Five Things to Know Today

OCG Evening; 'Business After Hours'

Operation Clean Government president Margaret Kane of Barrington talks about the watchdog group at 7 pm; Lepre Physical Therapy hosts networking event at 5:30 pm.

The Barrington Council of Republican Women invite you to an evening dessert at which Margaret Kane of Barrington, president of Operation Clean Government, will discuss the mission and activities of OCG. It starts at 7 pm at 17 Brentonwood Ave. Lepre Physical Therapy, 236 County Road, hosts an East Bay Chamber of Commerce "business after hours" networking event starting at 5:30 pm. A weekly farmers’ market operates at Haines Memorial State Park in Barrington from 2 to 6 pm every Wednesday until October. Love to knit? Join the Knitters Group at the Barrington Senior Center every Wednesday at 10 am. Al Anon, the weekly meeting of adults who were raised in alcoholic homes, meets at St. James Lutheran Church, 49 Middle Highway, at 7 pm.

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'Defunding' of Audit Bureau Decried

Operation Clean Government opposes the elimination of the independent RI Bureau of Audits.

Operation Clean Government strongly opposes Governor Chafee’s proposal to abolish Rhode Island’s Bureau of Audits. We join with other responsible individuals (such as the president of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs and former state auditor general Ernest Almonte) in decrying this latest attempt to eliminate a watchdog function at a time when RI taxpayers need it most. Coming on the heels of the General Assembly’s ongoing refusal to allow voters to decide whether or not state legislators should be subject to the state’s Code of Ethics, this proposal from the executive branch will further weaken our ability to detect fraud or misappropriation of funds by state agencies and employees. Early this year, Director of Administration Richard …

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Letter to the Editor

Legislature's Ethics Embarrassing

While two state senators embarrassed themselves in Barrington, legislators voted to keep themselves immune from much of RI Code of Ethics.

What’s wrong with this picture? The same week that two senior state senators embarrassed themselves with the Barrington Police, their colleagues at the General Assembly voted once again to keep legislators immune from enforcement of much of the Code of Ethics set up in 1986. That code forbids all elected and appointed state and municipal officials from using the power of their office to achieve financial gain for themselves, their families and their business associates. Thanks to a legal loophole, however, it is no longer enforceable on legislators (at least not for what they say or how they vote in the General Assembly). For the past three years groups such as Operation Clean Government (OCG), Common Cause RI, RI Statewide Coalition (RISC…

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Here's School for Political Candidates

The annual Candidate School of Operation Clean Government will be held April 28 at Rhode Island College; register by Sunday and save a few dollars.

You’re thinking about running for public office. Or you’ve already made up your mind. Or you’re managing a campaign for school committee or town council or the General Assembly. The 2012 Candidate School of Operation Clean Government – run every election year since 2002 -- can help you “make an informed decision about if this is really for you,” said Margaret Kane of Barrington, president of OCG. The candidate school is a day-long, non-partisan seminar on how to run for political office. It takes place in the Rhode Island College Student Union on Saturday, April 28. And until Sunday, April 15, you can attend the school at a reduced rate of $75 for members or $95 for non-members. The rates go to $90 for members and $120 for non-members on …

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OCG Offers Another 'Candidate School'

Operation Clean Government to again host a school to help candidates run for public office.

Candidate School 2012, Operation Clean Government’s (OCG’s) day-long, non-partisan educational seminar on how to run for public office, will take place Saturday, April 28, at Rhode Island College. The candidate school will be OCG’s sixth, said Marie Sorman, event chairwoman, continuing an election-year tradition that started in 2002. It will be hosted by the Political Science Department of Rhode Island College and supported by LOOKOUT RI, John Hazen White, Jr.’s non-partisan foundation. “Rhode Island College’s participation will greatly expand our impact on the community—especially the educational community,” Sorman said. Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo said, “I am proud that RIC’s professors and students strive to serve the…

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