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We at The Coalition believe wholly that pointing out problems without offering solutions is counterproductive. In the spirit of cooperation, we are providing SkeffCo with three alternative locations for their pet project.

Utilizing any of these three sites will accomplish two things:

A) The construction of a new baseball stadium

and 

B) The removal of horrendous blight from the Providence landscape

Our proposed sites are located here, here, and here. We anxiously await SkeffCo's response.

Coalition host Pat Ford speaks out against the proposed Providence Sox Stadium proposal. Big thanks to Steve Ahlquist and RI Future for the video.

We at The Coalition understand that many Rhode Islanders are - to put it mildly - thoroughly cheesed off about the prospect of taxpayer dollars funding a small group of well-connected, wealthy political insiders to build a new AAA ballpark in the city of Providence. We also understand that holding a meeting between team ownership and the various boards and commissions involved in OK-ing such a deal at 4 p.m. on a Monday is - again, putting it mildly - horsepuckey. 

Even in light of a murky new location proposal, we plan on moving forward with our protest and press conference at the Commerce Corporation HQ today. The initial proposed stadium location on the I-195 land was/is only a small part of a very bad deal. The questions of tax subsidies and property tax abatements continue to be the crux of the issue  for the  vast majority  of Rhode Island and Providence residents.

Now, here's the twist/non-twist in the  story. Even though today's meeting has been  supposedly changed to 'open', the I-195 Redevelopment Commission HAS NOT ALTERED TODAY'S AGENDA, as per the Secretary of State's office. The only portions of the meeting set to take place outside of a closed-door, executive session are the welcoming remarks and the vote to adjourn. Maybe we're confused on the definition of 'open'...  

To that end, if you can't make today's protest, we are asking once again that you call or email  the folks in charge of negotiating this preposterous deal, but it turns out that person is not who you'd expect. While the official spokesperson for the I-195 Commission is Dyana Koelsch, and commission member Jan Brodie is listed as the contact person on the agenda of today's meeting, but the official contact person for the I-195 Commission is listed as one Charles "Chip" Rogers, an attorney at Locke Lord Law offices. Locke Lord also happens to be the same firm that employs Paw Sox managing partner, wait for it....., James J. Skeffington!

Previously, we have urged you to call and email your government officials. Today we're asking that you contact the state's shadow government and  ask them why today's agenda has not been updated to reflect the 'team owners wishes' (Yeah, right...) to have the meeting held in the open. 

Charles "Chip" Rogers
Attorney at Locke Lord and Associates
401.276.6507
charles.rogers@lockelord.com


(Side note: Why  in God's name is the official contact person for a state commission is not using a state email address that is subject to public records requests is beyond us. Once again, transparency is sidestepped.)

In all the Skeffington bashing, we  almost forgot that we have a show tomorrow morning! Betcha can't guess what we're going to talk about...

Ok, seriously. We've become immersed in the anti-Providence stadium movement over the last week. We want to thank everyone who put pressure on our "leaders" about this raw deal. If you want to know what you can do about it, you can Fight the Stadium, or get enraged and engaged, or best yet Oppose Corporate Stadium Welfare. We had two small victories this week, here and here, but this fight is far from over.

You can read our musings on Skeffington and the stadium no-deal here and here.

On tomorrow's show, we'll be talking to State Representative Bobby Nardolillo to get his take on the stadium deal, and hopefully, taking some of your calls. Call in to the show at 401.437.5000.

Tune in to AM790, Sundays at 10 a.m.,or listen live on the web or the iHeartRadio mobile app.

Here's a transcript:

Dear Governor,

Thank you for your continued interest in joining with us in an effort to keep the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rhode Island.

As you are aware the new ownership group of the PawSox very much wishes to find a way to build a new ballpark in our capital city that will benefit both the State and City.

Since we share the same objective, Larry Lucchino and I, as managing partners of the new ownership, wish to meet with you at your earliest convenience to consider various alternatives and explore ways to accomplish our mutual objective, including the possible purchase of State land for the ballpark. As we have said publicly, we want to work with you, the leaders of the General Assembly, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Providence to find common ground and fashion a proposal that makes economic sense to all the parties.

At such a meeting, we shall endeavor to work with you to structure a plan that will be mutually sastisfactory so that we can preserve this cherished asset for our state and at the same time provide a new state of the art ballpark for the benefit of our entire community.

