Federal Grant – Jim Langevin

GoLocalProv: RIDOT to Expand Pell Bridge Project Following $20 Million Grant

SOURCE: GoLocalProv News Team

The RIDOT has announced that they are expanding the Pell Bridge ramp project following a $20 million grant secured by Senator Jack Reed.

“We thank Senator Reed and the entire Rhode Island Congressional delegation [including Congressman Jim Langevin], U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and U.S. DOT for their efforts in providing additional funds for this project. It will allow us to do more work, and do it faster, and provide an improved roadway network for both Newport’s North End gateway and Pell Bridge gateway,” said RIDOT Director Peter Alviti Jr.

Governor Gina Raimondo added, “This federal grant will make a big impact on our efforts to increase the safety and efficiency of the Pell Bridge while opening up land for development. By reconfiguring the Pell ramps, we are creating space for new investment in science, technology, and innovation.”

Pell Bridge Project

The Pell Bridge Ramps Project will reconfigure the Pell Bridge ramps to provide quicker access to Newport town center and to relieve traffic backups on the bridge.

It also proposes a complete removal of the viaduct infrastructure over Admiral Kalbfus Road which will free up significant acreage of land for economic development in Newport.

With the new funds, the RIDOT is able to include a reconstruction of segments of J.T. Connell Highway in Newport and Coddington Highway in Newport and Middletown, which together serve as one of the main thoroughfares through Newport’s North End, and gateway to downtown Newport and the Naval Station Newport.

The total project area is approximately 50 acres, much of which is located in the Newport Resilience Innovation District.

The entire project is estimated to cost $66.1 million.

URI Today: Kingston Fire District, federal, state, URI officials celebrate $204,000 in grants

SOURCE: URI Today

KINGSTON, R.I. — The Kingston Fire District is bolstering its efforts to attract more University of Rhode Island students to its ranks and provide new firefighters with protective pants and coats thanks to $204,100 in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The district, which operates the Kingston Volunteer Fire Department, celebrated the grant awards recently with U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, Congressman Jim Langevin, FEMA officials, various state elected officials, fire district and department leaders and URI administrators. The University is in the Kingston Fire Department’s jurisdiction and works closely with district officials to ensure that the department has the critical equipment necessary to protect the Kingston Campus’ 1,200 acres and 222 buildings.

Last year, the district was awarded a four-year, $168,100 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant to attract more University students to the volunteer force. The first year of the grant resulted in an increase from two to six recruits. The grant provides up to $5,000 a year per firefighter for tuition and other educational expenses reimbursement. Students who become members of the fire department are also provided a room at the firehouse at no cost.

Ina Sciabarrasi, vice president of the Kingston Fire Department Board of Wardens and Chief Nate Barrington present a plaque to J. Vernon Wyman, URI assistant vice president for business services for his decades of work with the department to ensure that it is well equipped. The department presented the award as Wyman prepares to retire from the University after 40 years of service. URI photo by Randy Osga.

The newest funding, from a $36,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant, will enable the district to purchase turnout gear, coats and pants with thermal protection for new firefighters. The protective coats and hats are among the most expensive pieces of equipment for an individual firefighter. The grant amount includes a $2,000 match from the district.

Reed thanked Kingston Fire Chief Nate Barrington, the Kingston Fire District, and all of its members and their supportive families. “Protecting the community, fighting fires, doing what they do, is not only about great individual firefighters but also their families,” Reed said.

He thanked the Kingston Fire District Board of Wardens, FEMA and URI representatives for their critical roles in helping the Kingston Fire Department stay equipped with cutting edge apparatus and gear. At the event, he praised Dave Parr, a regional fire program specialist for FEMA and Lance Harbour, regional fire program specialist, for their hard work in helping fire departments across Rhode Island secure grants for equipment and training.

While addressing the grant for the turnout gear, Reed said, “The chief will tell you how critical specialized gear is. You cannot send firefighters into a hazardous condition without this gear. You have to have it, but it’s very expensive.”

