 |
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Monique, at Anchor (via the Valley Breeze) has RI GOP chair Gio Cicione's insurrectionary clarion call to the local populace:
It is said that every man and every woman - somewhere over the course of their life - must have their moment.
It is a moment of recognition that something larger than the day to day details of our own family life is beckoning and we must answer to it. I would propose to you that such a moment has arrived for Rhode Islanders.
The checklist of unfavorable economic conditions in which our state now exists should be by now frighteningly familiar:
* A structural deficit at more than half a billion dollars and growing.
* Seventh highest property tax burden
* Overall fourth highest tax burden
* Worst business climate - including small business climate - in the nation
* Among most generous states in pay and benefits to state workers
* Eighth most highly paid teachers/school results in bottom fifth of nation
Haven't you had enough? If you have, I ask you to take action.
The Rhode Island Republican Party asks you to make a run for the General Assembly to show you are not going to abandon our state. This is your moment that the citizens take back the state from the special interests.
The Rhode Island Republican Party does not owe anything to the grip of greed of the public employee unions and their contracts - and many who do their bidding in our legislature - which have driven this state to its present condition of bankruptcy.
The Rhode Island Republican Party firmly believes the smallest state in the nation has no business being among the most free spending in the nation to those employees in nearly every measurable benefit, especially for the size of their retirement pensions which we cannot afford.
A bankrupted state cannot adequately finance its schools or public universities. It will leave all of our school age children with inferior educations when compared to other states and diminished prospects for college and beyond.
A bankrupted state does not attract businesses that provide jobs, careers and financial stability to college graduates and young people hoping to start families. It drives your own college-educated son or daughter far away from home to more prosperous states where they take their future earning power with them.
A bankrupted state will not nourish the stable, safe, small business-thriving, friendly communities many of us grew up in. Rhode Island is headed toward deteriorating into a state of rundown, boarded-up, forgotten neighborhoods offering far less prosperity, stability and safety to families here. If this is not the future state you want for your children, it's time to say "Enough."
Come join us. We will help you launch your campaign if you will help us fight back.
It doesn't take lots of money or any sacrifice greater than the ones you would make for your family on any given day. Like all things worth doing in life, it just takes desire and hard work.
When you win, we will together pursue a plan to drastically cut our out of control spending, immediately reduce your property and income taxes, put education dollars back into classrooms not just contracts, protect our environment, and to bring companies and good jobs back to Rhode Island. Oh yes, we can!
Contact our office at 401-732-8282. Contact me personally at 401-289-2380.
Giovanni Cicione
R.I. GOP chairman
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Over at Anchor, Don gets the broad strokes right in this post:
As someone who has led corporate turnarounds for nearly 20 years and has read extensively on what it takes to lead successful change initiatives, it is appalling how little progress has been made to effect real change in the face of the current crisis here in RI. It's not like these structural problems are a new development!
One of my favorite authors on leadership and change is Harvard Business School professor John Kotter. He has been writing for years about the topic of leading change and is a world authority on the subject. More on his books can be found here.
For the last decade, Kotter has been writing extensively on what he calls the "Eight Step Process of Successful Change." Here is an excerpt from his "Iceberg" book, a book which uses a fable to describe what it takes to realize successful change. Easily accessible to the layperson, I recommend reading it.
Set the Stage
1. Create a sense of urgency: Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.
2. Pull together the guiding team: Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change - one with leadership skills, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills, and a sense of urgency.
Decide What to Do
3. Develop the change vision and strategy: Clarify how the future will be different from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.
Make it Happen
4. Communicate for understanding: Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and strategy.
5. Empower others to act: Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.
6. Produce short-term wins: Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.
7. Don't let up: Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with initiating change after change until the vision is a reality.
Make It Stick
8. Create a new culture: Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become strong enough to replace old traditions.
As we all reflect on the severe crisis here in RI, one of the most disconcerting conclusions is how RI is currently 0-for-8 in moving in the right direction.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
State budget is out of whack and the local economy is sucking wind? Check.
Dems run the show in the legislature, and Republicans can't get a foothold? Check.
Quintessential boondoggle involving dubious activity (around the Central Landfill)? Check.
Corruption trial? Check.
Just another day . . .
