Monique Chartier
A joint Oversight hearing about the Washington Bridge will be held this Thursday at the State House. [Agenda.] There will be no public testimony and only committee members will ask questions. There is so far only one witness: Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti. The Director will not be under oath when he…
The Senate hearing on President-Elect Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense is now underway. Inasmuch as the objections to his nomination raised so far at the hearing are irrelevant to the vital mission of the United States military, I am bumping up my post of November 17. There has been a “Well…
They’re ba-a-a-a-a-ack. Well, strong possibility. Truck-only tolls, that is. To clarify, Rhode Island’s only-in-the-nation, truck-only toll law is not just discriminatory – it applies only to a certain type of vehicle, trucks – but it is actually doubly discriminatory – it applies only to CERTAIN trucks (Class 8 and above). But the federal appeals court…
This is not the biggest question pertaining to Rhode Island’s handling of the failed Washington Bridge – it is secondary, for example, to WHY the state had to offer a serious incentive for what would seem to be a juicy public contract, not to mention what Ken Block is in the process of turning up…
Following the determination in April that the Washington Bridge eastbound was becoming “considerably more sensitive” (gulp), RIDOT contracted to install a new, combined structural health monitoring and vehicle weigh-in-motion program on/between the Washington Bridge and the Iway (Providence River Bridge). In May, RIDOT entered into a five year “sole source” – i.e., no RFP –…
Gene Valicenti’s weekly Tuesday conversation on WPRO with Brown University Professor Wendy Schiller took a slightly unexpected turn yesterday when Gene honored her request to comment on the handling of the Washington Bridge closure. (Starts at Minute 06:45.) Schiller: This is a significant, major problem that if something goes wrong with the eastbound side, for…
The above pie chart speaks for itself. Rhode Island’s greenhouse gas emissions are so small, they barely register on the chart. That Rhode Island, the smallest state in the country and, on top of that, one with a poor business climate that has further driven down its carbon footprint [because that’s the highest priority, right?…
In 2021, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed and Governor Dan McKee signed a law that mandates for the state net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. What this would mean in real terms is, no more fossil fuels for Rhode Island. No gas or diesel to power our vehicles. No heating oil, natural gas…
In mid-March, the day after his administration announced that a full replacement, not just repair, of the Washington Bridge would be needed, Governor Dan McKee promised accountability and the day of reckoning for those who are responsible for the position we’re in … further promising to hold any responsible parties fully accountable. even if that…
On Thursday, Governor Dan McKee appeared on The News with Gene Valicenti for an “Ask the Governor” segment on WPRO. (No podcast to link to.) During the segment, while rattling off accomplishments of the just-passed state budget, Governor McKee said … nursing homes, which we basically have saved … An interesting statement. In fact, six…