“Again, let me commend the department, because these are competitive grants. This department has done especially well under Chief Barrington,” Reed said.

He said all of Rhode Island has benefited strongly from the FEMA program, and that “during its 16 years, our departments in Rhode Island have received almost $90 million.”

Langevin said he was especially proud to be with the firefighters who do the job day in and day out. “This is very dangerous work. Jack had it right when he said we all go home at night and rest easy, knowing that there are first responders who when the call comes, they are going to be there to answer it. Thank you for that.”

[Langevin] said the grants will go a long way to keeping the URI community safe. “The equipment you see behind me is absolutely vital for the firefighters safety and effectiveness.”

“This was a great celebration for the district, our wardens and firefighters, and our partners from Congress, the University, FEMA, state government and our families and friends,” Barrington said. “We are grateful to everyone who participated in the event for their commitment to keeping the Kingston Fire Department a top-flight emergency responder. Knowing that so many people support our mission boosts the morale of our firefighters, and it reminds them of our connections to the community. Thank you to everyone.”

The speaking program ended with the presentation of a plaque from the fire district to J. Vernon Wyman, assistant vice president for business services at URI, who is retiring after 40 years of service to the University. Over the decades, he has worked closely with the fire district to help it secure funding for essential equipment.

WPRI: Ground broken on Pawtucket-Central Falls commuter rail, bus hub

By Bill Tomison

PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — With the heft of shovels, Rhode Island leaders launched a transit center project Friday afternoon kicking around Pawtucket and Central Falls for years: a new commuter rail station that will incorporate the state’s public bus service.

The hub project is part of the RhodeWorks bridges and transportation infrastructure improvement initiative. Joining Gov. Gina Raimondo for the groundbreaking were the state’s congressional delegation; Sen. Jack Reed, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rep. Jim Langevin and Rep. David Cicilline all played roles in securing funding for the project.

On Pine Street at Goff Avenue, the new transit center will be situated in a wedge-shaped lot next to a neighborhood of industrial mill buildings – several redeveloped, or being redeveloped, into loft apartments and more – all part of the Conant Thread District straddling the two cities, which itself has lofty goals for development.

When the transit center’s commuter rail connection is finished, it’ll allow riders to connect to Providence, T.F. Green Airport’s InterLink, and Wickford Junction stations on the MBTA’s intercity rail system, as well as Boston and South Attleboro, and all the Massachusetts cities in between.

It’ll take over from Pawtucket’s current bus interchange on Roosevelt Avenue. The center will include an overpass over the train tracks, elevators, ramps and stairs. Early estimates figure 520 people will board transit at the hub each day.

The price tag for the project is $47 million, funded by federal grants known as TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery – now known as BUILD) grants, funding from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), as well as grants from the state and city.

The actual construction work starts immediately, according to RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin, and the bulk of it will take about three years all told. The bus aspects are set to be completed by the end of 2020; train, late 2021, but train service won’t be expected to start until summer 2022 due to safety testing. Most of the work will be done during overnight hours, when Amtrak trains won’t be running on the rails that workers will have to build over and alongside.

PBN: URI receives $746K for aquaculture worker training

By Chris Bergenheim

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. – The University of Rhode Island received $745,815 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for its Rhode Island Sea Grant program, the R.I congressional delegation [including Rep. Jim Langevin] announced Thursday evening.

The funds will be used to strengthen training programs for entry-level aquaculture workers in Rhode Island and support the development of an online training curriculum that could be deployed nationally.

The in-person training will include initiatives to improve aquaculture worker safety, promote critical skills and boost employee recruitment and retention.

The URI Rhode Island Sea Grant Extension supports the commercial fishing and aquaculture industries by providing scientific and research-based data to public- and private-sector entities.

The grant will also support a pilot program to train both in-person and online instructors in select states.

