Monique Chartier

Artificial Life

By Monique Chartier | October 6, 2007 |

The Guardian (United Kingdom) is reporting that Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth. The announcement, which is expected within weeks…

Western Union fees: Straining at a Gnat

By Monique Chartier | October 6, 2007 |

The Providence City Council unanimously passed a non-binding resolution Thursday night endorsing a boycott of Western Union, making it the first city in the United States to do so. Activist groups nationwide have been organizing small protests against the company for the past month, charging that Western Union’s fees are too high, and that the…

Re: The Way It’s Done

By Monique Chartier | October 4, 2007 |

While this post is a reply to Justin’s about the controversy surrounding State Senator Stephen Alves and the failed A. Duie Pyle tax incentive, it is also a report on the way things are done in the General Assembly when a citizen is attempting to access information about bills and the legislative process. In the…

Senator Alves’ Stout Denial

By Monique Chartier | October 4, 2007 |

State Senator Stephen Alves has broken two days of silence to firmly deny charges that he blocked a tax incentive out of political revenge. Describing the allegations as “ridiculous and baseless”, he called his main accuser, lobbyist Jeffrey Britt, a liar and affirmed that he had never been opposed in principle to the tax incentive…

East Providence: New “Heights” of Voter Fraud

By Monique Chartier | October 3, 2007 |

Accusations of voter fraud in East Providence reached a hitherto unexplored level tonight when it was revealed that recently appointed School Committee Member Stephen DeCastro (D) is registered to vote in both Bradenton, Florida and East Providence, Rhode Island. In an emergency meeting at East Providence City Hall prompted by an inquiry from the Tax…

Re: Forbidden Opus

By Monique Chartier | September 28, 2007 |

Last month, Carroll Andrew Morse noted the controversial Opus cartoon, which the Providence Journal ran but many newspapers, including the Washington Post, did not. In today’s classic Bloom County cartoon on Yahoo News, Berke Breathed seems to have presaged the incident sparked by his own cartoon.

Information or Poor Bargaining Practice?

By Monique Chartier | September 27, 2007 |

The local affiliate of NEARI has filed a complaint against Chariho Regional School Committee member William Felkner with the state Labor Relations Board for “purposely attempted to communicate directly with bargaining unit members represented by the union” by posting information on a blog. Mr. Felkner further describes the complaint: NEA negotiator Pete Gingas filed a…

Smithfield: Democracy Denied by Thirty Six Minutes

By Monique Chartier | September 27, 2007 |

In a special election set for November 13, Smithfield voters will have the opportunity to answer the question: “Should Stephen G. Tocco be recalled and removed from the office of Town Councilman for the Town of Smithfield under the Recall Provision as set forth in Article IX of the Charter of the Town of Smithfield?”…

Update: Menard’s Canard Exposed; Alaska’s Chilly Reaction

By Monique Chartier | September 22, 2007 |

It’s a darn good thing Woonsocket’s Mayor Susan Menard keeps records. That was the only way she was able to determine that the source of the purloined speech she gave at the Woonsocket High School graduation in June was the City of Woonsocket’s controversial former Director of Human Services, John Dionne. The whole incident might…

Update: The Death of Edimar de Araujo

By Monique Chartier | September 19, 2007 |

Dr. Thomas P. Gilson, Rhode Island’s Chief Medical Examiner, has just issued a press release as to the cause of Mr. Araujo’s death: “The cause of death for Edimar Alves De Araujo, a 34-year-old male from Milford, MA, who expired in Providence, RI, on August 7, 2007, after Federal Immigration agents took him into custody,…