Monday, May 12, 2008
This from a release touting URI economist Leonard Lardaro's latest tracking data:
The year 2008 continues to be a nightmare for Rhode Island’s economy. The Index remains at 8 for March, pointing to a second and deeper recession phase. Fifty is a neutral value—anything below that represents contraction, while anything above it represents expansion.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
It's not surprising that the latest state revenue estimates have come in lower than previously expected, but this hardly makes it easier to contend with the situation. Here's the heart of Steve Peoples's report today:
Until yesterday, Governor Carcieri had officially anticipated a budget deficit of $384 million for the fiscal year that begins in July. He had already submitted a plan to close the massive gap, which accounts for 11 percent of state spending.
A group of budget analysts, however, determined yesterday that weak tax collections — led by declining sales-tax revenues — caused the state’s financial hole to grow by between $50 million and $55 million. ....
The election-year debate over the midyear spending plan raged for much of the last month. But it might pale in comparison to the debate over how to close a budget hole nearly three times larger for the coming fiscal year. That question will consume Smith Hill for the next seven weeks.
Friday, May 09, 2008
We're at a point where Governor Carcieri, legislative leaders, and A.T. Wall, director of the state Department of Corrections, basically agree on the need to expand treatment options for non-violent criminal offenders. Doing so is smart policy and more cost-effective than keeping such criminals warehoused at the ACI. Yet making progress on this front remains difficult, as Te-Ping Chen writes in this week's Phoenix:
It was after midnight, and Dawn Jacques lay sleepless in her cell at the Adult Correctional Institutions, shuddering. Bathed in sweat, she stared at the ceiling for hours until it blurred. When the occasional wave of nausea ran through her, she lurched toward the toilet, vomiting.
It could have been the first time she was incarcerated or the tenth. Jacques, a 31-year-old from Cranston, has been addicted to heroin and in and out of jail for 10 years, and the long nights of withdrawal were the same every time.
“It felt like I was going to die,” Jacques says. Jail made her feel “miserable,” she says, “like [she] had no choice but to keep using.” And upon leaving prison, that’s exactly what she would do: return to the streets and start shooting up again.
Across the state, Jacques’s story is a familiar one. America’s drug war has devolved into a domestic quagmire, costing $500 billion without discernible success. Yet while a wealth of studies indicate that treating addicts is more cost-effective than incarcerating them, access to treatment remains limited in many states, including Rhode Island. In fact, according to data from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rhode Island has the second-highest rate of addicts that need treatment but don’t receive it.
Not surprisingly, the state prison system is feeling the crush. Since 1976, the ACI’s population has exploded by 457 percent, with what Department of Corrections Director A.T. Wall calls an “ever-increasing number of offenders with substance abuse problems being swept [in]” — and with similar cost increases for the state. Today, 70 percent of ACI inmates report substance abuse problems (mostly heroin, alcohol, and cocaine). And without treatment, the majority of these offenders who are released will end up imprisoned again.
[The brigade in action, just not last night]
Jagged contrasts in sharp proximity are part of what can make cities interesting and vibrant, and Providence -- relatively small though it may be -- was a case in point last night.
At Prov, WPRO morning talker John DePetro was holding court, celebrating a recent professional accolade as RI talker of the year. Those making the packed scene included Steve Laffey, Joe Trillo, Bob Watson, Nick Gorham, Lou Pulner, Donna Perry of the RI GOP (who is John's sister), Deputy Police Chief Paul Kennedy, John Ghiorse, Charlie Hall, Frank Carpano, radio moguls Joe Lembo and Paul Giammarco, and others.
Down the street at Nick-a-Nee's, it was time for Segal Fest '08, a slightly more free-wheeling event, what with the superlative What Cheer? Brigade playing in the outdoor patio/parking lot, and a cast of thousands, including Councilors Luis Aponte, Terry Hassett, Seth Yurdin; Representatives Moura, Watson, Gorham, Gallison and Sullivan (among others); unionists, enviros, hipsters, liberal activists (Sara Mersha, Ari Savitzsky); bloggers and newsies (Ariel Werner, Beth Comery, Peter Wells, Scott MacKay, yours truly), and many more.
A good time for all, times two.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Coming your way, at the State House:
From MERI:
On Wednesday, May 7, the Rhode Island Assembly's House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on several bills addressing marriage equality rights for all Rhode Island couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Supporters of marriage equality, including several members of MERI, are expected to testify.
WHAT: Marriage equality legislation, pro and con:
Bills under consideration that MERI supports include:
• Compassion for All Families Act – Sponsored by Rep. John McCauley of Providence, H. 7711 would give domestic partners the spousal benefits of family medical leave, nursing home visitation and funeral planning.
• Equal Divorce Act – Sponsored by Rep. Gordon Fox of Providence, H. 7939 would allow same-sex couples who married outside of Rhode Island to divorce in Rhode Island.
