PRIMARY DAY IS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14!
Vol. 38, No. 36
Newport† BORN FREE
THURSDAY, September 9, 2010
What’s Inside
New Season Begins
from the garden p. 14
By Tom Shevlin
Table of Contents 02840 CALENDAR CLASSIFIEDS COMMUNITY BRIEFS CROSSWORD DINING OUT EDITORIAL LETTERS MAINSHEET NATURE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REALTY TRANSACTIONS RECENT DEATHS
10 16 22 4 19 13 6 6 11 21 22 6 18
www.Newport-Now.com Twitter.com/newportnow Facebook.com/newportnow
The 2010-2011 school year kicked off this week and besides homework and lunches, forgotten on kitchen counter tops, the start of a fresh new school year also brings the beginning of a new season of athletics. Starting this week, schedules and standings will appear in Newport This Week and NewportNow.com throughout the school year. Pictured here, the Rogers High School football team practices after school, preparing for their season opener against LaSalle at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10 at Toppa Field in Newport. Get out to as many games as you can and support our local student athletes! See upcoming home schedule page 15. (Photo by Kaitlyn Margeson)
Council Candidates Debate Pre-Primary By Tom Shevlin NEWPORT, R.I. – Six of the nine declared At-Large candidates vying for City Council met on Tuesday night in the first and only public debate before a primary next week whittles the field down to eight. More than 60 people filled a hot and stuffy council chamber where the candidates shared their views on everything from property taxes and noise, to school funding and North End redevelopment. In attendance were challengers Herbert B. Armstrong, Rebecca Bringhurst, Naomi Neville, Susan Perkins, and Harry Winthrop. With Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano and Stephen R. Coyne out of town on city business, Stephen C. Waluk was the only incumbent council member present. Another declared candidate, David Quiroa, did not attend the evening’s debate. The debate, sponsored by the the Alliance for a Livable Newport and the League of Women Voters, touched on several familiar topics in a markedly respectful and civil 60-minute span. Armstrong, who currently chairs the city’s Beach Commission, described himself as a fifth generation Newporter, who “came home” six years ago after a self-imposed 35-year exile. “And I came home to stay,” he said. Waluk, who is running for his fourth term on the council said he decided to run because, “There are still many challenges our city faces” and pledged to take stands on issues, irrespective of whether, “It’s
City Exceeds Firefighter Overtime Budget
Stephen C. Waluk listens to Naomi Neville during an exchange at Tuesday’s At-Large Debate. the politically wise thing to do.” Citing his vocal opposition over the last two years to ever-increasing water and sewer rates, Waluk said, “We’ve made progress over the last two years, but there’s still more to be done.” Neville, an architect and chair of the city’s Planning Board described herself as a Newporter by choice. And while she has been active in the community in the past several years, she said that, “The next step for me would be to be here on the Newport City Council.” Perkins, an attorney, echoed Neville, and described herself too, as a Newporter by choice. After graduating from Bryant University, she said she decided to live here while attending Roger Williams University. She bought her first home in Newport in 2000 and she
said simply, “I’m running because I love Newport. It is my home and I know that I have a lot to offer this city.” Bringhurst was also quick to display her native credentials, noting that while she grew up in Tiverton, “I was born in Newport.” She moved to Newport in 2003 as a teacher for Head Start at East Bay Community Action. She’s currently enrolled at URI, working toward a graduate degree in special education. Being a voice for education, she said, was a primary focus of her campaign. Harry Winthrop, a lifelong Newporter who served on council for three terms from 1990-1996, said that he decided to run again because of what he described as his considerable experience managing budgets and making “tough
choices” while overseeing multibillion dollar projects for Electric Boat in Groton, Conn. The forum posed six long form questions to the candidates, each of which is summarized in full online at Newport-Now.com. A selection of notable questions and answers follows below. Question #3 asked candidates whether they supported the council’s decision to reduce its school department contribution in its most recent budget process. Harry Winthrop was given first crack. “If that decision had been made in April or May,” he said he would have supported it. But he didn’t support the idea of making the cut at the last minute, as was done in June by councilors just prior to passing the budget. “We need to be upfront,” he said. “We need to have open communication with the school department so that they can budget accordingly.” Herb Armstrong agreed, and described the action as “sandbagging” the School Department and said that it took the “wind out of the sails” of the cooperative dialogue between the council and School Committee. “That being said, I think it was right in the long term.” Stephen Waluk was the only person on the dais that was in a position to vote on the subject. He voted for it. But, in one of the more dramatic moments of the debate, he said plainly, “I made a mistake. Given the vote over again, I probably would have voted no.” Of all
See “Debate” on page 8
LOCAL NEWS MATTERS PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS
NEWPORT – The city is just two months into its fiscal year, but it’s already exceeded its budget for firefighter overtime. According to City Finance Director Laura Sitrin, as of Tuesday, Sept. 7, the city had spent $306,193 in firefighter overtime since July 1. That’s $106,193 over the $200,000 adopted by councilors for the final FY2010-11 budget. Given current minimum manning requirements and the fact that many opt to take their vacation time during the summer months, the speed in which the city exceeded that particular budgeted line item wasn’t all that surprising, Sitrin said. In fact, she said, “It was expected.” And unsurprising to those who followed the budget process this year.
See “FIREFIGHTERS” on page 7
The New Faces of Homelessness By Lynne Tungett “The first time I went to a soup kitchen, I wanted to run out screaming. But, I wouldn’t give up trying to turn my life around. I believe in social change, and that can only happen if there’s social awareness.” That, was the opening declaration made by John Joyce who spoke Wed. morning, Sept. 8 to a roomful of people gathered at Child & Family in Middletown. Joyce, who spent three years living on the streets of Providence, was one of four speakers from the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless (www.rihomeless.org) who told their personal story and how they “came out through the other side.” Almost more startling than their tales, are the statistics: 43% of Rhode Island’s homeless are female and 12% of our homeless are employed. According to Street Sights (www.streetsights.org), the coalition’s monthly publication, the number of persons living in homeless shelters and transitional housing in RI was at a record high of 1,402 this July. That is an increase of 30% from July 2009 when the total of 1,052 was recorded. “People who know me today, would never expect that I had been homeless,” states 34-year old, Wilma Smith. After growing up in numerous foster homes, Smith ex-
See “FACES” on page 8