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The RDW Group surfaced last week as the public relations agency for Save Our State, the group opposed to the West Warwick casino proposed by Harrah's and the Narragansett Indian Tribe.
This is not the advertising and public relations group's only foray into the gambling arena. For more than a year, RDW has represented Lincoln Park's new owners, BLB Investors.
Does this mean the greyhound track and slot parlor is jumping into the casino debate?
No, not yet at least, said Mike Doyle, chairman of RDW.
Lincoln Park has remained silent on the issue, but Doyle said the other day: "At some point we hope Lincoln Park and Newport Grand will join SOS."
Whitman stumps for Chafee
Christine Todd Whitman , former New Jersey governor and former Environmental Protection Agency administrator under the Bush administraton, is again visiting Rhode Island, this time to stump for Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee .
Tomorrow, Whitman will be the guest at a fundraiser for Chafee. The one-hour event in The Sail Loft, in Bristol, starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $125.
Whitman was in Rhode Island in November to promote her book, It's My Party Too, the Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America, in which she argues that the Republican Party was becoming too extreme for most Americans.
Raptakis passes on pledge
Not only is state Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis refusing to sign Kerry King 's anti-corruption pledge -- Raptakis issued a news release bashing the pledge and King's candidacy.
Three weeks ago, King, a retired insurance executive and Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, announced a legislative package that includes restrictions on outside business interests and creation of a public corruption unit within the attorney general's office. He called on all candidates for General Assembly and state general offices to sign a pledge card promising to support the legislative package if they and King are elected.
"At the risk of breaking the waves of silence which met Kerry King's reform challenge, I have to question this cheap stunt by a sudden convert to the cause of reform," Raptakis, D-Coventry, said.
Raptakis, who was elected to the House in 1992 and the Senate in 1996, said he has been "a strong advocate of government reform" throughout his political career and has won praise from Common Cause of Rhode Island and Operation Clean Government.
If either Governor Carcieri, a Republican, or Lt. Gov. Charles J. Fogarty , a Democrat, asked him to sign a pledge, Raptakis said, he would consider it "because they have a track record of being serious on the issue and serving the people of our state."
"I don't appreciate being lectured about the virtues of good government by a second-tier candidate with no record of public service," Raptakis said.
King set up a Web site, www.stopricorruption.com, to keep track of which politicians returned his pledge cards. As of last week, only three candidates were listed: one state Senate candidate, William J. Connelly , of North Kingstown; one House candidate, John F. Robitaille , of Portsmouth; and King himself.
Bush has few friends in R.I.
Once again, Rhode Island is the nation's most anti-President Bush state, according to SURVEYUSA's latest round of state-by-state polls. Just 22 percent of state voters approve of the job Mr. Bush is doing, compared with 76 percent who disapprove. Other states with low Bush job approvals include Vermont (27 percent), New York (28 percent), Maine (29 percent), Michigan (30 percent) and Delaware (31 percent).
On the other side, the president's job approval ratings have held up pretty well in Utah (59 percent approve), Idaho (56 percent), Wyoming (52 percent) and Oklahoma (51 percent).
The Rhode Island numbers show a distinct gender difference. Just 18 percent of female Rhode Island adults approved of Mr. Bush's performance, while 28 percent of Rhode Island men approve of the job the president is doing.
The survey polled 600 adults 18 and older on Aug. 11-13. The poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
Candidates forum slated
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women will hold a "Meet the Candidates" forum on Sunday at the Met School, 325 Public St., Providence.
The organizers are still waiting for candidates to respond, but invited state Rep. Gordon D. Fox , D-Providence; Rep. Joseph S. Almeida , D-Providence; Rep. Anastasia P. Williams , D-Providence; and Sen. Harold M. Metts , D-Providence.
They also invited Lloyd Monroe , a Republican state Senate candidate from East Providence; Douglas Tunstall Jr. , a Republican candidate for Pawtucket mayor; and several Providence City Council candidates.
"This forum is an opportunity to ask questions of the candidates and discuss issues of importance to the Afircan American/black community," the organizers said in an announcement.
The forum, which will also include voter registration, begins at 3 p.m..
Rally to hype women candidates
Leadership Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Commission on Women will cohost a breakfast rally on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the State House to support women running for public office.
The invited speakers are Jennifer Lawless , Democratic candidate for U.S. House; state Sen. Elizabeth H. Roberts , Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, and Sue Stenhouse , Republican candidate for secretary of state.
All women who hold seats in the General Assembly and all female General Assembly candidates were invited.
Only 17 percent of General Assembly members are women, Kathleen Swann, Leadership Rhode Island's president and CEO, noted. "We would like to see that number increase significantly over the next 10 years," she said in a news release.
"It was only 86 years ago that women obtained the right to vote," Joyce Dolbec, the Rhode Island Commission on Women's chairwoman, added. "We must remain visible, vocal and vigilant in our efforts to involve more women in the political process."
Admission to the breakfast, at 8 a.m. in the State Room, is $10.
Two weeks later, another women's organization will hold an event featuring the same three candidates.
Roberts, Lawless and Stenhouse will take part in a panel discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 20, titled "Break the Political Glass Ceiling: The Role of Leading Women in Politics."
The panel discussion, over breakfast at Chelo's Restaurant at 2225 Post Rd., Warwick, is being organized by Leading Women of Southeastern New England. The cost is $25 for the organization's gold members, $40 for others, and $190 for a corporate table of six.
The event announcement says Rhode Isalnd ranks 40th among states in terms of percentage of women serving in the state legislature.
The event begins at 8 a.m. More information is available at www.leadingwomen.biz/sene.
Giannini named to state panel
Speaking of the Rhode Island Commission on Women, Rep. Joanne M. Giannini , D-Providence, was appointed to the commission last month by House Speaker William J. Murphy , D-West Warwick.
The commission has 26 members -- 12 appointed by the governor, 3 each by the House speaker and the Senate majority leader, and 1 each by directors of eight state departments. The members serve three-year terms.
The commission is responsible for submitting recommendations to the governor and the General Assembly on issues relating to women, for developing and supporting programs and services for women, and for advocating for equal treatment for women in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
Giannini is also a member of the Commission on Equal Pay and has served as chairwoman of the Rhode Island Caucus of Women Legislators.
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