March 16, 2016 – RI Future

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016

Hip Hop 4 Flint in Providence Saturday

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Hip Hop 4 Flint, an all ages show, is this Saturday, March 19 from 2-6pm at Avenue Concept, 304 Lockwood Street in Providence. Tickets are available here.

Providence, Rhode Island is one of 42 cities that will participate in a global fundraising initiative bringing together the Hip-Hop community in solidarity and support for the people of Flint and in partnership with the non-profit Price of Peace Missionary Baptist Church. Hip Hop 4 Flint will gather local, national, and international hip-hop artists, journalists, activists, educators and supporters to raise funds to purchase water filtration systems for the homes of the residents of Flint, MI. The lead organizer for Providence is Chenae Bullock. She has built a team of local Providence businesses, organizations, and talent to host an artist showcase that will help to raise $80,000 for the people involved in the Flint water crisis in Flint, MI.

YoNasDa Lonewolf, an emcee, published writer and activist who focuses her work on human rights, indigenous rights, and social justice, is the national leader for Hip-Hop 4 Flint. She was the creator of Hip-Hop 4 Haiti which took place on January 30, 2010 in 32 major cities. The youth and hip hop community hosted events to raise money, relief and awareness for the survivors of the devastating hurricane that hit Haiti in 2010.

Hip Hop 4 Flint will bring together notable Hip Hop artists such as Du “Doital” Kelly of Legendary Lords of the Underground, Hakim Green from Channel Live, Jon Connor of Afterman, Nappy Roots, and local artists from each city to join hearts and hands in support of the people of Flint. To help the cause, we have partnered with emcees OCKZ, SKYZOO, and QUADIR LATEEF who will donate 20 percent of the proceeds from the “Rise Up” iTunes single to #HIPHOP4FLINT. The single sells for $.99 on iTunes.

The overall goal is to raise $80,000 collectively among the 45 cities, about $2,000 from each city. The money will go to purchase water filters that will get the lead & other things out of the water. We are shooting to get two per household, one for the kitchen and one for the bathroom as well as plumbers to install them correctly. Prince of Peace Church is the designated 501c3 organization that will accept the money.

The city of Flint, MI is home to 100,000 residents, of which 40 percent are living in poverty, with an average income of $25,000. In 2014, while the city was under the control of a state appointed emergency manager, the city switched its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The city saw a sharp increase in lead levels that were well above the EPA’s standards of safety, exposing the city’s 9,000 children to water with lead levels that are classified as toxic waste and leading to the declaration of a citywide state of emergency. The children of Flint have been hit the hardest, which some experience permanent and devastating health defects from lead poisoning. In addition to lead contamination, there is a larger problem looming in Flint with a recent outbreak of legionella bacteria, which infects the lungs, causing pneumonia, which is then referred to as Legionnaires Disease. To date there have been ten deaths due to Legionnaires Disease.

Providence will be one of the 42 cities organizing and fundraising to purchase home water filtration systems for residents that will filter both lead and bacteria throughout the entire home, making the water safe for both consumption and washing.

Hip Hop 4 Flint Providence will host an artist showcase that will be streamed live on ALLHIPHOP.com and Stagehound TV.

We currently have a Go Fund Me for those that would like to make a donation. All money will go toward the purchase of filters, which will be delivered personally, home by home, to the residents of Flint by the Hip Hop 4 Flint delegation.

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016

IWW to screen The Wind That Shakes the Barley for St. Patrick’s Day

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The Providence Industrial Workers of the World will be holding a screening of the award-winning Irish war film The Wind That Shakes the Barley on St. Patrick’s Day at their new space at 375 Smith Street in Providence.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE EVENT!

Set during the early days of the Irish Republic, it tells the story of the War for Independence and Civil War from the perspective of two brothers caught in the divisive politics of the Irish Republican Army at the time of the partition of the country. It stars Cillian Murphy, Orla Fitzgerald, and Pádraic Delaney. Directed by radical artist Ken Loach, the film proposes a socialist alternative to the historiography of the Irish struggle and frames the violence as part of a wider post-colonial national liberation struggle.

March 16, 2016

What are fair fares at RIPTA?

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In March, the RI Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) raised their monthly pass price from $62 to $70, a transfer from $.50 to $1, eliminated the discounted 15-ride $26 pass, but kept the basic $2 one-state rate, whether you ride for just two stops or all the way from Westerly to Providence.

