Rhode Island Politics
Yeah, well, while I’m not so sure that forcing hospitals to pay property taxes is such a good idea, RI Senator Harold Metts (D, Providence) has a point when it comes to universities: “In 1989, it was estimated that 35 percent of the city’s taxable properties were owned by a few tax exempt institutions,” said…
The following bills were scheduled to be heard by the House Finance Committee today at 1:00 pm instead of late afternoon at the Rise of the House. House Bill No. 7791 BY Moffitt, Mumford, Story, Singleton, Loughlin ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES — PUBLIC ASSISTANCE {LC2210} (require the department of human services to…
Today’s Providence Journal has more on the supplemental budget. There’s some reason to hope that the General Assembly will manage to avoid making things worse — although without bold changes, treading water could simply mean drifting further out to sea. Here’s the key part of the report, though: The vote marks a significant step forward…
You don’t name a new entity “the Moderate Party” in the current political context without the expectation that social liberalism will be implied. If Ken Block wanted to emphasize the single-minded nature of his new party, he would have called it “the Fiscal Party” or something along that line. Rhode Island conservatives should allow Mr.…
Here’s the supplemental budget that our legislators are being asked to read, digest and pass this evening. I’m short for time and in a hurry, but here’s what I can gather for “highlights”: Reduction of almost 300 Full-Time Equivalent Positions (ie; jobs cuts) Amendment that essentially kills the future privatization of government services. Makes the…
Rep. Nick Gorham has proposed a bill to let us all know who is getting walking around money from the State Legislature (h/t Ian @ N4N). The legislation (PDF) states: SECTION 1. Chapter 35-3 of the General Laws entitled “State Budget” is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 3 35-3-28. Legislative grants. –…
And speaking of Russell J Moore‘s article in last week’s Cranston Herald, does anyone have any clue what Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian is getting at in this quote…Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, who is known as a moderate Republican with socially liberal positions, said he wishes Block luck, but warned he shouldn’t count on his support.…
Around the same time that Ken Block submitted his Engaged Citizen article, the Cranston Herald ran a Russell J. Moore article discussing his stands on social issues in a bit more detail…“Very recent history has shown that the GOP has been horrible at supporting candidates for local office,” [Mr. Block] said. But an interview with…
Comments made about the recent Anchor Rising post on the Moderate Party ran the predictable gamut from attacks against pseudo-Republicans to the Moderate effort being a waste of time to acceptance of the idea of a Moderate Party because anything is better than the existing status quo. Right up front, I want to address the…
Brown student Sara Sunshine’s article on the local region of the blogosphere is a worthy offering — much better than I’d feared, having been forewarned of Crowley’s involvement. What better comment on the quirky, intangible power of blogging could there be than Ms. Sunshine’s inclusion of a quotation from the post in which I mentioned…