The Current Week 05/21/12 - 05/28/12

Headlines

Tuesday:
Rhode Island Cities and Towns, Where They Are and Where They've Been, Part 1 - Analysis
The Current's long-running review of population and employment data can lead to better understanding of who is being affected by public policy in Rhode Island and how. Part 1 reviews how the cities and towns compare right now.

Wednesday:
Rhode Island Cities and Towns, Where They Are and Where They've Been, Part 2 - Analysis
Part 2 of The Current's long-running review of population and employment data assesses population, employment, and income trends across the cities and towns to develop a sense of how communities are shifting.

Thursday:
Rhode Island Cities and Towns, Where They Are and Where They've Been, Part 3 - Analysis
The final part of this series groups communities by income and population change, finding clear distinctions suggestive of different strategies for moving the state forward.
05/24/12 - House Floor & Judiciary Committee - Liveblog
Justin writes live from the House Floor session and Committee on Judiciary. Woonsocket.  Campaign finance.

Friday:
052412 - House Floor Debate, S2872 Woonsocket Tax Recommit - Video - Video
Video of Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt moving to recommit S2872, an act authorizing a supplemental tax increase in Woonsocket.

Justin's Case

Monday:
State in Decline, Employment in RI Cities and Towns: Westerly - Research
Westerly's unemployment rate is better than RI's, but the reason appears to be the willingness or ability of its residents to drop out of the labor force when they aren't working.
Policing for Profit, from Google to the Little Guy - Opinion
An example of civil asset forfeiture in Northern Massachusetts adds punctuation to Justin's concerns about the local forfeiture windfall taken from Google.

Wednesday:
Putting the EDC in the Wind Farm Business - Analysis
A quasi-public wind farm proposal is still flying below most Rhode islanders' radar and changing shape from month to month, the latest idea being to make it a subsidiary of the EDC.

Thursday:
In (Partial) Defense of the RI Mainstream Media - Opinion
News media too often goes for the flash, but Justin suggests that the impulse begins with the audience.

Friday:
Despite DE Status, RI Will at Least Receive $500 Minimum Tax from 38 Studios - Opinion
Despite legally residing in Delaware, 38 Studios will be subject to Rhode Island's $500 minimum corporate tax.
Table Games: A Big Change for a Sliver of Improvement - Analysis
The state government's negotiated take from proposed casino games at Twin River and Newport Grand would provide a sliver of relief from a swath of loss and may not be worth the shift to full-scale casinos.

Monday:
Memorial Day, 2012: Until the Best of Us - Poem
A Memorial Day reflection in verse.