Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Billboards on East Main Road currently bring in $42,500 of advertising revenue. Council has said they do not plan to renew the lease, which is set to expire at the end of November.
For three years Middletown has rented space to the advertising company Lamar, for the right to place billboards at the town's Boulevard Nurseries property on East Main Road. The town receives $42,500 annually for the agreement, which is set to expire at the end of November. The council voted not to renew the lease. Scenic America has formally commended the council for its decision. Scenic America is a nonprofit advocacy organization based out of Washington D.C. with a stated mission to preserve the scenic character of America's communities and countryside. The organization said the site piqued their interest while on a retreat in Newport last summer. “We were so fascinated by the story of the billboards located along East Main Road in …
The following letter was submitted by Charles Vaillancourt of 10 Wyndham Hill Road
- ELECTIONS
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Wednesday, October 24, 2012
In a recent press release, several candidates for Middletown Town Council challenged the current Council’s decision to remove billboards on East Main Road. The challengers are lead by former council members Paul Rodrigues and Robert Sylvia. Apparently they have not garnered much enthusiasm from their campaigns, so they had to resort to hiring a lawyer and sending out press releases to increase their exposure. The problem is, all they have succeeded in doing is reminding us of the costly trouble they have created in the past. The premise of their argument is to save money. But threatening to put taxpayers in the middle of a costly legal battle, all to promote their own campaigns, does not save the taxpayers money. They would like you to …
Four candidates for the Middletown Town Council say to lose $42,500 in revenue from billboard advertisement would be a mistake.
In August of this year, shortly after the current Middletown Town Council voted to remove the billboards on the edge of town, they were recognized by “Scenic America”, for doing so. Although we’re honored that our community is recognized by such a worthy organization as “Scenic America”, we are unmoved by the knowledge that our current town council decided to remove an income source in the midst of a deep recession. The current Middletown Town Council leadership, exclaimed they were “leading by example” when they encouraged fellow council members not to renew an expense free revenue source, in the guise of a quality of life spin. In opposition to and in what we believe is in the best interests of every tax-payer at this time, Middletown …
Monday, October 22, 2012
In political science, the lesser evil principle is that of two bad choices, one is not as bad as the other, and should therefore be chosen.
Tolls might come to the Sakonnet River Bridge. It’s the proposal Newport County loves to hate. Petitions are inside dozens of Middletown businesses, residents have organized protests and Patch readers have engaged in, ahem, spirited debates. The Middletown Town Council even passed a resolution in opposition to the proposal. Nobody likes tolls. Nobody likes getting a cold either. But for Middletown, one could argue tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge could be the lesser of two evils. Here is why. A quasi-public agency, called the Rhode Island Bridge and Transportation Authority (RIBTA), has been responsible for the Pell Bridge, previously known as the Newport Bridge, as well as the Mt. Hope Bridge, which carries drivers into Bristol…
Friday, October 19, 2012
The Middletown Fire Department held an informational meeting on Thursday night
Local politicians, members of the community and fire fighters came together on Thursday evening at the Atlantic Beach Club to discuss the proposal to renovate the Middletown Fire Station. Come Nov. 6, voters will decide on the $7.5 million bond referendum. The town administration has stated the bond will not impact taxpayers, as the money will be pulled from revenue that the town receives from the Navy for police and fire services. In 2005, council established a dedicated fund for this revenue, called the PPV Special Revenue Fund, that was established to reserve money exclusively for capital improvements projects related to public safety. The town is in a 20 year contract with the Navy, and receives $1.1 million annually. For more …
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Councilor Viverios explains why Middletown residents should reelect him for Middletown Town Council
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Reilly responds to Governor's visit to Newport County
Dear Editor, The Governor’s recent visit to Portsmouth to discuss how the state can help businesses grow was unsurprisingly concerned mostly with the Governor’s plan to place tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge. Unfortunately for those in attendance, I feel that the visit left us with more questions than answers. The Governor and his Director of Transportation, Michael Lewis, explained some of the reasoning behind the Governor’s decision to put tolls on the bridge, authorized by this current year’s budget. However, I am still confused as to why a statewide transportation financing problem must be solved by placing such a heavy burden on local area residents and businesses. Director Lewis stated that, without changes, the largest bridges in …
Friday, September 14, 2012
Voters will be asked to approve a $7.5 million bond referendum this November.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Olga Enger
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Friday, September 14, 2012
This November, voters will be asked to approve a $7.5 million bond referendum to fund the renovation and improvements to the Middletown Fire Station on Wyatt Road. Yesterday, Friends of Middletown Fire Station, a collaboration organized to educate residents about the proposal, urged residents to approve the referendum. "An essential part of Middletown’s long-term capital improvement plan, this project will correct major deficiencies that exist at the current Middletown fire station facility," they wrote in a post on Patch. According to the town administration, the project will not raise taxes. The proposal will pull funds from income it receives annually from a Navy housing contract. Take our Patch Poll: Will you vote "yes" on Question 8…
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Candidates running for democratic seats walked the campaign trail last weekend in Middletown.
Linda Finn, who is running for a House seat against incumbent Daniel Reilly hit the campaign trail along with fellow democrat incumbents State Senator Lou DiPalma and Congressman David Cicilline. The candidates went door to door around Easton's Point neighborhood in Middletown last weekend. DiPalma said he plans to take this weekend off from campaigning, in order to celebrate his oldest daughter's wedding. The bride, Middletown School Committee Member, Kellie DiPalma, is no stranger to the campaign trail herself. She walked the trail with her father in 2010 and she is back on the ballot this year. Finn said she plans to go back out this weekend, but has not narrowed down the neighborhood. She has constituents in Newport, Portsmouth as…
Friday, July 13, 2012
Middletown resident Linda Finn, owner of Linda Finn Garden Design, is running for a seat in the House of Representatives to represent District 72 (Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth)
Patch sat down with Middletown resident Linda Dill Finn, who is running against incumbent republican Daniel Reilly to represent District 72 in the House of Representatives. Finn, a first-time candidate, describes herself as a progressive, socially-liberal democrat. "A lot of people just need a chance," said Finn. We put together this snapshot reference of her background and key issues to introduce you to the candidate. General Background Finn describes her background: I am from two very different families. My Mom's side of the family immigrated from Italy. My grandmother was the Secretary of the Union at United Rubber in Bristol. They both were very hard working with strong family ties. They loved the beach and outdoors and my siblings …
New New Englander
10:48 pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012
I would like to see exactly where the past revenue from these billboards went. Have they really been helping Middletown residents who've been scraping pennies? My hunch is that they've been helping someone scrape pennies alright...into a little jar marked "Florida Condo". This is not an area of the country where aesthetics have ever really mattered ( I don't rely on Bellevue Avenue and the … more ›