Aside from feeling a bit like a fish out of water at times, I think the hearing at the House Judiciary went fairly well yesterday. We had six people testify at the hearing in favor of legislation. The bill needs some additional crafting from lawyers, but we definitely managed to get their attention. Once we’ve… read more
News Archive
H5074 – No need for numbers
It turns out there is VERY little room available for onlookers in the house judiciary. As such, I wouldn’t recommend coming down unless you are really interested in the legislative process. We were under the impression that numbers would help our cause, unfortunately the are unlikely to make much of a difference. Sorry for sounding… read more
H5074 – PBC Recommendations
At our meeting with Representative Gemma, we proposed a combination of some changes to existing laws and wording for a completely new law based on the Orgeon Vulerable Roadway User legislation. These recommendations are what Representative Gemma will be presenting to the House Judiciary tomorrow instead of the original 3-foot legislation. If you plan to… read more
RIPTA Trying to Revive Ferry Service
According to a Providence Journal article, State transit officials said yesterday that they will try to revive the Providence-to-Newport ferry, and one ferry operator said he’s interested. I find it hard to believe that during these tough economic times, they will be able to pull this off, but it would be nice to see it… read more
Navy to announce disposal of Aquidneck Island land
According to a Projo article in today’s paper, the U.S. Navy [is] poised to dispose of nearly 400 acres of prime real estate — much of it on, or with views of, Narragansett Bay I’m guessing this land is all in the Middletown or Newport areas. I was glad to see that the visions include… read more
H5074 Hearing Postponed
Representative Gemma, the sponsor of H5074 has agreed to request the bill be postponed to give us a bit more time to provide him with suggested modifications. We will let everyone know when there is a new hearing date.
Congressman Kennedy to Join Congressional Bike Caucus
As some of you may know, I had the opportunity to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC a few weeks back. There were four participants from Rhode Island. As part of the summit, we spent a day on The Hill talking with our Sentors, Representatives, and their associated staff members. I will follow… read more
H5074 Scheduled to be Heard – March 24th!
The time is upon us… The 3-foot legislation is scheduled to be heard by the House Committee on Judiciary: House Bill No. 5074 BY Gemma, Flaherty, Ferri, Trillo ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES AND OTHER VEHICLES — PASSING, USE OF LANES, AND RULES OF THE ROAD {LC98} 01/13/09 Introduced, referred to House Judiciary… read more
Yet Another Law
While driving along a highway over the weekend, I happened to notice one of those roadside signs stating, “New driving law, tune to 1630”. It piqued my interest, so I switch over to hear what this was all about. You can read the entire law online, but in a nutshell it states motorists, when approaching… read more
A Radical Thought
I don’t know about you, but I’m really concerned about the amount of money being given to various companies to bail them out as a result of their own failures. I’ll fully admit, I don’t understand the complete economic picture, but I’m willing to concede that having these big companies fail could have a significant… read more
Climate, energy debates must factor in transit policy
From today’s Energy & Environment Daily 03/20/2009 Josh Voorhees, E&E reporter Any congressional debate on climate change and energy independence must take into consideration the nation’s transportation systems, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said yesterday. “A discussion of climate change legislation and transportation reauthorization would be incomplete without examining transportation infrastructure policies and practices,” said Markey,… read more
6th Annual, Ride of Silence
Group bike ride to raise “Share the Road” awareness and honor victims of traffic accidents including Warwick native Frank Cabral. Join 8,000 riders in 296 cities around the globe. For more information on the national scene see the Ride of Silence Webpage. The Rhode Island event details: Time: Wednesday, May 20th, 2009. Arrive around 5:40… read more