Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - October 4, 2019

Saturday, October 05, 2019

Analysis

Every Friday, GoLocalProv takes a look at who is rising and who is falling in Rhode Island politics, business, culture, and sports.

Now, we are expanding the list, the political perspectives, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."

Email GoLocal by midday on Thursday about anyone you think should be tapped as "HOT" or "NOT." Email us HERE.

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Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - October 4, 2019

HOT

Nabsys

Providence-based Nabsys announced Wednesday that it closed on a $21 million equity round led by Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation.

Nabsys will use the funding to finalize product development and support the launch of its HD-Mapping platform.

“This investment round will help Nabsys fulfill its mission to make the analysis of large- and intermediate-scale genomic variation as routine, accurate, and cost-effective as the analysis of single-nucleotide variation,” said Barrett Bready, M.D., Founder and CEO at Nabsys.

For the company, it is a significant turnaround.

GoLocal reported that the company closed in September of 2015 after burning through $50 million in investments. Then, GoLocal reported that Bready was able to reacquire the company.

According to documents secured by GoLocal, the Providence-based company which was working in the genome-mapping world was sold to Bready for $500,000 and the assumption of $100,000 in debt with General Electric Capital.

HOT

Janelle Blakely Photopoulus

A little more than a decade ago, Janelle Blakely Photopoulus was transitioning out of a career in marketing and sought to create a top-tier interior design firm.

Three children and a degree from Rhode Island School of Design degree later, she launched her firm, Blakely Interior Design.

Now, Blakely Interior Design has grown into one of the fastest-growing and one of the largest firms in the region. The firm has grown to seven professionals and is doing significant interior design work from the mid-Atlantic through New England.

“I started actually in business. I graduated with a marketing degree, went to work in advertising for a while in corporate America -- it was at AT&T, for many years working in corporate communications. I always had a love of design and it wasn't until I had children that we moved from the New York City area to Rhode Island and I was home with my kids and we reimagined our home,” said Blakely Photopoulus.

“It was from there that little process of reimagining our home. When people saw it, they said are you a designer, and I said well no but I loved it, and they said people would pay you for this. So I said, well maybe that's my next career,” she said.

She says her recent success has been bolstered by her participation in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program. She says it helped her envision a bigger company and helped her develop a growth plan.

HOT

Rhode Island Oral Health Foundation’s Mission of Mercy

More than 2,200 dental procedures were performed on nearly 500 patients at the Rhode Island Oral Health Foundation’s Mission of Mercy two-day free dental clinic this past weekend.

The event, sponsored by Chewsi and Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC), was held in Providence and offered free dental services to those without the ability to access dental care.

“By any measure, the 7th Mission of Mercy event was a resounding success,” said Jeffrey Dodge, DMD, the founder and president of the RI Oral Health Foundation.

HOT

A Little Good News

With the bad news piling up, it is good to hear some positive news.

Rhode Island has been awarded a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve literacy, Governor Gina Raimondo and Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green announced on Wednesday.

"Statewide, only 36 percent of Rhode Island students are proficient in English language arts. In other words, the majority of students cannot read on grade level. When you look at differently-abled students or multilingual learners, the numbers are even lower. We’re talking about single digits in some schools,” said Infante-Green.

She added, “We can and we must do better, and this grant is going to help us do that for tens of thousands of students.”

The five-year Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant will be used to support communities and LEAs in strengthening literacy development and instruction from birth through grade 12.

"Early literacy is a leading indicator of future success, which is why I reconvened the Children’s Cabinet and established my Third Grade Reading Challenge. When we prioritize reading instruction for our students, we set them up to thrive in school and beyond," said Raimondo.

HOT

Healthy, Healthy

Rhode Island is ranked as one of the most vaccinated states in the U.S.

According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, RI is the third most vaccinated state in the country.

“Vaccinations are some of the most valuable contributions to modern medicine. They have drastically reduced the prevalence of certain diseases, including polio, tetanus, measles, and chickenpox. One disease, smallpox, has even been eradicated completely, with no natural cases since 1977,” writes WalletHub.

Four of the six New England states rank in the top five for most vaccinated.

NOT

Murder Rate in Providence

The Providence murder rate is up 20 percent to date this year and there are nearly three months left in the year.

According to FBI data, Providence had ten murders in 2018 and this year the city has already seen 12 killings.

Thursday morning's fatal stabbing at Nara Lounge on Federal Hill marks the second person killed this week.

Early on Sunday morning, 19 year-old-woman was killed while out on her birthday.

Berta Perreira-Roldan, of Revere, MA was out celebrating when she was fatally shot, and another woman -- Crystal Peloquin, 38, of North Providence, was shot several times, but is expected to survive.

Latest Killing

According to Providence Police Major David Lapatin, a 47-year-old man was stabbed to death at the Federal Hill club.

No arrests have been made in either of the killings.

Lapatin said in a press conference on Thursday morning, that the police were unsure if the Nara had security on duty.

NOT

Tainted Journalism

WPRO talk show host Dan Yorke said on air that the Providence Journal’s coverage of Twin River's effort to secure the state’s lottery contract is biased -- and is being influenced by a former newspaper executive who is now a lobbyist for the casino company.

“The Journal is on the take,” said Yorke.

Yorke said that the newspaper’s journalism and especially their editorials are tainted due to the influence of former Providence Journal Executive Vice President and Legal Counsel Mark Ryan who lobbies at the State House for Twin River. According to Ryan's bio, "he remains a consultant to the publisher of the Providence Journal Company."

Ryan is paid $5,000 a month by casino company Twin River, in its effort to dethrone IGT as the state's exclusive lottery contractor. Ryan also lobbies for the newspaper industry, National Grid, Hasbro and the marijuana industry.

Ryan according to multiple State House sources is a close ally of Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello.

Yorke, during a broadcast on WPRO AM radio on September 24, said that Ryan is influencing what the Journal is writing both as a news organization and editorially.

Citing the relationship between Twin River and Mattiello, Yorke said that the newspaper should investigate the issue -- but won’t -- due to the conflict situation.

“[It] ought to be written by someplace like the Journal. Oh, I'm sorry -- the Journal wouldn’t write that now because the Journal’s former boss is now a lobby guy for Twin River,” said Yorke.

NOT

President David Dooley

A GoLocal request under the RI Access to Public Records Act for a list of the attendees at the August party -- which included lawmakers -- at President David Dooley's house was blocked by the University of Rhode Island.

At the event, there was a reported incident of sexual misconduct. The University refuses to release any of the details, but told GoLocal in a statement that none of the legislators, guests or Dooley was involved.

Specifically, after GoLocal first broke the story, it requested a list of those invited to the event, as well as those who attended.

The party hosted by Dooley was held in a state-building and used state staff to coordinate the party.

The University claims that to release the list of attendees would constitute a violation of privacy.

“Your request directly involves personal individually identifiable records the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy and therefore exempt from disclosure pursuant to RIGL 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(b),” said Louis J. Saccoccio, General Counsel at URI.