5 Big Stories in Rhode Island This Week - January 20, 2023

#5

What Does RI Have to Show for Billions in Federal Spending — See What Officials Say

Rhode Island received billions of federal dollars to address the public health and economic challenges of COVID. 

So, is Rhode Island any better off?

Roughly $1.5 billion was left to the discretion of the governor and legislators to determine how the money was spent. 

And, according to one private foundation, the expenditure in Rhode Island breaks out to be about $15,263 per capita. See how the Peter G. Foundation analyzed all the states' expenditures. 

GoLocal asked Governor Dan McKee and legislative leaders and received Rhode Island spending reports. 

According to McKee’s office, State Fiscal Recovery Funds “positively impacted health care facilities, affordable housing, local businesses, and our workforce."

McKee’s office could not answer the question of how Rhode Island was better for the expenditures. GoLocal asked repeatedly.

According to state data, while housing initiatives received the most dollars, the second largest recipient is the port of Davisville, which received $65 million to support, in part, Electric Boat’s activities. The company is a division of General Dynamics, the military contractor. McKee has claimed the expenditure is needed to support the offshore wind industry.

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#4

GoLocal Investigation Leads to More Than 20% of Fines Collected by US Attorney in RI

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha announced Friday that the District of Rhode Island collected $6,952,328.06 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023. Of this amount, $3,275,794.48 was collected in criminal actions and $3,676,533.58 was collected in civil actions.

A series of more than 50 reports by GoLocalProv uncovered the dumping of contaminated materials next to homes in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. 

James White, President of Local 57, was the first to contact GoLocal and blow the whistle on the dumping.

Ultimately, the lead contractor on the 6/10 project, Barletta Heavy Division, was forced to pay the U.S. Attorney $1.5 million in a non-prosecution agreement.

The Barletta settlement equals 21% of the office's total collection.

6/10 in Focus, Washington Bridge Connection

The material dumped by Barletta was adjacent to homes and businesses — the homes included homes with multiple children and two pregnant women.

Barletta is also the contractor on the failed I-195 George Washington Bridge, which has been closed for more than six weeks, creating a commuting nightmare for many in Rhode Island.

Governor Dan McKee has defended the continued use of Barletta for the repair work on the closed bridge.

“This is why investigative journalism matters. GoLocal began uncovering the dumping in September of 2020, and it took thousands of hours of work to cover this environmental crime," said GoLocal Co-Founder and CEO Josh Fenton. 

The project manager pled guilty to multiple federal charges.

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#3

Rhode Island Ranks 50th for “Best States to Start a Business”

There is a new ranking for “Best and Worst States to Start a Business” — and Rhode Island is ranked dead last. 

In the study released Tuesday by WalletHub, it compared the 50 states across 25 key indicators of startup success to “determine the most fertile grounds in which to launch and grow an enterprise.”

“Starting a business is never easy. About one-fifth of all startups typically don’t survive past year one of operation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and nearly half never make it to their fifth anniversary,” writes WallethHub. “Staying afloat is difficult even under normal conditions, and even more so when dealing with high inflation and labor shortages.”

In 2023, Rhode Island ranked 45th in CNBC's "Top States for Business." 

#2

EDITORIAL: McKee Ignores Reality — “You Are What Your Record Says You Are”

On Tuesday, a new study came out ranking Rhode Island last — dead last, the worst, behind Mississippi.

According to the study, Rhode Island is the worst place to start a business, even behind West Virginia.

Well, Governor Dan McKee and legislative leaders probably have faults with the methodology utilized by WalletHub.

So, let’s look over at that pesky CNBC study.

McKee ignores this analysis, too, in which Rhode Island ranked 45th. But the big news is we beat both Mississippi and West Virginia this past year, according those metrics. 

The Governor tries the rah-rah approach. In his State of the State speech delivered Tuesday night, he cheerleaded:

Over the last three years, we’ve risen to that challenge. We’ve shown that it’s our turn.

That we can compete.

That we will compete.

And that if we work together, all we can do is succeed.

But the reality is that Rhode Island is not competitive. It is finishing last, or nearly last, in every small business study.

Another coach, Hall-of-Fame football coach Bill Parcells, said, “You are what your record says you are.” 

It is a truism.

Visual Capitalists ranks Rhode Island 45th for business as well. Mississippi ranks 50th, but ugh, Rhode Island even lost to West Virginia, who finished 44th.

In McKee’s, Shekarchi’s, and Ruggerio’s State House world, that study is probably flawed, too.

Chief Executive magazine's study ranks Rhode Island 35th. That publication ranks states as the best places to locate a business. Well, 35th sounds pretty good. It's not even near the top half of the country, but heck, let's call that a victory.

And, the Tax Foundation ranks Rhode Island 41st — for the worst tax burdens for businesses.

According to McKee’s State of the State, he is going to increase everyone’s per capita annual income by $20,000 in the next six years. He just provided no specifics.

And to help our bottom-ranked small businesses, he is going to help them by cutting their costs by $50. No, really, fifty bucks.

"I will call for reducing the corporate minimum tax from $400 to $350 – this tax impacts our state’s smallest businesses the most. Let’s give them more relief," said McKee in his speech.

The $50 savings should certainly make lemonade stands run by seven-year-olds more viable. That will move the needle. 

All these business studies and rankings based on comparative data must be flawed, according to McKee and State House leaders. 

But the reality is RI's environment for small businesses is ranked at the bottom. 

“You are what your record says you are.” 

#1

Family Sues Newport Officials Over “Severe, Persistent, and Violent Harassment” of Their Child

The parents of a middle school student have sued the City of Newport, Newport Public Schools, and administrators over what they said was the “severe, persistent, and violent harassment and abuse” of their son at Thompson Middle School.

The bullying was so severe that on one occasion, other students reportedly shoved macaroni and cheese down their son's pants not once, but twice, and he was forced to wear the soiled clothes for the remainder of the day — and school officials did not contact his parents. 

In the ten-page lawsuit filed in federal court this week, Michael and Alicia Turskey allege their son, starting in the sixth grade, was “frequently harassed, bullied, and physically assaulted by other students at the school” — and that administrators were notified on multiple occasions of the abuse.

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