• Equal Marriage Act – Sponsored by Rep. Arthur Handy of Cranston, H. 7839 would allow all Rhode Island couples the equal freedom to marry.
Bills that MERI opposes include:
• Divorce legislation – Sponsored by Rep. Al Gemma of Warwick, H. 7081 would codify into law the Rhode Island does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples. Although the legislation would permit same-sex couples to divorce in RI, the bill would likely close the Massachusetts border to Rhode Island same-sex couples who wish to marry there and doesn't' address jurisdiction for same-sex couples married in Canada or overseas.
• A constitutional amendment – Sponsored by Rep. John Brien of Woonsocket, H. 8017 would define marriage as between a man and a woman and would nullify any recognition of marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.
From FairVoteRI:
Youth Voter Pre-registration, H 7106, is out of committee and scheduled for a vote on the House floor this Wednesday. This is a big step towards turning early registration for 16 and 17 year olds into law. The push to get young Rhode Islanders excited about democracy is moving forward— please come to the State House on Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM, and, in the meantime, contact your state representative and ask them to support this common-sense, non-partisan reform.
From the RI Patient Advocacy Coalition:
On Thursday, May 8, 2008, at 4:00pm, the Senate will vote on S2693 in the Senate chamber at the State House. This bill would allow the Department of Health to license a non-profit organization to serve as a Compassion Center, to grow and distribute medical marijuana for registered patients. THIS WILL BE THIS BILL'S FIRST FLOOR VOTE.
Monday, May 05, 2008
There are legislative fundraisers, and then there are legislative fundraisers. Those of Representative David Segal, which have a bit of Mardi Gras, fall into the latter category, and he's got one this week.
Please Join Rep Segal for a night of music, fun and progressive politics this Thursday, May 8th, at Nick-a-Nee's in Providence's Jewelry District.
For more info, or to donate online, please visit www.VoteSegal.com
Thursday, May 8th
6-10PM
Nick-a-Nees
75 South Street, Jewelry District
Featuring:
The What Cheer? Brigade
The Low Anthem
The Trolleys
Pay-what-you-can
Here's part of my report from a previous event:
Interesting crowd last night for state Representative David Segal's (D-Providence) fundraiser at Nick-a-Nee's. Aside from assorted advocates (Matt Auten, Peter Asen), neighborhood activists (David Riley), artists (Bert Crenca, Mimo Riley) and scribes (Scott MacKay, yours truly), there was a strong showing from the Green-turned-Democrat's House colleagues, including good sports Republican Minority Leader Bob Watson and Minority Whip Nick Gorham. The Dems in the House included Speaker Bill Murphy, Majority Leader Gordon Fox, Tim Williamson, Art Handy, and Gus Silva (N4N arrived on the late side, so my apology for any omissions).
It was an inspired choice to have music provided by the excellent What Cheer Brigade
Friday, May 02, 2008
From the State House:
STATE HOUSE – Rep. Stephen R. Ucci (D-Dist. 42, Johnston, Cranston) has introduced legislation that would allow voters to decide on a proposal to increase term lengths for and impose term limits upon members of the General Assembly.
Under the proposal, elections held after 2010 would be held every four years. Legislators would serve four-year terms and be limited to three terms (totaling 12 years) in the same chamber.
The measure (2008-H 8039) would require a constitutional amendment to be placed before voters in a statewide referendum this November.
“Longer, four-year terms for lawmakers would result in more stability in the legislature and ultimately, more voter trust and confidence in the General Assembly,” said Representative Ucci. “Most legislators cannot accomplish everything they’d like to for their communities in a two-year term. Increasing the term length would allow legislators to spend less time dealing with campaign and fundraising issues and more time carrying out the wishes of their constituents.”
The Ucci legislation would limit any senator or representative who has served in his or her respective chamber for more than four years as of December 31, 2010 to two additional four-year terms.
“Term limits would create an opportunity for new people with fresh ideas to be elected into office,” said Representative Ucci. “It’s important for our state to have a governing body that reflects our growing diversity.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states currently have term limits for legislators. Representative Ucci said that term limits have proven to be successful and have resulted in more women and minority representation in six of those 15 states.
The resolution has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.
Renaissance Man Robert Healey, the leader of the Cool Moose Party in Rhode Island, knows just how tough it is to build an alt-party. In 2002, I wrote about the challenges facing alternative parties.
