Rhode Island Sierra Club

WE NEED YOUR TESTIMONY to Support Utility Justice this Week. On April 2nd, the House Corporations Committee will hear H7286, which creates an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program (PIPP- Percentage Income Payment Plan), to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income household. Utility rates in Rhode Island are too high and lead families to make unimaginable decisions that can lead to utility shutoffs and loss of basic needs like housing. Help us fight for a more equitable system. Come testify in person on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 around 5 pm in the RI State House- House Lounge or submit written testimony at [email protected]. For more information on PIPP visit https://www.georgewileycenter.org/

We are delighted to invite you to our 30th anniversary celebration! October 26th 5:30-7:30pm at the Warwick Crowne Plaza.

We'll have awards (check out our honorees below), food, music, and Kim Kalunian - WPRI as emcee!

The Childhood Lead Action Project has been fighting to eliminate childhood lead poisoning since 1992, and there is still more work to be done. Joining us will support our mission and celebrate our work. Don't be the last to get tickets!

https://ChildhoodLeadAction30.eventbrite.com

There are powerful connections between faith, spirituality and the fight for Environmental Justice/Climate Justice. Protecting the Earth and it's People are core beliefs for many faith traditions and practices. Whatever traditions or beliefs that you have, it is the love that we have for our fellow human beings that pushes us to fight for all people to have clean water, clean air, and safe and affordable homes. The stewardship of the Earth was commanded to us, and more so was the call to take care of the most vulnerable in our society. Come and learn more about these connections and about legislative policy that help provide protections for environmental justice communities, address our current housing crisis and further racial equity in the state. Environmental justice is social justice and therefore all these areas are connected and needed. ❤✊

Join Rhode Island faith leaders, advocates, community organizations, and people across many different faith traditions, as we explore key policies on the topics of Environmental Justice, Housing, and Racial Equity that will help fight Poverty and Inequality in Rhode Island. Come hear from our special Keynote Speaker that will explore the connections between Faith, Climate Justice and Stewardship of the Earth. This year’s workshops will cover key policy for the RI 2024 Legislative Session, in areas of Environmental Justice, Housing and Racial Equity

You can register here: https://forms.gle/rHZwASpT7cydsceTA

For more information, contact [email protected]

GWC:
"The purpose of this PUC hearing is to take public comments on Rhode Island Energy’s proposed rate changes that would take effect October 1, 2023 for electric service and November 1, 2023 for gas service.

The rate changes would affect electric rates in all rate classes.

People interested in providing public comment at the meeting may participate in a Zoom meeting through the internet to the hearing.

"To participate, click this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87144140599 and you will be given instructions to enter the meeting by internet.

If you choose to participate by telephone, by calling in, preferably 5-10 minutes prior to the beginning of the hearing, call 929-205-6099 and enter meeting number 871 4414 0599 followed by the # symbol when prompted.

Written public comment may be submitted by email to [email protected]

Rate Increase hearing with the RI PUC: Public Utility Commission
6pm, Wednesday, September 13, 2023
89 Jefferson Boulevard
Warwick, RI

RI Energy should freeze any rate increases for low-income, unemployed, disabled people and seniors on fixed incomes. Instead of trying to hike rates RI Energy should be working to pass PIPP: Percentage Income Payment Plan!

It was awesome seeing all the folks who showed up yesterday to "save Morley Field", and to stand up from environmental justice. Community residents, elected officials, and advocates, all voiced their opposition to destroying part of the community used green space, in order to build more parking lots. Thank you to all the folks who organized the event.

Thank you to Progreso Latino for honoring our EJ Chair and the work that he does through the Rhode Island Sierra Club, and the RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty. Thank you to Progreso Latino's Adult Social Action Committee for all of the work that they do. It was great working with them this year on connecting to nature and the outdoors, participating in environmental justice and social justice initiatives, and making their voices heard at the State House. Thank you to all the elected officials, organizations and advocate who were there today to celebrate with us. A special thanks to Jonathan De Jesus for all the organizing that you do.

