Sen. Whitehouse Brings EPW Committee to RI

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 07:00:00 AM EDT

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse continues to impress with his leadership on environmental issues.  This Thursday (tomorrow) starting at 1030am, Whitehouse will chair a field briefing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) to discuss the implications of global warming on the Narragansett Bay. The event is taking place at the Corless Auditorium in the URI Bay Campus.

At the briefing, which is open to the public. members of Rhode Island’s scientific and environmental advocacy communities will present evidence of the impacts of climate change on the Bay and discuss ways in which the state can prepare.  The briefing is considered to be an official meeting of the EPW Committee, and its proceedings will be entered into the Committee’s official record. Witnesses testifying at the briefing will include:

You will recall that Whitehouse, shortly after taking office, gave this PowerPoint presentation showing aerial shots of Providence, Newport and Barrington underwater as a result of rising sea levels as well as scientific evidence of temperature changes.  Further, last year, Whitehouse introduced the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act (S. 2204), which calls for a coordinated national strategy to help wildlife populations and habitats, including coastal and marine animals and ecosystems, adapt to stresses related to climate change. 

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones in Critical Condition

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 14:34:28 PM EDT

After the police found Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones unconscious in her car last night, doctors today revealed that she suffered a brain aneurysm. And the Cleveland Plain Dealer is now reporting that she has limited brain activity. Tubbs Jones, a very prominent Hillary Clinton supporter, is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Ohio. 

Cindy Fogarty Fundraiser - Sept. 3rd

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 07:30:00 AM EDT

Fresh off of her announcement of three cost-saving ideas for the city and her endorsement by Reed, Whitehouse and Langevin, Cranston democratic mayoral hopeful Cindy Fogarty will be having a huge fundraising bash on Wednesday, September 3rd from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Twin Oaks Restaurant (100 Sabra St. in Cranston).

The event is hosted by Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts and is the first big fundraiser for Fogarty and it's a great opportunity for you to come out and hear about Cindy Fogarty's vision for Cranston's future. You can RVSP to Kiersten at (401)744-8933 or via email here or via Facebook here.

For those of you who don't know Cindy Fogarty, she is an attorney who has an office in the funky Calart Tower on Reservoir Ave.  She is also a Professor at Johnson & Wales University teaching in the Legal Studies Department. 

Fogarty is a graduate of three venerable Rhode Island institutions: Classical HS, Providence College and Roger Williams University School of Law. She has lived in the Forest Hills neighborhood for over 20 years with her husband, Bob and her two kids: Pat (19) and Shannon (16).

Fogarty was first elected to the Cranston City Council in 2002 and, after being re-elected in 2004, Fogarty was appointed Chair of the Finance and Audit Committees where she provided tough oversight of the Laffey administration.  In 2006, the good old boy's network in Cranston bypassed her in endorsing Mike Napolitano for Mayor.  But, showing her fighting spirit, Fogarty is back and talking to voters about her ideas for fiscal and economic reform in Cranston.

Republicans Announce Keynote: Rudy Giuliani

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 07:15:00 AM EDT

With the news that the Republican Convention keynote speaker will be Rudy Giuliani on Tuesday, September 2nd, will (VP) Joe Biden tee up one of his best line? 

Click here to see the full agenda for the Bush Redux Convention.

New Obama TV Ad: "Three Times"

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 07:00:00 AM EDT

And check out the campaign's new closing line. 

Scott MacKay Leaving the Providence Journal

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 12:14:15 PM EDT

Ian Donnis has been vigilantly keeping track of the reporters who are taking the proposed BeloJo buyout and the buyout's implications.

Now, it has now been confirmed that Scott MacKay, the prolific political writer and the scribe behind the Rhode Island Century project, is joining Charlie Bakst in taking the buyout.

A reporter at the Journal for 24 years, MacKay's byline appeared in the Journal nearly 4,800 times with over 1,050 of those coming on the front page.

