Providence
My very few personal interactions with Parker Gavin over the years have confirmed that he’s a great guy, and it hardly needs my affirmation that he’s been a great reporter for WJAR. That said, I continue to believe it’s harmful to our system of government when journalists see work for government and politicians as one…
A student at Providence College tells Anchor Rising that vandalism depicted in a widely dispersed TikTok video was planned beforehand. According to the source, students who live in the area of Pembroke Avenue, a short walk from the campus, heard about the plans among non-students, calling it a “riot.” Some students remained in their dorms in…
Arresting a private business manager for attempted bribery of a public official raises an interesting crime to contemplate. Offering money for enhanced service is not a crime. I’ve never heard of somebody being arrested for trying to slip a m’aitre d’ cash to find somebody without reservations a table in a busy restaurant. And if…
These two paragraphs from Steph Machado’s WPRI report on a Senate Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight Committee’s hearing concerning the state takeover of Providence schools convey the most-important information, with the rest describing superficial political performance: Zack Scott, the deputy superintendent of operations, told the Senate committee Wednesday only nine departing teachers had responded to…
One of my children is learning the standard single-axis political spectrum (no doubt in preparation for the AP test down the road), and the fortunate child enjoyed a free lesson on how inaccurate that is all the way home. I’ll spare you, dear reader, that experience, simply pointing you to the circular political spectrum I…
This week a Providence public school teacher appeared on the highest-rated cable news show in the nation talking about the ideological revamping of her school’s curriculum and the retaliation she has faced for publicly objecting to it. Whether one thinks Ramona Bessinger is acting as an invaluable whistleblower (which is my view) or is part…
Alex Cannon is the Republican candidate in the race for the open Rhode Island Senate seat representing the East Side of Providence, but progressive journalist Steve Ahlquist conducted a lengthy, interesting, and fair interview with him on Uprise RI. Cannon, who hails from Las Vegas, Nevada, and arrived in Rhode Island in 2017, describes himself as…
Yesterday, I wondered why the plight and complaints of Providence middle school teacher Ramona Bessinger weren’t of more concern to teachers, parents, the community, the union, and Rhode Islanders generally. Today, the Wall Street Journal editorial board has proven that somebody actually cares, giving their editorial the sharp headline, “Education Horror Show, Continued.” (Search the headline…
William Jacobson reports on Legal Insurrection that while Providence middle school teacher was at an inquiry alleging that she had permitted some students out of her classroom during a practice lockdown, students wrote threatening notes on her classroom’s whiteboard and tweeted pictures at them. One of the images showed a student at the board, but Jacobson speculates…
I started college in 1993, and I remember people older than me who had gone to urban campuses talking about the dangerousness of the cities — muggings, assaults, break-ins. Those things can always happen as random events, but by the mid-’90s, it kind of seemed like they were largely a thing of the past. Unfortunately,…
