EDITORIAL: Tale of Two Weekends: Alviti on the Bay and the Carmona Family Surrounded by Contaminants

EDITORIAL: Tale of Two Weekends: Alviti on the Bay and the Carmona Family Surrounded by Contaminants

For Peter Alviti, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, he knows how to live on the weekend.

Life is good. Alviti is paid over $150,000 a year by taxpayers, receives a top-tier healthcare plan, has the use of a state vehicle, and is on track to be eligible for a lucrative state pension.

He also enjoys life on a beautiful boat named “Il Bacio." Translated from Italian, it means The Kiss.

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The boat -- or it may be large enough to be considered a yacht -- is moored in picturesque East Greenwich Bay.

For Aliviti — life is good.

 

In contrast, the Carmona family, who has lived in a home in Providence for 20 years, has had the unfortunate fate of living near a vacant lot owned by the state of Rhode Island. 

In that lot, RIDOT’s contractor has piled contaminated soil up next to their home. The pile is as high as 20 feet.  The Carmona family cannot enjoy their yard, their car is covered with the caked-on material. Their beloved grape plants have been destroyed. 

Their grandchildren cannot play outside. The health impact is unknown.

When the state finally tested the soil and determined that it was contaminated no one from the contractor, RIDOT or RIDEM notified the Carmonas of the finding of the testing.

The future value of their home and their own health are unknown.

For the Carmona family — life is cruel.