Robert Whitcomb's Digital Diary: Shrinking New England, TF Green Spark & Banking with Trump
Robert Whitcomb, Columnist
Robert Whitcomb's Digital Diary: Shrinking New England, TF Green Spark & Banking with Trump
‘’New Year’s Day… is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.”
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— Mark Twain
"To argue with a man who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead."
Thomas Jefferson, letter to the Danbury Baptists (1802)
“The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by the force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most adeptly disperse the notions that his mind is a virtual vacuum.
“The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.
-- H.L. Mencken, in The Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920
Democratic republics are doomed by the inevitable decay and corruption of civic culture. For a while, enough of the electorate is willing to learn real facts, study the issues, reflect on the lessons of history and bestir themselves enough to take a few minutes to vote to usually prevent deeply corrupt and incompetent people from achieving high office.
But as time goes by, a growing proportion of the citizenry loses its civic enthusiasm as the education system ceases to teach them how their political and governmental institutions work and to remind them how precious and fragile those institutions are. Meanwhile, society’s leaders become increasingly corrupted by self-interest, usually economic, and expend most of their political energies on strengthening the (mostly hereditary) plutocracy that nurtures them. (Read The Sunday New York Times’s wedding section for the zoology of the plutocracy.)
The rise of the bread-and-circus-and-cute-kitten machines of the Internet and cable television accelerates this decline, encouraging citizens to stay within self-referential and escapist echo chambers where lie-based but comfortingly simple and engaging stories are told by employees of the powerful and facts are treated as irritating distractions.
Most people have always preferred well-told stories, including ones based on lies, over facts and reason anyway. And now the electronic media give them such tailored stories 24/7.
To think that most citizens operate on the basis of reason, as opposed to wishful thinking and fear and other visceral emotions, is naïve. And they want a leader who can convince them that he/she will take care of them and make all the hard decisions in the public square for them.
For a while – and the U.S. has had quite a run -- the ruling class in an officially democratic republic is proud to be considered relatively thoughtful, selfless and civic-minded. But corrupted by addiction to money and power, the proportion of such people in our leadership groups inevitably declines. The rise of the 24/7 electronic media demagoguery machine accelerates this by intentionally distributing falsehoods, devaluing public probity and sowing confusion. As bad money drives out good, so bad (fraudulent) information tends to drive out accurate information.
In the end, democracies end and dictatorships return; the latter is the natural default. Nothing lasts. You can see this around the world now, where frustrated citizens in democracies are increasingly looking to tough men to address their nations’ problems, if need be with extra-legal means.
The conservative columnist George Will wrote during the election campaign:
“The beginning of conservative wisdom is recognition that there is an end to everything: Nothing lasts. If Trump wins, the GOP ends as a vehicle for conservatism.’’
“Pessimism need not breed fatalism or passivity. It can define an agenda of regeneration, but only by being clear-eyed about the extent of {civic} degeneration, which a charlatan's successful selling of his fabulousness exemplifies.’’
For an exciting example of one aspect of our new civic life on the Internet, take a look at http://www.dailystormer.com/
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And it’s hard to argue that the world needs more people! Indeed, the swelling human population is destroying the planet’s eco-system at an accelerating rate. One of the nice things about New England is that it has less of the new sprawl and mess of the rapidly growing South, most of which remains the poorest part of the country and whose sparse social services are heavily subsidized by the richer, better run and more humane Northeast.
Rhode Island, for its part, is likely to lose a congressional seat because of its sluggish population growth. That’s just as well. The state would be better off merged with Massachusetts anyway.
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In a related matter: To address what is seen as a manpower deficit in some parts of New England, there are efforts to bring in more immigrants from abroad. One example: Rutland, Vt., where Syrian refugees are encouraged to move to.
This gets to the issue of whether to invite Muslim immigrants in large numbers to America.
I would urge caution. Look at the Muslim world and you see that just about all of it is brutally and corruptly governed. A key reason is Islam itself, in which an individual’s free will is respected less than in the West and other religions are persecuted. There’s a fatalistic “if God is willing’’ attitude that encourages a supine subservience to corrupt dictatorships, be they monarchical or just thugs who install themselves in power by nefarious means.
Indeed, Islam and Western ideas of democracy do not mesh very well. If devout Muslims remain only a small part of the population in Western nations, no big deal. But large numbers could jeopardize our already decayed democracy. Western democracies require broad respect for free will, reason, tolerance of opposing views and fact-based knowledge to work.
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Second, there are two state contracts totaling $194,500 to see what sort of changes can be made to the Ocean State’s tax structure to lure more business and to work with national survey companies that do rankings on business climate to evaluate how the Ocean State can improve its rankings. I am always dubious about such national rankings (‘’best colleges,’’ ‘’best cities’’, etc., etc.) because they usually compare apples and oranges and thus are almost always misleading. Still, people make decisions based on them, no matter how unfair they might be.
