THE COALITION
  • Home
  • Past Shows
    • LIVE Broadcast
    • Gina Raimondo Political Hall O' Shame Inductee William Murray Cumberland Mayor 6/9/17
    • Alicia Ann Kelley - Environmental Activist
    • Rob Cote - Activist Extraordinaire
    • Bobby "The Rep" Nardolillo Candidate-US Senate
    • Arvin Vohra LP National Vice Chair 05/19/17
    • Emerge America Political Director A'shanti Gholar
    • Shannah Kurland \\ PrYSM: Community Safety Act
    • The Debate! Jared Moffat Regulate RI vs. MIchael Cerullo RI Center For Freedom & Prosperity
    • FIT: Meg Kerr\\RIPTA Riders-Pawtucket Soup Kitchen
    • Frank Carini -EcoRI.org
    • Attny's McElroy & Elmer: Invenergy!
    • Lynnette Labinger - ACLU / Donna Personeus Thayer St!
    • Jared Moffat Regulate RI
    • Jon Keith - Rhode Island Senate District 27
    • Homeless Bill of Rights Committee September 17, 2016
    • Republicans For Johnson\\\\Weld August 28, 2016
    • Rep Sherry Roberts: Quiet Strength\\Monique Chartier-Freedom & Prosperity\\Daryl Gould LP Candidate GA @ The Superman
    • Analee Berretto: Libertarian Candidate General Assembly Bristol / Portsmouth
    • Charles Wilson - National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers
    • Linda Lotridge Levin- Rhode Island Press Association
    • Pride Week! Thom Simmons LP Candidate US Congress / Mike Shipley Outright Libertarians
    • New England Livery: Uber & The Sharing Economy / Del BigTree Vaxxed The Movie
    • Alex Merced Libertarian For US Senate New York-Joanne Leppanen RIPAC Cannabis Tax Crisis
    • Steve Kerbel / Gary Johnson Libertarian Candidate
    • Phil West\\Bill Felkner CLEANRI.org The Ethics Bill 5/14/16
    • Darryl Perry: Libertarian Candidate for the Presidency of the United States
    • CoHost Blake Filippi \\Gary Sasse Represents John Kasich \\Joe Trillo Represents Donald Trump
    • John McAfee: Libertarian Warrior / Candidate for The Presidency of the United States
    • Austin Petersen: Libertarian Candidate for POTUS \\\\ Jame Kennedy TransportPVD
    • Prof Steven Forleo Rocks Corporate Academia
    • Blake Filippi Libertarian Lion
    • CLEAN RI Bill Felkner
    • Moira Walsh Candidate District 3/RIPTA Riders/Fung Fiasco!
    • State of Homelessness-Rhode Island
    • Emergency Medical Cannabis Summit!
    • Bob Lafleur: Rhode Island Independent Contractors
    • Bella Robinson-Coyote / Norma Jean Almodovar Sex Worker Rights Activist
    • StopTollsRI.com / Rep Pat Morgan
    • Michael G Riley Explains It All To You-Pension Crisis Redux
    • J. Kennedy/J. Harris The 6/10 Connector: Boulevard of Dreams?
    • Bella Robinson\\Maxine Doogan Decriminalize!
    • Dr. Beshara Doumani - Syria! 12/5/15
    • The Curious Case O' The Dancing Cop Moore v. Stewart: Presiding Judge Ford
    • RIPTA Riders Alliance/James Kennedy
    • Joan Chabot Candidate Senate District 11/Hillary Davis: RI ACLU
    • Jim Vickers-Manchester 65\\ Greenwich Cove Meadery October 24, 2015
    • Jim Vincent Providence NAACP October 10, 2015
    • Providence Apartment Association\\\\Monique Chartier December 3, 2015
    • John Miner Russ Moore Alex Merced August 26, 2015
    • Shannah Kurland September 19, 2015
    • Kate Nagle Michael Riley September 12, 2015
    • Providence Bankruptcy! 9/21/14 Riley/Harrop/Flanders The Experts Weigh In!
    • Bob Healey: The Cool Moose 10/12/14
    • The Coalition Episode 5
    • Podcast
    • The Coalition Condensed
  • Advertise
  • Civil Liberty News!
    • PO Taxpayer
    • Tony Jones
    • David Fisher
    • The Goldwater Institute
  • Fight the Stadium
  • YOU! Need To Join The ACLU
  • About Us
    • Hosts
    • In The News
    • Contact Us
    • Media Partners
    • Sponsors
  • LIVE Broadcast
  • Our Next Show
  • Coalition YouTube Page
  • The Coalition Podcast!

The Coalition moves to WPRO

4/30/2015

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Tired of the outrage du jour , short attention span theatre that passes for talk radio? Do you think Rhode Island's political  conversation needs to be expanded and elevated? Had enough of the partisan divisiveness? The answer is on The Coalition. 

Join us every Saturday night at 6 as we bring our signature brand of smashmouth, no holds barred, no topic too controversial political talk to your radio dial. The views expressed on The Coalition DEFINITELY don't reflect those of the station or it's management.

Tune in for controversial guests, nuanced discussion of local, state and national politics, and opinions that usually lie well outside the political mainstream. Every Saturday at 6 on AM630 & 99.7 FM WPRO.

Join The Coalition. 
Loud. 
Proud. 
Outrage porn-free. 
Civilly Disobedient Radio.
Comments

The Coalition proposes 3 alternative stadium sites

4/29/2015

Comments

 
Picture
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.

Comments

Talk radio that goes beyond talk

4/28/2015

Comments

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

Movin' on up! The Coalition moves to WPRO

4/27/2015

Comments

 
Picture
The Coalition is pleased to announce that we will be moving to Saturday evenings at 6 on Rhode Island's Station of Record AM 630 & 99.7FM WPRO! It's been a long time coming, and we are proud to be joining the pantheon of Rhode Island radio giants that occupy the airwaves at WPRO.

As we say on the show, we are loud and proud, outrage porn free, civilly disobedient radio. We'll continue to bring our signature style of smashmouth political talk to your radio dial.

Please join us  every Saturday for controversial guests, and opinions that usually lie well outside the political mainstream. Truly talk radio for independent minds.
Comments

Call your (shadow) government

4/27/2015

Comments

 
Picture
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.)

Comments

Oh, yeah!... we have a show tomorrow

4/25/2015

Comments

 
Picture
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.
Comments

Skeffington changes course

4/25/2015

Comments

 
Picture
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

Comments

Tonight! The Coalition - Live from The Fatt Squirrel

4/24/2015

Comments

 
Picture
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!"

Comments

Stadium deal prompts local radio show to action

4/22/2015

Comments

 

The Coalition proposes virtual flash mob to protest Providence stadium proposal

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
Comments

Skeffington's Immodest Proposal

4/18/2015

Comments

 
Picture
(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.

Comments
<<Previous

    RSS Feed

    Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture