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Unite Here Local 217 has taken the battle to unionize workers at two Providence hotels to another level with the unveiling of a new website, TPG Fails, extremely critical of The Procaccianti Group, (TGP) a “Cranston-based hotel developer and management company.”
Unite Here local 217 has been engaged in a unionization effort at the Providence Renaissance Hotel and Hilton Providence for several years. Both hotels are managed by The Procaccianti Group, who have been relentless in fighting the efforts of employees to receive fair wages and decent treatment.
Subtitled “an independent investor information website posted by Unite Here,” TPG Fails is a compendium of the company’s bad investments, environmental disasters and “wasted opportunities.”
For instance, under “Hotel Failures” the site lists three hotels TPG managed to lose millions of dollars on, resulting in delinquent loan repayments and multi-million dollar defaults.
Under “Costly Cleanups” we learn that “In 2008, The Procaccianti Group discharged its deed of 138 Hamlet Ave. in Woonsocket, RI. The site was built in the early 1900s and was primarily used as a textile manufacturing plant. The Procaccianti Group subsidiary FDS Industries, which stored office and hotel equipment, abandoned the site in 2001. The environmental concerns at this site include a variety of contaminants, including Volatile Organic Compounds, Semi volatile Organic Compounds, Metals, including Hexavalent Chromium, Pesticides, Herbicides, Polychlorinated Biphenyl, Lead, Asbestos, Fluorescent light ballasts, and other solid wastes.” In 2008 Woonsocket was granted $200,000 in EPA funds to clean up the site.
The new website paints an especially grim picture of TPG’s environmental record. “In 2011, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council told Procaccianti subsidiary PBH Realty that it was in violation of six state freshwater wetland laws because of a man made pond PBH had made on a Jamestown property. Chris Powell, who was chairman of the Conservation Commission, said, ‘I chaired the commission for 27 years and these are the most blatant and obvious violations I have ever seen.’ Press accounts [here] and [here] state that after two years, the Coastal Resources Management Council accepted a ‘compromise’ restoration order.”
Wasted opportunities include the boarded up Fogarty Building downtown, and a promised 22 story high rise, “Empire at Broadway” that is today a parking lot.
Every excruciating TPG embarrassment is sourced.
The goal of this website is to pressure TPG to negotiate with the hotel workers in good faith. “UNITE HERE Local 217 is in ongoing labor disputes with two Procaccianti Group hotels in Providence, RI,” says their press release, “Fund managers should do their due diligence before partnering with The Procaccianti Group.”
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The Providence Student Union (PSU) called on the General Assembly to “Rebuild Our Schools” in a rally held at the State House. Joining the students was Representative Aaron Regunberg, a co-founder of the group, along with teachers, parents and community members and many elected legislators seeking to, “increase funding to repair the state’s deteriorating school buildings.”
Speakers stood next to pictures projected on a screen that showed rotting ceilings, damaged floors and walls and infrastructure in serious need of repair or replacement. Many of the students at the rally wore yellow construction hats “to reflect the danger of attending public schools.”
Jeremiah Ledesma, a student at Mt. Pleasant High School, spoke about a “very serious rat and roach problem” at his school.
“There’s a rat living in a classroom on the first floor,” said Ledesma. “It pops out every once in a while when it’s looking for food. I’ve seen cockroaches walk across the lunchroom floor.”
Laura Maxwell, a teacher at Hope High School, recalled a classroom she taught in that shared a wall with a student bathroom. “One morning,” said Maxwell, “I smelled something… not so nice… I finally went to the bathroom and saw a stream of human waste coming down the wall from the floor above.”
These stories are shocking, and they serve to highlight the sad state of our schools. The average age of schools in Rhode Island is about 60 years. Only 10 percent of the schools are under 25 years old. The PSU estimates that repairing only the worst schools will cost more than $300 million. Bringing all schools into good condition will cost $1.8 billion.
PSU has “called for an end to the state’s school housing aid moratorium, and for an increase in school facilities funding in the state budget.” They are supporting Governor Gina Raimondo’s addition of $20 million in school housing aid in her state budget.
Participants also support House Bill 5434, sponsored by Representative Regunberg, “to create a $70 million trust to continually generate funding for school repairs.”
According to a press release, the legislation “would establish the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation, which would oversee distribution of funds generated by the trust for school construction and would be responsible for developing and implementing a formula for borrowing and issuing loans and grants to districts.”
The night before the rally, Brendan Caprio, a student at Hope High School, testified before the House Finance Committee on the importance of properly funding our schools. You can watch that here, followed by video from the rally itself.
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Sue Sulham has been caring for developmentally disabled people in the Blackstone Valley for more than 20 years. She makes just $11.20 an hour.
“I don’t want to live beyond my means,” Sulham said. “I just want to be able to make a payment on time, to go grocery shopping and maybe luncheon meat would be nice … instead of peanut butter and jelly. I’d be able to live better if I could have $15.”
It can be too easy to forget that real Rhode Islanders have to live on the low wages that some of us only know about in abstract political terms. But Sulham now has a way to tell us about her plight.
SEIU 1199NE, the union that represents Sulham and about 4,000 other health care workers in Rhode Island, is producing video testimonials of local workers who are struggling to get by on their current incomes. Sulham’s is the first:
The videos coincide with state leaders considering making huge cuts to the state Medicaid program. “Our view is that Medicaid investments should be directed towards high-quality frontline care and towards ensuring that no health care worker is living in poverty,” said SEIU 1199NE Executive Vice-President Patrick J. Quinn. “It’s time that our society shows that we truly value the work that our caregivers do each day.”
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What’s so bad about Medicaid consuming 30 percent of the state budget? Caring for anyone is expensive, and the indigent are certainly no exception. My question is how did we reduce the care and welfare of our most vulnerable neighbors down to a mere 30 percent of overall state spending.
And what’s so bad about having the second highest Medicaid enrolee costs in the country? Don’t we want the enrollees to enjoy good benefits? If so, and I think that’s a major league if, wouldn’t the more actionable number be the cost per resident, or per taxpayer? In total Medicaid spending, RI is the 13th lowest in the nation.
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An unlikely coalition of opponents to the proposed downtown Providence stadium deal greeted new PawSox owner Jim Skeffington as he exited his chauffeured ride and quickly entered the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) offices at 315 Iron Horse Way.
Representatives and members of the RI Tea Party, The Republican Party, the Progressive Democrats of Rhode Island, The Green Party, Direct Action for Rights and Equality, Occupy Providence, The Rhode Island Sierra Club, RI Taxpayers, The Rhode Island Libertarian Party, and the Capital Good Fund stood side by side to take a stand against corporate welfare.
This event was put together by Coalition Radio’s Pat Ford and David Fisher, with help from Lauren Niedel of the Progressive Democrats. Ford acted as emcee for the event, in which 13 speakers and one poet spoke to a crowd of about 80 people. Inside the RICC offices, more than 100 more people attended the meeting where Skeffington and other PawSox owners revealed that they were amenable to negotiating a better deal.
Gina Raimondo essentially rejected the first deal offered, which would have, in the words of more than one speaker, “socialized the risk and privatized the profits” of the new venture.
Pat Ford spoke first, saying that “it is not the role of government to subsidize risk for private enterprise.”
Lauren Niedel of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats put the deal into stark economic relief: As Rhode Island prepares to carve $90 million out of Medicaid, how can we justify giving away millions of dollars to millionaires?
Andrew Posner, executive director of the Capital Good Fund, said that “every day I look at families that are hungry, that are poor, that don’t have jobs… that’s what we should be spending our time and money talking about.”
The Tea Party’s Mike Puyana said that the deal is “something called crony corporatism, it’s as far from equality under the law as it’s possible to get.”
“I don’t think I ever imagined that i was going to be at a rally with the Tea Party on the same side,” said Fred Ordonez of DARE, “but here we are!”
