A Blog Called Hope

In case you missed it, here’s some video from AG Lynch’s appearance on NBC 10 the other night where he discusses the grant to help fight lead poisoning.

This from the AG’s office:

The grants, providing $610,000 per year for two years of new funding to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the state, represent the first round of allocations made by the Healthy Kids Collaborative (HKC), the model statewide lead safety initiative funded by DuPont and conducted as a partnership between the Children’s Health Forum and the Attorney General, with the input and guidance of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission. The Healthy Kids Collaborative was formed as part of the landmark agreement forged by Attorney General Lynch and the DuPont Corporation in June 2005.

Among those joining Lynch and Schmoke at the press conference were representatives of the agencies receiving the grants, Barbara Fields, chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Lead Paint and senior program director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and Barbara Baldwin, program coordinator of the HKC.

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said, “As a result of our partnership with the Children’s Health Forum, we have initiated an outstanding model program whose goal is to make the awful and harmful effects of lead poisoning in our kids a scourge of the past. Education, outreach, and training are crucial components in increasing protections throughout our neighborhoods and communities, and in preventing lead poisoning from exacting a greater toll on our children’s health, and their futures. Everyone here today is passionately dedicated to our shared mission, and I am honored to join with Kurt Schmoke as we empower local organizations throughout the state to combat exposure to lead and enable Rhode Island’s children to grow and thrive free from suffering from its damaging and long-lasting effects.”

RI College Democrats Executive Director (and PC Dems prez) Devin Driscoll did a GREAT job talking about why it’s important for young people to get involved in the democratic process this weekend as he appeared on WPRI’s Newsmakers along-side the always pleasant and open-minded Ryan Bilodeau, who heads up the College Republicans.

Driscoll came off very sharp, poised and sincere, demonstrating an impressive ability to point to specific facts and votes when making his arguments. He did a great job speaking on behalf of the more than two thousand College Dems in Rhode Island – have a look:

Part 1:

Part 2

In case you missed this last week, here’s some good news regarding the state’s pension fund announced by Gen. Treasurer Frank Caprio on NBC 10’s 5:30 report.

This from Caprio’s office:

Months before the subprime mortgage crisis began to take a toll on banks, financial services companies and even public pension funds, General Treasurer Frank Caprio began taking steps to reduce risk in Rhode Island’s pension portfolio by minimizing exposure to asset backed securities. From his first days in office, Caprio and his investment management team launched a comprehensive assessment of the state pension portfolio and the state’s short-term investments with a specific focus on their exposure to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), structured investment vehicles (SIVs), and other asset-backed securities.

As part of that effort, Caprio pro-actively moved $1 billion from so-called Quality D money market funds (with loose terms which could have allowed for investment in CDOs and SIVs) into Quality A institutional money market funds which are only invested in government back bonds last March, well before the scope of subprime losses began to rock financial markets. At the same time, Caprio moved approximately $150 million in high-yield investments into safe Treasury bonds, before the high yield market began to decline. Those moves are already paying major dividends as several states are facing financial crises related to defaults and downgrades on subprime-related investments.