John Marion

IRS, White House clashed over immigrants’ data before tax chief was ousted The Trump administration’s move to push out IRS Commissioner Billy Long came after the agency said it couldn’t release some information on taxpayers suspected of being here illegally.

🚨 WaPo EXCLUSIVE

Hours before Trump removed Billy Long as IRS commissioner, his agency clashed with the White House over sharing immigrants’ tax data.

A screenshot of Apple Maps showing Gano Street exit from the Washington Street Bridge (that’s has been torn down).

Apple Maps with the phantom limb

Let’s make it happen. Where?

The correct answer is “not enough”

The YouTube algorithm really wants me to watch videos of his guitar solos

Better video

This was beautiful

I left Rhode Island in summer on Wednesday and came back to fall on Friday

Picture is the control tower at Reagan National Airport

It’s a wet heat

Is my life glamorous? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

1976 Rhode Island Campaign Finance Manual and 1974 Rhode Island campaign finance statute

Rhode Island campaign finance forms from the 1970s

Someone sent me circa 1976 Rhode Island campaign finance manuals and forms. Carbon paper! As you watch the Q2 results reported, think about how much harder it was to track prior to the internet.

*formerly Westerly Town Council

And voted unanimously for initial determination (really preliminary step before investigation) in complaints against James Durkin (Narragansett Town Council) and Robert Lombardo (Westerly Town Council). That's all folks.

Okay, I did a terrible job sharing what happened at that meeting. In executive session they voted unanimously (2X) to not find probable cause in a complaint against Jason Licciardi, Sr. (W. Warwick Town Council)...

They said she could as long as she didn’t advise clients who compete against RI companies (my words). Not sure how that’s going to work in practice.

I was disappointed to find out that not only do they not sell bikes, they don’t have anything related to the team

Putting in a bill to name you Rhode Island Vexilllologist Laureate

They’re presenting their annual training report. Topline result is that 2,324 people received live training and 639 viewed prerecorded training.

Interesting that the staff attorney presented the AO over Zoom because she’s sick. That’s a new one.

Rhode Island Ethics Commission Annual Education Report

Also, just want to ask @samghoward.riliberator.com how he feels about the clip art flag.

Agenda for the July 29th meeting of the RI Ethics Commission

I’m at the Rhode Island Ethics Commission this morning. Not live-skeeting all of the advisory opinions, but interesting one where the person in charge of marketing RI seafood is seeking to have side hustle consulting for out-of-state seafood companies. Good questions about how she’ll advise clients

Self in front of a sign that reads “unbelievable quality” with the Lidl logo

[Me excitedly texting my biking friends a selfie in a Lidl store in NJ]

It feels so good

I have gone down a Chuck Mangione rabbit hole

We are one APRA request away from knowing how many people are doing this...

The equal population is easy, no? It's a good question about VRA compliance. I don't know whether we'd be able to draw VRA compliant districts that are nested, given the shift from 100/50 to 75/38, we can't even try.

A ballot-on-demand printer

Here’s the printer:

And in the CF and Senate 4 primary special elections, they tested ballot on demand printers. I watched for about an hour and things seemed to work really well, though poll workers think it's slower than pre-printed ballots. Need to change Title 17 to allow vote centers for general elections, however

On your points about voting jurisdictions, setting aside the point about PR, you're right that we have too many precincts. I've asked several people who were a part of the downsizing discussion in 1994 why they didn't nest districts and no one can give me an answer.

Other than the then-Projo reporter, I was the only member of the public to witness a lot of this playing out at their meetings. It was a mess (as were some aspects of our elections--notably our aging machines) and we're a better state because Mr. Kando is no longer in charge of our elections.