HOT

Fane Tower

After two years of being kicked around Providence City, the Fane Tower moved forward when the Providence City Council voted to override Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza on Thursday.

The 46-story residential tower which is estimated to cost in excess of $300 million can move forward to the next phase.

HOT

Chef Eli Dunn

Restaurant owner and winner of Food Network’s hit television show "Chopped," Chef Eli Dunn talks with GoLocalProv’s Laura Afonso about his major victory.

“It has been a whirlwind, but fun to be a mini Rhode Island celebrity, but what I think is cooler is the provincial Rhody pride,” says Chef Dunn.

With celebrity chefs Martha Stewart, Marcus Samuelsson, and Maneet Chauhan as judges and a very limited amount of time to produce dishes incorporating mystery items provided, the pressure is extreme. Chef Dunn says he had a few of the most challenging ingredients to cook with “Durian fruit and pigs ears were in the baskets, and I ran the gauntlet of difficult ingredients to cook with”.

However, Chef Dunn lucked out with quahogs as a mystery item, being very well versed in the classic Rhode Island shellfish.

“Getting Quahogs was like manna from the Gods. It is funny, they had to do a couple of takes because my first reaction was disbelief. I made Rhode Island clam chowder, and I think that first round really won me the competition” says Chef Dunn. “I have a lot of faith in my ability to cook for people, to bridge that gap between myself and the diner. I really paid attention to each of their criticisms in each of the judgings, I learned a lot from them, and I think they could tell. That gave me an advantage because I was so open and teachable.” 

Chef Dunn is the executive chef and owner of Eli’s Kitchen in Warren, a favorite amongst the East Bay community. Chef Dunn takes local sourcing very seriously; everything from the bar stools to the produce is found locally in the community.

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Innovate Newport

The launch of Innovate Newport is just months away and its new director Tuni Schartner is a woman on a mission spreading the word on how the new hub for technology and entrepreneurship will help transform Newport and build RI’s tech and startup community.

She joined Josh Fenton Monday on GoLocal LIVE’s Business Monday to discuss the spring launch of the new Innovate Newport space on Broadway.

The City of Newport along with Commerce RI and the Newport Chamber of Commerce have teamed to redevelop the old Sheffield elementary school on Broadway into the tech center.

The space is 33,000-square foot Class A coworking, private office, and meeting space which is designed to spark innovation and build community.

She says nearly all of the office space has been leased and much of the shared office environment is already being signed up for. In addition, the shared space management will be run through the tech infrastructure and software of Boston-based Workbar.

And for Schartner, this is not her first effort like this. She previously ran The Hive in North Kingstown, a shared office environment.

HOT

Media Change

Where is the smart media going -- not to newspapers. A new chart outlines where the money is going in marketing.

NOT

Jorge Elorza

Maybe not the best idea to insult people offering to invest $300 million in your city.

Just minutes after the City Council overrode Mayor Jorge Elorza's veto, the Mayor issued a blistering attack on both New York developer Jason Fane and City Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris.

Read Elorza's statement:

"As a city, we will not bend to the wishes of multi-millionaires who seek to change the rules for their own benefit, who seek to take advantage of every subsidy and benefit they can grab and yet who fail to consider the interests of the local community. Providence is in the middle of a building boom that hasn't been seen in decades. We are a city on the rise and we are excited about the amazing projects we have in the pipeline that will continue to make Providence such a special place.

I overrode that Councilwoman Harris flipped her vote to side with the developer. Every responsible expert has indicated that this project is not financially viable and will fail under its own weight. It's disappointing that our City Council ignored these warning signs and caved to continued political pressure, instead of siding with our residents."

NOT

Donald Trump

A rough week for the President. Stock market crash, an absurd meeting with Democratic leaders, and his personal lawyer was sentenced to three years in jail.

NOT

David Salvatore

As the vote to override Mayor Jorge Elorza's veto of the Fane Tower variance was moving forward members of the City Council were blasting each other on social media.

The most recent spat started over the weekend as outgoing Ordinance Committee Chairman Terry Hassett took to Facebook to criticize his leadership partner Council President David Salvatore. 

Salvatore is the fulltime lobbyist for the RI Realtors.

“You know it's been an interesting 10 days. The Fane Tower is perhaps one of the most discussed issues. We, I say the City Council, [have] been open, 2 unprecedented public hearings, a record, and 6 Ordinance Meetings to properly vet and discuss this matter,” wrote Hassett.

“Unfortunately, I have been criticized by the current City Council President for not vetting it completely. I am in disagreement...2 public hearings and 6 ordinance meetings. Unprecedented in Council history. I never lashed out council members on other issues in this case. 3 female council members because they didn't do what he said you should do. What? Who the hell are you to dictate what or how they vote?  

My position...vote your concern and reject intimation.  Look, I'm leaving office but I would not nor would have ever threatened my colleagues,” said Hassett referring to another one of Salvatore’s previous battles.

In October, Salvatore got into disputes with a number of leading women in the City — both business and political leaders.

It started when Lisa Ranglin, President of the Black Business Association, blistered Salvatore for a lack of support for issues that matter to women and minorities.

Then an ugly incident took place after a City Council Committee meeting when Salvatore “screamed” and “intimidated” two female members of the City Council for not agreeing to vote the same way he wanted. Both Councilwomen recapped the incident exclusively to GoLocal.

"After the vote, I get a text from Salvatore -- he said I should be supporting women's issues, and that I'm shameful," said Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan. "I said you don't have the facts -- he was spouting off facts that were incorrect for as far as I know."

“After the meeting, I went to the City Council office," said Councilwoman Carmen Castillo. "Salvatore called me in the office and said shame on you, you don't support women. I said it's not like that. This is why we have a [city] lawyer, to advise us when we need review. I know what I'm doing. He was screaming at me. I said listen -- if we're going to pass it I want to be sure.

NOT

Blackface

A photo emerged of the Providence Journal's Jim Hummel in Blackface.  The lack of apology by Hummel is puzzling. The defensiveness of RIPBS and the Providence Journal are predictable.

“Every black person on the planet is offended by [blackface], hurt by it. We ought to change society and people who are not stone-cold racists should not be out doing these things. Then the next thing, they want to apologize for it, or [say] it was a “youthful indiscretion” — how racism can be a youthful indiscretion ever you’re over five years old I don’t know,” said Ray Rickman. “I’m not into apologies. It’s just a little set of words.  I think you should do something good that equals it — go over to the John Hope Center and volunteer.”