Here’s an example of how stupid many rankings can be:
The Milken Institute Best-Performing Cities Index has cut Worcester’s national ranking to 79th in 2016 from 37th in 2015. In only one year! The index purports to rank U.S. metro areas on how well they are creating and keeping jobs and promoting economic growth in general. But given the almost infinite number of variables involved in measuring the progress of a metro area, such yearly rankings are basically ridiculous. They are, however, quite profitable for the ranking organizations’ employees.
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Thank God for scallops. These shellfish have been a boon for New England fishermen– a nice offset to the tendency of fishermen to fish to near-extinction finfish, such as as cod, off New England to meet the world’s rapidly growing appetite.
By the way, experts in a facility on the campus of the University of Rhode Island School of Oceanography are raising yellowfin tuna in an exciting and potentially very lucrative aquaculture experiment. I recently had a tour of the URI Bay Campus facility, with a giant tank, where this is taking place. To see the tuna school in the tank is, well, neat.
If this experiment works, it could mean a lot of money for URI and for businesses, based, let us hope, in New England. Most of the aquaculture around here has been with shellfish. It’s nice to see more diversification.
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Of course, all this has been enabled by GOP and Democratic presidents and big U.S. companies’ executive suites. But then, big business and the White House are always closely linked. This may well be even more so in the Trump administration, going by the people slated for the Cabinet and other key jobs. What’s bad for U.S. factory workers is often very good for their companies’ C-Suites.
Will Mr. Navarro be permitted to keep up this rhetoric when in public office? Will President-elect Trump, who prides himself on having world-historical deal-making skills, be able to negotiate better deals with these very tough customers?
A cousin of mine, now a retired banker, negotiated with Mr. Trump in the ‘80s when the latter was trying to get a big loan from the Philadelphia bank where my cousin then worked. My cousin told me that The Donald was a hell of a salesman --- full of charm and self-confidence – although the bank didn’t in the end extend the developer the big loan he wanted. Whether those qualities will work with the Chinese is debatable.
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The battles continue in Connecticut over the proposed route of a long-long overdue high-speed Northeast rail line that would go near the Nutmeg State’s coastline. Many of the complainants are affluent and influential and thus in stronger positions than most people to thrown spanners in the works of progress. Remember how billionaire Bill Koch almost singlehandedly stopped the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound – a project that would have provided clean energy for much of southeastern Massachusetts?
Faster Northeast Corridor trains would take many more people off the adjoining region’s very congested roads, reduce the need to widen or build new highways (highways are much wider than rail lines), reduce air pollution and in so doing improve southern New England’s environment as well as make its business more competitive. The big question will be, as so often in such delayed public works, whether a small number of powerful people will defeat the broad public interest.
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2017 should be exciting, perhaps too exciting for some people.
17 to Watch in 2017 in Rhode Island
Molly O’Brien: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
O'Brien, who may be Rhode Island's most-liked TV broadcast journalist, is poised for some big moves in 2017.
She was most recently at WJAR Channel 10, where she was the incredibly popular traffic, technology, and social media reporter. Chances are, you checked in and got a traffic report from O’Brien more than once.
The television newswoman, who got her degree in broadcast journalism (Summa Cum Laude) from Arizona State University, got start as a weather and anchor traffic at KVEW in Washington, followed by work as a morning show host and general assignment reporter for KBMT in Texas, before landing in Rhode Island in 2012, where she got “Best Traffic Reporter” in RI Monthly in 2012 and “Best Morning Personality” in 2014.
O’Brien’s work as an animal rescue advocate has won over even more fans, if that’s at all possible. She’s one of the hardest-working, best-liked media personalities in the market. And 2017 could be her biggest year yet.
Zach Darrow: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
For someone who’s been in the game for a while (he was a GoLocal PowerPlayer back in 2011), Darrow’s taking his work as Chairman of the law firm DarrowEverett to a whole other level.
He has the owners of the Superman Building as a government relations client, who upped their game in 2016 by rebranding their effort to develop the historic structure, partnering with the Providence Preservation Society to offer tours, and positioning themselves to attract tenants and make the building viable once again.
He is spearheading Waldorf Capital Management’s 195 play, “Chestnut Commons” — a 116,000 square foot retail and residential development that just saw the land sale approved by the 195 Commission for its proposed location on parcel 30.
Lara Salamano: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
This time last year, the RI Commerce Corporation had just announced Betsy Wall had been named the agency’s new chief marketing officer, and the state was due to unveil its much anticipated, $5 million tourism rebranding effort.
