September 5, 2012 – RI Future

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

RI Delegation Welcomes a First-Night Speaker

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

chafee kilmartin — Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin and Gov. Linc Chafee (Photo by John McDaid)

CHARLOTTE, NC –– The Rhode Island delegation was buzzing this morning over last night’s speeches and events at the Democratic National Convention, and they had a surprise visitor when Gov. Lincoln Chafee stopped by their breakfast.

“We may have our differences back home,” Chafee told the delegates, “But here, we’re all united to support the re-election of Barack Obama”

From inside the hall, last night, probably not visible on tv, the audience response seemed a bit muted when Chafee started off by talking about being a former Republican. But it was evident that the audience warmed up to him almost immediately, and by the end, he got an enthusiastic round of applause.

Asked how he felt the speech went, Chafee told RI Future he was happy to have the opportunity. “Those were some points that I wanted to share with Americans…strong feelings that I’ve had since my time in the Senate.”

But although it was his speech, Chafee was clear that his main mission was supporting the President. “I know conventions, the point is to promote the candidate; I wanted to make sure I did that.”

In addition to a lot of positive words about our our local favorite, delegates were also delighted by the rest of last night’s lineup.

Rep. Frank Ferri thought the whole evening was powerful. “It was great to hear some positive messages,” he said. “Finally, let’s talk about what Obama has accomplished.”

Former gubernatorial candidate Myrth York particularly liked Cory Booker. “Cory was on fire,” she said. And she offered an observation about the picture offfered by the whole evening. “The party is young,” she said. “It has the look and feel of the future

Democratic National Committee member Frank Montanaro was especially moved by the video memorial to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. “As far as I’m concerned,” he said. “that was worth the show.”

And, of course, there was praise all around for the job that First Lady Michelle Obama did. Speaker Gordon Fox perhaps summed it up best: “Any man who has the sense to marry that woman deserves to be President.”

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

The Public Education / Transportation Challenge

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

I’ve found a way for the Providence Public School System to save more than $400,000 annually in transportation costs.

Every month, the School Department buys thousands of RIPTA bus passes, which it distributes to high school students from low income families or who live more than three miles from their school. In May of 2012, according to RIPTA, the School Department purchased around 2,000 bus passes.

How much does the city pay for these? Full price: $62 per pass.

After making several phone calls, I learned that RISD and Brown University, which issue passes to their students and faculty, pay $1.15 per ride, if the number of rides exceeds 500,000.

If the Providence Public School system used this model, the savings to the schools would be more than $400,000 annually. The savings actually increases because this year, the school is giving out more bus passes to ninth graders.

The School Department’s goal is to get students from their homes to their classrooms. If “giving” them a bus pass makes that happen, then they believe it’s money well spent. At the same time, someone needs to use the power of those numbers negotiate a better deal for Providence.

The downside, of course is that this means a $400,000 annual cut to RIPTA.

What is a supporter of both public schools and public transportation to do?

Imagine abundance and pleasure in public transportation

Last week, while the Republicans were busy in Tampa imagining a future with no taxes, smaller government, no unions and a plethora of jobs and millionaires, was dreaming about how we can get around our small state for the next 50 or so years.

I call for Rhode Island to become a leader in public transportation for the 21st century. Through an integrated system of trolley, bus, light rail, and commuter rail, citizens will be able to quickly and efficiently get to work, market, other cities and towns, and even to the beach. They’ll even be able to ride home after a late movie or show. (Currently RIPTA service ends around midnight.)

A high quality public transportation system will change the demographics of Rhode Island. It will encourage smart growth and eliminate sprawl.

I call for a system that can elegantly handle a tenfold increase in ridership within the next 10 years, reducing the need for one car per resident, reducing wear and tear on the roads and highways, and decreasing pollution and carbon waste.

Riding the bus doesn’t need to be free, but it does need to cost less, become more efficient and get you where you need to go when you need to go there.

We need a public transit authority whose goal is to maximize and increase ridership. As citizens we need to find a different model to fund it.

Current RIPTA funding is based on a fixed percentage of the tax on gasoline. This means that every time the price of gas goes up and people drive less, revenue for RIPTA goes down at the same time that the bus company is paying more for fuel and the ridership increases. This leaves RIPTA with less money to provide more services.

If we are determined to fund RIPTA through a gasoline tax, then it must be a percentage of the cost of gas, and a higher one at that – except that won’t work because people will drive out of state to buy gas. If we fund RIPTA through automobile registration, we must plan for a time when there are fewer automobiles registered. We must explore other options—public/private cooperatives, trolleys systems, jitney buses and so on.

