Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 22, 2017

HOT

Aaron Regunberg

The state representative from Providence’s East Side saw his bill to guarantee that all Rhode Island workers can be ensured a modicum of “sick time” pass the state legislature on Tuesday.

This is a big win for Regunberg (especially with progressives), who is widely speculated to be considering a run for the Lieutenant Governor’s office next year.

HOT

Patricia Morgan

The Republican Minority Leader continues to be a voice of reason on the issue of public financing for a potential new Pawtucket Red Sox stadium.

Morgan pointed out on Tuesday that moral obligation bonds are problematic after the 38 studios fiasco and therefore the state should seek a Supreme Court decision on whether the public needs to approve a new stadium deal.

The bill didn’t pass, but Morgan makes a lot of sense regarding how problematic this stadium proposal has become.

HOT

Teresa Tanzi

The state representative from Narragansett scored a big legislative victory for supporters on Tuesday when the state legislature passed a bill that would force people convicted of domestic abuse and those slapped with restraining orders to surrender their weapons.

This is the most serious piece of gun control that the state has passed in years and supporters of this bill have been working to pass this for a long time.

HOT

James Langevin

The Congressman has introduced legislation that would help strengthen consumer data in the event of breaches by creating a national notification standard.

The legislation would do wonders to help shore up some much-needed data protection for Americans and it’s particularly relevant in the wake of the Equifax data breach.

HOT

Ocean State Oyster Festival

The third annual Ocean State Oyster Festival will take place this Saturday at River Walk Park on South Water Street in Providence from 1 pm until 7 pm.

The event seeks to support and raise awareness about the state’s aquaculture industry. There will be food trucks, live bands, and of course, oysters at the event.

HOT

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox clinched a postseason berth on Wednesday night after they defeated the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Angels were defeated by the Cleveland Indians.

The home team is also in position, barring a late-season skid, to clinch the coveted American League East title over their heated rival, the New York Yankees.

Can the Red Sox make a realistic run at the World Series despite how well the Cleveland Indians have played in the second half of the season?

That remains to be seen, but there’s room for optimism.

NOT

Gina Raimondo

The Governor’s press secretary, Mike Raia, sent out a directive to all department heads and their PR telling them to get ready to host press conferences highlighting something good that’s happening in state government.

The state government should be solving problems and making information available to the public, but not acting like a political campaign. We don’t need a propaganda department, just unfiltered information, be it good or bad.

NOT

Donna Nesselbush

The state senator from Pawtucket fashions herself as a progressive champion - someone who fights for those in society who aren’t strong enough to fight for themselves (the poor, the oppressed).

So why is she leading the charge to build a brand new baseball stadium for the uber-rich folks who own the Pawtucket Red Sox, like Larry Lucchino, Terry Murray et. al?  Who don't live here?

Why should we spend our valuable and scarce tax dollars helping these wealthy individuals when we could be spending it on those in need? It seems like there’s some sort of cognitive dissonance going on in the mind of the state senator.

NOT

Moral Obligations 

GoLocal reported that the legislation floating around the Rhode Island Senate would require the same "moral obligation" if the bonds fail to cover the funding for a new stadium for the wealthy Pawtucket Red Sox owners. As we learned from the 38 Studios debacle, moral obligations are no different from general obligations -- they just cost us more to pay back. We cannot default on them.

So what’s the moral of the story? Our leaders have learned nothing. And they act as if they know everything. Who's morally responsible for the PawSox? The taxpayers, not the owners?  Really?

NOT

Toys ‘R’ Us

The iconic toy company has declared bankruptcy, a move which can be attributed to, among other things, Amazon’s influence on the marketplace and their Wall Street owners taking on far too much debt.

The world is changing fast, and we’re all going to have to adjust with far fewer brick and mortar stores as we all move forward.

NOT

Barack Obama

The President of the United States is earning big bucks giving speeches on Wall Street. He earned $400,000 last month for speaking before the Northern Trust Corporation.

He will give a speech that was sponsored by The Carlyle Group and he is slated to do more. How can people truly believe that the GOP is the party of Wall Street when Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Obama clean up by getting lucrative speaking engagements from finance titans? Could it be that both parties are subservient to the finance industry?

NOT

Social Media Brawls

There was a serious fight on social media between former Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Ken Block and former Rhode Island NBC 10 investigative reporter Jim Taricani. Block was talking about his voter fraud findings and Taricani referred to him as a “right wing extremist”.

I stopped arguing with people about politics on Facebook (and in real life) some time ago, once I realized that I had never once convinced anyone to change their opinion, and in fact, I found that nobody had ever convinced anyone to change their opinion.