We believe a new ballpark on the banks of the Providence River will serve as an effective catalyst to help stimulate the development of the I-195 lands and achieve the goals we all have for a robust economic turnaround for the state.

Larry and I believe it is important to meet with you as soon as possible to explore some alternative ideas and hopefully we can reach accord on this exciting project for  the State and City.

We look forward to working with you on this joint effort to help make this ballpark a reality.

Sincerely,
James J. Skeffington

Join us tonight at the Fatt Squirrel during the 2ND Cannabis Meetup featuring : Rival Roots, Big Mama Lu, BeatCo ViaMental, Kizos  and, of course, Tony Jones and RI Free Radio, for a live, unedited, unhinged, and uncensored podcast. We'll be taking our signature brand of smashmouth political talk to a whole new level!

We'll obviously be discussing cannabis legalization, the PawSox RawDeal, Rhode Island's idea of campaign finance reform, and whatever else strikes our fancy.

The Fatt Squirrel is located at 150 Chestnut St, Providence, Rhode Island 02903. Podcast will begin at approximately 9:30. 


Can't be there in person? 

Listen online at: 
http://www.rifreeradio.org/

or via the TuneIn app:
http://tunein.com/radio/RI-Free-Radio-s213056/


Join the conversation on facebook at www.facebook.com/TheCoalitionRadio or Tweet us @Coalition_Radio.


Join us as we tell Rhode Island's leaders to, "Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!"

RHODE ISLAND - The Coalition, a weekly political radio show airing on AM790-WPRV, Sundays at 10 a.m., has dedicated a page on their website to urging Rhode Island residents to take to their phones and email accounts to voice their displeasure with the new stadium proposal by James Skeffington and his fellow co-owners of the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Skeffington and his partners have proposed the construction of a new AAA baseball stadium on over ten acres of the prime downtown Providence real estate, known locally as the 'I-195 land.' The proposal calls for a 30-year, $120 million outlay of public funds and tax incentives from the city of Providence. The ball club's owners have insisted that staying at the much-loved McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket is a 'non-starter' for the ownership group, and have said publicly that locating the stadium on any other parcel in Providence is also a 'non-starter.'

Coalition co-host, blogger, and web editor, Dave Fisher said of the proposal, "In the wake of the 38 Studios fiasco, it is understandable that the public is extremely skeptical of these tax abatement deals that require taxpayer subsidies to materialize. If the owners of the PawSox think this is such a great deal, they should have no trouble finding private investors to complete the project."

The proposal has incited much criticism, with several Facebook groups and pages popping up over the last week expressing public emotion ranging from dissatisfaction to primal outrage. State Senator James Sheehan issued a press release last week decrying the proposed deal stating, "... this proposal does not appear to be in the best interest of the public. Moreover, seeing how big the ‘ask’ is, it makes one question if the owners are truly serious about keeping the PawSox in Rhode Island."

"Since the show's inception, The Coalition has advocated for protest and civil disobedience in the wake of government collusion, overreach, and abuse," says Fisher, "It's not only our right, but our responsibility to raise our voices against these affronts to the American way."

"It is not the role of government to subsidize or eliminate investment risk for private enterprise. Government should not pick winners or losers in what passes for the free market," said Coalition host Pat Ford, "Mr. Skeffington has made his life's work connecting the dots between cronies in government and the marketplace. It is clearly his mission to socialize risk and privatize success; Because of his efforts, Rhode Island is a poorer place, on an economic, as well as a philosophical level."

The Coalition has posted a script and phone numbers for every member of the powerful House Finance Committee, Governor Gina Raimondo's office, and the office of Providence mayor Jorge Elorza on their website at www.coalitionradio.us/fight-the-stadium.html. They are asking Rhode Islander's to flood the phones and switchboards of each of these.

"If another community is willing to embrace 'Skeffo- nomics' - the theory and practice of laying out vast subsidies to host a AAA ball team with declining attendance, " quipped Ford, "we wish the PawSox the best of luck in their new home."

