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A Statement from Mayor Angel Taveras on Occupy Providence

All citizens have a right to have their voices heard, and I, like the Occupy movement, am concerned about the causes and impacts of the most serious economic downturn in decades. This movement is important because our city, our state, our nation need to do much more to address the jobs and foreclosure crises which are crushing hope and opportunity for the 99% of us.

Here in Providence, the protesters who have camped in Burnside Park since October 15 have conducted themselves peacefully, and the city has had ongoing and respectful dialogue with the group. I commend Occupy Providence for its commitment to nonviolence, and I thank Occupy Providence for publicly recognizing the city’s efforts to ensure their right to assemble and demonstrate.

Unlike many other American cities, Providence is taking a nonviolent approach to the occupation of Burnside Park that has resulted in no arrests and the continued freedom to protest with the full support and cooperation of public safety. Continue reading “A Statement from Mayor Angel Taveras on Occupy Providence”

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RI ACLU Supports Occupy Providence’s Right to Peaceably Assemble

RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown yesterday on the Occupy Providence protest:The ACLU fully supports the right of ‘Occupy Providence’ to engage in forms of peaceful protest at the park and elsewhere in the city in order to express their political views and promote their cause. We believe that some of the particular rules and ordinances that have been cited by the City in an October 27th letter to protesters – including an apparent ban on any protest activity in the park after 9 PM – may be constitutionally problematic if they were to be enforced against members of ‘Occupy Providence.’ Peaceful First Amendment activity should not be subject to a curfew.The Projo oddly(?) buried the lede with their headline, “ACLU: Federal ruling limits Occupy Providence’s right to remain”. Contrast that with GoLocal’s take, “ACLU Supports Occupy Providence.” The ACLU did note the federal ruling and also their opposition to it:Issues surrounding the group’s indefinite encampment are more complicated. Unfortunately, there is a U.S. Supreme Court decision, called Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence, which upheld, in the similar context of a political protest, the constitutionality of a federal rule against overnight camping in certain public parks. We disagree with that ruling, but under the circumstances, we believe it significantly limits the First Amendment arguments that are available in support of the group’s right to indefinitely encamp at Burnside Park without a permit.The ACLU statement also hints at the possibility of legal action “for challenging Providence’s camping ban,” as yet unexamined.

For their part, the Taveras administration issued a statement with plans to pursue eviction via the courts. The mayor selectively quotes the ACLU statement in support of this action. Hopefully the rest of the words of the ACLU will weigh heavily as well:

This historic protest has been extraordinarily peaceful, and the participants appear to have been cooperative with city officials and respectful of needs relating to public safety. We appreciate the comments that have been made by the Providence Commissioner of Public Safety that any eviction proceedings will be done through an orderly civil, not criminal, process, and that there will be no effort to use force to remove people from the park. It is essential that all appropriate due process is provided before any such proceedings take place.

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Ward 9 Residents Face Saturday Deadline

Secretary of State Mollis is reminding residents of Providence’s Ward 9 that this Saturday is the deadline to register to vote in the special election to fill the late Miguel Luna’s City Council seat.

Residents are scheduled to go to the polls Nov. 29. State law requires voters to be registered at least 30 days before an election in order to be eligible to cast a ballot.

In order to register and vote in the special election, you must be at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and a resident of Ward 9. In addition, state law requires registered voters who have recently changed their names or moved into Ward 9 to re-register.

“If you are not sure whether you are registered to vote or whether your voter-registration information is up to date, check for yourself using our Voter Information Center.”

Even though the deadline falls on a Saturday, Providence officials will open City Hall from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for residents to register or update their voter registration at the last minute.

Carmen Castillo, who won last Tuesday’s Democratic primary, will face off again Republican Christian Chirino.  Castillo’s name will appear first on the ballot thanks to winning the public lottery we held.

There are two more upcoming milestones in the Nov. 29 election calendar.

Nov. 8 is the deadline to request a mail ballot. The Providence Board of Canvassers must receive applications by 4 p.m. on the 8th.

After the deadline for requesting a mail ballot passes, voters who unexpectedly find that they will be unable to vote at their polling place can go to city hall during normal business hours through Nov. 28 and request an Emergency Ballot.

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Youth Offer Transportation Solutions

Transportation is under siege in Rhode Island.  Funding for RIPTA is limited and many are outraged at proposed route and service cuts. Providence youth have experienced barriers to affordable transportation since 2009 when state legislation decreased funding for the state’s health insurance plans; a source of most school bus passes.  Equipped with extensive research and passion for change, a group of youth is taking a unique approach to the problem.  The leaders of Youth 4 Change Alliance (Y4C) are creating solutions and inviting others to be a part.

