Opinion/Millar: Legislation to encourage forest conservation is long overdue
Scott Millar
Scott Millar is director of community assistance and conservation at Grow Smart Rhode Island.
What can provide Rhode Island with clean and safe air to breathe and water to drink, create jobs, fight climate change, moderate stifling hot temperatures, protect native wildlife, provide a multitude of recreational opportunities and add an invaluable sense of place to communities?
The answer is Rhode Island’s forests. Conserving them is essential to sustain our quality of life. That’s why we must act now to adopt the Forest Conservation Act to conserve what’s left of our forests before it’s too late.
PROVIDENCE â Legislation introduced by District 35 (East Greenwich, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, Narragansett) Senator Bridget Valverde that would expand abortion and medical care access for low-income individuals recently hit a roadblock imposed by Rhode Island Senate Democrats. The bill, despite its medical nature and Valverdeâs objection, is now assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it has little hope to pass, rather than the Senateâs Committee on health and human services.
âThis bill should be heard in the Health & Human Services Committee, where it belongs and where I asked it be referred even before I formally introduced the bill,â said Valverde. âAfter all, this is a bill that only addresses coverage for a health care service. The Health & Human Services Committee, of which I am the Vice Chair, routinely deals with health coverage legislation. Instead, it was sent to the Judiciary Committee, which deals with criminal codes. It do
34 The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) conducted a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Jan. 22.
Cmdr. Samuel Bell, from Wrightstown, New Jersey, relieved Cmdr. John Gonser, from Amityville, New York, as Cheyenne’s commanding officer, during the ceremony which was held in the Submarine Squadron 1 War Room.
“USS Cheyenne has a storied legacy in the submarine force,” said Gonser. “Sailors are rightfully proud to join that tradition. When I took command, I challenged the crew to make those who came before us, who built that legacy, proud of us. For the past 41 months, this crew did just that. I am humbled and awed to call each and every one of them a shipmate.”
Senate OKs $12.75B state budget; now moves to Raimondo
Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, D-Providence, led the Senate session in which the fiscal 2021 budget was approved. PROVIDENCE The Senate approved a $12.75 billion state budget Friday night, midway through the fiscal year, offering a bridge to another year and a fresh round of budget talks within 12 weeks. The fiscal 2021 budget, which was delayed six months because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on state operations, was approved…
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CNN reporting last week from the RI Convention Center
Last week, in a live broadcast from Providence’s Convention Center, CNN reported the exploding levels of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in Rhode Island, as the state achieved the world’s #1 ranking for level of infection, a result that was not unexpected. Governor Raimondo attributed the rising infection rates to her inability to communicate the risks and motivate compliance with health and safety measures, stating at a recent press briefing “I have been utterly ineffective at getting people to follow the rules in their homes.” She is not alone in her frustration as Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker also attributed the dangerous spike in COVID-19 infections to unsafe informal indoor gatherings. “No one wants to be lectured to, and I get that,” Governor Baker said. “But there is a legit cause and effect thing going on here.”