Rhode Island
updated
2:04 p.m.
I’m driving along Rt.10 listening to WRNI radio and I hear an interview with CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. She went to college at U.R.I. How cool is that? International journalist graduated from You Are High! And she said she loved her time at college. The great thing about living in Rhode Island is — [...]...
Kmareka - 6:05 a.m. - 9 clicks 
Yes, that's Jack Black as Jesus. Hat tip, BoingBoing . While you're thinking about it, why not stop by Marriage Equality RI to learn about their food drive in Providence next Wednesday. ...
Hard Deadlines - 4:31 a.m. - 3 clicks
Like a recurring virus that flares up every so often, Roman Polanski is in the news, trying to get back into the country he fled to avoid facing the law. Thirty years after he became a fugitive to avoid a prison sentence for having sex with a teenager, Academy Award-winning director Roman Polanski asked a [...]...
Kmareka - Wed 8:24 a.m.
Save Cranston’s Open Space is having a food drive this Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm. The food drive will benefit our local food pantry at CCAP (Cranston Community Action Plan) which is reporting a greater need than ever for food. Non-perishable food items may be dropped at the intersection of New [...]...
Kmareka - Wed 7:28 a.m. - 3 clicks
For those who don’t already know, Matt Jerzyk, owner and head blogger at RI Future, has sold the site and is going to be surrendering the liberal throne of the RI blogosphere. He hasn’t announced yet who will be taking over the reins, but here’s a hint: it’s not me! Yes, I [...]...
Kmareka - Tue 7:30 a.m. - 13 clicks
Town Council swearing in. (l-r) RI Supreme Court Justice Paul Suttell, Dennis Canario, James Seveney, Huck Little, Peter McIntyre, Keith Hamilton, Jeff Plumb, Karen Gleason. The new Portsmouth Town Council was sworn in this evening, and two members with records of long service to the community were elected as the incoming leadership. Peter McIntyre was unanimously voted Cou...
Hard Deadlines - Mon 6:04 p.m. - 9 clicks
click image to embiggen. If you haven't had a look at the sky over the past few nights, this would be a good time to take a peek, since there's an amazing display as Venus and Jupiter appear next to the moon early this evening. The view from Island Park was spectacular. Read all about the "Venus & Jupiter Show" at Sky & Telescope ...
Hard Deadlines - Mon 2:49 p.m.
Discovered a brilliant, horrifying, fantastical web comic called Bayou . From the synopsis: "South of the Mason-Dixon Line, lies a strange land of gods and monsters. Born from centuries of slavery, civil war, innocent bloodshed, hate and strife lurks a world parallel to our own." Thanks to equally brilliant sf/fantasy writer Nalo Hopkinson , for blogging it. ...
Hard Deadlines - Sun 8:03 a.m. - 16 clicks
Before you think about patronizing a local store rather than SprawlMart, remember that Justin Katz over at Anchor Rising urges deep suspicion of Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and her call to Buy Local, RI because it asks individuals to take action, rather than looking for big government to step in. Hunh? I read Anchor Rising all the time, and while I may disagree with Katz's politics, his ...
Hard Deadlines - Fri 7:03 a.m. - 3 clicks
Thankfulness is a good thing. In fact, I highly recommend it to anyone who has a job, a little love in their life, or even just a nice pet. Being thankful for these blessings will only enrich your life further. Now that I’m a little older, I’ve come to appreciate the feeling of being [...]...
Kmareka - Nov 26 - 2 clicks
Here’s wishing everyone a happy THANKSGIVING! Please join us for the First Annual Town Bonfire Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. At Second Beach ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 26 - 7 clicks
Coinciding with the national initiative, “Day Without a Gay,” Marriage Equality Rhode Island is seeking to draw attention to the fact that low-income LGBTQ families are some of the most left vulnerable by marriage discrimination. Securing joint health insurance, hospital visitation rights for a spouse or children, and property inheritance are as easy as purchasing [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 26 - 12 clicks
Fantastic news. A Miami-Dade circuit judge Tuesday declared Florida’s 30-year-old ban on gay adoption unconstitutional, allowing a North Miami man to adopt two foster kids he has raised since 2004. Full story via Miami Herald. ...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 25 - 4 clicks
Okay, this is a bit of a surprise. I met Nick Manocchio when working for Cindy Fogarty’s campaign. He came to a Democratic party planning meeting. He gave an impressive summary of how the Laborers are using wellness programs to improve employee health. He was also at the victory party [...]...
