Breakfast with Sheldon Whitehouse
You wouldn’t know it by watching him work the crowd waiting for a breakfast table in Newport, but Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island’s junior senator who is facing re-election this year, says he’s uncomfortable in the public spotlight. “In the world of people in politics, way shyer than average,” is how he described himself over breakfast […]
How Rhode Island can help restore net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission’s voted 3 to 2 to repeal net neutrality, the Obama-era government regulations that guaranteed all websites on the internet get treated equally by service providers. Here are four ways Rhode Island can respond. 1. Sue the FCC. A growing number of states have already said they will do this, including California, […]
Trump’s moves against reproductive rights renew calls for state level action
“I don’t care what my employer believes,” wrote Mel DuPont, from the Committee to Pass RHCA in RI. “I need the insurance I work for to cover my needs. Not theirs.”
Lessons from Harvey: RI must plan with flooding in mind
Rhode Island must be more proactive in planning for flooding and sea rise. The devastating toll of human loss and suffering in Texas must remind us of the high stakes involved.
Many states avoid the AG in prosecuting public record violations
Many states don’t use their attorney general to enforce state public records laws, according to a spreadsheet created by the New England First Amendment Coalition. While 20 states, including Rhode Island, rely on the attorney general, the majority do not. The spreadsheet is a starting point as AccessRI seeks to move enforcement of the state […]
Governors face the crisis of innovation in Providence Summer Meeting
Perhaps the clearest example of the much-discussed challenge of innovation came in the closing session of the National Governors Association (NGA) in Providence. The outgoing chair, Virginia’s Terry McAuliffe, attempted to pass the gavel to incoming governor Brian Sandoval of Nevada. They had arranged for a drone to buzz in from offstage and drop it […]
A naked appeal for cash from RI Future
So is this just a shameless plug for $$$ ? Yes it is. Steve and Bob love what they do, and they would do it part time in between third shift dish washing jobs if they had too, but they’re hoping they don’t have to. They’re hoping that people reading this post, who have found our site valuable, might contribute some cash to our efforts.
Rep Tanzi introduces bill to separate guns from domestic abusers
Representative Teresa Tanzi has introduced legislation that seeks to protect the victims of domestic abuse by taking firearms out of the hands of abusers.
RI congressional delegation confronted by constituents at raucous Town Hall
The RI congressional delegation, including Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives James Langevin and David Cicilline in the ‘hot seat’ for about 90 minutes of questions from sometimes angry and confrontational constituents.
Pro-choice advocates rally to DEFEND Planned Parenthood
There was no anti-choice rally in Rhode Island that I am aware of, but that didn’t stop over 100 supporters of Planned Parenthood from rallying to DEFEND the nearly 100 year old organization.
Minimum wage bills to be heard in committee this week
Everything you need to know to effectively testify in favor of increasing the minimum wage at the State House this week.
Love, solidarity and the #WomensMarch in PVD, RI
On January 21, 2017 many of us followed the Extraordinary Rendition Band and their spirited version of “When the Saints Go Marching In” onto the Rhode Island State Capitol grounds. Friendships were evident in groups arriving, or in spontaneous meetings. I met Justine Brown and 2 year old Felicity on arrival, and saw later on […]
Is the Public-Private Partnerships Commission asking the right questions?
Rhode Island has plenty of infrastructure to offer corporations looking to privatize. One school is not of interest but a bunch of schools, say, a $100 million worth, would be a target. Or perhaps a collection of waste water treatment plants could be bundled into an appropriate project.
The rural argument against the Electoral College
Since the election of 2016, a fiercer battle over the legitimacy of the Electoral College has ensued. A lot of the arguments for getting rid of the Electoral College have ignored an important constituency: conservative rural voters. I’m for abolishing the Electoral College, so that the presidential vote is truly democratic. But if democracy advocates […]
The colossal failure of the DNC and the Clinton machine
It was a foregone conclusion that Clinton would be the nominee. No other candidate was given a chance. The insurgency of the Bernie Sanders campaign and the nationwide movement he inspired were an unwelcome distraction in the election process leading up to the inauguration of the first female President.
New Hampshire joins Mass. in rejecting pipeline tariff
National Grid’s proposed pipeline tariff, now under an indefinite stay per the Public Utilities Commission here in Rhode Island, was rejected in New Hampshire last week.
Jeff Grybowski: GOP corporate lawyer turned CEO climate hero
Jeff Grybowski didn’t set out to save the world from climate change. The CEO of Deepwater Wind, which just completed construction of the nation’s first offshore wind farm, wasn’t trying to be the first in the United States to commercially harness the offshore breeze and, in the process, potentially create a new sustainable industry for […]
Linc Chafee pushed DEA to reconsider cannabis
The federal government might be comfortable equating marijuana to heroin, crack and meth, but Rhode Island isn’t. At least it wasn’t when Linc Chafee was our governor. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s recent headline-grabbing decision to keep cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug was the result of a request from the Chafee administration in 2011. In […]
What ‘open for business’ in Rhode Island really means
The perennial question in Rhode Island, and many similar places around the world, is how do we bring prosperity to our communities. Actually I wish it was phrased that way. What we actually get is a promise the percentage of year-on-year GDP growth will go up if we do as they say. The reality in […]
Rest in peace Daniel Berrigan, priest, activist, Block Islander
Father Daniel Berrigan, the legendary peace activist-priest who publicly burned draft cards in 1968 and subsequently eluded prison for the famous act of civil disobedience until his arrest on Block Island in 1970, died Saturday. He was 94 years old. “We have chosen to be branded peace criminals by war criminals,” Berrigan famously said while […]
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