Opinion | EastBayRI.com - News, Opinion, Things to Do in the East Bay

Editorial: Best practices in government

A year ago, no one could have imagined that the Barrington School Committee would quickly become the model for openness in government. For much of the past five years, that board was mired in … more

6/7/23

RIPEC sends a strong warning about state spending

STORY OF THE WEEK: It has been clear for a while that the sugar high of consecutive budget surpluses in Rhode Island – a rare occurrence in a state usually dogged by perennial deficits -- … more

By Ian Donnis | 6/6/23

Letter: Efficiency is not an indication of ‘lack of investment’

To the editor: Numbers can be manipulated to tell an inaccurate story. I have seen this often done in public discourse here in Barrington. And it happened again at last night’s FTM . … more

5/31/23

Letter: E-Bikes on the path would be immensely dangerous

To the editor: A very precise and sensible letter was written last week by Jerry Blitefield of Warren about the imminent danger to the East Bay Bike Path . He talks about the current law with no … more

5/25/23

Op-Ed: ‘Secure Choice’ is good for Rhode Island

Nearly 200,000 working people in Rhode Island do not have access to an employer-provided retirement savings plan. This savings deficit could push the state over a costly retirement cliff resulting in … more

5/25/23

Editorial: Trampling on Town Meeting

In the early days of America, residents in small New England communities would gather for “town meetings” to make spending, infrastructure or investment decisions, as a community. Those … more

5/25/23

This country has no plan for renewable energy (or anything else)

Governor Dan McKee signed into law legislation to increase renewable energy production and supply by requiring that 100 percent of Rhode Island’s electricity be offset by renewable production … more

By Arlene Violet, Esq. | 5/23/23

Rhonda Swain with striped bass she caught when fishing with her husband Mike live lining Atlantic menhaden at night in Bristol Harbor.

Managers hope emergency action will save striped bass

More striped bass fishing trips are taken by anglers coastwide than any other species. This highly desirable fish has been overfished for the past few years, and last year, anglers killed … more

By Capt. Dave Monti | 5/23/23

Swift passage of abortion bill shows how Assembly has changed

STORY OF THE WEEK: For supporters like state Sen. Bridget Valverde and Rep. Katherine Kazarian, the legislative sponsors of the Equality in Abortion Coverage Act, passing the EACA was unfinished … more

By Ian Donnis | 5/23/23

Editorial: Barrington likes to make up its own rules

The Barrington town government has shown a surprising willingness to ignore its own rules. The latest example was articulated by Town Manager Phil Hervey, when he told the Barrington Town Council and … more

5/19/23

Letter: Preventing criminal gun use requires facts, not fiction

To the editor: Every reasonable person favors preventing the criminal use of guns. But we are not going to make progress on that until the gun control lobby ends its campaign of misinformation … more

5/19/23

Letter: Questions unasked at the CNN Town Hall

The moderator of the recent CNN Trump Town Hall tried valiantly to ask pertinent, newsworthy questions to a declared presidential candidate, now convicted and under other legal duress. He … more

5/17/23

Letter: Barrington has a serious planning and communication problem

To the editor: Although Barrington is a town of only 16,000 residents, the Council and a majority of the School Committee belong to the same political party and the Town Manager has an advanced … more

5/17/23

Letter: The state legislature’s plan to ruin the East Bay Bike Path

To the editor: It’s ludicrous that the state legislature can deem a motor not a motor, as in the pending e-bike legislation (covered in these pages last week) that deems e-bikes – … more

5/17/23

Letter: Barrington’s ‘branding’ effort missed the mark

To the editor: I am giving my two cents about the new signs in town . Suffice to say there is enough reaction and not in a good way that I thought about not even writing this letter. … more

5/16/23

Letter: Schools need to spread out cost to taxpayers

To the editor: Regarding your article: “ Leftover middle school money will pay for new bike path in town ” - I preface this by saying I am a product of Barrington schools … more

5/16/23

Letter: Call for investigation of teacher fiasco

To the editor: The Barrington Public Schools has settled with three teachers fired for failing to comply with BPS' onerous and almost unique Covid vaccine requirement, agreeing to reinstatement … more

5/16/23

Gun control debates will heat up as the General Assembly winds down

STORY OF THE WEEK: Now that the May Revenue Estimating Conference is complete, the General Assembly session is expected to race to a mid-June conclusion, with a few contentious issues still hanging … more

By Ian Donnis | 5/16/23

Editorial: Yes and no to e-bikes on bike paths

Rhode Island needs to pass a law regulating electric bicycles and their use on bike paths. A bill before the General Assembly would do that, but the current version is flawed and potentially … more

5/10/23

Letter: ‘Right to Beat Arms’ contains no qualifiers

To the editor: Clay Commons is perplexed by the Supreme Court’s interpretation or lack thereof for the Second Amendment clause regarding “A well-regulated Militia …” … more

5/9/23

Whitehouse seizes the moment to call for Supreme Court reform

STORY OF THE WEEK: U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is a longstanding critic of efforts to move the U.S. Supreme Court to the right, so he’s remained in the spotlight as SCOTUS faces a wave of … more

By Ian Donnis | 5/9/23

Commentary: Time for Rhode Island to put oil companies on trial

While Rhode Island communities experienced extreme drought, torrential rain, and flash floods last year, the oil and gas companies pouring fuel on our climate crisis were raking in record profits. … more

By Rep. Terri Cortvriend | 5/5/23

Letter: Turbines, a ghastly embodiment of man's arrogance

Beauty. The beauty of the earth. The beauty of the mountains, valleys, rivers and lakes—and, of course, the ocean. The Ocean State, our little Rhode Island, embraced by the … more

5/4/23

Letter: Want an easy way to make a real difference?

To the editor: Every now and then you may have the urge to help out your community in some way, but you may not know how. Please let me suggest to you an easy way to do that. On Saturday, May … more

5/4/23

A door, car and driveway may be hazardous to your health

I n mid-April, 16-year-old music prodigy Ralph Yarl was running an errand that most older siblings perform, i.e. picking up his younger brothers at a friend’s house. He went to a home on … more

By Arlene Violet | 5/2/23