Ultimately, to create a 21st century public transportation system, we must decouple RIPTA and the automobile. The goal of public transportation ought not to be just to provide free transportation to seniors , students and the disabled, but to reduce the need for and impact of cars on our cities and towns.

The Numbers

Approximate number of High School Students receiving bus passes in May 2012: 2,000
Number of days in the school year: 180
Cost of 2,000 bus passes per month for September-June: $1.24 Million
Maximum number of rides for those students during that time: 720,000
Cost of 720,000 rides @$1.15 per ride: $828,000
Minimum estimated annual savings to School Department: $412,000
Dollars cut from RIPTA, if these savings are implemented: $412,000

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

Progress Report: Grading Chafee’s Speech; Cicilline, Gemma and WPRO; Costly State House Seats; ‘On the Road’

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

The cable networks may have cut away from Linc Chafee’s speech at the DNC last night, but trust those of us who were streaming it on the internet: Rhode Island’s independent governor nailed it.

He spoke about pride in country, love of the land, social responsibility and fiscal responsibility, and then said, “The values I have spoken of tonight aren’t Republican or Democratic values – they’re American values.”

You can read his speech here or watch it here.

Meanwhile over at the Salty Shrine, David Cicilline and Anthony Gemma had a much more substantive and subdued debate than they did last week. Gemma scored some points for not engaging in his smear campaign (talk about a low bar!) and he also finally addressed his phony following on Twitter and Facebook. He said his fake followers have nothing to do with his campaign. Not true: his social networking fraud has everything to do with his character, which he himself has made an issue.

Let’s all take a moment to enjoy the irony of WPRO hosting a more subdued and substantive debate than anyone, let alone WPRI, which offers some of the fairest political coverage in the state. The lack of a crowd was a giant factor in this, but so was the professionalism with which Bill Halberman handled last night’s debate.

Check out this really cool interactive graphic of the most common words being used at the DNC, and who is using them.

One of the most moving parts of the evening was a video tribute to Ted Kennedy … if you missed it you can watch it here.

It’s more expensive to run for a seat in the State House than one might think … or at least, in some races it is.

New affordable housing is coming to Southern Rhode Island – good news seeing how this is one of the areas of the state that suffers the most from economic inequality.

On this day in 1957, Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” was first published. Here’s what the New York Times review thought if it then.

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012

Why Baby Formula Is Locked Up at Grocery Store

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

In between campaign meetings, canvasses and some precious moments of free time with my partner this weekend I scraped together a few minutes to run to the grocery store to pick up a few pre-election essentials (you haven’t forgotten that there is a primary election next week, right?). As I walked to the checkout counter with my essentials (basically that means coffee) in hand I noticed a sad sight.

Baby formula.

Not so sad in and of itself but what broke my heart was that at my local grocery store baby formula is behind lock and key in a glass security case. We have come to expect extra security on high-ticket items – security tags on TVs, leather jackets, and even CDs – but baby formula in a case typically reserved for diamonds and gold?

I suppose there is really nothing more valuable.

I remember what it was like to be hungry. In my early twenties when I was scraping by waiting tables, a couple slow nights or an unexpected expense like a trip to the doctor or a parking ticket could leave me without the money to buy food. But even then, it was only me. I cannot begin to imagine how much worse it must be as the mother of child desperate for baby formula.

With 62,000 Rhode Islanders unemployed, a state level minimum wage of $7.75 per hour, and nearly 17 percent of Rhode Island’s children living below the federal poverty level, it shouldn’t surprise me to see baby formula locked behind glass. But it should shock and disturb each and every one of us. We have a responsibility for more than charity.

We have a responsibility to change the broken economic system we live in. Income inequality causes real and tangible harm to our neighbors. A “jobless recovery” is not a recovery. A minimum wage that provides an annual income that will leave a mother and her children living below the federal poverty level is not acceptable. And the stubborn refusal of some in Congress to fund SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infants and Children) which provides nutrition assistance to women and children by holding up reauthorization of the Farm Bill, is just shameful.

In less than one week and again in November you will have the opportunity to vote for elected officials to represent you in School Committees, City Halls, the RI Statehouse, Congress and the White House. I beg you to ask each and every one of people who ask for your vote – what are you going to do to help the Rhode Islanders who cannot find work or feed their families? And ask yourself – what am I going to do to?

Originally posted on RightHer www.wfri.org/blog