Y4C, an alliance comprised of four non-profit youth organizations—Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Young Voices, and Youth In Action (YIA)—has been pushing for more youth voice and influence in institutional bodies of power.  After a year of research the youth-driven alliance is launching their Transportation 4 Education Campaignon Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 5:30 to 7:00pm at The Salon, 57 Eddy Street, Providence.

The campaign launch, although youth-led, hopes to engage the whole community with opportunities to be a part of the solution.  At the event stakeholders, community leaders and youth will learn what it’s[Invalid video specified] like to walk in the shoes of a Providence youth.  Providence schooling and transportation data will also be released.  The event will include interactive twitter Q&A sessions, an action auction where stakeholders are asked to commit to joining the campaign and prizes for youth participants.  The event is free and open to the public.

Transportation 4 Education campaign aims to decrease student barriers to attending school.  Through a process of research, community building and developing concrete solutions, the youth-driven alliance will make lasting change for Providence youth.  Y4C is dedicated to obtaining affordable monthly bus passes for all Providence public high school students who live more than one walking mile from their school.  Y4C seeks to partner with the City of Providence, Providence Public School Department, RIPTA, business and community leaders to leverage creative funding for this education investment.
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For the very first time since 2009, Social Security benefits to increase

Social Security benefits will go up by 3.6 percent in 2012 to adjust for the living costs. Social Security benefits have not increased since 2009. The increase is welcome news for retirees in this difficult economic climate. Many retirees, however, will see much of that boost devoured by increased Medicare premiums. Source of article: Social Security benefits to increase for the first time since 2009 Continue reading “For the very first time since 2009, Social Security benefits to increase”

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The State’s New Economy Wrong Way Run

 Disturbing hints this week from EDC director, Keith W. Stokes, that the state plans to continue it’s new economy wrong way run, even possibly eliminating financing of the Slater Technology Fund, this on the heels of the positive news of a $9 million federal grant.

“The hope would be that we can continue to maintain state support consistent with past practice or, better still, increased levels of investment,” [Slater managing director Richard] Horan said. “Given the cost-effectiveness of the program … there is certainly a case to be made.”

But Keith W. Stokes, executive director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation, says the $9 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative should be a major step toward Slater becoming self-sustaining. “That money [now provided annually by the state to Slater] has to go to more economic development.”

Slater currently receives $2 million dollars from the state, money well spent and an amount itself reflective of the steep funding cuts doled out by the state in 2009.

Yes, there certainly is a case to me made for the cost-effectiveness of the program. In recent years Rhode Island moved from a middling 29th to as high as 11th in 2008 in national rankings, a needed bright spot in the state’s business outlook. When we look back in a few years at where we are, will we wonder why we let Tea Party type, anti-tax gone haywire conservatism trump sound business sense?

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Whose City? Our City!

We learn this week that the ostensibly progressive Mayor Taveras is seeking legal action to forcibly evict Occupy Providence protestors from Burnside Park “in next few days.” One has to wonder which constituency he’s serving in taking action (hmm, are their initials BOA?). For their part, the protestors have expressed their intent to continue to peaceably assemble and petition for a governmental redress of grievances.  There is also a petition urging Taveras and Paré to let the protestors remain in the park. Continue reading “Whose City? Our City!”

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AT&T/T-Mobile Merger is about jobs. What’s wrong with that?

Last week, the pretend defenders of private sector unions on Fountain Street bought the line that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger was a bad idea. Typical double speak.  Here is a good counter argument from the Communication Workers of America:

If you repeat a made-up falsehood over and over again, will reasonable people start to believe it?

That’s what the critics of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger are hoping. They’ve manufactured a fact, claiming that the AT&T/T-Mobile merger will lead to 20,000 layoffs of T-Mobile workers. The problem is: they are just plain wrong. The proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger is good for workers and good for job creation.

Certainly, with unemployment hovering at a stubborn 9 percent, the impact of the proposed merger on jobs today and in the future should be a top concern of policymakers.

Let’s look at the so-called evidence the critics put forward.

Continue reading “AT&T/T-Mobile Merger is about jobs. What’s wrong with that?”

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Netroots Nation 2012 Meet-Up

Netroots Nation — the big annual gathering of lefty bloggers and activists — will be in Providence next year.  It’s looking like we’ll be having a meet-up of the local welcome committee (not sure exactly what we’re calling ourselves) sometime in the next couple of weeks.

If you’re interested in helping out could you please email me at davidadamsegal@gmail.com, with “NETROOTS” as the subject?

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Polluting Waterfront Poster Child Cashes Out

The poster child for the industry led effort to kill the $400 million redevelopment of the hospital adjacent area of Allens Avenue just cashed out, selling the firm to Sims Metal Management.

Ship repair company Promet Marine Services Corporation Ltd., located at Allens Avenue in Providence, was acquired by a metal recycling company.

