Bob Plain
The state of RI school buildings is in ‘crisis,’ says Wagner
“We have a crisis with our facilities,” said state Education Commissioner Ken Wagner about the state of school buildings in Rhode Island during the student question and answer portion of his State of Education speech Monday night. A student from Chariho posed the question. He said his school resembles a prison. Then there’s Providence. In […]
Rhode Island’s pre-k program is expanding, slowly
As Rhode Island considers extending the social contract at the tail end of the public education experience with Governor Gina Raimondo’s high profile RI Promise proposal, it’s worth noting the Ocean State has been extending it at the other end for almost a decade. This September, the state-funded pre-kindergarten program adds four new classrooms in […]
Raimondo on lunch shaming: ‘We shouldn’t be singling kids out’
“As a mother I sure wouldn’t want that happening to my kids,” said Governor Gina Raimondo when this reporter explained to her the concept of lunch shaming. Several Rhode Island school districts serve cold cheese sandwiches in lieu of a hot lunch if their parents miss payments for the meal (here and here). “We shouldn’t […]
Legislation would end ‘lunch-shaming’ cheese sandwich policy, maybe much more
A new bill seeks to outlaw lunch shaming policies in Rhode Island public school cafeterias by mandating “Type A” lunches for all students. The way it’s written, it could also make school lunch free to all students. “It’s a very simple solution,” said the bill’s lead sponsor Rep. Marcia Ranglin-Vassell, of Providence, “provide a hot […]
Lunch shaming in RI, part 2: Urban schools and cheese sandwiches
The suburbs aren’t the only place lunch shaming happens in Rhode Island. Some urban school districts have also experimented with the so-called cheese sandwich policy – when public school cafeterias serve students a cold cheese sandwich in lieu of a hot lunch because their parents are delinquent on the bill. Pawtucket: cheese or sunbutter sandwich […]
Lunch shaming in RI: suburban schools say let students eat cheese sandwiches
It’s known as lunch shaming. Students are subjected to special, sometimes embarrassing, treatment because their parents didn’t pay the school lunch bill.
Annual Kids Count Factbook on child poverty, in 19 tweets
The annual Kids Count Factbook on child well-being in Rhode Island, now in its 23rd year, is a local rite of spring – but it’s nothing like the first tulips or tufted titmouse. Instead it’s an annual reminder of just how segregated – economically and otherwise – the Ocean State is. The massive 194-page report […]
Legislature looks at reinstating free RIPTA fare
There are now three separate bills before the legislature that would reinstate free bus fare for elderly and disabled Rhode Islanders, a longstanding social program that was cut from the state budget last year. Two of the bills come from the House of Representatives and one from the Senate. One House bill was introduced on […]
Political art is all over exurban Rhode Island
No sooner did I post a piece on a political art show in Narragansett, than I got a press release about a similarly-themed exhibit in Tiverton. Protest art isn’t just a Providence thing anymore. Fans of this genre can traverse across exurban Rhode Island this weekend and hit up both openings. The “Nothing To See […]
Progressive politics on display at ‘Nothing To See Here’ art show
“Fear of the clear blue sky,” explained artist Scott Moran. “It’s supposed to instill some fear of your world.”
Senate President Ruggerio co-signed cannabis bill, but might not support it
When newly elected Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was the majority leader, he was the second Senate sponsor of the bill to legalize cannabis. “I believe that removing marijuana from the black market may make our communities safer,” he told the AP last year. But that doesn’t mean now that Ruggerio is Senate president that the […]
Social democracies are the happiest nations on earth, US is 14th
The United States of America is the 14th happiest country on earth, according to the annual World Happiness Report. Canada is the happiest nation in North America, seven slots ahead of the US. The five happiest countries on earth, as per usual with the annual survey, use the “social democracy” or “Nordic way” of government […]
Ciccone demands vote on driver’s licenses for undocumented workers
Senator Frank Ciccone wants a vote this year on his bill that would give undocumented Rhode Islanders a limited driver’s license. “It’s time,” said two-time sponsor of the legislation. “I want a vote on the bill. I’ve already approached the leadership on the Senate side. Let’s not delay and let’s not send it to further […]
Why public officials should help ‘legit’ journalists get scoops
Did Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed call GoLocalProv illegitimate to three reporters at the State House last night? At the very least, she said it was “fair” to be concerned about some outlets publishing rumors while others play by the proper rules of journalism. It’s not the first time a local journalist has tried to […]
18 percent of RI politicians went to URI
Rhode Island politicians loved showing their support for the URI Rams as they made a memorable run in this year’s NCAA Tournament. But only a few of them felt the sting of seeing an Alma mater come within seconds of advancing to the Sweet 16. About 18 percent of elected officials in Rhode Island went […]
Conversion therapy autobiographer to speak at Point Street Reading Series Tuesday
It’s a shame Garrard Conley couldn’t be in Rhode Island last month when a bill banning conversion therapy was being discussed at the State House. As the author of a highly-acclaimed memoir of his struggles with sexuality, religion, and family told through his personal experience with conversion therapy, he certainly would have lent an interesting […]
Tax on hedge fund, private equity income would mean $39 million to RI
Warren Buffett famously lamented that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. This is because hedge fund billionaires and other super rich private equity managers pay a lower tax rate than do most Americans by reporting annual fees as “capital gains” instead of income. In Rhode Island, experts estimate there is some $200 […]
Raimondo: free college proposal ‘could be a game changer for Rhode Island’
Governor Gina Raimondo told the House Finance Committee that her proposal to make two years of public college free to local high school students “could be a game changer for Rhode Island.” The Rhode Island Promise proposal, she explained, “is all about making sure Rhode Islanders are getting all the good jobs that businesses are […]
Saudi Arabia divests of Providence fuel terminal
Say goodbye to Providence, Saudi Arabia. The corporate dissolution of Motiva, a multinational partnership between Royal Dutch Shell and Saudi Aramco that operates the LNG and ethanol facility on Allens Avenue, means the Saudi Arabian government will no longer be doing business on the South Providence waterfront. “Rhode Island will go to Shell,” said Motiva […]
No free bus passes means going hungry for some in Pawtucket
It took about a month to start seeing the consequences of raising bus fare on Rhode Island’s most vulnerable commuters. According to a Valley Breeze report, “those people are frequently going hungry.”
New Comments