Monique Chartier

Why Are We Transferring Ownership of Two (Two More?) State Bridges to a Quango?

By Monique Chartier | June 16, 2012 |

This Bristol-Warren Patch article is comprised mainly of a press release from the R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority announcing that tolls (amount undetermined) will soon come to the Sakonnet River Bridge and that there would be no change in the amount of the tolls charged to cross the Newport bridge. But it also contained a…

School Committee to State: Take Over Woonsocket School System

By Monique Chartier | June 13, 2012 |

So they voted just this evening. Woonsocket school officials have asked the Rhode Island Department of Education to take control of their schools. In a meeting Wednesday night, the school committee voted 4 to 1 to draft a letter to Commissioner Gist seeking assistance. The vote comes after the General Assembly failed to pass a…

Simultaneously Jarring and Gratifying: “Democrats for Doherty”

By Monique Chartier | June 12, 2012 |

On the one hand, as a Registered Republican, this makes me a little queasy and uneasy. The [Doherty] campaign announced on Monday a new group they are coining “Democrats for Doherty,” that includes several former mayors and state representatives. The coalition will kick off at a fundraiser headlined by former Democratic Mayor of Boston Ray…

First Annual Breitbart Awards to be Held Right Here in Little Rhody

By Monique Chartier | June 8, 2012 |

… tonight! Thanks to the Providence Journal for the heads-up. Two conservative organizations will present their first Breitbart Awards on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Providence Marriott, timed to “collide” with the Netroots Nation 2012 convention at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The awards honor controversial journalist Andrew Breitbart, revered by conservatives and derided…

Truth Once Again Blowin’ In The Wind At PolitiFact

By Monique Chartier | June 3, 2012 |

With regard to the Deepwater Wind project, one question and one question only matters: Is it viable; does it break ground without the government mandating artificially high electric rates? The answer is a definite “No”! Unfortunately, with its rating today of a statement by Lisa Blais, PolitiFact fogs this, the single most important aspect of…

Friends, I Give You The Euphemistic Phrase of the Month (Possibly of the Year): “Premortem Donation”

By Monique Chartier | June 3, 2012 |

… as in, “donating” – this word actually goes beyond euphemistic to inaccurate as, usually, no consent can be obtained – an organ – yes, your own vital organs from your own personal body – before you’re … well, dead. From a website called BioEdge, though the suggestion originated in the mind of a professor…

New York Pension Fund Rate of Return Disappoints: Is It Still Cooking the Books When the ACTUAL Rate of Return Drops?

By Monique Chartier | May 28, 2012 |

When General Treasurer Gina Raimondo led the way in edging down the projected rate of return for Rhode Island’s state pension fund from 8.25% to 7.5% (and tweaking life expectancy assumptions for the system), the President of the Cranston Firefighters Union, Paul Valletta, accused her of cooking the books to create a problem where none…

(Lack of) Monitoring – What Happened to IBM’s Monitoring Reports Once They Hit the EDC?

By Monique Chartier | May 26, 2012 |

First of all, I agree with the leap-off point of Travis Rowley’s column this week: vilification of Kurt Schilling is completely misdirected. Responsibility for the 38 Studios mess – “mess” as in, who is to blame that taxpayers will probably end up paying $90-100 million hard earned dollars with nothing to show for it –…

Rep Baldelli-Hunt Has Not Saved Woonsocket From a Sharp Property Tax Increase

By Monique Chartier | May 24, 2012 |

An alert Andrew noticed this. [Woonsocket] Taxpayers won’t be getting that supplemental tax bill after all. At the urging of state Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt on Thursday afternoon, the bill was recommitted to committee, essentially killing it. Her reasoning? An emotional Baldelli-Hunt, a Democrat who represents Woonsocket, told House members that Mayor Leo Fontaine had not…

Breaking – Moody’s Downgrades Woonsocket Bonds

By Monique Chartier | May 24, 2012 |

Andrew points to the Valley Breeze report that the House has killed the 13% property tax increase requested by the city. Now Woonsocket Council President John Ward has just shared the following. (It appears not to have yet hit any news outlet.) [Addendum: This report was provided by Moody’s Investment Service to its subscribers.] Moody’s…