Entries by Monique Chartier

And We TRAIN Union Bosses on Top of Everything Else?

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Quick preface: while some of us don’t hesitate to criticize the Providence Journal, I will say they get credit for running this Mark Patinkin column on the front page of the Sunday paper.

Right to organize. Contracts that often permit union business to be done on the taxpayer time. Just last week, a blatantly pro-union, anti-management, grossly erroneous decision by a state agency that will give striking (that’s STRIKING, RIDLT, not locked out) Verizon workers unemployment benefits.

Like this state isn’t already pro-union enough, with all of the corresponding damage that is done to our tax bills and the state’s business climate, our tax dollars are also going to train union bosses??? From Mark Patinkin’s column on the front page of yesterday’s ProJo.

For decades, taxpayers have been giving big bucks to an outfit whose main mission is training union leaders. This year, Rhode Island taxpayers are handing them $191,444. They’ve received more than $600,000 from us since 2012 — and more grants going back 35 years.

It’s called the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, and its grants have come from the state’s Office of Postsecondary Education.

I would echo Representative Patricia Morgan, quoted in the article; no value is given to the state by these ill-spent tax dollars.

By the way, the tax status of this non-profit probably should be reviewed as, by its own admission, it appears to be violating federal tax law.

They even offer classes on how to file a grievance, appeal a denied disability pension and lobby on union issues. That last one’s odd since nonprofits aren’t supposed to be political, but ILSR is so blatant that one of its courses teaches “collecting money for political campaigns.”

Arrest of Providence Council Majority Leader

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Oh, boy. Another one.

Providence City Council Majority Leader Kevin Jackson was arrested by state police Wednesday for allegedly embezzling more than $127,000 from a taxpayer-subsidized nonprofit he founded as well as misusing $12,000 in campaign contributions.

Note that he (allegedly) personally benefited from his public office in not one but two ways: via his campaign account and also from a taxpayer-funded non-profit that he controlled.

To focus just on the former for a moment, how many other elected officials are tapping into their campaign accounts to cover personal expenses? First Gordon Fox; now (allegedly) Kevin Jackson. How does anyone continue to make the case, with a straight face, that campaign finance accounts should not be made public, the way Massachusetts and other states do?

Tolls Having a Toll On Voter’s Opinion of State’s Future?

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Interesting results from a poll commissioned by Bryant University’s Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership and carried out by Fleming & Associates. Rhode Islander’s view of the state’s future is trending downward.

A new survey of 403 registered Rhode Island voters shows only 31% think the state is heading in the right direction, while 50% now say it’s headed in the wrong direction. Less than a year ago, in September, it was a different story – voters were evenly split, with only 40% saying the state was moving in the wrong direction.

It is notable that this trend started in September when the state’s economy (purportedly) was improving. Could this public pessimism be a result of General Assembly leadership jamming through Governor Raimondo’s highly destructive toll plan last session? Pollster Joe Fleming lists that as one of the potential causes.

Fleming suggested voters are less concerned with the economy as it’s improved but have been alarmed by controversies at the State House such as the debate over truck tolls, the tourism campaign debacle, and the resignation of former House Finance Committee Chairman Ray Gallison amid a law enforcement probe.

Gencarella – Small Steps on Smith Hill Don’t Match Mood of Disgruntled Residents

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Excellent, detailed op-ed by Pam Gencarella in yesterday’s GoLocalProv which, at one point, echoes my thoughts. We are grateful that leadership at the State House is entertaining an ethics bill. But it is only one item on a long list of reforms that need to come to state government.

So while ethics reform and an audit of legislative grants may be the first steps in addressing the crisis in confidence that all Rhode Islanders are feeling, much, much more must be done before taxpayers will have any faith in this government. The Speaker, the Senate President and the Governor have a long row to hoe in attempts to win the hearts and minds of its citizens. The problem for them is there’s only about a month and a half left in which to make a dent in our battered psyche. The fortunate thing for us is that November is not that far off.

Pass the Line Item Veto Now for Future Governors

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Great job by everyone who turned out for yesterday’s very well attended hearing on the line item veto. Nice work by Ken Block raising public awareness of this good government measure that definitely needs to come to Rhode Island.