On a more serious note, Ordonez said, “Every time we see a huge development get all kinds of tax breaks and tax subsidies, the poor communities in providence get poorer and poorer.”
Larry Girouard, of Rhode island Taxpayers, said that a new stadium downtown is the last thing we need to spur economic growth. “The issue is taxes, regulation, infrastructure. This is just a diversion from the real problems.
The Green Party, represented by Greg Gerritt, brought up some of the environmental concerns, such as the risks of moving the new sewer line. “When you do things like that, you can do it right, but often it introduces more leaks into a system.”
“The state of Rhode Island has no business taking money out of the hands of taxpayers and giving it to millionaires,” said Gina Catalano of the Rhode Island Republican Party, “to be expected to make that investment with zero return, is ludicrous.”
Representing the Sierra Club, Asher Schofield, owner of the small business Frog and Toad, hit the crowd with a baseball metaphor, and tried to inspire us all towards something better.
“Providence is not a minor league city. We are what we dream ourselves to be. What we want to be. And we want to be major league. These are antiquated notions, the idea of public financing of private enterprise. This [deal] is not the grand notion that we need to have as a city moving forward… These minor league aspirations are beneath us.”
This deal, says Rhode Island Libertarian Party leader Mike Rollins, “is the exact opposite of everything we stand for.”
Occupy Providence’s Randall Rose made excellent points, and even read from a textbook about how bad it is for cities to invest money in minor league baseball teams. Rose read from the book Minor League Baseball and Local Economic Development, noting that, “there have been books on this, the scam is run so often.”
“The economic impact of a minor league team,” read Rose, “is not sufficient to justify the relatively large public expenditure for a minor league stadium.”
Steve Frias of the Republican Party, noted that the assembled crowd was comprised of people with “different viewpoints, but we all agree that this is a stupid deal.”
Roland Gauvin, an independent political activist, promised politicians who support such efforts that “a vote for this is the last time [politicians] will ever be voting, because we will vote them out of office.” Gauvin had especially choice words for Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, saying, “And I will be willing to go to any district in Rhode island, starting in Mattiello’s district, and work my way down.”
Finally, before the crowd moved inside to join the RICC meeting already in progress, Cathy Orloff lead the crowd in a participatory poem against the stadium, with five baseball references built in.
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Due process is a fundamental tenet underlying our civil liberties, and one can reject the hackneyed mantra that “guns don’t kill people” and still appreciate that gun owners have rights too. The ACLU does.
That’s why last week the ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of a North Smithfield resident, who is seeking the return of lawfully-possessed weapons that were seized from him over six years ago by the local police department. The lawsuit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Thomas W. Lyons on behalf of Jason Richer, argues that the North Smithfield Police Department has violated his right to due process and his right to keep and bear arms by retaining his property without just cause. The ACLU successfully filed a similar lawsuit against the Cranston Police Department three years ago.
In September 2008, police responded to Richer’s house when his now ex-wife called to express concern that he had tried to harm himself by taking pills. Although Richer explained that he was not suicidal and that his wife had misconstrued a conversation they had, police forced him to submit to a mental health evaluation at Landmark Hospital. The doctor who saw him there discharged him shortly after his arrival, and no charges were ever filed or any other action taken. In the meantime, police seized “for safe keeping” three lawfully registered guns from a locked case in Richer’s garage. Two months later, when Richer tried to retrieve the guns, police refused to return them, telling him he would need to obtain a court order.
Both his ex-wife and a psychologist provided letters to the Department in support of returning the guns to him, but the Department still refused to do so. Over the years, Richer has repeated his request for the return of the weapons, but he has been consistently rebuffed. He most recently pressed a captain at the department for their return in January of this year. The Captain said he would talk with the town solicitor about it, but Richer never heard back from anybody. In March, the ACLU wrote a letter to the police chief on Richer’s behalf, but also received no response, prompting the filing of today’s lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that the police department’s practice of requiring “weapons owners who are not charged with a crime to engage in formal litigation in order to recover their seized property” violates Richer’s due process and Second Amendment rights. The suit seeks a court order declaring the police department’s practice unconstitutional and requiring the return of his weapons, as well as an award of monetary damages.
“I am resolved to do all I can to end the unconstitutional practices and procedures employed by the North Smithfield Police Department. From the moment my firearms were seized, I have been asked to prove that I am fit to have them returned, and all the proof I have provided has been dismissed and ignored. This flies in the face of the presumption of innocence we enjoy as Americans. This practice must be stopped,” Jason Richer said when the suit was filed.
In 2012, the ACLU filed a virtually identical suit against the Cranston Police Department, which settled the case by returning the weapons that had been unlawfully held, agreeing to make any necessary repairs to the weapons while they had been confiscated, and paying monetary damages and attorneys’ fees.
Mr. Richer has been extraordinarily patient, yet the police have done nothing but make excuses about returning his property to him. Police departments must learn that the Constitution simply does not allow them to arbitrarily keep the property of innocent residents.
Whether police seize lawfully owned firearms as part of an emergency investigation, use civil forfeiture laws to impound a car from a person who is suspected of drug dealing, or confiscate medical marijuana from somebody alleged to not be a registered patient, the principle should be the same: people have a right to have their property returned – promptly – once officials conclude that no criminal activity has occurred or the basis for the seizure has been found wanting.
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Jared Moffat, executive director of Regulate RI, a coalition favoring to make Rhode Island the first state in New England to embrace a plan similar to Colorado, said at a press conference that the poll shows “a clear majority” of Rhode Islanders agree that “prohibition is the worst possible policy” and support legislation to tax and regulate.
“The Marijuana Regulation, Control, and Taxation Act creates a responsible alternative that proactively controls for public health concerns while allowing adults 21 and older the freedom to legally use marijuana if they choose,” said Moffat, “Taking the marijuana market above board will create taxpaying jobs and allow the state to tax the distribution and sale of marijuana.”
Moffat also introduced several new collation partners, including the Green Party, represented by RI Future contributor Greg Gerritt, and Jordan Seaberry representing the Univocal Legislative Minority Advisory Committee.
As an advocate for people of color, said Seaberry, he sees the “devastation” that prohibition wreaks on communities. The failed war on drugs, said Seaberry, results in mass incarceration, prisons and the militarization of the police.
The Reverend Alexander Sharp said that “Drug use is a health and education issue” that is not going to be solved by punishment.
Rebecca Nieves McGoldrick, executive director of Protect Families First, says that prohibition “separates parents from children” and “exposes families to drug war violence.” she pointed out that Rhode Island has “already had a marijuana related homicide” this year, a death that taxing and regulating the product might have prevented.
Greg Gerritt said that the Green Party has supported legalized marijuana for over 30 years. Taxing and regulating marijuana would save money in the state by reducing the prison population, and that the taxes generated would allow the state to build things. As a crop, marijuana has many other uses besides as a narcotic, including clothing, food and machine oil.
The first state to do this in New England will have an advantage over the other states, said Moffat towards the end of the press conference. Rhode Island would reap big benefits in terms of jobs and taxes if we strike first.
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Editor’s note: Former Phoenix editor-turned-freelance journalist Phil Eil says WPRO owes him $1,350 for four stories he wrote in late 2014. He agreed to share the below letter he sent to the Cumulus-owned radio station’s corporate office in Atlanta, as well as the local manager in Rhode Island. “I gave WPRO and Cumulus the benefit of the doubt for five months, during which time I conducted all of my attempts to be paid in private,” he said in an email to RI Future. “They have proven themselves unworthy of of the trust and faith I placed in them, and therefore I’m moving my quest to be compensated into the public sphere (where, after all, as a talk radio station and news outlet, they conduct their business).”
In the letter he says, “At this point, this is wage theft, plain and simple.”
April 27, 2015
Accounts Payable
CUMULUS MEDIA INC., CUMULUS BROADCASTING INC.
