Deadline approaches. Here are some random thoughts for a week when a full-length
column doesn’t seem willing to materialize.
• It looks like the New England Patriots were not the only ones to have a terrific fourth quarter. According to Leonard Lardaro, the economic professor at the University of Rhode Island who tracks the state’s economy with his Current Conditions Index, reports that eight of the 12 economic indicators that he measures all showed improvement. And none of the others, he said, showed substantial weakness. Even the manufacturing sector showed a gain, with a rise in man-hours for the third consecutive month. “Rhode Island’s economic performance for the fourth quarter and 2003 overall was very encouraging,” said Lardaro.
• After a long, cold winter let’s hope the state Department of Environmental Management can do magic on a shoestring budget and get our parks and beaches looking their best for the summer. They’re sure to be a popular destination.
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• I know the teachers unions will fight it with all they’ve got and there are legitimate arguments to be made in their favor. But Gov. Don Carcieri and Commissioner of Education Peter McWalters seem to think that a longer school day would be a good thing for students – and I find it difficult not to agree with them.
• Rhode Island’s reputation for having an abundant supply of terrific restaurants is richly deserved and not at all exaggerated.
• Can you relate to this? Managers spend a good portion of their week “putting out fires” at work, leaving less time to tend to strategic business issues, suggests a recent survey by Accountemps. Seventy-one percent of executives polled said they respond to unexpected crises at least a few times a week, including 35 percent who address such issue every day. Accountemps offers some suggestions. For example, conduct “fire drills.” That means developing detailed plans that include solutions for handling worst-case scenarios and practice them with your team. Accountemps also reminds you to delegate. Assign responsibilities to your staff and give them the authority to handle some problems of their own. And remember to define whether a situation is truly a crisis. Treating each bump in the road as a disaster can cause undue stress and leave you and your staff unprepared for a true emergency.
• It’s real early and U.S. Sen. John Kerry isn’t officially the Democratic nominee, but that’s how it’s shaping up. If you’re a President Bush supporter, there is reason for you to be concerned. I wouldn’t be surprised to see – perhaps by early summer — Vice President Cheney step aside for health reasons and the president hit the campaign’s stretch run with a more dynamic running mate.
• As for the local political scene, the line for challengers to U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee is going to be a long one. It will be fascinating to see who steps up to run against him, not only out of the Democratic party, but also in a Republican primary.
• Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline justifiably touted some impressive accomplishments in his first ever State of the City address on Monday, Feb. 9. Among them is the fact that the community policing idea that he made such an issue of his campaign seems to be paying dividends, not the least of which is a 10 percent drop in overall crime in the capital city. The city also saw the best performance of its pension fund in years – a 30 percent return, outperforming the pension funds of both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
• It is worth noting that the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Rhode Island district office – during the first quarter – backed 326 loans that injected $26,553,500 into the Rhode Island economy. It’s an example of government working well.
• In early January, Sen. Joseph M. Polisena, a Johnston Democrat, promised to introduce legislation that would call for a referendum in November that would allow Rhode Island voters to decide if they want a full-time Legislature. Since then, there hasn’t been a lot of buzz surrounding the idea. It’s certainly worth discussing, but it isn’t something into which voters should rush. Full time doesn’t necessarily mean less expensive – or more ethical. Granted, we have enough study commissions floating around, but one that could put together some real numbers on the costs of a part-time versus a full-time Legislature would make a lot of sense before a question like that is thrown out to voters.
• Let them have A-Rod. We’ve got the pitching. We’ve got the team chemistry. And we deserve it. Just once. Don’t we?
