Westport
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EverythingWestport.com
Monday,
March 10, 2014
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Quick
Article Index . . .
WRWA Executive Director Matt Patrick jumps
into the political water with both feet.
Senate
Passes bill to allow for Mutual Aid Agreements on UMass campuses.
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EverythingWestport.com Tuesday, March 10, 2014 Ending a saga
begun several years ago, the Town of Tiverton finally bought the Seaside Gas
property that fronts popular Grinnel Beach. The town paid a
total of $456,000 to acquire and clean up the property, including the planned
removal of the gas tanks. According to Town
Solicitor Andrew Teitz, funding of $200,000 would
come from RIDOT, $208,000 from RIDEM, and $100,000 from the Tiverton Open
Space Commission. In July of 2009,
George Alzaibak, a former lessee of a Getty station
and owner of George’s Gas, bought the Seaside gas property and planned to
have a 400-square-foot satellite Dunkin Donuts with a walk-up window. An ice cream counter, a mini pizza and
sub-shop with a walk-up window were planned, as was a convenience store. Plans also
included making Seaside gas a Citgo station.
But Alzaibak’s dreams ended up on the rocks, and the station
ended up in the hands of New Hampshire-based Cutillo
Family Realty Trust. “Most of us agree
that conserving our waterfront is a great thing for Tiverton,” Town Council
President Ed Roderick told the Westport Shorelines. “I hope everyone is
happy. We’ve done our best to do something for the town.” It was a
complicated transaction, but the former gas station at 1837 Main Road
abutting Grinnell’s Beach now belongs to the Town of Tiverton. According to
Shorelines, “The news was made public “with great pleasure” last Monday by
Town Solicitor Andrew Teitz. All the official
documents, he said, would be recorded the next day. But not all town
council members are happy. Council member
Joan Chabot, the only council member to say no the purchase, was adamant
about taking another income producing property off the town’s tax rolls. She
was referring to the tax proceeds that could accrue to the town if the
property remained in private hands.
Chabot was also
concerned about the possibility of a “brown field” being on the site, a
liability that could become the town’s responsibility. Tiverton is now
considering what to do with the 11,760-square-foot gas station lot, including
remodeling or demolishing the buildings, or using the site for recreational
purposes. Seaside Gas is
sited at the Main Road end of the old Stone Bridge, abutting the town-owned
Grinnell’s Beach. The historic
Stone Bridge is scheduled for a $2.3 million overhaul over the next few
years.
Above: The Seaside Gas
station property abuts the town-owned Grinnell Beach and the WWI memorial to
fallen veterans. WRWA Executive Director Matt Patrick jumps into the
political waters. The former State Representative
for the Third Barnstable District announces he will run for State Senator
Therese Murray's seat. Patrick promises to "put aside partisan
politics." EverythingWestport.com Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Former five-term Democratic State Representative Matt Patrick of
Falmouth announced today his bid for State Senator Therese Murray's seat.
Murray, who has represented the Plymouth and Barnstable District since 1993,
announced that she would not be seeking re-election this term. Patrick informed the WRWA board that he will take time off this coming
year to run for the State Senate. WRWA President Tom Schmitt, said, “Matt told the board that he wanted
to run for the Plymouth and Barnstable District Senate seat now held by
Senate President, Terry Murray. We encouraged Matt to run, and will work with
his schedule to make it possible.” Patrick
became the WRWA Executive Director at a critical time when the Westport
watershed protection and preservation group was grappling with declining
financial contributions caused by a weak economy. The personable Patrick brought a fresh and optimistic approach to the Alliance
as they reshuffled personnel and trimmed expenses to keep the WRWA afloat
during troubling times. WRWA board member, Curt Freese, will fill in
for Patrick as his campaign progresses and occupies more of his time. Mr. Freese is the former executive director
of the western office of the World Wildlife Fund. Patrick represented the Third Barnstable District from 2001 to 2011.
