Monique Chartier

Rhode Island’s K-12 Transgender Policy: Why Are Education Commissioner and Council Silent?

By Monique Chartier | February 1, 2024 |

Following our first inquiry of Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education about Rhode Island transgender policy in K-12 schools and their non-response, Anchor Rising reached out a second time, this time asking, … current RIDE policy permits schools to discuss transgender procedures with students.  RIDE policy also permits schools…

RIDOT About Bridge Inspections: Psych! You Need a Data Key

By Monique Chartier | January 7, 2024 |

The featured image is by RIDOT of a broken steel rod on the Washington Bridge Westbound, one of the critically failed components that caused the sudden closure of Interstate 195 west on December 11. How these components went critical between July, its most recent inspection (link to report) until December 8, when they were purportedly…

Say, How About We Start Repairing Bridges Worst to First?

By Monique Chartier | December 14, 2023 |

You may remember that truck-only tolls were passed with dire statements about the condition of Rhode Island bridges.  “People will die if we don’t get this new revenue stream to repair Rhode Island’s poor bridges” was repeatedly stated or heavily implied during the debate about and passage of the proposed new, legally quizzical, unnecessary toll…

“Clean Cars/Clean Trucks” Only Risks “Cleaning” Rhode Island of Dealerships and Tax Revenue

By Monique Chartier | November 14, 2023 |

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports (Page 11) that as of the fourth quarter of 2022, Rhode Island has fifty dealerships that sell new cars.  Note that this figure does not include dealerships selling new trucks, new buses, new motor homes, new motorcycles, et etera. Governor Dan McKee’s proposed 2024 budget, Page 158 of…

An electric car charging

Reality Pulls the Plug on Even a Modest EV Fleet Target

By Monique Chartier | September 25, 2023 |

Excellent work by Jim Hummel of the Hummel Report with this investigative report, published on the front page of yesterday’s Providence Journal, pertaining to a state mandate that 25% of its vehicles be electric; i.e., zero emission. The goal was to make one quarter of the state’s light duty vehicle fleet EV’s by 2025.  So…

RI Policy on Transgender Students: Ed Commissioner, RIDE, Governor Mum So Far

By Monique Chartier | September 18, 2023 |

Current Rhode Island public school policy on transgender and gender nonconforming students was formally passed as a regulation in April 2018 by the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education and then-Education Commissioner Ken Wagner under the authority of the governor. Anchor Rising made the following inquiry by e-mail last month of the Rhode Island Council…

Ballot Integrity, Not Unrealistic Deadlines, Needs to be Paramount for RI BOE

By Monique Chartier | August 8, 2023 |

Update: The RI BOE voted 5-2 today to review all of the signatures on Sabina Matos’ nomination papers. Ms. Matos is on the Democrat primary ballot for the RI CD1 special election and ballots have already been mailed out to military and out-of-country voters. It is unclear if the outcome of the BOE’s review would…

John Kerry: Zero Emissions by China and US (and Rhode Island) Not Enough

By Monique Chartier | August 1, 2023 |

Last week came the good news (for our electric bills) that Rhode Island Energy, formerly National Grid, had declined the Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind proposal. A week prior, John Kerry, President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, departed from China without accomplishing his mission; namely, to … use climate co-operation to redefine their [US…

A wind farm at sea

Rhode Island Energy (National Grid) Correctly Nixes Revolution Wind 2

By Monique Chartier | July 23, 2023 |

A lot going on, I know; e.g.,everybody good with their nomination signatures to get on the CD1 ballot …? But I didn’t want to let this go by without flagging. Citing “higher proposed contract costs”, Rhode Island Energy, formerly National Grid, announced Tuesday that it declined the Revolution Wind 2 offshore wind proposal, the sole…

Justice for Jeann Lugo Despite the Defamatory Video

By Monique Chartier | April 27, 2023 |

Jeann Lugo was acquitted in November of simple assault against Jennifer Rourke at the State House melee last June. The other criminal charge against Lugo, disorderly conduct, had been dismissed in August. Now a three member panel of police officers, in a process arising out of LEOBOR, has unanimously voted to set aside the firing of…