The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – this week in Rhode Island

by Nancy Thomas

Each Friday we feature some of the issues that make Rhode Island an interesting place to live, or captured our attention in a most subjective way. If you have recommendations of a topic to be featured, send it to us by Thursday of the week – [email protected]

1/17/2020

THE GOOD

State of the State

It’s always good to hear a good speech – to hear that things are going well – and the future is bright. One could hardly imagine a Governor taking to a dais and reading the populace a litany of bad news. So, it’s good to think positive, but the challenges are also before us, and when is it time to tell us “the rest of the story”?

The Garland Pen Company

One of the only pen companies left in the United States that has products made solely IN the United States. They, a “bipartisan company,” provided the pens for the impeachment papers signing that Nancy Pelosi used and distributed. “Hundreds of pens” were ordered, and while the horror of it all will surround us for weeks, we note that Rhode Island is at the table, as somber as this one was – or should have been.

THE BAD

Schiff on Jeopardy

They were the smartest of the smart! Three gathered on the Jeopardy game show for the final “who is the smartest of all” round. A photo popped up of Rep. Adam Schiff under the category of “U.S. Representatives”. The prompt was read: “One-fifty-third of California’s House delegation is this House Intelligence Committee chairman.” Silence. Awkward silence. Not one of the three recognized Schiff. Don’t they watch Saturday Night Live, even? Hmm. Remember, many of us are contemplating our navels and completely checked out of current events and politics. Even the smartest of us. Case in point.

Students on the move

Walt Buteau of WPRI did a story this week about all the students on the move, going from one school district to another in Rhode Island. Be it for sports or academics, kids are using the vocational education programs to transfer out of their home school districts, and they are taking their community’s funds with them, an average of $17,000 each. We’d like to see the relationship, if any, to local sports tied in with this, and how many of these students might be lured by playing, rather than learning.

Bike Lanes on Mt. Pleasant Ave.

Didn’t Providence learn a lesson?  Mt. Pleasant Ave is not a street for bicycle traffic. Neither was Eaton Street. Nix the plans to carve the street up, knowing there will be another 6-figure waste of money to put it all back again.

THE UGLY

Pre-Natal Vitamins Containing Lead

A local news story shocked anyone who listened to it – but for pregnant women, the shock might have been all too much for the senses. In this highly monitored country with health regulations upon health regulations, how could it be that lead – sometimes as much as three times the legal limit – could be in pre-natal vitamins? It appears as though some of the raw material in making these vitamins comes from outside the country, where little – if any – regulations are in place. Many companies did not respond to the national media’s inquiry on scientific review. The FDA is not taking up this issue – as yet. If you go on NBC10’s website you will see links to this story along with a list of those vitamins that have been independently tested that are “safe”.  Is it a case that you get what you pay for – and buying the most expensive, and 100% USA made, assures you of the best? Not sure. There’s much to learn about this entire scandalous topic. The possible link to the soaring rate of autism, and developmental disabilities is also in discussion. Remember, lead is forever. It never goes away in the body. This is a national news story by the NBC network. We’ll post the link, here, as a public service:  https://bit.ly/2RnvIYO