Every Friday, GoLocalProv breaks down who is rising and who is falling in Rhode Island politics, business, and sports.
Now, we are expanding the list, the political perspectives, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
Email GoLocal by midday on Thursday anyone you think should be tapped as "HOT" or "NOT." Email us HERE.
The best and the brightest. The kindest and the most caring.
From weather experts to entrepreneurs, the smallest state's youngest residents are pounding the pavement, creating businesses and making a difference in their communities and across Rhode Island.
At just twelve years old, Nicholas Lowinger noticed children in Rhode Island's homeless shelters who lacked proper footwear and was inspired to make a change. Nicholas founded Gotta Have Sole, an organization that donates new shoes to Rhode Island children in 2010.
"Some [kids] had to share footwear with a family member and missed school because it wasn’t their turn to wear the shoes that day, and others had sores on their feet from wearing shoes that didn’t fit them properly," Nicholas said in a message on the organization's website. "I was devastated by this and wanted to help the children however I could."
With most colleges starting up in the next week, Molly Hawes from Project LETS joined GoLocal LIVE in studio to share some of the resources available to students on campus for mental health.
Project LETS, or Lets Erase The Stigma, is a national organization with a chapter at Brown University. The organization provides services including peer-to-peer mentoring to students, as well as hosts community-based events centered around mental health. Mentors are students who have experienced mental health issues themselves, who provide guidance and insight to struggling students who may not be interested in traditional therapy.
"We don't like to think of it as an either-or situation when it comes to therapy or mentoring," Hawes said. "It's just another option. For some people, the power dynamic of traditional therapy is off-putting. There's no feeling like that moment of speaking with someone just like you who is saying 'I get it, I've been there.' Mental illness can be really isolating, so it's good to know you're not alone."
WeKey, a Providence-based home swapping service, hopes to revolutionize weekend travel by making mini-vacations free.
Grant Cohen, one of WeKey's cofounders, joined GoLocal LIVE in the Navigant Credit Union Broadcast Center to discuss the service's launch and how New Englanders can become a part of it.
The concept of the service is to match users looking to trade homes for a weekend, either through a direct one-to-one swap or by coordinating dates. Anyone interesting in joining can fill out a short application, including personal information and a description of their home. Users are required to upload several photos of their home, and several tiers of verification are required to ensure users are who they say they are.
Rhode Island AFL-CIO President George Nee will receive the “Roving Ambassador for Peace” prize from the World Peace Prize Awarding Council.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive this prestigious prize. The recognition by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council that there is an inextricable link between the work of the Labor movement in its historic struggle for economic justice for all workers and peace will encourage increased activities for a more peaceful and just world,” said Nee.
The presentation ceremony will take place on Thursday, November 15, at the Rhode Island Convention Center from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
“Our Washington office, headed by Fr. Sean Mc Manus and Barbara Flaherty of the Irish National Caucus, nominated the Honorable George Nee. Our 14-member Board of International and Interfaith judges unanimously selected Mr.Nee. Our Board is comprised of representatives of the world’s nine major religions: Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Russian Orthodox, and Zoroastrianism. We congratulate Mr. Nee while also knowing that his acceptance honors our noble idea and mission of world peace,” said Rev. Dr. Han Min Su, who founded the World Peace Prize.
The "not" mention is two weeks running now. Last week, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation landed on the list after the communications around the closing of one of the most important access points to the City of Providence was a press release and press conference -- and monumental traffic snarls.
On Sunday, the damage control spin-machine was in full effect, when RIDOT announced they were making a number of changes to try and alleviate the traffic nightmare that plagued the state this previous week.
DOT announced, “a series of steps it will take to alleviate traffic congestion on I-195 at the Washington Bridge westbound in advance of local school openings.” And that included repaving a previously stripped travel lane -- but at what cost?
"Contractors are working through this weekend to reinstitute a fourth travel lane on I-195 West across the Washington Bridge. This will allow traffic that is coming from the Taunton Avenue on-ramp (Route 44) to have its own lane and not have to merge with traffic already on I-195 West," reported GoLocal.
The government-controlled transportation industrial complex has...deep pockets.
When Matt Brown's campaign for United States Senate collapsed in 2006, his campaign had significant debt. Eight out of the 9 creditors got paid just fifty cents on the dollar.
The Matt Brown For U.S. Senate Committee had a total debt of $417,245.79 - Including $205,995.79 owed to nine creditors.
According to a letter sent to the Federal Election Commission on behalf of Matt Brown for U.S. Senate, “The committee has total debts of $417,245.79, including $205,995.80 owed to nine creditors.” [Federal Election Commission, 11/14/07]
“Matt Brown portrays himself as a protector of working people but the record shows he stiffed ordinary workers and small businesses during his last campaign,” said Emily Samsel, Raimondo campaign press secretary. “Matt Brown is already racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt this year. He can’t be trusted with the state budget.”
As GoLocal reported, Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Providence Diocese is facing lawsuits, the potential financial collapses of another pension fund and harsh criticism for his role as the Auxillary Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh during a period in which more than a 1,000 children were abused by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania, according to a grand jury.
Then, Tobin announced that he will fast for 24-hours in September for his "failures" in the sexual abuse controversy.
Too little, too late -- and most certainly, not hot.
Raimondo Administration Fails to Provide Legal Justification on Guns in Schools
Whether you agree with the policy or disagree -- Governor Gina Raimondo needs to justify the legality of major new public policies.
On Tuesday, the Raimondo Administration announced a new ban on guns on school campuses. The only exception to the new policy is for uniformed police officers.
The problem with the new policy according to critics is that existing state law provides for a range of professionals and civilians to carry concealed weapons if they go through the proper permitting process.
GoLocal asked the Raimondo administration for a copy of the legal opinion developed by the administration that asserts the legal authority for the ban, but both Raimondo’s staff and Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) officials refused to release the document.
Maybe you want to ask a few screening questions first when casting your TV commercial.
Progressive candidate for Lt. Governor Aaron Regunberg’s new TV ad about insider dealing and the need to reform lobbying in Rhode Island features volunteer Andrew Cagen playing the role of a “corrupt insider.”
Cagen was convicted by the federal government for fraud.
According to court records, Cagen was convicted of “conspiracy to defraud the United States.”
Regunberg is facing incumbent Lt. Governor Dan McKee in a heated Democratic primary.
