HOT

Aaron Regunberg and David Segal

Regunberg, a state representative from Providence’s East Side, and Segal, a former representative from Providence’s East Side, have circulated a petition that garnered over 100,00 signatures in favor of abolishing the “superdelegate” system from the process to nominate a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. Now, they’re taking the fight to the Democratic National Convention to try and abolish it. The system unfairly gives party leadership out-sized power over grassroots activists and discourages participation. Good for the two young Rhode Island Democrats for taking the initiative to try and eliminate the superdelegate system.

HOT

Steve Brown

The Director of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union deserves credit for speaking out against a new regulation enacted by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that limits ethics complaints by preventing Rhode Islanders from filing ethics complaints within 90 days of an election. As Brown points out, preventing people from filing complaints merely because some of them will be frivolous and politically motivated is unfair to the people with legitimate complaints. Let the public decide which complaints are frivolous. Good for Brown for speaking up.

HOT

Brett Smiley

The former kingmaker in the Providence Mayoral race from 2014 (he dropped out of the race and endorsed Elorza) who then served as the city’s Chief Operating Officer since Mayor Jorge Elorza’s inauguration has left the job to become Governor Gina Raimondo’s Chief of Staff. A well-spoken solid communicator in his own right, it will be interesting to see if Smiley can improve the communication and media relations in the Governor’s office.

HOT

Superman Building Tours

In an astute public relations move, the owners of the Superman Building announced a slate of dates in which members of the public could tour the massive building that dominates the Providence skyline. The tours quickly filled up, signaling significant interest in the building. It will be interesting to see if the tours engender goodwill from the public which translates into support for taxpayer subsidies to the building in the future.

HOT

Least Stereotypical

A study by Estately found that Rhode Island is the least “stereotypical” place in the United States. That means that we’re least like the stereotypical behaviors that foreigners view Americans as having—reality television watching, fast food eating, gun firing (you get the picture). Rhode Island still has the spirit of The Independent Man.

HOT

Magic Johnson

Earvin “Magic” Johnson released a cool promotional video this week for the August 8th Celebrity Classic softball game at McCoy Stadium, the proceeds from which will be donated to various Rhode Island Charities. In addition to Magic, Smokey Robinson, a legendary R&B singer, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, Cedric “The Entertainer”, comedian Chris Tucker, basketball legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving, and many other celebrities will attend. This is an event you shouldn’t miss.

NOT

Brandon Bell

I know how frustrating it is to live in a state that hasn’t lived up to its potential thanks to incompetent leadership, but there’s a time and place for everything. And the time to bemoan that fact isn’t on the floor of the Republican National Convention, at a time when party leaders from other states are bragging about the greatness of their home states. Yet Rhode Island Republican Party Chairman Brandon Bell tore down Little Rhody. “In our state we are constantly ranked near the bottom, recently ranked 50th worst in terms of our business friendly climate. Democratic leadership in our state has been rampant with corruption, lack of transparency, and unethical conduct…” It’s almost like talking about family members. It’s appropriate to criticize Rhode Island in front of other Rhode Islanders. But on a national stage, it doesn’t go over well.

NOT

Jorge Elorza

The Mayor of Providence lost one of his biggest assets when Brett Smiley left his job as Providence’s Chief Operating Officer to become the Governor’s Chief of Staff. The Mayor needs to fill that gap, and quickly, to bring much-needed direction and stability to his administration.

NOT

Ray Gallison

The FBI has seized just under $1 million from the former Chairman of the House Finance Committee, who stepped down earlier this year, in the midst of crafting the state budget, amidst unspecified legal problems. It’s still unclear what Gallison has done or will be charged with, but it appears as if the situation is very serious, and casts a very negative light on the leadership of the House of Representatives.

NOT

Melania Trump

The intelligent and talented wife of Republican nominee Donald Trump squandered an opportunity to endear herself to the American public after it was announced that her speech had lifted several lines, almost word for word, from the speech given by Michelle Obama in her Democratic Convention address from 2008. It was another unforced era by the Trump campaign, which has been plagued by missteps this summer.

PHOTO: Twitter

NOT

John DeSimone

Could the Rhode Island House Majority Leader be in more trouble than the Speaker? GoLocal points out this week that DeSimone “admitted this year to failing to pay his property taxes on time and owing the city more than $18,000”, and faces a spirited challenge from Marcia Ranglin-Vassell. It’s interesting to see the two top House leaders facing credible challenges.

NOT

Liberal Mainstream Media

Most of the major legacy media outlets, particularly the television networks (CNN, NBC) in reporting about the plagiarism from the Melania Trump speech failed to point out that President Barack Obama, when he was still a candidate, came under fire (less, I might add) for using lines from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick speeches without attribution, and also didn’t report that Vice President Joe Biden has been accused of plagiarism on multiple occasions.