Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/load.php on line 651

Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/theme.php on line 2241

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

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

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/load.php:651) in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/feed-rss2.php on line 8
News – RI Future http://www.rifuture.org Progressive News, Opinion, and Analysis Sat, 29 Oct 2016 16:03:26 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 EPA forced to confront water pollution in Rhode Island http://www.rifuture.org/epa-clf-water-pollution/ http://www.rifuture.org/epa-clf-water-pollution/#respond Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:25:19 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68902 ri_mashapaugpond_litter3_clf
Mashapaug Pond

Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) argued Tuesday before the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island concerning the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adequately protect Rhode Island waterbodies from ongoing and devastating stormwater pollution. Despite determinations from EPA and Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management (DEM) that Mashapaug Pond, Bailey’s Brook, North Easton Pond, and other nearby waters are seriously harmed by runoff from surrounding commercial and industrial properties, EPA failed to require dischargers to obtain the necessary permits under the federal Clean Water Act.

ri_mashapaugpond_drain_clf
Mashapaug Pond

“One of the great sources of pride for Rhode Island – the Ocean State – ought to be our ponds, rivers and beautiful coastline, but decades of toxic runoff has imperiled our waters, closed our beaches and endangered important wildlife habitats,” said CLF attorney Max Greene. “There’s no question that nasty pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus, the precursors to toxic algae blooms, are constantly flowing from industrial campuses and commercial shopping centers into nearby waterways, yet EPA has sat on its hands rather than take the legally-required steps to address this rampant contamination. Today, EPA was forced to answer for that neglect in federal court, and we’re optimistic that Rhode Island waters will soon be on the path to recovery.”

Today’s hearing comes on the heels of an announcement from Rhode Island DEM earlier this month that lower Narragansett Bay, lower Sakonnet River, and a portion of Rhode Island Sound are being closed due to toxic shellfish findings associated with harmful algae blooms.

For more information on CLF’s fight to protect Rhode Island from stormwater runoff, please see CLF’s white paper on the issue, “Closing the Clean Water Gap: Protecting our Waterways by Making All Polluters Pay.”

A copy of CLF’s filing can be read here, and photos of the endangered Mashapaug Pond can be seen here.

ri_mashapaugpond_mural3_clf

 

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/epa-clf-water-pollution/feed/ 0
Don’t like the car tax? Blame the RI Vehicle Value Commission http://www.rifuture.org/dont-like-the-car-tax-blame-the-ri-vehicle-value-commission/ http://www.rifuture.org/dont-like-the-car-tax-blame-the-ri-vehicle-value-commission/#respond Thu, 27 Oct 2016 13:38:57 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68895

Like the weather, it appears that everybody in Rhode Island loves to talk about the state’s car tax but nobody ends up actually doing anything about it. The Vehicle Value Commission has the power to do something about it, and bears responsibility for the frustration and, sometimes, anger that taxpayers in the state have about it. For years, the ACLU of Rhode Island has submitted testimony to the Commission to encourage revisions to these regulations in order to address that frustration and bring some semblance of fairness to the valuation process. No revisions have ensued, unfortunately. Despite our lack of optimism that this year will be any different, we offer our views once again.”

aclu logoSo begins the ACLU of Rhode Island’s detailed seven-page testimony to the Rhode Island Vehicle Value Commission submitted this week in advance of a public hearing on the Commission regulations on November 10th. The testimony includes a thorough review of the car tax statute and regulation’s history.

According to the Commission, the ACLU’s testimony notes, almost all of the approximately 900,000 cars registered within the state are free of mechanical defects, have only “minor surface scratching with a high gloss finish and shine,” an interior that “reflects minimal soiling and wear,” and “all equipment in complete working order.” That is because the regulations establish the value of used cars up to 17 years old by relying solely on the National Automobile Dealers Association’s (NADA) designated “clean retail value” of the car based on its make and model. Such a presumption, claims the ACLU testimony, “defies reality.”

