God forbid somebody be holding up their phone to text at the same time. Normally, I'm game to play chicken but those people? shivers

Source:

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2020/12/17/developers-proposed-costco-project-off-table/3906289001/

I live off of Messer and I find the the planters on the side of the road to be more enjoyable, as a driver, although sometimes irritating, as people think the road is too narrow when indeed, they have enough room.

Edit: The planters do make me scared to bike down Messer, although there are side streets that don't get as much traffic that I take instead.

Further down in the article

>Pre-employment drug tests

>Employers are still free to discriminate against recreational marijuana users if they test positive on a pre-employment drug test, Parker said.

>"If they fail the drug test and have no medical note, the employer can rescind the job offer," Parker said.

If you're considering reading the Projo more, we're currently running a really good sale for President's day.

https://subscribe.providencejournal.com/offers?gps-source=CPDIGARTICLE&utm_medium=onsite&utm_source=article&utm_campaign=DIGITALARTICLE&utm_content=CPDIGARTICLE

Requires subscription, but I covered this exact Q.

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2022/06/03/cannabis-drug-testing-employee-businesses-rhode-island-legal-weed/7472111001/

>Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Rhode Island, what does it mean for employees and employers?

>Not a lot, say experts, as Rhode Island already has a drug-testing law that is among the nation's most protective of employees, and cannabis users get special protections under the law that prevent them from being fired for off-duty use.

>Medical marijuana users had already been protected by the state, which banned discrimination against them for using the drug.

>"From a strictly legal standpoint, I don't think much has changed," labor lawyer Matthew Parker said. Parker, with the law firm Whelan Corrente & Flanders LLP in Providence, mostly represents businesses.

.....

>The new law prohibits employers from firing, or disciplining, employees "solely for an employee's private, lawful use of cannabis outside the workplace" so long as they don't work while under the influence.

Related: Smiley has put new speed bumps on pause.

>Mayor Brett Smiley's administration has paused all speed bump requests, it acknowledged last week, and when the pause will be lifted is anyone's guess.

>"Similar to all other large infrastructure projects, the administration is conducting an in-depth review of installments across the city," Smiley's spokeswoman, Patricia Socarras, said in a statement.

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/02/14/new-speed-bumps-in-providence-on-pause-city-studies-traffic-calming/69893144007/

https://www.whatcheerclub.org/

Living in the West End, many things in Cranston are closer or the same distance to me than the equivalent in Providence city limits, including libraries.

For a very long time, I read this account as "PVD Gal" not "PVD GCal" for (I assume) google calendar.

Article on the new station opening:

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/23/pawtucketcentral-falls-mbta-station-opens-schedule-ticket-price-parking/69831439007/

https://motifri.com/events/

Might be worth checking out (literally).

https://encore.oslri.net/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1634717__Sshort%20bike%20rides__Orightresult__X6?lang=eng&suite=cobalt

Via Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Short-Rides%C2%AE-Rhode-Island-Rides/dp/0762703342

Raptakis has been trying to get automatic increases based on inflation since 2007, but told me he almost never gets support, colleagues told him, we'll consider it when we get to $15/hour.

>For Sen. Leonidas Raptakis, the fight over the minimum wage has been a pet issue since 2007. One of the two related bills he filed would tie minimum wage increases every year to the Providence-area rate of inflation as published in the federal Consumer Price Index.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle over the proposal, after the numbers that households are supposed to save were found to be flubbed.

Story requires a subscription.

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/02/rhode-islands-sales-tax-may-be-cut-this-session-here-are-the-options/69862862007/

>Gov. Dan McKee sparked the debate by proposing to cut the 7% sales tax to 6.85%, which would reduce the tax bite on a $1,000 item from the current $70 down to $68.50, and on a $100 item from the current $7 to $6.85.

Kerfuffle:

>Citing the average of $77 in annual savings that McKee's budget team originally projected for each state household were his proposal to pass, de la Cruz said a household would have to purchase $51,500 in taxable items to see a savings of that magnitude.

>Asked for comment on the minority leader's comments, a spokesman for the Department of Administration acknowledged an error in the numbers originally provided to the media.

>He said the proposed reduction in the sales tax rate from 7% to 6.85% would, on an annual basis, result in approximately $39 in savings, on average per household and business. He said the original calculation neglected to take into account the fact that roughly half the svaings goes to households, and the other half to businesses.

"The commission had a heavy focus in the past on residential and we really want to refocus on commercial activity." Chairman Marc Crisafulli

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/01/20/former-ballys-executive-named-as-i-195-commission-chairman/69823324007/

The census has housing numbers, but I always find it hard to navigate to compare years.

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/RI/HSG010221#HSG010221

It shouldn't be too hard to get 2020 numbers, both for cities and the whole state, as 2010s are somewhere out there.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22416492-part_3_livable_neighborhoods#document/p6/a2149023

$348/month for the monthly ticket, $139 for the 10-ride ticket.

Rocky mountain oysters are totally fine. Don't see what the problems is other than the "yuck" factor.

The article breaks down income limits for each program, but:

I don't like paying, so I'd never go with FreeTaxUSA unless my AGI was below 41k.

I'm using TaxSlayer because I have to file returns in RI and MA and don't want to pay.

However, if I didn't have to file a return in MA, for me, TaxAct would be a viable option.

From the article:

>TaxSlayer

>TaxSlayer offers free federal filing for those who are 57 or younger with an adjusted gross income limit of $60,000; for active military, the income limit is $73,000.

>TaxSlayer also offers free state returns for Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont, but not Connecticut or Maine. Other state returns cost $39.95.

Freetaxusa is fine if your AGI is below 41k.

>FreeTaxUSA allows anyone with an adjusted gross income under $41,000 to file free federal and state tax returns. For active-duty military, the limit is $73,000.

Last year and this year, I have to file state returns in MA and RI, so the freefile version of TaxSlayer is what I'm using/used, this year and last. Before that, I used the FreeFile version of taxact.

I did this story partially because of my own experiences with Free File, where I've had the same thing happen and realize I needed to use a different program that would have given me an extra state's return for free (working in MA, living in RI).

It's not a premium story which means there's only a paywall if you've been reading us a lot, and then you should consider a subscription.

I did the work of collating which programs from Free File are applicable to us as RI residents, and for those who worked more than in just RI, and all the income limits. But by all means, do the work yourself.

>While eight companies are participating in the program this year, just four offer free preparation of federal and Rhode Island tax returns for Rhode Island residents.

The basics:

You should be able to file for free through the IRS Free File, assuming an adjusted gross income (AGI) below $73k a year.

Free state tax return as well.

If you worked in surrounding states, I break down which program lets you file free state returns.

Example: If you worked in MA last year but lived here, TaxSlayer is probably your best Free File bet, to file an RI, MA and federal tax return.