns that these calls are almost certainly a scam
– no one is supposed to call you to try to sell you such insurance.
You
can call them but they cannot call
you. The FTC recommends hanging up on such calls, although if you can get
information from them, such as their phone number, company name, etc., it may
make it easier for the FTC to go after them. If you do receive such a phone
call (or any other kind of scam call, for that matter) you should call the FTC
at 1-877-FTC-HELP or
file a complaint at FTCcomplaintassistant.gov.