Healey, 45, who is still hailed by strangers on the street as "Cool Moose" and "the Moose Guy," is currently running for lieutenant governor on a platform of abolishing the office. Regardless of the outcome, this will mark the last campaign of the Cool Moose Party since state law requires that a party must receive five percent of the presidential or gubernatorial vote, or a petition with the signatures of five percent of those who voted in the last gubernatorial election, to remain on the ballot.
Without a dramatic shift in the fabric of American politics, Healey doesn't expect third-party candidates to make significant inroads in his lifetime, "but that doesn't mean you should stop trying."
So while voters, at least according to a RIC poll released this week, have caught up with his idea of abolishing the LG's office, it's not particularly surprising that Healey sees Ken Block's Moderate Party as facing less than a highly impactful future.
Asked about this during a taping this morning of WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers, Healey praised Block for getting involved in the civic process, but when pressed, he acknowledged that alt-parties are whistling in the wind.
House Minority Leader Bob Watson and Terry Gorman of RIILE also appear on the show, which will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox 64. (Ramon Martinez from Progreso Latino was invited to appear, but couldn't make it.)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
From Rhode Island College:
The survey was conducted between April 17-28, 2008 and sampled 400 randomly selected registered voters for a 4.5 percent margin of error. The sample was drawn reflecting voter contribution by geographic region in recent statewide elections.
Gov. Donald Carcieri submitted several cost cutting proposals, which the House of Representatives responded to last week. Designed to begin to address Rhode Island’s fiscal crisis, RIC’s latest survey tapped into public sentiment on proposals under consideration at the State House. In the face of the most serious fiscal predicament since the banking crisis of the early 1990s, Rhode Islanders favor welfare cuts and a merger of Rhode Island College and CCRI, but are lukewarm to other actions to close the budget gap.
The survey showed Rhode Islanders support only three of the 10 budget cutting proposals tested in the survey. The study found:
• Overwhelming agreement to the governor’s proposal to reduce the maximum amount of time a family can remain on welfare.
• Major support for the elimination of the office of Lieutenant Governor, a proposal that has not been previously floated by government officials.
• Considerable agreement that Rhode Island College and CCRI should be merge to reduce expenses.
Respondents were divided nearly equally on two items:
• About one in two supported round-the-clock gambling in Newport and Lincoln, while an almost identical number opposed it.
• Nearly half opposed massive state employee layoffs, while a similar number favored them.
The sample was closely divided on three items:
• Slightly more than half disagree with the proposal to release early well behaved, non sex-offender prisoners from the ACI, while four in 10 favor the proposal
• Just over half oppose privatization as a method for cutting the state workforce; about forty percent are in favor.
• About half are against RIte Care cuts, while one-third support them.
Cuts in state aid to CCRI, RIC,and URI, or to cities and did not find favor with the electoral:
• More than eight out of 10 surveyed disagree with the proposal to cut $17.1 million from the budget of CCRI, RIC, and URI; only about one in 10 favored the idea
• Two in three opposed cuts in state aid to cities and towns for non education purposes
“In this time of fiscal crisis for our state, it is critical that decision makers have information available from their bosses, the Rhode Island public,” said Victor Profughi, political scientist and director of the survey.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Labor activist Patrick Crowley, who's been on the warpath lately against Governor Carcieri (Pat, we suspect, would say it's the other way around), sends word of this rally:
Community Activists, Organized Labor and Religious Leaders Will Join In Calling On State Leaders To Promote Economic Justice For All Rhode Islanders
What:Thousands of people – including community activists, organized labor, religious leaders and hard-working Rhode Islanders – will march through Providence to the State House to attend a rally promoting economic justice for all Rhode Islanders.
When: Friday, May 2nd 4
4:00 pm: Photo Opportunity: Westin Ballroom, March to State House
5:00 pm Rally
Where: RI State House Lawn
82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903
Who: Master of Ceremony:
George Nee
Secretary/Treasurer, Rhode Island AFL-CIO
Speaking Program:
Paul Booth
AFSCME National Organizing Director
Sarita Gupta
Executive Director, National Jobs with Justice
Bob Walsh
Executive Director, NEA RI
Secretary-Treasurer, Working RI
Roxana Rivera
SEIU Local 615 Commercial Division Director
Why: The country is on the brink of recession and Rhode Island is in the midst of an economic crisis. How we move forward together out of this crisis will impact every Rhode Islander and will impact how communities across the country move forward.
