Monique Chartier

Referendum Tomorrow

By Monique Chartier | June 8, 2009 |

From today’s Providence Journal. Voters will decide Tuesday whether to cut $1.3 million from the $59.6-million school budget for the next fiscal year. A special all-day referendum was scheduled after hundreds of taxpayers filed a petition following a Town Council vote last month to approve the spending plan. Councilman James W. O’Neill, who cast the…

Public Pensions at the Fore

By Monique Chartier | June 7, 2009 |

This is a rare, fortuitous instance in which one ProJo article answers another. On Friday night (an interesting day in itself to hold a hearing), state and local public employees flocked to the Statehouse to advocate for no changes in pension benefits. Public employees packed a State House hearing on Friday in an eleventh-hour effort…

Re: Truly He Is the One

By Monique Chartier | June 6, 2009 |

Justin, how about the Daily Show with Jon Stewart instead of SNL? NewsBusters’ Noel Sheppard concludes his post highlighting a segment of Comedy Central’s not-exactly-right-wing mock news show thusly. I guess it’s time for NBC and others in the media to understand that when your gushing and fawning for Obama is fodder for comedians, you…

GM: 17% UAW Stake + 60% Federal Gov’t Stake = 100% UAW Control

By Monique Chartier | June 6, 2009 |

Referring to the federal government acquisition of 60% of General Motors, President Obama stated that the government would refrain from playing a management role in all but the most critical areas It appears, however, that “critical” is in the eye of the beholder. The latest self-appointed car czar is Massachusetts’s own Barney Frank, who intervened…

WW Teachers’ Alliance Takes Legal Action Against an Event that Has Not Yet Taken Place

By Monique Chartier | June 5, 2009 |

Is this even legally feasible? A formal complaint has been filed against the school department and the Town of West Warwick by Donald Vanasse, President of the West Warwick Teachers’ Alliance, citing an impending failure to pay accrued wages and salaries. He has reason to believe that there will be a failure to pay the…

Attorney General Holder, Chiquita Banana and Death Squads

By Monique Chartier | June 4, 2009 |

This is the improbable combination suggested by commenter Joe Bernstein under Justin’s post. But sure enough … Do not expect these recommendations to be carried forward if Eric Holder decides to forgo his lucrative corporate law practice at Covington & Burling and accept the U.S. Attorney General position for which many believe he is the…

“It’s For the Children”: Legitimate Plea or Nice Window Dressing?

By Monique Chartier | June 1, 2009 |

On Friday, Andrew highlighted a letter to the editor laying out some of the issues that has prompted the June 9 Referendum, at which the town will decide whether to cut the school fund property tax appropriation (not the entire school budget) by 2.7%. This sign, urging a “no” vote on the cut, has popped…

Health Care Co-Sharing: The New Goalpost

By Monique Chartier | May 31, 2009 |

A heads up to our elected officials as public sector contracts come up for renewal or must be reopened: twenty percent no longer cuts it. A new national report shows U.S. residents enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans will cover an average of 41 percent of their families’ health care costs this year, the largest share…

“We Can’t Afford the Government that We Have”

By Monique Chartier | May 30, 2009 |

So said Mayor Lombardi yesterday morning on the John DePetro Show. While the comment might also apply to our state and federal governments, in actuality, it referred to the status of the town of North Providence. Indeed, one has to wonder what the town’s options are at this point to deal with a $10 million…

Carcieri’s Nominee for Chief Justice

By Monique Chartier | May 28, 2009 |

… lacks a high powered lobbyist spouse. From the ProJo’s 7 to 7 News Blog. Governor Carcieri nominated Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell Thursday to be the next chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The nomination requires the confirmation of the state House of Representatives and the state Senate. If confirmed, Justice…