Quick Read
We’re in divided times and are being pressed to take sides and choose narratives. We’re vulnerable, because such things are very much in our nature, and it can be difficult to have a healthy skepticism of people we perceive as our friends and allies, or to give the benefit of the doubt to the Others.…
The RI Department of Labor and Training’s headline for monthly employment data tells some of the bad story: “Rhode Island-Based Jobs Fell by 2,100 from September; October Unemployment Rate Increases to 5.4 Percent“: Total nonfarm payroll employment in Rhode Island totaled 479,200 in October, reflecting a loss of 2,100 jobs from the revised September job…
Problems with Rhode Island’s health care industry indicate an across-the-board failure of government management. Remember when they shut down our economy to avoid overwhelming our medical infrastructure? Well, that move — and all that came after it — may be resulting in a much more intractable, longer-term failure. Want to count the ways? One. Staff at…
At the risk of expressing a forbidden opinion, this is not a healthy perspective: Even if Indigenous people spend Thanksgiving with family and festivities, [Tomaquag Museum executive director Lorén Spears] said, “They still know that this isn’t always a happy time for us because it reminds us of all the trauma and loss that our…
If history repeated with a twist, would you notice? I’ve wondered that often, over the years, and have marveled how difficult it seems for people to spot trends and recognize analogies. A recent example came courtesy of Paul Dion when he commented, “Absolutely disgusting,” while sharing a tweet by “they/them” California techy Chad Loder: In…
With that question, I mean Woonsocket as representative of municipal governments generally. The city is in the midst of the process of figuring out how to spend the $36 million dollars the federal government will send its way as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). You’ll recall that the purpose of the act…
Something is going on over there, and in addition to providing a red flag for Coventry, it illustrates a problem of catastrophic import that we all should investigate. The details, as Sam LaFrance reports them for WLNE, appear to be as follows: While in the hallway between classes on Monday, a male student at Coventry…
Putting aside the insinuation of bad faith on the part of people with whom she disagrees, Providence English teacher Valrie Ranglin-Brown — sister of Rhode Island Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (D, Providence) — makes a point well worth considering: The John Hopkins Report on Providence Schools is truly not reflective of our schools. Its goal was…
Stalwart taxpayer advocate Rob Cote of Warwick has issued an open letter to the mayor of that city, Frank Picozzi: Dear Mayor, To keep you informed on the continuing Warwick Fire Department theft scandal. On Tuesday morning 11/16/21 at 9 am, former council president Steve Merolla will take a plea deal with the RI Ethics…
The state is leveraging peer pressure behind parents’ backs to push under-12-year-olds’ vaccination.
Parents, don’t be surprised if you’re ambushed with enthusiasm for vaccination during the car ride home after picking up your child from a school hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children from five to 11 years old. The Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) is handing out toys — fidget spinners, to be exact —…