Rhode Island

McKee taps podiatric surgeon for R.I. coastal management council, renewing debate over volunteer board – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

March 14, 2025

McKee taps podiatric surgeon for R.I. coastal management council, renewing debate over volunteer board – The Boston Globe

But Jed Thorp, director of advocacy for Save the Bay, said Reuter’s nomination underscores the need to replace the appointed council with a state agency run by professionals who have relevant experience.

“Regardless of whether a podiatrist or dental hygienist or whatever else, we should not have a volunteer council making regulatory decisions about our coastline,” Thorp told the Globe.

Thorp testified before the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, saying Save the Bay wasn’t supporting or opposing Reuter’s nomination. He said he first learned of the nomination on Friday and the environmental group hasn’t had enough time to review Reuter’s qualifications.

Thorp said he appreciates Reuter’s willingness to serve since only six of the council’s 10 seats are now filled — the minimum for a quorum. The council hasn’t had all 10 seats filled since 2019, and meetings often get canceled because of the lack of a quorum, he said. “This is bad for the state, bad for the environment, bad for business.”

But Thorp said the Coastal Resources Management Council is operating with “a fundamentally flawed structure.”

“There’s a danger in having volunteers, regardless of their experience or qualifications, making day-to-day regulatory decisions and interpretations of state law,” he said. “That work should really be left to the expert staff of scientists, geologists, and engineers.”

Volunteer council members often have full-time jobs and are given little time to review complex cases before rendering decisions, he said.

Over the years, the politically appointed council has repeatedly ignored the recommendations of its professional staff, and courts have overturned decisions, saying the council failed to follow its own rules in considering a proposal to expand a Block Island marina and a proposed marina expansion and dredging project in Jamestown, Thorp said.

So Save the Bay is backing a bill that would eliminate the appointed council and place coastal decision-making in the hands of experts in an agency called the Department of Coastal Resources. That bill has been introduced by Representative Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, at the request of Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.

A separate bill, sponsored by Representative John G. “Jay” Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, would replace the council with a newly created division of coastal resources management within the state Department of Environmental Management.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman V. Susan Sosnowski told Reuter, “You do realize what you’re stepping into — and sorry to use the pun, I know you’re a podiatrist — but it has been very controversial.”

Sosnowski, a South Kingstown Democrat, said the Department of Administration has studied the different pieces of legislation proposing new structures for the Coastal Resources Management Council. But in the meantime, she said, “We have to continue to move forward and give the council and the staff what they need to continue to function.”

Senator Victoria Gu, a Westerly Democrat, noted council members have been criticized for lacking relevant experience, and she asked Reuter to discuss his expertise.

Reuter said that as a member of the Barrington Harbor Commission, he dealt with issues regarding new docks, new waterfront structures, and rights of way.

“ During that time, about three years ago, my wife and I purchased our dream home on the water, which was great,” he said. But about six months later the house “sustained an internal flood,” he said, and that forced him to become “a self-educated expert in building rules around the water.”

The permit for work on his house went before the Coastal Resources Management Council and was held up for four to six months, he said.

“That was very frustrating, not only personally, but also financially,” Reuter said. “Given these experiences, I really want to help my fellow Rhode Islanders so we can keep everything going forward, legislation-wise and also permitting-wise.”

Senator Meghan E. Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat, asked Reuter to address the criticism that has been leveled against the council for ignoring staff recommendations.

“External forces should be kept outside,” Reuter replied. “I’m a man of science. I’m a doctor. I look at data all day long. If the data is coming to me from a reputable source and from science, I always listen to it.”

The committee voted 8 to 0 to recommend that Reuter be confirmed. The full Senate is expected to vote on his nomination on March 20.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

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Rhode Island

R.I. grandparents fighting for visits with 4-year-old granddaughter rest their case – The Boston Globe

Published

5 hours ago

April 23, 2026

Press Room

R.I. grandparents fighting for visits with 4-year-old granddaughter rest their case – The Boston Globe

Naso’s in-laws, Dr. Siavash Ghoreishi and Dr. Jila Khorsand, took him to Family Court in July 2024, three months after their daughter, Shahrzad “Sherry” Naso, died from metastasized breast cancer.

Naso had refused to let them see Laila, their only grandchild of their only daughter, saying he wasn’t comfortable with their behavior and was alarmed by their medical care of Sherry and Laila.

Scott Naso and his daughter, Laila, in their Portsmouth, R.I., home.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

The retired physicians used a little-known state law that allows grandparents whose children have died or divorced to petition the Family Court for the right to visit with their grandchildren.

It’s led to a bitter trial that began in October and has continued off and on over the last six months, with testimony about medical negligence, abuse, and control.

Naso, a Middletown narcotics detective, accuses his in-laws of prescribing dozens of medications and providing poor medical care, which he believes contributed to Sherry’s death and sickened Laila. Ghoreishi and Khorsand deny any wrongdoing.

“We love that child with every fabric of our beings and have never harmed her in any way or shape,” Khorsand testified in October. “I love that child to death and would never do anything to harm her. … Why would she be deprived of this love?”

