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On April 17, the day we set aside for the recent litter pick-up in Charlestown, Jeanne Silva, one of the dedicated volunteers working to clear the roadside on Old Mill Road, came upon this pitiful snake, trapped in plastic mesh that someone had dumped at the side of the road.
Charlestown’s 2021 Litter Pick-Up Day had a great turn out and a staggering amount of roadside litter was picked up. Bravo to everyone who pitched in and also to those who tooted their horns and gave thumbs up to the volunteers, giving everyone energy! Statistics about Litter Pick-Up Day in the post.
This newest Comprehensive Plan has been developed entirely in the Internet age, and we have fully used those tools. The agendas, minutes, and videos of the meetings are available online. Drafts of chapters have been available online as they were first written and as they changed.
The Charlestown Planning Commission and Planning Department have created a slideshow to summarize the 2020 draft of Charlestown’s Comprehensive Plan. Please click on the blue button in the post to page through the summary. A continued joint public hearing on the proposed new Comprehensive Plan is scheduled by the Town Council and Planning Commission for May 4th at 7 PM.
On March 21, the first full day of Spring, Bob Petrone flew his drone to take advantage of that perfect spring day. There were few people walking the beach and the sky was a deep blue with no wind. The YouTube video in this post will bring the viewer on a 7 minute ride along the Quonnie coast from Blue Shutters to the Quonochontaug Breachway and pond.
The Charlestown Town Council will hold a public hearing at their regular meeting on April 12 to discuss the potential acquisition of 66.5 acres of mostly forested land that lies along Alton Carolina Road (Rt. 91) between The Nature Conservancy’s Francis Carter Preserve and the State’s Carolina Wildlife Management Area.
In late October a short survey was mailed to households in Charlestown asking what you like most about our town, but also if you think improvement might be needed. The results of that “pre-survey” are now ready. A link to the report and all of the survey responses is available in the post.
If you have ever asked yourself what one person can do to benefit their community, there are many examples of people who stand out. People who see a need and pursue a workable solution are all around us. In Charlestown, I can offer one example of an ordinary citizen who saw a problem, persevered, and is currently working to solve a town wide problem.
Charlestown Citizens Alliance kicked off a campaign seeking donations to ease the burden on neighbors experiencing food insecurity. As of mid-January, donations have reached almost $10,000 from nearly 50 individual donors. An anonymous donor working directly with RICAN pledged to match the donations. We thank all the donors who participated in our campaign.
Bob Petrone has made another beautiful video. This one of a snowy Valentines Day over Quonnie. In any season or temperature, Charlestown is always lovely.
Let the legislature know you support House bills 5113 and 5280. These “Bottle Bills” can make our roads cleaner and safer, reduce litter and marine debris, increase recycling rates, protect our environment and natural resources, and save taxpayers money.
On the Town Council agenda for Feburary 8 is a vote to allow the Town Administrator and Town’s attorney to negotiate a price for the property. DEM also has to approve the price and will not be involved in the sale if they believe the price is greater than the market value. If a sales price can be negotiated that the seller, town and DEM all agree on, the Town Council will hold a public hearing at a future meeting and then vote on the purchase.
For the last three years, another high-speed rail planning process, independent of the Federal Railroad Administration, proposes a new route that would go inland through Connecticut instead of along the shoreline. The proposed new route would cross Long Island Sound with a 16-mile tunnel to New Haven, and then north to Hartford. From Hartford it would travel east to UConn at Tolland Connecticut, and then on to Providence and Boston.
Beverage container deposit laws, or “bottle bills”, are designed to reduce litter and capture bottles, cans, and other containers for recycling. We reported on the bill introduced to require a deposit on “nips” in an earlier post. There are two new bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, both of which require deposits on all single-use beverage containers.
Rhode Island Representative David A. Bennett, who represents Warwick, has introduced legislation to require that every miniature alcoholic beverage container, which is known as a “nip”, that is sold in Rhode Island shall have a refund value of not less than fifty cents. The legislation was introduced on January 25 and referred to the House Finance Committee.
On Wednesday, January 27, at 7 p.m. at a virtual meeting, the Charlestown Planning Commission will open a public informational meeting on the Master Plan application of Storage Place LLC to build a self-storage complex on property just north of Rt. 1 at the site of the Mini Golf (pictured in the banner image), Lot 102, Map 14, 5677 Post Rd.
