Marc Comtois
RI NPR Education blogger Elisabeth Harrison reports on newly released data (collected for 2009) from the federal Office of Civil Rights showing that, when it comes to school discipline, “African-American students are more likely to face harsh discipline than their peers.” Harrison reports that for Rhode Island, it “depends on the school district.” Plenty of…
As reported by the ProJo, many, many people testified before a House panel that was convened to discuss the new meals (and other) taxes being proposed by Governor Chafee. Purportedly, the money will be sent back to cities and towns, which caused the legislators to make an interesting observation. Lawmakers, meanwhile, noted that no city…
If your lucky, you don’t have to deal with “that house” in your neighborhood. You know, the one with the two or three beat up cars in the driveway (or on the lawn) and the hayfield instead of a lawn. It doesn’t look good and brings the appearance of the rest of the neighborhood down.…
Whether your response is excited, angered or tepid (ahem), Mitt Romney won 6 out of 10 primaries/caucuses last night, including the supposed bellweather, rust-belt state of Ohio. Though the latter was close, he still won it. Yet, as avowed Romney-supporter (some would say shill) Jennifer Rubin writes, you would think that Romney lost by winning…
Pollster Scott Rasmussen reports that only 27% believe government can adequately “manage the economy” and 50% thinks it makes things worse when it tries to “help”. Rasmussen focuses on why this attitude explains “why politicians can’t connect with the middle class”. (Incidentally, Steve Laffey’s film, Fixing America provides further evidence of this point). Upper-income Americans…
Recent polls show that General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras enjoy broad-based, multi-partisan support in the state, particularly for their willingness to take stances that are politically unpopular amongst their natural consistencies. These “pragmatic progressives” have thus benefited from some good press and good feeling that, perhaps, they were a different sort…
Why are unemployment numbers always “revised” towards the negative? Could it be the current political climate induces a need for optimism such that it is reflected in somehow too-rosy estimations? I don’t know. Today, Occupy Providence will be protesting in….Connecticut? Makes as much sense as anything else they do…. Former WPRO online journalist Bob Plain…
Last week I commented on the good news “that there is movement in the Legislature–specifically a commission headed up by Jamestown Rep. Deborah Ruggiero–to develop Quonset/Davisville as a short sea shipping port.” To accomplish this, dredging of the harbor would be necessary. According to the story from the ProJo, “The commission recommended that the state…
I had thought about pointing to a few articles on presidential rankings made by historians or political scientists. But, really, we know they’re biased (heck, they ranked President Obama #15 overall after 18 months in office!), so I’ll just leave you with this link to a Wikipedia article on the subject that also includes a…