On February 29, Care New England (CNE) announced a restructuring at Pawtucket’s Memorial Hospital that includes closing its ICU and obstetrics unit and sending those services to CNE-owned Kent and Women & Infants hospitals. As part of its announcement, CNE told staff and patients the obstetrics unit would deliver its last baby on March 10 […]
Making America Grate Your superior correspondents have watched far too many presidential debates this year. We have known all along that we would be voting Democratic (whether Bernie or Hillary), but can tell you, without hesitation, that we both support and will be voting for Bernie Sanders in the upcoming RI primary. The difference in […]
The story of the birthing unit at Memorial Hospital of RI is one of evolving maternity care in the American hospital system and the health disparities within it. The community’s fight to keep the labor and delivery unit open revealed many beautiful personal stories of how one obstetrical unit can hold the heart of a […]
We are going to wear out the memory of poor old Claude Rains, but like his Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca, Phillipe and Jorge are shocked – shocked! – to find that there was fraud involved by leaders of the state’s Economic Development Corporation (now RI Commerce) and Wells Fargo in regard to the 38 […]
Netflix’s “House of Cards” season 4 premiered today, and it got me thinking about Frank Underwood. He seems downright charming and harmless compared to the rogues gallery of Batman villains gracing the Republican debate stage, especially Donald Trump. I began to ponder, who is more evil — Donald Trump or the fictional character Frank Underwood, […]
Phuck Big Pharma Hats off to our old pal Senator Weldon Shitehouse for co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill in the US Senate that would provide better and more effective policies and programs to deal with opioid addiction. The opioid epidemic is currently flying fast and furiously in the country of late, thanks to the overprescription of […]
Few issues have proven hotter controversies than the proposal by Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo to impose per-plant taxes and other restrictions on individual growers of medical marijuana. As a journalist, I’ve been asking fundamental questions about the proposal, and I’m not getting a lot of answers. Spokesmen for the state have pushed back against […]
How Halitosis Hall Works Now that the controversial RhodeWorks tolling plan bill has been rushed through the General Assembly and signed by Governor Gigi, it should now be the legislature’s top priority to pass an ethics bill with some teeth in it. But don’t hold your breath, boys and girls. Democratic state Sen. James Sheehan […]
Important note: Phillipe and Jorge deeply mourn the passing of our longtime friend Buddy Cianci. See our special reminiscences and tribute to him. Whaddya Expect? Phillipe and Jorge hope the members of the House Oversight Committee (the “Out, Damn Spot!” Committee), looking into the 38 Studios scandal have compost piles at home so they can […]
By now, we’re sure that you have read much about the legendary, enigmatic mayor of Providence who passed away on Thursday, January 28, at the age of 74. Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci was a friend of Phillipe and Jorge’s, and referred to in the Cool, Cool World column as either Buddy “Vincent A.” Cianci (to […]