On May 2nd, we will unite around a vision of Rhode Island that will protect and promote the dignity of every Rhode Islander. We will unite around a vision of a state that honors and respects hard work. We will fight for economic justice for all Rhode Islanders.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Darrell West, who came to Rhode Island in 1982 and is departing in June for a job at the Brookings Institution, also stopped by the Newsmakers' set today. Like journalists, West has had a rich vein of fodder here, and he says the Ocean State will stay with him after he moves to DC.
Among the highlights of his exit interview:
-- Rhode Island remains handicapped by a lack of long-term economic planning. The General Assembly habitually responds to the governor's budget at the last-minute and in a frenzied fashion. It will not be surprising if the state experiences another fiscal crisis another 10 or so years down the road.
-- Rhode Island remains a place with a high quality of life and where the economic base has grown more multi-faceted since the sharp decline of the old industrial base in the '80s.
-- Bruce Sundlin's airport expansion was controversial in the early '90s, but now looks like a genius idea.
-- The jury is out on Buddy Cianci's impact as a radio talk-show host. West says that although Cianci has a platform with which to criticize David Cicilline, the mayor's office is generally a stronger position from which to operate.
-- The jury is out on Governor Carcieri's record. While Carcieri exhibited an early strong suit in communication skills, he has gotten bogged down by taking on too many different fights and by not having more of a single-minded focus on budget issues, West says. The governor has had some success, the professor adds, in changing the discussion on budget-related topics.
-- It remains a challenge for some Rhode Islanders, including those elected as reformers, to overcome the "insider" mentality once in office, but the state has strong ethics laws for use in responding to the situation. "You can not reform human nature," West says, who also referred to Elmer Cornwell's observation that the Ocean State is marked by "the politics of intimacy."
-- Asked what he would leave as a gift to Rhode Island, West says it would be a greater emphasis on regionalization.
The show will be broadcast Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12, and at 10 am on Fox 64.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
In the course of my habitual channel-surfing, N4N moves on when I find ultimate fighting, rather than Roadhouse, on Spike TV. However, Paul Wachter's recent New York Times Magazine profile of ultimate fighter Shad Smith was nothing less than fascinating.
Shortly after he was released from California’s Avenal State Prison in early 2005, Shad Smith got a call from the organizers of an underground fight club called Felony Fights. Was he available? they asked. “I was just out of prison and out of money,” Smith told me recently. He was incarcerated for failing to comply with the probation terms of an earlier D.U.I. conviction, a relatively minor offense in his long criminal résumé. “They said they’d give me 800 bucks to show up and double that if I won.”
Most fighters who appear in Felony Fights are ex-convicts, but few are professionals. Smith was: he fought in sanctioned bouts for King of the Cage and several other second-tier mixed-martial-arts organizations that have sprung up in the past few years. For Smith, taking on an untrained, would-be tough guy seemed like easy money. ....
Smith is gay, and I know of no other professional fighter who is openly so. “I was always scared that my mom and dad would find out and wouldn’t like me, and my brothers wouldn’t like me,” he said. “I was petrified, because I didn’t want anyone to find out. And I would try to be the toughest person around. That way, no one would suspect, no one would ever say it, no one would think it.”
Anyway, BeloBlog reports that RI is moving closer to embracing ultimate fighting.
A modest proposal might involve installing the octagon under the State House dome.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Last week, when I took part in a taping of A Lively Experiment, Ron St. Pierre asked whether it was wrong for state lawmakers to take a spring break with the state facing such dire fiscal problems. Lou Pulner offered the best response, describing how the traditional last-minute passage of a cascade of legislation poses a greater concern.
Now, House Finance, on the second day after the legislative break, says it is expected to vote today on the supplemental budget. While a small number of individuals controlling the process is status quo on Smith Hill, it hardly seems to offer the chance for thorough consideration of the budget.
STATE HOUSE – The House Finance Committee is expected to vote on the supplemental budget (2008-H 7204) for the 2008 fiscal year this evening. The committee is scheduled to meet today, April 22, at the rise of the House session (likely sometime after 5 p.m.) in Room 35 in the basement of the State House. The committee has canceled all other business it had planned for today.
The committee is also scheduled to take up numerous bills this week at hearings at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday at the rise of the House session, the committee will hold a hearing on the status, outlook and prospects for Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium. All hearings will be held in Room 35.
What better time than Earth Day?
When: April 22 2008, from 3-4:30 PM. (Speaking portion begins at 3:30 PM.)
Where: State House. Smith Street, Providence, RI.
