This is my response to a letter you received a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I agree it is healthy to ride your bike, but not to the beach. How can you carry your beach bag, umbrella and cooler? The only way it would work out is if you live a block or two away from the beach. I strongly disagree with the beach pass increase. Having the senior citizens paying $10 (for the first time ever) is not right. They need to save their money for more important things. Increasing the pass to $30 is not right either. The Town Council should have had a meeting about this before they increased it. I go to the …

It's been more than two years since the BCWA controversy began when a scathing audit demanded much-needed reform, and we are still waiting.  Tony Teixiera and his team met at least six months ago and compiled a thorough and complete list of changes to the enabling legislation and by-laws that needed to be implemented at the BCWA.  This list of changes was vetted by all three towns individually, and then finalized at a March 29 Tri-town meeting held in Barrington.  The agreed-upon changes were then given to the solicitors who were to take care of finalizing the paperwork and forward it to the…

Some political observers have suggested that Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and the House Republican caucus demonstrated courage with their most recent budget proposal. I disagree. There is no doubt that we need to restore fiscal responsibility in Washington, D.C. – on this point, nearly all of my Republican and Democratic colleagues agree.  We enacted cuts and savings that amount to $900 billion over ten years and agreed to at least $1.2 trillion more over nine years beginning in 2013.  Where we disagree is on whether cuts in federal spending need to come at the expense of important …

The East Bay Energy Consortium, given a grant by the Economic Development Corporation two years ago, was originally envisioning a $75 million project to develop alternative energy – wind turbines in East Bay communities and selling that energy to National Grid. What has emerged is a bill that creates a quasi-government entity granting unleashed powers to appointees or unelected officials that are a fatal blow to private property rights.   Over the past two months, town councils in the East Bay have passed resolutions supporting the East Bay Energy Consortium Act, apparently with no regard for…

What’s wrong with this picture? The same week that two senior state senators embarrassed themselves with the Barrington Police, their colleagues at the General Assembly voted once again to keep legislators immune from enforcement of much of the Code of Ethics set up in 1986. That code forbids all elected and appointed state and municipal officials from using the power of their office to achieve financial gain for themselves, their families and their business associates. Thanks to a legal loophole, however, it is no longer enforceable on legislators (at least not for what they say or how they …

On Feb. 2, 2012, the National Popular Vote bill (H7388) was introduced into the Rhode Island House of Representatives by Representatives Gallison, Blazejewski, Valencia, Serpa, and Chippendale. The House bill has a total of 45 sponsors (in a 75-member chamber), including Representatives Christopher R. Blazejewski, Edith H. Ajello, Raymond A. Hull, Maria E. Cimini, Michael A. Tarro, Anastasia P. Williams, Scott A. Slater, Leo Medina, Charlene M. Lima, Peter G. Palumbo, Arthur Handy, David A. Bennett, Eileen S. Naughton, Frank G. Ferri, Robert E. Flaherty, Jared R. Nunes, Patricia A. Serpa, …

Over the last four nights, my husband and I have watched all four superintendent interviews, something we have never done before. By the end of each interview, it was possible to see how each candidate was different from the other. The first candidate, Dr. McKersie, was strong on theory but short on real life examples demonstrating how he would function as our superintendent. The second candidate, Dr. Paolucci, with a strong background in science, had both a vision for the future of our district as well as concrete examples of delivering on vision in a school district with similarly high …

Within the next three weeks, the members of the Barrington School Committee will select the individual charged with the responsibility of leading our school system toward world-class standards.  Besides being responsible for overseeing an annual budget of $45,000,000, our new superintendent will become the most influential person in our town in two regards. The superintendent will have a significant influence on the collective future intellectual, emotional and financial well being of our children, and his/her ability to enhance the perceived value of the school system will have a direct …

It is with regret and yet a sense of accomplishment that Beyond Our Walls (BOW), at their annual meeting held on January 28, 2012, voted to dissolve the organization. For seven years, many individuals helped to fulfill the mission of serving the community through an active volunteer program and working with others outside of their own community to improve life for the less fortunate. Our trademark events, the annual Great Day of Service held each year on Columbus Day and Project HOPE, bringing awareness to high school students of the plights of homelessness and hunger, were two platforms …

After nearly three weeks of being lost in an unfamiliar place, I am finally back where I belong... safe, warm and happy. Thank you to Barrington Paw for your dedicated efforts to find me, to Kelly and Beth from NE All-breed Rescue for searching and bringing me into the lives and hearts of so many people, to Bayside YMCA for updating and staying on top of the search. Also, to my friends at Style Unleashed for alerting their customers to my being lost, to Jan Bowden at Warren Animal Hospital whose years of experience and wisdom helped track my path, to the Barrington Police dispatch for …