Fast forward twelve months, Wall was fired, and the state is still regrouping after a tourism campaign in chaos, having just issued in November a RFP for new business and tourism advertising agencies that was due on December 12.
Now, the urgency — and expectations — rest in part with Salamano, who the state brought on in June to be the new chief marketing officer. The Rhode Island native and URI grad honed her expertise as a marketing exec in the entertainment industry in New York.
Jocelyn Kelly: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
The United Way of Rhode Island is one of the state’s leading nonprofits for engaging young professionals — and at a time when the state is trying to retain and attract talented millennials, UWRI plays an important role in connecting them with different communities around the state.
Kelly, the current Chair of the UWRI’s Young Leaders Circle, is the Assistant Vice President, State Government Relations Manager at Citizens Bank, after having served as a government relations specialist following political work for then-Secretary of State Ralph Mollis. On UWRI's website she writes:
We come together to volunteer on projects and try to make a difference. Whether that’s providing eleven children with scholarships to attend summer learning programs or providing six families with emergency funds to keep them from losing their homes last winter, we’re making incremental differences that help our fellow Rhode Islanders.
John Florez: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
This past year in Newport, he proposed the municipal ordinance that had been introduced in Providence by former Mayor Joseph Paolino to prohibit distribution of goods or services between pedestrians and occupants of vehicles — which would not just take into account panhandling, but groups looking to raise money such as Pop Warner teams or firefighters.
“It’s a distraction for a motorist behind the wheel to be approached by someone soliciting for money or services, and it isn’t safe for anyone to be standing on a median strip or stepping off a sidewalk to approach motorists,” Florez stated. “This is a common sense and practical solution to practices that compromise the public safety of our city’s residents and visitors alike.”
Florez, who has backed body cameras for the Newport Police Department, a ban on single-use plastic bags, is calling for the creation of a PILOT program to reach agreements with the city’s nonprofits to make some form of payment in lieu of taxes.
Vin Mesolella: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
There are many reasons why Rhode Island was able to keep 3,000 jobs in Rhode Island and build a new-mega facility for Citizens Bank in Johnston, but according to Citizens Banks’ top official overseeing the project it would not have happened if Narragansett Bay Commission’s Chairman Vin Mesolella had not already developed expansion plans and engineering in the area and been able to implement a water and sewer plan immediately.
“When we looked at the final site (in Johnston), we thought there was no easily available water and sewer — it was looking like it would have been impossible to develop,” said Mike Knipper, Head of Property and Executive Vice President for Citizens.
George Zainyeh: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
George Zainyeh may be one of the key players in the marijuana debate at the RI General Assembly in 2017.
Legislator, Chief of staff for Patrick Kennedy and Governor Lincoln Chafee, and now top lobbyist for many on the big healthcare issues, he is likely to be one of the top players in the discussion about legalization.
Ironically, Zainyeh's former boss Kennedy today chairs the Board of the nation's leading anti-legalization advocacy group.
This session marijuana will take up a substantial amount of oxygen.
With Massachusetts legalizing and Rhode Island facing a $100 million deficit, there is mounting pressure to pass peer legislation to the Commonwealth's.
Dave Paolo: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
He is back. In early 2016, Dave Paolo launched his G Media firm and just a few months later he has added more than 25 clients, made an acquisition, and landed a Fortune 50 client. It has been a pretty good year.
Just as media behavior is transforming, so are advertising and marketing agencies.
In April, GoLocal reported:
The company is Rhode Island’s first agency focused exclusively on experiential marketing and content development.
“The age of experiential marketing has matured. These events…combined with the correct social and online digital campaigns are an essential piece of every integrated marketing budget. Its not about driving a one dimensional purchase anymore, it's about building a long lasting relationship (with the consumer) for which you earn repeat purchase,” said Paolo in an interview with GoLocalProv.
The Silks: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
The group that’s dubbed itself the “mangy blues rock power trio” has been around, but a big 2016 could signal an even bigger 2017 for The Silks.
GoLocal music reviewer Ken Abrams talked them up when he featured their latest album “Turn Me On” in his ten local music must-buys this holiday season:
The Silks play pure rock and roll throughout New England and beyond. The Providence power trio includes guitarist Tyler-James Kelly, Jonas Parmelee on bass and drummer Sam Jodrey. Check out their latest release Turn Me On, straight ahead rock and roll that’s fresh and vintage at the same time.
In December, the Silks nabbed “Blues Artist of the Year” at the Boston Music Awards — you can catch them Friday night (December 30) at The Met in Pawtucket. Next month, they’ll be at the Narrows Center on January 28 with Matthew Stubs and the Antiguas in Fall River.
