A slower week gives me time to catch up on reading comics. I highly recommend Mind MGMT, an ersatz conspiracy thriller with all kinds of twists and turns. Deceptively simple art and a fast paced plot that genuinely surprises.

Let’s do this thing, in no particular order:

1a. Berta Hudson

The domestic violence murder of Berta Hudson, and the subsequent suicide of the alleged perpetrator, her estranged husband, has once again brought the focus in our state on the easy accessibility of guns to would be bad actors. Despite our state’s red flag law, other laws that require criminal background checks before the purchase of a gun, and the surrendering of firearms when a person is convicted of a domestic violence crime, Berta’s murderer was able to kill her and himself with a gun.

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence (RICADV) has some suggestions for what to do if you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence:

If you are in an abusive relationship or know someone might be, or if you are looking for resources for a child who has witnessed domestic violence, call the Rhode Island statewide Helpline for 24-hour support and information at 800-494-8100.

Calling 911 if you suspect or witness abuse is an important step to take, but there are many other ways to help. If you know or suspect that someone in your life is a victim of domestic violence, you can help that person stay safe. Listen, and express your concerns without judgment. Ask the person what you can do for them, and check in consistently. Help the person create a plan that will keep them safe when abuse occurs, and connect them with local resources.

Additional information can be found at ricadv.org.

1b. Frank Saccoccio

The lawyer for Berta Hudson‘s estranged husband was Frank Saccoccio, president and lobbyist for the Rhode Island arm of the NRA, the Second Amendment Coalition. Saccoccio has vigorously argued against red flag laws and against laws that would take guns away from domestic abusers.

1c. Lock Arms for Peace

Every month Diana Garlington leads a group of people to stand on the sidewalks of South Providence, linked arm in arm, to stand against the violence that plagues our communities. This month Garlington and others read the names on a list of unsolved homicides in Providence, and called on the Providence police to reopen the cases.

Among the people on the list was Garlington’s daughter, Essence Crystal.

“The list that we just read was a list that was released in 2013 and it was labeled ‘unsolved murder victims,’” said Garlington, the founder of Lock Arms for Peace. “I will be working very hard to have our unsolved murders reopened because this is ridiculous. We have this many unsolved murders in our city and we’re out here complaining and worrying about Jump bikes?

“What about the people being killed, right now, in our own backyards? What about our brothers and sisters that are being murdered on a daily basis? We just had a young man, 34 years old, shot and killed. We had a stabbing, just yesterday. When are we going to stand up and say that’s enough?

“We have to understand that there’s a lot of things underlying. There’s so much poverty and so much unemployment – these kids need something to do.”

2. Doulas

Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (Democrat, District 5, Providence) and Senator Ana Quezada (Democrat, District 2, Providence) have announced that they will be reintroducing their bill in the next session to make doula services eligible for reimbursement through private insurance and Medicaid programs.

Doulas are trained healthcare professionals who provide the mother with continuous physical, emotional and informational support during pregnancy, childbirth and the first few weeks after giving birth. During childbirth, they help make women comfortable by providing breathing techniques, massages and advice, and also help advocate for the woman’s needs that she may not be able to express on her own. Births assisted by doulas also have significantly lower rates of cesarean sections, with one study showing a 39 percent reduction.

3. Jump Bikes

Two opeds about JUMP bikes hit Uprise RI on the same day. Is it ironic that we can’t do anything about gun violence, but we can take bikes away from kids?

• Mike Dumond: Jumped Bikes – Vandals take an Uber ride
• Missak Melkonian: I support The Bike Mob

4. Providence Schools

Everybody wants to pretend that charter schools are the answer, but in truth, these schools don’t deliver much better results and worse, they take money away from public schools in dire need of funding.

Harry Tuttle explains.

5a. Peace?

What are the prospects for peace in the world while there is a huge profit to be made from war and armament sales?

Protestors gathered outside the Newport Marriott demanded that Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed end United States support for the horrific Saudi-led war in Yemen, asking that he use his power as Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee to ensure the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) halts United States support for the conflict. The NDAA is expected to be finalized by mid-September.

Unfortunately, Reed was inside the Newport Marriott making his annual pilgrimage to participate in Defense Innovation Days, a conference of weapons manufacturers including Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin – the top four spenders of defense lobbying money in Washington. Reed is himself one of the top recipients of defense industry money in the Senate. Reed is a keynote speaker at the conference, which also features speeches and discussions with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, United States Representatives David Cicilline and James Langevin, and Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

At a Town Hall style event in Westerly, Langevin highlighted the importance of his work in “providing for our common defense,” which entails supporting our veterans, but also “supporting our robust defense sector in Rhode Island and the many jobs that are housed just down the road in Quonset Point.” Langevin said that he “believes these jobs are an important part of our economy and important for our national security as well.”

When your economy depends on war, what becomes of peace?

5b. No Endless War and Excessive Militarism

No Endless War and Excessive Militarism held a small rally outside Senator Jack Reed’s office on Wednesday. Small, because it was raining:

6a. APRA part one

UpriseRI issued an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request to the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) for three documents from the recently concluded hearings on the Invenergy project aimed at Burrillville:

1. An unreacted copy of Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)’s May 17, 2019 filing entitled “Post-Hearing Memorandum of Conservation Law Foundation”;
2. An unredacted copy of the transcript of witness Ryan Hardy‘s cross-examination on January 16, 2019; and
3. An unredacted copy of the transcript of witness John Niland‘s testimony of March 28, 2019.

