Creative Mayoring
This is the best thing out of a Rhode Island City Hall since pink flamingos sprung up in Cranston:
North Providence Mayor Ralph Mollis laid off 28 town workers for one day Monday in response to a theft at a Department of Public Works garage.
Mollis laid off all 28 DPW employees for one day without pay in hopes of flushing out the thief.
"This isn't the first incident. We've had a series of incidents over the last six months of minor tools or minor items being misplaced, stolen or removed. We have attempted to get to the bottom of this to no avail," Mollis said.
The city's using the money saved from not having to pay the 28 workers for a day to replace the stolen equipment. It's like what teachers do with little kids, punishing them all if no one will speak up when someone does something wrong. And anyway, what does someone do with a water jet at home? And why couldn't I find this story on ProJo.com? Damn liberal media.
Meanwhile, in everyone's favorite Laff-er of a city, a Cranston Firefighter who was injured by a drunk driver in a pretty horrific accident while responding to a call (ie on the job) is being told that the city won't pay for his medical bills. Why not? Because six months ago he and his fellow fire fighters wouldn't sign a contract waiving almost all their rights to medical privacy. Sounds ridiculous, right? Welcome to Mayor Steve Laffey's world, where the slightest stench of a union on you puts you below contempt. It's one thing to pick on crossing guards with ridiculous heath benefits, but when you start going after the guys who run into burning buildings while everyone else is running out, then you're asking for trouble.