narragansett – RI Future

August 21, 2015August 24, 2015

Several RI government agencies identified as part of Ashley Madison hack

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More than 10,000 government accounts have been identified as being associated with the Ashley Madison data hack. And if early indications are to be believed, at least seven of the emails are associated with Rhode Island government departments. One list, which has information pertaining only to the government agencies involved, but with no particulars listed as to the name of the individuals or even the exact emails used, identifies the following ri.gov agencies, followed by the number of associated emails found in the leak.

risp.ri.gov     1
riag.ri.gov     1
ride.ri.gov     1
mhrh.ri.gov     3
narragansettri.gov      1

The local agencies named so far, and I should stress that the accuracy of this data has not been confirmed, (though at least one celebrity, Josh Duggar, has been outed with what looks like a high degree of confidence,) include the Rhode Island State Police, the Rhode Island State Attorney General’s Office, the Rhode Island Department of Education, three accounts from the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (formerly the Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation & Hospitals) and the official government site of Narragansett, RI.

Ashley Madison is an online dating service, headquartered in Canada, aimed at people who are married or in committed relationships. Its slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.” Hackers stole the data and demanded that the site be shut down, or the data would be released. The released data, according to experts consulted by the , appears to be real.

This might have been a purely prurient story of no real relevance, the private lives of individuals should remain just that, private. However, the use of government email accounts makes this of interest to voters. Should government workers be using their work emails to potentially cheat on their spouses?

We’ll see what happens as this story unfolds.

June 12, 2015June 12, 2015

Tanzi stumps for South County as budget cuts its tourism funding

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Just because House Finance passed the FY 2016 budget onto the House floor for next Tuesday, doesn’t mean the entire House of Representatives has to like it. In fact, much of the bill is contested – such as the tourism cuts that Representative Teresa Tanzi, Narragansett/South Kingstown, has voiced her opposition to.

“When I moved here from Utah, everyone said “Oh, Newport, Providence!” People already know about Newport and Providence and I would say “No, Narragansett,” and nobody would know what Narragansett was. I have a really difficult time turning a portion of our money over from South County to help promote more Providence and more Newport.” she said, citing that the South County tourism board works very hard to market their area of the state.”

In response House Speaker Nick Mattiello said, “Despite that wonderful job, everyone still talks about Providence and Newport. It’s the integrity of the entire system that we’re looking at, and you need a Rhode Island brand. It’s not about localities. The current system doesn’t work, and we cannot go back to a system that doesn’t work.”

Their disagreement stems from Governor Gina Raimondo’s idea to centralize state tourism spending. Currently, Rhode Island has no unified state marketing efforts and instead dives proceeds from hotel tax receipts between 8 regional tourism agencies. The money will now go more towards the state Commerce Corporation, rather than the tourism bureaus themselves. In the House version of the budget, $4.7 million goes straight to the Commerce Corporation, while less than a million goes to the actual tourism district. In Gov. Raimondo’s version, $6.4 million would go to the corporation, leaving the districts with $1.7 million.

Rep. Tanzi (D- District 34). Photo courtesy of http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/ — Rep. Tanzi (D- District 34)

After the hearing, Tanzi continued to express her concerns about the funding cuts, and how they will harm her district as a whole.

“I think that the way that the South County tourism board is run is actually very effective. We have been compliant, we turn in our reports when we’re supposed to, our production cost of our marketing materials, everything is done in house. We’re very conscientious about how the money is spent,” she said, especially in comparison to other tourism boards across the state. Tanzi believes that this will only disserve the southern portion of Rhode Island, especially because Newport and Providence, in her opinion, do not need more marketing.

“The beaches are their own unique part of it,” she said. “We need to have our own budget to market that appropriately. We’re competing with the Cape, we’re not competing with Massachusetts.”

As the budget is currently written, Tanzi stated that to “cannibalize” the smaller parts of the state in order to market Rhode Island as a whole is not the best use of money, and it will only show poorly within the coming years.

“My guess is that my businesses in South County, who have five months out of the year at most, to make their living to make it through the entire summer, are going to suffer as a result of this,” she said. Tanzi has spoken to many of the businesses in her district since the budget first came out in March, adding that such funds are always a concern for business owners in the area.

But, the prospect of Tanzi submitting a successful amendment to support her district is slim to none, in her view, calling South County the “small fish,” in comparison to Newport and Providence.

“Just the basic numbers of looking at it, you’re talking about a couple of South County people, versus the city folk and the Newport people, who outnumber us on the floor. So, my chances of an amendment passing are ridiculously infantile. They’re infinitesimal, they’re so small, so, no, I won’t,” she said.

