hard deadlines

Flo's clam shack, an Island Park tradition, is now open Fridays through Sundays. If you're jonesing for that authentic quahog chowda, or their awesome stuffies, or you want a bag of clam cakes to munch while you sit on the sea wall, come on down.

And while you're here, take in Park Avenue's beautiful new sidewalks and charming antique street lamps. Perfect for a sunset stroll along the picturesque waterfront; on a clear day, you can see all the way down to where the Fo'c'sle used to be. Plenty of free parking.

This message brought to you by the Island Park Tourist Board. :)

Though we have crossed swords at meetings and in the public prints, I had never spoken directly to Larry Fitzmorris before this evening, at the Portsmouth school Finance Subcommittee meeting, where they were reviewing the draft budget for the next school year. I will talk about the budget numbers, but also about Larry, because I hope it's germane.

In game theory, there is a classic example of non-zero-sum games (where payoffs can be shared) called the Prisoner's Dilemma. In brief: two crooks are caught and held in separate cells. If neither confesses (that is, if they cooperate with each other, even though they cannot communicate) they both go free. If one confesses and rolls on the other, they get a short sentence and the other goes up for 10 years. If both confess (that is, if they "defect" and rat out the other) they both get 5 years. You have to anticipate what the other will do and play accordingly.

In single-turn games, you always defect; pure CYA. However, if you're playing the game for a series of turns — called an "iterated" Prisoner's Dilemma — the optimum strategy is generally held to be "benevolent tit-for-tat." Start out being nice, but don't allow yourself to be taken advantage of. If the other player keeps defecting, you retaliate. But if they cooperate, you do the same, and hopefully trust will grow.

When the PCC attorney attacked SOS supporters on Monday, I came out swinging. Tonight, Larry Fitzmorris was more polite to me, personally, and to the school committee than I had any right to expect. He was tough but balanced in his questioning of the committee's numbers, and he actually extended an olive branch. Talking about the insane and unpredictable payments into the state retirement system, he said, "We have common ground here. This needs to be squared away. If the General Assembly says we owe them another 300K, we're all in real trouble."

I agree with Larry. There is common ground to be had here. Sure, we would all like lower taxes, and if instead of just cutting the levy, we could work together to apply political pressure that goosed the state funding formula, and prompted accurate payments for group home beds, we could have a win-win.

Did Larry (and his associates, Forrest Golden and Paul Kesson) pick at the numbers? Absolutely. As one would expect them to, given their constituency. But they were polite. Assertive, sure, openly hostile, no.

The numbers themselves are tough, but not hopeless. The bottom line in the draft budget (which is still pending negotiations with principals, admins, and maintenance workers, is $33,739,228, which puts it about 300K over the 5.25 Paiva Weed cap. On the revenue side, there is about $33,068,770 projected to be available. I'm not an accountant, but it seems like the cutting required by law to get under the cap is going to be an exercise that might get the budget within striking distance of the revenue side. As we heard accountants testify at trial, finding 1% should be possible, this early in the game. It's going to be tough, yes, but we knew that going in.

While I am cautiously cooperating in this round, please do not think that any slack offered to Larry extends to Jamie Heaney. With the lift tickets from his recent ski vacation dangling from his jacket, he questioned Superintendent Lusi about anticipated Little Compton tuitions.

"How is that paid," he asked.

"We bill quarterly," Lusi explained, then noted that this year, however, we had only just sent out the bill, a point discussed at the Caruolo trial.

"Why are we behind?" said Jamie, earning him the HeaneyWatch™ for the evening.

Uh, Jamie. Maybe they don't have the Sakonnet Times in Aspen, but there's this little problem of the part time finance director? It might have been mentioned at a meeting or two? I have reasons for this defection which are specific, and Jamie knows what they are. No reason to extend this strategy to the larger game.

How long will glasnost last? Let's see. Monday night, the Town Council is going to take up a petition to put before the citizens of Portsmouth a proposal to convert the Tent Meeting to all-day voting. This can be an ugly battle, or a civilized coming together to get to an answer that everyone feels good about.

Your move, Larry.

In Internet jargon, a troll is someone who posts deliberately provocative comments to a site for the sole purpose of luring respondents into a heated exchange, or flame war. The kind of person who joins a liberal discussion forum to post pro-Bush messages, then sit back and watch the barking moonbats flame away. Or someone who gets on WADK, say, and accuses a Town Council and School Committee of shady dealings, insinuates a State Senator is in the pocket of unions, and calls school supporters idiots.

Just like Thomas "Trollboy" Wigand, Esq. did yesterday, and I have to admit I was reeled in like a noob. For the first time in my freaking life, I called a talk radio station, and wasted twenty minutes trying to talk rationally in a situation where rational discourse was not possible.

The difference between Wigand's rant and today's equal-time appearance by Senator Chuck Levesque couldn't have been clearer. Where most of Trollboy, Esq.'s callers were loyal dittoheads he couldn't wait to agree with, the majority of Levesque's called to argue. Guess that's just the nature of the talk radio audience, skewing conservative.

But Levesque stuck to the high ground, responding in a fact-based way, and calling for civil discourse and an end to bitter, partisan name-calling. "I don't find calling any group of people 'idiots' productive," he said, and denied that he had any relationship with the SOS. He engaged with one caller who challenged him on state funding, and explained the problems the assembly faces in developing and fully funding a fair formula. He even talked candidly about being convinced by Paiva Weed to vote for the tax cap despite his initial insistence that the funding piece should come first. He sounded reasonable, thoughtful, and candid.

