Adventures in Town Government

Cash, cuffs, and the American flag

The COPS Hiring Program is yet another way government spends tax dollars to force the spending of more tax dollars.

By Justin Katz | November 20, 2021 |

It adds up, of course, but when government is trillions of dollars in debt, a hundred million here and there seems hardly to count.  That may be part of the reason that news of grants like the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program doesn’t typically question where the…

Silhouette of a stickup

We all must investigate Coventry High School.

By Justin Katz | November 17, 2021 |

Something is going on over there, and in addition to providing a red flag for Coventry, it illustrates a problem of catastrophic import that we all should investigate.  The details, as Sam LaFrance reports them for WLNE, appear to be as follows: While in the hallway between classes on Monday, a male student at Coventry…

Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi

How about it, Mayor Picozzi? Will you seek restitution for theft?

By Justin Katz | November 16, 2021 |

Stalwart taxpayer advocate Rob Cote of Warwick has issued an open letter to the mayor of that city, Frank Picozzi: Dear Mayor, To keep you informed on the continuing Warwick Fire Department theft scandal. On Tuesday morning 11/16/21 at 9 am, former council president Steve Merolla will take a plea deal with the RI Ethics…

A vice on a tool table

Politics This Week with John DePetro: Pointing Out the Blinders

By Justin Katz | November 8, 2021 |

John and Justin discuss the position that the establishment and the Left have gotten themselves in.

A water drop and ripples

Treatment options are another thing we don’t hear about often enough when talking COVID mandates.

By Justin Katz | November 5, 2021 |

This seems like good news: An inexpensive antidepressant drug has been found to reduce the risk of hospitalization in high-risk adults recently diagnosed with COVID-19 by over 30 percent, according to a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Shouldn’t it be the case that available treatments factor into decisions about whether public health outweighs…

Fox News Virginia and New Jersey election maps

Could a GOP wave come to Rhode Island?

By Justin Katz | November 3, 2021 |

A red map might be possible in Rhode Island next year or in 2024, but however quickly it happens, repaired political infrastructure and a willingness to work together are prerequisites both to win and to accomplish anything positive after the election.

A water drop and ripples

The North Kingstown School Committee laughably managed a mask mandate to avoid public scrutiny.

By Justin Katz | October 18, 2021 |

I find self repeatedly coming back to a photo that John DePetro posted of the controversial meeting of the North Kingstown School Committee last week. As reported, Chairman Gregory Glasbalg ended the meeting on the pretense that two people in the room were not wearing masks.  Given that excuse, what do you notice about the…

A container ship

Modern Oncology, Supply Chain Challenges, and Parents’ Lawsuit Against the Governor

By John Loughlin | October 2, 2021 |

John Loughlin interviews Dr. Tim Shafman, Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Brent Sadler, and Rich Southwell of the Parents’ Union.

Esther accuses Haman

North Smithfield teachers model tyranny when demanding action against the political speech of parents.

By Justin Katz | September 28, 2021 |

Something doesn’t sit quite right in this story out of North Smithfield, as reported by Lauren Clem in the Valley Breeze.   Danielle Ferguson, a parent of a high school student there, spoke at a school committee meeting in opposition to mask mandates.  She suggested that the government “wants everyone to be fearful so that they can…

A satellite over Earth

Oktoberfest, NASA, and Golf Cars

By John Loughlin | September 25, 2021 |

John Loughlin talks with Kenny Burke and Tord Sorlein of the Wakefield Village Association about Oktoberfest, Jeff Carr from NASA, and Jim Turner from EW Gardner Golf Cars.