Kmareka - Nov 25 - 10 clicks
According to Portsmouth Canvasser Madeleine Pencak, the RI Board of Elections has confirmed that Jim Seveney has defeated Joe Robicheau for the 7th seat on the Town Council. When reached by phone this morning, Ms. Pencak did not have the final tally from the Board of Elections, but she did confirm that the result was official. ...
Hard Deadlines - Nov 25 - 10 clicks
Guestblogger (and recent Portsmouth Town Council candidate) Mark J. Katzman reports on last night's meeting. Mark J. Katzman Thanks to everyone who supported me. Now that the election is over, I will continue to do what I’ve been doing for 2-3 years now: Go to town meetings, pay attention, ask questions, offer helpful suggestions, and disagree publicly when appropriate. ...
Hard Deadlines - Nov 25 - 10 clicks
Portsmouth School Committee leadership (l-r) Marge Levesque, Clerk, Richard Carpender, Chair, Sylvia Wedge, Vice-Chair. The incoming Portsmouth School Committee was sworn in at Town Hall this evening, and the group elected new leadership. The two newly elected members, Marilyn King and Angela Volpicelli joined Sylvia Wedge, who was re-elected, and the three sitting members, ...
Hard Deadlines - Nov 24 - 8 clicks
Tuesday, on the fifth anniversary of the Goodridge decision, GLAD announced the goal of “Six by Twelve”: ensuring that same-sex couples in all six New England states will be able to marry in their home state by 2012. “We can make New England a marriage equality zone by strategically combining existing legal, electoral, and on-the-ground [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 24 - 6 clicks
Here’s our new President, hoping to set us on the course to financial recovery. It sounds like he has an action plan to create jobs while simultaneously reducing our dependence on foreign oil. H/t Matt Jerzyk (soon to be former owner of the RI Future Blog) for the link. ...
Kmareka - Nov 23
Open from 9-2 behind 909 E. Main. This is their holiday market. Directions are here: http://www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?mar ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 21
I've never been to any concerts here but I hear that they are super. Here is the musicans' site: http://paulandannie.com/content/video.php Go here for $20 tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=lo ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 21
UPDATE 2 I made it towards the end of the short meeting. My impression was that the Big Four's (Semonelli, Cambra, Bozyan, & Santos) previously planned committee assignments were often scrapped & DOA. This was due to the presence of the press, a small audience, and the other three Council members who wanted input. What actually took place was discussion regarding the many committees/...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 21 - 6 clicks
Sorry for the lack of postings recently. I travelled to Missouri (heart of the Bible belt), found out why I always have such a pain -in-the-neck (no, it's not my sons or husband, but rather arthritis)), knit 2 scarves, & am preparing for Thanksgiving. Once again my NEW laptop is in the shop (#3). Turkeys for sale (no, I'm not talking about our local politicans): Check out Simmons Farm at ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 21
While we usually try not to focus to much on those that ardently fight against marriage equality, our thoughts do go out to the over 100 Focus on the Family employees and their families that started this week without a job. As I’ve watched the market continue to fall, I have wondered if there would [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 21
The Hindustan Times is reporting that the Supreme Court of Nepal is pushing the government towards recognition of same-sex couples: the Supreme Court on Monday delivered full judgement regarding a ground-breaking verdict it had announced last year, recognising sexual minorities, who were among the most oppressed in conservative, patriarchal Nepali society, as being born such and [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 21
Yet another Thursday at the Newport Daily News brings us yet another column by Kathleen Parker. In a piece that originally appeared in Wednesday's Washington Post , K-Pax (as she is known in certain quarters ) states that the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituen...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 21 - 5 clicks
John R. MacArthur speaks in Portsmouth John MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine , addressed a group of Preserve Portsmouth supporters and friends this evening at an event at the Green Valley Country club, and he spent much of his half-hour talk praising last year's successful grassroots effort to block Target from building a store on West Main Road. "It was the in...