What: A lobby training session and tour of the State House will start at 3 pm in the Bell Room, in preparation for talking with legislators about ECRI’s legislative priorities. Next, speakers will discuss environmental initiatives. Then, citizens will lobby elected officials about bills introduced to protect human health and the environment.
Who: Presented by the Environment Council of Rhode Island (ECRI), a coalition of over 60 organizations and individuals whose mission is to serve as an effective voice for developing and advocating policies and laws that protect and enhance the environment. ...
Why: Elected officials need to hear from their constituents about environmental legislation. Matt Auten, president of the Environment Council, strongly encourages Rhode Islanders to celebrate Earth Day by telling the General Assembly that we need them to pass strong environmental legislation, particularly in order to tackle global warming pollution. “This is a great opportunity for everyone who cares about the environment to take action and tell our elected officials what is important to us,” Auten said.
ECRI Legislative priorities include:
•ECRI supports the Global Warming Solutions Act, legislation to cut global warming pollution 80% by the year 2050. (S2629, H7884) RI needs a mandatory program that will achieve the pollution reductions scientists say we need to avert the worst impacts of global warming. Global warming puts our environment and health at risk through impacts ranging from increased beach erosion and rising temperatures in Narragansett Bay, to more frequent and intense hurricanes, and an increase in the rates of asthma and variety of insect-borne illnesses.
•ECRI Supports the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. (S2633, H7524) which will protect Rhode Islanders from diesel pollution, which leads to adverse health risks. This year’s legislation calls for the cleanup of trash trucks and state vehicles.
•ECRI Supports the Rhode Island Shared Water Resources Act. (S2637, H7787) Rhode Island’s water use is outgrowing our reserves. Since water is a public good, the public sector must manage supply and demand and protect the land surrounding water sources.
•ECRI Supports the Electronic Waste Producer Responsibility Act. (S2631, H7880) This legislation requires manufacturers to pay for collecting and safely recycling discarded electronic equipment, which contain lead, mercury, and other toxins.
Monday, April 21, 2008
From the House Republicans:
State House- The House Finance Committee will be meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22 to consider legislation (H 7627) that would establish more stringent public disclosure requirements for all legislative grants. The meeting will take place at 1pm in room 35 of the State House.
The legislation sponsored by Representative Nicholas Gorham (R-Dist. 40 Foster, Glocester, Coventry) calls for the inclusion of all legislative grants in the state budget. Also required would be the grant recipient’s name, a contact person for the grant recipient, the sponsoring legislator, a statement of whether the House or Senate Finance Committees have held hearings on the proposed grant, and a brief description of the nature and purpose of the grant.
Aside from the greater disclosure requirements, the inclusion of all legislative grants in the state budget would require that they be voted on by the full General Assembly. This would be a dramatic change in procedure, as the current system requires no such vote.
The full text of this legislation is available at http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText08/HouseText08/H7627.pdf.
Speaking of Laffey, he, during his Channel 10 appearance, outlined a bold plan to grow GOP representation in the General Assembly. Why isn't it happening? asked Jim Taricani.
As I recall, Laffey said the responsibility belongs, in part, with the governor's office.
In related news, the state GOP has this announcement:
WARWICK, RI – The Rhode Island Republican Party today announces the appointment of Ivan Marte of Cranston to a diversity outreach leadership post within the Party. Marte will become the new Chairman of the party’s RI Republican Hispanic Assembly. He replaces David Quiroa who resigned several weeks ago.
“Ivan Marte is an active leader in the Hispanic community, is active within his own Cranston community and is an energized Republican who will serve us well,” states Chairman Giovanni Cicione. “We are thrilled to bring him on board to this leadership post which is very important to our ongoing outreach efforts to the Hispanic and other diverse communities.”
Marte says he is pleased to take the chairman’s post for the Party. “I am glad to serve the state Republican Party in a Hispanic leadership post because I support the Party’s goals,” Marte says. “I want to help them fight the Democrat leadership at the statehouse and fight to help the family run small businesses which many Hispanics own, which are struggling in Cranston and across the state.”
Marte will also play a pivotal role with the Party’s ongoing candidate recruitment effort, having been a candidate himself who is eyeing another run this year. Marte ran unsuccessfully for Cranston Senate District 28, losing to incumbent Josh Miller in 2006. He expects to announce his intentions about a race this year very soon.
“Ivan has run for office, knows the issues, knows the shortcomings of the opposition, and is well positioned as a candidate himself,” Cicione adds.
