Marc Comtois

Full-Time Employee of a Part-Time Legislature: Good Gig If You Can Get It

By Marc Comtois | April 7, 2011 |

After looking at the raises in the RI House, the ProJo turned it’s eyes to the RI Senate and found more raises, which Senate President Paiva-Weed defended. Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed says she sees no reason to reconsider any of the raises…As she explains it, the full picture includes: A delayed pay raise.…

UPDATED: The Providence Deal with Local 1033 (Cold Water Alert!)

By Marc Comtois | April 6, 2011 |

UPDATED: Here are the actual deals (2011-12; 2012-15). The below was originally posted based on info released at Mayor Taveras’ press conference as reported by the ProJo. (Thanks to commenter jparis for the heads-up). According to the report from ProJo, here’s the basic outline of the deal Providence Mayor Angel Taveras made with Local 1033:…

Sensible Deal in Providence?

By Marc Comtois | April 5, 2011 |

Fiscal sanity coming to Providence? (I only question because the devil is in the details, which will be forthcoming tomorrow.) Mayor Angel Taveras…said in a news release that [a new] agreement [with Local 1033] saves Providence “more than $26 million over four years, including almost $7 million in savings in the next 18 months.” It…

Typical Legislative Budget “Cuts” on Display

By Marc Comtois | April 5, 2011 |

Governor Chafee is weighing in on the raises being paid to the Legislative staff. “On the surface, in the toughest budget in decades, it’s hard to justify such big raises.” That was Governor Chafee’s reaction on Monday to a series of recent Journal reports about the magnitude of the raises that have gone to legislative…

Chafee Tells Critics to “Show me the cuts”

By Marc Comtois | April 4, 2011 |

WRNI’s Ian Donnis has this from Governor Chafee: I haven’t heard from anybody how to get out of the $295 million hole. There’s just been critic after critic without offering any constructive alternative — and I’m still waiting. I’m open-minded to anybody who has a better idea. Now that’s someone in a bubble. Or someone…

Ivy ROTC Update

By Marc Comtois | April 3, 2011 |

After much, sometimes heated, debate, Columbia University has elected to allow ROTC back on campus. Good. Now, Brown University finds itself increasingly out of the Ivy mainstream, though they’re currently reviewing the policy: [Dean of the College Katherine] Bergeron also discussed her attendance at the Ivy Plus conference — a consortium of universities, including members…

Reshaping Education via the BEP

By Marc Comtois | April 3, 2011 |

As reported by the ProJo this morning, the new Dep’t of Education Basic Education Program attempts to implement a new way of doing business. It strengthens management rights, implements evaluations, defines a “code of responsibility” and removes seniority as the primary qualifier for job retention. All done to, as Commisioner Deborah Gist explains, to make…

Spring Cleaning

By Marc Comtois | April 2, 2011 |

Gorgeous day today, no? The morning brought front yard raking to ensure that the weeds I cultivate on my front “lawn” have plenty of aerated soil and room to grow. I spent the afternoon cleaning the assorted flotsam and jetsam that accumulated along my stretch of the brook that makes the southern border of my…

Koch Brothers and Unions

By Marc Comtois | April 1, 2011 |

Oh, the shades of gray! A number of organizations are advocating a boycott of the products that come from companies owned by the Koch family. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it could potentially hurt the wrong people. The Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific. It is…

Meet Ron Swanson

By Marc Comtois | March 31, 2011 |

Ron Swanson is the Director of Parks and Recreation in Pawnee, Indiana. Here’s his official bio: Ron Swanson has been Director of the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department for six years. Ron believes in the elimination of government waste and has always brought the department in under budget. In 2007, the Parks and Rec department…