No wonder Mr. Paolino hates the trolley idea

It's not surprising that former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino opposes a proposed trolley line through the city. Mr. Paolino's money comes from the  windswept-parking-lot business. The more mass transit, the worse for his business. With the aging of the population and increasing disinclination of young people to drive, Mr. Paolino doesn't have history on his side. And most people don't like the look of a city with a lot of parking lots, as opposed to buildings. Parking lots are profoundly depressing.

Still, he's probably right: The city can't  afford the trolley. now. Even more, it can't afford the grotesque giveaway to the Pawsox gang.

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The awful Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia reminds me of America's grossly underfunded transportation infrastructure and that we need more rail lines up and down the Northeast Corridor so that a disaster on one set of tracks doesn't stop all rail traffic.

--- Robert Whitcomb

They'd get back much more than they gave

It is remarkable how many of the people backing Buddy Cianci for mayor of Providence  have a very direct  personal financial reason for doing it.  Most obvious are those in the municipal unions who expect to get massive sweetheart contracts and other deals, as they did when Cianci was last in power,  and developers Joseph Paolino and Pat Conley, who see new riches from dubious projects from having an ally in City Hall. No wonder "The Prince of Providence'' is so far ahead in cash collections for this campaign.

Meanwhile, a lot of the  politically lazy electorate hasn't bothered to learn anything about what actually happened in Cianci's management of the city. And  many national  news media people are besotted with this "rascal king,'' thus turning thuggery into a joke.