Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not
Friday, March 20, 2015
Russell J. Moore, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
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 - March 20, 2015
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HOT
Gina Raimondo
The Governor's budget was largely well-received thanks in large part to her gifted public speaking abilities during her presentation to a joint session of the state legislature last week, combined with the fact that her proposal doesn't raise broad based taxes. But will the budget cause more problems than it will solves thanks to a restructuring of the state debt that spends the savings instead of paying it down?
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HOT
Pension Lawsuit Settlement
The state and its public sector unions appear to be heading towards a settlement of the pension lawsuit that resulted from the pension reform bill passed in 2011. If the negotiated agreement is close to what was agreed to last year, before being struck down, it will be a win for taxpayers, because it will lock in roughly 90 percent of the original savings without the risk of losing all of them.
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HOT
Jean Philippe Barros
The state representative from Pawtucket has filed legislation to allow communities that had specific dog breeds prohibited prior to last years legislative action that struck down those local ordinances to have those bans reinstated. Barros is right, local governments should have the right to protect their citizens in the ways they see fit.
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HOT
Rhode Island's Bars
Rhode Island has 6.49 bars per 10,000 people, and that means Rhode Island is "the drunkest" state in New England, according to Find The Best, a website that specializes in rankings. All kidding aside, there's nothing wrong with raising a pint or two, and tourism is a major driver or the economy, so this is a cool distinction as long as folks call a cab or designate a non-drinker as the driver.
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HOT
Rhode Island Foundation
The Rhode Island charitable organization announced recently that it is awarding Rhode Island students roughly $500,000 in scholarships. The scholarships vary and are based on anything from gender to geographic location in Rhode Island, but one thing they all have in common is that they represent a dream come true to anyone who receives them, as foundation Executive Director Neil Steinberg pointed out.
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HOT
March Madness
Every basketball fan's favorite time of year is upon us and in Rhode Island this year it's extra special as Providence College plays its first (hopefully of a few) game tonight at roughly 10 p.m. in the NCAA tournament while the URI Rams are making their way through the NIT. Best of continued luck to our local teams!
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NOT
Jorge Elorza
The Providence Mayor started the week off hot when he moved to revoke a liquor license from an East Side bar suspected of paying a bribe to former House Speaker Gordon Fox, but turned not hot later on when he refused to answer questions about the qualifications of his new Parks Director. The buck stops at Mayor Elorza's desk, and if he believes in his appointments, he should stand by them and defend them--not dodge questions.
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NOT
Fires
Yes, fires are literally hot, but what's not hot is the fact that there have been major fires over the last two weeks, including one in Warwick at the Westgate condominiums on Quaker Lane that caused over 100 people to lose their homes and pets as well as a fire in Providence that the burnt down the building containing the Cannabis Producers Association located on Kinsley Avenue. Here's hoping those displaced by the fires land on their feet sooner rather than later.
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NOT
Rep. Gregg Amore
The State Representative from East Providence who is also a History Teacher has proposed a bill that would allow and seemingly encourage parents to opt out of taking the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) test, which is a test that will replace the NECAP test and measure student capabilities. We need to make sure our students are meeting high standards in education to prepare them for challenges of a 21st century workforce, and one key way to do that is through standardized testing. Amore should encourage his students to stand up to challenges, not back down from them on the basis of their being too hard.
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NOT
Rep. Donald Lally
The longtime state representative from state representative who represents North Kingstown and Narragansett has unexpectedly resigned from his House Seat citing the desire to spend more time with family and at his full-time job. It's hard to fault a guy for wanting to spend more time with family, but one would assume he could've thought of this before seeking reelection last fall. Now, taxpayers will have to pay for a special election.
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NOT
WLNE-TV ABC 6
The TV station has parted company with news reporter and anchor Mark Curtis. Curtis was always an intuitive and effective news person, and it was surprising to see the station cut ties with such a professional.
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NOT
Job Creation
The Providence metro area has been ranked among the worst in the nation for job creation in 2014 according to a new survey performed by Gallup. The solution to the problem is obvious, make our state a place that's more attractive to all business (not just the ones that are friendly with politicians), but for some reason we seem hesitant to take corrective actions here.
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