Starting with a
really good one
By Will Collette
Charlestown unemployment drops but so does the workforce
RI’s Department of
Labor and Training’s latest numbers for Charlestown for the month
of May are really good news. For the first time since September 2008, Charlestown’s unemployment rate was down to
7.0%. The total number of Charlestown workers collecting unemployment
compensation was down to 313. A large part of the reason for the drop can be
attributed to another 60 Charlestown workers dropping out of the labor force which
meant that only 13 Charlestown workers found new jobs. Despite that, these new numbers
are still a welcome improvement.
For the first time in a while, Charlestown’s
unemployment rate is lower than the state average, even though the overall state
unemployment rate fell to 8.2%.
Charlestown housing news not so good
Zillow is continuing to show Charlestown home values dropping, but worse, they are projecting a 2.3% decline in average Charlestown home values over the next year. Here’s how they describe it:
The median home value in Charlestown is $316,200. Charlestown home values have declined -1.0% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will fall another 2.3% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in Charlestown is $267, which is higher than the Providence Metro average of $176. The median price of homes currently listed in Charlestown is $399,000 while the median price of homes that sold is $255,824. The median rent price in Charlestown is $1,250, which is lower than the Providence Metro median of $1,300.
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| Zillow tracks Charlestown's past home values and offers its forecast for the next year |
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| Foreclosures and pre-foreclosures in Charlestown |
Bradford joins the ranks of fake fire districts
The Bradford Fire District has cashed itself out of
the fire-fighting business, approving a
two-year contract with Dunn’s Corners for coverage. Their decision was driven
by harsh economics, rather than gaming the system to lather on more tax breaks
for rich people like the fake fire districts in Quonnie Central
and Shady Harbor (click here for details on
how fake fire districts cheat honest taxpayers).
The deal isn’t finalized until Dunn’s Corners
agrees. According to a Westerly Sun
piece,
Bradford Fire District voters decided against
including the defunct former Bradford Dyeing property in the deal even though
Dunn’s Corners wanted this property included. Dunn’s Corners wanted them
included on the premise that it would make it easier for them to collect
$15,000 mill owner Nick Griseto owes them for Dunn’s Corners responses to calls
from the mill.
The Bradford Fire District authorized $10,000 for a
lawyer to look into suing former fire fighters for equipment that disappeared
when the district’s fire-fighting capability fell apart. Missing items include
two trucks, radios, hoses, lights, fans, shovels, turn-out gear, etc.
Solid opponent to oppose Doreen Costa in November
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| Julie Casimiro might be the one to take out Doreen Costa |
Costa won election as a Tea Partier and continues to
fly her crackpot colors and make mischief.
Costa was a main instigator behind
the gun lobby’s attempted (and failed) effort to recall four Democratic Town Council members in Exeter because they wanted the state to take responsibility
for conducting background checks for concealed carry permits. Exeter does not
have its own police force.
This will be a race to watch. If you want to see Doreen Costa do her wingnut schtick, watch this (thanks, Tracey):
Some more good news
According to the Violence Policy Center, Rhode
Island has the lowest gun death rate in the US. The group combed CDC records
and found that RI’s rate was
3.14 gun deaths per 100,000 people compared to a national average of
10.38. Louisiana tops the charts with 18.91 gun deaths per 100,000.
However, the CDC has been hobbled by prohibitions
against research on gun violence imposed by Republican conservatives at the
behest of the gun lobby. The latest data is from 2011.
Also, consumer rating site WalletHub says Rhode Island is
the sixth safest place to live in the United States. This was based on
analyzing data on murders, traffic fatalities, on the job deaths (second best
in the country), crime, etc. We also have the fifth lowest rate of uninsured
people. Massachusetts and New Hampshire came in at #1 and #2, respectively.
Though not all is rosy
Despite these encouraging reports, we’re not without
our problems, including guns among them. The General Assembly failed to pass Rep. Donna
Walsh’s bill to ban shooting firearms from aircraft which was
inspired by last summer’s crazy incident where a group of Charlestown guys fired weapons at a junked car in one of our local quarries from a
helicopter.
According to a new searchable
database set up by Pro Publica, in 2012, police seized 209 guns that
were used in the commission of crimes in Rhode Island. Almost 40% of
those guns were obtained out of state.
As a public safety measure, the RI Airport Authority issued a warning to drone operators that it is illegal to fly drones over or near public open air events such as Charlestown’s Seafood Festival or Rhythm & Roots.
As a public safety measure, the RI Airport Authority issued a warning to drone operators that it is illegal to fly drones over or near public open air events such as Charlestown’s Seafood Festival or Rhythm & Roots.
But maybe there’s a work-around: what if drone
operators armed their drones? Second Amendment! Benghazi!
While you’re thinking about that, there was a great
recent piece by Steven Rosenfeld that listed ten
very good reasons why
living in Florida sucks. And that’s in addition to all the CCA Party
members who have moved there. He cites a new report by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans called “Florida – A State of Embarrassment.”
This report goes beyond the obvious issues of heat,
humungous bugs, disease, hurricanes and obnoxious tourists and notes high rates
of crime that target older people, economic problems like continuing real
estate problems and high unemployment, some of the most regressive taxes in the
country (maybe no income taxes, but they get you in so many other ways) and
poor funding for education and social programs that feeds the growing crime
rate.
