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!

CITING RHODE ISLANDERS’ RIGHT TO KNOW, OPEN GOVERNMENT GROUPS SUBMIT BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF RELEASE OF 38 STUDIOS RECORDS

5/18/2018

Comments

 
Picture

Four organizations have submitted a “friend of the court” brief in the RI Supreme Court in support of Governor Gina Raimondo’s appeal for the release of the grand jury records in the 38 Studios proceedings.  The organizations are the ACLU of RI, the RI Press Association, the New England First Amendment Coalition and Common Cause RI. The brief, submitted by ACLU cooperating attorneys and RWU Law School professors Jared A. Goldstein and Andrew Horwitz, argues that, in the case of 38 Studios, “the fundamental right of the people to know about the operations of their government” far outweighs any standards generally barring disclosure of grand jury proceedings.
 
The brief supports years of ongoing attempts on the part of open government advocates, the public, and even many in RI government to shed light on the case. Last year, Superior Court Presiding Justice Alice Gibney rejected a petition to authorize release of the records. Since that time, the General Assembly passed a law in support of their release.
The brief states:
“There is an overwhelming public interest in disclosure of the 38 Studios grand jury records. It is an exceptional case involving failures at every level of state government.  In contrast, the need for continued grand jury secrecy is significantly diminished…. 38 Studios has left a cloud hanging over Rhode Island government.  Although 38 Studios has had profound effects on the state, no public accounting has occurred. No official report detailing what happened and what went wrong has been issued.  In short, 38 Studios is a matter of intense public interest.  The public has a right to know how Rhode Island officials made the crucial decisions to spend $75 million of the public’s money on 38 Studios.  Rhode Islanders are also entitled to know whether the state conducted a thorough investigation into 38 Studios.”
Full text of the brief is available here.
 
STATEMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS IN THE BRIEF:
 Jared Goldstein, ACLU of RI volunteer attorney:
“This case is about the fundamental right of the people to know about the operations of their government. Although grand jury records are ordinarily kept secret, the principle of grand jury secrecy is not absolute. It must give way under exceptional circumstances when the public interest in transparency is overwhelming. 38 Studios is just such an exceptional circumstance.”

Linda Levin, Secretary, Rhode Island Press Association:

“The Rhode Island Press Association believes that the public deserves to be told what decisions public officials made relating to this case and what happened to the public funds. While members of the Press Association understand the importance of grand jury secrecy, we think it necessary to disclose the details of this case because of its profound implications on the financial resources of the state and its citizens.”
 
Steven Brown, Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island:
“Clearly something went very wrong in the 38 Studios fiasco.  The grand jury records might not answer all the questions that remain in this saga, but having access to them may restore some of the public’s confidence in the workings of our state government.”
 
John Marion, Executive Director, Common Cause Rhode Island:
“Rhode Islanders may never know everything about how the 38 Studios debacle occurred, but they deserve as full an accounting as possible. Included in that is knowing how much effort was put into getting to the bottom of what happened.”
 
Justin Silverman, Executive Director, New England First Amendment Coalition:
"Six years and millions of dollars later, we still don’t know everything about 38 Studios. Rhode Island residents deserve to know what happened and why. That’s the only way we can make sure a similar debacle doesn’t happen again.”
 

Comments

Senate Candidate Nardolillo Congratulates CIA Honcho Haspel

5/17/2018

Comments

 
Picture
State Representative Bobby Nardolillo, himself a GOP Candidate for the US Senate, today extended congratulations and best wishes to CIA Director - Designee, Gina Haspel. "The President's appointment of a career CIA Agent to direct the Agency removes as much politics from the act of gathering information as can be expected in a town like Washington." He said, reacting to the Senate confirmation vote today.
 
Nardolillo highlighted Ms. Haspel's three decade career on the front lines of national intelligence as her most critical qualification to properly run the Central Intelligence Agency. "The new Director has had a close up view of her agency from every level of its hierarchy." He noted. "Her testimony in response to repeated hearing questions on enhanced interrogation shows me an important evolution in her policy position." Nardolillo added. He cited her supervisory authority over the Post 9-11 scramble to prevent further attacks on America. "In that time and in that place Ms. Haspel stepped up and did her job. Subsequent postings to ever higher levels of administrative responsibility in the Agency have since shown her that more humane methods of questioning are actually more effective." He concluded. To Nardolillo this makes Haspel's present stance far more sincere than it might have been had she taken it merely as a political expedient.
 
"I will say that Ms. Haspel's confirmation was tarnished, however, by the opposition to her appointment by both of Rhode Island's Senators." Nardolillo added. "My view is that the President's choice should only be opposed under Senate authority for Advice and Consent when clear legal or ethical failings are present in a nominee." The candidate is fully behind this appointment and vows to use that same yardstick for future nominees, even those which might come from a president of another party.
Bobby Nardolillo is a working Rhode Islander, born and bred, who is taking time out to run for the US Senate because of his conviction that government at all levels has failed its taxpaying constituents. He intends to build on his two terms in the General Assembly to bring both legislative experience and new blood to Washington, DC. Follow his campaign on the web atwww.bobby4senate.com, or on Facebook at 'Bobby 4 Senate 2018.'
Comments

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FEROCE PRESS FLACK RESIGNS!

5/17/2018

Comments

 
Picture
Dear Members of the Press,

I am sending you a notification that I have stepped down as the Spokesperson for Giovanni Feroce for personal and business reasons. I appreciated the honor of serving in this capacity and wish Mr. Feroce all the best in his race for Governor of Rhode Island!!!  Please make all of your further inquiries about the campaign directly to Mr. Feroce at gf@feroce.com.

I have moved on in pursuit of my own business and welcome any comments of questions about that.  Feel free to check out my website below and it was great meeting those of you who I was able to meet!  You all have a very big job in RI with so much going on! All the best and I hope to cross paths again someday soon.

Sarah Hale Folger


And with that,  a major operative in the Feroce Campaign has stepped away ... we are reaching out for comment. What Do You Think?

​Coalition Radio
Comments

    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