Marte, a native of the Dominican Republic, is a professional banker who has worked at the Dominican counterpart of the Federal Reserve Bank and currently is in management with Domestic Bank locally. He has served on the Cranston Mayor’s office Cranston Diversity Advisory Committee, has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Cranston Public Library and is a past recipient of the Dominican American Award. He is married and the father of seven children.
Friday, April 18, 2008
The subject of peak oil is hotly debated by geologists and various others. A related discussion is planned for Monday:
STATE HOUSE – Rhode Islanders will have a chance to examine “Cheap Oil - Going, Going, GONE!” on Monday, April 21, at 3 p.m. The lecture, presented by the Progressive Legislators Group and the Environment Council, will be in the Room 313 of the State House is free and open to the public.
Richard Heinberg, one of the world’s foremost experts on peak oil and its impact on industrial society, will speak on the end of cheap oil and what it means for America and the world. The term “peak oil” refers to the point at which half of the oil the planet once had is extracted. The remaining half will be increasingly harder to extract and therefore more costly. Some will be too costly to extract at all. Once the peak is reached, the cost of oil will steadily and permanently increase, along with the price of everything dependent upon it.
As gasoline streaks toward $3.50, $4 and more a gallon, how will we get to work and school? What kind of education will we need? Mr. Heinberg will cover these questions and more and look at the ramifications of a life without cheap oil.
Heinberg is a senior fellow of the Post Carbon Institute in California and is internationally renowned as a leader and educator in awakening the public to the impending energy declines as we enter the post-carbon era. He writes a regular column for The Ecologist and has authored scores of articles that have appeared in such periodicals as The American Prospect, Public Policy Research, Quarterly Review, Z Magazine, Resurgence, The Futurist, European Business Review, Earth Island Journal, Alternative Press Review and The Sun; and on Web sites such as EnergyBulletin.net, GlobalPublicMedia.com, ProjectCensored.com, Counterpunch.com and Alternet.org.
Among Heinberg’s several books are “The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies” (2003, 2005); “Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World” (2004); “The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars, Terrorism and Economic Collapse” (2006); and “Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines” (2007). Currently, he is completing a book on coal, “The Great Coal Rush and Why It Will Fail,” to be published later this year by New Society Publishers. He has appeared in numerous video documentaries, including “The End of Suburbia” and in Leonardo DiCaprio's “11th Hour.”
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Steve Peoples elaborates today on the pension and tax proposal discussed by state Senator Stephen Alves during his appearance last weekend on 10 News Conference, while also describing the sharp reaction. And while it's understandable that George Nee, for example, wants to be a part of this conversation sooner rather than later, the pushback (which was keenly anticipated by Jim Taricani during Sunday's show) underlies the difficulty of delivering change in Rhode Island.
First, the concepts:
While Alves would not release a draft of the [pension] bill yesterday, he provided a written summary of proposed changes for municipal employees with less than 10 years in the system:
• Police and firefighters must be 55 years old with at least 25 years of service to qualify for a full pension.
• Non-public safety employees must be at least 59 years old with 29 years of service or 65 with 10 years of service to qualify for a full pension.
• Annual pension increases would be capped at a simple 3 percent each year.
• Retiree health-care benefits would begin only at age 55, while coverage would expire when the retiree becomes eligible for Medicare.
And this:
At the same time, he plans to introduce a separate bill that would raise the minimum corporate tax from $500 to $5,000 on a tiered basis. Only companies that gross more than $10 million annually would have to pay $5,000.
“These are some large companies,” Alves said. “I don’t think $5,000 is that onerous.”
An analysis by the Senate fiscal office suggests that the tax increase would apply to less than a quarter of corporate filers who pay the minimum and could generate $10.1 million, which would be distributed to cities and towns.
Now the reaction:
“On the business tax competitiveness front, Rhode Island ranks 50 out of 50 states — dead last for two years in a row,” said Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, citing data from the Tax Foundation’s 2007 Business Tax Climate Index. “This proposal does not move the needle in the right direction.”
And AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer George Nee blasted the pension proposal as “offensive” and “an unnecessary reach.”
“I think that it would have been much more helpful and respectful if there had been a dialogue and a discussion with the parties that are affected by this before a proposal was just thrown out,” he said. “These are obvious serious issues; they affect the taxpayers, but they also affect peoples’ retirements and economic future.”
Monday, April 14, 2008
As we know, Jack Reed's mantra is that he is running for reelection and not about to take a Cabinet post in a Democratic administration.
On a related note, two General Assembly Democrats have filed legislation that would change the process for filling a US Senate vacancy.