It will be impossible to replace Scott MacKay at the Journal.  His institutional knowledge is second to none.  MacKay's extensive understanding of Rhode Island's political and social history provided a rich context to every story that he wrote.  Further, his deep and personal committment to forging relationships with politicos on both sides of the aisle gave him access to inside tips and political information that people would not trust with any other reporter.

When the corporate barons that run media companies like Belo Corp. prioritize profit over their product, they lose the heart of their institution: in this case, Scott MacKay, Bakst and others.  And, in the process, they are killing themselves.

Here's what MacKay had to say about his departure:

and

See MacKay's memorable parting shots and his full statement (and trust me, its worth the FULL read) on the flip. 

The Rhode Island Supreme Court Was Wrong on its Lead Paint Decision

by: RI Law Student

Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 11:07:16 AM EDT

Update by Matt: In adding to RI Law Student's post and this discussion, it should be noted that, in yesterday's paper, the lawyers who fought for the state of Rhode Island in the lead paint lawsuit - Fidelma Fitzpatrick, Jack McConnell and Bob McConnell - sharply condemned the Rhode Island Supreme Court for it's reversal of the jury verdict against the lead paint manufacturers.  Read it here.  Unsurprisingly, industry bloggers from LegalNewsline to Jane Genova responded in kind with vitriole and highly questionable innuendo such as "[y]ou'll never eat lunch in this town again." 

============================ 

Original Post: I have read some comments about last week's decision by the Rhode Island Supreme Court to overturn the jury verdict against the lead paint companies, but I have not seen a full analysis of their decision.  Here is my effort. 

Last week's decision in the lead paint case by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island ("SCORI") was a tragedy on so many fronts.  Let's start with the law in their 4-0 decision, then move onto public policy.

I. The Law

The fundamental legal problem with the SCORI opinion is that it weakens centuries old public nuisance law in our state that was meant both to protect the public in the future from needless harm and to require wrong-doers to contribute to the solution.  The purpose of public nuisance is to hold those responsible who create or maintain a public nuisance.  Instead, the SCORI completely re-wrote the law in order to protect corporate America.

The horrible irony of the SCORI opinion is that they took great pains to announce that they refused to be "activist" judges.  Time and time again, they wrote statements like this:

When the Cats Away....

by: Pat Crowley

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 10:51:23 AM EDT

I know certain groups have mentioned that the Journal seems a little different this week, since it appears Ed Achorn is on vacation.  But the whole tone seems different, does it not?  I mean, first of all, you get the above the fold banner headline about the demise of the Education Partnership that includes this gem:

But more importantly, all week there has been a series of great letters to the editor, fighting back against the anti-union, anti-liberal bias in the most of the Journal.  Heck, even Rod Driver had a great LTE that was published, along with at least 1, 2, 3, others.

I think my favorite section comes from the letter today by Richard Forbes:

Has any one else noticed a shift in tone?

Why Are We Surprised (again) ? Poverty Impacts Education Results

by: Pat Crowley

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 10:33:01 AM EDT

When oh when are we going to stopped being surprised that poverty has an impact on education? From today’s Journal:

You almost get the sense that the governor’s office and certain members of the General Assembly DON”T WANT TO fix the way we fund urban education so that they will always have something to blame on teachers or whomever else will be the bad guy in their minds. But if you recall, the unions most deeply involved in education in Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association of Rhode Island, along with Working RI, have for years been trying to get traction on reforms that would seek to address the chronic problems in urban education.  In a report issued in May of 2006 the unions highlighted the very things that, once again, the Journal seems surprised about: that poverty, hunger, access to health care, parental involvement, safe schools, healthy buildings, and other basic economic indicators have a direct impact on success in school.

