Lawson elected President of the Rhode Island Senate – Ciccone elected Majority Leader

And – Democratic Caucus chooses Frank A. Ciccone III as new Majority Leader The Rhode Island Senate on Tuesday elected Valarie J. Lawson (D-Dist. 14, East Providence) as Senate President (24-8-4), succeeding the late Dominick J. Ruggerio. Additionally, the Senate’s Democratic Caucus elected Frank A. Ciccone III (D-Dist. 7, Providence, Johnston) as its Majority Leader,…

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Out of the abyss – Michael Morse

by Michael Morse, contributing writer Doing nothing as our country drowns in debt, our people stagnate in a service economy that creates wealth for investors rather than workers, filling our homes with foreign-manufactured throw away items, eating food processed in factories and watching what little we have saved be devoured by energy costs as our…

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Changes coming to HHS elicit strong response from aging network – Herb Weiss

By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under management of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., last week announced a major restructuring and renaming of the federal agency under the initiative “Make America Healthy Again.” This dramatic reorganization follows Trump’s Executive Order, Implementing the President’s ‘Department of…

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The coming Rhode Island budget crisis – Nick Landekic

The Coming Rhode Island Budget Crisis By Nick Landekic, contributing writer Governor McKee recently announced the proposed FY 2026 Rhode Island state budget totaling $14.2 billion. While it may appear to be a modest 2.2% increase over last year this also includes an assumed massive $5.1 billion of support from the federal government – which…

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GriefSPEAK: Grieving the loss of empathy – Mari Nardolillo Dias

US Congress

Grieving the Loss of Empathy by Mari Nardolillo, Dias, EdD, contributing writer “This girl is on fire, this girl is on fire…. She’s walking on fire, this girl is on fire…” (Alicia Keys) Yes. Like Key’s quote above, I am on fire. I have been teaching empathy to budding therapists at both the undergraduate and…

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It is what it is – Feb. 26, 2025 – Jen Brien

jen brien commentary

by Jennifer Brien, contributing writer, commentary “MSNBC-YA” JOY Look, I’ve been saying for a SUPER long time I never got Joy Reid. She is an angry, ANGRY human, mostly about fake news or fake things and spewed her anger disproportionately every chance she got. When I read that she got canned, I actually felt sorry…

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