3280 Peachtree Road, NW Suite 2300
Atlanta, Georgia 30305
CC: Barbara Haynes, General Manager
Cumulus Media Providence
1502 Wampanoag Trail
East Providence, RI 02915
Hello,
My name is Philip Eil and I am a freelance journalist based in Providence, Rhode Island. I’m writing to collect payment for four articles, totaling over 11,500 words, I wrote for 630wpro.com (the website for the Cumulus-owned News Talk 630 & 99.7 FM WPRO, based in East Providence, Rhode Island) in November and December of 2014. The sum of the fees for these articles is $1,350, and my late fees (which I explain at the end of this letter) add up to an additional $684.50. In total, Cumulus Media and/or WPRO owe me $2,034.50, and I am demanding this payment immediately to avoid further legal action.
It’s not customary for me to demand payment from a publicly traded corporation, so some explanation is in order. In October of 2014, the Providence Phoenix (the weekly newspaper where I had worked as news editor) closed. Shortly thereafter, I was approached by WPRO’s Digital Media Director, who was interested in expanding the web content on 630wpro.com. We talked about what he was looking for and the kinds of articles I was interested in writing, and we agreed upon terms that were laid out in a contract that I ultimately signed and submitted on November 17, 2014. On October 31, 2014, 630wpro.com published an article introducing me as a freelance contributor which included a quote from the station’s Program Director: “We are excited to have new, original content from someone as respected as Phil available to us…The original content and perspective he provides will be invaluable to our on-air hosts and online delivery.” That post has since been removed from the website, but I have attached a printed version.
So began a still-fruitless quest to be compensated for the contracted work I had done for WPRO – all work that has been published on 630wpro.com alongside ads that presumably generate revenue for the station. Though I had already inquired about the status of my payment in November and December, in January I wrote numerous additional emails and made additional phone calls to various station employees. Despite these repeated inquiries, I received no paycheck.
On January 22, 2015 – more than two months after I had sent my first invoice – I received this email from WPRO’s Business Manager:
Hi Phillip – during the year-end process, payable runs are fewer and farther between as opposed to the normal weekly runs. We don’t cut the checks here, they are processed at the corporate level. I only get reports once per week and will know on Monday if they cut your check this Thursday. If they haven’t, I will get you a cashier’s check and expense it on my monthly expense report. I apologize but it is beyond my control. We haven’t had the ability to cut checks locally since Cumulus took over three years ago.
Still, no check arrived. I made more phone calls and wrote more emails. On February 3 – nearly three months after I first sent an invoice to WPRO – I received this email from the same business manager, following up on a phone call in which she said the check was being overnight-mailed to me:
Hi Phil – I just wanted to let you know that due to the storm yesterday the FEDEX package was not picked up. It is going out today so you should have it tomorrow.
Still, no check arrived. I made more phone calls and wrote more emails. On February 11, I received this note from the Digital Media Director who had initially approached me about working for WPRO:
I was notified that [the Business Manager] is no longer with the company.
There is a corporate business manager in the building and I have reported the missing check to our GM.
Stand by…
Still, no check arrived. I made more calls and wrote more emails. On April 7 – more than four months after I sent my first invoice to WPRO – I received this note from the station’s Program Director.
Hi Phil,
I got your message. I am so sorry this has happened. I know [Digital Media Director] mentioned quite a while ago that you were waiting for money. I thought you had been paid. I will find out what is happening with this and get back to you as soon as I can.
Again, no check arrived. And, as of today, 161 days (5 months, 10 days) after I filed my first invoice, and numerous months after filing invoices for subsequent articles, I still have not been paid for the work I did for 630wpro.com.
While I understand that unforeseen circumstances and personnel issues may have contributed to the delay, I – an independent contractor – should not have to suffer for your company’s internal dysfunction. At this point, this is wage theft, plain and simple. I am not an amateur journalist and my work is not a hobby for me. When I am misled and taken advantage of for nearly six months, I will not remain silent. Last week, after months of private efforts to resolve this situation proved ineffective, I wrote a Facebook post about it, which, in turn, was written about in a local Patch.com article, which, in turn, was picked up by the national media blogger Jim Romenesko, who wrote, “Shame on you, Cumulus Media’s WPRO!” I will continue to tell my story until I am paid.
As you can see, I am CC’ing Barbara Haynes, General Manager of Cumulus Providence, and I will also be simultaneously publishing this letter on the blog rifuture.org. As for the late fees I mentioned, when a client does not pay me within 90 days of receiving my invoice, I assess a fee of one percent of the agreed-upon payment for every additional day that payment is received. In this case, I sent WPRO a $250 invoice for my first article on November 17, 2014. It has been 71 days since the 90-window expired, thus a $177.50 fee has accrued. Add to this the fees from the other three unpaid articles ($260, $160, and $87, respectively) and the total comes to $684.50. Added together, these fees will continue to rise at a total of $13.50 for every day I am not paid.
You will find an invoice for those late fees – as well as my initial WPRO invoices and a printed copy of the 630wpro.com article trumpeting my arrival as a contributor – attached to this letter.
I sincerely hope I receive a check for $2,034.50 as soon as possible. A public apology would be nice, too.
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With newspapers reporting an increase of religious and cultural intolerance and hate crimes, it is refreshing to see the Rhode Island General Assembly pass resolutions condemning the systematic and barbarous murder of Armenians and Jews.
On Friday, April 24, Armenians across the nation stopped to remember the Ottoman authorities eight-year brutal campaign taking place 100 years ago to eliminate their ethnic group from its homeland in what is now Turkey. Both chambers of the Rhode Island General Assembly passed resolutions calling this day, “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day” and urging President Obama and Congress to officially recognize the genocide which resulted in the estimated death of 1.5 million Armenians and to make restitution for the loss of lives, confiscated properties, those who endured slavery, starvation, torture, and unlawful deportations.
Taking Responsibility for Your Actions
On April 6, it was a personal and professional triumph for Rep. Katherine S. Kazarian (D-Dist. 63, East Providence), a fourth-generation Armenian-American, to take the lead in sponsoring Rhode Island’s House resolution to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. In the afternoon before the vote, the East Providence lawmaker unveiled her resolution at a ceremony in the State House State Room attended by elected state officials and fellow lawmakers.
“The only thing worse than trying to eliminate an entire generation and culture is to deny that such a genocide ever took place,” said Kazarian. “For the past 100 years, the government of Turkey has continually refused to acknowledge their part in the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian people, “she said. Until the Armenian genocide that happened 100 years ago on her ethnic group is recognized by the government of Turkey, Kazarian promised to return to the State House every year to keep the issue alive.
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin says, “On this 100th anniversary, it is more important than ever to remember the horror and tragedy that the Armenian people went through, and it is long overdue that as a nation, we recognize the Armenian Genocide. Hopefully, through recognition, vigilance and education, this type of history will cease to repeat itself.”
“From my first days as a legislator to today as Attorney General, I have always advocated for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and more recently filed an amicus brief in support of the Armenian fight to seek the return of stolen Armenian Genocide era assets through the United States Courts,” says Kilmartin.
“There are many parallels between the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust carried out by Adolf Hitler, which ultimately killed six million Jews,” says the Attorney General, stressing that the Armenian Genocide served as an example for Hitler, who used the lack of consequences for the perpetrators of the Genocide as encouragement for the Nazis in planning the Holocaust.
“When giving a speech to Nazi leaders one week before the invasion of Poland, which effectively began World War II, Hitler reportedly noted, ‘who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?,’ notes Kilmartin, saying that “some historians have even suggested that if more had been done to thwart the Ottomans’ massacre of Armenians, perhaps the Holocaust could have been prevented.”
