Outgoing Governor Raimondo’s spin-meisters recently issued a “COVID-19 Tracker” report for the period Dec. 14, 2020 to Feb. 10, 2021. Not surprisingly, it painted a rosy picture of her handling of the pandemic by emphasizing that nearly 130,000 doses of vaccine had been administered.

A week later, an independent analysis of vaccine rollouts by Harvard University listed Rhode island as dead last among the 50 states, and Massachusetts only slightly better. Harvard did acknowledge that the state had done more testing per capita than any other.

Word to the wise, don’t ask me about my electric car! Really, ask anyone who knows me, I will ask you how much time you have. I love my car.

 So many taxpayers are having trouble paying their bills that we must all vote “no” in March for the $400,000,000 spending bill proposed by the rich politicians.  

Our family, my beautiful mother, Rose Alba, loving sister, Ellamarie Alba McMullen, brother-in-law, Patrick McMullen, and I would like to thank the Narragansett Town Council for honoring my dad Albert Alba Sr., on Jan. 19 with a proclamation for his accomplishments in his life and his contributions to the Narragansett Town Council meetings for many decades.

My dad was a champion for strategies on keeping taxes low, promoting tourism by promoting our natural beauties such as our beaches, and advocating for small businesses.

Given the fact that there is so much going on in our world, our country, our state, and community I thought I would write to the citizens of North Kingstown to let them know what is being done by their town government on their behalf and what you can expect from your town council in the coming year.

 I doubt there are many people in this country who have more closely followed the development, distribution, and effects and effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines than the front-line doctors and nurses, EMTs, and police and fire personnel who are so highly exposed to contracting the virus. 

We have all heard numerous examples of “giving” over this past year.  I am writing to share another story confirming that we do indeed live in a most generous and supportive community!

You may have heard that on Dec. 21, 2020 Governor Raimondo signed on to the Transportation & Climate Initiative, along with Governors of Massachusetts and Connecticut. For me this was a day to celebrate and congratulate our governor. Why? As an environmental educator at the college level for the last 16 years, and as an oceanographer with expertise in climate science as a climate I feel I can confidently recommend this program to you, my neighbors.

If “2020” was a movie, I would not recommend it! Avoid it. Fast forward. It’s been harder for some to watch and experience than others.

Imagine an instant car battery, tool to assemble your new bed or new toys for your kid? 3D-printed for you in days, sometimes hours with very high precision.

How about printing your own toys and pets? Printing clothes for children in need? Good, these are all possible.

The Democrats outmaneuvered the Republicans by leveraging fear of a pandemic with a mortality rate of less than 3%, mostly among the elderly and those with underlying health issues, and a hospitalization rate of 17.8% into a four-week election cycle involving mass mailings, absentee ballots and early voting.

Bryant Da Cruz is the first person I met when I moved to South Kingstown five years ago. A friend had recommended him as a Realtor, and we got to know each other as we searched for a home in the middle of the “blizzard of 2015.” At several houses, the car got stuck in unplowed driveways, and Bryant had to get out to push.

In the midst of one of the most challenging elections in recent history, there was at least one shining star who came through for the residents of Rhode Island:  Nellie Gorbea! Nellie, our Secretary of State, came to office in 2014 with two missions, improving access to the ballot for all Rhode Islanders and maintaining election integrity. In 2020 a record 520,000 Rhode Island voters turned in a ballot, an increase of 60,000 from four years ago.

 I was saddened to hear of Bally’s and Sinclair Broadcasting’s expansion into i-gaming and sports betting.  The question that should be asked is, “How will that affect our vulnerable population that spends all their money on gambling addiction?”  Gambling makes losers, thousands and thousands of losers, while making gambling companies richer.