Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
Friday, March 22, 2013
Who's Hot
Providence Student Union-> This past weekend, dozens of adults - lawmakers, reporters, parents, professors, business people - took the state's proposed new high school graduation requirement at an event organized by PSU. Most adults failed. PSU has helped spark a national conversation on the type of testing we should have in schools.
Nina Pande-> This hard working non-profit executive director and former Providence School Board President has taken the reins at John Hope Settlement House, and is engaged in a heavy duty turnaround at the decades old agency. Too many community centers struggle with low accountability, supports, and funding - Pande and her team are working with the community to revive this West End icon.
Gordon Fox-> The Speaker and Senate President announced that General Assembly hearings will now be streamed live on the web. This is a great step for transparency- now more people can watch Committee Chairs declare previous votes "Null and Void."
Who’s Not
Gordon Fox -> Bait and switch. Is it a coincidence the Assembly leadership announces its new "transparency" initiative - live stream of committee hearings- within days of killing an ethics reform bill and nullifying the Judiciary Committee bill in favor of a House vote for ethics reform?
General Assembly Chairpersons -> Ever notice how the bills most people want to comment on are often discussed last at hearings?
Deborah Gist -> The State Commissioner of Education decried adult participation in Providence Student Union's NECAP Challenge as "an outrageous act of irresponsibility." An outrageous act of irresponsibility is implementing a high stakes graduation requirement without adequate supports, and giving students less time to prep than neighboring Massachusetts allows for their high stakes test!
Attorney General Kilmartin -> The AG opposes the "ban the box" bill- which would eliminate the box on applications asking potential employees about prior convictions. Employers could still ask applicants about criminal history during the interview process, but this would prevent folks from automatically being screened out of a potential job opportunity.
Nicholas Hemond -> This young, ambitious insider has made the jump from working on Speaker Fox's expensive re-election race last fall to lobbying for a multi-million dollar special tax credit to rehab the old Industrial Trust tower downtown. Be leery of special one time deals to save the state ... the debts for the 38 Studios debacle are just starting to come due.
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- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
- Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?
Comments:
anthony sionni
4:29am on Friday, March 22, 2013
where do I begin lol
Lets start with fox holding #ethicshostage , is this what you want in district 4, now you know why he isn't for ethics ,because he has his former worker lobbying him!
anthony sionni
4:32am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Who would support a corrupt liar politician like cicilline??? must have been all the master lever voters, who cant think!!!
frank bentley
7:19am on Friday, March 22, 2013
nick hemond deserves the mention..what a disgrace nut his EGO demanded it..and he wants to be Prov Mayor?? lol..I don't care how much he admires Cianci
David Beagle
8:05am on Friday, March 22, 2013
How about CVS being not hot. Using jobs as leverage to keep their tax credits. Not too community oriented is it?
Ronald Syper
9:02am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Heymond is a wanna be political operative, he runs around RI as a glorified doorman at legislative political fundraisers. Don't forget that he was one of the masterminds of ill-fated Caprio Campaign. Heymond's problem is that he thinks he knows more than he does... and Mr. Bentley nailed it as it is more about this young mans EGO rather than anything else and he certainly is a Cianci lap dog.
michael riley
9:29am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Chippendale is right to oppose repayment. Credit Rating agencies know the difference between guaranteed general obligation debt and moral obligation economic development loans. Bond investors also know the difference as proven by the credit spread over other debt at time of issue. Raimondo as treasurer has to take her position. Chafee is clueless most of us ignore his opinion.
george pratt
9:49am on Friday, March 22, 2013
Mr. Beagle, If the terms of my rent or taxes change and my bills go up, I owe it to my family to consider a better situation for us. CVS came here because Rhode Island offered them terms that made it a great place for them. They lived up to their terms. Now if Rhode Island changes those terms they owe it to their shareholders to consider making a change. And on "community oriented" they will take their civic commitment to the community they are located in.
jon paycheck
10:14am on Friday, March 22, 2013
While some were skeptical, a contingent of young progressives did a tremendous amount of door-knocking to bring out the Congressman's fabled "ground game" last November.
memo to young progressives - best to check with providence residents, providence students, providence business owners - -cicclini wanted their support and they gave it to him and look what they got in return
David Beagle
5:56pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Mr. Pratt,
Why can't CVS take it on the chin like every other Rhode Island tax payer, that DOESN'T have the knife to the throat leverage?
george pratt
6:05pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Mr. Beagle,
Why are the banks still to big to fail?