STATE HOUSE – Rep. David Segal and Sen. Paul V. Jabour have submitted legislation that would require that U.S. Senate vacancies be filled by special elections.
At present, the governor is empowered to appoint people to fill such vacancies. But the bill (2008-H 7586 and 2008-S 2324) would require that a special election be held to fill U.S. Senate vacancies, unless such a vacancy occurred after July 1 of an election year, in which case the vacancy would be filled per the regular general electoral cycle.
The sponsors say the current law is a vestige of an outdated system of electing senators, prior to the ratification of the 17th amendment in 1913, which called for the direct election of senators. Until that point, senators were chosen by state legislators. While the amendment called for the popular election of senators, it allowed for vacancies to be filled via other mechanisms.
“In the last 100 years, 151 U.S. senators have take office without being elected. Incumbency affords great electoral advantages, and it is exceedingly likely that once appointed to office, a senator would readily achieve reelection,” said Representative Segal (D-Dist. 2, Providence, East Providence). “The only legitimate vehicle for ascension to a body as powerful as the Senate is popular support – only the passage of this legislation would ensure that the electorate determines its representative.”
Said Senator Jabour (D-Dist. 5, Providence), “Here in Rhode Island, we have legitimate cause for concern about this issue, since Sen. Jack Reed is a strong candidate for a cabinet appointment. If that were to occur, allowing voters to choose a replacement would be a much more democratic avenue than having one chosen solely by the governor. Regardless of whether the governor is a Democrat or a Republican, he or she shouldn’t have the only vote in choosing who will represent our state in the U.S. Senate.”
The bills have both had hearings before their respective chambers’ judiciary committees and are currently being held for further study.
Jim Taricani and Bill Rappleye had an interesting extended conversation with state Senator Stephen D. Alves, chairman of Senate Finance, during the 10 News Conference broadcast yesterday morning.
Among the highlights:
-- Alves says he has not been interviewed by the FBI in relation to Operation Dollar Bill and has not received a "target letter" concerning the investigation.
-- Despite the anticipated pushback from labor, Alves expects growing support for pension reform, due to the severity of the costs facing the state.
-- Alves, who was criticized for a proposal to increase a tax on businesses, says it would affect less than a quarter of the businesses operating in Rhode Island. He called it a minimum fixed tax that represents a very small amount for large corporations.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Is "illegal immigrant" or "undocumented immigrant" the best way to describe the folks getting so much attention these days in Rhode Island?
Representative Peter Palumbo (D-Cranston) and Fred Ordonez of Progreso Latino, not surprisingly, offered different views on that and other facets of the immigration debate during a taping this morning of WPRI/WNAC-TV's Newsmakers. The show will be broadcast on Sunday, at 5:30 am on Channel 12 and at 10 am on Fox 64.
Also appearing is Elizabeth Burke Bryant, executive director of Rhode Island Kids Count.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Speaking of Chafee, he has declined to sign on with the Moderate Party of Rhode Island, main Moderate Ken Block tells me, but Block has enlisted the backing of former attorney general Arlene Violet, my regular co-panelist on Newsmakers.
In hindsight, I was a bit too quick to dismiss Block's effort when I wrote last November about why RI Republicans fail. As he explains it, drawing people to the center, and away from the ideological extremes, could help to focus energy on the state's top problems. It's worth a shot, and if he encourages more people to run for office, that's good, too.
I offer a short look at Block's ongoing efforts in this week's Phoenix:
Block, a Barrington resident who owns a Warwick software company, says he’s long been frustrated by the shortcomings of the local status quo, in which Republicans don’t offer a viable alternative and legislative Democrats operate with a lack of accountability. As a businessman with elderly parents and school-age children, Block, a self-described centrist, says neither party adequately addresses his various concerns.
If his nascent Moderate Party could pull enough people into the center, he reasons, it could have an impact, helping to put some pressure on the ruling Democrats.
While efforts to develop third parties have had little success amid America’s two-party duopoly, a poll recently commissioned by Block, among other results, found that 78 percent of the respondents felt that neither major political party represents their views on the way state government should be run.
Seventy-four percent of the respondents said they would be supportive of a new moderate political party that was “not beholden to the state’s labor unions and special interest of the left or in lock step support of Republicans on the right.”
The Moderate Party of Rhode Island (moderate-ri.org) advocates the immediate adoption of five core principles:
• Toughen ethics laws and employment agreements to make our elected, appointed and employed state officials far more accountable for their actions.
• Sto | |