While the current Governor has said there was no line item in the most recent budget that she would have vetoed, this should be a tool in the belt of future governors, who might have higher standards, both for him/herself and for the legislature, than Governor Raimondo about all of the spending that goes into the state budget.

Hiring of Director of Food Strategy is Governor Raimondo’s Econ Development “Let Them Eat Cake” Moment

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Yesterday, Governor Gina Raimondo announced her pick to fill her newly-created position of Rhode Island’s “Director of Food Strategy”.

The state’s economy is in serious need of substantive improvement measures. (Pre-emptive note: taxpayer subsidies aren’t the answer.) There are good government measures that could benefit from her bully pulpit. But what is Governor Raimondo doing instead?

She is taking her time and state resources to create a state “Director of Food Strategy”.

Unbelievable.

There is a meme on Twitter and elsewhere that refers to the Governor as a queen. I don’t agree with it and have not retweeted it, in part, because I’m not a fan of name-calling but mainly because I simply haven’t seen her as a queen. Nor do I now.

What is clear with the creation and filling of this new state position, however, is that, like Marie Antoinette, Governor Raimondo is stunningly out of touch with the needs of the state and people whom she leads.

In an op-ed in yesterday’s GoLocalProv calling out the Governor on misguided priorities, Representative Patricia Morgan raised a good point.

In my life, I have found that the things people care about most are the things on which they spend the most time and energy. We thought the Governor cared about Rhode Island. Instead it feels like a bait and switch.

The creation of a “Director of Food Strategy” (job description here) is the latest – and most outrageous – instance of the Governor spending her time and energy on matters very much OTHER than the best interest of the state and its residents.

Rhode Island needs the Governor to adjust her focus. If simply doing the right thing isn’t sufficient motive, then how about for the more pragmatic one of improving job approval numbers?

Letter: Don’t Add Superman Subsidies to the Taxpayers’ Tab

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Well said by Catherine Orloff in a letter to yesterday’s Providence Journal. She uses the word that occurred to me: bailout.

Sure, a rehabbed “Superman” building would be great. But whose job is it: the owner’s or the public’s? …

No way should all Rhode Islanders be forced into yet another bailout.

Indeed, the public – a.k.a., the taxpayers – already has far too many costly problems on its hands, the vast majority inflicted on us by bad decisions and poor policies on the part of our elected officials. We don’t need to add yet another in the form of a bailout for the out-of-state owner of the Superman Building.

Consolidation Must Be Done With Good Data & Open Eyes

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While a proposal to consolidate dispatcher services on the city and town level would seem at first blush to be a good idea,

Mayors from six cities were joined by Lieutenant Gov. Dan McKee and several public safety officials at the State House Monday to call on cities and towns to bring dispatch services into the 21st century.

a statement by the author of this bill, Senator Louis DiPalma, is concerning.

“We believe this will save tax dollars,” DiPalma said in part.

“We believe” consolidation here will save money? Shouldn’t someone have done a little analyzing and come up with some figures before proceeding along this track?

As I said, it may well be a good idea. But the concerns voiced by some, articulated especially well by Justin Katz here and elsewhere, about consolidation and regionalization must be born well in mind. They will certainly not be assuaged if some of our officials embark on the voyage (… in an election year – not that I’m implying anything) without any numbers to back their proposal.

One-Trick Pony Commerce Corp Continues To Hand Out Tax Dollars in Lieu of Real Reform

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The Providence Journal today has not one but two articles about more money handed out last night by the state E.D.C. … er, Commerce Corporation: $1.9 million in tax credits to A.T. Cross, purportedly to prevent them from leaving the state, and $750,000 in grants to seven (it looks like) entities – some of them for pretty quizzical uses, by the way.

What Rhode Island needs to bring businesses and jobs here is real reform to its business climate by easing up the regulatory and tax burden on businesses. But neither the Commerce Corporation nor its boss, Governor Gina Raimondo, are undertaking this critical work. They choose instead to pretend they are accomplishing economic development by handing out hard earned tax dollars.

No one who pays even a little attention is fooled. The Governor’s robotic mantra of “I’m focused on creating jobs jobs jobs” is completely hollow until she and her agency take concrete actions to back it up.