BASIC HEALTHCARE: A RIGHT TO EVERY WORKING AMERICAN

by: tekpfd

Tue Aug 19, 2008 at 20:03:30 PM EDT

I was once a Yuppie – or at least I thought I was. I was young, I had a good job with good benefits, my wife had a good job (at the Providence Journal) with good benefits, and we had a single child - a beautiful daughter. Life was good and getting better! I had every reason to believe that I, along with my new family, would have a better life that my father and mother had – at least materialistically and by virtue of increasingly better opportunities.

Here I am thirty years later wondering what the heck happened.

Got Faith?

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 20, 2008 at 06:00:00 AM EDT

Join Fatima Hospital nurses TODAY from 200pm to 400pm for a rally and a picket line in front of Our Lady of Fatima Hospital (200 High Service Avenue, North Providence). 

Why?

Over the past 3 1/2 years, nurses have filed over 400 complaints about potentially unsafe staffing situations at Fatima Hospital -- over 100 in the past six months alone!  Fatima does not even staff at the levels that they have publicly reported to the RI Department of Health.

Together, we need to urge Fatima management and Fatima Board Chairman Bishop Thomas Tobin to "Keep the Faith" by providing safe staffing levels and fair working conditions for nurses and patients.

If you haven't already, please click here to send a message to Tobin and Fatima CEO John Fogarty to urge them to show good faith in responding to the concerns of their nurses, and to practice what they preach!

Projo's Sucker Punch

by: Russ Conway

Tue Aug 19, 2008 at 17:30:00 PM EDT

There’s a sucker born every minute, and apparently some of them even end up on newspaper editorial boards (America the sucker, 8/19/2008).

Faced with a deepening quagmire in Iraq, the Projo editors ponder, why don’t more nations “pitch in” and do their “fair share?” Yes, it’s certainly hard to understand why other nations don’t want to join an invasion that yielded no weapons of mass destruction, ignited a civil war, and has become a cause célèbre for anti-Western radicals. If all that sounds good to you too, I’ve got some wonderful Iraqi real estate to sell you (with only a minor depleted uranium problem).

But of course other nations do become involved when it serves their own best interest. What’s obvious is that most nations view the invasion and occupation as primarily serving the interests of a select few within the US, all of this readily apparent when viewed without the rose colored lens provided by the Bush administration and dutifully donned by certain editorialists.

UPDATE: Carcieri's Nepotism Violation

by: Matt Jerzyk

Thu May 22, 2008 at 23:46:18 PM EDT

Update #4: The Beloblog reports that the Ethics Commission voted today to initiate an investigation into whether Governor Carcieri broke the state Code of Ethics by hiring his relative and former campaign worker for a state job in 2002.

I have a hard time seeing how this ISN'T an Ethics violation.  Here are the facts:

(1) The state's ethics laws regarding nepotism - enacted in 1991 - prohibited general officers from giving government jobs to their family members.

(2) The law defined family as to include nieces and relatives by "blood, marriage or adoption."

(3) In 2002, Gov. Carcieri hired his niece - by marriage - to a government job.

(4) In 2007, the Ethics Commission clarified (for those who don't understand the concept of "nieces through marriage") that their regulations included nieces-in-law.

(5) It's now 2008 and Gov. Carcieri's niece still has her job and she has won quite a series of raises in her job - starting at $37k and now making $52k per year.

Seems like an open and shut case to me.  Anyone think otherwise?

All Hands on Deck!

by: Matt Jerzyk

Mon Aug 18, 2008 at 06:30:00 AM EDT

As Outkast stated, "You need to get up, get out and get something..."  NOW is the time to get involved and to make a difference in the upcoming September primary elections that are only 3 weeks away.  

This is YOUR democracy.  Take 3 hours this week and ENGAGE it!

Here's two opportunities for you this week:

Speakers Getting Finalized for Democratic Convention

by: Matt Jerzyk

Wed Aug 13, 2008 at 07:22:02 AM EDT

The speakers are falling into place for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (which will gavel open at 3pm MT on Monday and close at 9pm MT on Wednesday)