Bill Submitted to Bolster Port Marketing

The bill, submitted by Deb Ruggiero and co-sponsored by Donna Walsh and Teresa Tanzi, tries to improve port marketing efforts.

Release courtesy the Legislative Press Bureau. Rhode Island’s ports are well-positioned to become greater economic engines for the state. The state’s significant coastline, well-developed transportation systems and opportune location between New York and Boston are all the right ingredients, and after a recent dredging project, the Port of Davisville is now the seventh largest auto-port and one of the fastest-growing ports in North America. The growth of Rhode Island’s ports as drivers of the state’s economy must continue, says Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, and to help promote them, she has introduced legislation to create a body to collectively market them. The Rhode Island Port Marketing Collaborative act (2013-H 5614) would bring together …

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Walsh Bill Would Require Merit Selection for Magistrates

According to Walsh, the process for selecting magistrates should be transparent.

Rep. Donna M. Walsh has submitted legislation to require merit selection and vetting by the Judicial Nominating Commission for magistrates in Rhode Island. Magistrates are court officers that generally preside over uncontested cases, though their duties vary from court to court. Currently, most of the 20 magistrates in Rhode Island’s court system are appointed by the presiding judges of their court, with confirmation from the Senate. Under Walsh’s bill (2013-H 5022), magistrates would be selected in the same manner as judges – the state Judicial Nominating Commission would submit to the governor a list of candidates it deems appropriate, from which the governor could choose a candidate to nominate on the basis of merit. That candidate …

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Govstench

8:59 am on Friday, January 18, 2013

Magistrates should have been eliminated years ago.   more ›

[VIDEO] R.I. House District 35 and 36 Forum

We have the full, hour-long video from the House District 35 and 36 forum on Wednesday night.

Couldn't make it out to hear the forum for candidates for House District 35 and 36 on Wednesday night? Have no fear! Thanks to the League of Women Voters, we're able to provide a full copy of that forum, which featured all of the candidates for office. The video is attached to this story. If you can't watch it on here for some reason, the forums are also being run back on both the Cox and Verizon cable systems. So, pull up a chair and take part in the democratic process! Want to be e-mailed when we have new election coverage? Click the "keep me posted!" button below. Looking for video from the Senate District 37 and 38 forum? Click here!

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Donna Walsh, Democrat for Representative in District 36

Donna Walsh, whose district juts into South Kingstown, is running for another term as a state representative.

Name : Ms. Donna Marie Walsh Date of birth : January 28, 1943 Place of residence : 34 Pietila Road, Charlestown College : URI Degree : BA Year of graduation : 1971 University : URI Degree : MA Year of graduation : 1976 Job titles held : Teacher Employers : Hopkinton School System and Chariho Regional School District Party affiliation : Democrat Running for position: State Representative Chamber/district: District 36 Incumbent: Yes First elected: November 7, 2006 Previous elective offices : Rhode Island Senate, 1996 to 2002 Unsuccessful bids for elective offices : None Campaign Manager Name : Catherine Collette Title : Campaign Manager I have been actively involved in Charlestownfor the 44 years I have lived here. I have served on the …

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Narragansett-South Kingstown Election Guide

The candidates, incumbents and issues that will be affecting Narragansett and South Kingstown.

As we look ahead to November’s elections, the Narragansett and South Kingstown Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town. Here's our start on the candidates and issues we'll be covering as November draws near. Bookmark this page for updates. Throughout this election season, we will be adding stories to this, and also re-publishing it and re-featuring it. That's kind of how we roll. Got any questions, comments or concerns? Leave them on this story, or send them to stephen.greenwell@patch.com.

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Letters To The Editor

LETTER: RI Must Focus on Workforce Development

A letter to the editor from James Sheehan and Donna Walsh advocates for workforce skill and education development.

To the editor, Rhode Island was the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. During the manufacturing era, our workforce was well suited for the abundant opportunities of its day. Today we are undergoing a new revolution towards a knowledge-based, innovation economy. This change requires a paradigm shift in thinking by both policymakers and the people of our state. However, it is telling that, even with the high unemployment rate in Rhode Island, we continue to hear from business owners who are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions. It is for this reason that a key component of our economic development efforts has been and remains workforce development. Worker training and re-training to ensure that …

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