While listening to presentations and discussions at the March 1 School Committee meeting on special education initiatives, technology, and budget planning, I realized that most of the School Committee understands that the status quo needs to change if Barrington schools are going to maintain their high standards.  The 4% to 5% spending increases of the last decade are unsustainable; especially considering that the annual increases are only funding increased personnel costs.  They do not fund any new programs, initiatives or staff.  I am far from an education expert, but I keep hearing of …

The requirement that school committees must provide educators with layoff notices by a March 1 deadline is a ridiculous exercise that has to be stopped. This arbitrary deadline serves no purpose except to add to the stress of teachers who are working hard every day to provide our students with a world-class education. I do believe that when school committees face difficult decisions about laying off teachers and other educators, teachers deserve to receive timely notice of these pending layoffs that may affect their livelihoods and their careers. The current state law that sets a March 1 …

The 2012 elections are approaching and now, more than ever, Barrington and Rhode Island are in need of strong leadership to address the many issues we face. The Barrington Republican Town Committee is committed to identifying, supporting and electing candidates who will provide that leadership. We are currently inviting individuals who are fiscally conservative, possess common sense, will represent our citizens fairly and ethically, and have a desire to make a difference to meet with the BRTC Nominating Committee to discuss the possibility of running for office.  Anyone interested in learning…

Many called. Few chosen. Four out of 16. This was the number of community members chosen from among 27 applicants who had volunteered for the Superintendent Search/Screening Committee.  This committee has been charged with the responsibility of putting forth the highest quality group of finalists from a nationwide search for the full School Committee’s review and vote of approval for our next superintendent. When the make-up of the Search Committee was announced on Dec. 1, I expressed my concern at the lack in number and diversity of the community’s representation on the committee.  It was my…

We have a new Executive Director for the Bristol County Water Authority. Pam Marchand, previously with the Providence Water Supply Board where she acted as chief engineer and general manager, will be taking the reins at the end of the month.   At this point, we can continue to talk about vetting procedures, and lack of transparency in the selection, and broken promises, but I think it best that we move forward and hope for the best. I wish her success in her endeavors at BCWA and hopefully some important changes that have been held in abeyance while waiting for a new Executive Director, will …

It seems early to be getting ready for the summer, but the Barrington Recreation Department is hard at work in a number of areas. Staffing is a major challenge in finding people that are certified and have experience in programming and camping activities. Although the department is fortunate to have some returning staff, it is still seeking counselors, lifeguards, and camp directors. Some of the returning counselors have expressed interest as applicants for these positions, but the department would like to interview other candidates as well in an effort to find the best fit for these …

A few months ago at a tri-town BCWA meeting, it was decided that there would be one monthly BCWA director report, in writing, composed by Allan Klepper of Barrington, and distributed to all three town councils.  The reasoning being that this way all three towns would receive the same information.   I don't know what they do in other towns, but in Bristol this report is not read at the town council meeting nor is it readily available in any form before the meeting. It is simply accepted into the town meeting minutes.  I have asked if this report could be made available on the town website …

Bristol County Water Authority Director Allan Klepper of Barrington wrote an outrageously false statement on behalf of the BCWA directors in their February monthly report to the town councils dated January 25, 2012. This by itself may not be so unusual in that the BCWA monthly reports and minutes often contain such statements. But this time it’s different. This time the problem comes at the same time the BCWA Board of Directors are about to choose the next Executive Director. This particular false statement might be used as an excuse to eliminate the one person many in the tritown community …

Yet another Bristol County Water Authority outrage was revealed at the January 26 Bristol Town Council meeting during a discussion on revisions to the authority legislation and by-Laws.The town council wanted to know why the BCWA board itself was routinely involved in day-to-day management decisions that should have been the responsibility of the former Executive Director, Pasquale DeLise.  Bristol Director Frank Sylvia, chair of the Audit/Finance Committee, explained to the Council that for the past two years the Board has had to be directly involved in the Executive Director's day-to-day …

The Bristol County Water Authority held a very important workshop last Wednesday evening on the Low Water Pressure Issue in Bristol and part of Warren. NOT ONE PERSON was in attendance! At first glance it would seem very apathetic. Let’s look at how the meeting was “advertised” (and I use the term lightly). It was on the Secretary of State’s website under BCWA meetings, agenda 1. High Service Area - Low Water Pressure, Bristol It was on the BCWA site. It was posted at the three town halls. Now really, is this enough of an effort by our water authority to let their customers know about this …