Charlestown COVID-19 Short takes

Some information bits for you while you weather the Plague Year

By Will Collette

In an on-going effort to keep Progressive Charlestown readers informed, here are some shorter items on COVID-19 you may have missed.

Charlestown state of emergency

The Town Council enacted a resolution declaring a “State of Emergency” in Charlestown due to COVID-10. CLICK HERE to read the resolution. The declaration’s most immediate effects are a cancellation of all non-essential town meetings and putting Town Hall off-limits for most interactions. 

You should use e-mail or a phone call to conduct town business. CLICK HERE for a list.

Other, vaguer powers are granted to Charlestown’s longtime Emergency Management head Kevin Gallup to do what it takes to cope with whatever comes down the pike. Kevin has been the town’s go-to guy in the past and has done great work for the town, often working 24/7. Good luck, Kevin.

COVID-19 rip-offs

Lots of rip-off artists around the world are trying to make money from COVID-19 by cheating the vulnerable. Governor Raimondo warned people who are trying to gouge the public by cranking up prices on necessities that this is illegal and you CAN be busted. DETAILS HERE.

Attorney General Peter Neronha warns about calls or e-mails from persons promising you money for COVID-19 relief. The AG notes that the promised federal check plan is not even finalized and that for now there are no checks in the mail, no matter what some scammer tells you. DETAILS HERE.

Income Tax Filing

In my last Short Takes, I noted the deadline for paying federal income tax had been postponed until July 15, but that you were expected to file your taxes on time, especially if you are getting a refund or want a 6-month extension. Now, the FILING deadline has also been postponed to July 15.

The RI Division of Taxation is NOT being so lenient – see their special COVID-19 webpage HERE.

Looking for whom to blame?

This shows the change Trump made to his speech a couple of days ago -
scratching out "corona" and inserting "Chinese:

Stop looking. It is not a healthy exercise. If you want proof of that, just look to the guy who seems to be pumping up anti-Chinese rhetoric. 

Donald Trump is desperate to find someone to blame to distract from his own monumental failings of leadership, epitomized by his line “No, I am not responsible for this.”

Don’t fall for his racist bullshit. The Chinese didn’t do this. COVID-19 was not engineered in some weapons lab. You can’t get Coronavirus from Chinese food or Corona® beer. And yelling racial slurs at Asian people is just plain disgusting. 

Let’s just get on with doing our bit through social distancing and random acts of kindness while the scientists and tech folks ramp up testing as well as the search for a vaccine and effective treatments.

Boomer Remover

But if you want to be angry with somebody, here’s one for ya. Joining the youth social media lexicon along with “OK, Boomer” is a new definition for COVID-19: “Boomer Remover.” 

This smarmy term highlights data showing that those most at risk are Baby Boomers (like myself) and that the highest death rates are among older people.

The "Boomer Remover" term could soon disappear as new data seems to show an uptick in the infection among younger people.