The ACLU of Rhode Island has long called on the R.I. Vehicle Value Commission to stop using this unrealistic vehicle valuation to determine car taxes and to also adopt a meaningful appeals process for Rhode Island car owners, and this year’s testimony does the same.

Not only do Rhode Island drivers face heavy taxes that do not match the true value of their vehicles, they are also denied any meaningful appeal process to have their vehicles recognized fairly. The Commission’s consideration of appeals of its “presumptive value” consists solely of checking for clerical errors, allowing adjustments to be made only when an incorrect NADA car value was inadvertently imposed, not when the taxpayer challenges the NADA figure itself based on, for example, local selling conditions.

In its written testimony, the ACLU said: “Such cold efficiency, which essentially rewrites the word ‘presumptive’ out of the statute, is a disservice to the taxpayers and to basic principles of due process.” The testimony continued: “[W]e leave it to the Commission members and others to suggest alternative methods of establishing a ‘presumptive value’ for motor vehicles; all that we can say is that something more meaningful than the current procedure is essential in order to add some fairness to the methodology.” The ACLU noted that the Commission could consider using local retail sales prices to set vehicle values, break down car models into categories by years, or consider other factors. As it has done at past hearings, the ACLU also called on the Commission to establish a meaningful appeals process.

A copy of the ACLU’s testimony is available here.

car-tax-2

car-tax-1

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/dont-like-the-car-tax-blame-the-ri-vehicle-value-commission/feed/ 0
Frias versus Mattiello in the shadow of prison gerrymandering http://www.rifuture.org/frias-versus-mattiello-in-the-shadow-of-prison-gerrymandering/ http://www.rifuture.org/frias-versus-mattiello-in-the-shadow-of-prison-gerrymandering/#respond Mon, 24 Oct 2016 16:27:18 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68805 Mattiello at the Grange 004The electoral race between Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello and his Republican challenger Steven Frias has, for obvious reasons, drawn an incredible amount of attention. Both candidates are working very hard to capture every vote they can in their district. But one exceptional aspect of their race has gone unmentioned: they have fewer people to convince to vote for them than in all but one other House district.

The reason for this anomaly is the very undemocratic (small d) practice of prison gerrymandering. Prison gerrymandering refers to counting all of the people incarcerated at a prison in the district where the prison is located for purposes of creating district lines, even if they don’t legally reside there, are barred from voting there, and must vote (absentee) from their actual home addresses. District 15 has approximately 1,230 of these incarcerated persons being counted as constituents there.

Steven Frias
Steven Frias

This skewing has a number of consequences. Specifically, as noted above, it means that Speaker Mattiello and challenger Frias actually have 1,230 fewer constituents they have to reach out to and represent. Although they are treated as residents of District 15 for purposes of carving up that district, these incarcerated persons are not considered residents there for any other meaningful purpose, including for purposes of voting. In fact, the many ACI inmates who remain eligible to vote despite being incarcerated are essentially barred by state law from voting in this House race. Instead, they must vote (by absentee ballot, of course) in the election that is taking place where they previously resided.

ACIThere is another impact that flows from this practice: the voting strength of the communities from which the inmates come is diluted, while the political influence of the city residents in which the prison is located is inflated. By inappropriately counting the 1,230 ACI inmates as District 15 residents, every resident of the state not living there has his or her representation diluted by about 8% compared to residents in district 15. Put another way, by virtue of his location, the House Speaker is more powerful than other legislators not just because of his title, but because 92 constituents of his House District have the same influence as 100 residents in almost every other district. (Only neighboring District 20, which also includes portions of the ACI, wields a bigger disproportionate influence.)

In 2013, the ACLU sued to challenge this practice. In a major decision, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux agreed that prison gerrymandering violated the one person, one vote requirements of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston reversed that decision.

As a result, it is now up to elected officials to address the issue. For the past three years, the state Senate has passed a bill that would ban prison gerrymandering, something that four other states and a few hundred municipalities across the country have done in recognition of this problem. Unfortunately, the bill has died in the House in past years. And at the local level, Cranston officials decided it was worth spending taxpayer money (to the tune of $250,000 even before the appeal) rather than make their municipal districts more equitable as so many other localities have voluntarily done.