Even without the hope of amending the budget, this year, though, Tanzi still holds out hope for next year, planning to bring forth data showing the exact effects of these cuts on South County tourism, and maybe even get to create a separate brand for her district in the process.

September 1, 2014September 3, 2014

Taveras tours Narragansett

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With just 8 days left before the primary, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras was at Narragansett Beach enjoying the end of summer and meeting as many voters as he can before people head to the polls next Tuesday.

I met up with Taveras at Monihan’s, where he was enjoying a burger. Then we sat on the sea wall and talked about the campaign for a few minutes – including what he’ll be doing for the last week, the importance of tourism in our state and the mayor’s favorite beach.

July 3, 2014July 3, 2014

Failure to follow regulations may cost homeowner $1.8 million

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Government regulation can seem like such a drag to comply with. Until the unlicensed surveyor you hired accidentally builds your new multimillion dollar house in the neighbor’s yard.

An ounce of prevention, as they say…

State law says only a licensed surveyor can plot a property line. But the owner of a $1.8 million beachfront home in Pt. Judith somehow built the 2,400-square-foot, 3-story mcmansion without doing an official survey.

The error was discovered and the next door neighbor isn’t interested in losing the land. The abutting property is the Rose Nulman Park, it has a deed restriction that it would owe a $1.5 million penalty if it ever transfers any land.

So the homeowner will likely have to demolish – or pay to move – his new beach house.

South County surveyor Dave Hilbern (best known in these parts for surfing the “Perfect Storm” waves in Puerto Rico) says the town of Narragansett may have been able to prevent this situation.

“Had the town officials been aware of the law and willing to apply it, they could have stopped this plan at the preliminary stage,” wrote Hilbern. “Plans depicting … property lines must carry a surveyor’s stamp. No one is a one stop professional, and so others approaching this task may be merely guessing or estimating the true location of a property line.”

According to the Providence Journal “the siting of the house was done incorrectly and that the lot had never been surveyed.” Savvy prospective buyers had a survey done in 2011, and learned the house was built on the Rose Nulman property.

Narragansett Building Inspector Tony Santilli and Town Manager Pam Nolan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Here’s Hilbern’s full letter:

The Providence Journal’s “Should $1.8-million house built on park land in Narragansett be demolished or moved?” touches on an unfortunate subject. But had the town officials been aware of the law and willing to apply it, they could have stopped this plan at the preliminary stage.

R.I. General Laws 5.81 through 5.8.1.19 clearly state that only licensed land surveyors are allowed to depict property lines on a plan. Plans depicting existing or proposed structures, wetlands, topography, and which reference their location in relation to property lines must carry a surveyor’s stamp. The underlying rationale is that Land Surveyors are the sole professionals possessing the legal expertise and mathematical training to depict a property line on plans. No one is a one stop professional, and so others approaching this task may be merely guessing or estimating the true location of a property line.

For years I have worked in close collaboration with architects, engineers, and related professionals. While these people are often experts in their professions, they have the wisdom to know their limitations and call on me to take their ideas and accurately place them on a survey plan.

Land Surveyors are an integral part of any project involving plans. Sooner or later, the true position of a property line must be identified. And, as the Narragansett situation illustrates, this should be done at the beginning of a project. It is unfair to burden neighbors and the community with the tangible and intangible costs arising from the failure to properly depict the property line at the outset.

R.I. General Laws 5.8.1-17 ii states that, “It shall be the duty of all duly constituted officers in this state and all political subdivisions of the state to enforce the provisions of this chapter and to prosecute any persons violating those provisions.” What happened in Narragansett was unfortunate. Our only remedy is for our town officials to follow the law, do their job, and protect the public.

David Hilbern P.L.S.

Hilbern Land Surveying

July 31, 2012July 31, 2012

RI Beach Towns Fare Better Than Business Rankings

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Mohegan Bluffs Block Island — The editors of Yankee Magazine are free to disagree but Block Island is the best beach town this side of Hawaii. (Photo by Bob Plain)

So CNBC thinks Rhode Island is a rotten place to do business … well at least Yankee Magazine recognized that the Ocean State has some of the coolest coastal communities in the region. In its annual ranking of the best beach towns in New England, editors ranked five Rhode Island municipalities among the 25 best in New England.

Newport and Block Island, ranked fourth and fifth respectively, were the top local towns. Watch Hill squeaked into the top 10 and Narragansett was named number 15. Little Compton, 21. It’s hard to argue with many of the towns the esteemed editorial staff included, but Jamestown and Charlestown – and maybe even South Kingstown – certainly deserved spots as well.