Naso has argued that the expense of the trial and the state law allowing grandparents to sue parents for visitation violates his constitutional parental rights.

But Gill said on Monday that the state law was “narrowly tailored” to respect the constitutional rights of parents, and he denied Naso’s motions to dismiss or stay the ongoing trial.

Now that Michael Ahn, the lawyer for Ghoreishi and Khorsand, has rested his case, Naso’s lawyer will argue that the grandparents haven’t met their burden under the law and the case should be dismissed.

Veronica Assalone told the judge that she will argue for the dismissal on Thursday.

If her motion is denied, and the Supreme Court justices reject the emergency motion, the trial proceedings will resume, with at least a dozen witnesses expected to testify on Naso’s behalf.

On Wednesday, the court heard more testimony from Cheryl Allspach, the former longtime office manager for Ghoreishi’s pediatric practice and a close friend of the family. She had testified glowingly on Tuesday about Ghoreishi and Khorsand’s relationship with Laila.

She also testified about Ghoreishi’s recordkeeping at his practice and his medical treatment of Scott, Sherry, and Laila Naso, and explained the process for billing and filing for insurance claims.

Assalone questioned her about Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s payment policy, since 2009, regarding self-treatment and treatment of immediate family members. The insurer’s policy follows the American Medical Association code of ethics, which warns physicians not to treat or prescribe medications for themselves and close family members, and does not cover those services.

Allspach read the two-page policy aloud for the court. “Why did you bill?” the judge asked when she concluded.

“I just did it as part of normal billing, and truly I didn’t realize that,” Allspach said. “If I realized, I would have said to [Ghoreishi], ‘you cannot treat your family members.’”

The judge quickly stopped more detailed questions about billing practices, chart-keeping, and whether Allspach was aware that it was a felony for physicians to prescribe narcotics to relatives.

“It’s a grandparent visitation case, not a medical malpractice case,” Gill snapped at Assalone. He added that she should take her claims about illegal prescriptions to the state police, “not here.”

Julie Emmer, the owner of Strengthening Family Foundations, testified that Naso had alleged “serious things” about his in-law’s medical care when she was handling the supervised visits between Laila and Ghoreishi and Khorsand.

Emmer testified that Naso told her “there were prescriptions in different names for his late wife” and that his in-laws were being investigated by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the state police.

“He thought they shouldn’t have visits,” Emmer said. “He thought they were responsible for what happened to his wife.”

Emmer began supervising visits in September 2024, after then-Family Court Judge Debra DiSegna temporarily ordered one-hour supervised visits every other week. The visits continued until late January 2025 and were suspended after Naso filed a complaint with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The investigation was closed, but Naso has refused to resume visits.

Emmer supervised nine visits, all at public places, and performed a home inspection at the grandparents’ condo in Jamestown at Ahn’s request in December 2023. They wanted to visit with Laila at their home, but Naso refused, Emmer said, and he is the custodial parent.

Emmer testified that the grandparents abided by the court order not to give Laila any gifts or medication.

Khorsand played with the little girl, while Ghoreishi stayed in the background, filming them or taking pictures, Emmer said. (Some of the photos and videos have been entered as evidence in the trial.)

Emmer said she noticed over time that Laila was anxious at the start of the visits and said she didn’t want to go. During one visit, she said, Laila whispered to her over and over “they are bad people.” At another visit, Laila was late because she vomited on the way over, she said.

She told the court that Laila would eventually warm up to her grandparents.

Emmer said she saw Naso crying and shaking, but that he was careful to compose himself so Laila didn’t see him becoming emotional. She testified that she didn’t hear him make any derogatory comments about his in-laws in Laila’s presence.

She said that Laila was reluctant to leave her father during the visits, but he encouraged her to go. “He often made comments, ‘Go have fun with Miss Julie. You’ll be safe,’” she said.

Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch

Published

17 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island shifts its primary to Wednesday, Sept. 9, easing a Labor Day poll setup crunch

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s primary elections will now be held on Wednesday, Sept. 9, moving it back from the typical Tuesday election day because it fell too close to Labor Day.

Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat, signed off on the change earlier this week. The primary election had been scheduled for Sept. 8, which is the day after the holiday weekend.

State and local officials had requested the change after raising concerns about having enough time to set up polls for voters. However, under the legislation enacted, the filing deadlines will remain the same.

“We have to set up over 400 polling places around the state on the day before the election,” Nick Lima, the registrar and director of elections for the city of Cranston, told lawmakers at a hearing in January. “That’s very difficult to do on a holiday because many of our polls are schools, social halls and churches.”

It’s not unusual for states to change their election day. Lawmakers in neighboring Massachusetts changed the state’s 2026 primary election day from Sept. 15 to Sept. 1, arguing that doing so will help improve voter turnout.

Only four states hold their primary elections in September: Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Delaware, which has the latest primary date in the U.S., taking place this year on Sept. 15.

Legislation seeking to move up Delaware’s primary election by several months has been introduced in the statehouse, but previous attempts to do so have stalled.

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