Lead Poisoning is one of the biggest environmental justice and social justice issues in our state. It perpetuates poverty and inequality by disproportionately impacting the educational and social outcomes for children in poor communities and communities of color. Come out and support policy priorities that hope to end childhood lead poisoning.

The power of change lies in our hands - join us at the State House on May 23 at 3:30 p.m. for Lead Poisoning Prevention Day to support and promote policies for healthier homes free of child lead poisoning!

There is still time to support anti poverty and equity legislation being heard This Week! Bills including: Raising the RI Works Benefit Rate, Creating More Low Income Housing, Lead Poisoning Prevention, Tenant Protections, and Increasing Climate Change Education. Bills This Week:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M6ILXZPSKCmXRHJBEzqUfedGhniiKW9sm-QMyeIccCg/edit?usp=sharing

The process of sending in testimony takes less than 5 minutes and you'll make a lasting impact on people in Rhode Island who rely on legislation like this for a more financially secure future.

Bills Next Week- Week of the 15th!

Happy Mother's Day! This weekend let's remind our elected officials of how important mother's are to building strong and safe communities!

Show your support by letting your representative know you support anti poverty and equity legislation being heard Next Week including: Raising the RI Works Benefit Rate, Creating More Low Income Housing, Lead Poisoning Prevention, Tenant Protections, and Increasing Climate Change Education. Bills Next Week:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M6ILXZPSKCmXRHJBEzqUfedGhniiKW9sm-QMyeIccCg/edit?usp=sharing

The process of sending in testimony takes less than 5 minutes and you'll make a lasting impact on mothers in Rhode Island who rely on legislation like this for a more financially secure future.

There is still time to write testimony for crucial social justice and environmental justice bills today!

Thursday, May 11, 2023
House Committee on Finance Room 35 - State House
House Bill No. 5622 - Free Ripta Bill
BY Felix, Morales, Alzate, J. Lombardi, Diaz, Batista, Cruz, Sanchez, Henries, Speakman
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY {LC1044/1} (Prohibits the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) from imposing any fares and/or charges for service provided to the general public.)
Testimony should be send to [email protected]

House Bill No. 6106
BY Cortvriend, Carson, Donovan, Speakman, McGaw, Tanzi, Boylan, Handy, Spears, Potter
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE CHANGE AND OCEAN PROTECTION EDUCATION PROGRAM ACT {LC1729/1} (Appropriates five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per fiscal year to invest in climate change and ocean protection education to enhance literacy of these issues for Rhode Island's youth and include a grant program.)
Testimony goes to [email protected]

House Bill No. 6106
BY Cortvriend, Carson, Donovan, Speakman, McGaw, Tanzi, Boylan, Handy, Spears, Potter ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE RHODE ISLAND CLIMATE CHANGE AND OCEAN PROTECTION EDUCATION PROGRAM ACT {LC1729/1} (Appropriates five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per fiscal year to invest in climate change and ocean protection education to enhance literacy of these issues for Rhode Island's youth and include a grant program.
Testimony goes to [email protected]

Senate Committee on Finance Room 211

Senate Bill No. 527. -- Equity Impact Bill
BY Acosta, Kallman, Mack, Euer, Miller, Murray
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- STATE BUDGET {LC1905/1} (Directs the budget officer to include in the annual state budget and explanation of how the budget furthers efforts to ensure equity in the state.)
Testimony should be sent to [email protected]

Senate Bill No. 234 - Free Ripta Bill
BY Kallman, Euer, Cano, Pearson, Goodwin, Mack, Acosta, Murray, DiMario, Lauria
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC TRANSIT AUTHORITY {LC1270/1} (Prohibits the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) from imposing any fares and/or charges for service provided to the general public. Effective January 1, 2024.)
Testimony should be sent to [email protected]

💥Your help is needed!💥⁠
⁠
This Thursday, May 11, the House Finance Committee will hear the Climate Change and Ocean Protection Workforce Development & Education bills. These bills are RIEEA’s key legislative priorities and we need your help to get them passed!⁠
⁠
Join us as we advocate for $1 million in funding to provide our youth with the skills and knowledge they need to be competitive in the growing green and blue economies. This funding will help us create a stronger and more resilient R.I. in the face of a changing climate.⁠

Learn all the details here: https://www.rieea.org/action-alert-hearing-in-house-finance/

✊✊✊💚💚💚

There are several Bills Next Week you can testify for, in person or by email, including Lead Poisoning Prevention (Lead Pipe Removal), PIPP (Percentage Income Payment Plan), Free RIPTA, Low Income Housing and many more. Here is a list of bills that further equity in Rhode Island.

