RI Political Corruption
Little by little, we appear to be moving Rhode Island’s political structure in the right direction: A new law championed by East Providence officials has changed how its candidates and Central Falls’ election contenders collected voters’ signatures. A provision in each of the communities’ charters said voters could sign only one candidate’s nomination papers. The…
Yeah, yeah, it’s certainly probable that anybody tagged to participate in a state Judicial Nominating Commission is likely to be well connected, politically, but there’s just something about a professional lobbyist’s making the cut that doesn’t seem quite right: State House lobbyist Richard M. McAuliffe Jr. is the newest member of the commission that helps…
Government reform is, ought to be, and may have to be a coherent movement from the municipality to the federal government. Here in Rhode Island, it’s easy to see how a broad set of principles and tactics applied across government tiers have corrupted (and expanded) government and hobbled our society, and mutual support and encouragement…
The insult of this Deepwater Wind deal for offshore wind turbines just grows and grows. To review, the state government rigged the game for a single company and constructed the law to guarantee profits for National Grid as it passed increased cost on to energy consumers. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) thwarted the process based…
Given other content on the site, it seems like a good day to catch up with an excellent commentary by Capers Jones published in the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition’s RISC-y Business newsletter: The hectic conclusion to the 2010 summer legislative section illustrates once again that Rhode Island is no longer a true democracy. Rhode Island…
From time to time, some insider or other will argue that Rhode Island isn’t all that corrupt and use arrest statistics or some similar measure as proof. Thankfully, those arguments are correct to the extent that we still find unique such stories as the three councilmen in North Providence who appear to have taken bribes…
Rather than simply cut the Public Utilities Commission out of the process of approving an off-shore wind project, the General Assembly, with the enthusiastic assent of Governor Don Carcieri, has effectively permitted the commission a single stamp — a rubber one: The new law changes that measuring stick by dramatically narrowing the window for the…
As he often does, Andrew used his appearance on the Matt Allen Show, last night, to put a topic on which he’s been expounding on Anchor Rising in the plain terms by which it affects Rhode Islanders. This time, that topic was the new municipal receivership law. Stream by clicking here, or download it.
When Marc called in to the Matt Allen Show, last night, the two discussed E-Verify and the political system in Rhode Island. Stream by clicking here, or download it.
By way of an update on West Warwick’s current public-money scandal: An Arizona real estate firm has offered to return $3 million to the West Warwick pension board after news of the investment — and the subsequent resignation of the board’s financial consultant — triggered a barrage of criticism in recent weeks. Cole Capital sent…