Rhode Island Politics
Following upon the court ruling [Press Release PDF] in May that extended the timeframe for collecting the nearly 25,000 signatures needed to gain official recognition as a political party in Rhode Island, the Moderate Party has wasted no time buckling down to the task. Below, Max Bradshaw and Jack Crook collect signatures at the Stop…
John DePetro observed Monday that certain members of the General Assembly are not inclined to close this legal loophole because its continued existence might increase Rhode Island’s convention business. (Wouldn’t it be far preferable on a number of levels to draw business here with an economically friendly climate instead of via our children?) Those legislators…
Katherine Gregg’s Providence Journal article on Rhode Island’s pension fund losses has an interesting frame. Toward the beginning (emphasis added): Despite this recent run of losses, state officials say there is no immediate danger for state and local employees and teachers whose retirement checks are drawn from the pension fund, which is made up of…
As a moral — and especially religious — matter, even the reporter’s flowery language about “a poignant coda to… an illustrious musical career” doesn’t persuade me of the decision made. But I will admit that, as a secular, civil matter, a strong case could be put forward for laws permitting this sort of thing: He…
The non-end of this year’s General Assembly session gives us the chance to return to some important legislation that would have otherwise fallen through the cracks. One of these is the e-verify bill that would require Rhode Island employers with three or more employees to participate in the federally instituted E-verify system to verify the…
I’m not sure why Governor Carcieri would choose this time in the history of the state and nation to add to the messages that Rhode Island sends out to reinforce its image as a state in which various factors make it very difficult to operate and advance. He has declined to veto legislation (PDF) that…
It’s a relief to see the issue of soil contamination in the Bay St. area of Tiverton headed toward resolution: A settlement of the massive Bay Street area lawsuit has been agreed to and the contaminated neighborhood is expected to be cleaned up by the end of this year, the state Department of Environmental Management…
The editorial in this week’s Cranston Herald captures the mood of residents in many towns, regarding the direction that state-level governance is heading…The state’s 13 percent hike in spending (yes, you read that right) doesn’t offer a dime to municipalities, school districts or, for the most part, social programs designed to keep people from crashing…
He doesn’t say where he’s been or what his intentions are, but Stephen Laffey is clearly still paying attention to Rhode Island and its problems: … Laughing and joking last year, our leaders signed off on the 2008-09 “balanced” state budget. That “balanced” budget was really a $600 million deficit. It was fraud because they…
Patrick Kennedy thinks that his chemical dependency is like having cancer: Kennedy said Wednesday that he hopes his decision to seek treatment was another “sign to people that this is a chronic illness not unlike a cancer that goes into remission but then becomes malignant again.” He said, “This is a chronic illness that needs…