Monique Chartier

Woonsocket School Committee in the First Person Plural

By Monique Chartier | July 16, 2009 |

[Following are paraphrased comments by School Committee members as they debated and then unanimously voted last night for an adjustment to the school budget that consisted of forty furlough days per teacher and the elimination of most student activities.] What’s needed is a fair funding formula by the state. We need to say that Woonsocket’s…

E-Verify: Legal Reassurance for the Senate Leadership

By Monique Chartier | July 11, 2009 |

The non-end of this year’s General Assembly session gives us the chance to return to some important legislation that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks. One of these is the e-verify bill that would require Rhode Island employers with three or more employees to participate in the federally instituted E-verify system to verify the…

The Bristol Independence Day Parade, the Leafleters and the Question of Danger

By Monique Chartier | July 11, 2009 |

What’s confusing is the statement by the parade committee that the handing out of these Constitution leaflets posed a danger. The leaflets were handed out along the side of the parade, not from the float itself. As I understand, no one was running up to this float to get a leaflet. In terms of danger,…

Has the R.I. Supreme Court Gutted the 1986 Con Con in its Entirety?

By Monique Chartier | July 6, 2009 |

… and, therefore, the actions of all past and future Constitutional Conventions? In addition to trivializing ethics, as Marc put it, and all but decriminalizing bribery, hasn’t the R.I. Supreme Court legally voided everything that was implemented by the 1986 Constitutional Convention [scanned PDF] with their ruling [PDF] on the Irons matter? If the original…

US Department of Ed Implements an Unexpectedly Instructive New Program

By Monique Chartier | July 5, 2009 |

Admittedly, yes, he is in part motivated by a lust for federal gold. But this factor in no way abated the fury of certain former supporters of Mayor Thomas Menino (D!) when he announced last month a volte face support of charter schools as a means of achieving education reform in Boston. The speech took…

Don’t Bogart that Revenue Stream, My Friend

By Monique Chartier | July 3, 2009 |

The Rhode Island Senate has ordered a study of the legalization of marijuana. Would that the goal was merely to adjust our illicit drug use ranking by reclassifying one of the drugs. Alas, they specifically voted to explore how much Rhode Island might collect in revenue if it were to make all sales of marijuana…

The Rhode Island Legislature is Now Open for Business

By Monique Chartier | July 1, 2009 |

Wide open. And in an interview yesterday afternoon with the ProJo’s Katherine Gregg, the holder of the most powerful office in the state sees no particular reason to change this state of affairs. I don’t care what state you are talking about, you are always going to have one or two people who are going…

Attention, Boaters

By Monique Chartier | June 30, 2009 |

A cautionary photo courtesy Dave Barry.

The Budget: Give it a Shove, Gov

By Monique Chartier | June 30, 2009 |

The Governor’s office confirmed five minutes ago that the Governor had not yet acted on the budget. Still time to sneak in a suggestion, then. In the category of just-because-it’s-obvious-doesn’t-mean-it-doesn’t need-to-be-said, the Ocean State Republican urges Governor Carcieri to veto the budget bill on his desk. … the Assembly’s budget increases taxes on investments in…

Just a Bad Dream? Perils of Binding Arbitration

By Monique Chartier | June 30, 2009 |

I awoke this morning with a buzzing in my ears and a panicked conviction that binding arbitration for teacher contracts would be a very bad thing. A very bad thing, indeed. Perhaps those who oppose the concept of a never-ending contract should clear their ears, too, so as to hear the buzz. From “Vermonters for…