New Oversight Chair Dropping Investigation of 38 Studios; AG Says End is in Sight

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Monday’s must-read, the Political Scene, in the Providence Journal includes the news that

Rep. Patricia Serpa, the newly appointed chair-woman of the House Oversight Committee, says the days of the panel digging into the lingering mysteries of the 38 Studios debacle are over.

“I am going to pivot. I don’t want to regurgitate any more information about 38 Studios or election lines and voting lines,” …

It is disturbing and bad for Rhode Island that Chairwoman Serpa, presumably at the request of Speaker Mattiello, doesn’t want to expose the events and money trail that put state taxpayers on the hook for $89 million (minus some modest settlements in the civil cases).

In related news, Attorney General Peter Kilmartin tells GoLocalProv that

… the end of the 38 Studios investigation is in sight.

“I believe the state police are close to a wrap up,” said Kilmartin, though he said he couldn’t provide a specific time frame. “And we will see how that investigation ends up.”

The $89 million question there is, did the Attorney General allow a comprehensive investigation of all important aspects of the 38 Studios, including where all of the money, especially the fees paid to Gordon Fox’s crony Michael Corso, ended up? Or did he keep the focus on a side issue or two to avoid getting the full picture of what led up to this debacle, a comprehensive look that might cause embarrassment to and even criminal charges against friends currently or formerly in power?

“YouGottaBeKiddingMe” about Former Chief Marketing Officer’s Severance Pay

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Thanks to the Providence Journal’s Ed Fitzpatrick for making the severance pay of Governor Raimondo’s former Chief Marketing Officer the subject of his “YouGottaBeKiddingMe” today.

… Betsy Wall, who stepped down amid the state’s “Cooler & Warmer” slogan fiasco and who didn’t know Gaspee Days from “Happy Days,” is going to get $67,500 in hard-earned taxpayer dollars as severance after a little more than three months on the job? You’re telling me that an “at-will” employee with no contract will receive that much money on top of the $39,173 she was paid through April Fool’s Day?

Nice! At Governor Raimondo’s direction, Betsy Wall will receive more in severance pay than she earned while she was employed by the state.

Note that rather than a blanket omerta, Wall’s termination agreement includes the cleverly phrased stipulation that all parties will refrain from making any “disparaging comments”. As much of the tourism campaign was a “hot mess”, to use one of Fitzpatrick’s terms, and clearly worthy of many disparaging remarks on all sides, this will prevent any uncomfortable truths – i.e., accountability – from coming out about the failed, $5 million campaign – at least from Wall or Raimondo’s staff. Fitzpatrick correctly alludes to the fact that the rest of us are not party to the agreement, however, and are certainly free to make disparaging remarks – as we have done and will continue to do about this and many other instances of tax dollars squandered by the Raimondo administration.

Smith Hill Leaders Backtracking on Even Partial Toll Relief for Truckers

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Well, well, what a shock. Governor Raimondo and Speaker Mattiello are backing away from even partial relief for in-state trucks from the onerous burden of tolls.

“I don’t know if there will be assistance for truckers per se, but certainly in the process of doing [truck tolls] we heard from a lot of truckers,” Governor Raimondo said Tuesday in a lunch briefing with reporters. “They have unbelievable turnover in the industry. It is expensive to train people. We are listening to people and if there is something we can do we are open to it.”

Pressed about whether direct financial assistance is still the focus of efforts to help the industry, Raimondo said, “I am not sure.”

RI Government Has Created Way Too Many Programs to Shovel Tax Dollars Out the Door

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Thanks to a Rhode Island press corps that has been doing kick-butt investigatory work, developments are coming fast and furious in the “non-profit” entity aspect of the multi-tentacled Ray Gallison scandal.