This is important because, if, as Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) maintains, Invenergy lied on the FCTS forms that they submitted to ISO New England, then communities and municipalities dealing with proposed Invenergy projects across the United States and around the world will want to have such information. Invenergy was not a completely honest actor when they came to Rhode Island.

6b. APRA part two

Attorneys for the ACLU of Rhode Island and Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS) today filed a lawsuit against the Providence School District for hiding information about its extensive violations of the rights of English Language Learner (EL) students that led to a settlement agreement between the school system and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) more than a year ago.

The Access to Public Records Act (APRA) lawsuit seeks a court order requiring the school district to release the DOJ documents identifying the various violations of federal law committed by the school district, which are referenced in the detailed settlement agreement.

7a. James Langevin

United States Representative James Langevin (Democrat, Rhode Island) was at the beautiful Westerly Library Thursday evening to meet with constituents and answer their questions about a variety of issues. It was a pretty freewheeling discussion, with some frankly surprising questions.

The topics covered included Medicare for all, impeachment, defense, climate change, Brexit, the Wyatt, gun safety, wind power denialism, the trade war with China, and more.

7b. Sam Bell

State Senator Samuel Bell (Democrat, District 5, Providence) held a community meeting at Bell Street Chapel Monday evening to answer the community’s concerns and questions about the Cranston Street Armory, the iconic castle-like structure in the Armory District. The building, which has seen various uses over the years since the National Guard pulled out in 1996, is in need of repair. Bell said that he has seen estimates as high as $20M just to get the building into shape, never mind the funds needed to repurpose the building.

8. Workforce Development

The Economic Progress Institute‘s latest report “Rhode Island’s Workforce Development System for Adults: An Overview,” explains the key players involved in developing policy and allocating resources for the system, which is coordinated by the Governor’s Workforce Board (GWB). The paper also includes an overview of how Rhode Islanders know about and access the opportunities for jobs and skills training.

“It’s appropriate that we release this report on Labor Day weekend,” said Linda Katz, policy director for the Economic Progress Institute. “The public workforce development system is critical to ensuring that all adults have the basic workforce skills, including literacy and English language proficiency, that employers are looking for. Opportunities for training linked to available and emerging jobs, and for building skills while on the job, serves the needs of both workers and employers.”

9. Jerry Elmer reflects on turning 18 at the height o the Vietnam War

“When I turned 18 fifty years ago today, I refused to register for the draft. Instead, I presented myself to what would have been ‘my’ draft board (had I registered), and gave the draft board clerk a 10-page mimeographed statement explaining in some detail why I wouldn’t register – because of my opposition to the war and my opposition to the draft that supported the war.”

10a. Wyatt Part I: Mariner Kemper

UMB Bank is suing a city in Rhode Island for refusing to house ICE detainees at an affiliated detention center. The bank’s CEO, Mariner Kemper, is also a trustee of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Missouri.

Hakim Bishara has the story. Read: The Museum Trustee Behind a $130 Million Lawsuit to Keep ICE Detainees in Prison

10b. Wyatt Part II: The Wyatt Board

“Last month was the first in more than four years in which the governing body of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center did not hold a public meeting to discuss decisions about facility operations,” writes Kevin Andrade at the Providence Journal. Read: For first time in 4 years, no monthly meeting for Wyatt Detention Center board

10b. Wyatt Part III: Governor Gina Raimondo

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo is against closing the Wyatt, in part because of all the debt the facility has.

“It’s not something I really entertain at the moment,” Raimondo said, offering her first comments since the confrontation August 14 between Jewish protestors calling for an end to ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and opposing Trump administration immigration policy, and guards at a Central Falls jail, where detainees are held for the federal government.

“I think it’s a complex issue,” Raimondo said. “It’s not an easy thing to say, just close Wyatt. They have a lot of debt. It’s a structure that’s been in place since the early ‘90’s.”

Legislation to close Wyatt has been proposed by jail opponents, but has yet to be introduced while the General Assembly is in recess.

“I would look at that legislation, but I don’t have an opinion yet, and as I said it’s a complicated situation. But what has to happen is, we have to keep everybody safe in the meantime, and people ought to be allowed to protest peacefully,” Raimondo said.

11. Lead Poisoning

Julia Rock at MuckRock has an excellent piece revisiting Rhode Island’s plan to eliminate lead poisoning by 2010 and the number of children who are still facing dangerous blood lead levels. Read: Rhode Island’s lingering lead problem

12. ACLU

• Woonsocket Agrees to Make Police Misconduct Records Public

13. The Bartholomewtown Podcast

• Steve Erickson (Vice Chair, Rhode Island Board of Elections)
• Alzheimer’s Association Rhode Island Chapter‘s Eric Creamer

14. ConvergenceRI

• It is time to have some uncomfortable conversations: On racial equity in Rhode Island, on the legacy of slavery in Rhode Island, on what it means to be Jewish in Rhode Island, on the threat of climate change in Rhode Island and our perverse relationship with the fossil fuel industry, on the relationship between gun violence and domestic violence in Rhode Island, and on the increasingly bizarre, erratic behavior of President Trump

15. Eco-RI

• To Address Climate Emergency, We All Need to Make Common Good Common

16. Picture of the Week:

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