April 4, 2013 – RI Future

April 4, 2013April 5, 2013

Forbes Trashes Raimondo

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Don’t file this one under Raimondomia as Forbes offers a very harsh criticism of General Treasurer/gubernatorial candidate Gina Raimondo. Ted Siedle writes that Rhode Island’s pension reform, which has attracted many accolades, “will inevitably dramatically increase both risk and fees paid to alternative investment managers, such as hedge funds and private equity firms.”

And those were among the kinder words he had for Raimondo and her pro-Wall Street prescription for pension reform.

There’s no prudent, disciplined investment program at work here—just a blatant Wall Street gorging, while simultaneously pruning state workers’ pension benefits. It’s no surprise that some of Wall Street’s wildest gamblers have backed her so-called pension reform efforts in the state legislature. Former Enron energy trader emerges as a leading advocate for prudent management of state worker pensions? That’s more than a little ironic.

Siedle, who bills himself as “the pension detective,” offers several critiques of how Raimondo is investing Rhode Island’s pension fund, saying her high risk strategy seems designed to benefit the financial industry more than retirees or taxpayers. He also writes, “The pension committed $5 million in 2007 to a Point Judith II venture fund managed by the soon-to-be Treasurer. Someone should take a close look at the merits related to the decision to invest in Point Judith II.”

And he offers particularly harsh criticism of Raimondo’s relationship with Engage Rhode Island:

Any connection, direct or indirect, between the pension and donors to this tax-exempt political organization backing the Treasurer should be investigated, in my opinion. The lack of transparency and regulation related to alternative investments gives rise to almost endless possibilities for abuse and I’ve learned to expect anything.

I thought this was one of his most interesting observations: “‘The cost of public employee benefits in most states and communities is unsustainable,’ says the foundation’s website. Not-so-sure about that; on the other hand, it is well-established that the cost and any short-term outperformance of hedge funds are unsustainable. The cure for unsustainable pensions is unsustainable investing?”

So what does sustainable mean? Is it what taxpayers can afford to spend, or what they want to spend?

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013

What Cheer? Brigade To Again Picket Renaissance Hotel

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Remember when Joey DeFrancesco employed the What Cheer? Brigade to help him quit his job at the Providence Renaissance Hotel? “They treat us like shit here and I’m going to go in and quit right now with the help of my band mates the What Cheer? Brigade,” he said in the now-famous You Tube video that went viral and drew national attention to the downtown hotel.

Well the What Cheer? Brigade is at it again. And, evidently, so is management at the Renaissance. The band is again sticking up for oppressed hotel employees today at 5:30 when they picket outside of the downtown Providence hotel.

According to a press release:

The picket line follows a delegation on March 25 where Renaissance Hotel employees, political and community leaders and workers from other area hotels attempted to begin a dialogue with their employer to improve working conditions. The Hotel refused to listen to the delegation. The Hotel immediately responded by issuing two letters encouraging employees to back down and by scheduling housekeeping employees to attend mandatory meetings on two consecutive days where high level managers attempted to convince employees that they just needed more time. When employees requested copies of the Hotel’s OSHA injury logs late last week, Hotel management responded in a letter stating that they do not have the last five years’ records as required by Federal law. The employees are now considering legal action to obtain the records.

Workers say the Hotel has always treated them poorly, but that conditions further deteriorated since the Procaccianti Group, a national hotel management company, took over the hotel in December 2012. The Hotel’s top management remains the same. Employees say they have had enough. They are demanding a voice on the job.

Raquel Cruz a housekeeper, said: “When the new owners took over, they changed the chemicals we use to clean rooms. The new chemicals make it hard to breathe and most housekeepers have rashes up and down their arms. They never trained us how to use them properly. We are all worried about the longterm damage they will cause to our bodies.”

Renaissance workers currently make significantly lower wages and benefits than their counterparts in union hotels like the Omni.

The workers have already planned several more public events in coming days and pledge to continue their fight until management accepts their demands for respect.

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013

Help Wanted: Job(less) Fair At The State House Today

Calling all un- and underemployed!

Tired of pounding the pavement and dredging craigslist to find a job? Sick of sending out resumes only to get no response, or a “Thanks, but no thanks?” Unemployment benefits running out, forcing you closer to the brink of financial collapse?

Make your voice heard today!

Today, at 3 p.m. at the State House, Where’s the Work, Rhode Island? will be holding a Job Fair…. wait, scratch that, a Jobless Fair.

This is an opportunity for the 53,000 unemployed — and thousands more underemployed — Rhode Islanders to demand real action by the General Assembly to lower the unemployment rate in the Biggest Little.

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate remains stubbornly high, and state tax breaks like the Jobs Development Act have failed to generate enough jobs to significantly impact the unemployment rate.

Where’s the Work? is an initiative of Ocean State Action designed to increase public awareness and understanding of the unemployment crisis in Rhode Island. Politicians can throw around numbers and statistics regarding unemployment, but there is one very important thing that gets lost in the mix – the people and their real experiences as they try to weather the financial crisis.