Hard Deadlines - Nov 20 - 7 clicks
We bought WALLE , of course, and watched it together immediately, and it's just as good on repeated viewing. Then last night, as we were talking over the bonus content, Jack noticed something. The featurette, about one of the robots on the Axiom, is called BURNE. "Shouldn't that be BURNA?" asked Jack. Of course, my nine-year-old is right. The "E" stands for "Earth-class" and we clearly see the...
Hard Deadlines - Nov 20
This is scary: give people the option of dropping their children off at a local hospital, no questions asked, and people will take it. Nebraska has had 35 children of all ages dropped off in hospitals since they passed a “safe haven” law this past summer, meant to prevent infants from being abandoned [...]...
Kmareka - Nov 20
Having grown up with such female role models as ‘Coffee, Tea, or Me’, it’s been particularly sweet to see flight attendants gain better working conditions and respect. It’s a tough job, as this story shows… DUBLIN, Ireland — An Air Canada co-pilot having a mental breakdown had to be forcibly removed from the cockpit, restrained and [...]...
Kmareka - Nov 20
The Boston Globe has an article out this week about the state of views on marriage five years after marriage equality became a reality. It’s a good read and there are some very interesting details throughout, but two paragraphs in particular caught my attention. “The Legislature’s July 31 decision to repeal a 1913 law banning [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 20
just in on KNBC SAN FRANCISCO — California’s highest court has agreed to hear legal challenges to a new ban on gay marriage, but is refusing to allow gay couples to resume marrying until it rules. The California Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted three lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. The amendment passed this month with 52 [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 19
Bob Kerr has a nice piece in today’s Providence Journal about David Gergen’s appearance at Roger Williams University and his comment on marriage equality. And he [Gergen] thinks full rights for gays is something that has to happen because it is the right thing. He told the large audience in Bristol that it is the new [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 19 - 8 clicks
Earlier this week the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and two other groups petitioned the California State Supreme Court to prevent Proposition 8 from taking effect. They join a number of other groups, posted below, who have filed. These minority groups are offering a [...]...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 19
Want to be a leader? First — take a little personal inventory. In order to be a leader in public service, I would argue (based on my three months running a mayoral campaign) that you need to be a strong visionary, fundraiser, relationship-builder, communicator, problem-solver, manager, campaigner, and group leader. It’s a tall [...]...
Kmareka - Nov 17
Yesterday’s rally received a fair bit of local media coverage. The Providence Journal put us on the front page of today’s paper, and compiled a video. Our rally was also covered in: Boston.com The Boston Herald The Day (CT) SeaQWa (Seattle) Edge Providence Brown Daily Herald Eyewitness accounts (that we’ve found so far) appear in: Portsmouth Blog Daily Kos Truth Spew (If you blog...
Marriage Equality Rhode Island - Nov 16 - 6 clicks
For the good, the bad, & the just plain ugly, click here . I'm getting ready for a well-earned vacation far, far away....
