Archive - Feb 2012

Controversy smoldering on unopened fire academy

February 13, 2012

By MARTHA SMITH
Special to the Standard

EXETER – It has been six-and-a-half months since the ribbon was cut with enormous fanfare on the ultra-modern Rhode Island State Fire Academy on the grounds of the old Ladd School.
Some firefighters are grumbling because it’s still not open. So are experts scheduled to be part of the school’s faculty.

A candid talk regarding substance abuse

February 12, 2012

WOOD RIVER JUNCTION - It is not often that you see parents and teens openly conversing about drug use in high school, but that was exactly the case Monday night in the Chariho High School library, where a group of seven students spoke candidly and answered the questions of worried parents.

Tell Me Your Story: Tom Geismar's career has balanced black and white

February 12, 2012

WEST GREENWICH – When Dr. Thomas Geismar arrived in 2007 to take over as superintendent of the Exeter-West Greenwich district, he was immersed in an entirely different world from the one he’d left.
As a school official in Broward County, Florida – then the fifth largest district in the country – he was the minority; a white face in a system of African-Americans, Jamaican-Americans, Haitians and Cuban-Americans.
“It couldn’t be more diverse,” says Geismar, 62, “and that includes race, gender, lifestyle. We actually had a diversity committee.”

Celebrating Black History Month: Minority studets blend right in at EWG

February 11, 2012

By MARTHA SMITH
Special to the Standard

WEST GREENWICH – The day after Cris Lopez moved to West Greenwich from Providence’s inner city, his former house was targeted in a drive-by shooting. The attackers returned and broke in, climbing through his bedroom window.
“If we were still there, I would be dead,” he says. “It’s so much safer here.”
He has blossomed at Exeter-West Greenwich High School in the ensuing five years, becoming a star on the undefeated soccer team and a very popular guy who calls himself “a social butterfly.”

Robots bowl over at N.E. Tech

February 10, 2012

WARWICK - There was more cooperation than battle, but 32 teams of Rhode Island high school students had it out in high-tech style Saturday morning under the auspices of New England Institute of Technology.

Before a cheering audience in the competition pits of NEIT's automotive campus, students maneuvered their creations through a combination of bowling and pickup in the sixth annual Rhode Island FIRST Tech Challenge Championship.

Nine soar into Aviation Hall of Fame

February 10, 2012

EAST GREENWICH - Nine new airmen soared their way into the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame on Saturday evening at the Varnum Armory on Main Street.

The event was filled with tales of heroism, reflection and honoring the best military pilots in the state that sacrificed a great deal for their country.

For more on the story, read all about it in the Feb. 9 edition of The East Greenwich Pendulum.

S. County Trail to bulk up

February 10, 2012

EAST GREENWICH — A weight training supplement company and a medical office complex on nearby South County Trail properties both received positive recommendations from the Planning Board last week on pending petitions before the Zoning Board of Review.

House Judiciary Committee stalls on ‘good time law’ reform

February 10, 2012

PROVIDENCE – For the second time the House Judiciary Committee has stalled on reforming Rhode Island’s good time law.

In an overflowing hearing room at the State House Wednesday night, where opponents of the bill feared its unconstitutionality and victims of heinous criminals pleaded for the bill’s passage, the nine present representatives on the committee decided to hold their vote for further study until April 2 when the Criminal Justice Oversight Commission has their say on the bill to reform good time law in Rhode Island.

Restaurant owners sound off on proposed tax

February 10, 2012

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – After last year’s rate hike in beach parking fees, Governor Lincoln Chafee’s proposed two percent hike in the meals and beverage tax has added fuel to the fire for the tourism industry along with restaurants who are rallying in opposition against the governor’s tax and spending plan.

Last Tuesday during his State of the State address, the governor proposed an $88 million increase in taxes, including the meals tax, the cigarette tax, sales tax and license fees in his $7.9 billion FY 2013 budget.