Hint, hint, Powers-That-Be (greater than this lowly freshman’s):

More national news today about the potential mega-wind developments in Rhode Island. If we get this much attention for talking about moving the projects forward, imagine how psyched people would be if we actually pushed them forward!

SUGAR LAND, TX–(Marketwire - December 27, 2007) - Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) — Developers are studying the addition of about 620 megawatts (MW) of new power generation for Rhode Island. This would represent an increase of about 33% from the existing 1,890 MW of available generating capacity to about 2,510 MW. All three projects would be powered by renewable energy.

As we express concern about the a budget deficit, foundering economy, and population loss, why don’t we do something awesome and exciting that’d make us a hotbed for an up-and-coming industry. For real, this time.

Blindly following the crowd, I’ve decided that I’m foremost an Atlantic 10 fan this year, for the first time since the 7-foot-1 Yinka Dare — who sadly died of a heart attack a few years ago — wowed the crowds at George Washington’s Smith Center in the early 1990s. (I think Dare’s what first turned me into a college bball fan.)

Jim Baron and the URI Rams make the Washington Post today, in an article mostly about the surprising strength of the A-10:

“I think the league is as strong as it has ever been,” Rhode Island Coach Jim Baron said. “What it has done during the nonconference season really speaks for itself. We have definitely earned what we have done. Everyone is really taking a strong stance on strengthening their schedules.”

  Needless to say, “Weird” and “Rhode Island” are synonymous — more great press for the Ocean State:

The Rhode Island Department of Health fined Rhode Island Hospital $50,000 in November because three doctors so far this year have performed neurosurgery on the wrong side of the patients’ brains. (Two patients survived.)

A couple from Swansea apparently won last month’s big-ass powerball jackpot, likely yielding a whole new crop of local “believers” who will squander even more dough than they already do.Lottos suck: They’re super-regressive — far more so than casinos — and while people should be able to gamble, the state shouldn’t actively try to dupe its constituents into throwing away their earnings.

Perhaps the single craziest Rhode Island factoid of which I’m aware: Lotto sales per-capita are tops in the nation, at $1,373 a pop. You read that right. Mass. is pretty bad too — number 5, at $683. (Those are 2004 stats.) The median state is Texas, at less than one-tenth our per-capita rate.

The Rhode Island School of Design has named John Maeda to be their new president. Maeda’s background in new media and corporate design makes him a very interesting choice for the school who’s history has usually bent more towards the fine/practical arts. At 41 Maeda will be the youngest president in the school’s history. Outgoing president Roger Mandle describes Maeda as “a humanist. He is a genius — and he gets things done.”

RISD has more information and a cute little video.

Big ups to Barnaby Evans for the tip on this

LAAAAAADY…. just move the car. Speaking of doppelgangers…. when the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency is being run by Jerry Lewis, whaddya expect? A cover story in today’s ProJo about ‘The Storm’ indicates that RIEMA director, Robert Warren, has been canned. Now, how do we fire the thousands of Rhode Island drivers who really bolloxed the whole thing up by pulling into and blocking the goddam intersections?!

This week’s highlights:

Geek Dinner
Rhode Island’s digital innovators connect, collaborate, swap stories and spit in this casual monthly forum. Infoprenuers are the future, kid - get with it.
Wednesday, 12/19 5:30-9pm FREE

12-Hour 2007 Winter Solstice Celebration featuring The United Space Rock Coalition
The all-local-all-star band that recently backed up Damo Suzuki rings in the winter with a 12-hour space rock jam. Oh yes - TWELVE CONTINUOUS HOURS OF MUSIC !!
Friday, 12/21 12pm-12am only$3

Now that we’ve all settled in to weather the storm, made it through the traffic, and thawed out the starving, urine-soaked children, it’s time to reflect on the way Rhode Islanders reacted with characteristic aplomb and grace under fire to a winter storm that, while unusual in its speed and intensity, is not entirely outside our normal frame of reference.

Seriously, what the fuck happened yesterday?

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Karen Malcolm of Ocean State Action had this op-ed in the Journal a couple days back, titled The American Dream in Rhode Island:

We don’t have to accept this deterioration of the quality of life for ourselves, our families, our neighbors. We do not have to accept tax cuts that only benefit our most wealthy, while making the load heavier for working people. We don’t have to be deceived by unfair attacks on union families that are fighting for livable wages without questioning the soaring compensation for those at the very top of the income ladder. We don’t have to allow children to be denied RIte Care while for-profit insurers take millions out of our state’s health care system. And we don’t have to forgo safe and affordable child care or investments in our public schools without carefully scrutinizing the millions in special tax treatments given to multinational corporations.

Very important, in light of persistent and disturbing rumors that schools will again see no new state funding next fiscal year. (Meaning cities will be forced to raise regressive property taxes, exacerbating the vicious cycle of poverty, high property taxes, disinvestment, and underperforming schools.)

I hope the Journal starts getting a little introspective: Could it be that the pervasive pessimism of the Paper of Record — in our small state and single media market — could itself be undermining quality of life in Rhode Island? Especially in light of those pesky statistics (here and here) indicating that the amount our residents pay in fees and taxes is exactly normal.

There are a couple of points that I think are deserving of more prominent mention in the debate about the Governor’s proposal to layoff 500-plus state workers.

1) In spite of rampant assertions that Rhode Island’s government is especially bloated, we already have very few state employees per capita:

Yet when viewed in proportion to our population, the number of state workers in Rhode Island is the smallest among the six New England states and just the 40th-largest in the country, according to US Bureau of Labor statistics used in an analysis compiled by Governing magazine.

In contrast to regional leader Vermont, which has 301 state employees per 10,000 residents, the magazine’s sourcebook found, Rhode Island has 164 state workers per 10,000 residents. The comparable numbers for the other states: Maine (221); Connecticut (196); New Hampshire (188); and Massachusetts (187).

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