To focus on just one new development, there were not one but two non-profit organizations affiliated with now-resigned Representative Ray Gallison that were receiving tax dollars. The new organization called “Man Up”, brought to light by WPRI’s Ted Nesi and Tim White, received tax dollars from what appears to be two sources within the Governor’s office: a grant from the new Real Jobs Rhode Island program and a grant from the Governor’s Workforce Board of Rhode Island. Following inquiries from Target 12’s Nesi and White, the Governor’s office announced yesterday it had frozen the Real Jobs grant. And the Providence Journal reports this morning that the Governor’s office had suspended the balance of both grants and would be auditing payments received by the two organizations affiliated with Gallison. (Important side note: is handing out tax dollars for this sort of baloney what constitutes the frequently referenced “education and training” part of Governor Raimondo’s economic development initiative?)

These are, of course, in addition to the $1.7 million in community service grants that Gallison’s other non-profit had received courtesy the General Assembly leadership … of which he was a member (*clutches head*).

All of this is still very much unfolding. And the public has yet to hear about the status of the criminal inquiry into other areas of former Rep Gallison’s activities. Two things, minimally, are already crystal clear:

1.) There are way too many state programs in existence whose sole purpose is to hand out tax dollars.

2.) The state is handing out way too much of the taxpayers’ money. This is all the more egregious because there appears to be little to no oversight or accountability that accompanies this public money.

Patronage Clerkship Hire Contributes to Smith Hill’s Poor Reputation

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The Providence Journal reported yesterday that

Former state Sen. Rhoda Perry will return to the State House this week, for a hearing — by her former colleagues — on her qualifications for her new “$69,243 to $78,493” job as the Superior Court clerk for Washington County.

From a browse around Google, it appears that court clerkships are normally filled by law school grads or attorneys. (Please correct if this is wrong.)

But Rhoda Perry is neither. Rather, she is a former senator and one who was reportedly close to the Senate President. Accordingly, rather than a hiring on the basis of qualification and experience, this looks like the distribution of political booty to a loyal legislative soldier.

While not corruption in the criminal sense, such a hire is corruption in the larger sense as it is made on the basis of patronage ties rather than what is best for the state and the court system. It is only the latest in a long line of actions (add tolls and legislative grants to this list) that significantly damages the image of Smith Hill as a place where they shoot straight and play clean.

No Welfare for the Superman Building

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Meanwhile, with all eyes on Smith Hill and the unfolding Gallison scandal, good catch by the Providence Business News, which reports that the owners of the Superman Building will hold a press conference tomorrow.

A host of business, labor and community leaders on Thursday are holding a press conference to talk about the redevelopment of the so-called Superman Building at 111 Westminster St., Providence, which has been vacant for about three years.

The PBN reports that, ominously, the owner of the building has been talking to the state Office of Corporate Welfar … er, the R.I. Commerce Corporation.

The development team has been in discussions with the R.I. Commerce Corp. for the past four months, according to Fischer, and while he characterizes those meetings as productive, no finalized deal has emerged.

Honest to pete, if I had the time, I would picket this press conference. (Potential chant: “Hey hey! Ho ho! Corporate welfare has got to go!”)

Not one taxpayer dime, state or local, should go to redevelop the Superman Building. State and local taxpayers already carry a heavy burden due to the state’s tax-base shrinking abysmal business climate. It is out of the question to add to that an attempt to compensate property owners for real estate values diminished by that exact same business-repulsing tax and regulatory climate.

Gallison Received Legislative Grant Money; How Many Other Legislators Do Also?

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The Providence Journal reports today that just-resigned Representative Ray Gallison was paid a salary from an organization that received a legislative grant every year. Note, by the way, that the numbers in the organization’s IRS filing don’t even add up.

The organization has for years been the recipient of a General Assembly-approved grant that helped pay the salaries of its two employees: Gallison and the late Leo DiMaio, the AEP’s founder and executive director.

The AEP’s filing with the IRS for 2014 says $64,666 in “tuition and expenses were paid for 44 students from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015,” and another $65,684 was paid in “professional fees and other payments to independent contractors.” With only $84,799 in revenue, and $14,479 in available cash it is not clear how that worked.

It comes across, minimally, as unfair and a conflict of interest that a legislator should receive taxpayer-funded legislative grant money. The sixty four million dollar question now is, how many others have also been receiving it?