Eradicating Religious and Cultural Bigotry
Marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps, Rep. Mia Ackerman (D-Dist. 45, Cumberland, Lincoln) submitted a resolution commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Ha’Shoah). The resolution was passed by the House of Representatives.
“The citizens of Rhode Island have a rich tradition of fighting those who would trample individual liberty and human dignity,” said Representative Ackerman. “We must never allow anyone to forget the time when a handful of evil people tried to turn the earth into a graveyard by systematically exterminating an entire race of people.”
The resolution, which was passed by both the House and Senate, also applauded the courageous efforts of those who took part in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943, stating “the brave actions in April and May of 1943 stand as testimony to a rare and indomitable human spirit and extraordinary courage exhibited in the darkest hours of man’s inhumanity.”
According to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, by 2020 there will be only 67,000 Holocaust survivors left, 57 percent who will be at least 85 years old. How can the story of the horrific holocaust be told to the younger generation when the eye witnesses are dying off?
Andy Hollinger, Director of Communications for the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, makes an obvious comment. “No one who did not live through the Holocaust can experience its horrors, he says, noting that “Holocaust survivors are our best teachers.”
Today, about 80 Holocaust survivors are still telling their stories and working to educate new generations about this history at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
“When they are no longer here we will rely on the collections — artifacts, documents, photographs, films, and other materials to tell this story,” says Hollinger, noting that the Museum is “racing to collect the evidence of the Holocaust.”
“We’re working in 50 countries on six continents to ensure this proof [witness testimonies, artifacts, and documents] is secured, preserved and made available through exhibitions and, increasingly, digitally, adds Hollinger.
Marty Cooper, Community Relations Director, Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode, believes it is “vitally important that the next generations learn about the holocaust and other genocides and atrocities that have taken place and continue to take place.” He calls for genocide education to be mandatory and part of the middle and high school curriculum.
One of the great lessons we can learn from the Holocaust and Armenian genocide is that hatred cannot go unchallenged. It must be immediately confronted wherever it emerges, by governments, religious leaders, nonprofit and business organizations, more important by each and every one of us. We must avow that these horrendous atrocities will never happen again to future generations.
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U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez came out in strong support for both raising the minimum wage and for eliminating the tipped minimum wage during a press Q&A at the end of his visit to Gold International Machinery with state Senator Gayle Goldin and US Representative David Cicilline on Friday afternoon. The Secretary was enthusiastic about the economic benefits of raising the minimum wage for both workers and the economy.
“I was recently in Seattle on the first day of the effective date of the new minimum wage in Seattle,” said Perez, “the person who stood right next to me, in addition to the mayor that day, was the head of the Seattle Restaurant Association.”
According to Perez, Seattle “has had the highest minimum wage in the country over the last twelve years, and they have no tipped credit.” He added, “If the opponents were correct, then every time you fly to Seattle, you ought to bring a bagged lunch, because all the restaurants should be going out of business.”
Perez also talked about raising the regular minimum wage, saying that while he and President Obama, “don’t pretend to know what the best wage is for the city of Seattle or the state of Rhode Island… we applaud efforts to go as high as possible.”
The secretary added that “as a result of the low minimum wages across the country we’ve seen a consumption deprived recovery in many circles.”
“When you raise the minimum wage, guess what happens?” asked Perez, “If you’re a restaurant, people have more money to spend. When you raise wages, guess what happens? The economy gets better. We consume more things from manufacturers so places like Gold [International Machinery], they see their business go up.”
Here in Rhode Island there are General Assembly bills currently before the Senate and the House to gradually eliminate the tipped minimum wage. There are also bills to raise the regular minimum wage from $9 to $10.10. At hearings held to discuss the bills, representatives from the Rhode Island Hospitality Association, including Chairman Bob Bacon, have opposed any increases in the minimum wage with questionable economics and threats of robots.
Governor Gina Raimondo, who Labor Secretary Perez seemed to like quite a bit based on comments he made earlier in the day, has called on the General Assembly to raise the minimum wage to $10.10. She has yet to publicly support the elimination of the tipped minimum wage.
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It’s good for the environment, it puts people back to work and it lowers the cost of doing business in Rhode Island, says General Treasurer Seth Magaziner of the proposed Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.
“You have energy savings, you have infrastructure jobs and you’re doing right by the environment,” he told RI Future in an extended interview on the idea. By financing and finding low interest loans to big and small public and private sector energy improvements, Magaziner says the Ocean State can accomplish all three.
Click the player below to listen to our entire conversation about a Rhode Island Green Infrastructure Bank:
The Clean Water Finance Agency, explained Magaziner, would expand what it already does and change its name to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Run by the very well-respected Bill Sequino, CWFA makes loans to cities and towns for sewer projects and other clean water infrastructure. Magaziner called said CWFA is “one of most well run and well-respected parts of state government” and last year it added roads and bridges to its portfolio.
By becoming the state infrastructure bank – what some other states call a ‘green bank’ – it would finance all kinds of “green infrastructure improvements,” Magaziner said. “That can mean everything from stormwater infrastructure to energy retrofits for buildings.”
The new green infrastructure bank would make giant loans – in some cases “a half a million dollars or higher,” Magaziner said – for massive energy overhauls of public buildings. “Not just changing light bulbs and windows but really doing the heavy duty stuff,” he said. “Maybe replacing the HVAC or the boilers or adding insulation to walls that don’t have insulation, or maybe you’re adding solar panels or geothermal.”
“We think this can be very attractive to school districts, municipalities and other public building owners,” Magaziner said. “It’s a loan but it’s a very cheap loan. The cost of the capital would be very low, one percent or two percent. The average deep energy retrofit on buildings can save you 20 to 30 percent on your utility bills. So that can be huge energy savings financed with a loan with a very low interest rate.”
Privately-owned buildings could benefit, too. Especially if they are publicly subsidized. “We did a little research and found nursing homes spend about $10 million in state dollars on electricity every year so if you can reduce that by even 10 percent, that’s real money,” Magaziner said.
There’s even a program for home owners to finance energy efficiency improvements. It’s called a PACE loan, or a Property Assessed Clean Energy loan. The state green infrastructure bank would help a home-owner find the loan that would be tacked on to the municipal property tax bill.
“The benefit of that is if the building is ever sold the loan stays with the building,” Magaziner said. “Because the bank has that security of knowing the loan stays with the building and is on the property tax bill that might make them more willing to offer longer term financing too. So instead of paying back the cost of solar panels in two years or three years it could be five years or ten years.”
While 31 other states have either commercial or residential PACE loans, Rhode Island’s “will be broadest PACE program in the country,” said Magaziner. It will have both commercial and residential loans as well as cover a broader array of project. “Other states have done it for solar and energy retrofits, replacing HVACs and windows and boilers.” Rhode Island’s would also cover septic system upgrades and lead paint abatement, as well.
“It’s a very simple concept and a very intuitive one,” Magaziner said, “but we haven’t done it yet in Rhode Island.”
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Representative David Cicilline hosted U.S. Secretary of LaborTom Perez in Pawtucket Friday afternoon as part of “a roundtable discussion on paid leave.” Also on hand were Senator Jack Reed, Congressman Jim Langevin, State Senator Gayle Goldin, RI Department of Labor and Training Director Scott Jensen, Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee and District 1199 SEIU Executive Vice President Patrick Quinn.
Before the discussion, held at Gold International Machinery and LNA Laser Technology, Company President Dan Gold gave a guided tour of his businesses and answered questions about the state of the local economy and his opinion about the future of his businesses. Gold was generally optimistic.
Secretary Perez was visiting Rhode Island as part of a “Lead on Leave” tour, in which “Perez and other Obama administration officials are currently traveling the country to meet with employers, workers, government officials, and other stakeholders to highlight the importance of paid leave.”
