C. Eugene Emery Jr.PolitiFact Rhode Island reporter
C. Eugene Emery Jr. is a reporter for The Providence Journal and a founding staff member of the Journal's PolitiFact team. Since joining the Journal in 1975, he has been a science and medical writer, covered municipal governments throughout the state, and managed The Journal’s Massachusetts bureau. He was part of the Journal’s Commerce & Consumer team, then its Breaking News team, before joining the PolitiFact Rhode Island staff. Emery has a bachelor of science degree in biology and a bachelor of arts degree in political science, both from Brown University.
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from C. Eugene Emery Jr.
"Jimmy Langevin is having a fundraiser . . . to retire the debt from his campaign for secretary of state, which was 12 years ago."
"When these [undocumented] students graduate from college, they're still illegal aliens. They cannot get a job."
"If you put the $47 billion in revenue (raised over 10 years by the Buffett rule) into infrastructure you could create 611,000 infrastructure jobs."
President Obama gave Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood one and a half billion dollars.
"Only 14 percent of Catholics agree with the Vatican's position that abortion should be illegal."
President Obama's refusal to grant permits for offshore drilling is one reason gasoline prices are soaring.
Says his reform efforts improved performance at all 10 low-performing schools in Palm Beach, Florida.
"Having an entirely Democrat congressional delegation in 2009, when the [federal stimulus] bill passed, increases the per capita stimulus dollars that the state receives per person by $460."
"One out of four of our young people say they are victims of this (dating) violence."
"There are more atheists in the country right now than Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists combined and doubled."
Recent stories from C. Eugene Emery Jr.
The 38 Studios controversy: Of software sales and film creditsCurt Schilling's 38 Studios and his deal with the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation are in the news amid questions about whether the fledgling software company is in financial trouble. One option the company is reportedly seeking is taking advantage of the state's tax credit system for movie, television and video game productions. PolitiFact Rhode Island has examined claims made about the EDC deal and film tax credits in the past. In light of the debate, we thought it might be useful to remind readers what we found.
Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to saySummer is coming, the general election is cranking up and that means the price of gas will be talked about. A lot. Find out why explaining it -- and figuring out who to blame for it -- isn't so simple.
Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to saySummer is coming, the general election is cranking up and that means the price of gas will be talked about. A lot. Find out why explaining it -- and figuring out who to blame for it -- isn't so simple.
Happy birthday to us!It's been one year since we joined the growing PolitiFact family. Since then, we've revved up the Truth-O-Meter 121 times. But the fibs, half truths, exaggerations and, yes, the ridiculous Pants on Fire claims keep coming.
Film tax credit controversy rises againIs the state's film tax credit worth the cost to the state? There was plenty of debate in the House Finance Committee over the question Thursday in the wake of Gov. Chafee's proposal to eliminate it. The Chafee administration says the money could produce 100 times more economic activity if it were spent elsewhere. Supporters say the film tax credit is a good investment and has already created over 4,000 jobs. When we looked at the controversy last December, we found that different reports gave very different analyses. The matter is so contentious, we were unable to apply the Truth-O-Meter. But you can get a sense of the debate and follow the links to the reports -- and their varying conclusions -- by clicking on our analysis here.
Judging Reagan's legacy: The Gipper meets the Truth-O-MeterRonald Reagan -- who would have turned 100 this month -- remains a figure of fascination throughout the ideological spectrum. One sign is that claims about his presidency regularly reach the Truth-O-Meter. Here are a dozen of our rulings on the Reagan legacy.
The Ocean State's Top TenSince we launched PolitiFact Rhode Island June 25, we've powered up the Truth-O-Meter 74 times, fact-checking statements from politicians, party bosses, bloggers, talk radio hosts, interest groups and anonymous chain e-mailers. As we close 2010 after six months with the growing national PolitiFact team, we thought we"d look back on the items that were most popular with our readers, based on our daily Web traffic reports.
Reports offer multiple takes on the benefit of film tax credits like Rhode Island'sEarlier this month, when Rhode Island officials were celebrating the filming of the ABC-TV series "Body of Proof" in the Ocean State, there was a lot of talk about how much the production -- and earlier productions -- have helped the local economy. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed cited a specific number during the Dec. 3 State House reception when she said the state's tax credit for television and movie production was generating $8 for every $1 it costs the state to extend the credit. Is the benefit really that high? She was citing a URI study released in the spring that looked at both the direct and indirect economic impacts, along with the projected long-term benefit to the Rhode Island economy. But we found that when other states have evaluated the value of such credits, the immediate fiscal benefits are judged to be much lower than the URI estimate. We'll explain why.
Top 5 falsehoods about the Bush tax cutsWith the tax debate heating up, we review some of the talking points that are just flat wrong.
The 2010 e-mail Hall of Shame, election editionWe review the most persistent chain e-mails and why they're just not true.
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