Monique Chartier
… yes, even the self-described “stickler about church and state separation”, Jim Baron, says it’s a war memorial. But the war memorial at Place Jolicoeur is different — materially, qualitatively and significantly different. It is different because it is not a religious symbol at all. Cross or no cross, it is not a religious symbol,…
Last night, the Providence City Council voted to approve substantive, though compared to the shortfall, modest, pension reform. At the meeting, an irate firefighter demanded to know Can you tell us what the rush is? Today, Standard & Poor’s supplied the answer. S&P lowered Providence’s credit rating to BBB, two steps from junk-bond status, from…
… that’s not my characterization, it’s Margery Eagan’s, not exactly a raving right winger. To back up a little, last week, the Boston Herald learned that Elizabeth Warren, the Dem opponent of Senator Scott Brown (R-MA; can you believe it?!), had claimed Native American heritage. Elizabeth Warren’s avowed Native American heritage — which the candidate…
On Friday, Governor Chafee signed the bill that created the unpaid position of state Historian Laureate. Per the ProJo, … the presumptive candidate-in-waiting has been the controversial lawyer, historian and developer Patrick T. Conley. Let’s not forget that in the mighty battle to bring separation of powers to Rhode Island, Dr. Conley testified at length…
An alert Ted Nesi reports that, in a special meeting tomorrow late afternoon, the Providence City Council will take a second, final vote on pension reform. Note that this would affect not current workers, but current retirees. The proposal would freeze retirees’ pensions for about 24 years and shave at least $236 million off the…
A couple of hours ago, the AP reported that the organization which has demanded that Woonsocket remove the soldiers’ memorial in front of a fire station is counting their crosses before they’re removed. The Wisconsin group challenging the constitutionality of a cross on a war memorial in Rhode Island says it expects to prevail without…
So reports the Valley Breeze’s Sandy Phaneuf. While Woonsocket’s legislative delegation continues to debate the merits of a supplemental tax bill, State Revenue Director Rosemary Booth Gallogly is reportedly preparing for the worst and has already begun choosing members for a Budget Commission to help guide the city out of fiscal crisis. The commission would…
The Woonsocket Call reports. The thorny constitutional principle of separation of church and state is rearing its head over a 1921 World War I monument featuring a prominent Christian cross on city property. Unlike the recent prayer banner controversy in Cranston, which was sued by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, the…
There probably isn’t a single policy issue about which I agree with Governor Chafee. But this is a very good thing that he is doing. Governor Chafee is visiting with Rhode Island troops deployed in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan this week as part of a tour sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. “They were…
As Patrick points out, with his announcement Sunday, Anthony Gemma feigns disregard for his primary election in September and, in fact, expresses near sympathy for his primary opponent. “Gemma paused and said “I won’t hit a man when he’s down.” Then later went on to add “This race is between me and Brendan Doherty.”” There’s…