Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in RI Politics?

Friday, September 26, 2014

Russell J. Moore, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

Every Friday, Russ Moore breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Rhode Island politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

HOT

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Vincent “Buddy” Cianci: The iconic two-time former Providence mayor has all the momentum in his comeback bid for Providence City Hall. Cianci is leading in the polls according to a WPRI/Providence Journal survey released last week, and garnered several key union endorsements over the same time period.

Luis Aponte: Ward-10 Providence City Councilman Luis Aponte appears to have the votes lined up to become the city council’s powerful president in the next term—barring any potential surprises, according to wpri.com’s Dan McGowan. It should be interesting to see how Aponte answers for the fact that he owes the Rhode Island Board of Elections almost $47,000 for failing to file campaign finance reports.

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Carolyn Rafaelian: Alex and Ani, under founder and CEO Rafaelian’s leadership, made a $1 million donation to Rhode Island College for the construction of its $17 million art center building. It’s nice to see successful business leaders giving back to the community and supporting the arts.

Miriam Hospital: Providence's East Side Hospital announced this week that it will offer a cancer support group for men. The hospital said the sessions will focus on caregiving, intimacy, quality of life, and side effects of treatment.

“Disruptors”: Welcome to the “sharing economy” where individuals and businesses capitalize on sharing labor and assets directly. An example includes “Uber”, a business model where folks give car transportation people who need it in exchange for money and the exchange is facilitated by a smartphone application. Disruptors pose a big threat to highly regulated, longstanding industries.

Alternative media: Podcasts and other forms of alternative media continue to flourish in Rhode Island. Last Sunday night at 6 pm, Pat Ford hosted an enlightening conversation about Providence finances on 790 am radio featuring former Central Falls Receiver Robert Flanders. The days of relying on one dominant news provider have gone the way of the compact disc player. 

NOT

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Lorne Adrain: The businessman and Rhode Island Foundation board member flirted with running for Providence Mayor earlier this year, but backed out of the race when it finally dawned on him that he couldn’t get elected dog catcher if his life depended on it. But Adrain’s ego won’t let him stay out of the news, so now he’s forming a super pac funded by East Side elitists who, like him, are hell bent on blocking Cianci’s mayoral bid.

Enterovirus D68: A new, potentially dangerous virus has made its way into Rhode Island, as one adult has already caught the viral infection. Let’s make sure we take every precaution—ie., wash hands, avoid sharing drinks or dishes, and sterilize dishes properly—possible to stem the spread of his new disease.

Militarized Police Departments: Golocalprov.com’s Stephen Beale reports this week that federal Department of Defense grants are making Rhode Island’s police departments look like military units. Why does Rhode Island need to do such a thing when we already have a stellar National Guard?

RI Correctional Officer’s Union: The timing of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officer’s union endorsement of Republican Dawson Hodgson for Attorney General is rather curious. The union has supported Attorney General Peter Kilmartin for years up until this Spring, when Kilmartin had to prosecute the union president’s son for domestic charges. The whole thing seems petty.

ESPN: It was disappointing to see the juggernaut sports network suspend popular analyst Bill Simmons AKA The Sports Guy, for speaking the truth. Say what you want about Simmons, but his analysis that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lied about his handling of the domestic violence scandals in the league was spot on. ESPN should be an objective sports network, not a public relations firm for the major leagues.

Editor's Note: We have removed a Not Hot relative to Johnson & Wales.

 

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