Once all the votes are counted in the District 15 race on November 8th, we will only be able to speculate what the outcome might have been if the two candidates had to increase their door-knocking to persuade hundreds of additional people (more closely matching the number of constituents that candidates in other districts generally must represent) to vote for them.

We should stop speculating by eliminating its cause. There is no question that Speaker Mattiello cares deeply about his community, just as we are sure Mr. Frias does. Let’s halt the practice of prison gerrymandering so that 1,000 more people can benefit from that care and stewardship, and so that District 15 (and District 20) more fairly represents the same number of residents as other districts.

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/frias-versus-mattiello-in-the-shadow-of-prison-gerrymandering/feed/ 0
Jackson’s lawsuit against people organizing recall is wrong, says ACLU http://www.rifuture.org/jacksons-lawsuit-aclu/ http://www.rifuture.org/jacksons-lawsuit-aclu/#respond Sun, 23 Oct 2016 22:57:48 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68788 2016-09-28 East Side CSA 004
Kevin Jackson

Steve Brown, the executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU has issued a statement regarding Providence City Councillor Kevin Jackson’s lawsuit against the two people, Patricia Kammerer and Karina Holyoak Wood, who have organized a recall effort and petition against him.

Jackson’s lawsuit also names the City of Providence and the Providence Board of Canvassers.

“The ACLU is not familiar enough with the mechanics of the City’s recall mechanism to comment on the specifics of the allegations contained in Councilor Jackson’s complaint,” said Brown in the RI ACLU statement, “We do agree that certain due process standards are essential before subjecting elected officials to the burdens imposed in having to defend themselves against removal from an elected position they obtained through a democratic process.

“At the same time, we are deeply troubled that, in addition to suing City officials and the Board of Canvassers, which is responsible for overseeing the recall petition process, the lawsuit names as defendants the two private individuals who have been involved in mounting this recall campaign. Their involvement in the suit is completely unnecessary in order for a court to address any legitimate due process concerns raised by the petition process.  Thus, the inclusion of these two individuals as defendants strikes us a classic SLAPP suit – an attempt to silence private citizens for seeking to exercise their First Amendment right to petition government.

“As Rhode Island’s SLAPP suit statute notes, ‘full participation by persons and organizations and robust discussion of issues of public concern before the legislative, judicial, and administrative bodies and in other public fora are essential to the democratic process.’ These two Providence residents should not be forced to defend themselves in a court of law for exercising petition rights granted them by the City Charter. The ACLU urges Councilor Jackson to amend his complaint and remove these two private citizens as defendants.”

In a statement the Kammerer and Holyoak Wood called Jackson’s lawsuit “an obvious delaying tactic.”  Holyoak Wood was the campaign manager of Marcus Mitchell, who ran an unsuccessful write-in campaign against Jackson two years ago.

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/jacksons-lawsuit-aclu/feed/ 0
First Neighborhood Health Station breaks ground in Central Falls http://www.rifuture.org/1st-neighborhood-health-station/ http://www.rifuture.org/1st-neighborhood-health-station/#respond Mon, 17 Oct 2016 19:48:17 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68657 20161008_101205
Dr. Michael Fine

Think of it as the “Deepwater Wind” of health care: Innovation, starting in Rhode Island, that could be a model for the world. That’s how revolutionary the concept of the Neighborhood Health Station could be, and the first one is being rolled out in Central Falls.

Perhaps overshadowed by a visit from actress Viola Davis, the groundbreaking for the new Neighborhood Health Station in Central Falls heralds the beginning of a new paradigm in health care, one meant to serve the needs of the community, not the convenience of the provider. The Blackstone Valley Community Health Care (BVCHC) Neighborhood Health Station will be located at 1000 Broad St in Central Falls, and will offer primary care, walk-in primary care, dental care, a pharmacy, physical therapy, pediatric care, occupational therapy, mental health services, Ob/Gyn services, radiology and more; serving over 14,000 patients and 50,000 visits a year.

