Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - June 14, 2019

HOT

Revamping URI's Governance

Hard to imagine the University of Alabama's board loaded with Auburn grads. Or Yale's corporation made up primarily of Harvard alums.

Presently, URI, as well as Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island, are overseen by the Council on Post-Secondary Education. It has six members, only one of whom is a graduate of URI.

In fact, both Barbara Cottam, Chair, Board of Education and Timothy DelGiudice, Chair, Council on Postsecondary Education who serve on the six-member board are Providence College grads — as is Marianne Monte.

Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello’s legislation to change the governance of the University of Rhode Island from the Council on Post-Secondary Education to an independent Board of Trustees is now pending before the House Finance Committee and a companion bill introduced by Senator Sue Sosnowski is being considered in the Senate.

Monte is the Chief People Officer for Shawmut Design and Construction.

Reverend Jeffery Williams is a Brown grad; former State Senator Tom Izzo is a RIC Grad; and attorney Rachelle Green attended Holy Cross.

The only member of the Council who is a graduate of URI is attorney and businessman Dennis Duffy.

In contrast, approximately 70 percent of the Board of Trustees of the University of Massachusetts system and the University of Connecticut are alums on the respective schools according to their websites.

HOT

Ricardo Pitts-Wiley

Author and composer Ricardo Pitts-Wiley joined GoLocalProv News Editor Kate Nagle on LIVE, where he spoke to his production "Nights People" playing at Trinity Rep in Providence on Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 at 7 p.m.

Pitts-Wiley, who wrote the poems and lyrics, joined up with Robert Schleeter for the music. Pitts-Wiley said he has always been fascinated by the night hours. While there was always the sense or presence of danger and mystery at night, he also felt it was the place where he found freedom and creativity. So, for Pitts-Wiley, what began as a collection of poems about the night hours evolved when he began collaborating with guitarist Robert Schleeter to create a musical score to accompany the poetry.

NIGHT’S PEOPLE is a gathering of nocturnal people who feel trapped or unable to express themselves during the day. They meet at the Corner of Midnight and the Edge of Time "to sing the songs that the daylight hides". They sing for themselves and others like them. They seek the release that signals the sun to rise on a new day.

The show under the musical direction of Kim Pitts-Wiley, features singer/poets Jeannie Carson, Lauri Smalls, Habibah Quddus, Jermaine Person, Michelle Gario, Jonathan Grice, Jason Quinn, and Jay Walker. 

They are joined by pianist Christopher Hunter, Mibbit Threats on bass, drummer Lenny Burrell, percussionist Kali-Otto Gentry, guitarist Paul Williams and Justin Breault on saxophone.

HOT

Uber

Talk about innovate, innovate, innovate.

Uber has announced that it will soon begin delivering food with drones.

Bloomberg Businessweek says that trials will start in San Diego this summer.

Bloomberg adds that the drones will first deliver food to "safety zones," not people's houses. From there, Uber employees take the packages to the customer. Uber is expected to team with up McDonald's for the trial run. 

San Diego residents will need to pay up to $8.50 for drone delivery.

In only seven minutes, Uber says the drones can travel one and a half miles. Eric Allison, who is in charge of aerial assignments, says Uber Eats' success has driven the drone project.

HOT

URI's $20M Grant

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was awarded $20 million to further expand biomedical research capacity over the next five years.

URI is part of the Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), which was established to expand statewide research capacity in the biomedical sciences.

“The INBRE program has been truly transformative for Rhode Island’s research community. We’ve contributed to expanding the opportunities for faculty research and trained hundreds of students who are now earning advanced degrees or are out in the workforce,” said URI President David M. Dooley.

Rhode Island College, Brown University Providence College, Bryant University, Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University and the Community College of Rhode Island are also in the program.

HOT

Olivia Culpo

Rhode Island’s Olivia Culpo has been named the hottest woman of the year.

Culpo took the number one spot in Maxim Magazine’s annual Hot 100 list, she revealed on Instagram.

“I’ve always looked at the Maxim Hot 100 with admiration. There have been so many smart and successful women featured who have inspired me and my career in countless ways which makes this cover so meaningful to me. It still doesn’t feel real,” Culpo wrote on Instagram.

About Culpo

Culpo is from Cranston, Rhode Island and was crowned Miss Universe in 2012.

She graduated from Bay View Academy and then Boston University.

Previous Top Woman

The Maxim 100 first debuted in 2000.

Previous women to receive the top honor include Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Kate Upton.

NOT

Shootings

Shooting at PVDFest.

Shooting outside the Mayor's home.

Too many Providence shootings.

NOT

Biltmore, I mean, The Graduate.

Talk about out of towners. Putting Buddy Cianci's portrait in the hotel was misguided and taking it out was clumsy.

Out-of towners trying to be local.

NOT

Steven Pare

He has his own set of rules for himself.

It is standard when a permitted Providence event has an act of violence — a shooting or stabbing — for the incident to be brought before an emergency meeting of the Providence Board of Licenses.

But, Providence officials did not request a hearing on the incident after the shooting on Saturday night.

At approximately 11 p.m. a man fired five shots in the midst of a crowd in the area of Union and Washington Streets. The shooting sent the crowd running in a panic.

The crowd attending PVDFest at the time of the shooting was in the thousands. City officials claim that over the four-day an estimated 100,000 attend the festival.

Pare has refused to respond to repeated requests as to why Providence Police did not request a hearing before the City’s Board of Licenses.

NOT

Bruins

Losing in a game seven is not embarrassing.

Not showing up is embarrassing.

NOT

Providence Budget Process

The Mayor and the City Council seem to be struggling with basic budgeting.

With just two weeks left in the fiscal year, there is no clear tax policy. The majority of the Council has unveiled a new tax structure. Mayor Jorge Elorza says it's illegal. 

No meaningful public participation.  Comment, sure. But 11th-hour chaos. 

YIKES.