HOT

Larry Merlo

Yes, life is good for the CVS CEO. Merlo raked in a total compensation package of $32 million last year. He was First Lady Michelle Obama's personal guest at the State of the Union Presidential Address earlier this January. And CVS's abandonment of selling cigarettes won the company accolades as a progressive, forward thinking company.

HOT

Gina Raimondo

The Governor had a good week in the news after she rolled out a plan to scale back carbon emissions from state buildings and departments in an effort to protect the environment and set a good example for others. She is also receiving kudos for her creation of the Governor's Overdose Task Force.
 

HOT

Shannah Kurland

Kurland organized a remembrance for the late, great Providence City Councilman Miguel Luna, who passed away in 2011 after suffering a heart attack. There was a beautiful painting of Luna unveiled at the gathering at the fire station on Broad Street. Kurland, who was previously married to Luna, called on the city to tone down its conflict with the firefighters at the event.
 

HOT

RI Foundation

The organization has announced a $10 million dollar campaign to restore several different aspects of Roger Williams Park in Providence, including new signage, bike paths, as well as repairs to the Museum of Natural History, the Bandstand, the Casino and the Temple of Music. When you think of all the great cities in the world, almost all of them have excellent public parks, and Providence should be no different. So the RI Foundation's plan is a welcome improvement to our capital city.
 

HOT

Viola Davis

The Central Falls native has been nominated by the NAACP Image Awards for her lead role in the ABC show "How to Get Away With Murder." The organization's Image Awards honor the accomplishments of people of color in fields such as television, literature, film and music, and there amount of leadership in the area of social justice is also factored into who wins. A win by Davis would be another feather in her proverbial cap, which is already filled with them.
 

HOT

Steven Brown

The Executive Director of the Rhode Island ACLU has been in the news this week first for the organization's decision to sue the Tiverton Police for arresting an 8-year-old girl, allegedly without cause and then for writing a letter to the Barrington Police Department asking it to cease arresting teenagers for their social media use (which was in some cases admittedly lewd). The ACLU is an organization that people like to criticize--until they need them. It's nice to know that we have someone standing up for our civil liberties. 
 

HOT

Billy Taylor House Grads

Congrats to the recent grads of the Billy Taylor House's fall Rites of Passage Jobs Program.  Originally a summer program, BTH leader and founder James Monteiro, the tireless advocate for youth enrichment opportunities in Mount Hope, extended the program over the past six months to allow these kids ability to flourish with this program.  

Jhalil Brown, Carrington Brunache, Kiana Cruz, Dnaye Depaiva, Lesley Hanes, Dayana Larfargue, Justice Mclaren, Zion Mclaren, Carissa Paschal, Emily Ramos, Joeal Sanders, Diamond Smith, and Vernon West are on this week's hot list - and we hope to see them here in the months and years to come as the future leaders of our city.

NOT

Rafael A. Ovalles

The District Court Judge was the subject of a report by the Commission on Judicial Tenure & Discipline that casts him in a very negative light. According to the report, Ovalles has displayed an inappropriate attitude towards women with some actions that might rise to the level of sexual harassment, and conducted improper management of the court's mental health calendar. We should keep in mind that Ovalles is innocent until proven guilty, and we haven't yet heard his side of the story.

NOT

Seth Magaziner

The General Treasurer is thought of as a close ally to the Clinton family. His father was a long-time staffer to the former President, and it showed when Bill Clinton hosted a rally for him during his race last year. So it was surprising to see Hillary Clinton have a fundraiser in Rhode Island and Magaziner not show up on the host list. Is there bad blood between the Magaziners and the Clintons? Magaziner said he went - but why not host then?
 

NOT

RI's Charitable Giving

Wallethub.com has a study out that shows Rhode Island to be the least charitable state in the nation. Maybe it's about time we collectively step up our giving during this Holiday Season.  You don't have to have deep pockets.  Every little bit helps. 
 

NOT

Dennis Hoyle

Finance Expert Michael Riley raises some good points about the state's Auditor General, and his lack of aggressiveness in sounding the alarm on the municipal pension fund crisis in Rhode Island. It's not just Providence, but several other communities around the state are forced to devote massive amounts of their budgets just to keep the pension fund afloat. Hoyle should be sounding the alarm on this problem. 
 

NOT

Binge Drinking

A new study by Wall Street 24/7 found that the Providence-Warwick Metropolitan area as well as the state show that roughly 20 percent of the population in the state report taking part in binge drinking. That's about 5 points higher than the national average.

There's a very distinct line between responsible alcohol consumption, and binge drinking, which is bad for one's health, and potentially dangerous. Rhode Islanders would do well to scale back the excessive drinking.
 

NOT

New England Patriots

With injuries at the skill positions on offense taking their toll, and the team playing an uncharacteristically sloppy game on all sides of the ball, the Patriots lost their second straight game of the season, and dropped to the third seed overall in the conference. I wouldn't count Tom Brady and company out any time soon, but the once thought of as invincible team is looking awfully beatable as of late.