narragansett indians

October 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Progress Report: Talk Radio in RI; Chafee and Narragansett Indians; Tom Brady and Jamie Dimon; Debate Reaction

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Most interesting thing happening today: Matt Allen, Ian Donnis, Ted Nesi and Josh Fenton debate the influence of talk radio in Rhode Island politics at RIC.

While radio may not seem like the medium of the future, as the most passive way to consume content I think it is likely to rise again. And even in its current state of decline, it is still amazingly influential in the local marketplace of ideas. Rhode Island Public Radio, for which Donnis works, would do well to offer a thoughtful alternative to the four angry conservative men featured on WPRO, one of which is Matt Allen.

Or better yet, RI Future should. If anyone is interested in podcasting a progressive call-in talk show, please contact me!

Speaking of Ian Donnis, RIPR’s political reporter got a nice scoop yesterday about Gov. Chafee being open to giving the Narragansett Indian Tribe a larger slice of the state’s gambling take.

It’s hard to root for Tom Brady when you read about the golden boy quarterback offering sympathy to Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase who if isn’t one of the architects of our financial collapse was at the very least one of the pilots steering the ship. (Dissing Tom Brady will make me extremely unpopular with one of my favorite group of readers: the kids I grew up with, who by and large worship at both the Church of Brady AND the Church of Wall Street.)

I love this balmy Indian summer weather as much as anyone, but make no mistake that these unseasonably warm October days mean treacherous things for our climate. In fact, according to today’s ProJo, it’s probably already destroyed the state’s lobster population. “We think there is a clear climate drive to this,” a DEM marine scientist told the ProJo as to why there are virtually no more lobsters in Narragansett Bay.

The East Providence municipal budget heads to the state-appointed Budget Commission, but not without some controversy. A city councilor says a budget commissioner of “purposely pitted special education against the general education population and the community at large,” according to East Providence Patch.

Political Wire collects some interesting reactions to last night’s debate. You can read mine here. GoLocal asks the local experts what they thought of the big presidential debate last night. (Thanks for including me on this list!)

My favorite moment of the debate: Romney’s “binders full of women” moment.

Don’t forget: the Dalai Lama is in Providence today, our de facto religion correspondent Steve Ahlquist reports.

April 24, 2012April 24, 2012

RI Progress Report: Primary, Busy Day at State House

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Polls are open today in Rhode Island, and even though it’s still not yet 6 a.m. we’re going to go out on a limb and call the primary for Obama. If you need a hand figuring out which delegates to support for the Democratic Convention, see our endorsements here. But it’s also a hugely busy day at the State House.

The House Finance Committee will take up the controversial tax equity bill that would raise income taxes for Rhode Island’s richest residents. And Rhode Island’s environmental coalition will hear from Gov. Chafee in the rotunda this afternoon before it unveils its 2012 legislative agenda, expected to include transportation funding, voter referendums for open space and clean water and a better way to discard of garbage.

Additionally, two House members from very different sides of the aisle will have their very different bills on in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants heard in committee at 1 p.m. Rep. Grace Diaz’ bill will codify into legislation the decision made by the Board of Governors for Higher Education last year allowing anyone who finished three years of high school in RI to qualify for in-state tuition “regardless of immigration status.” And Rep. Doreen Costa’s bill would “prohibit anyone who cannot prove U.S. citizenship or permanent residency from receiving in-state tuition rates and fees at public higher education institutions.”

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras unveiled his budget proposal last night, which could help right the fiscal ship in the Capital City. But it’s contingent on some factors beyond the city’s control, such as the outcome of the inevitable lawsuit over his pension reform efforts. Here’s the brief that appears in today’s New York Times.

Conservatives like to defend Citizens United by claiming that it gives liberal groups the right to raise unlimited campaign money as well, which is true but irrelevant since the majority of big time donors support the GOP. In fact, 8 of the ten biggest Super PACS support Republicans.

California will vote on banning the death penalty this November. Too bad a plurality of executions in the US take place in Texas.

Had Rhode Island partnered with instead of fighting the Narragansett Indian Tribe, the state would have been well ahead of the regional casino trend rather than well behind it. Can’t blame the Narragansetts for suing us.

This page may be updated throughout the day. Click HERE for an archive of the RI Progress Report.

March 13, 2012March 13, 2012

RI Progress Report: How To Avoid School Suspensions

It turns out the easiest way to avoid discipline at local high schools is to be white. Non-white students at urban Rhode Island high schools are more likely to get in trouble than their white counterparts, reports RINPR’s Elizabeth Harrison, even as they make up a much smaller percentage of the student body.

In Cranston, for example, black students racked up more than half of the school expulsions while accounting for just 4 percent of the school’s population. And in Pawtucket, Hispanic students accounted for 2/3 of the in-school suspensions even though they make up just a quarter of the student body.

— Speaking of Cranston, the school custodians there recently agreed to a 15 percent pay cut. The move will save about $660,000 a year. Meanwhile, the school committee there spent about a quarter as much just to defend the prayer banner, a battle they had to know they would eventually lose.

— How has Citizens United changed presidential politics? Already in the 2012 campaign outside groups have spent twice as much as they did in the 2008 presidential campaign.

— File this one under solutions to things that aren’t problems: A bill sponsored by Rep. Karen MacBeth, D-Cumberland, would mandate that any driver involved in an accident that causes serious injury to submit to a drug and alcohol test. Even if the police didn’t suspect they were drinking or using drugs.

— Homeless people being used as wifi hotspots at SXSW? That’s worse than we treat the homeless people here in Rhode Island. By the way, one of our contributors, Reza Clifton, will be blogging from the Austin, TX music and think tank expo all week long. Read her dispatches here.

— Classic Rhode Island logic: we hated the idea of having a casino when the Narragansett Indian Tribe thought of it. But as soon as Massachusetts puts a casino plan into action we move ahead with a similar one, but leave the Narragansetts out of the equation. Now the Tribe is suing the state. At least Don Carcieri won’t be sending any state troopers down to Charlestown to settle the dispute…