Even so, "Cheshire" Kathy Melvin couldn't resist dialing in to spew some venom, and while she showed restraint in her attack on Levesque's proposed modifications to the Caruolo process, she hocked up a big ire-loogie on the RI DOE, which she characterized as "a holding tank for unemployed educators."

It made me laugh out loud. She called in yesterday, right after I did, and said it sounded like I was the next Democratic school board candidate. I had to be running for something. Just like "Harry" presumed in the anonymous call I got after my first letter to the editor. They'd really like that, both because they think I'd be unelectably extreme, but also, if I actually managed to win, I'd have to watch my mouth. Elected officials can't call somebody Lardy Fatmoonass.

But I digress.

Don't feed the trolls. Unless you feed 'em troll bait right back.

Some interesting quotes from this afternoon's WADK Open Forum show with Thomas Wigand, PCC attorney. No writethru. All quotes were captured off the air in real time; I'm happy to correct anything I got wrong, use the contact link on the left to let me know.

Assertion: "Seemed to be a little deal making going on behind closed doors."

They were supposed to "Face it by providing a strong defense." Why not Gavin? Town Attorney pictured on election nights with Democrats.

"The defense threw the case, in my opinion." About Denise Myers: "I saw the attorney looking back for directions."

"For example, one of the witnesses was basically putting on a speech, and the judge interjected. Counselor, speaking to the counselor representing town, excuse me, school committee. Town's attorney should have been objecting to the speech."

"Financial expert hired by town. Witnessed them wink at the school committee's lawyer. Could mean a lot of things, none of them good."

"Cut school committee's request in half... if had asked more questions, would have ruled entitled to no money. Some of you may believe I'm exaggerating. If school committee's numbers were as dire, and were such a slam dunk, why did they hold their meetings behind closed doors. If their numbers were on the up-and-up. Wouldn't they have wanted the townspeople to witness?"

"They were playing with the numbers, moving things around. You be the judge. Doesn't pass the smell test."

"SOS people... i submit they are being played for suckers by other forces. Not with their knowledge or consent."

"Vladimir Lenin, in the early years of the Soviet Union was asked to describe his followers in the West. 'Useful idiots.' Charles Levesque is using SOS as useful idiots."

Caller: "Never have seen opposing attorneys talking with one another. One of the former school committee members was present, she stated that members of the school committee had submitted suggestions for reductions in the budget. Superintendent had denied that there had ever been suggestions for reduction."

Wigand: "Town's defense was hijacked" by the contingent supporting schools.

Caller: "Disturbing that we've gone from town meetings to" behind closed doors "Do we have any say on whether the amount of money budgeted is affordable or even rational?"

Wigand: "No, we have no say, in effect. The judge, on the standing issue, was applying precedent. The whole premise of PCCs argument was that the judge should make an exception because we thought the Town Council would not adequately defend, and guess what? We were right."

Commercial break

Wigand: "Standing refers to the right of somebody to appear as a party." PCC standing should have been accepted bc TC was trying to "end run and trash it. Town didn't defend; voice of taxpayers was not heard."

Caller: "Unlike the general elections" Tent meeting was about who could get people to show up.

Wigand: "The SOS people staged a walkout. What that tells me.."

Caller: "In a real election, that wouldn't happen."

Wigand: "If they walked out, that tells me it was evenly matched." Moots the argument that people couldn't turn out. (thank you caller)

[Half-hour of me chatting with Wigand redacted] Commercial break.

Caller "Think we've heard the first shot for the next election from the Democrats new candidate for the school committee."

Wigand: "It's fair to be called on to defend my position."

Caller: "We had a council that did not support going to court. We had no representation coming from the attorneys -- it was like open season on the school budget. Judge came to best decision he could"

Wigand: "When the judge is asking tougher questions than the lawyers, you know something's rotten in Denmark."

Caller: "Caruolo action was held like a club over the heads of the people of Portsmouth."

Wigand: "TC President was trying to be an honest broker -- let's give credit where credit is due." (thank you caller)

Wigand: "Portsmouth forces of status quo" Compared to a Yugo. "Portsmouth and it's school system looks good in the same way a Chevy Nova looks good." US Chamber of Commerce study; RI Schools bringing up the rear. Portsmouth schools -- terrible. SOS supporters -- while you think you're getting a good education, you're getting played for suckers."

Wigand: Cites Levesque quote in yesterday's ProJo. "Went on the Board of Elections site. Guess who's donating to his election? Teachers." Vacation, sick days -- "They only work 9 months of the year." "It's all about the children," he says sarcastically. (additional benefits and pension calculation discussion.)

"I submit to you that this is what the funding crisis is all about," not education.

Commercial break

Wigand "Two more points about Levesque. PCC wanted trial, not stipulated agreeemnts. On Feb 15, Levesque introduced bill to take future Caruolo acts to Dept. of Education. Keep Feb 15 in mind. Second bill -- the determination of commissioner can be appealed to Superior Court. The SC can appeal, the Town can not. On the same day, introduced a bill to allow SC to hire their own lawyer. A gift."

Caller: "The so-called experts should have been questioned. Everybody remembers Enron. Those companies -- their books had been audited by world-class auditors, and lo and behold, they weren't on the up-and-up. Sarbanes-Oxley."

Wigand: "I don't necessarily compare the Portsmouth School Department to Enron." But accountants can come up with any answer they want.