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Political Scene: Summertime paper trail leads to State House restrooms

12:14 AM EDT on Monday, August 6, 2007

By Steve Peoples, Elizabeth Gudrais, John E. Mulligan and Scott MacKay

Journal Staff Writers

How quiet are things in state government this time of year?

So quiet that Political Scene has resorted to investigating Smith Hill toilet paper usage.

The investigation was prompted by news that state officials have decided to use the summer break to make upgrades to State House restrooms, just a few years after spending more than $30,000 to renovate the lavatories.

Workers are in the midst of installing dozens of sleek dark toilet-paper dispensers and “hands-free” paper towel dispensers. And they have even upgraded the hand soap, opting for environment-friendly “green cleaners,” according to the state Division of Facilities Management.

The improvements were largely attributed to efforts to improve sanitation, according to Building Supt. Sam DeVincenzo.

The upgrades easily make the cavernous first-floor restrooms in the State House the most beautiful in Rhode Island government, according to Political Scene’s unofficial ranking system.

The floors, walls and even the stalls are marble. Several grand golden light fixtures hang from the high ceilings. Bar-style oak doors cover each stall. And motion-activated faucets produce a gentle stream of clear water that always seems to be the perfect temperature.

The latest upgrades come as the result of a deal with the Foxboro, Mass., company Casey Engineered Maintenance Systems, which has an office in Cranston. The state did not have to pay for the 70 toilet paper dispensers, 50 paper towel dispensers and 60 soap dispensers being installed.

But in exchange for the free hardware, the state entered into a 6-month contract to buy toilet paper, paper towels and the hand soap from Casey, according to Michael Maynard, spokesman for Governor Carcieri. Neither Maynard nor DeVincenzo could estimate the monthly cost. And Maynard did not immediately know if the contract had gone out to bid.

Taxpayers were billed $1,493.26 for the first shipment of supplies, according to an invoice provided by DeVincenzo. That’s $525.12 for 16 cases of paper towels, $525.12 for 14 cases of hand foam, and $440.64 for 12 cases of two-ply toilet paper.

DeVincenzo couldn’t say how long the first shipment would last, but said he pays close attention to ensure the supply doesn’t run out.

Whitehouse views global warming in Greenland

It’s a long way from the Cliff Walk . . .

But the junior senator from Rhode Island is plainly in his element (see photo) as part of a delegation of 10 solons touring Greenland late last month in search of evidence of global warming.

Indeed, such evidence abounded, according to Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and several of his traveling colleagues on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

According to the panel’s news release about the two-day trip, the legislators saw the effects of rising global temperatures on Greenland’s ice sheets and glaciers.

The release quoted Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the committee chairwoman, as saying: “It’s one thing to hear about the Greenland ice sheet; it’s another thing to see it. It’s one thing to read about the impacts of global warming on the native people there; it’s another thing to have them look you in the eye and tell you. After this trip, with nine of my colleagues, and scientists, and experts, I know I have a responsibility to move now to lessen the impacts of severe global warming. We can do it in a way that actually makes us stronger as a nation and that is my goal.”

Senator Whitehouse said, “Greenland is our planet’s distant early-warning system for the effects of climate change. To see firsthand the changes at the ice cap, and to hear firsthand of hunters who can no longer take dog sleds out on the ice because it isn’t there, is a powerful reminder that this system is sending us a warning.”

In the photograph, Whitehouse, right, stands on the edge of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, part of Greenland’s Ilulissat ice fjord, according to a news release from his office. The Ilulissat ice fjord is on Greenland’s west coast and the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier is among the world’s fastest-moving. To the left, with her back to the camera, is Sandra Whitehouse, the senator’s wife, who traveled as part of the official, taxpayer-financed delegation. She is a professional environmental consultant.

Clinton holds fundraiser Sept. 27 in E. Greenwich

Speaking of Whitehouse and powerful women …

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton comes back to Rhode Island on Sept. 27 for a fundraiser for her presidential campaign.

The luncheon event will be held at the East Greenwich home of Democratic Party activists Mark and Susan Weiner. Chairman of the event is lobbyist Gerry Harrington, a top fundraiser for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential effort. Senator Whitehouse and Rep. James R. Langevin are honorary cochairman for the luncheon.

