Justin Katz
In a way addressing the general economy, Governor Carcieri’s stimulus plan will surely help small businesses to get started and, perhaps more directly, to keep going, and with the bulk of the effort occurring beyond the scope of the government: Overall, the plan is intended to provide more than $200 million in new sources of…
It’s difficult not to suspect something other than a desire for a life change lying behind this: Frank J. Williams, the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, stunned the legal and political community today with his announcement that he is stepping down from the high court. … He plans to continue his Lincoln…
Wherein, I express tiredness with political corruption on the Matt Allen show. Why aren’t other people fed up with the likes of Cicilline? Stream by clicking here, or download it.
I’ve been arguing that change has to come to Rhode Island from the municipality up. If we begin at the local level identifying and placing worthy candidates and generating a grassroots comprehension of the state’s problems, we’ll be positioned to grow upward and begin to crowd out the entrenched interests. Although I haven’t followed the…
The Providence Journal’s front-page lead for the New York Times version of the story that Monique mentioned this morning is precious: Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich is accused of trying to profit from his appointment of Barack Obama’s successor in a scheme that didn’t involve the president-elect. It’s possible I’ve missed such things in the past,…
Perhaps there is reason for hope if Bob Kerr and I are beginning to have similar reactions to policy proposals: Desperate times call for desperate measures. As Rhode Island leaders look for ways to squeeze money from previously untapped sources, the possibilities for creative income growth seem darn near unlimited. Short of a tax on…
Ronn Torossian makes an important point, although I’d argue that his observation is a small part of a much broader issue: There is now an inherent distrust of the “system,” from the White House to local car dealerships. Trust has been broken in all facets of American business, because for far too long, top brands…
Last week, I sent the following unpublished letter to the Sakonnet Times: School Committee Vice Chairman Sally Black gave an impassioned speech at the board’s meeting last Tuesday explaining why she voted unsuccessfully to approve the latest iteration of the teachers’ contract, despite likely cuts in state aid. As sincere as her reasoning may have…
It appears that Kate Brewster is fully back from hiatus, offering the Rhode Island College Poverty Institute response to every new suggestion for changing the state’s oppressive and ill-considered tax structure. Her conclusions all translate into the principle of “take more from them, and give it to my preferred group”: The Poverty Institute, a think…
As East Bay scribe can attest who’s spent a late-night hour or two trimming words and sentences from a letter to make it of acceptable length, the Sakonnet Times has a 500-word limit on missives. Yet, by the time Richard Joslin got around, last week, to challenging Tiverton Citizens for Change (TCC) to “prove they…