Upon completion in 2018, the city of Central Falls will benefit from having “comprehensive services offered under one roof, where clinical professionals can collaborate face-to-face for improved care coordination” and “same-day sick appointments with convenient hours (8 am to 8 pm) on week days and additional weekend hours, enabling individuals and families to access health and medical services close to home, when it is most convenient for them.”

BVCHC hopes to cover 90 percent of Central Falls residents. “Using medical records to identify at-risk patients, we will continue to collaborate using community resources and with the new health building, we are confident that we can improve public outcomes,” said BVCHC Senior Clinical and Population Health Officer Michael Fine, M.D., who now also serves as Health Policy Advisor to the City of Central Falls.

Based on public meetings with residents, three public health priorities were identified: the community wanted their kids to be safe in school, they needed access to a gymnasium and they wanted better access to primary care.

  • Based on this input, the team designing the center identified five short term goals. Pregnancy prevention: BVCHC partnered with the school system and Brown University’s Residency Program in Family Medicine to create a school-based health clinic at Central Falls High School to bring prevention and same-day clinical care to the adolescents of Central Falls and to reduce the rate of adolescent pregnancy through education and prevention programs. (Central Falls’ high school pregnancy is 4X the state average).
  • Multidisciplinary management of individual cases: participants in this collaboration come from all facets of the community, including doctors, dentists, substance abuse, mental health, home care, housing, legal, needle exchange, immigration, transportation, social service, insurers and hospitals. Together, they meet bi-weekly to create customized plans to organize care for the people in Central Falls who are at the highest medical and social risk.
  • Mitigation of EMS use: people who use the Central Falls EMS more than four times a year have been identified, outreach has been made and they have been introduced to BVCHC where they can get help with medical, mental health and substance abuse issues and where referrals can be made for housing that they might need.
  • Access to exercise opportunities: The mayor now leads city walks to get people moving every two weeks (organized by Parks and Rec, publicized by BVCHC and housing authority and staffed by both parks and rec and BVCHC). A regular schedule of free busing from Central Falls (three pickup sites at Notre Dame and the housing authority) to the Pawtucket YMCA and to the Lincoln YMCA (for access to swimming pools) was introduced.
  • Identification of needs within public housing: the city’s community health worker in public housing now brings individual situations and stories to the multi-disciplinary team about tenants, primarily the elderly who are most at risk, to the team to find solutions to their needs.

Innovation is desperately needed in health care. When we as a nation inevitably pass some form of “Medicare for All” single payer health care system it will be vitally important to keep costs down and people healthy. Neighborhood Health Stations point the way.

20161008_093651

“None of us,” said Dr. Michael Fine, former head of the Rhode Island Department of Health, “have ever lived in a place where it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, black or white, whether you speak English or Spanish or another language, whether you walk, take the bus or drive a car, where it doesn’t matter if you have papers or not, whether you can read or not, whether you walk on two feet, or walk with assistance… we’ve never seen a place in which everyone matters, in which we look out for everyone. Whether they came to the health center this year or not, whether they do what doctors recommend or not, whether they choose to live differently or not, we stand here today with a different vision: A vision of a place in which everyone matters. It’s a vision of what Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. called ‘a beloved community.’”

Below, watch Dr. Fine, former head of the RI Department of Health, explain the importance of Neighborhood Health Stations.

