News

On today's podcast Rhode Island graduated almost 12-thousand undergraduates over the weekend, and Newport resident, and Boston Marathon Bombing victim Heather Abbott received a warm welcome home.

Plus, commentary from Rhode Island Public Radio's political analyst Scott MacKay, on what to do with Providence's abandoned Dynamo House.

Rhode Island’s two teacher unions are hosting a forum Monday to collect information to present to the state Board of Education.  Teacher evaluations and state Education Commissioner Deborah Gist are expected to be targeted for criticism.

Rhode Island is teeming with freshly minted college graduates this morning. Over the weekend, commencement ceremonies were held at all three public colleges, as well as Johnson &Wales, Roger Williams University, Bryant University, Salve Regina University and Providence College.

At Rhode Island College a flash mob formed at the end of the ceremony.  Graduates from the music, theater and dance departments led the crowd of 14-hundred in a special rendition of “I’ve had the Time of My Life.”

Rhode Island’s two teachers’ unions are holding a forum for teachers to discuss their dissatisfaction with new policies in the state’s public schools.

Teachers have complained about the pace of changes under State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, and they are particularly concerned about new annual teacher evaluations, which include test scores as one measure of teacher effectiveness. The teachers have asked the state to slow down implementation of the evaluations, saying they are time consuming and need adjustment.

The state Board of Education is scheduled to vote this week on a proposal to arm campus police at the state’s three public colleges.   Under the proposed rule, campus presidents would have the authority to decide whether armed security is necessary on their campuses.

The Dynamo House, the century-old onetime Narragansett Electric power station, now sits as a forlorn reminder of what once thrived along Providence’s downtown waterfront.  And as Rhode Island Public Radio political analyst Scott MacKay notes, it now stands as a guard to the old Jewelry District that state and city officials are trying to rebrand as a Knowledge District.

Newport residents threw a big welcome home party Sunday for Heather Abbott.  She’s the 38-year-old woman who lost the lower part of her left leg in the Boston Marathon bombings.  A veritable who’s who of Rhode Island’s political establishment was on hand to praise her courage and spunk.

The Preservation Society of Newport County donated the use of Rosecliff Mansion for Heather Abbott’s welcome home party.   When she arrived on crutches, wearing a form-fitting royal blue sleeveless dress, she received a round of applause.

The Pawsox beat the Indianapolis Indians 11 – 3.  That’s thanks to the PawSox defense and Allen Webster’s pitching in the first 5 innings.  Webster struck out 6 batters in a row with the 7th following later.  PawSox manager Gary Disarcina says Webster was great however there is still room for improvement.

Welcome back to my Friday column. Your thoughts and tips are always welcome at idonnis (at) ripr (org), and don't forget to follow me on Twitter. Here we go:

Providence Business News Editor Mark Murphy joins Rhode Island Public Radio's Dave Fallon for a weekly business segment we're calling "The Bottom Line." Each Friday they look at business news and themes that affect local business and the public.

This week Dave and Mark discuss the proposed Internet tax in Congress and implications for state revenue, sales tax, and brick-and-mortar stores.

When to Listen

You can hear The Bottom Line each Friday at 5:50pm.