JOBS IN AMERICA - As Nationwide Unemployment Grows......

"As nationwide unemployment grows, Rhode Island steps in to help residents find work" PBS NewsHour 3/18/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  This week marked the 52nd straight week of high unemployment claims, with numbers rising as more than a million people filed for state and emergency federal unemployment benefits across the country.  One state, Rhode Island, is working to reverse that trend by matching several thousand job-seeking residents with potential employers.  Paul Solman has the story for our series, "Work Shift."

 

 

"Stockton, California, gave residents a guaranteed income.  Here’s what happened" PBS NewsHour 3/21/2021

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  What would happen if you gave people $500 a month, no strings attached?  Stockton, California set out to answer that question two years ago as one of the first U.S. towns to pilot a Universal Basic Income program.  Former Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the findings of this social and economic experiment — and what it could mean for America’s future.

LAB WORK - After School Club, Rhode Island

"After-school STEM programs inspire kids to keep learning" PBS NewsHour 11/14/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  At an after-school STEM Club in Rhode Island, students are working on an engineering challenge -- because they want to be.  The low-stakes, fun environment offers time for exploration when resources or hands-on activities may be in short supply during school hours, and can help sustain interest as classes get harder.  Special correspondent Lisa Stark of Education Week reports.

POLITICS - The Perverseness of a Mayoral Candidate

"Previous terms cut short by convictions, iconic former mayor of Providence runs again" PBS NewsHour 10/1/2014

Excerpt

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  They say that the third time is the charm, and that’s what voters are being asked to consider in Providence, Rhode Island, as the twice former mayor runs again, despite his two previous felony convictions and a prison term.

The NewsHour‘s Domenico Montanaro takes us there with this report.

VINCENT “BUDDY” CIANCI, Independent Mayoral Candidate:  How you doing?

MAN:  How are you, Buddy?

BUDDY CIANCI:  Good.  Nice to see you.

DOMENICO MONTANARO (NewsHour):  In Providence, the improbable.  Former Mayor Vincent Buddy Cianci, whose previous two reigns were each cut short by felony convictions, is running again.

WOMAN:  We hope you win again.

DOMENICO MONTANARO:  To the shock of his detractors.

WOMAN:  I think it’s an embarrassing disgrace.

DOMENICO MONTANARO:  The delight of his supporters.

MAN:  The perfect candidate to bring Providence back to where it needs to be.

DOMENICO MONTANARO:  The amazement of nearly everyone.

MAN:  Some of this stuff is kind of like out of “Alice in Wonderland.”

DOMENICO MONTANARO:  He’s leading in the polls.

MAUREEN MOAKLEY, University of Rhode Island:  He’s not only back.  He’s not only running.  But he may indeed win.

MIKE STANTON, Author, “The Prince of Providence:  The Rise and Fall of Buddy Cianci”:  Absolutely, he could win.