In Depth
On Monday, WPRI released a detailed expose about how, as Scituate’s pension fund was becoming progressively more underfunded, the Scituate Pension Board, from the middle of 1999 and July 2011, met on exactly one occasion. The WPRI story is all original work, well and thoroughly done. It includes, by the way, an aborted, so-called “ambush”…
Interesting things happen when news producers order wall-to-wall coverage of a storm set to arrive in a day or two and visibility of anything but snow moves toward zero. Over the last twelve hours, two such things came flashing out of the blizzard of pre-blizzard forecasting and caught in my eye via email. The first…
It was very tempting, indeed, to title this post: “Seriously, are certain Central Falls officials anticipating a commission from the Receiver’s legal fees?” Presumably, the answer is, no, they are not. However, as the “stand-off” between state officials and certain C.F. council members now moves, ludicrously, to mediation, an observer can be forgiven for wondering…
Taxing sweet drinks; collectively bargained legislation; equal pay for unequal merit; Projo promotes the economy; civil rights from heroism to handouts. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
This month, The American Spectator magazine introduces its readers to Rhode Island’s Independent Governor Lincoln Chafee through a profile by Ethan Epstein in its “Eminentoes”section. The gist of the piece is that Chafee comes from an old-money political dynasty and views political party more as part of a heritage that he, by rights, ought to…
Local Impact: East Providence, Foster, Johnston, Middletown 2 Inobvious Priorities: H5162 adds “city and/or town owned manhole covers and bridge placards” to a list of items that precious metals dealers are required to hold for fourteen days before doing whatever they’re planning to do with them next. (H Judiciary; Tue, Feb 5) 14. H5165: Allows…
On January 22, by a vote of two to two with four others abstaining (that’s right, four abstentions due to possible conflicts of interest), the Chariho School Committee failed to implement a policy of non-seniority based layoffs for the Chariho school system. Late yesterday afternoon, possibly in response to this uncourageous vote by the Chariho…
On Wednesday, GoLocalProv published an article that included a round-up of responses on the issue of whether illegal immigration is a problem in RI. One of the people that they spoke to was Rep Grace Diaz (D-Providence). “I don’t think it’s a big issue to put a lot of energy to,” she said. “For regular…
Walter Russell Mead, on the relationship between American politics and American society…Does the American middle class (and by extension, the middle class in other advanced democracies) have a future in a post-blue world? That is the basic question at the heart of American politics;. As I’ve noted, 4.0 liberals think that it doesn’t, and think…
Even if you’ve disagreed with everything I’ve ever written, take a moment to ponder the thinking on display in this Kathy Gregg article. It’s about a study from the left-wing Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy finding that Rhode Island places a high tax burden on lower-income families. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…