Phillipe + Jorge were thrilled to see the upset victory by baker Michael Pinga over incumbent state Senator “Snarlin’ Steve” Alves in their Democratic primary race, which gives Pinga the West Warwick seat in the General Assembly. (There is no GOP or independent challenger in the November election.)
We revel in Pinga’s unexpected win, not just because Alves is arrogant, and power-hungry, but because he is one of the entrenched powers on Smith Hill, through his position as chair of the Senate Finance Committee. Alves’s clawing egotism is evident in his desperate protest to the Board of Elections and his request that the primary be rerun for the most specious of reasons even after he lost in the recount he demanded.
Although the McCain/Palin ticket throws into doubt the age-old line, “It can’t get any worse than this” about the politicians in power, the current members of the General Assembly — particularly the leadership and those who embody “the silence of the lambs” by going along with them — as a whole have done little to recommend their re-election to office. This is unless, of course, you are pleased by Little Rhody’s current state of affairs.
So let’s go, voters, get inspired, and upset the broken-down old applecart. What is there to lose by dumping the leadership and their pawns like the way Snarlin’ Steve got his ass kicked out the door by a solid citizen with some heart and common sense? Give someone else a shot, and Pinga! your incumbent this November.
Prez search on at URI
It’s too early to bid a fond adieu to our admired and esteemed old pal, URI prez Bob Carothers, who announced he will be stepping down as Vo Dilun’s State U. head ramrod at the end of this coming June. But now that we are informed that the search committee for his replacement will be headed by big bucks URI donor and alum Tom Ryan (’75), the CEO of CVS Caremark, we wonder if well-known former business associates of the drugstore chain, John “My Sharona” Celona and Gerard “Bag Man” Martineau, will be cleaning up their resumes and applying for the position?
Ripta’s short-sighted cuts
We’ve all heard about the proposed bus service cuts. Most of us understand it is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING!
But there is a part of the story that has hardly been mentioned — the significant impact the proposed cuts would have on people with disabilities. This is a subject that Jorge is quite familiar with.
Not only is he a non-automobile driver and regular user of RIPTA buses, he works for In-Sight, a Warwick-based nonprofit that promotes opportunities and independence for blind and visually impaired Vo Dilunduhs.
According to the requirements for the para-transit service (aka, the RIde program) that serves those whose disabilities do not allow them to drive automobiles, the pickup and drop-off locations for riders “must be within three quarters of mile of a fixed bus route.”
Since RIPTA is proposing eliminating the #8 bus, which runs up Jefferson Boulevard in Warwick, In-Sight employees will no longer be dropped off nor picked up at In-Sight. The closest bus line will now be more than a mile away, on Post Road.
Guess what? Seventeen of Jorge’s co-workers are legally blind, including a number of our top management personnel. Will these people have to give up their jobs and enroll in the public assistance programs to which they are entitled? Or can they continue to work, as they would prefer to do?
The proposed RIPTA cuts may merely shift the financial burden from one government assistance program to another. The one where people are allowed use their talents to work is obviously the preferable one.
A key member of arts in Providence
Marilyn “Patric” Epstein, who passed away in July at her New York City home, was a vital member of the Providence arts community for many years. As the performing arts coordinator for the Providence Department of Public Parks from 1981 through 1987, Patric (as she was known) was a tenacious advocate for public art and a champion of great local artists.
Patric returned to her New York roots to serve as the director of public programming for the City Parks Foundation and the NYC Parks Department, from 1987 until this July. She continued to create opportunities for great Rhode Island artists, hiring local luminaries like musician/new vaudevillian Michael Bresler, marionette artist Dan Butterworth and the Big Nazo gang, to do performances in the Big Apple.
There will be a memorial tribute to Patric this Sunday, September 21 at the Temple to Music in Roger Williams Park in Providence at 11 am. If you have questions, get in touch with her dearest friend, Marianne Cocchini, at aermac@cox.net or Richard Walton at rwalton28@yahoo.com
Help for a musician in need
One of the bulwarks of the local DIY/singer-songwriter-acoustic music scene is facing difficulty, and his friends are getting together to help fill in the gaps in his medical insurance. Jeff Olson is in RI Hospital with Legionnaire’s Disease. He’s a performer (along with his wife, Donna) in Wire & Wood, and a member, with Mederick Bellaire, John Dunn, and Vincent Pasternack, of Folkstogether. He’s been hospitalized for some time, the bills are piling up, and he has a long road to recovery.