Noting the “regrettable gridlock” preventing smart policy from being implemented in Washington, Secretary Perez said that President Barrack Obama now defines success by, “how much work we can do with our state and local partners.” In this spirit, Rhode Island, along with California, Massachusetts and Washington State, is pioneering paid leave law. It is hoped that our experience will pave the way for a national system.
The United States, said Cicilline, is “one of only three countries today that does not offer paid maternity leave.” The other two are Oman, a totalitarian state, and Papua New Guinea, which has the highest levels of violence against women in the world.
Opponents say that a paid leave program will hold back business and slow economic growth, but Cicilline maintained that “nothing could be further from the truth.”
“Paid leave is good for business and employees,” said Cicilline, “Supporting programs like paid leave promotes [employee] retention, recruitment of employees and improves productivity.”
In California, 87 percent of businesses had no increased costs due to the implementation of paid leave and 9 percent of businesses, “reported that the paid leave program generated savings.” Women who receive paid leave are 39 percent less likely to receive public assistance and 40 percent less likely to be on food stamps, so paid leave can save taxpayer dollars as well.
According to figures presented by Director Jensen, about 4800 people have used the Rhode Island paid leave system in its first year after passage. 3600 used the system to care for children and 1200 to take care of family. $8.35 million was paid out, notes Jenson, so it’s a “popular program.”
State Senator Gayle Goldin was instrumental in getting Rhode Island’s version of paid leave through the General Assembly. Goldin noted that the room in Gold International Machinery where the roundtable was being held in was the same room where the Rhode Island coalition advocating for paid leave held their first press conference. She joked that the signing into law of a national paid leave act should take place in the same room.
Goldin also spoke of the many people who have told her their stories of being able to utilize paid leave under Rhode Island’s law, people who would have faced impossible financial, emotional or health related hardships had this law not been passed. Here are three such stories, from the press conference:
Company President Dan Gold spoke from the point of view of a successful business owner. “To me, there’s business, but there’s also community, and quality of life. I believe that the business community is critical for creating a quality of life for all workers.”
So often we in Rhode Island talk about how we are behind the curve in terms of business and social justice. On this issue, Rhode Island is a leader, paving the way for the rest of the country to follow.
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“Thousands are getting shut off notices today,” said Camilo Viveiros, lead organizer of the George Wiley Centerto the 22 people gathered around a table hoping to avoid losing power on May 1, “Over 20,000 people in Rhode Island have their power shut off every year.”
Viveiros and the the George Wiley Center want to prevent unnecessary shut-offs. He talked about the Henry Shelton Act, named for the Rhode Island anti-poverty activist who shepherded a bill through the General Assembly that allows for “more than 50% of utility bills” to be forgiven under certain circumstances.
According to a George Wiley Center handout, “Utility Consumers of Rhode Island have… rights under state law and the Rules and Regulations of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (Division), which have the ‘jurisdiction to grant an exception to the provision of these regulations to any party for good cause shown.’”
If you’re behind on your utility bills, you have the right to “to both an informal hearing and a formal hearing before an impartial Division Hearing Officer. Utility shut-offs are prohibited until this hearing process is complete.” If a deal can not be made to your satisfaction, you have the “right to appeal the final Division hearing decision to Superior Court.”
You have the “right to an affordable payment plan. The Division has the authority to order payment terms which are less stringent than the applicable Residential Payment Plan.”
Further, if a customer is seriously ill, or if there is an infant in the home under the age of 24 months, you have the “right to protection” from a utility shut-off. “A lot of people with medical conditions get shut off in the summer time,” noted Viveiros, “A lot of Rhode Islanders would be shocked by that.”
It can pay to know your rights.
There is “the right for a ‘protected’ class of customers to maintain their gas and electric utility services during the Winter Moratorium from November 1st through April 15th. (Protected status for those who are disabled, LIHEAP recipients, seriously ill, unemployed, households with all over 62 years or children under 2 years.)”
You also have the “right to proper representation from the Consumer Unit of the Attorney General’s Office.”
We don’t have these rights, says Viveiros, “because some corporations decided to be nice to us. We had to fight for them.” Often, cautions a flier, “consumers calling the Division for help are turned away without being informed of their rights or about how to use the law.” Viveiros and the George Wiley Center are trying to fix that problem.
To that end the George Wiley Center has scheduled a series of trainings and will be happy to guide people through the sometimes difficult process of dealing with out of control utility bills. They’ve developed a 10 point plan of action:
Call the George Wiley Center to see if a member or volunteer is able to accompany you at the hearing. Also, ask supportive family members, friends, your elected officials, etc. to attend your hearing or offer letters of support.
Start making some kind of payment before your hearing, even a small amount. This will show a good faith effort when your payment history is discussed at the hearing.
Put together a “monthly budget”, the amount of your income minus all the bills that must be paid. Ex. Rent, food, medication, gas or oil, electricity, other utilities, etc. Have it written or typed out, and bring it with you to the hearing.
Prepare to tell your story, your special circumstances, including personal hardship such as unemployment, medical issues, children, divorce, etc. Let the Division hear what it is like to be you, to not have enough to afford your high payment plans for utilities that you can’t live without. Be prepared for the utility company representative to have a history of your payments, including missed and defaulted. Document all attempts you have made to request assistance, and if it they were denied, such as LIHEAP, Salvation Army, the Diocese, churches.
On the day of the hearing, arrive early to meet with your supporters beforehand.
Shut off cell phones and tuck them away during the hearing.
Share your story, monthly budget, and individual hardship circumstances with the Division. Tell them you want to pay the bills and what you can afford.
Do not make a deal at the hearing unless you really can afford the payments. Make sure the Hearing Officer tells you they have up to thirty days to make a decision on a payment plan.
Stay in contact with the George Wiley Center, update us as soon as you get the written response from the Division.
Attend meetings and actions to strengthen protections and improve policies that impact all RI utility consumers.
When people deal with utility companies unprepared, they will accept deals that only serve to plunge them into deeper debt. Noting that National Grid made $4 billion last year, Viveiros said, “We don’t need people to go home and feel depressed because they don’t have the money to give to people who are doing well.”
A woman told the story of having her electricity turned off. She learned that her gas stove required electricity to work, meaning she couldn’t cook. Her gas heat required electricity, meaning she had no heat. She ended up borrowing money from her children, running the risk of messing up her children’s finances. The woman felt shame, guilt and helplessness, simply because she fell behind on her bills.
No one is poor by choice. It is essential that we know our rights and come together as a community to compel large corporations to treat us with respect and dignity. “We’re trying to create a caring community,” says Viveiros, “where it isn’t all about the bills.”
Contact:
George Wiley Center, 32 East Ave, Pawtucket, RI 02860
cell: 401-338-1665 office: 401-728-5555
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The first solo sailor to circumnavigate the earth in 1898 had to hug the Castle Hill coastline as he finished his 47,000 mile voyage in Newport, Rhode Island. Joshua Slocum was dodging the lethal shipping mines planted at the entrance of Narragansett Bay during the Spanish American War. After surviving two years and 47,000 miles at sea, he was at risk of being blown up just miles from the finish line.
The six teams racing in the Volvo Ocean Race face no such perils. Only the Atlantic Ocean stands between them and Newport Harbor, where they will complete the sixth leg of the around-the-globe race on approximately May 5. With some 4,000 nautical miles between them and Newport, their arrival time is still a guess. This Volvo Race, sailing’s biggest biannual event, has previously stopped at Alicante, Spain, Capetown, South Africa, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, China, Auckland, New Zealand, and Itajai, Brazil . They’ll be in Newport from May 5 through the 17th, when they set sail for Lisbon, Portugal, the next leg of the what used to be known as the Whitbread Round the World Race.
When Slocum sailed around the world, he sailed a wooden 37-ft. oyster boat. The Volvo Ocean Race chose the Farr Ocean 65 for 2014-15, and basically established a new one-design fleet of carbon fiber rocket ships. Instead of the weird and disparate multi-hull competitors in what the America’s Cup race has evolved into, the Volvo boats are very similar. Because of that, right now, the boats have been sailing at close quarters for the first three days of the current leg. Often the difference in speed is a mere 0.2 knots.
