Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not?
Friday, February 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? - February 19, 2015
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HOT
Sheldon Whitehouse
The Junior Senator from Rhode Island has introduced a bill to reform the prison system that would allow low-risk inmates to have their sentences reduced if they participate in recidivism reduction programs. America has the largest prison system in the world, so it's a good sign that Whitehouse has taken the lead on this issue and moved the much-needed conversation forward.
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HOT
James Monteiro
The Executive Director of the Billy Taylor House in the Mt. Hope section of Providence deserves credit for speaking out after a flyer was distributed that sought to seperate the Mt. Hope section of the city from the rest of the East Side (the administration claims it was only a draft and shouldn't have been circulated). That aside, Monteiro and the good work done at the Billy Taylor House on a daily basis shouldn't go unnoticed.
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HOT
Sonic
The iconic drive-in chain has introduced plans to expand into Rhode Island sometime this year and eventually have up to 20 locations here. That means economic development, more tax revenue, more jobs, and excellent food is coming to The Ocean State.
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HOT
Michael Marcello
Marcello is best known for challenging Speaker Nicholas Mattiello last Spring, but he has introduced two good bills this session that deserve serious consideration - one that calls for a constitutional amendment to empower the RI Ethics Commission over legislators, and another that would phase out the minimum corporate tax of $500 per year.
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HOT
Dan Reilly
The Republican State Representative from Portsmouth has introduced a bill that would establish an office of Rhode Island Inspector General. With the grave injustices perpetrated against the Rhode Island people over the last several years (Operation Dollar Bill, The Corruption at
The RI Central Landfill, and the 38 Studios fiasco, to name a few) this bill would be a good step forward to protect Rhode Island taxpayers from wrongdoing going forward.
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HOT
RI Coalition For The Homeless
For the second year in a row, the number of homeless people in Rhode Island has declined. In 2012, there were 4,868 that were homeless, and in 2014 there were 4,067--a significant decline that's a credit to the organization. Hopefully the positive momentum continues as it's saddening to think that there are people out in this bitter cold.
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NOT
Rosemary Booth Gallogly
Gallogly, who worked for state government for about 35 years in key finance positions, recently announced her retirement. Why is she not hot? Well, Gallogly chaired the Municipal Pension Study Commission, which was born as a result of pension reform in 2011, and it became clear very quickly that Gallogly never took her position seriously on that commission, as the body did next to nothing to solve the crisis in this state and more often than not glossed over serious problems.
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NOT
Providence Journal
The Providence Journal reportedly laid off 12 copy editors and outsourced the work elsewhere according to reports from Ian Donnis at Rhode Island Public Radio. That came just days after the Providence Journal switched over to a new website format that is used by scores of other Gatehouse Media Papers.
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NOT
Vandalism at Islamic School
The Islamic School of Rhode Island was senselessly vandalized earlier this week, a revolting act in a state that was founded on the principle of religious freedom. Fortunately, the act was met with widespread disgust.
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NOT
Jorge Elorza
Does the Providence Mayor even realize that he's done a terrible job presiding over the snow removal in Providence? Golocal reported this week that Johnston Mayor Joe Polisena offered to help Providence with its plowing efforts during a recent storm, only to be turned down. Maybe Elorza should set his pride aside for the benefit of the city of Providence.
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NOT
Ricky Ledo
The standout basketball player from South Providence was released by The Dallas Mavericks this week and his NBA future remains uncertain. It's looking more and more like Ledo would have been better served by playing a few seasons at Providence College to gain some seasoning before going into the NBA.
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NOT
New England Weather
Snow is not a blessing, it's a curse that belongs in the mountains of New Hampshire, not the city streets of Providence (or anywhere else in RI). Here's hoping we get minimal amounts of snow for the rest of the year, as tempers are running understandably high and snow removal budgets are running low.
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