2017 -- S 0017

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING JOE BAKER ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE

NEWPORT DAILY NEWS

     Introduced By: Senators Paiva Weed, DiPalma, Ruggerio, Goodwin, and Felag

     Date Introduced: January 18, 2017

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, Joe Baker has retired after thirty-three years of informing and educating the

people of Rhode Island on a panoply of journalistic topics; and

     WHEREAS, As a young man who took his time finding his true career calling, once Joe

Baker joined the news staff of The Newport Daily News and put down roots on Aquidneck

Island, he knew he had found his forever-home; and

     WHEREAS, After graduating from Pilgrim High School in 1967, Joe attended a small

broadcasting school with the intention of becoming a radio sports announcer, but the Vietnam

War changed his course with a four-year tour in the Navy; and

     WHEREAS, Upon his discharge from the military, Joe spent a few years with no "clear-

cut ambition" but with a gusto for just enjoying life. After a few years as a roofer and a brief stint

at then-Johnston & Wales College, he enrolled at then-Rhode Island Junior College, transferred to

the University of Rhode Island to study journalism, and graduated in 1979; and

     WHEREAS, While attending URI, Joe had begun to shoot some sports' team pictures

which eventually led to meeting the sports editor for the Warwick Beacon, which resulted in his

being hired by the paper full-time as an assistant sports editor and city hall reporter after he

graduated; and

     WHEREAS, During his years with the Beacon, Joe discovered that covering politics, not

sports, was his Nirvana. In 1984, he joined the staff of The Newport Daily News as a general

reporter covering everything from schools to criminal trials to the Navy. In 1989, he began to

cover the State House and General Assembly where he soon became an ever-present fixture in the

chambers, committee rooms and hallways from January through June; and

     WHEREAS, People's descriptions of Joe Baker are as wide-ranging as his resume and as

varied as his multitude of passions and interests, but they all have a common theme, Joe Baker is

widely-respected, thorough and consistently fair-minded. He has been described as a man with "a

heart of gold" who would help anyone, a tenacious and reliable reporter, and "a small man who

packs a vocal punch"; and

     WHEREAS, During his tenure at the State House, Joe Baker covered some of the most

critical moments in Rhode Island history, the investigation of Joseph Bevilacqua, reform of the

state welfare system, and educational reforms. Among the special series he crafted over the years

were packages on special education and the 30th anniversary of the 1973 pullout of the Naval

fleet from Newport. He earned a reputation as both factual and fair, covering statewide news with

a local flair; and

     WHEREAS, For the past 33 years, Joe Baker has earned the gratitude of the citizens of

Aquidneck Island and the respect of the many legislators who have served in the General

Assembly. He will now turn the page on a new chapter of his life, with some much deserved time

to read, listen to music, play golf, and enjoy life with his wife Patricia at their scenic home

overlooking Island Park; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby congratulates Joe Baker on the occasion of his retirement from The Newport Daily News.

We moreover commend and thank him on behalf of all Rhode Islanders for his eloquent and

informative journalism and wish him the very best health, happiness and enjoyment in all his

future endeavors; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Mr. Joe Baker.

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