“Year after year, Rhode Island’s aquaculture industry continues to grow, producing jobs as well as high-value seafood that’s enjoyed up and down the East Coast. This new federal grant will expand job-training opportunities and help Rhode Island continue to cultivate homegrown businesses,” Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement.

The state’s 73 shellfish farms sold more than 8.4 million oysters in 2017, accounting for the bulk of Rhode Island’s aquaculture exports, according to the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. Aquaculture farms in the state also grow clams, scallops and mussels.

NK Standard Times: RI receives funding to battle opioid epidemic

By Alex Trubia

WASHINGTON, D.C .– On Tuesday, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline, and Governor Gina Raimondo announced $12.6 million in federal funding for Rhode Island’s battle against the opioid epidemic.

Rhode Island’s share from a grant program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) rose from $2.1 million last year to $12.6 million as a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, also known as the Omnibus Appropriations law.

All four members of the delegation voted for the Omnibus, which included a $3.3 billion boost this year for opioid funding, with $142 million set aside specifically for states with the highest mortality rates from overdoses.

“This boost in federal funds will help those on the frontlines prevent drug abuse and treat addiction,” said Reed. “This is a smart investment in the health and well-being of people and our communities.”

Whitehouse, who is also the author of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, legislation guiding the federal response to the opioid epidemic that was signed into law in 2016, said Rhode Islanders have been “fighting courageously against opioid addiction” and have “made real gains.”

“To protect those gains, and to honor the people walking the long, noble road of recovery, we need to fund efforts that work,” Whitehouse added. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in the delegation to support this funding and the work of everyone on the front lines of this crisis in Rhode Island.”

According to the Rhode Island Department of Health, there were 323 accidental drug overdose deaths in Rhode Island last year, down from 336 in 2016–a year in which, as per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rhode Island had the ninth highest drug overdose death rate of any state in the nation.

Langevin said he was also proud to fight alongside the rest of the state’s delegation for “this substantial funding increase and help deliver necessary resources to combat the opioid overdose epidemic in Rhode Island.”

“This public health crisis requires a comprehensive approach, and I remain dedicated to supporting these critical efforts at the federal level,” he added.

The funding is part of a $930 million round of grants nationwide that was first authorized by Congress in 2016 in the 21st Century Cures Act, which allocated $1 billion in funding for states to prevent and treat addiction.

Cicilline said it’s this type of federal funding that will “help save lives here in Rhode Island by providing resources to programs fighting this epidemic.”

“Rhode Island has been hit particularly hard by the opioid crisis and so many Rhode Island families have been devastated as a result,” he said. “The magnitude of this public health crisis requires a comprehensive national strategy and significant federal resources to finally end this epidemic.”

And Raimondo said the opioid overdose epidemic is “the biggest public health crisis facing Rhode Island today,” which is why the delegation has “launched an aggressive effort to combat it with every tool at our disposal.”

“This funding will be absolutely critical as we continue to fight to save lives,” the governor said. “Rhode Island is fortunate to have outspoken advocates in our congressional delegation, and I thank each of them for their steadfast commitment to fighting this crisis.”

The grant will go to Rhode Island’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) to help prevention efforts, expand treatment capacity for medication assisted treatment as well as residential treatment for individuals and families, launch mobile treatment and induction services to reach under-served areas, increase availability of recovery support services and recovery housing, create a statewide pre-arrest diversion program and purchase lifesaving Naloxone.

Warwick Post: Congressional Delegation Wins $633K for new WFD Rescue

By Rob Borkowski

WARWICK, RI — Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation announced the Warwick Fire Department will receive a $633,789 grant for a new rescue truck, part of $1,113,758 in federal funding awarded to the city, Little Compton, North Kingstown, and Woonsocket.

On Thursday, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced the grants for Warwick’s new truck and to help North Kingstown, Little Compton, and Woonsocket fire departments upgrade essential equipment.

The federal funds were awarded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program, according to an announcement from Sen. Jack Reed’s office. AFG grants are designed to supply critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other resources necessary to protect local communities. Rhode Island’s Congressional delegation helped include a total of $350 million for AFG firefighter equipment grants in the 2018 Omnibus Appropriations law.

