On July 6, Narragansett Town Council member Patrick Murray proposed amending a Town Ordinance in a manner which would have allowed the town to compel property owners to allow entrance into a home to inspect an owner’s waste pipe for an illegal sump pump connection.

Esteemed superintendents and school committees,

Thank you for guiding our schools during such an incredibly tumultuous period. It is with much respect and appreciation that I urge you to consider the following points as you craft mask policies for the upcoming school year.

As RIDOH passes off the department’s mask mandates to local school districts, the Department of Health is also passing along legal liability for any and all negative impacts of mask mandates on children.

The past year has been challenging, but thanks to the generosity of community members who donated time, goods, and services to our recent fundraiser, we are full of hope. The Greater Federation of Women’s Clubs Women’s Club of South County is dedicated to improving life locally through volunteerism. Our club is especially well known for raising and distributing funds in the form of Grow Hope Grants to local nonprofit agencies whose good works fall into one of four areas: art, conservation, education, and social services. We also award scholarships to local women in need to enable them to become self-sufficient by obtaining a degree or other credentials necessary for practicing a vocation. Unfortunately, our large fundraiser — an annual Book & Author luncheon at The Dunes Club in Narragansett — had to be canceled last year, due to the Covid crisis.

In a year like no other, I would like to thank you everyone who took part in creating a proper end of the year for the senior class at Narragansett High School. As a member of the senior class I speak for myself and many others when I say most of the grade had it in our minds that we would not get an in person graduation or a prom. Thanks to those who contributed to our Go Fund Me and those who took part in the Adopt a Senior program, we were able to achieve this and so much more.

Every day the sidewalks in Wickford fill with walkers, joggers, and strollers from all parts of town. What draws people into the village are the quiet, shaded streets. Over the last several months a group of North Kingstown civic organizations and volunteers have embarked upon a program to replace some of the missing trees in the historic canopy.

South Kingstown has not elected a town wide Republican candidate in 20 years. The citizenry includes a very high fraction of Democrats. Every two years the school committee and town council are effectively a uniform group from the same party. I’m not complaining, that’s democracy. But sometimes complete imbalance makes it difficult for the presiding party to police itself. The last three years have been tumultuous to say the least. Confidence and trust among the residents is waning. The bond vote demonstrated that more than any letter written by a party insider could.

Since 2016 the House Oversight Committee has been reviewing operations of the Department of Children Youth and Families (DCYF.) The result of these reviews exposed tremendous failures within DCYF — a direct correlation to the state’s unwillingness to properly support this agency.

If there’s one thing the dramatic ousting of SK School superintendent Savastano shows us, it’s that what’s not being said is just as important as what is being said. In that vein, and as a parent who also has a child entering kindergarten in the fall, I want to implore the decision-makers who will chart a path forward, please stay the course.

As we all draw a deep breath and cross our fingers for a summer of good news about the pandemic, I write to publicly praise the staff of the North Kingstown Free Library. From the first days of the pandemic in March, 2020, until today, the library staff have done their very best to reach out to their patrons, to continue a long tradition of exceptional service, and to maintain the good spirits of all the people they meet.

During the past 18 months, social distancing, masking and staying home have had some good and not-so-good consequences.

The not-so-good is that people have avoided donating blood, leading to a shortage. Blood transfusions are vital in treating certain medical conditions that can result in a low blood count: cancer treatments, childbirth, blood cell disorders, trauma, and other illnesses. Especially along the coast, summer time can also bring an increase in traumas related to the outdoor activities such as boating, biking, and car accidents.

Peace Dale lost a treasured landmark last week as the mature spruce tree in the Peace Dale rotary was horribly disfigured. A group of people wanting to “clean up” the rotary vandalized the tree, removing six feet of its lowest branches in order to place a wrapping of small white lights. This group not only destroyed the character of the tree, but they left elongated stubs and torn branches in their place.

I am writing about a serious issue facing our town—the future of the 5-acre Lighthouse Inn site in the heart of Galilee. The neglect of the Lighthouse Inn by the developer PRI X and RI DEM’s management of this lease is an escalating issue. The Town questions why RI DEM allowed PRI X to defau…

Everyone is talking about critical race theory these days. The local school committee meetings are filled to standing capacity and logged into via Zoom with angry parents and citizens. I’d like to try to explain what CRT is so we know how to fight it.

I took Superintendent Linda Savastano’s recent statement as a slap in the face. The way the wording is, it’s more about protecting herself than being honest and sincere with what she did. Her statement has done nothing to help residents to put this fiasco behind us. If anything, it has put more doubt in our minds that there are more people involved and we don’t know to what extent.

In a small community like ours it’s important to have trust. What Linda has done with her statement has just created more trust and transparency problems.