Patreon

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/1st-neighborhood-health-station/feed/ 0
Millions in tax credits earn Pawtucket’s Hope Artiste Village a protest http://www.rifuture.org/hope-artiste-village-protest/ http://www.rifuture.org/hope-artiste-village-protest/#respond Sun, 16 Oct 2016 00:20:25 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68629 2016-10-15-hope-artiste-village-02 David Norton one of the leaders of the coalition that fought to keep the PawSox in Pawtucket and recently lost a Democratic primary election to unseat Pawtucket Representative David Coughlin, lead a protest outside Hope Artiste Village against Lance Robbins, controversial founder of Urban Smart Growth. As the ProJo reported, “Last month, the [R.I. Commerce Corporation] board authorized $3.6 million in Rebuild RI tax credits and $800,000 in sales-tax exemptions on construction material for developer Urban Smart Growth’s $38.9-million residential project at 200 Esten Ave., Pawtucket, just south of Hope Artiste Village.”

2016-10-15-hope-artiste-village-03The downside, as reported extensively in GoLocal.com, is that Robbins has a reputation as “the worst slumlord in L.A. history, ” and his local reputation, with some business owners, is no better. Three of those business owners, Rosinha Benros, Phyllis Arffa and John Arcaro, spoke at the protest, and their stories are troubling. Each claim that their businesses were destroyed by the actions of their landlord, Lance Robbins.

Also speaking at the protest were Independent candidate for Mayor of Pawtucket John Arcaro and Independent candidate for State Rep Lori Barden.

2016-10-15-hope-artiste-village-01

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/hope-artiste-village-protest/feed/ 0
Muslims, Christians bring food and hope to the homeless http://www.rifuture.org/muslims-christians-homeless/ http://www.rifuture.org/muslims-christians-homeless/#respond Sat, 15 Oct 2016 18:49:11 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68606 2016-10-15-mae-ahope-11There is little more heartening, or more needed, than the sight of Muslims, Christians and others, working with community supporters and refugee families, to cook for, serve and dine with the homeless.

The MAE Organization for the Homeless and AHOPE (Americans Helping Others ProspEr) held their first annual “banquet luncheon event” Saturday in Cathedral Square. For two hours the groups served delicious Middle Eastern style meal and more traditional pasta to the homeless and hungry of Providence.

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-12About four dozen people managed to serve about 300 meals in two hours. During that time it was not our difference that mattered, it was our shared humanity.

AHOPE is a volunteer based organization that was established to assist new refugees coming to Rhode Island with little to their name. Since its inception 6 months ago, A HOPE has been able to help over 30 families, over 150 people, resettle in RI. The MAE Organization is a spiritually based but not religious organization that seeks to serve the homeless population in Rhode Island.

For the effort in Cathedral Square these groups were assisted by the Islamic School of Rhode Island, Masjid al-Islam, the Universalist Unitarian Church, Rhode Island Belleza Latina, Rhode Island Miss Galaxy, and others.

The organizations hope to offer another meal like this sometime in the spring.

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-21

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-20

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-19

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-18

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-17

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-16

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-15

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-14

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-13

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-10

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-09

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-08

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-07

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-06

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-05

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-04

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-03

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-02

2016-10-15-mae-ahope-01

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/muslims-christians-homeless/feed/ 0
Even National Grid’s contractor doesn’t seem to know what’s going on in Fields Point http://www.rifuture.org/national-grid-contractor/ http://www.rifuture.org/national-grid-contractor/#respond Fri, 14 Oct 2016 19:01:54 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68579 When allegations surfaced last month that National Grid was pushing ahead with their Fields Point liquefaction project despite lack of approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and no proper permits from city and state agencies, Grid spokesperson David Graves was quick to deny it, saying, “The work underway at our property at 642 Allens Ave. property, which has been properly permitted, is unrelated to the liquefaction project.”

Then this picture was taken yesterday:

kiewit-01

When asked for an explanation, Graves today said, “Kiewit put this sign up without our knowledge. They are the contractor building the access road for equipment and personnel working on the LNG tank embankment improvement. They are also the contractor designated to oversee installation of the liquefaction equipment when we have the OK to proceed with that project. It appears that in their minds the projects are one and the same, which is not the case. There is no work going on associated with the liquefaction project. Kiewit has been told to take down the sign and replace it with one that clearly identifies what work is underway.”