This excellent essay is worth a read! “When you walk the roads of rural Southern Rhode Island, you are never far from the drinking habits of its residents. On a raw but sunny afternoon, we set off from the homestead armed with a garbage bag and a grabbing tool. It wasn’t much of a walk because we had to stop every few steps while one of us (me) operated the pincers and the other (my husband) held open the garbage bag…”
There are many of you who already pick up roadside litter as you take an afternoon walk or you may continuously clean the litter tossed in front of your property. Community litter pick up days are a chance to get more people involved and raise awareness about this issue, but is there more we could do?
Covid-19 pandemic is heating up the housing market and growth in Charlestown is accelerating at a rate not seen in over 20 years. Charlestown normally sees about 20 new residential lots created per year. The Planning Commission currently has almost 80 residential lots/units in various stages of review and an additional 360 self-storage units and other commercial developments proposed.
Starting in mid-November, we hosted a fundraiser in support of the primary food bank in Charlestown — the Rhode Island Center Assisting those in Need. Thank you to everyone who donated!! We raised over $5000.00 and an anonymous donor has matched each of your donations to result in over $10,000.00 to support RI CAN!
Charlestown is part of the only undeveloped area along the Eastern Seaboard that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the inland forests of New England and Canada. Charlestown contains critical wildlife habitats and recreation areas that are important in their own right, but in a regional context they are even more important. Fragmentation of this corridor diminishes the importance of the entire corridor for both wildlife and recreation.
With the swearing in of the new Town Council in Charlestown last week, I took the opportunity to review the accomplishments of those public servants who have moved on to other pursuits in life. The Town of Charlestown has been fortunate in that over the past 10 years the residents and taxpayers have enjoyed a well-run government.
South County Tourism Council sat down with astronomer Scott MacNeill from the Frosty Drew Observatory to talk about the Sky Theatre in Ninigret Park, the Great Conjunction and favorite celestial bodies! Check it out and give it a listen. You’ll learn about the history of the observatory, our night sky, how we see the sky, science, upcoming celestial events, Charlestown’s Red Light District and much more!
Freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right to cast your vote in a free and open election of government officials are some of the most important elements of the United States of America. This past November 3rd and the weeks leading up to it, the citizens of Charlestown cast their votes in record numbers to elect officials who would represent them for the next two years or more.
The 300-square mile watershed provides abundant clean groundwater that serves as the sole source of drinking water for more than 60,000 local residents and supports roughly 70 percent of Rhode Island’s globally imperiled species. The Pawcatuck, which forms the northern border of Charlestown, is very popular for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and other forms of outdoor recreation.
Lisa Tewksbury, Charlestown resident and director of the URI Biocontrol Laboratory, has launched a targeted biocontrol effort to fight the emerald ash borer. First found in RI in 2018, emerald ash borers are threatening to destroy the entire population of ash trees in Rhode Island. Do you have an ash tree in your yard or on your street? If so, watch out for this invasive beetle. Lisa and her students are deploying three species of parasitic wasp from Asia that lay their eggs in the beetle’s eggs or larvae to try to control the ash borer.
We are lucky to live in such a wonderful place that is well run and managed by people who truly care. I sadly discovered that this town is divided and have witnessed these ill feelings first hand with false political attacks, some directed at me. We need to put politics aside and put the future and well being of this town first.
Tonight is my last regular meeting as president of the Charlestown Town Council. I am so grateful to the people of Charlestown for your vote of confidence over the last 6 years and the opportunity to serve you with the best I had to offer. I hope you are even more engaged in town government in the future, including adoption of an updated Comprehensive Plan which will set the tone of our town for the next 10-20 years.
A 3.6 magnitude earthquake occurred at 9:10 a.m., Sunday, November 8. It was centered 30 miles southeast of Providence on the north shore of Buzzards Bay, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Charlestown residents reported a loud rumbling noise that sounded like a very large truck and shaking houses that went on for what seemed like about 10 seconds. No damage has been reported.
Red-Spotted Newts are a species of salamander that are found in Charlestown. They help to control mosquito populations by eating their larvae. The biggest threat that newts and other salamanders face is habitat loss and fragmentation. They are considered indicator species, meaning the health of their populations tell us about the health of the environment in general.