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R.I. attorney general calls for replacing coastal council, citing its handling of golf course seawall – The Boston Globe

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R.I. attorney general calls for replacing coastal council, citing its handling of golf course seawall – The Boston Globe


“I’m grateful that the Army Corps has stepped up and seen the problem at Quidnessett,” Neronha said. “I will say that our office is looking at that matter very, very closely. And if we need to intervene in any action, or bring an action, then we will do that.”

The country club has filed a petition asking the state Coastal Resources Management Council to change the classification of the waters near the golf course and to thereby provide permission for the seawall after the fact. The council has begun a rule-making process to entertain that proposal.

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But Neronha said the council should have dismissed the club’s petition and taken decisive enforcement action.

“To change it to Type 2 waters, which in theory would allow this thing, I mean this is doing legal gymnastics to try to bless an end run around Rhode Island law to the detriment of Rhode Islanders,” he said. “Frankly, it’s outrageous.”

He said voters should be asking their elected leaders where they stand on this issue. “Far too often on issues that really impact Rhode Islanders, leadership in some quarters is far too quiet,” he said.

The country club’s lawyer has told state regulators that the uses of the waters where the wall was built have changed since they were originally designated as so-called Type 1 conservation waters. The club contends the waters should be designated as Type 2, or low-intensity-use, and those types of waters have fewer restrictions.

The Coastal Resources Management Council has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, gathering public comments and recommendations about the country club’s petition.

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But Neronha said, “The answer is not to change the rules after the fact, to try to make legal what is in the first place illegal.”

Rather, he said, “This is the way this should work: They build the wall without permission, they get a notice of violation, they get an order to remove it. If they don’t remove it, the attorney general joins the action, we go to court, we try to get a court order to remove it. If we can’t get the court order to remove it, then we take it to the (Rhode Island) Supreme Court.”

He said the Coastal Resources Management has a track record of ignoring staff recommendations and making these kinds of controversial decisions. For example, he cited a years-long legal battle over a failed proposal to expand a Block Island marina.

“The amount of work that my office spends trying to fix the CRMC’s poor decision making is far too many,” Neronha said.

The long-term solution, he said, is to pass the legislation proposed by Senator Victoria Gu and Representative Terri Cortvriend.

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“What that will mean is a professional agency that can do its work without the interference of a council that, frankly, doesn’t know what it’s doing,” he said, “or it is listening to people and voices that frankly, it shouldn’t be listening to.”

Topher Hamblett, executive director of Save the Bay, called for House and Senate leaders to act on those bills in the closing weeks of this year’s legislative session.

“This is about good government in the Ocean State,” Hamblett said. “The CRMC structure needs to go. It is a thick layer of politics that hangs over the professional staff of experts. The council causes delays in permitting and invites abuse. There’s no accountability.”

No one is publicly opposing the legislation that would replace CRMC with an executive branch agency, Hamblett said. But in the State House hallways, he said he hears concerns that the proposal is a “radical reform.”

“To that, I say, ‘The CMC structure itself is radical and it’s bad,’” he said. “Rhode Island is an outlier. The other New England states that have coasts — which is all but one — have coastal management agencies firmly planted in the executive branch.”

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Hamblett said he also hears concerns about the cost of the proposal. But he said the costs would essentially be “a wash” because while the proposal calls for hiring a full-time attorney, the council now pays a private law practice. “Our coastal agency is way too important to not have a full-time staff attorney that’s fully dedicated and focused on the business of the agency,” he said.

Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, said she cannot understand why the Coastal Resources Management Council is not structured like the state Department of Environmental Management, as a regulatory state agency.

“I don’t understand this political process,” she said. “It’s inappropriate and and it’s outdated. And I think it’s really important that we move this bill forward.”

Gu, a Charlestown Democrat, said fishermen and those involved in aquaculture are often on opposite sides of issues but they agreed on the need to change the Coastal Resources Management Council structure.

“They both agree that the current system is not working,” she said. “So I think the question now is: Who is the system working for? I don’t think it’s working for Rhode Islanders, and we need this bill to make sure the CRMC can do its work to serve the people of Rhode Island.”

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





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Rhode Island

Malfunctioning steam room sets off alarm, prompts evacuation at Rhode Island YMCA

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Malfunctioning steam room sets off alarm, prompts evacuation at Rhode Island YMCA


MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) — A malfunctioning steam room at a YMCA in Rhode Island pumped out so much steam that it triggered an a sprinkler system alarm on Saturday morning, prompting an evacuation.

