Monique Chartier

The Mayor’s Call to Close the Pension Loophole is Welcome But …

By Monique Chartier | October 9, 2008 |

… does anyone else have the impression that he wouldn’t be quite so indignant about the Providence Pension Board’s decision or quite so passionate about excluding future convicts from receiving a municipal pension if Frank Corrente had been a member of his rather than the prior administration? Mayor David N. Cicilline wants the City Council…

This Pinga/Alves Moment Brought to You by the Numbers Ten and Fifteen

By Monique Chartier | October 8, 2008 |

When the RI Supreme Court decides tomorrow whether to take Senator Stephen Alves’ appeal for a do-over of the September 9 Democrat primary, perhaps we can also learn the source of the senator’s quizzical statement that fifteen Republicans voted in that election. Alves has asked the state Supreme Court to order an entirely new election.…

Palin’s Lack of Experience Solved

By Monique Chartier | October 5, 2008 |

… by commenter BobC who, under Justin’s post “Obama’s Nightmare in Passing”, points out To be sure if McCain should pass during his time in office, all Palin has to do is pick her “Biden” for Vice-President. That would take care of her lack of experience. It seems to have worked for Obama.

Surprisingly Accurate SNL Skit about the Financial Mess

By Monique Chartier | October 5, 2008 |

H/T NewsBusters. Update: Click on this link to view.

Should the State Purchase Twin Rivers?

By Monique Chartier | October 5, 2008 |

In the event their financial troubles lead to foreclosure, General Treasurer Frank Caprio has proposed, though not as a first option, the state purchase of Twin Rivers. The Treasurer further proposes to do so without voter approval. (By the way, where have we heard about a chunk of the taxpayers’ change being spent against taxpayer…

Pinga/Alves: Latest from the Board of Elections II

By Monique Chartier | October 2, 2008 |

The Rhode Island Board of Elections advised today that a second recount of the Pinga/Alves primary election will take place tomorrow at 1:00 pm. All ballots, including mail-in and provisional, will be counted. In another contested primary, the Lynch/Bennett race will be recounted at 9:00 am. This ProJo article states that the RI Supreme Court…

Senator, You’re Sweet Enough

By Monique Chartier | October 2, 2008 |

A ton of pork, referred to as “sweeteners” – i.e., sweetening the deal so as to obtain the commitment of an individual senator to the bill – made it into the bailout bill passed by the Senate last night. If this is indeed the major financial crisis represented by some of our elected officials, why…

Pinga/Alves: Latest from the Board of Elections

By Monique Chartier | October 1, 2008 |

At around 10:10 this morning, I spoke with Mr. Robert Kando, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Board of Elections. He advised the following: > No recount of the Pinga/Alves election is scheduled or contemplated at this point. > The BOE met in conference with a Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice and certain other parties.…

165 Economists Agreed in Advance with the 228 Nay Votes Yesterday

By Monique Chartier | September 30, 2008 |

From WorldNetDaily September 25: At least 165 economists have signed a letter to Congress members warning of three pitfalls in the Bush administration’s $700 billion proposal to deal with the Wall Street crisis. Their objections are not partisan but seem to apply to any large-scale government bail-out/buy-in. [Emphasis added.] The economists contend the plan is…

Please Define “Predictable”

By Monique Chartier | September 29, 2008 |

In “The Unspoken Roadblock”, Justin points out that, while ignoring the six letter complication in our education system, among other education reform measures, RIPEC has called for the state to implement a predictable formula for state financing of local schools RIPEC is not the first to use this phrase. The question that pops into my…