Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 9, 2016
Russ Moore, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 9, 2016
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot & Who’s Not? - September 9, 2016
HOT
Joe Paolino
The former mayor is demonstrating that he still has a knack for leadership. Paolino spearheaded two new groups this week to help clean up Kennedy Plaza and address the issues of homelessness, drug usage, and panhandling downtown. A draft report packed with legislative proposals to help rectify the situation will be released on September 14th, and the details will be important, but the progress thus far is positive.
HOT
Matt Fecteau
The activated US Army Reservist who has completed two tours of duty in Iraq is trying to upend the status quo in Rhode Island by taking on incumbent Jamie Doyle and Mark Theroux—two products of the Democratic machine in Rhode Island—in Pawtucket’s District 8. Fecteau has run a spirited campaign since returning from Iraq, and supports term limits, a ban on moral obligation bonds, campaign finance reform, and stronger ethics laws. Basically, Fecteau supports anything that would make government work for every day, non-connected Rhode Islanders instead of special interest groups. Win or lose, Fecteau deserves credit for having the courage to bring these issues to the forefront.
HOT
Angel Taveras
The former Mayor of Providence deserves some serious kudos for his vision in helping spearhead the opening of the Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy. There were plenty of well-organized special interest groups that opposed the school, but they were wrong and the Mayor was right. The school’s students outscored not only their peers in Providence, but also many of their peers in the suburbs. Taveras deserves credit for his work to make the school a reality.
HOT
Johanna Harris
The former chairwoman of the Providence Board of Licenses has taken to her blog to criticize the current chairman of the Board, state senator Juan Pichardo. (Pichardo faces a spirited primary against Ana Quezada, whom Harris supports.) Harris questions Pichardo’s lack of attendance at the Board or Licenses as well as the fact that he received the lowest score in the Senate from good government group Common Cause.
HOT
Delta Dental
The dental insurer has donated $10,000 to Reach Out and Read RI. The organization will then distribute over 2,500 oral health themed books to health care organizations and pediatric offices throughout the state. This will allow children to read about the importance of oral health care—and that is terrific.
HOT
Boston Red Sox
Thanks to the team’s bats coming alive in a big way along with some better bullpen work, the Red Sox find themselves back in first place and squarely in playoff and pennant hunt. Here’s hoping the boys of summer can continue their momentum all through September and into October so that the baseball playoffs become relevant around here once again!
NOT
Gina Raimondo
The Governor talks a big game about leadership, and this was especially true when she was running for Governor. Yet on the issue of 38 Studios, she’s shown us none. Raimondo has the power to direct the state police to release the documents pertaining to the 38 Studios criminal investigation, yet she’s balked. While running for Governor, she also supported an independent investigation into the demise of 38 Studios, another broken promise since getting elected. To quote Shakespeare, it seems like Raimondo’s talk about leadership has always been just “words, words, words”.
NOT
Michael Gazdacko
GoLocal reported this week that Gazdacko is a longtime business partner of Lance Robbins, who is an infamous slum lord in California. Gazdacko, for his part, argues that his association with Robbins has no bearing on his current race for state representative against Anastasia Williams, but it’s fair to question whether he is a good judge of character based on his business relationship with such a shady character.
NOT
David Cicilline
The resignation of former Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman from the New Haven Police Department this week after several incidents, including berating a waitress and a no confidence vote by the New Haven Police Union, will undoubtedly remind many of the controversies that occurred here in Providence under Esserman and Cicilline’s tenure. It also raises questions as to why Cicilline stuck with Esserman for as long as he did.
NOT
Police Beating
Despite the fact that it has been more than two months since the revelation of a brutal police beating of a woman in Providence, there’s been no determination as to whether the officer in question used “excessive force”. Nobody wants there to be a rush to judgement, and we all want a thorough investigation, but this is an issue that needs a resolution so that the community can move forward.
NOT
Voter Apathy
Most of Rhode Island’s political prognosticators are predicting that the state will see low voter turnout in next Tuesday’s primaries. That’s a terrible sign. The state would be much better off if the general public was much more aggressive and involved in holding our decision makers accountable. Can we really complain about the General Assembly if we don’t even bother voting?
NOT
Nexstar Broadcasting
The Department of Justice has approved the media takeover of Media General by Nexstar Broadcasting, which is concerning for the Rhode Island media landscape since Media Broadcasting owns WPRI-12. Nexstar has a reputation for reducing costs and has reportedly claimed that if its new acquisition is approved by the FCC, it plans to save $76 million by achieving “synergies." This could be bad news for Rhode Island if those cutbacks occur at WPRI, which does a nice job with its investigative reporting.