The announcement of his candidacy brings Patrick back into the Massachusetts
political arena after a three year absence. According to a Cape Cod Times story, the Falmouth resident's bid for
the State Senate is bolstered by a renewed dedication to the hallmarks of his
previous political service--non-partisan action and the health and safety of
his constituents. "I was able to put aside partisan politics and
persuade the legislative leadership that my bills would help improve the lives of families in my district and the
Commonwealth." Patrick said. Patrick remains firm in his commitment to clean energy and the health
of the public. His previous bills included requiring Pilgrim Nuclear
Power Plant in Plymouth to purchase potassium iodide pills for all residents
of Cape Cod. Should he be elected to Murray's seat, Patrick promises to
continue to remain focused on Pilgrim by filing a bill that will allow the
Town of Plymouth to tax the spent fuel storage at the facility. Further, Patrick reminds voters that when he was in office, he opposed
several high profile politicians--many in his own party including the late
Senator Edward Kennedy and Congressman William Delahunt--by supporting Cape
Wind's efforts to build America's first offshore wind farm. Today, Patrick
said he was an advocate for Cape Wind because he knew the project meant jobs
for Massachusetts with little to no environmental harm. Since then, Cape Wind
has been on a steady path to making the Nantucket Sound project a reality. In addition to his clean energy work including the PACE bill, Patrick
was also instrumental in leading the fight to close corporate tax loopholes
in Massachusetts. He and his wife of 37 years Louise settled in Falmouth in 1980. The
couple met while serving in the Peace Corps in Ghana. They are the proud
parents of daughter Mia and son Sam. In addition to his political work, Patrick
worked in building before starting his own solar installation business. He
was the executive director of the Cape and Islands Self-Reliance Corporation
for fifteen years. He is currently the executive director of the Westport
Watershed Alliance. The primary is September 9th, and the general election is November 4,
2014. Senate
Passes bill to allow for Mutual Aid Agreements on UMass campuses. Change
requested by Task Force’s special report on UMass Dartmouth’s response to
Boston Marathon related issues. EverythingWestport.com Saturday, March
15, 2014 The Senate on
Thursday passed a bill authorizing all University of Massachusetts campuses
to enter into mutual aid agreements with their surrounding communities,
Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) announced today. “This legislation
will allow for coordinated efforts between UMass and local police forces,
resulting in better safety on all UMass campuses,” said Senator Rodrigues.
“The passage of this bill is particularly important to me in light of the
events at UMass Dartmouth in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. The
special report published by UMD requests the authority to create mutual aid
agreements with local police, and I am pleased that the Senate was able to
respond so effectively to their request.” Prior to
Thursday’s passage of An act relative to the University of Massachusetts
Police Department, only UMass Amherst had the statutory authority to enter
into a mutual aid agreement. This legislation seeks to give all UMass campuses
the option to do so. Without a mutual
aid agreement in place, UMass officers’ statutory authority is limited to the
campus boundaries and a coordinated effort with local police is not allowed.
This creates a liability because UMass police officers will inevitably engage
in police action in areas where jurisdiction may not be clear, thus exposing
the university to an unnecessary liability.
“This legislation will allow
for coordinated efforts between UMass and local police forces, resulting in
better safety on all UMass campuses.” - Senator Rodrigues After the Boston
Marathon bombing and subsequent related events, University of Massachusetts
Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman ordered the
formation of a Task Force to examine the university’s emergency response as
well as specific institutional policies and procedures. The report of this
task force called for a legislative fix to grant statutory authority to UMass
Dartmouth officers to enter into mutual aid agreements with local police. The
report goes on to say: This [statutory
change] is important because UMass Dartmouth officers must travel to the
university’s law school campus more than two miles away and transport
prisoners to the jail in New Bedford. At some point, UMass Dartmouth officers
will be called upon to carry out police action while they travel between
campuses or the jail. When they do, the question of their legal authority to
do so may come into question. Because police activities are not always
predictable, and police officers have an inherent bias for action during
emergencies, this situation unnecessarily exposes UMass Dartmouth to a level
of risk that should be immediately addressed.
(Report of the Special Task Force, pg. 7) The full report
can be found here: http://www.umassd.edu/media/umassdartmouth/officeofthechancellor/pdfs/umass_dartmouth_report_task_force.pdf This legislation
was passed to be engrossed by the State Senate on Thursday, March 13. It now
goes to the House of Representative for their consideration. This event is FREE and OPEN to the
public! EverythingWestport.com Sunday, March 16, 2014 37
teams comprised of high school students and adult mentors from around New
England will be competing in this year's challenge. Hundreds
of students will be learning and building their own successful futures in
science, technology, engineering, and math during this exciting event.
This is the first official FIRST Robotics Competition event hosted in
Rhode Island. The
2014 game, AERIAL ASSIST, is played by two Alliances of three teams each.
Alliances compete by trying to score as many balls in FIRST
(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a
not-for-profit organization, founded by inventor Dean Kamen,
dedicated to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young
people. The FIRST Robotics Competition is a program that challenges
high school students - working with professional Mentors - to design and
build a robot to contend in competitions that measure the effectiveness of
each robot, the power of collaboration and the determination of students. About FIRST: Accomplished inventor
Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of
science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, NH, FIRST
designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge,
and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in
science, technology, and engineering. With
support from over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies and more than $19 million
in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST
Robotics Competition (FRC), for students in Grades 9-12; FIRST Tech Challenge
(FTC) for Grades 7-12; FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for Grades 4-8; and Junior
LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for Grades K-3. Gracious
Professionalism is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work,
emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.
To
learn more about FIRST, go to http://www.usfirst.org.
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