Monique Chartier

Municipal Fines: Their Purpose Clarified

By Monique Chartier | February 17, 2009 |

… by the administration of Mayor David Cicilline. Some city officials think Caprio and the three other Municipal Court judges might be a little too forgiving to those who come before them, and it is costing the city money. Mayor David N. Cicilline’s director of administration, Richard I. Kerbel, says the court — which deals…

President Obama and Article Two: Do We Really Want to Know?

By Monique Chartier | February 16, 2009 |

Unless an objection was filed, Occidental College had until 10:00 am Pacific time today to respond to a subpoena filed on behalf of “Keyes et al” requesting Academic and housing records of Barack Hussein Obama, including but not limited to approximately two years from September 1979 to June 1981 Why do Plaintiffs wish to review…

Exercise your Constituent “Franking” Right

By Monique Chartier | February 13, 2009 |

Can’t find any web reports but I heard a news report that the House has just passed the non-economic stimulus bill and the Senate was expected to act on it later today. Do you support or oppose this bill? Let your voice be heard. Senatorial contact information below. Senator Jack Reed: (202)224-4642. Website. Senator Sheldon…

What Does Rhode Island Get Out of This?

By Monique Chartier | February 13, 2009 |

[This post should in no way be interpreted as an acceptance or approval of the “stimulus” bill furiously being worked out in Congress. The premise that massive government spending can lift or save an economy is a non-starter; most of the line-item spending in the bill qua economic stimulus is an absurdity. In short, this…

Confusing Economic Realities with Imperiousness

By Monique Chartier | February 9, 2009 |

A caller to WPRO’s John Depetro today reproached the East Providence School Committee for failing to engage the teachers union in substantive negotiations and, instead, simply “dictating” terms of a contract. Anthony Carcieri, Chair of the EP School Committee and John’s guest by telephone, explained that, faced with a $3m shortfall, the School Committee had…

Overreaching Representation

By Monique Chartier | February 8, 2009 |

We can discuss the weighty obligations that fall to those who choose to serve in elected office and thereby come to possess the tax gun. Emphatically absent from that list of obligations is to cast an ever widening net – in this case, beyond the borders of our country – in search of wrongs to…

Eliminate All Overtime in the Public Sector

By Monique Chartier | February 7, 2009 |

We’ve probably all heard of the coordinated sick/overtime scam. I call in sick one day this week so Joe gets to come in on overtime. Next week, Joe calls in sick and I come in on overtime. Now multiply by X. Add to that the nonsense that Justin brings to our attention of elected officials…

Increasing the Cigarette Tax: Will the GA Put Our Money Where Their Mouth is?

By Monique Chartier | February 6, 2009 |

The extra financial burden of smoking to the health care system and, more specifically, the state has been put forward as one of the justifications for the proposed one dollar increase to the state cigarette tax being contemplated by the General Assembly even as we speak. It was interesting and a little nauseating to read…

Tools in the Governor’s Supplemental Budget for Cities and Towns

By Monique Chartier | February 2, 2009 |

In Saturday’s Pawtucket Times, Jim Baron, who, despite his opinion of another Rhode Island blog, is an excellent reporter that we need to clone, lists those ground-breaking (for Rhode Island) recommendations in the Governor’s supplemental budget. The changes have been touted by mayors and administration officials as “tools” that would allow cities and towns to…

Former Tax Collector Speaks out; Mayor Responds In Advance

By Monique Chartier | February 1, 2009 |

Former Providence Tax Collector Robert Ceprano talks about his termination and events leading up to it in today’s front page ProJo story by Mike Stanton. And below is the text of a press release issued yesterday by Mayor David Cicilline responding to the story ahead of time. Two items stick out from Stanton’s story. One…