Bills Week of May 8th RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty Poverty and Equity Bills Tuesday, May 9, 2023 Senate Finance Committee Room 211 - State House Testimony: [email protected] Senate Bill No. 90 - Low Income Housing BY Kallman, Euer, Lawson, Acosta, Gu, McKenney, Burke, Miller, Mack, La...

Today as we celebrate the Earth and our connection to it, go to our events and cleanups, let us not forget to lift up environmental justice priorities and community centered actions. Let us remember the disproportionate impact that climate change, ecological devastation and environmental hazards have on poor communities and communities of color. Let us once again vow to fight environmental racism so that we can all enjoy this beautiful green Earth. 💚 Enjoy, explore and protect the planet.

Take action for Utility Justice! Help pass the Percentage Income Payment Plan Bill (PIPP) in Rhode Island.

H5847 is scheduled for Thursday March 30th at 4pm in the House Corporations Committee. You can also provide written testimony by emailing it to [email protected]
A Percentage Income Payment Plan would create a tiered payment system which would lower utility costs for poor communities. Historically high utility rates are devastating communities across the state and put poor communities in danger of shutoffs, evictions and of having to make hard decisions on basic needs. This is s Social Justice and Environmental Justice issue! We must simultaneously continue to move away from fossil fuels while making sure that poor communities aren't taking the brunt of energy costs. Thank you to Rep. Slater for sponsoring the legislation and to all the other co-sponsors. For more information on the initiative, you can go to https://www.georgewileycenter.org/campaigns

Public hearing at City Hall today at 5:30!

Lets say NO! to tax breaks for polluters and yes to People Over Profit!

Thank you to all the Environmental Justice leaders who came out for the RI Environmental Justice Leaders Retreat. Thank you to Movement Education Outdoors for hosting the retreat and for all of the programming support. Thank you to the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee of Providence and all the other environmental justice organizations that helped plan the event. We must continue to lift up environmental justice issues and prioritize communities that are disproportionally affected my environmental hazards. environmental justice is social justice! ❤️🦝

https://upriseri.com/pawtucket-deal-pave-morley-field-legality/

"Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien and the Pawtucket City Council released a misleading press statement on Thursday following Wednesday night’s council vote approving the sale of 60% of Morley Field, the only public green space in the mostly low-income, mostly BIPOC community in the Woodlawn neighborhood, to private developer JK Equities, to be converted into a parking lot. One word used in the press release was “compromise,” a word that even the city council members who helped work out the deal agreed was not quite accurate during Wednesday night’s hearing."

This event has been postponed please keep in touch if you would like to help organize around this issue:

SAVE MORLEY FIELD
- DON’T PAVE GREEN SPACE -
COMMUNITY GATHERING
At Morley Field

Morley Field, the only large green space in the dense Pawtucket neighborhood of Woodlawn, is in danger of being paved over into a parking lot.

For the families who live in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Pawtucket, it is an invaluable green space, and escape from the densely populated corner of the city. That is why Jennifer Stewart joined her neighbors at a meeting last week at City Hall to speak out against the plan to pave it over into a parking lot. Morley Field is also a rare public access point to the Moshassuck River, and home to nesting osprey protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The plan to turn Morley Field into a parking lot is another example of environmental racism. The Woodlawn neighborhood (which is just north of Providence, along I-95, west of Pawtucket Ave.) is approximately 74% people of color, 59% people living at or below the poverty rate, and 29% children. This is a working class neighborhood where most people live in triple deckers or multifamily units, often with no backyard. Since the 1970s families in Woodlawn have used Morley field for little league games, Pop Warner football, picnics and reunions, and as a place to relax and breathe.