Ed Brady: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
He’s got a number of success stories under his belt — and he only seems to add to his track record of winning.
From two Thirsty Beavers, to Milk Money, Brady recently expanded his empire when he opened Drift at the newly re-done Hilton Garden Inn Hotel at India Point Park in Providence.
However, it’s the Cranston West graduate's involvement in the community that sets him apart, time and time again.
Colonel Ann Assumpico: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
Colonel Assumpico was appointed the 13th Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Rhode Island Department of Public Safety by Governor Raimondo on November 3, 2016 — she is the highest ranking female to serve in the Rhode Island State Police and the first female to lead a law enforcement agency in the State of Rhode Island.
Will Raimondo finally direct the State Police to release the interview notes from the 38 Studios investigation?
Regardless, all eyes will be on Assumpico, as she takes the helm for her first full calendar year. Following Assumpico’s appointment, GoLocal spoke with Lt. Charles P. Wilson, the Chair of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers:
"Number one, putting a female of any ethnicity in charge of the State Police will have a dynamic impact on the entire law enforcement structure in the state, and that's a good thing," said Wilson, who is a Rhode Island College graduate.
Bankruptcy: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
It’s not a person, place, or thing — but it’s very real possibility for the City of Providence.
2016 saw the city battling with the firefighters over the platoon shift change that Mayor Jorge Elorza implemented in 2015, and while both sides touted a new five year contract moving forward as a step in the right direction, the city’s internal auditor projected — multiple times — that the purported savings are off by the magnitude of millions (not to mention the underlying legal battle has not been resolved).
The topic of a potential bankruptcy has been broached in recent years — with Elorza continuously dismissing the prospect — but with critics of the city’s financial position repeatedly advocating for it.
Darryl Kosciak: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
As Providence and Rhode Island continue to look for ways to address the issue of homelessness, the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless has a new face at its helm in 2017.
Darryl Kosciak is replacing ten-year veteran Jim Ryczek as Executive Director at the end of 2016, after a national search. Kosciak, is originally from Hopedale, MA, had lived in Greensboro, North Carolina for the past twenty years, where he headed up the city’s Youth First Division for at-risk youth starting in 2002, before becoming the Executive Director for Partners Ending Homelessness (PEH) in 2010.
Georgia Hollister Isman: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
The State Director of the Working Families Party in Rhode Island came off of 2016 claiming big victories — and has not stopped working since.
“Over all we won 7 of 10 races we took on, including important defenses of Rep. Teresa Tanzi and Rep. Kathy Fogarty and winning Susan Donovan’s race in an open seat. This is an enormous record for our very first election cycle,” said Isman, following the election.
After Trump’s victory, a “Resist Hate RI” group emerged, headed in part by Isman, to be proactive in pushing a progressive, "anti-Trump" agenda — and calling on the state’s elected officials to do the same. The Facebook group has nearly 5,000 members, community forums regularly draw hundreds of Rhode Islanders, and Isman is spearheading efforts as 2017 gets underway.
Patricia Morgan: 17 to Watch for 2017 in RI
The Republican State Representative is no stranger to GoLocal’s year end lists — in 2015, she was tapped for earning the accolades of having made a difference that year for calling into question state contracts with the Rhode Island Convention Center — not to mention the necessity, or efficacy, of truck tolls.
Morgan, who was first elected to the General Assembly in 2010, takes on a new role in 2017, however, when she assumes the role of House Minority Leader. (Representative Brian Newberry had held the post since 2011).
Iftikhar Ahmad: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
This September, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation landed one of the most successful airport heads in America, when the Board of Directors announced that it signed Iftikhar Ahmad to lead T.F. Green Airport as the new president and CEO of the Corporation. Ahmad increased passenger growth by 36% at his previous post in New Orleans.
"We have completely turned around this airport and are now underway on a new $826 million north terminal project," Ahmad said in a news release at his departure, as reported by the Times-Picayune. "My goal was to work with the Aviation Board and staff to improve the physical assets of the airport and attract additional air service for the benefit of metro New Orleans and the Gulf South...I feel like I have accomplished that and look forward to new challenges in my career."
The District RI: 17 to Watch in 2017 in RI
The Jewelry District is abuzz with the potential for development to finally get underway on 195 land in 2017, but there is one new addition that’s already opened its doors and ready to go in the new year.
The site of the former popular South Street Cafe is now The District RI, and officially celebrated its grand opening on December 22 — and will be open daily at 11:30 AM (except Mondays).
The restaurant Facebook page has already amassed nearly 1,500 likes, and has averaged 4.9 starts (out of 5) from 48 reviews so far. The menu features burgers, pizza, salads, calamari, and more.
