Marc Comtois

Sage Advice

By Marc Comtois | December 27, 2008 |

I enjoy Mark Patinkin’s “bullet” columns. The headline of today’s rings true for many men. “Husbands can be right or happy…” Then there is the wisdom my father-in-law passed on to me on my wedding day: “There are two words that are the key to every successful marriage, ‘Yes, Dear.’” Any guy who follows those…

Winning Hearts, Minds and, ahhhhh…..in Afghanistan

By Marc Comtois | December 26, 2008 |

Hey, whatever works: While the CIA has a long history of buying information with cash, the growing Taliban insurgency has prompted the use of novel incentives and creative bargaining to gain support in some of the country’s roughest neighborhoods, according to officials directly involved in such operations. In their efforts to win over notoriously fickle…

Merry Christmas!!!

By Marc Comtois | December 24, 2008 |

Merry Christmas to my fellow Anchor Rising contributors and to all of our readers and commenters (both the “Hallelujah” chorus and our “polar” opposites)!

RE: Warwick Schools Cancellation

By Marc Comtois | December 23, 2008 |

Following up, the ProJo has their report on the situation today: School officials said that few members of the union that represents custodial, maintenance and secretarial employees — the Warwick Independent School Employees (WISE) –– responded to calls to come to work late Sunday afternoon even though union workers had showed up for snow duty…

Looking for Answers on Warwick Schools Cancellation

By Marc Comtois | December 22, 2008 |

[BUMP] UPDATE: Mayor Avedisian called Dan Yorke and unequivocally stated that there was a concerted effort on the part of the school maintenance union (WISE) to not come to work. The union president is claiming that 11 of the 15 people involved didn’t get a phone call from the school administration. Avedisian stated that, phone…

Perception = Reality

By Marc Comtois | December 22, 2008 |

Speaker Murphy expressed a desire for politicians, the press and the public to put a shiny, happy face on our troubled state. But that’s hard to do when national news outlets like the Washington Post run stories that ask questions like, “So how did little, picturesque Rhode Island become one of the most economically depressed…

Murphy Speaks

By Marc Comtois | December 21, 2008 |

Newsmakers with Tim White (and Ian Donnis and Arlene Violet) had House Speaker William Murphy on this morning. Here is some of what he had to say (rough transcription, folks). Ian Donnis mentioned how the RI Legislature has typically been shortsighted–the tobacco money grab–and how that gave the impression that there was no long term…

RI Economy: Solution is Obvious to (almost) All

By Marc Comtois | December 21, 2008 |

John Kostrzewa writes: The state’s economic development strategy needs short-term and long-term goals. It gets out of balance when too much energy goes into attracting out-of-state companies with tax breaks or taking care of the demands of the politically connected while deciding not to invest in developing companies that will create jobs in the future.…

RI Supreme Court: Governor Controls CMRC

By Marc Comtois | December 18, 2008 |

In a major victory for separation of powers proponents, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled that the Governor, not the legislature, has ultimate control over the Coastal Management Resources Council. From 7to7: In what may finally settle a longstanding controversy, the Rhode Island Supreme Court today came down solidly in favor of giving the…

Removing Unfunded Mandates

By Marc Comtois | December 18, 2008 |

As John Howell reports in the Warwick Beacon, cities and towns are going to be clamoring for a reduction in unfunded mandates (ie; rules or laws imposed by the state on municipalities without the concomitant funds). “There’s slim hope that the legislature would relieve schools of providing textbooks for non public schools or special education…