Team Alvimedica has three Rhode Islanders aboard: Charlie Enright, the skipper, Mark Towhill, the general manager and Amory Ross, the reporter. Charlie and Mark, both with formidable offshore sailing experience around the world, know each other from the Brown Sailing team years ago. With advice from PUMA Ocean racing veterans, they put a world class team together. They are highly motivated to win this leg, and have a great number of fans here in Rhode island.
Team SCA, one of six current competitors, is writing history with an all women’s crew. Corinna Halloran, from Newport, is aboard SCA as a reporter. The 15 women comprising Team SCA come from six countries including Switzerland, Sweden, Great Britain, Australia, US, and the Netherlands. SCA is the largest private forester in Europe and manufacturers paper products marketed internationally. The 15 women were chosen from 250 applicants. Skipper, Sam Davies, took fourth in the recent Vende Solo Race, and she leads a talented crew. What has been mainly a playing field for men over the years has opened up, with due respect to Isabelle Autissier, and Ellen MacArthur.
A seventh competitor, Team Vestas Wind from New Zealand sailed up onto a reef in the Indian Ocean on an earlier leg of this year’s Volvo Ocean Race. The last harrowing moments were caught on video:
It is exciting to see Newport once again hosting a world class sailing event, and how great it is with such equal boats pitting sailor versus sailor, for unpredictable, close competition. The inshore race May 15th and 16th will be in the West Passage outside of Newport Harbor, visible from many vantage points in Newport and Jamestown. It should be thrilling to watch the Volvo boats sail under the Newport Bridge. And then the VOR departs for Portugal, France, and Sweden, to finish off 38,739 nautical miles of blue water sailing. For the sailors it means more freeze dried food and only one change of clothes at sea.
I’ve been a sailor for 45 years. I grew up sailing on San Francisco Bay, I’ve sailed across the Atlantic twice and I’ve sailed the Mediterranean and the Caribbean seas. This Volvo race reminds me why I moved to Newport more than 20 years ago.
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Kingston, RI—Fossil Free Rhode Island has been waging a campaign to convince the University of Rhode Island to divest from fossil fuel companies. Such campaigns have been gathering steam across New England and around the globe. Earlier this month, 19 students were arrested by Yale police at a divestment sit-in. Harvard students, faculty and alumni have been making daily headlines.
Fossil Free RI spent a year “going through channels” and presenting the moral and logical argument that “if it’s wrong to wreck the climate, then it’s wrong to profit from that wreckage.”
A little over a year ago, the request to divest was turned down by the URI Foundation, which manages the university’s endowment. Community support for divestment has continued to grow, and in response, Fossil Free RI has decided to escalate its campaign and has become a member of the Multi-School Fossil Free Divestment Fund [1]. This will allow concerned alumni to leverage their donations to push the university to divest. Instead of donating to URI directly, alumni can now donate to the fund, which will hold the money until a decision is made to divest, then release it to the university. If, by the end of 2017, the university has not made a commitment to divest, the funds will be distributed among those institutions that made such commitments.
Ron Creamer, a URI alumnus and Fossil Free RI member who practices law, read the rules and regulations of the Multi-School Fossil Free Divestment Fund. He said: “It is well-organized and set up for the sole purpose of providing an alternative for alumni to invest their funds in a way that may force schools to review their policies on investing in fossil fuel companies.”
Philip Petrie, another URI alumnus, said: “Universities need to step up and do their part to fight climate change by divesting from fossil fuels, and this innovative fund gives donors a chance to hold the institutions’ feet to the fire.”
In the two years that Fossil Free RI has been waging its divestment campaign at URI, it has been calling on the university to live up to its motto “Think Big—We Do.”
“What’s the use of training students in climate mitigation and adaptation strategies while at the same time investing in the very industry that is wreaking havoc around the globe?” asks Marie Schopac, a member of Fossil Free RI.
A little over a year ago, the URI Foundation turned down the divestment request. Interestingly, URI Foundation’s investment board itself has quietly suggested that it is sympathetic, which raises the question, who or what is actually stopping them?
As reported in the Providence Journal [2] at the signing of the Resilient RI Act of 2014, URI President David Dooley pledged the continuing support of his researchers, professors and students to work “with people who believe what scientists have to say about [climate change].” He added: “We are committed to doing our part.” Fossil Free RI asks, how can the university claim to be doing its part when it invests in the very industry that is causing the problem?
It is impossible to reconcile fossil fuel investment with the fact that “coastal development and climate change are rapidly changing the world’s coastlines and dramatically increasing risks of catastrophic damage,” as URI’s Coastal Research Center states in its report Coasts At Risk. [3]
Fossil Free RI fails to understand how URI can continue to invest in the fossil fuel industry, the leading cause of world food shortages, desertification and political instability, while at the same time promoting sustainability through many of its programs such as Sustainable Agriculture @ URI [4] and the ASSESS Project in West Africa. [5]
As to why divestment works, Fossil Free RI agrees with Divest Harvard, which summed up the arguments as follows: “Divestment will decrease the political power of the fossil fuel industry by taking away their social license. Today, politicians will refuse donations from tobacco corporations because they do not want to be associated with the industry’s toxic image. We need politicians to treat fossil fuel corporations the same way, and divestment will help us get there.“
Fossil Free RI respectfully requests a meeting with President Dooley to resolve the moral incongruities noted above.
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The Reinventing Medicaid working group unveiled 55 initiatives that are projected to result in $85.5 million in savings. Former Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts, tasked by Governor Gina Raimondo to head up the group, said that they are still working through over 200 suggestions, some of which may be included in the final report.
A deadline induced series of last minute proposals, said Roberts, will be considered over the next week.
This was the 3rd Reinventing Medicaid working group meeting and it was held in the fourth floor boardroom of CCRI in Warwick ahead of the working group’s April 30 report of proposed 2016 RI state budget initiatives. The working groups final report is due in July, but working group co-chair Dennis Keefe, of Care New England, cautioned that You cant do reform in a year. It takes five, six, seven years
Todays meeting took the form of a two and a half hour facilitated discussion with a PowerPoint presentation and specialized iPads that allowed working group members to type their questions, concerns and ideas onto the screen. This procedure had the benefit/drawback of anonymizing feedback from working group members, so it was hard to tell, for instance, who was worried about capping hospital executive salaries and who was worried about EBT card abuse.
The 55 initiatives were group by theme:
Payment and Delivery System Reforms: initiatives related to transforming Rhode Island Medicaid into one which pays for quality and value, rather than volume, and which promotes quality of care and patient experience.
Targeting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse: initiatives related to ensuring that Medicaid programs operate in compliance with state and federal law and regulation, and rooting out wasteful, unnecessary, or fraudulent spending and utilization.
Administrative and Operational Efficiencies: initiatives related to streamlining and improving state oversight of the Medicaid program.
A total savings of $85.5 million is projected so far:
Some initiatives were discussed singularly, others were grouped, and more than half were not discussed at all. The first idea to be presented was a plan to implement an incentive program to reduce unnecessary hospital utilization funded by a 5% decrease in hospital payment rates. This is projected to save the state $15.7 million. According to the working group:
This initiative would eliminate the FY2016 rate increase for hospital services and reduce hospital rates by a further 5 % across both fee for service and managed care. Achievement of savings in the managed care products (Rite Care, Rhody Health Partners and Rhody Health Options) will be accomplished through modifications to the capitation rate.
The $31 million saved would be re?invested in a hospital incentive program. Hospitals would have the opportunity to earn back a portion of the $31 million based on achieving performance goals around reduction of unnecessary utilization, reduction of avoidable re-admissions, and improved coordination of care. The incentive payments earned would be paid in September 2016.