In a statement, the Middletown Police Department said officials rushed to the Newport County YMCA in Middletown around 9 a.m. for a possible explosion but later learned an excessive amount of steam had set off the building’s emergency sprinkler system.

A 58-year-old woman was hurt but officials said it was a minor injury. The YMCA would remain closed Saturday, police said.

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North Providence shop owner, 95, still living his life to the fullest

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North Providence shop owner, 95, still living his life to the fullest


NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I (WPRI) — George Bozigian is 95 years young.

The beloved owner of H.K.B. Market in North Providence has been in business for more than seven decades.

And he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

Bozigian and his father built and opened H.K.B. Market in 1951.

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Though it used to be a general store, Bozigian has changed his business model to adapt to the neighborhood over the years.

“I gave up groceries,” Bozigian said. “I’ve got a sign over there that says, ‘no food for sale.’”

Instead, HKB Market focuses solely on selling lottery tickets.

“We still get a few customers,” Bozigian said. “But I’ll tell you, they’re the best people you could meet.”

Bozigian’s answer was simple when asked why he continues to come to work every day.

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“It’s worth my while,” he explained. “I come because they’re the best customers I’ve got. I don’t care if I never get another [customer].”

To Bozigian, his longtime customers are his friends.

“They’re good to me,” Bozigian continued. “There isn’t a thing they wouldn’t do for me and there isn’t a thing I wouldn’t do for them.”

Bozigian told 12 News it’s also boring just sitting at home. He loves socializing with his regulars, most of whom swing by at least once a week to buy their tickets.

“My social life is in this building,” he said, referring to H.K.B. Market. “I don’t go to the Foxy Lady to socialize. At 95, you stay away from there.”

Bozigian’s son said his father taught him everything he knows.

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“My father instilled in me a love of life, a love of family and a solid work ethic,” Kirk Bozigian said.

H.K.B. Market is open seven days a week with Bozigian at the helm. When he’s not behind the counter, Bozigian usually sits outside and “watches the cars go by” on Smithfield Road.

“People wave to me and I wave to them,” he said. “If there was work to do here, I would do it. But at this age … I don’t work much anymore.”

Bozigian doesn’t plan on ever closing down H.K.B. Market.

“I’m going to do this until the man upstairs calls and says, ‘We need you. We’ve got problems up here,’” Bozigian said. “I’ve lived a good, clean life. I never went out messing around.”

“I was with one woman all my life and I’m proud to say it,” he continued. “We were married for 65 years. I raised two kids — they’re great kids — and they married good people.”

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Bozigian’s wife Ann passed away more than a decade ago, which is part of the reason why he had to scale back H.K.B. Market’s offerings.

He spends most of his free time with his family, which includes his two children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Bozigian also has a sixth great-grandchild on the way.



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Rhode Island DEM Closes Fort Wetherill Bulkhead Until Further Notice for Safety Concerns – Newport Buzz

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Rhode Island DEM Closes Fort Wetherill Bulkhead Until Further Notice for Safety Concerns – Newport Buzz


The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has announced the temporary closure of the bulkhead behind the DEM’s Division of Marine Fisheries at Fort Wetherill State Park. Effective Friday, June 14, this closure applies to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic and will remain in effect until further notice.

The decision to close this popular fishing and viewing spot along Narragansett Bay was made due to concerns over public safety. The bulkhead’s supports have significantly degraded, and potential sinkholes have emerged, a consequence of historic infrastructure combined with damage from recent storm events.

“This closure to protect public safety is another example of challenges that Rhode Island’s coastal communities are increasingly contending with due to the impacts of climate change,” stated DEM Director Terry Gray. “While enhancing outdoor recreational opportunities and ensuring shoreline and fishing access across Rhode Island remain priorities for DEM, public safety concerns necessitated this restriction. We are working to quickly and safely restore access to this great fishing and sightseeing spot.”

Fort Wetherill State Park, located on 100-foot-high granite cliffs across the water from Fort Adams State Park, is a historical site that once served as a coastal defense battery and training camp, with structures dating back to before World War II. The park, which spans 61.5 acres, was acquired by the State of Rhode Island from the United States in 1972. The DEM’s Division of Marine Fisheries has been based at this location since the early 2000s, and the bulkhead currently serves as a berthing site for the Division’s research vessels.

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Despite the closure, parts of the area will remain accessible for authorized vehicles and personnel to continue DEM’s scientific research activities. Public parking will still be available at other locations within the park, including the upper lot near the Division.

 

 

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