Adventures in Town Government
I know many of the right reform crowd in Rhode Island disagree with my general take on regionalization, but I’m relieved to see this, from Tuesday’s Newport Daily News: Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, and Rep. Deborah L. Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, met with members of the Town Council and School Committee before the regularly scheduled…
Anchor Rising’s complete coverage of the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition’s winter meeting: My on-the-scene liveblog Video: RISC Chairman Harry Staley’s opening remarks Video: 630AM/99.7FM Host John DePetro Video: Central Falls Superintendent Frances Gallo Video: RISC President James Beale and Business Network Organizer Jeff Deckman Video: Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri Video: Board of Regents Member…
I’ve meant to address a letter in the Sakonnet Times (not online) that attacks Tiverton Citizens for Change, not because it’s particularly worthy of response, but because it’s such a clear illustration of the up-is-down rhetoric that our local opposition has decided to pursue as a political strategy. The letter, expressing concern about an “extreme…
By way of follow up, I asked Director of Administration and Finance Doug Fiore a couple of questions after tonight’s school committee meeting, here are various interesting data points derived from our conversation: Approximately $130,000 of the $450,000 increase in health insurance costs would have been erased from the next budget if the union hadn’t…
I was a few minutes late to tonight’s Tiverton School Committee meeting, and it was already underway. The high school library is pretty well filled, which means probably about 30-40 people, an apparent mix of students, teachers, and residents. The topic: closing the high school. Of course, when the union is looking for a juicy…
As circumstances deteriorate, it’s instructive to observe the varying reactions and strategies for handling them. In Tiverton, the established order, so to speak, has redoubled its efforts to keep the negative focus on Tiverton Citizens for Change in the hopes that people won’t notice that the plans for improvement bear a striking resemblance to the…
Reading about the budget woes on both the school and municipal sides, in Tiverton, I find it somewhat striking that none of the elected or appointed officials appear to worry that they’ll face accountability for the things about which they’re complaining. For example: Tiverton’s schools could also take a $386,286 education aid hit next year,…
And around and around not-my-town goes: Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70, Tiverton, Portsmouth), whose district encompasses neighborhoods on both sides of the Sakonnet River Bridge, has introduced legislation that will prohibit tolls from being charged on the bridge. … Instead, Rep. Edwards proposes placing a toll on Interstate Hwy 95 (I-95) in Westerly and…
Apart from the complications of Rhode Island law, as a matter of political theory, this strikes me as a reasonable argument: The lawsuit [by the city of Woonsocket], which also names State Controller Marc A. Leonetti and General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio as defendants, said the money [that the state was supposed to give towns…
On the Matt Allen Show, last night, Andrew admitted to using the public library (albeit a couple of times per year) and suggested a reason for RI towns’ fiscal profligacy. Stream by clicking here, or download it. My two cents: Public libraries are wonderful resource for students and people who don’t work. During a period…