The WFD will purchase a new, tandem-axle heavy duty rescue vehicle that will replace a dated, 26-year-old medium duty model that responded to over 1,600 incidents in 2016 alone. The new heavy duty vehicle will help firefighters with extrications, large vehicle stabilization, Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical response, surface and shoreline water rescue, rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue and structural firefighting.

The North Kingstown Fire Department will use its $268,605 grant to replace its outdated Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) currently in use by firefighters. The purchase includes new SCBA units, SCBA bottles, and face pieces. The equipment will be used by firefighters during emergency response situations to ensure safe breathing amid fires and other situations involving toxic air quality.

The Little Compton Fire Department is receiving a regional $211,364 grant alongside the Woonsocket Fire Department to purchase new power cots, which are battery operated stretchers capable of lifting very heavy patients, incorporated with a hydraulic lift system that loads/unloads the power cot from the ambulance. The goal of the purchase is to reduce injuries to the department’s firefighter/EMTs, increase the safety of patients by decreasing cot drop incidents, and enhance the department’s operability throughout the region.

“It is critical that our firefighters possess quality tools that are suitable to meet the grueling demands of their profession,” said Langevin, a senior member of the Committee on Homeland Security, which oversees the AFG program. “These highly competitive federal grants will help protect the health and safety of our first responders and the communities they serve.”

“I am very grateful to Senators Reed and Whitehouse and Congressman Langevin for their hard work to secure us the funding for this very necessary apparatus,” said Warwick Mayor Joseph J. Solomon. “The safety and well-being of all who live and work in our community and who travel through Warwick each year is of paramount importance to me and our public safety officials. This heavy-duty rescue vehicle will further ensure that we are able to respond to any crisis quickly and effectively. We are very fortunate to have a Congressional delegation that advocates so strongly for Rhode Island’s emergency responders and work tirelessly for our communities. I look forward to their continued support in the future for similar efforts to assure the ongoing safety of T.F. Green International Airport’s travelers and our community overall. ”

“Our emergency responders deserve access to the best equipment possible so they can do their jobs safely and effectively. This funding will not only benefit our firefighters, but all Rhode Islanders,” said Cicilline.

“These federal funds will help enhance public safety, improve emergency response capabilities, and provide our firefighters with the resources and equipment they need,” said Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee that oversees FEMA funding. “I am grateful to our firefighters for the life-saving work they do and I will continue working hard at the federal level to support them and help them get the job done safely and effectively.”

“These grants will help equip our first responders with cutting-edge gear to do their job safely and effectively,” said Whitehouse. “We’re grateful for everything they do to keep our communities safe.”

NewportRI.com: Newport to receive $24,500 to support fireboat

By NewportRI.com

NEWPORT, R.I. — The Fire Department will receive $24,500 for equipment, supplies and training for the catamaran fireboat it acquired in April with an earlier port security grant, according to a press release issued on Tuesday afternoon by U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, and U.S. Reps. David Cicilline and Jim Langevin.

Also announced was a $284,625 grant for the Bristol Fire Department to purchase a similar boat. The funds were distributed from the Port Security Grant Program, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Newport’s boat is named after former Fire Chief William H. Connerton Jr.

“The Port Security Grant will help us complete the outfitting of our new fire rescue boat,” Newport Fire Chief Brian Dugan said in the press release. “The grant will not only provide medical supplies and firefighting equipment, but will also supply our operators with foul weather gear and other safety equipment. In addition, the department will be able to purchase specialty equipment and supplies, such as oil boom and tackle, in order to address potential oil spills in the harbor and bay. I wish to thank captain Donald Gunning for developing the grant proposal, and thank Senator Reed and his staff for all their support in securing the grant.”

Since 2014, fire departments and other entities in Rhode Island have received nearly $1.75 million in Port Security grants.