Rhode Island
North Kingstown country club on rocky terrain in quest to keep illegal wall • Rhode Island Current
It’s hard to miss the 600-foot-long seawall separating Quidnessett Country Club’s golf course from the salt marshes feeding into Narragansett Bay.
Even larger than the physical barrier is the ideological divide over its presence, showcased during a two-hour-long public hearing before state coastal regulators Tuesday afternoon.
Throngs of pastel-clad country club members descended by busload upon the Rhode Island Department of Administration building to insist the wall, while built without the requisite state permits, was needed to protect not only the iconic 14th hole, but the entire club, including its employees and community beneficiaries. Their impassioned pleas were matched by equal outrage from environmentalists, who blasted the club for knowingly building the illegal structure without permission, jeopardizing sensitive waters and obstructing public access to the shore.
Much of the back-and-forth centered on whether the seawall, constructed illegally in early 2023, should be allowed to stand. But the question before the Rhode Island Resources Management Council is not exactly that.
Instead, the council through its Planning and Procedures Subcommittee is reviewing Quidnessett’s April 12 petition seeking to reclassify a quarter-mile section of waters adjacent to the seawall. The existing, Type 1 “conservation area” designation bans permanent structural barriers because of their potential harms to environmentally sensitive waters and wildlife. Downgrading the water designation to the less stringent, Type 2 “low intensity use” could allow for the stone wall, known as a riprap revetment. Coastal regulators “may” allow for stone seawalls in Type 2 waters, but they don’t have to, as Jim Boyd, former deputy director to the CRMC, pointed out.
Build it first, change map later
And reclassifying the waters fails to address what critics consider the most “egregious” element of the whole debacle: that the country club built the seawall first, then sought permission.
“The only reason that the country club has put forth this petition is to cover up for an illegally contracted wall on their property,” Boyd said Tuesday, speaking for the first time as a member of the public since his retirement from the CRMC two years ago.
Attempting to head off potential pleas of ignorance, Boyd referred to a 2012 application by the club seeking to build a less obtrusive sheet pile barrier in the same spot. The project never moved forward after council staff recommended against the permanent barrier in favor of less damaging “nonstructural” shoreline protection.
A decade later, the stone riprap appeared, seemingly out of thin air. Work on the seawall began in January 2023, following a December storm that caused “significant damage” near the 14th hole, Patti Doyle, a spokesperson for the country club, said in an email on Tuesday night.
Six months later, CRMC and Save the Bay each separately caught wind of the illegal structure.
“I was in complete disbelief,” Mike Jarbeau, Narragansett baykeeper for Save the Bay, said in an interview prior to the Tuesday hearing. “It’s such an egregious violation, such blatant disregard for regulations, that I didn’t believe it at first. I thought, ‘There’s just no way.’”
But there it was, visible from a mile-and-a-half away in Narragansett Bay, Boyd said.
The CRMC in August issued a series of violation notices against the club, demanding they remove the seawall and levying $30,000 in fines.
Eight months later, the club through its attorney Jennifer Cervenka — who formerly served as chair of the CRMC’s appointed council — submitted a petition asking for the water reclassification.
The April 12 petition points to increased residential development and recreational use in the area, including the Bayview Rehabilitation at Scalabrini nursing home directly north of it, as reason why the waters should be reclassified.
“Without the flexibility afforded for shoreline protection areas abutting Type 2 Waters, the QCC will certainly lose a critical piece of its historic, 18-hole golf course and result in devastating losses to both its business and members, as well as the thousands of individuals, businesses, and associations across the State that use QCC for professional golf tournaments, charity events, fundraisers, weddings, proms and countless other engagements,” Cervenka wrote in the letter.
Representatives from the club’s 1,000 members and 100-person payroll repeated this exact phrasing in comments to the CRMC Tuesday.
“I think the perception of country clubs is that they are a very privileged place,” said Peter Chwaliszewski, the club’s head golf professional. “But there’s a lot of employees here that rely on it to provide for their families.”
It’s such an egregious violation, such blatant disregard for regulations, that I didn’t believe it at first. I thought, ‘There’s just no way.’
– Mike Jarbeau, Narragansett baykeeper for Save the Bay
Changing the design of the 14th hole to move it away from the rising waters, as Boyd suggested, was out of the question to many club members, who praised the unique design by world-renowned golf course architect Geoffrey Cornish.
“It’s a historic landmark,” said Jeffrey Gladstone, a 30-year club member.
The club, including the 18-hole, par 72 golf course, opened in 1960. It does not have any official state or federal historic designations.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, AG step in
But the waters beside it are no less important, with both state and federal environmental designations indicating their value. The illegal rock wall has also caught the eye of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which in May issued its own violation notice with a corresponding fine of up to $200,000.
The pending petition review for water reclassification has saved the club from forking over any cash on its state or federal fines, for now. But Jeff Willis, executive director of the CRMC, said in an interview after the hearing that agency administrators denied the club’s request for extra time, instead requiring it to come up with a restoration plan for the shoreline by Friday.