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 5
I love Chris Barnett from the Sec. of St. office who sends me super press releases & is always responsive to my inquiries. I'd vote for her (I'm fairly sure it's a "her") any day! Thanks to Sec. Mollis for hiring her! "[Here is advice] which Secretary of State Mollis hopes will help voters cope with the expected record turnout on November 4. I embedded links in the body of the email. If the...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 2
In case you've missed the MANY forums on cable or in print, I'm giving you the major NDN link on candidates for different towns & for different positions. It's well done! Ignore the endorsements (really- the opinion of 3 people). If you have questions, call, e-mail the candidates. Be pro-active! Check out Ch. 18. The forums are still running- I refer to it as hit-or-miss. Offer some se...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 2
I didn't doctor this ad from the NDN (check out the bottom). Yeah, "Daily News," do I HAVE A STORY!! And I'm not alone. Stay tuned. This is just so wrong on SO many levels. I've had so many complaints about this "team" that I could just scream. And I didn't even solicit them. ARRRRGGGHHH! Yes, anyone was better than some actual Democrats, yet alone some actual discussion ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Nov 1
Well, kinda. Here is a fun story from Sec. of St. Mollis' office from Christ Barnett (Press Sec'y): With Election Day less than four days away, students at Michael’s Country Day School in Newport got a practical lesson in civics today when Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis’ office staged a mock presidential election. “Some of these young people will be our leaders of tomorrow. This is the ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 31 - 3 clicks
Projo ran an interesting article the other day wherein they mentioned the Guv's wanting to eliminate income tax. Instead he wants to tax expenditures because... he does. Oh, wait a minute. It will grow jobs, yeah, more trickle-down economics which has worked so well not only for the state, but the entire country as a whole. I thought that this was why we enacted the flat tax for R.I.'s wealthiest ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 31
I enjoyed reading this article by Projo reporter Maria Armental. What the Bishop seems to be suggesting is that when you vote, you should weigh many factors & vote your conscience. Social issues count. ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 31
UPDATE A reader sent me the mailer the "unendorsed" Dems sent out two years ago. Look familiar? Same basic promo, a few different names. What does this mean? Exactly what I said- more of the same. If you want that, then definitely read today's mailing & vote it. Yeah, fair & blanaced. It's in the mail. The four "endorsed" Democratic candidates (Cambra, Semonelli, Bozyan, &am...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 30 - 2 clicks
Think of it- you could exert control over elections- who runs & who doesn't. You could exert control over ALL appointed town committees. Taxes too high- go before the Tax Review Board. You could also exert somewhat more limited control in the State as a member of its political assembly. Good for more appointments, endorsements, nominations, etc. Friends in important places- all for a few bucks...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 29
I just rec'd a press release regarding this. Here I thought it was settled &...the School Committee changes its mind? Strange. Guess a handshake just doesn't mean much nowadays. SCHOOL COMMITTEE REJECTS COMPROMISE TEACHERS VOTE NO CONFIDENCE IN SUPERINTENDENT The Tiverton School Committee last night rejected a tentative agreement entered into by the teachers union and the Schools Superin...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 29
The NDN editorial board evidently still buy into that old vaudeville axiom- always leave 'em laughing. I know that I am. They gave 5 for Council & 1 for School Committee. You actually vote for 7 for Council & 2 for S.C. Nope, what a shocker, no endorsement. And still--- I LIVE. And prosper. Heck, we ALL do. The endorsed & the "unholy." Go figure. So, as my mother say...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 29 - 3 clicks
A few surprises! Waluk did NOT get their endorsement, nor Leonard. For School Committee Sandra Flowers (blog writer here) gets the nod. Sorry, even though my family pays Newport taxes, I have trouble keeping up with things in Middletown where I live. These do seem like good choices, though. But remember, it's YOUR vote. What do these endorsements mean? Beats me. The endorsement and a nickel ...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 29 - 7 clicks
Now, you really don't take my title seriously, right? The Sec. of St. is advising you to avoid the high traffic hours- the first two hours or so of polling & 5-7. Please, take a sample ballot with you or something that will speed you up- it's a LONG ballot (two sides). You shouldn't be asked for i.d. If you are, ask why. If they won't let you vote, insist on an emergency ballot. Problem? CAL...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 29
Today's daily rag, oops, I mean "Newport Daily News" has an article on the forum last night by reporter Matt Sheley. It was sparsely attended, but no surprise there. It's sad, but it is what it is. Who was there? Independents- VonVillas, Hirsch & me, Republicans- Roberts & Viveiros, Democrats- Silveira, Sylvia. None of the four "endorsed" Dems were present (Bozyzan, Cambra, Semonell...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 28
UPDATE Water is now good according to Projo update. My son's housemate told me that students were still drinking from the water fountains in the Student Ctr. AFTER the water bann. He posted up signs saying not to drink it. They should have been shut off. I don't believe that URI took this water problem as seriously as it should have. I forgot to post yesterday when my son & h...
Rhode Island's Twelfth - Oct 24 - 2 clicks
This is something EVERYONE is talking about...McCain's health... "It’s against this backdrop that Palin’s public pronouncements, culminating with her debate performance, have been so striking. The standard take has it that she’s either speaking utter ignorant gibberish (as to Couric)......
RIslander - Oct 5 - 4 clicks
