Blog

By Elizabeth Roberts on 12/18/2009 1:42 PM

We heard today that Rhode Island’s unemployment rate dropped to 12.7 percent in November, though our economy still lost jobs. While it’s good news the rate dropped, clearly we have a way to go to a recovery.

What struck me most this week were two different polls released that really brought home the very human toll behind these numbers.

A New York Times/CBS News poll indicated that half of those who had lost a job had suffered from depression and/or anxiety. Job loss had an impact beyond the jobholder: about 40 percent noticed behavior changes in their children after the job loss. More than half borrowed money from friends or relatives to help them get by. More than half have cut back on medical treatment to save money.

Closer to home, a Brown poll showed that 75 percent of respondents had a friend or family member recently lose a job ...

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By Elizabeth Roberts on 12/8/2009 4:27 PM

I’m happy to report that Operation Holiday Cheer appears to have succeeded in its aim to spread good tidings to troops from Rhode Island serving overseas. My office has been hearing from a number of Rhode Islanders who’ve received the care packages that we collected donations for and shipped in mid-November.

Here’s an excerpt from one letter: “A huge THANK YOU for all of those excellent care packages!! They were filled with lots of great stuff, and really put some big smiles on a lot of faces out here! It really means a lot and we just can't thank you enough, or put into words how good it feels to be thought of, especially around the holidays when many of us are missing home the most. … GO PATRIOTS!”

It’s clear from the words and the photos they sent that it does mean so much that we are thinking of our troops who are serving their country at the holidays.

You can still show your support by ...

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By Elizabeth Roberts on 12/2/2009 5:18 PM

Last night we had a great campaign event in Edgewood, my neighborhood in Cranston, with about 150 in attendance. It was a wonderful way to cap several months of campaign house parties around the state, bringing together neighbors and friends all over Rhode Island.

It’s great to be in the Edgewood/Pawtuxet Village area for an event near the holidays—a coming home of sorts for me. These are the people who have supported me since I first ran for State Senate back in 1996, and I wouldn’t be lieutenant governor today without them. They have helped form the backbone of my political support.

It’s also a reminder of how close we all are as neighbors in Rhode Island, with our ...

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