“Preliminary” – RIDOT’s Newest Transparency & Accountability Dodge

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Representative Patricia Morgan had an op-ed in yesterday’s ProJo describing the latest development in the area of tolls and proposed toll-funded projects – the Governor’s toll plan, as it has now become clear, being the biggest bait-and-switch ever pulled on Rhode Island’s residents. (“Danger, danger, Will Robinson! The bridges are unsafe!” “… Psych! Most of the money is going to a 6/10 boondoggle!”)

Honest and straightforward answers are simply impossible to come by. It appears that Director Peter Alviti has discovered the value of labeling everything “preliminary.” By doing so, he can avoid supplying forthright answers.

A reminder: all of this – tolls (if they survive the legal challenge), federal revenue, the bridges, highways, RIDOT – involves public resources and hard earned tax dollars, which means complete openness is mandated. Governor Raimondo will put an end to “preliminary” and all such dodges if she wishes to repair her very poor reputation in the area of transparency and open government.

Gallison – Now Who’s Out of Order?

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Multiple reporters, citing multiple sources, began reporting last night that a major development would take place on Smith Hill today.

House Finance Chairman Ray Gallison is set to resign as a state representative Tuesday as he faces a law enforcement probe, RIPR has learned.

Many of us wouldn’t be experiencing something bordering, frankly, on schadenfreude right now if this didn’t involve a legislator who, in the process of expediting the rushed, non-transparent creation of a highly destructive new revenue source, engaged in the worst kind of closed government conduct by bullying and then shutting down one of his colleagues who was rightfully attempting to get answers on behalf of the taxpayers, residents and businesses of the state.

But he did and we are.

Meanwhile, all eyes on Smith Hill today as these and related events, including a closed Democrat caucus at 3:54 pm, unfold.

Line Item Veto Coming Up at the G.A.?

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Former RI Supreme Court Justice Robert Flanders had an excellent op-ed in yesterday’s ProJo in support of bringing the line item veto to Rhode Island. No need to fear that we would be breaking any new ground; it’s been well tested in forty four other states.

Governors in most states have employed the line–item veto as an effective tool in balancing state budgets and in checking ill-conceived spending measures. In these states, the line-item veto has not siphoned off any substantial power from the legislature to the governor, but rather it has served as an important, if not essential, tool to manage budgets that may tend in part to ignore the future adverse consequences of certain proposed expenditures in favor of more immediate spending pressures.

Referencing it on his Facebook page, Ken Block says

I anticipate a hearing either this week or next. We will need you to show up at the state house when the bill is heard.

Meanwhile, feel free to lobby our elected officials here about bringing this good-government measure to Rhode Island.

Tom Ward Calls Out Potentially Costly P.C. Bullying by State Treasurer

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Echoing (presumably inadvertently) Justin Katz’ similar reservations about the General Treasurer’s “foolish politically correct showboating” with the state pension fund, Valley Breeze Publisher Tom Ward offers an excellent critique of the GT’s recently announced, very foolish new criteria for the choosing of investments for the state pension fund.

By choosing investments based on feelings and a political agenda, isn’t it possible that the fund won’t do as well as those which focus specifically on making as much money as possible for retirees? Or are we saddled with investment managers whose PC agenda is more important to them because taxpayers have to make up for their poor performance anyway?

Great point. It’s so easy to make yourself look good and claim the (highly dubious) mantle of political correctness when someone else will be forced to make up the difference financially. But it may not just be taxpayers who would have to do so. Presumably, Mr. Magaziner will make himself widely available to state retirees facing a potential haircut to explain to them how being p.c. was more important than the intactness of their pension check.

Token Tax Cuts are Meaningless Without Spending Cuts

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WPRI’s Dan McGowan offers a very good breakdown of Providence Mayor Elorza’s proposed budget.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza proposed a budget Wednesday that slightly reduces residential and commercial property tax rates but still results in an overall increase in actual taxes for most city residents thanks to a large spike in property values. …

Elorza’s $716.8-million tax-and-spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1 also increases the car tax exemption to $2,000, which will result in about 6,500 low-value vehicles coming off the tax roll. All told, the mayor’s budget anticipates an additional $13.1 million in new revenue through taxes.

