Patrick Laverty
One of the big changes to the new Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is they’re going to try to be a little nicer. According to the AP, Governor Chafee reported: Rhode Island’s governor says he wants residents to know they can now expect to be treated with courtesy and “dignity” when visiting their…
Well, I don’t like to say “I told you so” but an article in GoLocalProv yesterday about the state of Providence’s budget wasn’t really a surprise. According to the article, almost halfway through the current budget year, the budget still is not only not balanced, but it’s about $24 million in the red. Some of…
To steal a line from Mark McGwire, the baseball slugger who was called before Congress to talk about steroids in baseball but would only answer questions with “I’m not here to talk about the past. I’m here to make a positive impact”. David Cicilline is looking to take the same tack and tell people to…
Today, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law that will allow for up to three casinos in the Bay State. One of which that is being discussed is a full-blown destination resort casino run by an Indian tribe. The leading candidate for this casino seems to be the Wampanoags in southeastern Mass. They’re…
In today’s Nesi’s Notes, Ted discusses an email from NEARI President Larry Purtill that was sent to NEARI members. Mr. Purtill talks about how Governor Chafee “lied” to NEARI during the campaign last year. Similarly, in a recent GoLocalProv article, NEARI executive director Robert Walsh said “I can assure you we received promises in writing.”…
This is a bit of a bombshell that might get glossed over by the media. According to Ian Donnis over at WRNI, Governor Chafee didn’t know that the 5.5% new tax on contractors was in the pension bill when he signed it. Chafee was unfamiliar with the amendment imposing the 5.5 percent assessment when asked…
One of the very few amendments that was successful in yesterday’s pension bill Assembly session was put forth by the Finance Chairmen in both the House and the Senate. Helio Melo in the House and Daniel DaPonte in the Senate. The amendment reads: 42-149-3.1. Assessment on state expenditures for non-state employee services. – Whenever a…
Where does the government get its money to buy stuff? Do you know? It seems most people don’t. They just seem to think it’s free money or they’ll get it from business or industry. Just like this article about Obama’s recent idea to help the Christmas tree industry by taxing it fifteen cents a tree…
In my wish that more people would pay attention to the “little things” that our government does, I wish they’d see things like this happening and react accordingly. On Friday, the US House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would require all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to track all online activity for all of their…
Some Veterans Day events in Rhode Island
