The East Bay Patriots will be having their October meeting on October 17th at the Rogers Free Library, 525 Hope Street, Bristol, RI.  The meeting will begin at 7 pm.   The subject of this meeting is Agenda 21.  Agenda 21 outlines, in detail, the UN's vision for a centrally managed global society. This contract binds governments around the world to the United Nation's plan for controlling the way we live, eat, learn, move and communicate - all under the noble banner of saving the earth. If fully implemented, Agenda 21 would have the government involved in every aspect of life of every human on…

The Bristol Town Council appointed two new directors to the Bristol County Water Authority on Wednesday evening, Dr. Paul Bishop and Mr. Joseph Demelo.  We welcome both of these gentlemen and commend them for stepping up to the plate.  There is much to be done.  Councilwoman Parella welcomed both new directors and validated that the road ahead will be challenging and wished them the best. You can view the video of the meeting on the Bristol Town Hall site (http://www.bristolri.us/videos/brtc09-28-11.wmv) and I urge you to particularly look at the comments made to Joe Demelo after his …

This week is Family Dinner Week. Stressing the importance of family dinners is reminiscent of our childhoods, having our mothers insist on at least a spoonful of everything, after salad and before dessert. Family dinners hold a lot of mixed perceptions. Just because we are sitting together at the dinner table doesn’t mean that we are enjoying a healthy meal.  It doesn’t mean that our kids will not bicker, feed the dog behind our back, or try to sneak their DS to the dinner table. Our children may complain about being pulled from Donkey Kong or Facebook.  Parents bring to the table our own …

I think that we all agree that it is very important to stay tuned in to how our newly elected officials cast their votes.  We must stay on top of voting records and be cognizant of how we are being represented.   To that end, the East Bay Patriots Bristol meeting, which will be held at the Rogers Free Library on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 6:30pm, will offer an analysis of the voting records of the following elected officials:  House Representatives Hearn, Malik, Morrison, Gallison, Edwards, Riley and Gordon and Senators Bates, Felag, Ottiano, Duval and DePalma.   This will be presented by Will Sousa …

We would like to let everyone know that there is a very important tri-town meeting to discuss the BCWA issues scheduled for this Wednesday at 7:00 pm at the Bristol Town Hall, August 10th.   I can't seem to find this listed on the Bristol Town Hall website, the Warren Town Hall website, the Barrington Town Hall website,  or the BCWA website.  It IS listed in Patch under "government" and it is listed on the Secretary of State site.   Interestingly enough, the first posting on the Secretary of State site posted on August 4th, called for  "discussion re report of" BCWA, and "discussion re …

The Bristol East Bay Patriots meeting on Monday night (July 25) focused on Bristol County Water Authority issues. There were several examples brought up of total mismanagement resulting in high costs and water rates for the rate payers. For example, it was brought out that an unnecessary employee (plant operator) was hired one month before the treatment plant was to shut down for almost three years (total cost to date – $1,000,000).  Gary Morse provided information on the $5,000,000 cost over-run when the Cross Bay pipeline was being built. The drilling contract was awarded to a company in …

I cannot understand why Ken Marshall and David Barboza have no anger or outrage at the current situation of mismanagement. Either they are not big enough leaders to admit that they may have "backed the wrong horse" and are going to hold on to their views for the sake of their pride, or something else is going on. They obviously do not have the best interest of the rate payers and their constituents at heart and I am sure they will pay for this in the next election. I was pleased to see so much agreement that it is time to come into the 21st century and that maybe whatever plans we had in 1993…

The Bristol Town Council will be holding a special meeting on July 20th, at 7:00 pm to discuss the results of the Bristol County Water Authority audit.  If you drink  water, you should be there!  It is a very important meeting and will hopefully discuss a new appointment to the Board of Directors, i.e. Joe DeMelo. Joe is extremely qualified and has been very involved with the ongoing investigations.  He will bring knowledge and integrity to the position.  At the Barrington meeting, they discussed replacing all three directors and I applaud them for this.  We need new ideas, new direction, and…

As many of you know, the recently approved State budget calls for significant changes in the way our Water Resource Board will operate. It reads: "Section 46-15-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 46-15 entitled  'Water 34 Resources Board' is hereby repealed." What is happening is that "employees" of the WRB are transferred to the Division of Planning, and the Division of Planning becomes the "principal staff agency" for the WRB and WRB Corporate. This means that some, (but not all) of the regulatory powers of the WRB are delegated to statewide planning, which is not a regulatory agency, with…