It seems that the projects under way at Fields Point are so confusing and interconnected that even National Grid’s contractors are having trouble telling them apart.

NoLNGinPVD, an environmental group opposed to the liquefacton facility, issued the following statement: “This is another glaring example of why we cannot trust the process at National Grid’s word and why it is an embarrassment to our state that the “public” utility is pulling the strings of our public officials. DEM refuses to hold National Grid accountable and enforce the legally petitioned for Public Involvement Plan. The city council ordinance committee has shelved a resolution calling for public oversight. The federal delegation that spoke out when a similar project would have affected recreational usage of the bay by wealthy suburbanites is deafeningly silent when the burden of danger is and pollution is absorbed by working class people of color on the south side of Providence. National Grid and their contractor Kiewit do know what they are doing, they are forcing unneeded and dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure on a community of color that has raised many environmental justice concerns. They know this, and they think they can get away with it. We’re going to make sure they don’t.”

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/national-grid-contractor/feed/ 0
PRONK! 2016 supports the Community Safety Act http://www.rifuture.org/pronk-2016-csa/ http://www.rifuture.org/pronk-2016-csa/#respond Tue, 11 Oct 2016 02:46:06 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68411 2016-10-10 PRONK 078  LogoFor its 9th Annual Festival PRONK! partnered with the STEP UP Coalition to support to the Community Safety Act (CSA). The goal of the collaboration was “to use music, dance and art to bring attention to injustices and inequalities in our city and encourage people across Providence to stand behind the legislation.”

The STEP UP Coalition is made up of the Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) and various other activist groups in Providence. The CSA is a citizen-proposed ordinance that would address racial profiling and other abuses of power by police. Mayor Jorge Elorza recently said the CSA could pass before the end of the year.

This is the ninth year for PRONK! (Providence HONK!) which takes place every Indigenous People’s Day. It is not a Columbus Day parade. Local bands, such as the Extraordinary Rendition Band, What Cheer? Brigade, and Kickin’ Brass participated, as well as bands from around the country. Organizers describe PRONK! as “a cacophonous street celebration with out of town brass bands! We are a street intervention like no other, with outfits and misfits from Rhode Island and beyond – musicians, artists, activists, makers – taking over the streets as part of the Providence HONK Parade.”

Organizers go on to say that PRONK! “spawned from the original HONK! Festival in Somerville, MA that has “grown into a new type of street band movement—throughout the country and across the globe—outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive, reclaiming public space with a sound that is in your face and out of this world.”