But because Mayor Elorza hasn’t reduced spending in his proposed budget, he has simply adjusted the tax burden slightly so he can say he (modestly) reduced the very unpopular car tax. Providence taxpayers would still pay more in taxes overall.

In a Kathy Gregg ProJo article today, Governor Raimondo and Speaker Mattiello are similarly making noises about cutting this or that tax, presumably in part on the basis of an unexpected rise in gaming revenue. But any tax cut would not be permanent, or would need to be replaced with a tax increase someplace else, if they don’t reduce spending the budget and gaming revenues fall, as everyone agrees they inevitably will.

Cote & Reilly Call for G.A., Not RIDOT, to Set Tolls & Gantry Locations

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Senator Marc Cote and Representative Daniel Reilly make a sound separation-of powers case for this in Monday’s GoLocalProv.

One of the most important checks involves the legislative branch’s ability to keep the executive branch from spending too much money. …

Essentially, DOT is being allowed to set a tax rate, collect the taxes and spend the proceeds, all without any input from any other branch of government. We see this provision as a violation of the principles of checks and balances and an infringement upon the principle of separation of powers.

The assignment to RIDOT of toll rate authority is clearly in violation of the separation of powers section of the Rhode Island Constitution. Members of the General Assembly must stand up and be counted. Do they stand with and for the state Constitution and the residents of the state? Or do they side with unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats against the people?

No RI City or Town Should Take HUD Money

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… not if elected officials and property owners value property rights and local control of zoning and planning. That was my distinct take-away from the talk by Westchester County Executive, Rob Astorino, at a standing-room only fundraiser held by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity on Sunday.

From a post-event statement issued by the Center.

“Once HUD gets into your city or town, they will not go away. They want never-ending settlements and mandates, designed by Washington, D.C. central-planners and ideologues, who will try to dictate who can live where,” commented Astorino. Echoing the Center’s concerns over the past two years, Astorino also warned that localities can be deemed by HUD to be “discriminatory” if certain income and racial housing “quotas” are not met … a method he ridiculed as “guilt by statistics, rather than by intent”.

(Full disclosure: I work for the Center as their Communications Manager.)

Governor Raimondo’s Education Commissioner Wants to Further Erode Student Achievement

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… that can be the only conclusion from his stated intent, as reported in today’s Providence Journal.

State education Commissioner Ken Wagner wants to remove a controversial new standardized test as a high school graduation requirement for students.

For the most part, Governor Raimondo has only paid lip service – lots and lots of robotic lip service – to her campaign promise to create jobs and improve the state’s economy. Will she permit Commissioner Wagner to do the same with regard to improving K-12 education in Rhode Island?

Shock Result on the Democrat Side of Rhode Island’s Primary

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Whoa, looks like Rhode Island is no longer Clinton Country. From the Valley Breeze last night.

On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders soundly defeated Hillary Clinton, taking home 54.7 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting. After being ahead in many polls, Clinton got just 43.1 percent of the vote.

A heartfelt thank you to all Democrat primary voters in Rhode Island who refused to obey the instructions of The Machine and instead, pulled the lever (… er, made the mark) for Bernie Sanders.

Let the speculation, started on Twitter and elsewhere, freely continue about the impact of this yuge, unexpected outcome on the (widely rumored but not confirmed) political plans of various Democrat politicians in Rhode Island, especially those of you-know-who.

Solutions Offered for Providence’s Financial Problems are Too Revenue Heavy

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Well, one thing’s for certain: it’s getting pretty serious in Providence financially judging by the study commissioned by Mayor Elorza and the solutions it contains.

Providence should consider implementing new taxes, selling assets and closing fire stations as part of its effort to reduce a projected structural deficit that could balloon to $37 million over the next decade, according to a study released Monday by the Elorza administration.

The problem, unless WPRI’s Dan McGowan left significant chunks of the study out of his report (quite unlikely), is that the study offers way more suggestions for raising revenue – sell assets, raise PILOT payments, create new taxes and fees – than for reducing spending. The proposal to “transfer city janitorial services to a prisoner reentry program” is welcome – but only seven FTE’s would be affected. Where is the proposal to look at compensation levels across the entire city payroll? Yes, the study suggests broadening the suspension of the pension COLA – but doesn’t mention the pensions themselves. This would clearly be inadequate as the city’s pension fund is at best 30% funded.

