The Carmona Family: 20 Who Made a Difference in 2020

The Carmona Family: 20 Who Made a Difference in 2020

They didn’t set out to make a difference. They simply wanted to live their lives in peace — and health.

The Carmona family has lived on their one-block street for twenty years — and they just so happen to be located adjacent to the staging area for the state for the $410 million Rhode Island Department of Transportation 6/10 Reconstruction Project. 

The family says they have suffered from the project that was loud, dirty and they worried about the impact of the soil constantly blowing onto their property.  The family says the construction site has been far more than a nuisance. They say it has done damage to their home and their lives.

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When they told they state they needed to have their pregnant daughter live elsewhere due to concerns for her well-being — the state tried to get them to sign an ironclad agreement — for $12,600, that was subject to taxes — that would prohibit the Carmonas from taking any further legal action against the state, the contractor, or dozens of connected entities. Ever. 

Luckily for the Carmonas, they were advised by friends not to agree to the state’s terms — and this is before a whistleblower, and GoLocal investigation, uncovered that the soil piled two stories high next to their house was contaminated. 

The state didn’t even tell them. 

The Carmonas have lawyers now, and the state is the subject of local and federal investigations. 

It might be David vs. Goliath, but the state can no longer ignore -- or try to buy off -- the welfare of its residents, ever again.