For more information, email  coalitionradioshow@gmail.com, or call Dave Fisher at (401) 338-1137

(Editor's note:  This post was submitted by former Independent House District 4 candidate, Ethan Gyles. It has been edited for style, grammar, and punctuation, but NOT FOR CONTENT. You can follow Ethan on Twitter @ethangy)

As the seasons change and the weather warms, so too does Hope spring eternal in Rhode Island. Project Hope, that is. That’s the name of the report issued by a consulting firm for Jim Skeffington and his fellow new co-owners of the Pawtucket Red Sox.

Skeffington and company would like us to imagine the report to be a hard, impartial analysis of the economic benefits of uprooting Pawtucket’s pride to a new riverside baseball park in Providence. The report boasts that the new ballpark would bring millions in indirect benefits to the area as fans crowd hotels and restaurants, and new businesses pop up in the bright glow of a revitalized neighborhood. In reality, these numbers are happy math marketing carefully crafted to “Project” the sensation of “Hope” all over the public. We are meant to gaze into Mr. Skeffington’s crystal ball and see a lovely ballpark, imagine the crack of the bat, the city skyline, and thousands flocking downtown to enjoy.

We are also meant to open our collective thin wallet, and open it very wide.

Mr. Skeffington is a businessman and attorney, but more accurately, he is a professional dealmaker. He has made a living navigating government and corporate waters and influencing those who control the public purse strings. Some of us build things. Some of us create art. Some of us teach. Skeffington makes deals, and deal-making in Rhode Island has been very good to him. He and his colleagues have the project and they want state and city officials to like it, so happy math and gauzy renderings are to be expected to win over those government goodies. After all, we’re told that tax stabilization agreements are a ‘necessity’ for large projects in cities around the country. On top of that, there is 195 land to be doled out, and those responsible for doling it are probably a little worried at their lack of success thus far. So we could also reasonably expect that Skeffington and Co. see a ripe opportunity and would try to get free land from the 195 redevelopment. With that knowledge, we waited through the late winter, wondering.

While we shoveled, plowed, and blew snow into ever growing piles, Skeffington and Co. huddled and drafted a proposal. “What can we get,” they asked themselves? The finishing touches came with the crocuses. 


On April 15, he released their galling proposal to the public. How fitting that Skeffington’s heart-stopping numbers were released on tax day, because we are expected to pay dearly. Four million taxpayer dollars annually. No city property taxes for an entire generation. A $1 lease on the land the stadium would sit upon — essentially free real estate. A net total of $120 million dollars pouring out of the public coffers in a city and state with taxes already pushed to the searing limit, bone-rattling roads, unfunded pensions, and schools that are literally coming apart at the seams. All for those happy math benefits laid out in “Project Hope.” Oh, and those rousing “home runs falling into the river!”

It is laughable that Skeffington and his colleagues proudly proclaim they will pay for the construction with their own funds. It’s akin to a carpenter paying to build a house on his own dime. Unfortunately,  it’s on your property, he’s going to live in it, you pay the taxes, cut him a paycheck each year, and then listen to him say, “It’s all good! My being here really improves the neighborhood!”

Even more maddening is the fact that Skeffington and Co. purposefully fan the flames of fear. He’s made sure to let us all know that he’s received inquiries from “four cities” out of state that are interested. Their implication and our inference are one and the  same here;  they will rip our team right out of Rhode Island if we reject his proposal.

As a Providence resident, I hope — and  we should all be hoping — that our elected leaders have the fortitude to stand up to this economic and emotional extortion. Tell Skeffington and his colleagues that we the public are walking away from the bargaining table, Worcester Red Sox be damned. Tell them that we won’t just tweak the deal a little for show and proclaim victory. Tell them that we won’t melt and acquiesce to another crippling financial commitment on the taxpayers behalf. Tell them that we reject the happy math and have had enough of crony capitalism. If your proposal is to take our dollars and give none back, Mr. Skeffington, we’ll keep our little riverside public park, thank you very much.

I know I’m far from alone. Social media has exploded over this, galvanizing and uniting Rhode Islanders of all stripes in a way I haven’t seen before. If this project is to continue, we should demand that it provide a concrete revenue stream for city and state taxpayers in return for any public dollars invested — not just warm and fuzzy predictions. This is baseball we’re talking about, after all, so let’s tell our officials to play hardball with Skeffington and Co. Then maybe a fair development deal — one much more tolerable to the public — could be reached. If so, we might even be able to call it Project Hope with a straight face.