“A lot can and needs to be done at the state level to address the unemployment problem,” says Mark Gray, Ocean state Actions Where’s the Work campaign organizer,” for instance, Connecticut has created a subsidized job training and employment program that has employed about 1,300 people in over 400 small businesses in the last year.”

Gray says that while Rhode Island’s total unemployment rate has fallen slightly, the long-term unemployment rate — those that have been out of work for longer than six months — hasn’t budged.

“We need a new approach. Clearly the state’s past efforts are not working, and this economy is not working for a significant segment of the population.”

Today’s rally is a chance to put the stories of unemployed Rhode Islanders front and center to reshape the public dialogue about our economy and make sure that our elected leaders better understand the urgent action that their constituents need.

Attendees to today’s rally are asked to dress as if attending a job interview and bring their resumes.

Even if you are currently employed, please consider attending this important event. After all, there’s no guarantee that you’ll have a job tomorrow.

April 4, 2013April 5, 2013

Address Beach Erosion, Climate Change Tonight

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ocean mist deck — The deck of the Ocean Mist, one of the most vulnerable local businesses to coastal erosion.

The Coastal Resource Management Council is officially kicking off its eagerly anticipated Beach Special Area Management Plan (SAMP) at 6pm tonight in the Corliss Auditorium at URI’s Bay Campus

Here’s a little teaser video from a press conference hosted by CRMC at the Ocean Technology Center yesterday featuring Executive Director Grover Fugate.

The event this evening is open to the public. I hope to see you there!

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013

Mike Riley Charged With Resisting Arrest, DUI

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riley sign — A fitting photo of Mike Riley’s failed campaign for Congress. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Mike Riley, a Republican who ran for Congress against Jim Langevin, was arrested early Wednesday morning for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and resisting arrest, according to Narragansett Police.

According to a police report, Michael G. Riley, of 444 Ocean Rd, was arrested at 1:45 Wednesday morning on Point Judith Road for resisting arrest, suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and refusal to submit to a chemical test.

The report says an officer saw a grey Lexus drive “off the roadway and onto the grass. I got behind the vehicle and observed it cross over ‘he solid fog line and onto the dirt shoulder by the wooded area off of Kinney Ave. The vehicle corrected itself again and began drifting to the right side of the road when l activated my overhead emergency lights.”

According to the report, Riley used his congressional candidacy to intimidate the officers after he was pulled over. The report says he “stated that he had ran for Congress and we had ‘fucked up’. He was very unsteady on his feet and was swaying from side to side drastically.” The report also says he told an officer, “you’re going to lose your job for this.”

When an officer tried to handcuff Riley, the report says he, “’he pulled his hand away and screamed “I ran for God Damn Congress, you’re fucked!'”

Riley is known to be combative. The former Wall Street hedge fund manager, ran a brutally negative campaign against Langevin. He was also highly critical of the media and the left. He was politifacted by the Providence Journal four times during the campaign and his best grade was a “half true.” He was also twice declared “mostly false,” and once “false.”

He won 35 percent of the vote.

April 4, 2013

Rhode Island’s Economy: A Moral Failure

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The most important news story Rhode Islanders can read this week is the front page of today’s Providence Journal. “The Face of Food Stamps Nearly 1 out of 5 in R.I. Depends on the Program,” reads the headline. It’s a sort of follow-up to the Washington Post’s recent stunning Sunday front-page examination of Woonsocket, where one in three people depend on the SNAP program.

What these stories depict – in human terms – is that there is a huge chunk of our state that isn’t making it on their own. Whether you believe this is because our government and our economy favor the rich over the poor or the poor over the rich is really inconsequential. I think we can all agree this is really bad. And not just for our economy.

Yesterday afternoon I went to a press event at the State House calling attention to the rising rate of homelessness in Rhode Island, another critical issue for Rhode Island’s economic and social well being and George Nee made a point that I don’t think gets nearly enough attention here in Rhode Island.

April 4, 2013April 5, 2013

Senate President Supports Rental Vouchers

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Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said she supports legislation that would allocate $3.25 million for rental vouchers and shelter costs to help address Rhode Island’s increasing homeless population. But she said the spending proposal would likely be part of budget negotiations rather than stand alone legislation.

She offered her support after a group of munchkins delivered her a wand and christened her Glenda the Good Witch.

It was all part of a Wizard of Oz event staged by the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless at the State House on Wednesday. According to the press release: “With the constant refrain of ‘There’s No Place Like Home,’ advocated urged the legislature to support H5554 and S494.”

If it sounds fun, it was. But the issue is a serious one. According to the 2013 point-in-time homeless survey by Dr. Eric Hirsch, a sociology professor at Providence College, the number of people living on the streets in Rhode Island has increased by 10 percent since last year. Rental vouchers would help homeless individuals get off the streets and begin to pick themselves up out of poverty.

“We want all of the state’s Dorothys to find their way home and to have the opportunity to realize that, indeed, there is no place like home,” said Coalition Director Jim Ryczek.