02 March 2012

Congratulations, education ‘reformers.’ You’ve lost another future teacher.
Aaron Regunberg writes about a would-be teacher having an encounter with reality. Perhaps someday someone will write about the original purpose of the Public Education system and why it needs so much 'reform'.
He's Back: Laffey's "Fixing America" screening riles the crowd. Did anyone see this? I wanted to but the date snuck up on me.
Rhode Island Sees Largest Spike in Uninsured Residents in the Country. Perhaps we need another, bigger government program to address this?

01 March 2012

Justin Katz: Cranston Police and Fire Retirees Receiving up to $900 on Holidays.
Anthony Gemma is selling his marketing firm Mediapeel Inc. to RI jewelers Alex and Ani.

More here.
Providence City Councilman David Salvatore claims his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired from the General Treasurer’s office after co-authoring an op-ed on pension reform in the Providence Journal.
This one could get interesting. I'm surprised the Unions have taken as much as they have from Raimondo.
Dan McGowan: Bombshell Report Claims Sexual Harassment, Nepotism & Discrimination at City Agency. Bombshell? Around here we call that 'Thursday'.

29 February 2012

The RI GOP struggles to become relevant. GOP announces "Strike Force" to help candidates. It couldn't work any worse that what they are doing now.
Half of Prov. Council Skips Meeting to Avoid Redistricting Vote. Not sure what is going on here.
Ted Nesi:  RI facing ‘a lost decade’ after jobless rate hits 11% in new data. I think a decade is a bit optimistic.
Representative Michael Chippendale (R- Foster, Coventry, Glocester) revealed what caused him to collapse on the House floor on Feb. 16.
From reading the article it sounds like it was a little bit of everything. Or could have been anything.
Building a narrative for the upcoming Providence bailout: WPRI Poll: State should keep Providence out of bankruptcy. From the comments:
Do another poll only targeting voters outside of Providence.
So apparently not everyone is buying into this line.
Dan McGowan: Top 10 Potential Primary Opponents for Congressman Cicilline. They are apparently lining up to take on the former Mayor now.
RI GA is considering a bill prohibiting 'price gouging'. I've seen these laws in other states: in case of an emergency, businesses that obey the law run out of gas (or whatever commodity there is a run on) and businesses that raise prices in defiance of the law pay a fine but can still supply said commodity.

You might as well pass a law banning gravity.

28 February 2012

The Ocean State Current  is live! Congrats to Justin Katz and the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity.
Dan McGowan: City Pays Over $130k Annually for Elected Officials’ Special Pensions. The politicians pension fund -- and the Union Boss' -- are pretty well funded. How long until this becomes and issue in the pension reform discussion?
WPRI is reporting that Rep. David Cicilline and Gov. Lincoln Chafee aren't real popular. I'm going to wait until after the Democrats primary before crowning Doherty.

27 February 2012

A plug for Up Close on Hope in the Phoenix.
North Providence mayor Charles Lombardi is picking a fight with the NPDPW union. Historically picking a fight with the union was electoral death. What is going on this year? Politicians don't expect taxpayers to vote this year, do they?
Wind Energy Area approved off RI coast. I'd love to see this stuff actually be useful. With the sky high electric rates and (relatively) dependable wind currents in this area this seems like an ideal place to try it. But the technology just isn't there, it costs more than it produces (thus the massive Government subsidies). In the end is becomes and elaborate kickback scheme for political supporters.

The Important analyses: Rhode Island Beers at the Phoenix.
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to see it, does it still make a sound?
Coming soon... The Ocean State Current with Anchor Rising's Justin Katz. A cute name anyways; and I've always liked Justin's work at AR.

Patrick J. Kennedy lashed out at Senator Scott P. Brown of Massachusetts on Sunday, asking him to stop invoking the name of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Mr. Kennedy’s father, in a radio advertisement about insurance coverage for contraceptives. …


An odd fight to pick. Is Kennedy running against Brown or Sean Bielat? 


UPDATE: That would be Patches Kennedy, not Joseph III. Oops.

...and we're back! I had stopped for a while because I thought no one was reading, but I was informed otherwise. If you like reading this stuff, drop me a message (senttocoventryri@gmail.com, @sentocventryri) and let me know.