The developers of the new trucking depot being built on the 10.2-acre Microfibres site want Morley Field for an additional parking lot, and in exchange plan to provide funding for a new park between the Riverside Cemetery and Max Read Field in the
This event has been postponed please keep in touch if you would like to help organize around this issue:
Oak Hill neighborhood along the Pawtucket River. This would deprive Woodlawn of its only large green space, while adding another park in Oak Hill which is adjacent to Blackstone Boulevard and Providence's East Side. Moreover, it is an unnecessary choice. Why not maintain Morley Field in Woodlawn and add the new park in Oak Hill?

The City says that in the process of moving to sell Morley Field it was discovered to be contaminated and unsafe. However, it was the City and not the RI DEM which closed the field last spring, and there doesn’t seem to have been any analysis of what could be done to clean up Morley Field and make it safe for recreation again. Nor does the City seem to be listening to the people who enjoyed Morley Field for decades. Let's not pave over this valuable green space to put up a parking lot. Instead, let’s invest in environmental justice.

We’re rescheduling due to flooded roads and lightning that pose risk to folks. Thinking of all our unhoused community members who can’t stay safe right now in this storm. Please save the date and come through next Thursday. The fight goes on…

**kGreedyDevelopers
**kGentrification
**kThePoliticiansFundingIt
**kThePoliceEnforcingIt

Today 8/14 is the last day to register to vote in RI. Then if you need or want a mail ballot remember to get an application at vote.ri.gov and submit it by 8/23/22!!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RI SIERRA CLUB ENDORSEMENTS

The RI Chapter of Sierra Club is proud to endorse the following candidates for RI General Assembly, Lt. Governor, Providence City Council, and RI Treasurer. In these unprecedented times it is imperative to support responsible, reasonable, justice focused candidates.

Our Chapter of Sierra Club believes in prioritizing environmental justice; taking bold action to address climate change and supporting the communities and environments most impacted by the extraction, processing, transportation and combustion of fossil fuels. We will fight to expand renewable energy, protect natural resources, and promote the health and safety of our communities. The Chapter seeks to explore, enjoy, and protect Rhode Island's habitats through a lens of equity and justice.

We believe the following candidates most closely align with our mission, and understand that the climate crisis isn't some far off abstract threat, but something we must deal with now, by taking concrete steps to foster equity and environmental justice.

Lt. Governor:

Cynthia Mendes

RI Senate:

Robin Xiong SD3
Samuel Bell SD5
Tiara Mack SD6
Linda Ujifusa SD11
Meghan Kallman SD15
Jonathon Acosta SD16
Greg Greco SD18
Melanie DuPont SD22
Melissa Murray SD24
Jennifer Rourke SD29
Jeanine Calkin SD30
Harrison Tuttle SD31
Bridget Valverde SD35

RI Representatives

Christopher Blazejewski HD2
Rebecca Kislak HD4
Damian Lima HD6
David Morales HD7
John Lombardi HD8
Enrique Sanchez HD9
Jose Batista HD12
Giona Picheco HD14
Brandon Potter HD16
Arthur Handy HD18
Zakary Pereira HD22
Samara Yelle HD26
Teresa Tanzi HD34
Tina Spears HD36
Megan Cotter HD39
Paul Roselli HD47
Alex Kithes HD49
Marlene Guay HD51
Clara Hardy HD55
Joshua Giraldo HD56
Cherie Cruz HD58
Jennifer Stewart HD59
Karen Alzate HD60
Kinverly Dicupe HD62
Katherine Kazarian HD63
Brianna Henries HD64
Jennifer Boylan HD66
Jason Knight HD67
Terri-Denise Cortvriend HD72
Lauren Carson HD75

Providence City Council

Sue AnderBois Ward 3 - PVD
Andrew Poyant Ward 14 - PVD
April Brown Ward 9 - PVD
Jacqueline Goldman Ward 5 - PVD
Miguel Sanchez Ward 6 - PVD

State Treasurer

James Diossa