Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - August 20, 2021

HOT

Clarissa Ward - Best Journalist in the World Right Now

Clarissa Ward's reporting from the streets of Kabul is some of the best ever produced.

Her reports provide insights into the chaos of the fall of the regime and stand in stark contrast to the claims of the Biden White House.

As bullets fly, she has had nerves of steel in continuing her interviews.

Where are the rest of the world's mega-media companies?

HOT

RI Arts Are Coming Back

From The Wilbury to PPAC and the Gamm -- many of Rhode Island's theaters and performance venues are coming back.

But, the big challenge is the non-vaccinated.

While masks will be required, it will be hard to enforce masks that come off during shows -- and do the vaccinated want to be sitting or standing next to the non-vaccinated for 2-3 hours?

It may be time to offer shows only to the vaccinated.

HOT

New Gallery -- Big Impact

GoLocal arts writer Michael Rose focused on an exhibition in Pawtucket this week. 

"In 2021, it is reassuring to note that Rhode Island remains a fertile place for visual artists to take root. One of the newest art organizations to call the state home is the Queer Art Collective (QAC). Conceptualized in December of 2020, QAC moved into the historic Pawtucket Armory in March and has quickly gained recognition for its mission to create a space for LGBTQ+ artists to share their work without being tokenized. In a state that prides itself on its art culture, young venues such as QAC merit the support necessary for them to thrive.

Taylor Davis, the organization’s founder, is a well-traveled art enthusiast and a recent transplant to Rhode Island. When asked what the response to QAC has been thus far, she has positive things to say, stating, 'The community of artists that I've been able to meet and work with since conception of this project has been one that's abundant with love and support. The Providence and Pawtucket arts communities have been nothing but kind and supportive and working with other local organizations is exactly what fuels my fire.'

Through October 5, QAC’s current exhibition, When the Colors Fade: A Queer Riot Against Corporate Pride, features a compelling collection of contemporary works in a range of media by artists Lauren Packard, Nicole MelNicky, T Taumanu, Joe Welch, Becka Shertzer, and Alice Walker. The show, presented in QAC’s high-ceiling space, includes pieces as varied as ceramics, multi-faceted works on canvas, and plaster casts. The artists represented in the exhibition live and work as far afield as Norway. The work on display does not come from one point of view, but is reflective of the unique experiences that each artist brings to the table."

HOT

McKee Flips for Public Health

Governor Dan McKee had refused to mandate masks in schools in Rhode Island despite the increasing number of cases and hospitalizations driven by the Delta variant.

Now, after political and public pressure, McKee flipped and there is nothing wrong to shift from a bad decision to a good decision that will protect human health and keep schools open.

HOT

Breeze Airways

Breeze Airways — the airline startup now flying at RI International Airport — has raised $200 million dollars in a Series B funding round.

The round was led by BlackRock and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC.

The airline was founded by David Neeleman, the founder of JetBlue and a number of other airlines. He said in a statement to Simple Flying:

“It’s always good to have a nice bank account, but I think, opportunistically, we can receive some really good deals out there on airplanes that we can purchase on the Embraer side– parts and spare engines and different things that can drive down our operating costs that can make us more profitable. It’s a good use of capital. And then, just kind of sending a signal to all our competitors that we’re here to say, We’ve got the lowest cost in the industry and got a great balance sheet and a great cash balance, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Breeze is currently flying to 16 US cities, operating 39 routes.

From RI International, Breeze flies directly to Charleston, SC; Norfolk, VA, and Pittsburgh, PA.

NOT

President Biden

One can argue about the goals announced by former President Donald Trump and continued by President Biden about removing all troops from Afghanistan.

The human and economic cost over 20 years has been crushing.

But, Biden owns the poorly planned exit strategy that left maybe as many as 15,000 Americans in harm's way and tens of thousands of Afghan partners in peril.

Worst of all has been Biden's defensiveness and dismissiveness about legitimate criticism.

This exit has been and continues to be a disaster.

NOT

Crime in Providence

This week Providence suffered through a rash of stabbings.

Over the weekend there were more shootings.

As GoLocal reported, a worker at Miriam Hospital was reportedly robbed -- in daylight -- on Tuesday. 

NOT

Additional Costs of Pandemic

Researchers have found that children born during the coronavirus pandemic have lower cognitive skills than those born before the pandemic -- because of reduced interactions during lockdowns.

Led by Brown University Associate Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Sean Deoni, the new study found the babies born since March 2020 had worse cognitive, verbal and motor skills than children who entered the world before coronavirus.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

“It’s a big deficit —  it’s shockingly large,” Deoni told GoLocal in an interview. “Compared to some of the work done at Harvard [looking at the cognitive skills of] Romanian orphans — we’re almost at that level.”

According to the longitudinal study — which has yet to be peer-reviewed — mean early cognitive skill levels for children aged three months to three years old dropped from around 100 in the decade before the pandemic to below 80 during it. 

NOT

Commissioner Ignoring Threats

Masking is a must for schools, but maybe more important is mandating vaccination for faculty and staff.

Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green refuses to call for all staff to be vaccinated -- a mistake that will cause more spread and more illness which could be avoided by a couple of 15-minute visits to the doctor or a CVS.

On Thursday, Oregon Governor Kate Brown ordered all teachers in the state to be vaccinated.