What this means is that the 5 percent in savings would be placed into a pool which hospitals can claim the following year, based on the hospitals ability to satisfy certain metrics. Medicaid dollars would be unavailable for re-hospitalizations, hospital borne illnesses and the like. Instead, the hospitals will be able to claim these dollars only if they can show that they have attained certain patient health metrics. Such a scheme may require fast statutory changes from the General Assembly.
The next initiative would implement an incentive program to reduce long stays in nursing homes, funded by a 3% decrease in nursing home payment rates.
This initiative, which would impact both fee-for-service and managed care services, involves two components: a 3.0% reduction in rates and the elimination of an inflation related rate increase. Approximately half of the savings are associated with Rhody Health Options, and will be achieved through a reduction in capitation rates.
The $17.9 million saved would be re-invested in a nursing home incentive program designed to avoid long stays. The program would measure discharges to the community and re-hospitalizations, and offer incentive payments to facilities that achieve high ratings on both scores.
This initiative can be thought of as similar to the first initiative, except that it would apply to nursing homes instead of hospitals, with a similar emphasis on positive patient outcomes. This initiative is seen as important since nursing home care is one of Medicaids biggest expenses. Ultimately, nursing homes would be able to claim 2016 money in 2017 for moving patients out of nursing homes.
Savings of $4 million are projected through home stabilization initiatives for target populations.
The purpose of the states Health Begins with a Home Initiative (HBHI) is to make an organized set of Medicaid-funded health and home?stabilization services available to members of certain sub-populations. This innovative home and health stabilization program targets Medicaid beneficiaries who have complex medical or behavioral health conditions and are either homeless or at risk for homelessness or transitioning from high?cost intensive care settings back into the community.
The HBHI focuses on the following Medicaid beneficiaries:
Target Group #1: Medicaid-eligible children and youth with behavioral health needs in the custody of the RI Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) who are at risk for or transitioning from institutionally based or residential treatment facilities, or congregate care; and the parent(s)/caretaker(s) of these children living in the community.
Target Group #2: Medicaid-eligible adults between the ages of 19 and 64 with serious behavioral health or physical conditions who are homeless or at risk of homelessness subsequent to military service, health treatment, or incarceration.
Target Group #3: Persons with disabilities, elders, and those who are transitioning from institutionally-based care who have a history of homelessness, would otherwise be homeless, if not for the nursing home stay or would benefit from service upon transition due to length of stay in the institution.
Medicaid will not pay for housing, but it can support programs to keep people from becoming homeless. This is one part of the plan that will require money upfront to see savings later. Keefe said that this is the kind of program where investment could be significantly higher for greater savings. He was very excited about this program.
The next idea was to scale up community health teams.
Community health teams (CHT) work as an extension of a primary care office to meet the social and behavioral needs of patients. They are a group of providers such as social workers, community health workers, nurse managers, and others who can directly address social, behavioral, and environmental factors affecting health and health behaviors. The CHT is modeled after similar highly successful programs in Vermont, Maine, North Carolina, and other states.
The RI Care Transformation Collaborative, an all-payer Medical Home initiative, is currently piloting two community health teams: one in South County and one in Pawtucket. Each community health team works collaboratively with CTC practices in that service area and health plans to identify high-risk patients. A number of other sites, including at least one Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), have developed their own Community Health Team with separate funding.
This initiative would quickly scale up the CHT and develop an organized, Medicaid-wide approach to CHT implementation. CHTs are provided lists of high-utilizer patients by the MCOs and collaborate with the Medical Home to address unmet needs. The result is improved utilization patterns, better health outcomes, and lower costs.
There is growing evidence, said the presenters, “that this model is effective. Sally Finger, an adviser to the working group, said that costs are difficult to determine because the idea is so new. This is really happening everywhere, said Finger, and it is not coordinated, which is why there isnt much data on savings.
The idea reminded me somewhat of former Rhode Island Department of Health Executive Director Michael Fines idea for Neighborhood Health Stations. Note also that we already service about a third of Rhode Islands Medicaid recipients through nine community health centers represented by the Rhode Island Health Center Association. Community-based primary health care is definitely the right direction to go in.
The next two initiatives discussed were grouped together. Each would reap savings of about $1 million for the state.
Redesign CEDARR services program, transition to community health team approach
In keeping with the principles of paying for value in the Medicaid delivery system and reducing waste, this initiative will redesign the Comprehensive, Evaluation, Diagnosis, Assessment, Referral, Re-Evaluation (CEDARR) Family Center package. This redesign will include a discontinuation of the Family Care Plan Review, reduce the amount of Health Needs Coordination services, as well as transfer Direct Service Review functions of the CEDARR Family Centers to state staff.
Move out-of-plan services for children with special healthcare needs into managed care
In an effort to increase efficiency of care and coverage for high-?utilizing populations, this initiative will integrate services for children with special health care needs into the continuum of care of the Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). Services that have been out of plan for this population and will now be integrated into the MCO scope include Home Based Therapeutic Services (HBTS), Personal Services and Supports (PASS), and Respite care. Through the integration of these and like services, this initiative will provide flexibility to the MCOs to provide more evidence-?based, clinically appropriate, lower-?cost services to children and adolescents.
The coordinating of these systems will, according to the working group, optimize care and reduce costs. But the question was raised, “Is the plan implementable and can the results of the plan be evaluated?” Open questions like this might call into question the estimates on savings.
The last of the big six ideas was to coordinate care management for those with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI).
This initiative would create a population-?based health home approach for persons living with a serious mental illness. The program will reduce medical, pharmacy and behavioral health expenses for the population by better coordinating their care. All members will be attributed to an accountable health home. Providers will be paid a capitated rate for care coordination, and be incentivized for outcome measures and utilization.
In Rhode Island, there are currently 10,450 people who would be affected by this plan. Many of the pieces of this plan are already in place. It is thought that the state will save $3 million.
The next phase of the discussion concentrated on six initiatives targeting waste, fraud and abuse. This would included Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) for home health care workers (perhaps through a smart phone app) to ensure that the state does not pay for services which are not actually delivered. Savings could also be found by enrolling patients into Medicare, if eligible. Predictive modeling computer systems would examine provider reimbursement policies as well as search for inconsistencies and errors in payments.
The working group also believes that enhanced residency verifications that is, making sure that Rhode Island only pays for the Medicaid of Rhode Islanders, may save some money, though it was admitted that residency is more complicated than it seems. The determination of residency rests on the intent of the patient, which is a difficult to dispute federal standard.
Next a suite of 13 ideas to reform long term care were quickly examined. The working group did not delve too deeply into the specifics, but it was noted that the state may be spending too much on Hospice care.
Towards the end of the presentation Jim McNulty, a mental health advocate, said that I like a lot of what I see here, but added that “implementation of all these ideas will be extremely difficult.
The April 30 report will be much more comprehensive. We should expect to see more ideas put forward and for Governor Raimondos goal of $90 million in cuts to be made. The General Assembly then goes to work dissecting the working groups plan as part of its arduous budget process.
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Bannister House, the financially-struggling, 125-year-old nursing facility in Providence known for its history of progressive care, took a major step back towards solvency this week when the state Department of Health allowed it to start accepting new residents again.
“Bannister can currently continue to admit new patients,” said DOH spokeswoman Christina Batastini, “as long as they disclose to the prospective resident and his/her family that the facility is in receivership.”
The decision won the approval of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza. “The ability to admit new residents helps put Bannister House on a path to solvency and is a very welcome development in our community effort to preserve an agency of great value and historic significance to the residents of Providence,” Elorza said in a statement.
And Bannister House staff was also encouraged by the news.
“Residents, family members, co-workers, and members of the community are very optimistic that we can save Bannister House,” said, Naomi Correia, a CNA for 24 years at Bannister. “For generations Bannister House has provided long term care to our community and we cannot afford to see it close.”
