Justin Katz

A family walks through a deteriorating morgue

Politics This Week: The Constant Stench of Corruption

By Justin Katz | November 4, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz highlight the constant sense of political corruption in Rhode Island.

A water drop and ripples

We’re being governed by a deliberately toxic and wasteful bureaucracy.

By Justin Katz | November 4, 2024 |

I’ve fallen way behind, so this tweet from Ken Block is a couple months old, but its content is (unfortunately) timeless in Rhode Island: The picture being painted for me by over ten current and former DOT employees is a toxically managed organization where who you know is far more important than how you do…

Hasbro's haunted headquarters

Politics This Week: Where Rhode Island Used to Be

By Justin Katz | October 30, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz review signs of things going wrong in the Ocean State.

Villains sitting on a platform with the ladder up sawed off.

Politics This Week: Nothing a Little Genuine Competition Couldn’t Fix

By Justin Katz | October 21, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz follow local stories’ thread of RI’s obvious need for political competition.

A water drop and ripples

Federal government data simply can no longer be taken at face value.

By Justin Katz | October 16, 2024 |

I realized this when watching Democrats’ repeated proclamations about jobs numbers during the Obama years only to see those numbers quietly revised the following month, almost always with the revision making touted jobs disappear, rather than quiet corrections representing improvements. Now, it seems crime data has the same partisan infection.  All year, we’ve been hearing…

A heavy man races casually without competition

Politics This Week: Corruption Without Competition

By Justin Katz | October 15, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss ways in which corruption thrives without competitive elections.

A bored RI governor waits for the work day to end

Politics This Week: When “Public Service” Is the Day Job

By Justin Katz | October 7, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz wonder where the will for public service has gone.

A water drop and ripples

A belated word on Russia-funded conservative commentators.

By Justin Katz | October 1, 2024 |

The news cycle flows by so quickly, lately, that political actors and activists are learning it’s sometimes best to just keep your head down and let the controversy of the day join the rest of the noise tomorrow.  Nonetheless, I think there’s something worth noting in the now-passed story about Russia funding some conservative commentators.…

Tow truck driver in a suit sleeps at the wheel by the side of the road

Politics This Week: Leadership Asleep at the Wheel

By Justin Katz | September 30, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz review some of the ways in which Rhode Island’s priorities are out of whack.

A water drop and ripples

Are you feeling the wobble in RI’s medical infrastructure?

By Justin Katz | September 24, 2024 |

I find it ominous that one of my children’s dentist just cancelled an appointment for tomorrow due to short staffing. RI’s medical infrastructure feels a bit like we could get the equivalent of an emergency Washington Bridge closure at any time.  Or maybe we’ve been getting them, but the people who run the state are…