Since 2010, Operation Clean Government (OCG) and the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC) have been involved in an ongoing review of taxpayer supported projects under the Bristol County Water Supply Act of 1993 (Act).   During this time, OCG and RISC have also examined matters relating to the impact of PUC oversight of the Bristol County Water Authority (BCWA).  With the release of the June 2011 Performance Audit completed by B&E Consulting, OCG and RISC provide our analysis of what we believe to be items requiring further examination.  B&E is using a flawed Rate Study B&E makes the …

If you are a ratepayer of Bristol County Water Authority, you will want to take a look at the recent performance audit done by B&E Consulting.  It can be viewed online at the Barrington town website.  As you peruse the document you will see some of the following:  You will see that the debt ratio is dangerously low."A review of the balance sheet shows that the current assets of $1,724,309 were less than the current liabilities of $3,904,875 which is unfavorable.  Normally current assets exceed the  current liabilities at least 2 to 1."  You will see that their current rate design was designed…

When I was elected to the General Assembly, it was not to represent special interests or to get positive headlines in the newspaper. It was to do what is right for all the citizens I represent, and – like them – to be fiscally responsible. Legislation that would bring the Bristol County Water Authority under the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Commission may not be as beneficial to BCWA customers as supporters of the bill claim. I am not convinced it will mean any significant improvements for the system or for its water customers. I am certain that it will result in higher costs for …

Recently a report compiled by a “well-known” columnist for the Washington Post, laid its hand on the rudder of education planning for the state of Rhode Island.   The report is based on an effort to assess schools’ capacities to prepare students for college. One key assumption behind the benchmark report is that college preparation is the essential function of secondary education, and that what most high schools are doing across the nation these days is essentially on target for preparing students for success in and beyond college life.  The Post reports the method used by the study as …

Last Monday there was a hearing at the State House on a bill proposed by Representatives Hearn and Gallison to have the Public Utilities Commission oversee the Bristol County Water Authority. I was one of the testifiers that agreed with this proposal, along with Margaret Kane (President of OCG) and Gary Morse (spokesman for RISC). Testifying against the proposal were Pasquale Delise and Frank Nenka. It was interesting to note that when questioned as to the amount of debt that the BCWA was carrying, Mr. Delise replied that he did not have that information. (???) Mr. Delise also mentioned that …

Our town financial meeting was a solemn and reverent affair this year. Much of the emotional intensity of our difficult situation had been drained by recent realizations.  As we nodded to the tightly crafted budget that painfully balanced our progressive and conservative aspirations, the 800-pound gorilla that sat among us was the “pension situation” existing beyond our local control.  A local voice of contrarian wisdom cautioned us to recognize that no one has a solution and that in a year – or maybe two – fiscal collapse is eminent.  The situation is not uniquely our town’s crisis, nor our …

The Bristol East Bay Patriots will hold a meeting on May 16th, at the Rogers Free Library in Bristol. Meeting will start at 6:30 pm. Kevin Faria of East Bay Citizens for Peace will be the guest moderator and will be presenting the movie "The Secret of Oz." It is well known in economics academia that "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is loaded with powerful symbols of monetary reform, which were the core of the Populist movement and the 1896 and 1900 president bid of Democrat William Jennings Bryan.The yellow brick road (gold standard), the emerald city of Oz (…

I attended the tri-town meeting between the town councils and B&E Consulting on April 26th, along with several other residents of Bristol, Warren, and Barrington.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a time extension for the completion of the B&E Audit of the Bristol County Water Authority. At the onset of the meeting, Bristol Councilman David Barboza announced that that this was, for all practical purposes, a private meeting between the town councils and B&E and that no comments would be accepted from the public. Mr. Walter Edge, President of B&E, explained that there were three …

On April 18th, I attended the State Water Resources Board meeting in Providence with several other residents of Bristol, Warren and Barrington. One of the items on the agenda was a motion to approve the BCWA's submitted "master plan." After much discussion and input from attendees, this motion was revised to allow the BCWA to obtain permits from Rehoboth for the Shad, and the master plan was not approved. This is a very important development. There appears to be enough scrutiny now from state sources to question the validity and plans of the Bristol County Water Authority. The fact that the …

Dear Barrington Residents and Community Organizations: One of the greatest ongoing challenges for Habitat for Humanity East Bay RI is finding property on which to build homes.  Partnering with communities to serve families in need of decent, affordable homes remains the heart of our mission.  We are reaching out to you in hope that you or someone you know may have land that they are not using and willing to sell or donate.  Doing so will also allow a substantial tax break for the donor.  Property taxes remain high in this area.  If you are willing to sell property at a price substantially …