The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General may also get in on the action, having already issued a letter to the CRMC urging it to reject the club’s request and crack down on the illegal action.
“Ruling otherwise would only serve to reward the QCC for illegally constructing first and asking for permission later, and would incentivize other shoreline property owners to do the same” Attorney General Peter Neronha wrote in his June 28 letter.
The CRMC subcommittee is expected to revisit the country club’s request by early September, at which time council staff will have prepared a report with recommended action, Willis said.
If the water type change is approved, the club will apply for the requisite permit to address the pending enforcement against the wall, Doyle said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Rhode Island
RI Is One Of The Worst States In The US For Summer Road Trips: Study
RHODE ISLAND — Rhode Island is one of the worst states in the country for summer road trips, according to a new WalletHub study that considered everything from road conditions to gas and accommodation costs.
In fact, only one state ranked worse than Rhode Island, which came in at #49 — Delaware at #50.
The states were compared using 32 metrics that can be divided into three primary categories: costs, safety, and activities, according to the study. Among the costs analyzed were gas, camping, hotel, and rental prices; safety factors included traffic patterns, driving laws and crime rates; and activities included zoos and amusement parks, scenery, and other attractions.
The top five states for road trips, according to the study? Texas, Minnesota, New York, Louisiana, and Florida, from first to fifth.
“Taking a summer road trip can be a very exciting way to experience a new place, but with the prices of gas, food and accommodations heavily impacted by inflation, you’ll want to be in a state that makes this type of vacation affordable,” Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst, said along with the study. “Safe roads are also key, and so is having plenty of worthwhile attractions to stop at along the road. The best states for summer road trips therefore are those that keep costs low while providing the best driving experience and most fun activities.”
Rhode Island
What’s Rhode Island’s favorite ice cream flavor? It’s not chocolate or vanilla
National Ice Cream Day: How to celebrate
Celebrate National Ice Cream Day with this delicious magic shell recipe.
Problem Solved
Love of ice cream may be one of the few things Americans everywhere can agree on – until you start talking about flavors, at least.
It’s National Ice Cream Month – though this summer every day may feel like an ice cream day, especially with the recent heat wave across New England.
Holiday Calendar conducted a study of the top five most popular ice cream flavors in each state, through analyzing grocery shopping data of over 12 million Americans, combined with a survey of 4,500 people across 15 states to supplement the findings.
Favorite ice cream flavor in Rhode Island
There may not be many moose to be found in Rhode Island, but they have certainly left evidence across the ice cream parlors of the Ocean State. Rhode Island was one of only two states to list Moose Tracks as their favorite flavor. The other was Michigan.
In fact, it only shows up on the top five in six other states, two of which are in New England (Maine and New Hampshire).
Like four of their other New England neighbors, Rhode Island residents also enjoy their coffee flavor, if not quite as much as Massachusetts, placing it in their top five. Their opinion seems to be about the same as Vermont, New Hampshire, Hawaii and Alaska, holding the fourth slot.
1. Moose Tracks
2. Vanilla
3. Chocolate
4. Coffee
5. Strawberry
Top flavors in the country
Vanilla came out on top in the nationwide average, being the first choice in 19 states. You can draw your own conclusions on what it may say that our nation’s favorite flavor is also a synonym for boring or uninteresting.
Chocolate ranked number one in 15 states, placing it second nationwide.
While they didn’t have a nationwide list, the International Dairy Foods Association supported these findings with their own data released last week.
- Vanilla.
- Chocolate.
- Strawberry.
- Butter Pecan.
- Cookie Dough
Rhode Island
R.I. GOP candidate off the ballot after elections panel rejects signatures • Rhode Island Current
Kenneth Atkinson knew something was up when the Board of Elections called him at work last Friday afternoon.
The very person he was challenging for the District 45 seat in the Rhode Island House of Representatives — Cumberland Democratic Rep. Mia Ackerman — was trying to disqualify signatures on the Republican hopeful’s nomination forms.
A review Monday by the Rhode Island Board of Elections rejected four of Atkinson’s collected signatures. That means he won’t be on the ballot.
“I’m a custodian for crying out loud. I’m running for people like me, people who work in McDonald’s, people with these blue collar jobs, whatever,” Atkinson, who works at a senior center in East Providence, told Rhode Island Current. “She has no opponent.”
The challenge was one of three the elections panel heard Monday, and the only one to result in a candidate’s removal from the ballot. Board members Louis DeSimone, Michael Connors and Diane Mederos were not present at the meeting.
Atkinson was planning to make his first run for office to oust Ackerman from the seat she’s held since 2013, one which covers parts of Cumberland and Lincoln. Just hours before the 4 p.m. signature deadline on June 14, Atkinson stood outside a Cumberland CVS in the rain, and collected a handful of signatures that brought him to a total of 51 — just over the minimum of 50 signatures needed to qualify.
