Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 6, 2023
Analysis
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 6, 2023
This week's list includes the Rhode Island Showmen, it's a man's world, and McCarthyism.
Now, we are expanding the list, the political perspectives, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
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Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 6, 2023
HOT
Providence's Coolest (and Most Underutilized Park)
GoLocal's architecture critic Will Morgan has a tremendous column on Providence's coolest park.
"What links a Soviet submarine, architect William Warner, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, electric streetcars, coal carrying sailboats, and unrivaled views of the upper end of Narragansett Bay? Providence boldly removed an interstate highway through downtown and created a large park space. But there is also a too-little-known greensward beneath the new highway. Collier Park’s identity is ironically gathered from the industrial hubbub of the working waterfront that downtown planners were seemingly trying to forget."
HOT
Providence College, Cooley and Hopkins
The #4 ranked UConn Huskies came into Providence and got spanked by the unranked but red-hot PC Friars.
Ed Cooley, who was last year's national Naismith coach of the year, is making another big statement this year.
And star sophomore Bryce Hopkins, a transfer from Kentucky, is one of the leading players in the Big East.
HOT
Governor Dan "Mandate" McKee
Governor Dan McKee begins to govern with a mandate. Will he use it?
McKee won with more votes than any other governor in 30 years.
Dan McKee: 207,166 votes in 2022
Gina Raimondo: 198,122 in 2018
Gina Raimondo: 131,899 in 2014
Lincoln Chafee: 123,571 in 2010
Don Carcieri: 189,666 in 2006
Don Carcieri: 181,327 in 2002
Lincoln Almond: 156,180 in 1998
Lincoln Almond: 171,194 in 1994
HOT
Rhode Island’s Men of the Year: The Showmen
Lynn Singleton, Josh Short and Tony Estrella are the three men who are the embodiment of the saying, “the show must go on.”
Maybe no industry has felt the long-term impacts of the pandemic more than the theatre industry.
Theatres across the globe have been devastated. New York’s Broadway has been economically pounded. Some of the best-known and most successful plays have been forced to close.
AM New York reported that according to data compiled by Playbill, in the months leading up to the announcement of the closing of “Phantom of the Opera,” it was frequently filling less than 80% of the seats in the 1,600-person house. “The show wasn’t earning enough money to offset the costs of operations — and many in the local theater community saw it as a bad omen,” said the report.
Rhode Island has been a hub of regional theatre. Trinity Rep won the Tony Award in 1981.
But the pandemic has been punishing the theatre industry and has generated long-term impacts.
These three showmen worked tirelessly to overcome the challenges and to innovate non-stop to sustain their respective theatre companies.
HOT
A Bright Spot for Women
One company that has embraced women in leadership is Navigant Credit Union.
The top two positions are held by women -- Kathleen C. Orovitz, President/CEO and Lisa Dandeneau, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Women in top positions in Rhode Island are becoming rarer and rarer -- see NOT HOT below.
HOT
Emerging Star
GoLocal's art contributor Michael Rose has a wonderful column about one of the emerging stars in Rhode Island.
"The COVID era has impacted many local creatives. For emerging artist Fior De La Cruz, changes brought on by the pandemic meant a shift in career path and a renewed focus on art-making. In her active studio at Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket, De La Cruz creates with a style entirely her own. On a recent studio visit, the artist’s passion for creating and sharing was on full display.
In a short space of time, De La Cruz has established herself as a collegial and community-focused artist who seeks to make connections between peers and introduce more people to the joy of making art. Raised in Cranston, De La Cruz had an interest in visual art from an early age and in high school participated in a Congressional Art Competition. She went on to study Fashion Merchandising at Johnson and Wales, where she graduated in 2019. Early in her career, the pandemic hit and she was forced to shift her focus from an industry job. She chose to pursue her passion for painting and has exhibited her work in exhibitions and festivals throughout the area."
NOT
Men, Men, Men
In Rhode Island, there were major opportunities for women to achieve top leadership positions in government, business, and non-profits in 2022. It simply did not happen. GoLocal selected RI's Woman of the Year...The Old Boy Network.
Women lost ground at the top level.
2022 was a male wave.
PHOTO: Unsplash
NOT
Kevin McCarthy
The Republican leader of the House has failed 11 times to garner the support of enough of his own party to secure the Speakership.
It is a political trainwreck.
