Justin Katz

Surveillance cameras on a pole

Providence’s mugging visitors is a dumb (but typical) thing to do.

By Justin Katz | February 7, 2023 |

Although the bit has probably been recycled many times, the easiest version to find is a scene from L.A. Story, with Steve Martin.  A street ATM has two lines:  On the right are people waiting to take out cash; on the left are people waiting for their turn to mug them.  As Martin walks away with his…

A broken window

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Credibility in Government

By Justin Katz | February 6, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz talk the Rhode Island politics of the day.

Crazy Eggs

Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Crazy Activists in Schools and the State House

By Justin Katz | February 5, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the madness permeating our state.

A water drop and ripples

Journalists face a real risk to digging into Antifa.

By Justin Katz | January 30, 2023 |

Andy Ngo continues to do the work mainstream journalists won’t digging into the ranks of Antifa: They present themselves as rebels against the system, fighting to preserve a piece of local woodland. Yet many of the terrorist suspects arrested and charged over occupying government property and the violent attack in downtown Atlanta on Saturday are…

A message in a bottle at the beach

Rhode Island Republicans need a new policy strategy.

By Justin Katz | January 30, 2023 |

Two stories in the news recently have been nagging at me in combination over the past week.  The first is the Republican response to Democrat Governor Dan McKee’s State of the State address, as delivered by Senate Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz.  Here’s the part that resonates particularly oddly: Where McKee called for cutting…

A behind the back cash bribe

Rhode Island’s privileged class may begin getting more than half off its property taxes.

By Justin Katz | January 27, 2023 |

Once upon a time, the common wisdom was that government work couldn’t compete with the private sector for pay but made up for it in benefits and job security.  Whether that was ever true, I don’t know, but it has long been the case that government workers in Rhode Island get the best of all…

Liquid pouring into an invisible glass

Politics This Week with John DePetro: The Defining Problem (and Opportunity) of RI

By Justin Katz | January 25, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz find evidence of the missing ingredient in RI politics everywhere.

A hooded man in shadows

Goyette is a problem for mainstream Democrats.

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2023 |

Or rather, he would be if anybody were reporting on the story.  As Republican state representative Brian Newberry noted a week ago on Twitter, Jordan Goyette’s story is not one that anybody in Rhode Island’s mainstream is keen to cover: If you picture the news media as a filtering machine, Goyette falls easily through one…

Edwin Lord Mills A Royal Procession

Politics This Week with John DePetro: When Czars and Chiefs Become Politicians

By Justin Katz | January 16, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the dislodged line between politics and administration in Rhode Island government.

A teacher reads to children

Maybe we should try for a more-empathetic political atmosphere.

By Justin Katz | January 13, 2023 |

Somewhere or other in my social media flow, I recently came across the outrage of a moment, wherein a director of communications for a school district jumped in to halt a Dr. Seuss reading that had prompted discussion of America’s racial past: The assistant director of communications for Olentangy Local School District abruptly stopped the…