Ackerman was not present at the Monday hearing and was instead represented by attorney David Hayes. Ackerman could not be reached for comment Monday evening. According to the Secretary of State’s website, she had 70 verified signatures on her nomination papers. She is unopposed in the Democratic primary and faces no other Republican challenger, joining over 50 of her General Assembly colleagues without opponents this year in both the primary and general elections.
Ackerman challenged 13 signatures collected by Atkinson and the board invalidated three. An additional signature was also nullified after the board found it suspiciously similar to another on the same collection sheet. Atkinson was then left with only 47 validated by the end of the hearing.
Atkinson said in a phone interview Monday night that he believed the board’s decision to trash just enough of his signatures was indicative of a wider trend in state electoral politics.
“People like me are constantly turned off,” he said. “And that’s why you have 30-something seats going unopposed right now. Now my opponent…she’s won an election because she got her opponent off the ballot.”
“But if she’s that great of an opponent, she would have just let this let this slide,” Atkinson said.
Ackerman’s attorney Hayes argued that some of Atkinson’s signatures did not match a voter’s handwriting in town records. Other signees did not appear to have written their full, legal name in the printed name portion of the nomination forms. One signee used “ WM. P” in place of his first name William. Hayes wondered: How could election staff look that person up?
Raymond A. Marcaccio, the board’s legal counsel, replied that a voter is usually first referenced by their last name. After all, local election officials could and did identify the signee and OK’d the signature. Ultimately, the Board of Elections did, too.
Now my opponent…she’s won an election because she got her opponent off the ballot.
– Kenneth Atkinson, Republican hopeful for the Rhode Island House District 45 seat now disqualified from ballot
State law provides that signatures can’t be invalidated by “the insertion or omission of identifying titles or by the substitution of initials for the first or middle names,” as long as the signature “can be reasonably identified to be the signature of the voter it purports to be.”
While the board ultimately invalidated enough signatures to remove Atkinson from the ballot, it did not entertain all of Hayes’ arguments for a strict interpretation of signature variations.
“I know what my name looks like on my original voter registration from a very long time ago, because I’m involved in this process,” said board member Randall Jackvony. “Most people do not. So I think to expect that they’re going to always match precisely, is putting an incredible burden on the voter.”
Atkinson offered to end review of the remaining signatures, but Marcaccio advised against this in case litigation ever arose, so the board continued to review the contested signatures.
Two more signature objections found lacking
The Board of Elections heard two other signature-related objections Monday, each of which met something of an anticlimactic end and left challengers’ nomination forms unaffected.
Democrat Brian Coogan, a former state rep challenging Sen. Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, for the Senate seat 14, objected to five signatures on Lawson’s nomination forms.
Coogan said the signatures were collected by a person different from the campaign worker who signed off on the signatures, and added that one witness had supplied an affidavit in support of his contention.
But at Monday’s meeting, Coogan — who testified that he cut his camping trip early to attend the meeting — was the only party involved who made an appearance. Without Lawson, her campaign workers or the witness present, legal counsel Marcaccio suggested the board let elections staff look into the issue without further action for the moment.
Board member David Sholes agreed with Marcaccio’s recommendation that state election staff prepare a report on the contested signatures. But it wouldn’t affect the outcome of the contes. Lawson turned in 183 validated signatures. Even if the senator lost five signatures, she would still be well over the 100 needed to qualify for the Senate.
“Whatever that report is, it’s going to be independent of the race,” Sholes said. “Both [candidates] qualify…It’s not going to affect your placement on the ballot, either yours or your opponent.”
The third signature challenge involved an objection filed by Rhode Island GOP Chairman Joe Powers against Paul Roselli, the Democrat running against Republican Rep. David Place for the House seat 47, which spans Burrillville and Glocester.
But there was one problem with Powers’ objection to six of Roselli’s signatures: It needed to be physically signed to be valid. Powers had instead filed the objection electronically, which meant the Board rejected iit, leaving Roselli’s nomination forms and signature counts unaffected.
“We appreciate the fact that you had to wait here…but there is that deficiency with the filing,” said Marcaccio.
“I live down the street,” Powers said. “I’m good.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
-
Politics1 week ago
Two key states to see massive GOP voter registration operation
-
News1 week ago
Shooting at a Trump Rally in Pennsylvania: Maps and Photos
-
World6 days ago
One dead after car crashes into restaurant in Paris
-
News5 days ago
Video: Young Republicans on Why Their Party Isn’t Reaching Gen Z (And What They Can Do About It)
-
News7 days ago
In Milwaukee, Black Voters Struggle to Find a Home With Either Party
-
News1 week ago
Video: Biden Asks America to ‘Lower the Temperature’
-
World1 week ago
Ukraine: shelling in Kherson leaves at least two people dead
-
World4 days ago
Freshers' week in Strasbourg for new EU lawmakers