White collar pushers

Prosecuting Corporate Drug Dealers

By Phil Mattera for the Dirt Diggers Digest

⏪ It looked like another of the countless perp walks in which a newly arrested drug dealing suspect is paraded before the cameras by prosecutors. 

But this time the individual in handcuffs was a 75-year-old former chief executive of a major corporate pharmaceutical distributor.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Laurence F. Doud III with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances – opioids – which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which carries a maximum prison term of five years.

It is rare enough for corporate executives (or in this case, a retired executive) to be individually prosecuted for anything in the United States. It was even more amazing in this case to see such a person facing the kind of charges normally brought against figures such as El Chapo.

VIDEO: Barr, the Musical

 To watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etTXjK-S7RI

Congratulations!

DEM says it will hold “Ladies Fly-Fishing Day” in Charlestown on May 18. Yes, it’s still 2019.

DEM Announces Freshwater Fishing Workshops

Join DEM in a return to the 1950s.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced it is hosting a series of free fly-tying workshops for novice and experienced fly-tiers and a fly-fishing clinic.

WHAT: Free Fly-Tying Workshops

WHEN: Wednesday, May 1, 15 | 6-8 PM Jesse M. Smith Memorial Library, 100 Tinkham Lane, Harrisville

Friday, May 3 | 5:30-7:30 PM Saturday, May 4 | 1-3 PM Tyler Free Library, 81 Moosup Valley Road #A, Foster

Monday, May 6, 13 | 6-8 PM Diamond Hill Park Community Center, 4097 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland

Tuesday, June 4, 18 | 6-8 PM Greene Public Library, 179 Hopkins Hollow Road, Greene

Monday, June 10, 17 | 6-8 PM Middletown Public Library, 700 West Main Road, Middletown

Wednesday, June 12, 19 | 6-8 PM Brownell Public Library, 44 Commons, Little Compton

Instruction on freshwater angling will be included, and all equipment and materials will be provided. Participants are welcome to bring their own materials, if they prefer. Children ages 10 and older are invited to participate. Space is limited and registration is required. To register, contact Scott Travers at Scott.travers@dem.ri.gov.

WHAT: Ladies Fly-Fishing Day

WHEN: Saturday, May 18 | 9AM-3PM Carolina Trout Hatchery, Carolina

New book helps parents make good decisions

In ‘Cribsheet,’ a Brown economist debunks long-held parenting myths

Nearly a decade ago, Emily Oster was pregnant and frustrated.

Oster, a Brown University professor of economics, wasn’t satisfied with her doctors’ edicts. Limit your coffee intake, they said. But where is the evidence to show that coffee will harm my baby, she asked? Don’t gain more than 35 pounds, they declared. What’s the real cost of gaining 40 instead, she wondered?

Unsatisfied with the vague answers she received, Oster set out to track down her own. The result, published in 2013, was “Expecting Better,” a book that used data to take on some of the most commonly held beliefs about pregnancy.

"Cribsheet" uses data to address breastfeeding, sleep training and other crucial decisions new parents face.

Six years later, the mother of two has released a sequel of sorts: “Cribsheet,” a data-driven guide for new parents. In the book, Oster compiles years of scientific research to debunk age-old myths about some of the most divisive and controversial subjects in parenting, from breastfeeding to sleep training.

“So many people today want to approach parenting with the same work ethic that got them through school, that got them their first job and their first promotion,” Oster says. “They want to know how to do it right and do it well. I hope my evidence-based guide will help relieve some of the stress they’re feeling.”

“Cribsheet,” published by Penguin Random House, is out now. Ahead of its release, Oster answered a few questions about the book, her research and her own approach to parenting.

Invenergy scores a rare but inconsequential victory

Court Challenge of Power Plant Water Deal Denied

By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff

Since the 1920's the Scituate Reservoir has provided clean water to more
than half of RI's population.

Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein disappointed opponents of the proposed Burrillville power plant with his recent ruling to allow the town of Johnston to resell the water it receives from the Scituate Reservoir, the city-owned water supply that serves 60 percent of Rhode Island.

The April 23 decision means Johnston can keep its contract to resell water it buys from a public supply to Invenergy Thermal Development LLC, the Chicago-based developer that has struggled to find cooling water for its energy project.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed the lawsuit, along with the town of Burrillville in 2017, as part of its effort to halt the nearly 1,000-megawatt, fossil-fuel power plant being considered for forestland in the rural community.

CLF was optimistic about the prospects of its lawsuit after Silverstein turned down an appeal by Invenergy in 2017 to dismiss the case.

Back then, Silverstein agreed with CLF’s assertion that the lawsuit needed to answer “a question of substantial public interest that cries out for a declaratory judgment.”

At the Aug. 20, 2018 court hearing, CLF argued that the phrase “other ordinary municipal water supply purposes” found in state law passed in 1915 precludes Johnston from reselling water to a third party. 

The lawsuit already received a boost in January 2018 when then-Attorney General Peter Kilmartin offered his support by fling an amicus brief in the case. 

Kilmartin argued that the water agreement allows other wholesalers of public water to resell it to entities within or outside the state, thus straining the public water supply, especially during water restrictions that may be imposed during droughts.

Trump might send migrant children to Gitmo

Trump Reportedly Considered Detaining Kids at Guantánamo

BY Jake Johnson, Common Dreams

The Trump administration earlier this year reportedly considered detaining migrant children at Guantánamo Bay, the 17-year-old U.S. prison in Cuba that human rights advocates have condemned as a horrific stain on American history.

“The idea of incarcerating children at Guantánamo should send chills down the spine of anyone with a conscience,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) tweeted Tuesday. “This is what happens when our president is so racist that he sees migrant children as an ‘invasion’ and not vulnerable children to be protected.”

The Trump administration’s proposal was first reported by the New York Times, which explained that Guantánamo “has a dormitory facility that has been used in the past to hold asylum-seekers.”

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security “examined” the plan earlier this year, the Times reported.

LOTS and lots of witches

Charlestown Gallery opens for the season

Charlestown Gallery 2019 Season Now Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11am - 4pm New Artwork Arriving Daily Beginning Our 15th Year! Visit our Website Spring Hours Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11 - 4 Always Open by Appointment Charlestown Gallery | 401-364-0120 | 5000 South County Trail, Charlestown, R| http://www.charlestowngalleryri.com ‌ ‌

Charlestown Gallery | 5000 South County Trail, Charlestown, RI 02813

Dog of the week

Meet Scooter 

Animal Rescue RI

Scooter is a true lap dog!

This 9 month old loves affection, is very smart and knows her basic commands.

She has a very calm demeanor and is an overall great pup.

She is good with other dogs but unfortunately no kitties for her.

Despite health warnings, Americans still sit too much

Survey of 50,000 people across multiple ages, racial, ethnic groups documents troubling trends

Washington University School of Medicine

Most Americans continue to sit for prolonged periods despite public health messages that such inactivity increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers, according to a major new study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The research team analyzed surveys of 51,000 people from 2001 to 2016 to track sitting trends in front of TVs and computers and the total amount of time spent sitting on a daily basis. 

Unlike other studies that have looked at sedentary behaviors, the research is the first to document sitting in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population across multiple age groups -- from children to the elderly -- and different racial and ethnic groups.

Of bended knees and thin ice

The call to end the media's climate silence gets a bit louder

Peter Dykstra for the Environmental Health News

In 1988, author Mark Hertsgaard penned the book On Bended Knee, a story of a tame Washington press corps that offered little resistance to the charms of President Ronald Reagan.

It was a far cry from the 70s, when Hollywood paid tribute to crusaders like Woodward and Bernstein and journalism schools drew record enrollment for a suddenly sexy profession.