Tax rates in Providence, residential and commercial, are already among the highest in the country. When are Providence officials going to start taking steps to live within a budget that TAXPAYERS can afford rather than continuing to take the easy steps of only nibbling around the edges of expenses and continuing the inexorable increase of taxes and fees?

Polls and Tolls and How Many Gantries?

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After a stage delay, Brown University finally released its poll on Sunday. (I don’t know what the real situation was was but I’m not buying their “voter fatigue” reason for this delay.) And – oh, dear – Governor Raimondo’s approval rating has dropped to 31%. It is impossible not to tie this directly to her push to implement destructive, burdensome tolls in Rhode Island.

On that front, by the way, during her interview with WPRO’s Anita Baffoni, Governor Raimondo references thirty toll gantries.

before putting up 30 gantries

It’s not clear whether this is a feint to try to make us all relieved if/when they eventual “only” roll out fifteen (or pick a number) gantries, like the Governor did when she introduced the new vacation rental tax, or whether she and RIDOT really are planning to proceed with thirty gantries. If the former, it won’t work. We all know that toll gantries are like cockroaches: in light of their propensity to multiply, there is only one safe number and that is zero.

What is clear from this poll is that zero gantries was also the only safe number when it comes to the Governor’s approval rating.

UPDATE

Kathy Gregg reports the prior poll number that I was looking for:

In her earlier, high-profile role as the state treasurer, Raimondo, at one point, enjoyed a 56 percent job-approval rating.

A Quiet End to This Legislative Session Following Passage of the Highly Destructive Toll Plan?

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Interesting article in GoLocalProv today by Russell Moore about the balance of the current legislative session. He spoke to some legislators, including Senator Ed O’Neill, who see a quiet end.

“They’re going to want to get the session over with and get out and on the campaign trail. They want to get out there and press the flesh because they’re concerned about RhodeWorks.”

Rhodeworks; a.k.a., the Governor’s highly destructive plan to bring tolls to Rhode Island. Indeed, many of us are very concerned about it, though, unlike the legislators referenced by Senator O’Neill (who wisely voted against tolls), our concern arises from the future of the state and not at all for the political futures of lawmakers who shoved the state over an economic cliff by voting for an open-ended, multi-billion dollar new tax burden in the form of tolls.

How is the State Well Served by All of the Paid Leave Ordered by the Governor?

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The Providence Journal reports today that, without explanation, Governor Raimondo has brought yet another state employee back from seven months of paid vacatio … er, leave.

A Department of Children, Youth and Families official who was placed on unexplained paid leave seven months ago was allowed to return to work this month.

This is only the latest in a series. As of July, there were eleven state employees on paid leave. This includes the three now semi-famous staffers at RIDOT who were brought back – again without explanation – in December. However, that total does NOT include this DCYF staffer just returned to work nor a second, also referenced in the ProJo article, who remains on paid leave.

What was the purpose, what has been accomplished, how is Rhode Island better off by Governor Raimondo’s actions in ordering all of these state employees onto months of taxpayer funded paid leave?

RIDOT Now Denies They Will Provoke Early Legal Challenge of Tolls

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What is going on at RIDOT? Late last week, Director Peter Alviti confirmed to NBC 10’s Bill Rappleye that RIDOT would be putting up a toll gantry on Route 95 within a year so as to provoke a legal challenge to the state’s truck-only tolls. But now, the Providence Journal reports that

State transportation officials deny reports that they plan to test the legality of tolling big rig trucks by opening a single, lawsuit-enabling toll location before building out the full toll network approved by lawmakers this winter.

“Denying reports”? Like they came from some third party, unconfirmed source? Dude, the head of YOUR DEPARTMENT confirmed that this was the plan.

This flip-flop (if they don’t flip again) will do absolutely nothing to instill confidence in the competency and good intentions of a department (or a Governor) already in charge of half a billion tax dollars annually and which is on course to eventually command the spending of billions more, if/when tolls are implemented. (Sure, tolls are not technically taxes. But de facto, they definitely are.)

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