These fares, paid mostly by hard working low income working people, were already well above average. Last summer a survey of 21 reasonably comparable bus systems found average basic fare of $1.60, average transfer only $.09 (many had free transfers) average monthly pass $49. Most had zones where there were higher fares for longer or express rides and many had no-fare or low-fare downtown shuttles. RIPTA abolished our low-fare “short-zone” over a decade ago.

High fares may be one reason our commute by transit rate here, noted by Governor Raimondo’s new transportation leadership, is barely half of what would be expected by our density. Thus RIPTA is far, far from living up to its potential to reduce congestion and pollution and to help fight climate change or to the rebuilding of our core cities and our economy. And now, they took a step backward by charging more to their most frequent and loyal riders that pay the fares.

One reason fares may be relatively high is the need for reasonable farebox recovery in light of the free rides for seniors and people with disabilities with incomes under twice the Federal poverty level. This free riding has grown to about 5.6 million rides a year, about 30% of all rides. It also contributes to the perception that our bus service is just for the poor that may make it harder to attract paying commuters, especially as buses can be overcrowded during peak hours. With deficits looming, last spring the legislature repealed the law prohibiting RIPTA from charging fares to the seniors and disabled, instead allowing up to half fare for those groups. Naturally those riding free wanted to keep their benefits so protests were organized resulting, as of now, that RIPTA will charge those groups 50 cents a ride, just 1/4 of the regular fare starting July 1 but still below the senior average of $.68 found in the survey. However, there are bills in the legislature that would restore the free rides, though they don’t add any funding to make up for the reduction in expected revenue.

Reflecting the decency of Rhode Islanders who want to help the poor, many groups support the continuation of the free fares. It certainly is a feel-good position and there are folks in dire poverty that really cannot afford additional expenditures. But there is another side to the story. Low income people on medicaid are eligible to still get free rides to any kind of medical trip including pharmacy visits. Twice the Federal poverty level is $31,860 for a couple, $48,500 for a household of four which may be more than some low income working people who pay full fare. Perhaps this threshold could be lowered to protect the very poor.

So what is a fair fare policy? My opinion is hold down fare increases for all passengers first by working to reduce RIPTA deficits through internal efficiencies and marketing promotions to attract more paying passengers. More state revenue should go for improving conditions for all passengers, such as keeping the Kennedy Plaza building open after 7pm when passengers now have to wait out in the cold and dark. Passenger revenue can be increased by higher fares on long distance express routes and charging the now-free riders half fare only during the peak hours, letting them ride free during the off-peak hours when more space is available. This can help raise revenue to keep the system going, make more space available to help attract more commuters while keeping a safety net for the poor.

March 16, 2016

Providence is in the red yet pays a finder’s fee to Teach for America

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According to City Hall, Providence has a major budget crisis to face, meaning the municipality needs to tighten its belt. But if this is true, why are we paying a finder’s fee to Teach for America, the corporately-backed nonprofit that is pumping the nation’s schools full of under-trained teachers who do serious damage to the learning experience of the student while bashing the teacher unions and privatizing schools?

The Rhode Island Teach for America offices are located at 1 Western Exchange Center, Suite 101, 67 Cedar Street in Providence. Their impact on Providence schools is shown to be nothing but detrimental in a recent report filed by Jaisal Noor of The Real News Network wherein he speaks to education scholar and TFA alumnus T. Jameson Brewer, the co-editor of Teach For America Counter-Narratives: Alumni Speak Up and Speak Out who has just completed a study of TFA that was the subject of an interview by Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report we previously referred to in our report on City Year Rhode Island. One quote that seems particularly relevant to the allegedly cash-strapped Providence is the following:

[I]n most cases if you have the prospect of filling a single teaching position with either a Teach For America corps member or equally experienced, or rather inexperienced, non-TFA teacher, it’s actually more expensive to fill that position with Teach For America on the front end, because TFA requires non-refundable finder’s fees, right, that range anywhere between $2,000-5,000 per corps member per year. And even if the corps member quits, the district is still obligated to pay the rest of that finder’s fee to Teach For America. [Emphasis added.]

Between Teach for America and City Year alone, we are talking about municipal expenditures that are costing the city millions of dollars that it allegedly does not have. At a time when the social safety net is most precarious why is Jorge Elorza giving away freebies?

The popular media narrative of the 2014 Providence mayoral election was that the East Side threw support behind Elorza and delivered him the vote to prevent a return to power for Vincent “Buddy” Cianci. But the point not raised is that the East Side is an enclave of private sector NGO-industrial complex policy wonks that support corporate school deform efforts, including the Democratic Party finishing school of neoliberalism known as Brown University’s School of Government. Perhaps the election narrative needs to be revisited.