For 2019, Hertsgaard has turned his focus to a media on thin ice. This week, he and co-author Kyle Pope launched a campaign, "Covering Climate Change: A New Playbook for a 1.5-Degree World," to turn around media failures in addressing the urgency of climate change.

The official launch is April 30 at a meeting of journalists, scientists and climate advocates to discuss climate coverage and launch "an unprecedented, coordinated effort to change the media conversation."

Invenergy is dead and needs to be buried, once and for all

ISO New England is excluding Invenergy’s proposed power plant from its future power projections

By Steve Ahlquist In UpRiseRI

In ISO New England‘s Chief Operating Officer Vamsi Chadalavada‘s March Report to the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), there are two slides that seem to indicate that ISO New England believes that Invenergy’s $1 billion fracked gas and diesel oil burning power plant aimed at the irreplaceable forests of Burrillville, will never be built.

The slides seem to demonstrate that ISO New England believes that New England will be relying on ever increasing wind power and no new fossil fuel power plants for its future energy needs, including the power plant Invenergy is currently litigating for in Burrillville.

In slide 48 of the report, we see a list of all the new power plants ISO New England projects coming on line through 2025, and the power sources for all these new power plants.

For 2023, 2024, and 2025, there are no new gas plants coming online anywhere within New England, according to ISO New England’s slide. 

About that $2 million payment to North Korea....

For more cartoons by Mike Luckovich, CLICK HERE

VIDEO: 12 myths about taxing the rich

To watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=pnoLAMHwf2I

Rhode Island has one of the best college savings programs in the country

Rhode Island's CollegeBound Savings plans receive top rating from national authority

Rhode Island's 529 education savings program,CollegeBound, has, once again, been rated as one of the best plans in the country by Savingforcollege.com, an independent authority on 529 savings plans.

"The cost of continuing education, whether at college or a trade school, is rising - with no end in sight," said Treasurer Seth Magaziner. "We are working hard to ensure that Rhode Islanders have an affordable and easy way to save for college."

Prior to 2015, Rhode Island's 529 college saving program was consistently rated among worst in the nation. 

Following Treasurer Magaziner's overhaul of CollegeBound, the program now offers a lower fee structure, an expanded menu of investment options, and a new program manager.

Simple blood test can reveal onset of Alzheimer’s

More evidence that blood tests can detect the risk of Alzheimer's

Lund University

A new study confirms that a simple blood test can reveal whether there is accelerating nerve cell damage in the brain. The researchers analysed neurofilament light protein (NFL) in blood samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease. 

Recently published in JAMA Neurology, the study suggests that the NFL concentration in the blood could be able to indicate if a drug actually affects the loss of nerve cells.

The blood samples were collected over several years, and on multiple occasions, from 1 182 patients with different degrees of cognitive impairment, and 401 healthy subjects in a control group.

Very sensitive methods have been developed in recent years to measure the presence of certain substances in blood that can indicate damage in the brain and neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer's. Neurofilament light protein (NFL) is one such substance.

Raise your hand if this surprises you

'Students for Trump' founder charged with fraud, bilking would-be clients, and faking his identity

By Dartagnan, Daily Koss Community

Following in the well-worn footsteps of their leader, an entirely new generation of grifters and fraudsters has arrived to bilk Americans out of their hard-earned savings. 

Fortunately, though, sometimes the law catches up to them.

A Tennessee man charged by New York prosecutors with pretending to be a Manhattan lawyer and taking thousands from would-be clients was the co-founder of Students for Trump, a national group that mobilized college campuses in the run-up to the 2016 election and plans to do so again in 2020.

John Lambert, 23, was arrested last week and charged by Southern District of New York prosecutors with wire fraud for having invented a lawyer persona named “Eric Pope” that he used to solicit legal work online. ALM reported last week that the fake firm website he created appeared to have attorney biographies cribbed from senior partners at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

‘Students for Trump’ was organized in 2015 by two Campbell University students, Ryan Fournier, and the above-described John Lambert, as a vehicle for students apparently enthralled by the possibility of a serial con man occupying the White House.

