Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 15, 2017
Russell J. Moore GoLocal MINDSETTER ™
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 15, 2017
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 15, 2017
HOT
Max Wistow
The high profile Rhode Island lawyer has been tapped by the court to conduct an investigation into the St. Joseph’s pension fund bankruptcy. Wistow is known for doing a tremendous job in recouping funds from the failed 38 Studios deal, so here’s hoping he can work his magic once again for the benefit of the pensioners the same way he did for Rhode Island taxpayers!
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HOT
Joseph Solomon Jr.
The state representative from Warwick Neck was able to pass a bill this year that created a new Rocky Point license plate. Rocky Point is a place that every Rhode Islander over 30 has fond memories of, so the commemorative plates are a long time coming. Further, the plates, which were designed by Rhode Island high school students--not some pricey out-of-state company--look amazing.
HOT
Cara Mund
The 2016 Brown University graduate was crowned Miss America 2018 last week. Representing North Dakota, the Bismark native bested candidates from the District of Columbia, Missouri, New Jersey, and Texas. But here’s what’s even more impressive about Ms. Mund. Over the last 10 years, she has raised about $78,000 for the Make a Wish Foundation through a fashion show she organizes. Now that’s hot.
HOT
Leigh Reposa
The clinical social worker made some excellent points with Molly O'Brien on GoLocal LIVE about the necessity for people to speak up and console others if they seem like they’re struggling or going through a difficult time. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, so Reposa’s message is timely. Organizations like “Be The Voice” are doing excellent work to help prevent suicide and to console those who have been affected by it.
HOT
RI Libertarian Party
The state’s Libertarian Party, led by Pat Ford, is leading the charge against the latest proposal to have state taxpayers help subsidize a new ballpark for the Pawtucket Red Sox owners. It’s hard to argue that state taxpayers should be building a new baseball stadium when a new report shows that we’ll need to spend roughly $2.2 billion to make our school buildings across the state adequate again.
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HOT
Pinnacle Logistics
The Dallas-based company plans to hire as many as 300 ramp and warehouse agents at the new airport cargo terminal at T.F. Green Airport within the next months. This is a much-needed boon to the Rhode Island job market due to the impending job losses at Benny’s and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Sometimes it seems like the only economic development we’re getting is out of the airport
HOT
BIF
The Business Innovation Factory hosted their annual summit this week, which featured a group of very interesting and accomplished speakers. The conference is quickly distinguishing itself as the go-to conference for innovation in America.
NOT
Governor Gina Raimondo
The Governor’s pitch to voters, as we move into a statewide election year, will be that she has improved the state’s economic climate, and she will tout big names like General Electric coming here, to make that case. But the last week has seen the state lose two big names--Benny’s retail stores and Alexion Pharmaceuticals--along with the hundreds of jobs with them. That shoots a serious hole into the economic recovery argument.
NOT
Benny’s Demise
What a sad day, one week ago, to have learned that Benny’s, a Rhode Island institution if there ever were one, would be closing all of its stores by year’s end. There’s hardly a person in Rhode Island who hasn’t shopped at Benny’s, and enjoyed doing it. Their customer service was second to none. Here’s hoping their employees are able to somehow land on their feet.
NOT
Peter Kilmartin
GoLocalProv reported that the state’s Attorney General could find himself the target of a lawsuit by Rhode Island attorney Max Wistow for failing to properly vet hospital conversion that precluded the pension fund’s insolvency. It would be hard to prove that the Attorney General could have foreseen the pension fund’s demise, but the situation certainly raises valid questions.
NOT
$2.2 Billion
A report commissioned by the School Building Authority and completed by Jacobs Engineering finds that most Rhode Island school buildings and classrooms haven’t been improved in 25 years, and will cost approximately $2.2 billion to bring up par. It’s ridiculous that state leaders have let our schools fall into such disrepair over the last generation, particularly at a time when budgets, at all levels of government, have grown exponentially. Where are our priorities?
NOT
Hillary Clinton
The twice-failed Presidential candidate who had a rocky tenure as Secretary of State under President Barack Obama is now touting her new book, in which she takes a modicum of the blame for her failures, but mostly blames everyone else. How can we miss you, Hillary, if you won’t just go away? (She also reportedly said that she won’t run for office again, which is bad news for President Trump, since she’s seemingly the only person he could beat.)
NOT
Jemele Hill
The star ESPN host got herself into some hot water this week when she tweeted that President "Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists." To be sure, the president has been, at times, insensitive about race relations. But there’s hardly any evidence that the president is a white supremacist. Hill is a very talented sports journalist, but those comments were unfair.
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