By Dan Yorke, WPRO News
SUSPECTED BOMBER BURIED
The remains of suspect number one in the Boston Marathon bombings are now buried in Virginia according to media reports from last week. It took just one day for the word to get out after the secret effort to bury him. The question of what to do with the remains dominated conversation on the airwaves for a few days as the Worcester police chief made a public request for someone to step up. What was interesting was the anger on the phone lines that sponsored some crazy ideas as to what to do…but as soon as the body was whisked away the lines calmed down. That’s good. We don’t need to spend any more energy worrying about it.
Meanwhile his widow, Katie Russell of North Kingstown, has retained a lawyer with expertise in terrorist cases. Not necessarily alarming, but it keeps the question on her pre- or post- knowledge alive in the minds of many.
URI DECIDES TO MOVE THE GRADUATION INSIDE
President David Dooley explains that it’s a one year interim plan to leave the quad and enter the Ryan Center. He says that recent events caused a review of security and that the assessment was made that there was no time to ramp up and outdoor security plan.
There are no easy answers on these things anymore. But in lieu of a specific threat, this decision remains counter intuitive to the reported “strong” response from Boston and beyond.
And on very short notice, many families will scramble with limited tickets to the main event indoors. I hope it rains. That might make everyone feel better about it.
THE INTERNET SALES TAX
The bill passed the U.S. Senate by a wide margin. If it becomes law, consumers will be taxed on the rate in their own state with the burden of the vendor (if it does more than a million a year in business) sending the revenue, no matter where the vendor is and whether it has a store on the ground. The arguments for and against are worthy on both sides. But at least Rhode Island, the sales tax would drop a half point to 6.5% if it passes in the House.
DRIVERS LICENSES FOR ILLEGALS
The debate continues on Smith Hill. As uncomfortable as the idea is for some, this one thing is true: Illegal immigrants are not going anywhere. There is no political will to send them packing, so perhaps it is better to be able to account for them on the road. The details of the bill matter, and so far, it still falls short of its intent, especially the accountability on auto insurance.
COCA COLA FIGHTING OBESITY
I still can’t figure out how you do that and maintain sales of the classic.
The Celtics are out and some decisions on veteran warriors need to be made. And the Bruins are coming into form again. What’s more fun than playoff hockey?
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Dan Yorke