The Weiners are longtime friends of Senator Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.

Ex-Fogarty aide joins Edwards campaign

In the Rhode-Islanders-moving-to-far-flung-lands-for-campaign-jobs department …

Adam W. Bozzi, the spokesman for Charlie Fogarty’s campaign for governor last year, is now the spokesman for the presidential campaign of John Edwards in Nevada.

And Peter I. Asen, former communications director for the advocacy group Ocean State Action, is field director for Michael Brennan, a candidate for a congressional seat in Maine.

Bozzi started his job in Nevada on June 27. He had been working for Bruce Lunsford, a gubernatorial candidate in Kentucky, but Lunsford lost the Democratic primary on May 22.

He said he was attracted by Edwards’ focus on universal health care and raising the minimum wage. He also said Edwards was the first candidate to speak out in favor of increasing the tax rate for certain private equity and hedge fund partnerships that go public, a proposal Congress is considering. “He’s just out in front on a lot of important issues,” Bozzi said. “I think it shows leadership, and I’m impressed by that.”

Bozzi, 28, a graduate of North Providence High School and Syracuse University, has also worked in the office of U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, and briefly for Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

He said he still follows the headlines from his home state: “What could be more interesting than Rhode Island politics?”

The Nevada presidential caucus, scheduled for Jan. 19, is the second in the nation after Iowa.

Asen has longer to prepare for his day of reckoning. The Democratic congressional primary in Maine will be held in June. Asen started his new job in June of this year.

After graduating from Brown University in 2004, Asen stayed in Rhode Island, working as a stringer for the Associated Press and briefly holding a staff position at the Seekonk Star. More recently, he worked for Ocean State Action, served as campaign treasurer for state Rep. David A. Segal, and contributed to the political blog Rhode Island Future.

Asen, 25, grew up in Portland, Maine, and returned there when Brennan, a family friend, announced his run for Congress.

Brennan, one of four Democrats in the race, is former majority leader of the Maine state Senate. Asen said he supports Brennan because of his stances on education, health care and the Iraq war — Brennan sponsored a bill to waive college tuition for former foster children, was one of the leaders in Maine’s Dirigo universal health-care initiative, and founded a group called Legislators for Ending the War.

On a personal note, Asen said his mother and Brennan share the same career field, social work. “The idea of electing a social worker to Congress is really exciting to me,” he said. “I grew up with those kinds of values and that’s part of what shaped my political values.”

Brennan is running for the seat being vacated by Tom Allen, who is running for U.S. Senate. The district stretches along the Maine coast from Kittery to Camden. Asen said he invites visitors, who may find it especially pleasant in the summer: “It’s a very good district for campaign volunteer tourism.”

Party spiffs up its Web site

And speaking of volunteers…

The Rhode Island Democratic Party is depending in part on volunteers to manage its new Web site, launched late last month after a redesign that cost about $4,000, according to the party’s executive director, Tim Grilo.

The site ( www.ridemocrats.org) offers a variety of new material, including a “Democrat of the Week” feature, a Web log dubbed “A Blog Called Hope” that offers a mix of news and opinion on regional politics, and podcasts of people such as state party Chairman William Lynch talking about the latest Democratic causes.

“Nowadays, people are relying on the Internet more and more for their news and information,” Lynch says in the site’s first podcast. “We’re embracing new technology to bring people closer to the Democratic leaders who are working hard to make a difference at every level of government.”

The Dems purchased a podcasting station, which includes a microphone and video equipment hooked up to a laptop to ensure that the site includes regular video messages from party officials. (If Lynch’s first podcast comes off as a bit awkward, it’s because the chairman was reading a script off a clipboard held by party members. They didn’t invest in a teleprompter.)

Grilo said the party wanted to create a more user-friendly Web site that offers useful services to party members. The Web site also serves to coordinate a “rapid response team,” which consists of registered users willing to speak out in the print media or on talk radio after “mistruths” appear in the media, Grilo said.

The site recorded around 1,000 hits the first day, according to Grilo. Since then, the daily hits average nearly 400.

smackay@projo.com

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