Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not - Oct. 9, 2015

Friday, October 09, 2015

Russell J. Moore, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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Russ Moore

Every Friday, GoLocalProv's Russ Moore breaks down who is rising and who is falling in RI politics, business, and sports. Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. Send him email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @russmoore713

 

Related Slideshow: Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not - Oct. 9, 2015

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HOT

Jim Vincent

The Executive Director of the state's chapter of the NAACP finds himself on the "hot" list for the second week in a row for defending the Dunkin' Donuts employee who wrote "Black Lives Matter" on a coffee cup given to a police officer. Yes, the employee was out of line for writing on a customer's cup, but as Vincent points out, it's not like she wrote something that was either incorrect or inherently offensive. Also, to say "all lives matter" distracts from the fact that minorities are treated differently in our society, and that needs to stop. As usual, Vincent adds some logical and level-headed discourse to the debate.

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HOT

Aaron Regunberg

The Representative from the East Side of Providence weighed in on the Dunkin' Donuts worker controversy by reaffirming, both on his Facebook page and in a GoLocal article that yes, black lives matter. What shouldn't matter is the color of someone's skin, but unfortunately, it still seems to matter way too much. Regunberg was right to point that out.

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HOT

RI Good Government Groups

Five Rhode Island good government organizations, comprised of ACCESS/RI, the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Press Association, the New England First Amendment Coalition, and the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island have sent a letter to Governor Gina Raimondo beckoning her to force state agencies, which she oversees, to be more transparent and responsive to open records and information requests. Sunlight is the best disinfectant to corruption, and with serious questions peculating around the management of the DOT and DCYF, the time has never been more ripe for transparency.

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HOT

RI General Assembly Republicans

The Republicans from the state legislature this week outlined a plan to repair the state's bridges by using money currently in the state budget, as opposed to relying on tolls or additional borrowing. The state of Rhode Island has a budget that's roughly $8 billion--so it's not unrealistic, especially given the waste and fraud in the budget, to find the money need to fix our bridges, already in the budget. It's time to tighten the belt in Rhode Island, instead of putting more pressure on taxpayers.
 

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HOT

Alan Tenreiro

The Principal of Cumberland High School has been honored as the nation's top principal by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. It's a well-deserved honor considering that under Tenreiro's leadership, the school has seen increases in academic achievement, graduation rates, and the number of students getting excepted into great colleges.
 

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HOT

James Langevin

The Congressman recently hosted a field hearing in which he heard from representatives from the Rhode Island and German business and education communities to explore opportunities to expand apprentice programs in America--particularly in Rhode Island. Apprentice programs in Germany and Switzerland are prevalent, and give students the chance to achieve on-the-job training and businesses the chance to help develop a workforce where employees have the skills companies need. Kudos to Langevin for taking the initiative to help develop similar programs here.
 

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NOT

Tony "The Dancing Cop" Lepore

The dancing cop is a Rhode Island icon, but maybe Tony should just stick to dancing? Lepore called on everyone to boycott Dunkin' Donuts nationwide because an employee in Providence wrote "black lives matter" on a police officer's cup? The economy in Rhode Island is bad enough as it is, so we don't need a boycott over someone writing a slogan on a cup. Secondly, the fact that a massive portion of a whole segment of our population believes that their lives aren't valued is a much bigger problem than a teenage worker offending a police officer.
 

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NOT

Fantasy Football

Fantasy football might be a lot of fun for sports fans, but it looks identical to the other games of chance that create gambling addictions, according to professionals who treat them. And the only reason fantasy football is legal is because during 2006, when Congress was passing a law to make online poker illegal in the United States, sports industry lobbyists convinced Congress to carve out an exception for fantasy sports, arguing that it's a skill based game. Only the corrupting influence of money in politics could convince someone that fantasy sports is skill based but poker isn't. 
 

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NOT

Will Ricci

The Secretary of the State GOP recently attended a fundraiser for Democrat Congressman David Cicilline, alongside Cicilline's former opponent, Matt Fecteau. (He also recently posed for a photo with Democrat Virginia Governor and Clintonite Terry McAullife.) The state GOP has a rough go of it raising money for their own candidates and party, so the last thing any of their members should be doing is attending fundraisers for Democrats. And such hobnobbing with the opposition may discourage individuals who are thinking of running as Republicans, and that's the last thing the party needs.
 

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NOT

Providence FOP

Yes, the police officer in question had a right to be peeved that a Dunkin' Donuts employee took it upon herself to write a slogan on his coffee cup. But the response from the Providence Fraternal Order of Police was so over-the-top and hysterical it was borderline embarrassing. Instead of calling an emergency union meeting and whining, the officer should have kindly told the employee that he and his fellow officers work hard every day to protect black citizens in Providence, and that he didn't appreciate the innuendo. That's not currently the case. 
 

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NOT

Anastasia Williams

The John Hope Settlement House--along with Board Chair Representative Anastasia Williams--have been prevented from taking part in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program after Rhode Island Department of Education investigators found no proof that the money was being expended for its intended uses. Williams, a state representative from Providence, should have known better.
 

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NOT

URI Football

As if things weren't bad enough for the woeful football program at the University of Rhode Island, two players were arrested this week for assaulting members of a fraternity. In addition to the two arrests, four other players were suspended from the team's next game on Saturday against Delaware--not that it will matter much to the 0-5 football team. If they can't win games on the field, the least the team could do is comport themselves with class and dignity off of it. 
 

 

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