Lt. Gov. Roberts: Planning a New Way to Pay for Health Care | Rhode Island Public Radio
Looking forward to hearing more about the new way we will pay for health care in Rhode Island. There is lots of room for improvement. I also hope there is going to be something done about high deductible health plans which are leading to more uncompensated care at hospitals, clinics, and private practices.
Lt. Gov. Roberts: Planning a New Way to Pay for Health Care | Rhode Island Public Radio.
Bomb Threat on Hope Street?
Around 10am I was walking down Hope St. to the Farmer’s Market when a white van with flashing lights and a siren whizzed by. At Rochambeau police had set up a detour for several blocks. Everything was calm, people walking on the sidewalk right through the blocked area.
I thought it was a problem with the water main repairs. Then, maybe, a gas leak. I asked a woman outside the Festival Ballet if it was a gas leak, she said that they’d been told to evacuate, no reason why.
A bus driver stopped at the detour honked to get the attention of a police officer who ignored him. The cops looked disdainful.
Further down the street, a woman said she saw them take a bomb-sniffing robot into Festival Ballet. She thought it was funny that people were shopping at the CVS right next door without any interruption. The white vans were parked in the parking lot next to the ballet building. I continued to the Farmer’s market, and when I walked back traffic was moving normally, police were packing some big equipment into one of the white vans.
I guess we’ll all see it on the news.
And here’s Channel 6, it was Bank of America that triggered the bomb scare for a suspicious package.
Netroots Nation Opening Day
Here’s what is on the agenda for opening day at Netroots:
9:00am – 10:15am
From Defeat to Triumph: Erasing the Death Penalty in America
Taking the Offense in State Elections
The Heart of the Beast: How the Grassroots is Taking on Big Banking
Agitation and Inspiration: The Power of Art and Cultural Organizing10:30am – 11:45am
Handcuffs, Conventional Wisdom and Dirty Oil: Activism’s Big Win Against the Keystone XL Pipeline
Collaboration, Not Co-option: Labor, Community Organizations and Occupy Wall Street Working Together
Organizing Lessons from SOPA and PIPA
Beyond Occupy: What Does a New Economic System Look Like?3:00pm – 4:15pm
Whose Law Is It Anyway? ALEC’s Influence on State Legislatures and What We Can Do About It
The Battle for Congress: Q&A on the 2012 Elections
Liberate Your Ass: Why Sexual Freedom is Key to Fighting the Right
Occupy Goes Home: The Occupy Movement and the Foreclosure Crisis4:30pm – 5:45pm
Protecting Voting Rights in Communities of Color in 2012
Marriage Equality: Past, Present and Future
Emerging Movements: The Face of New Progressive Online Communities
Why the Fed is the Most Important Economic Issue You Know Nothing About7:00pm – 8:30pm
Opening Keynote featuring Eric Schneiderman
38 Studios Writes Rubber Check to RI
It just keeps getting better. From the Boston Globe:
Curt Schilling firm to make $1.1m payment, may miss payroll..
38 Studios and the ‘Job Creator’ Logic
The news is not good for the $75 million dollar gamble that Governor Carcieri talked the state of RI into taking. It looks like 38 Studios is already looking for a bailout. From Bob Plain at the RIFUTURE blog:
American Education: Brought to You by Corporate Giant Pearson
Here’s a telling quote from an article by Gail Collins:
An American child could go to a public school run by Pearson, studying from books produced by Pearson, while his or her progress is evaluated by Pearson standardized tests. The only public participant in the show would be the taxpayer.
via A Very Pricey Pineapple – NYTimes.com.
You have to wonder about the dangers of the growing control of corporations when you read stuff like this.
Support Elizabeth Warren for US Senate, and Send Kiersten to Netroots Nation!
‘Tis the season to get all political. So I’ve decided to devote what little optimism I have for US politics to helping Elizabeth Warren get elected. I am running a fan fundraiser page for Elizabeth Warren for all the obvious reasons: she is a class act with tons of great experience, she is a progressive whose opinions I share on most issues, and her presence will not only raise the IQ in the US Senate, but will also raise the GQ (Gender-equality quotient). On top of that, if I can bring in enough supporters through Rally.org, I might win a free pass to Netroots Nation, taking place here in Providence in June. Size of donation does not matter, only number of supporters I am able to rally to support her. So please, support Elizabeth Warren and perhaps we will all win. Kiersten Marek’s Rally Page for Elizabeth Warren.
Occupy at House of Compassion
I’m sitting here now resting my back from helping to haul an especially heavy dead water heater up some ancient stone steps. The guys had to reach consensus at points in the process, and– what I really appreciated– no one told me I couldn’t help because I’m a girl. We got it out of the cellar without anyone getting hurt, but I have taken some preventative Ibuprofen. Haven’t done that since I took karate.
Many hands make light work, they say. The work was still pretty heavy, but Occupy made fast progress with a much-needed Spring cleaning at House of Compassion today. Bringing the spirit of an old-fashioned barn-raising, we cleared out and sorted furniture and assorted cardboard and stuff that really never will come in handy.
I brought some compact florescents to bring the cellar into the 21st Century. Artemis Moonhawk was directing the crew (as much as you can direct a crew largely composed of philosophical anarchists). She showed me the room that was a part of the Underground Railroad. The room had a small window with wooden bars. Artemis said that the Abolitionists would fool the fugitive slave hunters that they were keeping prisoners there– instead of helping them escape.
I have an interest in old houses, especially the cellars. My first place away from home was the Kingston Inn, near URI. That house was older than the USA. So is the House of Compassion, built around 1730, according to the residents, maybe at the time of the Revolutionary War, according to the National Register of Historic Places. It’s listed as the Luke Jillson House.
Lived in for over 250 years it’s a home, not a museum. It shelters about ten people who share this beautiful house in Northern Rhode Island.
House of Compassion has always struggled financially, more in these times of budget cuts. There are nursing homes and high rise buildings, and these are necessary, but not the right choice for everyone. House of Compassion is more than just care and housing for a few people. It’s a model of alternative housing. Small and personal, respecting the individuality of the residents.
One focus of Occupy Providence is homelessness and preventing evictions. Coming to the aid of House of Compassion is very much in keeping with the spirit of economic justice and direct action.
This is a work weekend. Cleanup continues Sunday. Occupy Providence can be reached on Facebook, here.
Honor a Social Worker in Rhode Island Today!
It’s National Social Work Month. For that reason, I would like to honor some of the amazing social workers in the state of Rhode Island including Kate Coynemccoy, Kate Brewster, Maria Cimini, and Pamela Lischko Lowell. There are many other great social workers in Rhode Island. If you happen to know of one, please add them to this post.
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