Marc Comtois
Being categorized as “disabled” regarding one job doesn’t mean you can’t legitimately work another (like a less physically demanding desk job). But should you be able to collect an entire disability pension AND work? Some don’t think so: Two freshman Republican lawmakers are seeking to cap the disability pensions paid retired municipal workers who have…
Whenever a rating agency lowers their estimate of the ability of a state to pay back its bonds, the interest rates the state pays go up. Moody’s just lowered its rating for Rhode Island. Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the outlook on Rhode Island bonds to negative from stable because of “the potential impact of…
Yesterday, Mark Patinkin remembered Holly Charette, killed in Iraq in 2005. source Holly Charette liked make-up, Britney Spears and the Marines. She liked cheesecake, Tinker Bell and the United States of America. She loved her friends and, most of all, her family. She died serving her country. She was 21 years old. As Patinkin noted…
That Providence College basketball has turned to a native son to turnaround it’s troubled program is not new news, but Kevin McNamara’s piece in today’s ProJo about new PC basketball coach Ed Cooley is one worth reading. He had a tough family life but was lucky to know a family that helped him out. Above…
The Providence Business News tipped me off to this story. The mayors of the region’s two leading fishing ports Wednesday said a special master’s report on miscarriages of justice by federal fisheries law enforcers described an “un-American” system that presumed guilt, and seemed consistent with a disrespectful view of fishermen they said permeates high levels…
When traveling the state and talking to various union groups, it’s understandable–politically, yes, but also pragmatically–that General Treasurer Gina Raimondo is refraining from playing the blame game (well, except for various “politicians” of the past). She needs unions on board to make reform happen and if the rank and file can understand the scope of…
The ProJo reports that that reformed education reformer Dianne Ravitch had apologized to RI Ed. Commish Deborah Gist for her actions following their recent meeting (which included a demand that Gist apologize to her). Ravitch issued the mea culpa on her blog after a visit to the Franciscan-founded Sienna College over the weekend. Apparently, the…
National education reformer Rick Hess recently spoke to a group of RI superintendents and school district business officers about how NOT to respond to shrinking budgets. He outlined four common mistakes:”excuse-mongering”; “imagining that progress only comes with new dollars”; “thinking that any budget cut will be debilitating”; and “countenancing rather than condemning unacceptable employee responses.”…
WPRI’s indefatigable investigative team has turned up the fact that RI cities and towns owe a combined $3.6 billion in healthcare benefits (Sen. Dennis Algiere wrote about this a few days ago). From the WPRI report: The state’s municipalities have promised to provide nearly $3.6 billion worth of medical coverage to their current and future…
State General Treasurer Gina Raimondo unveiled her roadmap for pension reform today (ProJo covers here and WPRI’s Ted Nesi is live-tweeting). Here’s the report (pdf) and a new website, “Secure Path RI“. Her report takes a “where we are now and how we got there” approach. Here are some ideas she’s floating: 1) Set retirement…