Justin Katz
There’s surely an explanation for this that would have merit in less strapped times, but as far as I can see, it’s difficult to justify given current circumstances: Steve Kass, a former radio talk-show host and governor’s director of communications, is now the spokesman for the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. At $126,541, Kass will…
Well, the memo’s gone out. The You Tube videos are in production. The party line: McCain’s got a temper! Watch the video over on RIFuture. Watch as the Senator rips a chair right out of the floor of the bus like Sam Kinison and pins the reporter’s note-taking hand in the overhead storage compartment. Actually,…
There may be a bit of the old chicken and egg between the push for renewable energy and the Rhode Island government’s lust for power. Whatever the case, when one sees Senate President Joseph Montalbano’s name attached to a legislative initiative claiming to “spur economic development” by “sparking” environmentally friendly energy development, a game of…
Unsurprisingly, many invested in the current education system object to proposals to tie graduation to discrete, measurable testing requirements: Dozens of speakers last night said they were worried about a provision that would make the English and math scores of statewide standardized tests students take at the start of 11th grade count toward one-third of…
Of course, it’s always more pleasant to have surpluses, rather than use them, which is a question that the Newport school department is facing: Last week, Supt. John Ambrogi proposed hiking school spending 2.12 percent next year to $38.5 million. But the budget would require the city to increase its education appropriation by 5 percent,…
And another columnist turns her attention to the odd disconnectedness of Rhode Island budgetary practices, this time Lifebeat-section writer Rita Lussier: Not that I had time for any of this. I didn’t and I don’t. But I decided to carve out an hour or so to try to learn something while I stood there at…
In her post this afternoon, Monique didn’t quote my favorite unionist quotations in that article about the governor’s proposal to require presigning public hearings on public contracts (emphasis added): “I’m halfway decent at reading tea leaves and I’m pretty clear that this budget article is about putting pressure on public officials not to give decent,…
I have to admit to being a bit confused by David’s comments to my post about Rhode Island’s lost jobs. I pointed out that Rhode Island hadn’t gained jobs, as expected, over the last year, but lost them, including in the construction industry. With a slate of laws in mind that would attract low-end and…
Reading about Iran Dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Iraq makes me wonder for whom he’s routing in the American election, this year: In tone and body language, Ahmadinejad’s message during his visit was clear. The United States does not belong in Iraq; Iran does. Iran can and will help in the reconstruction of Iraq, a…
There go those fascist terrorists again: Three seven-figure dream homes went up in flames early yesterday in a Seattle suburb, apparently set by eco-terrorists who left a sign mocking the builders’ claims that the 4,000-plus-square-foot houses were environmentally friendly. The sign – a sheet marked with spray paint – bore the initials ELF, for Earth…
