By Elizabeth Roberts on
10/29/2009 3:27 PM
It is with great sadness I note the passing of Victoria Sousa, the 12-year-old Rhode Islander who died from swine flu earlier this week. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends.
It’s clear this flu targets the young. I’m glad the state H1N1 vaccination plan will begin on Monday, November 2; it will do much to keep our children safe and healthy.
As the vaccine...
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By Elizabeth Roberts on
10/23/2009 3:31 PM
Both as a state leader invested in public health and as a mother, I am watching carefully the progress of H1N1 and the plans for vaccinating children, pregnant women and others at risk in our state.
H1N1 is such an unusual flu because it most severely affects a much different population than the usual wintertime flu—namely the young and healthy. As we begin widespread vaccination programs with the new vaccine, there is some confusion about which vaccine to get and...
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By Elizabeth Roberts on
10/20/2009 3:33 PM
 Aiming to bring a touch of home to our troops, I’ve launched Operation Holiday Cheer 2009, the seventh annual drive to send holiday care packages to Rhode Island service men and women stationed overseas.
The holidays are a time when our thoughts turn to home and family. For troops stationed around the world—and more than 250 Rhode Islanders were deployed...
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By Elizabeth Roberts on
10/14/2009 3:39 PM
From the good news department: I’ve recently had the opportunity to laud two small Rhode Island businesses that are growing during challenging economic times.
I spoke at a ribbon-cutting for NetCenergy, a Warwick IT service, support and consulting firm, that marked a move from a 1,200 square foot building to its new 3,200square foot headquarters—not bad for a company that began out of a home in 2003 with only three employees....
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By Elizabeth Roberts on
10/6/2009 3:40 PM
I attended IBM’s Smarter Cities conference in New York City last week and served on a panel, moderated by Tom Brokaw, that tackled how state government can help cities run more effectively.
Although we heard a lot about what’s not working in state and local budgets, we also talked about the possibilities that a downturn presents. We tend to assume that when times are bad it’s not the time to make changes; in fact, it may be the best time to reinvent.
An example...
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