Why do public unions have their pensions protected while the rest of us see our social security retirement shrinking and coming to us at a later age than we were promised?
CVS is a public company that has a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders to do what is in the long term interest of the company. The Governor wants to change the terms that brought many jobs to this state. CVS isn't the company looking to change the terms. And if your logic is Rhode Island sucks for everybody else, why shouldn't it suck for them too, you may be too far gone to save.
Russell Moore
7:14pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Maybe these companies should hire lobbyists that Speaker Fox hates?
Thomas Ryan
11:31pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
I remember when the Hot or Not list reflected who had a good week in the press and who had a bad week in the press. Under the Dan Lawlor version, it all boils down to who he agrees with and who he disagrees with. Apparently, it doesn't matter that Kilmartin won a few more convictions, environmental settlements or consumer settlements this week. All that matters is that Lawlor disagrees with him about pending legislation. It doesn't matter that by any objective standard, Nick Hemond had a good week advocating for a historic landmark. All that matters is that Lawlor is going to compare historical preservation with 38 studios (a comparison that only reveals this reporter's own ignorance and bias). I'm not sure what point he is trying to make with Congressman Cicilline, so I won't even justify that with a response.
Michael Gardiner
2:20am on Saturday, March 23, 2013
The who's hot list wasn't any better recently. McGowan trivialized his efforts by personal agenda. He once reported on something nasty someone said on a facebook post..two weeks stale when he reported it and then he misrepresented it. The nonsense of this weekly spermology (nice old English word for gossip column) continues. How does Leo Fontaine get a "not hot" out of a story about SNAP? Is it his fault that a family runs out of food because instead giving the kids a banana for a snack at .69 per lb, they spend $8.88 per lb for string cheese. Is it Mayor Fontaine's fault that these families are loading up on meat, as opposed to beans with some meat added for flavor. Should Mayor Fontaine have to tell them that tenderloin is out of the price range and off the menu of many hardworking self reliant families? Dos Mayor Fontaine have to teach these folks that you can buy a 50Lb sack of potatoes for $14.99? Should he teach people how to regulate their children at all times so they don't grab items off the store shelf and open them? The "not hot" out of that story should go the destruction of families and the lessons of thrift and self reliance. I know that among my relatives in the depression they would come home and make a tomato sandwich out of the garden and that at one point only one male had a job to feed about a dozen people. The not hot goes to SNAP and its administrators who are not reaching the recipients with a little training as to how they are given plenty of help to make ends meet, but they will have to shop like they are spending their own money. And a huge "not hot" should go to those who want to let SNAP be used at restaurants. Mayor Fontaine should get a medal for serving, never mind the blame for an economy the President owns and a federal program he doesn't administer. By the way, the article wasn't really about "the working people of Woonsocket." It was about SNAP recipients and how they manage their benefits and how business has warped to serves that dysfunction. SNAP beneficiaries apparently need training on unit pricing and food choices and how to plan an affordable menu and never go to the market hungry or tired and with children you haven't already trained how to behave. I can understand their not knowing because they have to learn it somewhere to start. Oh I bet that sounds harsh. No, harsh is being a child of parents who don't train you and who run out of SNAP benefits before the end of the month and owe money to a tattoo parlor.
PO Taxpayer
6:50pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013
Really, Mr. Ryan? Advocating for a Historic Landmark? Isn't he really advocating for a Historically Connected Playa' Buff Chace? This is EXactly like 38 Special ... Personal profit at taxpayer risk\expense .... If the private equity market sees no financial sense in investing in the building, without taxpayer subsidies .... well, the current investors are on their own ... I think thats called the free market my friend ....
JOJO MONKEY
7:33pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013
who are these irrelevant people? did we run out of human beings?