March 16, 2016

DONALDETICUS TRUMPILIUS

Human Evolution from Ape to Man Royalty Free Stock Photography

American Neanderthal
Seems like the perfect name to call
Those goons who crowd around his stage
Like cavemen from the Iron Age

Their eyes are bugged, their mouths are wide
They wave their fists from side to side
A thousand strong to hear the king
Yet they don’t bother listening

Hateful language The Donald spews
For them is hardly breaking news
Their lack of judging right from wrong
Was theirs before Trump came along

But what they never had was hope
Some pride when being called a dope
Trump proved dumb is worth defending!”
#Neanderthal may soon be trending.

c2016pn

March 16, 2016March 17, 2016

Dear ProJo: Trump’s not the only presidential candidate

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In the latest Providence Journal good old Donald Trump was once again front and center. The March 11 editorial by Edward Fitzpatrick has a very one sided perspective of Rhode Island’s presidential campaign. If you follow the Journal you would think that Trump was the only candidate that was going to be on the ballot in this state. There is not the slightest attempt by the Journal to offer fair space to other candidates, including Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders has incredible support in Rhode Island, but one wouldn’t know it from reading the Journal. Has the Journal ever attempted to cover any of the many packed Bernie events throughout the state? Have they covered Sander’s message of justice anywhere near as much as they have covered the billionaire’s message of hate?

The Providence Journal should be more than a soundboard for the company that owns them, Gatehouse Media, and the conservative movement that it supports. Rhode Island is a state whose citizens are fiercely independent and the great majority has had enough with establishment politics and the status quo…

But Trump is not the answer.

The Journal owes it to the people of this state to be cognizant of the fact that Bernie Sanders campaign also is reaching out to people who are tired of politics as usual. The campaign has attracted not only the millennials, but the disenfranchised: feminists, minorities, moderate Republicans, progressive Democrats, Greens, unaffiliated and many more. Sanders represents all those who are sick and tired of being marginalized while corporate interests take over. It is time that the Journal does its due diligence to make that known to their readers.

March 16, 2016

Full video: House hears testimony over driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants

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Two competing bills were heard in the House Judiciary Committee meeting Tuesday evening in a hearing that lasted well over 6 hours and had over 4 dozen people testifying. House bill 7610, submitted by Representative Anastasia Williams, would grant driving privilege license to undocumented immigrants. House Bill 7859, introduced by Representative Arthur Corvese, would make issuing such licenses illegal. Over 200 advocates for licenses filled the main rotunda with reverberating chants during the hearing, which was often emotional and contentious.

2016-03-15 Driver's Licences Undocumented 007 — Gorman and Nardolillo

This became evident immediately as Reps Williams and Corvese verbally sparred even before presenting their bills, which were heard simultaneously. Committee Chair Cale Keable worked hard to keep the peace, and surprisingly did not put a cap on speaking times, allowing people to speak until they were done.

Both bills have been held for further study, and the ultimate fate of the bills is in doubt. Governor Gina Raimondo has indicated that she wants a bill allowing driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants to be passed and that she is ready to sign such a bill. She made a campaign promise to issue an executive order granting such licenses within her first year in office, a promise she has broken in favor of a legislative solution.

Below is all the testimony presented during the hearing last night, each speaker given a separate video. For the purposes of time it is impossible for me to do justice to all the wonderful testimony given in support of allowing undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses, just as it is impossible for me to get into some of the racism and xenophobia presented by the other side. Hopefully, the occasional notes I’ve provided below can point people towards some of the testimony I found the most interesting.

Rep Doreen Costa, vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told Corvese that he had presented a “great bill.”

Rep Joseph Almeida took Corvese to task for using the term “sanctuary city” in reference to Providence. Corvese responded that, “I do not countenance political correctness,” said Corvese, “and I never have.”

Mayors Jorge Elorza of Providence and James Diossa of Central Falls both spoke in favor of licenses for undocumented immigrants.

Rep Robert Nardolillo, who quoted FAIR, (Federation for American Immigration Reform) in his Providence Journal op-ed, did not exactly do himself any favors by testifying. FAIR has been identified by the Southern Poverty Law Foundation as a hate group. At one point Nardolillo seemed to imply that immigrants were more likely to drive without insurance that non-immigrants. Here’s a quote from the founder of FAIR for Nardolillo and others to ponder:

“As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?”
— John Tanton, founder of FAIR

Terry Gorman, of RIILE, lists FAIR on its links page. They also list the Minuteman Project and American Border Patrol, also listed as “extremist nativist groups” by the SPLC. I don’t know how RIILE avoids being on the SPLC hate group list.