HOT

K. Joseph Shekarchi

The House Majority Leader from Warwick deserves credit for sponsoring a bill that would reduce the time it takes for developers to get certifications, decision-making, and recordings of decisions for major land development and major subdivision master and preliminary plans.

This is a common sense piece of legislation that will make it easier to do business in Rhode Island.

HOT

Bob Billington

The President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council made some valid points on GoLocal Live this week. Most astutely, Billington argues that the Pawtucket Red Sox ownership and the rest of Rhode Island’s leaders, Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, all need to sit down together around the same table and discuss a proposal that works for everyone.

That’s some real common sense that we could use more of in Rhode Island.

HOT

Erin Wilbur

The Assistant Director of the Primary Care Population Medicine Program at Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown has been named the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Nursing Education Center by the Rhode Island Postsecondary Education Commissioner’s office.

The Rhode Island Nursing Education Center is slated to open this summer, and Wilbur, given her experience and background, appears to be a good choice to lead the school.

HOT

Cervenka Green Ducharme Antonelli:

Jennifer Cervenka, Rachelle Green, Diana Ducharme, and Patricia Antonelli have come together to form a new law firm in the city of Providence, which contains all female partners. The firm will serve a wide variety of transactional, regulatory, and litigation needs across a vast spectrum for businesses and individuals.

Expect big things out of this new firm in the future as all the partners have impressive resumes.

HOT

PVDFest

This weekend should feature an entertaining and fun weekend for Rhode Islanders thanks to PVDFest. The event began on Thursday, June 1 and runs through Sunday, June 4.

PVDFest will feature over 800 artists, 15 stages, 30 food vendors, 11 local art organizations and much more.

HOT

Dylan Molloy

The superstar lacrosse player from Brown University was drafted number 1 overall in the Major League Lacrosse draft. Picked by Florida, he is the first Brown player to be picked in the first round.

Molloy exits Brown after becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer, with 318 points in his career.

HOT

Bitcoin

The price of the digital currency has been surging in the last month, rising by almost 100-percent. The cause for the increase is much-debated--some argue that institutional investors are acquiring it as reserves alongside gold and foreign currencies. In any event, the currency’s surge begs the question as to whether bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will continue to rise in popularity and therefore value.

NOT

Kim Keck:

Rhode Island’s dominant insurance company is crying poverty, claiming it needs to hike their business rates by upwards of 11 percent this year, in part to cover its costs associated with Obamacare.

So why is the company sponsoring Newport Polo, commonly referred to as a “sport of kings” and usually enjoyed by the ultra wealthy? At the least, that’s an insult to the struggling businesses and people who are going to have to be faced with these increasing costs and the Blue Cross Blue Shield RI CEO should know better.

To add insult to injury, Blue Cross also learned that they were the lowest ranked Blue Cross for quality in New England by J. D. Power. So not hot.

NOT

Nicholas Mattiello

The House Speaker has been talking a big game about eliminating the car tax ever since last October when he was entrenched in a very contentious reelection battle that he barely won. This week, Mattiello unveiled his plan to eliminate the tax, but it won’t be fully realized until 2023. That’s a long time off and I think lots of folks expected this to become a reality much sooner.

NOT

NAACP Providence Branch

Unfortunately, the local NAACP branch is currently plagued by infighting and dissention among its members, with certain members alleging inconsistencies of finances and even election rigging.

NAACP Providence Branch President Jim Vincent denies the allegations and argues that proper grievance procedures haven’t been followed.

Here’s hoping these issues get clarified and resolved quickly so that the branch can get back to focusing on eliminating racism in our society.  

NOT

Jeff Immelt

The CEO of General Electric is under pressure from shareholders, particularly activist investor Trian Fund Management, who have pushed the company to cut its costs by roughly $2 billion over the next couple of years. That could ultimately hurt Rhode Island, as the company may very well decide not to create the new jobs in Rhode Island that it has previously promised.

NOT

Police Department Transparency

The police department for the city of Providence has problems communicating with the press and has a pretty weak social media presence, according to a GoLocal report this week.

Let me be clear: the police department is staffed by a very brave and capable group of men and women who take great pride in keeping us safe. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t improve on its communication capabilities.

NOT

Kathy Griffin

The comedian has been fired by CNN after having been involved in a photoshoot where she held up a mannequin’s head that resembled President Donald Trump, which was covered in blood. Griffin later apologized. However, she should have known that such a joke was in extremely poor taste.