Here’s the full list, with my commentary in italics:

Ogunquit, Maine: The water is way too cold to be the best beach town in New England. Sorry, Maine but stick to lobsters.
Provincetown, Massachusetts The queer capital of New England!
Nantucket, Massachusetts Beach towns should be accessible and egalitarian, not ritzy and rarefied.
Newport, Rhode Island The nightlife more than makes up for the red tide, but as a point of fact many of the best beaches are in Middletown.
Block Island, Rhode Island God made this patch of sand some 13 miles off the coast of the Ocean State to cater to beach bums. It is not only the best beach town in New England, it is the best beach town this side of Hawaii. Take that Santa Cruz and Laguna Beach.
Edgartown, Massachusetts The set of the mythical Amity Island in Jaws.
Kennebunkport, Maine No beach is worth risking potentially seeing George W. Bush sunbathing.
Rockport, Massachusetts I feel like the Yankee Magazine felt like they had to include a North Shore community in the top 10, but I’ll know more after my cousins vacation here this summer.
Chatham, Massachusetts How can you argue with where Sandra Day O’Connor spends her summers?
Watch Hill, Rhode Island When I die, I’m certain that downtown heaven will resemble Watch Hill, Rhode Island.
York Beach, Maine The saltwater taffy capital of New England, and everyone knows the Cape Neddick Lighthouse.
Falmouth, Massachusetts Woods Hole, the southwestern most point of Cape Cod.
Wellfleet, Massachusetts Famous for its oysters, some 70 percent of this town is protected parkland.
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
Narragansett, Rhode Island Imagine how high Narragansett would rank if it wasn’t the site of one of this state’s greatest ever waterfront redevelopment projects…
Newburyport, Massachusetts More of a little beach city than a beach town.
Orleans, Massachusetts Best place on the inner arm.
Ipswich, Massachusetts John Updike and Dennis Eckersley called this sort-of suburban beach town home.
Madison, Connecticut They had to give Connecticut at least one slot, I suppose.
Old Orchard Beach, Maine Where Portland goes to play.
Little Compton, Rhode Island What Vermont would be like if it had beaches and billionaires.
Plymouth, Massachusetts I’ll take Scituate or Marshfield over Plymouth in the summer. November, on the other hand…
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire The Coney Island of New England. Pretty fun here.
Hull, Massachusetts Best beaches near Boston.
Brewster, Massachusetts Yeah, we get it … Yankee Magazine really likes Cape Cod…

Just as they do in education metrics, Massachusetts cleaned our clock; the Bay State claimed 14 of the top 25 spots. On the other hand the tiny Ocean State eked out second place from the comparatively giant Vacationland; Maine took only four of the slots.

But why compare beach communities to business climates? They are both important components of our economic success, but as a culture we spend far too much time bemoaning the latter and not nearly enough capitalizing on the former. It is our tourist towns that endow Rhode Island with much of its fantastic quality of life and while they may not garner much attention at the State House or in stump speeches, our beaches and coastal communities are the best tool we have at our disposal to attract either new businesses and/or residents. To that end, beach towns can be said to be the Ocean State’s strongest economic asset.

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012

ACLU: Narragansett Violated Renters’ Rights

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The town of Narragansett issued overnight parking passes to three URI grad students in September. But they still got parking tickets in January. Why?

“It’s the latest in continuing series of petty attempts to make students feel as unwelcome as possible in the town,” said Steven Brown, of the RI ACLU. “It seems like such a minor and trivial thing but town seems to want to go out of its way to make things difficult for students and this is another example.”

The ACLU is suing the town saying they are violating the students constitutional rights by not extending to the students the same rights that other residents enjoy – especially after issuing the students parking passes.

“The new parking ordinance is upsetting to us because it is taking away a right, a right that everyone else on our street has,” said one of the students, Caitlin Dowd. “We are hurt because we have done nothing to warrant this discrimination against us. My roommates and I love this town, we love living in Narragansett and care about this community, but it is really frustrating that the town refuses to acknowledge our rights or even consider us members of the community.”

The three grad students got their parking permits in September, after the town passed an ordinance banning overnight parking without a permit. So, the students got permits. But they kept getting tickets that said overnight parking is limited to full time residents. At first, the police agreed to erase the tickets. But later they said the rules had changed and the town no longer considered renters with a nine-month lease, as most students have, to be residents.

“The initial ordinance did not address what a ‘resident’ was determined to be,” according to an email from Narragansett Police Chief Dean Hoxsie to Dowd. “The ordinance had to be amended after the town solicitor provided an opinion that a ‘resident’ was someone that holds at least a 12 month lease or resides permanently in the town. This was the reason for the change in enforcement and the notices that were placed on vehicles.”

According to the ACLU, “however, there is no documentation of any amendments made to the ordinance that limits permit holders to so-called “permanent” residents.”

Narragansett officials could not be reached for comment. If they get back to me, I’ll update this story.