Apparently, Trump has never read the Constitution

Sorry Trump, Say Experts, You Can't Just 'Head to the Supreme Court' If Impeached

"So much wrong with this president and with the election of a man who is ignorant about the Constitution."

By Eoin Higgins, staff writer for Common Dreams

President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced via Twitter that he plans to challenge any attempt at impeachment in the Supreme Court—a legal strategy that has no basis in reality, as experts pointed out. 

The president, fresh off a face-to-face meeting with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in which Trump complained about his follower count on the website, spent Wednesday morning using the social media service to rant about the possibility of congressional action against his presidency. 

"If the partisan Dems ever tried to Impeach, I would first head to the U.S. Supreme Court," tweeted Trump. 

The president then pivoted to attacking his opponent in the 2016 election—which concluded over two-and-a-half years ago—Hillary Clinton. 

Trump may want to use the U.S. Supreme Court to push back on attempts to impeach him for high crimes and misdemeanors, likely because of the possible obstruction charges laid out in the Mueller report, but that's not how any of this works. 

Already hard at work

For more cartoons by Mike Luckovich, CLICK HERE.

If you can't beat 'em, cheat 'em

SALMON fishing in Charlestown. Seriously.

DEM Stocking Rhode Island Ponds with Sebago Salmon and Tiger Trout for Free Freshwater Fishing Days May 4-5

Coming to Charlestown's Watchaug Pond

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announces that Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, are Free Fishing Days in Rhode Island. Rhode Islanders and visitors alike can fish in the state's freshwaters on both days for all species of freshwater fish, without a fishing license or trout conservation stamp. The free fishing weekend does not apply to saltwater fishing or saltwater licenses.

Beginning on Monday, April 29, DEM will begin a supplemental spring trout stocking; brook, brown, and rainbow trout will be stocked in 46 locations across the state, and Sebago salmon and tiger trout will be stocked in select locations statewide.

"Freshwater fishing is an important part of our culture and economy in Rhode Island, and we're proud to support it through our stocking program so that anglers can have fun catching the beautiful hatchery-raised trout and salmon we've stocked in fishing areas across the state for this free event," said DEM Director Janet Coit. 

"After a fabulous Opening Day, we are pleased to continue to offer anglers special fishing experiences in Rhode Island this spring. We encourage people of all ages to visit a favorite fishing spot on free fishing weekend and make some new memories!"

New this year and for the first time, DEM is stocking Sebago salmon, a landlocked variety of Atlantic salmon averaging two- to two-and-a-half-pounds for Free Fishing Weekend. There is a two-fish limit for salmon which must be part of the overall five-fish limit for trout and salmon. 

Still, VACCINATE your kids!

Many Anti-Vaxxers Don’t Trust Big Pharma. There’s a Reason for That.
By Teresa Carr
Recently, an acquaintance — the mother of a young child — popped up in a Facebook thread discussing a Newsweek story about Russian internet trolls spreading anti-vaccine propaganda.

She described the decision to vaccinate as a "very hard choice for parents to make these days." But personally, she wrote, she was staunchly against conventional vaccines due to concerns over underreported side effects and “zero accountability” on the part of the pharmaceutical companies.



“We don’t need Russia trolls to destroy our confidence in the Big Pharma,” she wrote. “The facts did that on their own.”

This sort of "vaccine hesitancy" is on the rise. The World Health Organization identified it as one of the top ten threats to global health in 2019.

On April 15, WHO reported preliminary data showing that cases of measles, which claimed the lives of close to an estimated 110,000 people globally in 2017, “rose by 300 percent in the first three months of 2019,” compared to the same time period last year.

The U.S. is on track for a record-breaking year. As of April 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 626 confirmed cases of measles so far in 2019 — the second-highest yearly total since the disease was considered eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.

That growth is fueled in part by people like my Facebook friend who have lost trust in the systems that are supposed to protect them, according to a recent editorial in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.