2016-10-10 PRONK 002

2016-10-10 PRONK 001

2016-10-10 PRONK 003

2016-10-10 PRONK 004

2016-10-10 PRONK 005

2016-10-10 PRONK 006

2016-10-10 PRONK 007

2016-10-10 PRONK 008

2016-10-10 PRONK 009

2016-10-10 PRONK 010

2016-10-10 PRONK 011

2016-10-10 PRONK 012

2016-10-10 PRONK 013

2016-10-10 PRONK 014

2016-10-10 PRONK 015

2016-10-10 PRONK 016

2016-10-10 PRONK 017

2016-10-10 PRONK 018

2016-10-10 PRONK 019

2016-10-10 PRONK 020

2016-10-10 PRONK 021

2016-10-10 PRONK 022

2016-10-10 PRONK 023

2016-10-10 PRONK 024

2016-10-10 PRONK 025

2016-10-10 PRONK 026

2016-10-10 PRONK 027

2016-10-10 PRONK 028

2016-10-10 PRONK 029

2016-10-10 PRONK 030

2016-10-10 PRONK 031

2016-10-10 PRONK 032

2016-10-10 PRONK 033

2016-10-10 PRONK 034

2016-10-10 PRONK 035

2016-10-10 PRONK 036

2016-10-10 PRONK 037

2016-10-10 PRONK 038

2016-10-10 PRONK 039

2016-10-10 PRONK 040

2016-10-10 PRONK 041

2016-10-10 PRONK 042

2016-10-10 PRONK 043

2016-10-10 PRONK 044

2016-10-10 PRONK 045

2016-10-10 PRONK 046

2016-10-10 PRONK 047

2016-10-10 PRONK 048

2016-10-10 PRONK 049

2016-10-10 PRONK 050

2016-10-10 PRONK 051

2016-10-10 PRONK 052

2016-10-10 PRONK 053

2016-10-10 PRONK 054

2016-10-10 PRONK 055

2016-10-10 PRONK 056

2016-10-10 PRONK 057

2016-10-10 PRONK 058

2016-10-10 PRONK 059

2016-10-10 PRONK 060

2016-10-10 PRONK 061

2016-10-10 PRONK 062

2016-10-10 PRONK 063

2016-10-10 PRONK 064

2016-10-10 PRONK 065

2016-10-10 PRONK 066

2016-10-10 PRONK 067

2016-10-10 PRONK 068

2016-10-10 PRONK 069

2016-10-10 PRONK 070

2016-10-10 PRONK 071

2016-10-10 PRONK 072

2016-10-10 PRONK 073

2016-10-10 PRONK 074

2016-10-10 PRONK 075

2016-10-10 PRONK 076

2016-10-10 PRONK 077

2016-10-10 PRONK 078  Logo

2016-10-10 PRONK 079

2016-10-10 PRONK 080

2016-10-10 PRONK 081

2016-10-10 PRONK 082

2016-10-10 PRONK 083

2016-10-10 PRONK 084

2016-10-10 PRONK 085

2016-10-10 PRONK 086

2016-10-10 PRONK 087

2016-10-10 PRONK 088

2016-10-10 PRONK 089

2016-10-10 PRONK 090

2016-10-10 PRONK 091

2016-10-10 PRONK 092

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/pronk-2016-csa/feed/ 0
Sixty percent of Catholic voters say that abortion can be a moral choice http://www.rifuture.org/catholic-voters-abortion/ http://www.rifuture.org/catholic-voters-abortion/#respond Thu, 06 Oct 2016 19:51:08 +0000 http://www.rifuture.org/?p=68387 Kaine-PenceCatholics for Choice has released a new poll that “the story of what Catholic opinions might mean at the voting booth come November 8.” According to the polling data, 46 percent of Catholic voters support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and 40 percent support Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Key findings include:

  • Latinos, Catholic women and Catholic millennials show the largest support for Clinton over Trump.
  • Sixty percent of Catholic voters say that the views of the Catholic hierarchy are not important to them when they are deciding who to vote for in the presidential election.
  • Six in ten Catholic voters do not feel an obligation to vote the way the bishops recommend.
  • Sixty percent of Catholic voters say that abortion can be a moral choice.
  • Seventy-two percent believe that abortion should be available to pregnant women who have contracted the Zika virus.
  • Seventy percent of Catholics do not think that companies should be allowed to use the owner’s religious beliefs as a reason to deny services to a customer or employee.

Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice said, “The Catholic vote is like a jump ball in basketball—every election it comes into play and both parties try to claim it as their own. As it represents 25 percent of the electorate, considerable effort goes into trying to determine which team will grab it. However, as this new poll shows what we’ve always known: Catholics are concerned with social justice and compassion and do not vote with the bishops, no matter how much the bishops try to project their own beliefs onto this section of the electorate.”

The poll was conducted before the vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence, where the two squared off on religious liberty and abortion, but in a statement released after the debate Catholics for Choice said, “Catholics act according to their own conscience and they do not stand with the Catholic hierarchy on abortion, access to healthcare or the rise of religious refusals backed by the bishops, and similarly do not think they nor Catholic politicians have an obligation to vote according to the Bishops. In fact, Senator Tim Kaine said it was not the role of a public servant to mandate their faith through government, and on fundamental issues of morality, like abortion, we should let women make those decisions.”

Rhode Island is routinely said to be the most Catholic of the United States.

]]>
http://www.rifuture.org/catholic-voters-abortion/feed/ 0