Promet’s deep sea facility, with nine acres of land, a rail serviced 600-foot pier and two deep water berths will be the main export terminal for the newly formed New England subsidiary of Sims Metal Management Ltd.

So long, Providence! But look at the bright side, now you have yet another, even larger polluter to take Promet’s place and a lovely waterfront junkyard!

Among the recipients [of a S.F. Green Business Program award] was the local subsidiary of Sims Metal Management, a global company that shreds automobiles and appliances for recycling. The corporation also happens to be a big generator and dumper of hazardous waste.

 

As reported in this space previously, earlier this year the automobile shredding industry successfully lobbied to block rules that would have halted the dumping of treated waste from automobile recycling plants into municipal landfills.

 

While recycling may seem like an environmentally friendly idea, grinding up cars and separating only recyclable metal actually leaves behind hundreds of tons of toxin-containing residue in the form of ground-up cushions, wiring, and other material. Scientists say the stuff is unsafe, even when treated with silica-based coating, unless buried in specially sealed hazardous waste landfills.

 

Regulators with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control hoped to require just that. But the industry backs a pending bill to stop a rule that would have officially designated its byproducts as hazardous waste. Sims Metal can now plausibly claim in its financial filings that the million metric tons of waste per year it dumps in North America is “nonhazardous.” The attempt at changing this designation was a big deal. In a worst-case scenario, the material could leach lead, PCBs, mercury, and other toxins into groundwater.

 

Notwithstanding, attending the Veterans Building party to pick up a plaque last month was a vice president for Sims Metal Management. State records show that last year, 41,300 tons of waste went to landfills from Sims’ auto shredder facility in Redwood City.

 

City employees apparently were too occupied sniffing out nonbiodegradable window cleaners to conduct a Web search that might have revealed SF Weekly’s report noting Sims’ status as a major dumper of toxic garbage.

One has to wonder if this is what Mayor Taveras meant by bringing “green” jobs to Providence. Ever feel you’ve been cheated?

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TOMORROW: Teach-in on the Occupy Movement

Join Professors from the Departments of History, Africana Studies, Economics, Sociology, Theatre Arts and Performance Studies, Modern Culture and Media, and American Studies, Community Activists, and members of Occupy Providence for

Thinking Crisis:

Thinking Change

Teach-in on the

#Occupy Movement

Wednesday, October 12

DeCiccio Auditorium,

Salomon 101

5:00-7:00 PM

Wondering what all the hype is on Wall Street? What about all the meetings happening at Burnside Park?

Join Come THINKING CRISIS: THINKING CHANGE to learn more about the history of social movements, the American financial system, and the movement that has sprung up in more than 1000 cities over the last month!

Speakers will include Professors Naoko Shibusawa, Tony Bogues, Mark Blyth, Ross Levine, Vazira Zamindar, Francoise Hamlin, Robert Self, Patrick Heller, Michael Kennedy, Lynne Joyrich, Eng-Beng Lim, Corey Walker as well as students Kevin Barry, Sujaya Desai, and members of Occupy Providence

For more information, visit the Facebook event page, http://on.fb.me/occupy-teach-in, the Occupy Providence page, http://on.fb.me/occupy-providence, and the Occupy College Hill page, http://on.fb.me/occupy-college-hill.

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Occupy Providence begins @ 5pm on Oct 15: Burnside Park

Date:  Saturday, October 15th
Event: Gathering/Rally & March Against Corporate Greed/Assembly/Occupation
Time:  5pm to (indefinitely)

On Saturday, October 15th, at 5pm, Rhode Islanders will gather together in Burnside Park (Downtown Providence) to express a feeling of mass injustice and stand in solidarity with those occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square.  This will be done as part of an international day of action in conjunction with the occupation of dozens of other cities around the country and the world.  I am writing because I want all Rhode Islanders who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world to know that I believe that the members of the Occupy Providence General Assembly (OPGA) are your allies.  Members of the OP General Assembly have been meeting in Burnside Park everyday since Oct 1st, and it is a movement committed to non-violence, to maintaining a safe, alchohol free, drug free, harassment/discrimination free space, and it does not endorse any political candidate or party in any way.

Continue reading “Occupy Providence begins @ 5pm on Oct 15: Burnside Park”

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The Mythology of Radical Capitalism

One reason that radical capitalism has won the hearts of so many is that it is highly plausible; it sounds great. A world of abstract morality where the anonymous ‘market’ expertly and without pity, favoritism or error decides the ultimate value of goods and services and delivers those goods and services with maximum efficiency, the highest good. A world where shared ownership shifts corporate responsibility to a plebiscite to which the corporation answers; the interests of the shareholders will echo the interests of humanity. A world where capital flows continuously from the corporate class back to the entrepreneurial class, endlessly cycling value into new innovations that serve humanity. Continue reading “The Mythology of Radical Capitalism”


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