But if you’re one of those types who wants to beat
feet out of Rhode Island (bye, bye!), Linda Felaco spotted a cool website that
allows you to do the math to see what tax implications there will be for you to
make the move. Click here.
Red Light Cameras – don’t hold your breath
The long-running saga of Charlestown’s planned traffic signal cameras – four in all along Route One to catch red light runners
– still has not been resolved. Although SenSys, the town’s chosen contractor, has been willing to make repairs to defective road sensors rather than wait until RIDOT does it or hell freezes over (whichever comes first), RIDOT is still dawdling on granting its approval for the project.
The newest hold-up, according to Town Administrator Mark Stankiewicz’s report to the Town Council, comes from DOT’s Scenic Roadway Board which must determine whether the cameras somehow distract from the aesthetics of the light poles and businesses at the four intersections.
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| From Stankiewicz's report to the Town Council |
Did you ever work at a nuclear facility?
The US Department of Labor is conducting an outreach
effort to workers who worked at Department of Energy facilities or for its
contractors and subcontractors about potential compensation benefits due as a
result of radiation exposure. They recently conducted town hall
meetings
in Connecticut and Massachusetts on the topic and noted that there may be lots
of workers in southern New England who qualify for benefits.
Click here for a list of
facilities. There’s only one RI company on the list, C.I. Hayes of Cranston.
But there are 20 in Massachusetts and 12 in Connecticut. There’s a surprising
variety to the list, including such unlikely listings as the Woburn (MA)
Landfill.
Hartfordbusiness.com
reports that $26.8 million has already been paid out to 250 Connecticut
workers.
Last night, I posted the current list of the Top 100 state personal income tax deadbeats in Rhode Island. Of course, there are lots of other ways a person can become a tax deadbeat, and that includes not paying your property taxes. For example, it turns out that TV late night star Conan O'Brien was one until last Friday when he paid $8,000 in overdue Westerly property taxes on his $773,000 beach property, thus avoiding a Westerly tax sale.
Conan coughs it up
Last night, I posted the current list of the Top 100 state personal income tax deadbeats in Rhode Island. Of course, there are lots of other ways a person can become a tax deadbeat, and that includes not paying your property taxes. For example, it turns out that TV late night star Conan O'Brien was one until last Friday when he paid $8,000 in overdue Westerly property taxes on his $773,000 beach property, thus avoiding a Westerly tax sale.
Fruity bouquet
The Rhode Island Fruit Growers Association wants you to
get out and visit their member farms and farm food outlets this summer and
they’re offering prizes for those who do. They call it their annual RI Farms
Scavenger Hunt and they want you to check out at least 18 of the listed farms between now and
the end of the year to qualify for the contest for gift certificate prizes. Click here for details and
to get the map.
They’re all over the state and include Charlestown’s
Umbrella Factory and nearby Manfredi’s near Dunn’s Corners.
Tick season –
NSFM (“Not Suitable for Men”)I’ve been holding on to this item for about a year, waiting for the right time to release it.
Now that we’re going into prime tick season (although the little bastards are around all year long), it’s time to talk about a delicate subject, one that the folks at Improbable Research call “Ticks on Dicks.”
Yes,
you read that right. They published an
article
that addresses the consequences when a tick decides to bite where men dread it
most. They also include a link to video, if you dare.
Speaking of Dicks
Former Copar Quarry boss Sam Cocopard
did not show up in court in Warwick in proceedings on the fraud lawsuit filed
against him by the family of Copar money man Phil Armetta. Cocopard, who has a
decades-long history of relatively small time financial crime allegedly took
$11 million from Armetta before his family stepped in to put the elderly
Armetta under a conservatorship.
Superior Court
Judge Brian Stern has issued default judgments against
Cocopard totaling $11.45 million. Lots of luck in collecting.
And even more
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| Aftermath of unsuccessful attempt to fit condom onto a gander |
He really gets worked up over goose shit. We should all be grateful that he has his priorities straight.
Egg oiling is a way of cutting down on “fouling”
of the salt ponds because oiling the eggs prevents them from hatching, essentially a form of compulsory abortion for geese.
I swear I am not making this up.
Plus, it’s a lot easier to oil the eggs than it is to put little condoms on the ganders (though I would pay a lot to see Boss Gentz try). Town Administrator Stankiewicz reports an especially successful geese egg oiling season, with a record 176 geese eggs oiled. And as an added bonus, they also oiled 46 swan eggs.
I swear I am not making this up.
Plus, it’s a lot easier to oil the eggs than it is to put little condoms on the ganders (though I would pay a lot to see Boss Gentz try). Town Administrator Stankiewicz reports an especially successful geese egg oiling season, with a record 176 geese eggs oiled. And as an added bonus, they also oiled 46 swan eggs.
Stankiewicz calculates that this
exercise will produce the “peculiar” (his term, not mine) result of 128,480
fewer pounds of bird shit in the salt ponds. And that certainly takes a load
off my mind.
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| From Stankiewicz's Council report |
Events
Don’t forget the upcoming Charlestown
Democratic Town Committee annual tag sale coming up on July 5. Click here. Donations of
saleable goods still welcome.
And our state Senator Cathie Cool Rumsey
whose district includes the top half of Charlestown, is holding a fund-raiser
for her campaign next Monday, June 30.