10 February 2012

Senate Candidate Barry Hinckley has signed Gover Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge." I'm not big on pledges, there may be a time when raising taxes is a good move; now is certainly not that time. Anyone has to be better in the US Senate than Sheldon Whitehouse.
The war between providence and Brown rages on. Brown allegedly moves meeting to avoid firefighter rally.
Ted Nesi has a long Q&A with VP Biden's economist Jared Bernstein. It sounds mostly like Keynesian nonsense to me.
Shocking News: RI Economy Stalled, Reports Bryant and RIPEC. This is referred to as 'bad luck.'
Han shot first. (h/t Ace)
630wpro.com's John DePetro for the first to report on the #emergencysex scandal in Anthony. This actually broke yesterday, but I was busy doing actual work.

09 February 2012

The Laffer Curve: Conservative think tank says new taxes will hurt RI.
One-in-four Rhode Island renters spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing-related expenses [...] “It really puts a stress of people's lives[.]” 
 1 in 4 RI Renters Can’t Afford Home. Perhaps yet another 'affordable housing' program would help?
Ted Nesi: 1 in 5 Providence workers employed by tax-exempts like Brown.
Is Providence biting the hands that feed its residents?
I think this says something about the tax environment in RI. Why so many tax-exempts? Why do we have to bribe actual businesses to set up here?

Heh. OT for a RI blog, but still funny.
Days of Reckoning in the Kingdom of RI. Oh, they can kick the can a little further down the road if they try hard enough.

08 February 2012

W. Warwick lures jewelry firm from North Prov. with tax break (h/t Ten Nesi). Why do we have to bribe companies to set up shop in RI?
HS Diplomas as participation trophies? Groups Seek to Ban ‘High Stakes Testing’ in Schools. I think it would help disadvantaged students to get a *better* education, not to allow them to 'graduate' with a worse one.
Ted Nesi: RI would have 14.2% jobless rate if 22,000 workers weren’t MIA. This problem is bigger than RI. Nationwide, the unemployment numbers -- and inflation numbers -- have become the third kind of lie.
Not everyone thinks Angel Taveras is handing Providence's financial woes well.
Dan McGowan: Ten Ways to Save Providence from Bankruptcy. From the comments: 
and how much office space does taveres rent for the city from joe p?

$5

07 February 2012

This looks interesting: AG's office seizes attorney's phone.
"The seizure was pursuant to a search warrant and is related to an ongoing investigation,” said Amy Kempe, Spokesperson for Attorney General Peter Kilmartin.

The New Republic has a piece on RI's new voter ID law. Pretty well researched. H/t Ten Nesi.
We had a reason to: Ted Nesi: Nobody felt worse about economy in ’11 than Rhode Islanders.
UPDATE: Link fixed. Sorry!

Dan Lawlor: Time to End Homelessness in Providence. Our "leaders" better be thinking about other things, or we will all be homeless.
EDC Approves $500,000 Loan for Up to 15 Jobs Now. 47 Jobs by 2015. Why do we continually have to bribe companies to set up shop in RI? Do something about that problem.
Dan McGowan: Which Communities Get the Most State Aid in Chafee’s Budget? From the text:
“We do not have a spending problem we have a revenue problem in the state,” [Dr. Edward] Mazze [Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration at the University of Rhode Island] said.

Really? 

06 February 2012

Gallup: Rhode Islanders soured on Obama, liberalism in 2011. What are they going to do, vote republican?
Rep Scott Guthrie (D-Dist 28, Coventry) proposes caps on municipal contract legal fees. No such cap on union legal fees. RELATED: Guthrie receives $5K from local unions.

Good game last night. I didn't care for the outcome. The important thing is 13 days until Pitchers & Catchers report!

03 February 2012

I love reading GoLocalProv. You get both sides of the story: the Liberal *and* the Progressive!
Providence born White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko is considering retirement after 2012 or 2013.
Providence born and former Red Sox Dan Wheeler signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians.
Taveras set to meet with CF receiver. Is Providence going around the state receivership process? CF & EP needed to get a "receiver" (dictator?) before they could seek bankruptcy protection.
Ted Nesi: Hospitals say $9M CEO pay isn’t a sign they can help Taveras.

02 February 2012

A&E's Parking Wars is coming to Providence.
Mayor Taveras presser today: Providence to run out of money in June. Looking for more from retirees & nonprofits.

OK, I'm as ready as I'm going to be.

I'm just a Rhode Island resident who loves this place. This is my view of Rhode Island.

Feedback/comments via email: senttocoventryri@gmail.com or twitter: @sentocventryri


13 January 2012

OK, I'm not ready yet, but this is cool: Complete Civil War submarine unveiled for first time.

12 January 2012

Sent To Coventry, RI

To send someone to Coventry is a British idiom meaning to ostracise someone, usually by not talking to them. To be sent to Coventry is to be regarded as absent. It is often used by children to bully others, and can be used to punish people who, for example, refuse to join a strike.