Quick Read

Air Force One

Biden’s Rhode Island landing was a subtle reminder of something that’s off, here.

By Justin Katz | May 17, 2021 |

The local media was all atwitter, last week, over the expectation that Air Force One was going to land at Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport.  “Rhode Island is becoming a hot spot for White House dignitaries” proclaimed Ted Nesi on WPRI. But despite the various tweets of “I just heard the plane!,” Joe Biden was…

Diana Lozowski on Rhody Reporter

Status Quo is “a polite Latin term which means ‘kids with a Providence high school diploma can’t read, write, or cipher numbers’.”

By Justin Katz | May 17, 2021 |

Diana Lozowski breaks down the causes of Providence schools’ lamentable performance, on the latest Rhody Reporter.  At the end of the day, she puts the blame on all of us who have allowed this to happen by the way we vote.

Providence students disembark for school

A play for more money in RI education distracts from the real problems.

By Justin Katz | May 17, 2021 |

As, essentially, the chief lobbyist for Rhode Island’s school committees, Timothy Duffy has an obvious angle he’ll take on behalf of his members.  In a recent op-ed in the Providence Journal, for example, he calls for Rhode Islanders to amend our state constitution to make “equal education” a constitutional right.  Readers can get a sense of…

Tiara Mack talks with John DePetro

John DePetro’s interview with Sen. Tiara Mack on Providence violence should be a media example.

By Justin Katz | May 17, 2021 |

DePetro caught up with Mack on the streets of Providence while covering the recent spate of shootings there, and it’s a must-watch five minutes.  DePetro was respectful, but really pressed Mack on her beliefs about what’s going on in Providence and the effects of her own public statements. In a nutshell, to Tiara Mack, violence…

Corey Jones LEOBoR tweet

The BLM policy advisor to Governor Dan McKee makes $58,119.

By Justin Katz | May 14, 2021 |

After John DePetro highlighted the tweet shown as the featured image to this post by Corey Jones, the former executive director of BLM New England PAC, I thought I’d check him out on the state’s payroll tool.  To preserve the text, here’s what Corey Jones tweeted: The efforts to amend the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill…

Mike Stenhouse and Gayle Corrigan on In the Dugout

Gayle Corrigan explains the roots of the Warwick firefighter overtime scandal.

By Justin Katz | May 14, 2021 |

She was the first guest on Mike Stenhouse’s In the Dugout show, yesterday, followed by Andrew Bostom on RI Department of Health, saying that the data suggests Rhode Island should be wide open, right now. As a little bit of an editorial comment, having spent a few days looking at vaccine data, I do wonder if…

A drowning person's hand

How are businesses supposed to adjust to 6-8% increased labor costs every year for four years?

By Justin Katz | May 14, 2021 |

That’s not a question addressed by anybody whom Edward Fitzpatrick quotes in his Boston Globe article on the march of a $15 minimum wage bill in the General Assembly.  Although, Working Families Party director Georgia Hollister Isman does say that “small businesses should feel good that people will have money in their pockets.” Here are the…

John Edwards and Warwick Fire Department

Rep. Edwards did real harm to Rhode Island municipalities and wants to walk away from responsibility.

By Justin Katz | May 14, 2021 |

When Rhode Islanders hear about some government abuse or other — like firefighters alternating time off so that they are always paid overtime when they actually work, thus earning multiple times their salaries even if they only work a standard week — they shake their heads and marvel that things go so badly around here. …

A floor chart spanning the floor and walls

Unelected boards provide an opportunity to teachable moment for honest progressives.

By Justin Katz | May 13, 2021 |

For a moment of cross-ideological sympathy, I was ecstatic to see progressive journalist Steve Ahlquist publish an essay with the title, “How does the public hold unelected boards, councils, commissions and departments accountable?,” a couple months ago on Uprise RI: From a political point of view, these unelected boards are a great insulator from the…

Mike Stenhouse and Ken Block

There’s a direct connection between unreasonable costs for government and unreasonable taxation.

By Justin Katz | May 13, 2021 |

On his In the Dugout show, yesterday, Mike Stenhouse implicitly made that connection.  On the one hand, Ken Block was on the show to talk about firefighter overtime abuse in Warwick, while on the other hand, pollster Jim Eltringham addressed public opinion on a proposed Transportation & Climate Initiative gas tax.  Stenhouse also leveraged his baseball connections…