Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Friday, March 14, 2014

Dan Lawlor, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

HOT: Dr. Michael Fine of the RI Dept. of Health

Every Friday, Dan Lawlor breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Rhode Island politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

Hot

Diane Feinstein - She's not from Rhode Island, but she's right: "How Congress and how this will be resolved will show whether the Intelligence Committee can be effective in monitoring and investigating our nation's intelligence activities or whether our work can be thwarted by those we oversee." Senator Feinstein, the chairperson of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, accused the CIA of spying on and intimidating Congressional staff as they researched and prepared a report on the CIA's now defunct intense interrogation program, "a CIA program that never, never, never should have existed."

Richard Licht/State Properties Committee- Good choice! Supporting the redevelopment of Davol Square for a combined URI-RIC School of Nursing makes good sense for the city's future. May the State Properties Committee make more good decisions like this, and approve fewer parking lots on the state house lawn.

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Dr. Michael Fine/Department of Health - "Addiction is a disease, treatment is effective, recovery is possible. People who are addicted, we are urging them with all the energy we have to get into treatment. And as dangerous as the prescription opiods are, street drugs are much more dangerous," the health department director recently told GoLocal's Kate Nagle. The drug overdose crisis is real- there have been 58 overdose deaths since January, compared to 137 deaths for all of 2009.

Sam Zurier/Providence City Council - "Whereas The City does not currently have data, benchmarks or tracking systems by which to measure the quantity, quality or cost-effectiveness of snow removal service currently provided... the Providence City Council requests that the Department of Public Works develop a draft set of written snow removal policies and procedures for publication... and submit a report to a joint meeting of the Ways and Means and Public Works Committees on or before April 15, 2014." Very simply, thank you Councilor Zurier. Written rules, written procedures, clear expectations... so simple, so needed.

V. Susan Sosnowski/State Senator - "We encourage Rhode Islanders to 'buy local' all the time, and farmers' markets are some of our best opportunities to encourage that." As GoLocal reported, Sosnowski aims to "amend current law so that a farmer-winery and a farmer-brewery may, under certain conditions, be licensed to sell wine and beer for off-premises consumption at farmer's markets." Great proposal to give more options to buy and sell local goods!

#11 - Providence-based Betaspring is the 11th best start-up business accelerator in the country, according to the Seed Accelerator Rankings. According to the Providence Business News, "Betaspring invests about $40,000 in services and between $12,000 and $20,000 in cash in each graduating startup, and also takes a 6 percent stake in each company. The 83 companies graduated from Betaspring so far have gone on to raise $32 million in follow-on funding."

College Visions - "The lack of encouragement at my high school led me to seek help out of school to assist me in the college process. When I heard about College Visions at New Urban Arts I decided it was best if I became a part of the program." And a good choice, as Casandra Castillo is now a URI graduate. College Visions is a local non profit that "empowers low-income and first-generation college-bound students to realize the promise of higher education by providing advising and resources to promote college enrollment, persistence, and graduation." Support students like Casandra with a donation to College Visions, or stop by their 10th Anniversary Fundraiser - "Celebrating a Decade of Degrees" at Local 121, 5:30-7:30pm, March 25th.

Not

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NOT: RIPTA

195 Redevelopment Commission- "You might ask: Have I been flooded with inquires and is my desk overflowing with incredible proposals given that it's now been two weeks? And the answer is no," the Journal reported Jan Brodie, the 195 Commission's Executive Director, telling the RI Commerce Corporation. As Wayne Zuckerman, a New Jersey developer in attendance at recent developer forum on the land, mentioned, "I though there'd be more people...Nineteen acres in the city. You would think - I would have thought - the room would have been filled."

For-Profit Schools - A new bill in the House (sponsored by Representatives Morgan, Giarusso, Dickinson, Hull, and Phillips) would legalize for-profit colleges in Rhode Island. Nationwide, numerous for-profit colleges have been accused of fraud, predatory lending practices, and job prospects that don't match promises. State officials should focus on improving public schools, not opening the door for snake oil salesmen to make money off students aiming for higher education.

Hilton Firings - According to RI Future , several union activists at the Providence Hilton hotel have been let go by The Proccacianti Group in the past few weeks. One former TPG employee, Adrienne Jones, has filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board through Unite Here Local 217. Jones mentioned, "Recently, a housekeeper, who is pregnant with twins, brought in a note from a doctor asking her bosses to put her on light duty. She expressed to her manager that she wanted to work until the end of her pregnancy so she could take her vacation time when the babies were born. However, management completely ignored her request and gave her even more rooms to clean per day."

Nick Narducci / Providence City Council - "The department of police may at any time, or upon request, remove any roadside memorial that partially of wholly obstructs a public right of way, encroaches on private property, and/or creates a public safety concern," reads a new ordinance proposed by Councilor Narducci. In other words, police (and the department of public works) are empowered to take down memorials to shooting and car crash victims that hang on or near telephone polls and fences - candles, pictures, messages. After introducing this resolution, Councilor Narducci told the Journal, “I know the Police Department has a lot more to worry about than these makeshift memorials." If police have more to worry about, than why make this an issue?

Providence Cookie Salad Bar and Wharf Clothing & Wares- The bells tolls for two more downcity retailers. While the Arcade is seeing new life, Providence Cookie Salad Bar, a merger of former Arcade tenants, has passed on. Best of luck to owner Rojwan "Sajo" Can and his family! Rob Babigian, Wharf's founder and former GoLocalProv Men's Style Expert, has been an active member of the Westminster Street scene- his good work will be missed.

Scott Avedisian/RIPTA - New data shows that RIPTA ridership for 2013 was up 1.3% from 2012 , for a total of 19.7 million passengers. This is great news- and shows a growing demand. However, in part due to ongoing budget issues and a decrease in federal grants, RIPTA will no longer offer free rides on ozone alert days. A pretty crazy situation - a bigger demand results in more cuts. Hopefully, Avedisian - with better General Assembly budgeting - can solve this problem.

Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Hot

Not

Related Slideshow: Breakdown of Overdose Deaths in RI - 2009 to 2014

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 (First Half)

2014

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Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Hot

Not

Related Slideshow: Breakdown of Overdose Deaths in RI - 2009 to 2014

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013 (First Half)

2014

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