Bannister House was opened in 1890 as a retirement home for elderly African American women, many of whom were house servants who had no family to care for them. The facility was renamed after its benefactor Christiana Bannister, of whom there is a bust at the State House.
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The president is also largely at odds with Rhode Island’s congressional delegation on fast-tracking a potential trade compact with 12 Pacific Rim nations. Of the Ocean State’s four elected officials in Congress, three have now spoken out against giving Obama fast track authority. Only Senator Jack Reed is still holding his cards close as the Senate Finance Committee considers granting the president trade promotion authority today.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said he opposes fast track authority for the TPP deal, he told RI Future exclusively today.
“It would be a mistake to provide fast-track authority for trade agreements that could further undermine American wages, manufacturing jobs, and our environment,” he said in an emailed statement. “We need the opportunity carefully review any proposed trade agreements to ensure we’re not repeating the mistakes of past free trade deals.”
In February, Whitehouse gave a speech against trade agreements in general on the Senate floor in February, saying: “I start with a state that has been on the losing end of these trade deals. People say that they are going to enforce the environmental and human rights and labor and safety requirements of these agreements. I haven’t seen it. And I gotta say I don’t like the process very much either. It is secret, we are kept out of it. Who’s in it is a lot of really big corporations and the are up to, I think, a lot of no good in a lot of the deals.”
“Any agreement that promotes fast-track trade to advance the Trans-Pacific Partnership without thorough review and Congressional input is a bad deal for Rhode Island workers,” he told RI Future yesterday. “Congress should play an important role in making sure trade policies are fair for American workers, businesses, intellectual property holders, and consumers. The fast-track model undercuts oversight of trade agreements and makes it more difficult to protect the interests of working families. We should be working to promote American manufacturing, implement flexible workplace policies that benefit middle-class families, and finally raise the minimum wage so everyone has an opportunity to succeed.”
Also yesterday, Congressman Jim Langevin reaffirmed his opposition to a TPP deal. In February he and Cicilline signed onto a letter opposing it and yesterday he emailed this statement to reporters:
“The United States has been working with TPP negotiating partners for more than three years. This agreement could greatly shift global trading patterns and accordingly deserves the highest level of scrutiny to ensure it does not displace U.S. jobs or undermine our country’s competitiveness. While I favor expanding global trade, it is important that any free trade agreement places American workers and companies on an enforceable level playing field with foreign trading partners when it comes to labor rights, environmental regulation, intellectual property protection and other critical issues. For that reason, I am opposed to passing Trade Promotion Authority legislation with respect to the TPP.
“Congress has the responsibility to set trade policy, and ‘fast track’ procedures largely circumvent this important review. There is a better way to make decisions of this magnitude that significantly impact America’s place in the global economy, and that must include robust debate and discussion from all partners, including Congress. I will continue to work to ensure that trade agreements protect American workers and consumers and do not undermine America’s ability to compete in the global market.”
Reed, on the other hand, isn’t as vocal, according to spokesman Chip Unruh, who said Rhode Island’s senior senator “will take a look at the Finance Committee’s proposal, but he wants to ensure any trade agreement benefits Rhode Island consumers, workers, and businesses.” Unruh noted Reed rejected such TPA authority in both 2002 and 2007.
According to the Washington Post “most Congressional Democrats are opposed” but Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is pushing for a deal that he says has benefits for liberals.
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When testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on bills that would bring state law in line with federal law and close the loophole allowing misdemeanor domestic abusers to keep their guns, Frank Saccoccio, representing the Rhode Island 2nd Amendment Coalition, insisted that he was in no way defending domestic abusers. It’s surely not his intent to defend domestic abusers, but that is exactly what Saccoccio is doing.
Saccoccio claims that the bill before the committee is the same as the bill presented last year. The bill did not pass and Saccoccio implied that though his organization was willing to help make some changes to the bill’s language that would allow the bill to pass, no one asked for the 2nd Amendment Coalition’s opinion. “We haven’t seen this bill until it was brought forward now,” he said.
This seems contrary to the statement by Rachel Orsinger, who thanked the Committee Chairman Cale Keable, the 2nd Amendment Coalition, the RICAGV, various law enforcement people, the Attorney General and the Public Defender’s office who “sat in very hot, very long meetings last year to come up with the language” in the bill, “That everyone could agree to, at least last year.”
Julia Wyman also remembered the “roundtable discussion last year, and all the major stakeholders were involved… including… two members of the 2nd Amendment group…” Wyman found it “rather incredulous” that the 2nd Amendment Coalition cannot support a bill they helped to craft.
Perhaps it’s Saccoccio’s strategy to obfuscate the issue. Time and again he prefaced his statements with some variation of, “Those of you who are lawyers will understand,” as if those in the room who are not lawyers will never be able to get their heads around the complex legal definitions of misdemeanors and petty misdemeanors. Fortunately, Rachel Orsinger was able to clear up the confusion Saccoccio sowed.
“I know there’s been some confusion around petty misdemeanors and misdemeanors,” said Orsinger, “those are two separate legal categories, just like book worms and worms are not the same thing, just because they have one of the same words in there.”
Lawyers in the room who work in family court, said Saccoccio, know that family court judges are “very very liberal” and likely to “err on the side of caution” when issuing protective orders. But, that’s the way the system is designed, pointed out Orsinger, once again cutting through the fog of Saccoccio’s words. It’s only after a judge makes a final decision that a permanent firearm restriction is put in place.
“Even if there’s no nexus to a firearm,” an indignant Saccoccio said, even if “there’s no allegation that a firearm was ever used,” a domestic abuser might lose his guns under this law.
“If someone is routinely showing that they have power and control over ending your life,” countered Orsinger, “knowing that they have a gun is an inherent threat.”
This legislation binds judges hands, offerred Saccocio. The word used to be “may” as in “a judge ‘may’ remove a domestic abuser’s guns.” That word has become “shall.” In Saccoccio’s opinion, judges should have discretion. Of course, other states, even states as gun friendly as Louisiana, use the word “shall” in similar legislation, said Orsinger.
Ultimately Saccoccio got to the end of his testimony by telling the assembled Representatives the same story he told the Senate weeks earlier. Saccoccio told of a “seminal case” in which a man with a protective order against him ran into his wife three times by coincidence, and was charged with violating the order. In Saccoccio’s telling of the case, the man was coincidentally holding the door for his wife when they ran into each other at the post office, and another time the man innocuously waved to his wife as he passed her while driving.
According to Orsinger, such stories tend to minimize what victims of domestic violence go through. “For those of us who have had healthy relationships in our lives,” she said, “it seems really reasonable that even in the most animosity filled divorce… you can bring a coffee to court just to be nice. But to the person who always got a Starbucks Latte the morning after they were brutally beaten, a Starbucks Latte means something different. It can be an inherently violent act to violate a restraining order… What it says to that victim is that no court can hold me back, no police can hold me back… I can get to you whenever.”
Saccoccio’s performance seemed doubly unnecessary when we remember that the bill under discussion simply brings state and federal law into alignment. It doesn’t do anything but close a loophole. “Already, under federal law,” said Julia Wyman, “if you commit a domestic violence misdemeanor, you are barred from owning a firearm for life.”
“By the time someone gets a conviction” for domestic violence, added Rachel Orsinger, “they’ve either… committed a felony assault that’s now been pled down to a simple assault… or this is their seventh or eighth time being arrested.”
“But don’t get me wrong,” said Frank Saccoccio, “we are not supporting or in any way… advocating for domestic violence. It should not be condoned or supported in any way.”
Frank Saccoccio and the 2nd Amendment Coalition say they agree with Wyman on the need, “to take firearms out of the hands of abusive people,” but until he supports this common sense legislation, his bewildering word clouds are “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
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