Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - August 26, 2022

HOT

Cuervo Gets Big Endorsement

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza is not endorsing Brett Smiley for Mayor of Providence.

Smiley dropped out of the mayoral race nearly eight years ago when he first ran for the office to endorse Elorza — and quickly was appointed Chief Operating Officer for the city once Elorza was elected. 

Instead, Elorza declared on Wednesday that his preferred candidate in the 2022 race is Smiley's opponent, Gonzalo Cuervo. 

Smiley has been advertising that he is the candidate with the most experience due to his time with Elorza and former Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, but Elorza is not rewarding Smiley’s loyalty.  

“I sat down and I spoke with all [of the candidates]…I’ve got to admit, I felt good about the state of our city,” said Elorza, when asked by GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle if Smiley had asked for his endorsement. 

While Elorza refused to answer the question — he offered the following. 

“I felt that each one of [the candidates] has really, really important qualities. Gonzalo just really stands out…particularly for his broad perspective. Providence is such a different city from one neighborhood to the next…you’ve got to have that ability, and that capacity, quote-unquote, to speak different languages and connect with different people and Gonzalo is that person,” said Elorza. 

HOT

This May Be the Reason RI’s Housing Market Remains Strong

Despite higher interest rates, crushing inflation, and the threat of a recession, Rhode Island’s housing prices have continued to remain at a record level and continue to show dramatic year-over-year growth.

The secret may be the diversity of the property in the state. Rhode Island has little tract housing -- those rows and rows of repetitive homes that if the price dips on one, it has a domino effect on the others.

Instead, Rhode Island's most recent housing stock has included a historic lighthouse, a property built in the 1600s, and a collection of horse farms of 50 acres or larger. Those were just the homes that came on the market over the past week. Don't forget Rhode Island's most expensive property now on the market -- Sandcastle in Watch Hill with an asking price of $32.5 million and an amazing history.

Kim Marion, a top agent for Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International, joined GoLocal LIVE on Wednesday and discussed the variety of offerings may be one of the secrets to the success of the state's real estate market.

“It's a really interesting property, and super rare that you could buy a lighthouse and have your single-family home attached to that, and it is really right under the Mount Hope Bridge," said Marion of the lighthouse. "So it's an interesting view that you never see -- the architecture of the bridge is really interesting and then, of course, incredible water access."

“It's so unique and the opportunity to own a piece of history like that -- it's fascinating,” added Marion. 

Rhode Island continues to attract out-of-state buyers. More than 50% of the luxury homes are bought by transplants led by Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut buyers but are now including west coast residen

HOT

Mark Cutler's Super Effort

Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame inductee Mark Cutler has announced he is taking his innovative community songwriting workshops to college campuses for the 2022-23 academic year in a tour titled "Community Songwriting for Mental Health."

Developed with support from the National Museum of Mental Health Project (NMMHP) as a means of addressing the mental health challenges being faced by today’s college students, it is based on Cutler's "The Same Thing Project," which is one of the first organizations in the United States dedicated to community songwriting, which it defines as “discovering one’s voice, alongside others, to create words and music for shared experiences and emotions—everyone becomes a songwriter. No music experience required.”

With the goal of creating positive emotions on campus, the Community Songwriting for Mental Health College Tour is believed to be the first effort of its kind to focus on colleges.

"In any form, art speaks the unspoken. The Same Thing Project offers participants the opportunity to explore thoughts and feelings through words and music. This collaboration is a natural extension of the work of NMMHP," said NMMHP Board member Anne Walton.

HOT

A New Mexican Restaurant Has Opened in Providence

La Piñata, which also has a location on Main Street in Warren, has arrived at 1455 Westminster Street in the city. 

The restaurant documented getting its new location ready on Facebook, writing on August 3, “Hola Federal Hill-Armory — we are almost ready, amigos!”

On August 18, they announced they were open and “getting ready to make margaritas.” 

The restaurant’s menu features an expansive list of authentic Mexican cuisine, including nachos, burritos, chimichangas, tacos, salads, platters and more. 

The drink menu features a wide array of margaritas, special cocktails, and beer.

NOT

Ballard's 

Block Island has been known for its natural beauty and quiet serenity.

Ballard's has helped to transform the island and its reputation into a spring break party town.

Ballard's for the economic win.

Block Island notches the loss. 

NOT

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows

Nellie Gorbea's ad featuring a column written by anti-union, arch-conservative Mike Stenhouse published in the National Review is the ultimate in the school of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

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NOT

So Much for Loyalty

In 2014, Brett Smiley quit his campaign for mayor of Providence and threw his support behind then-candidate Jorge Elorza.

Now, nearly eight years later, Elorza is term-limited out and Smiley is running.

Does Elorza sit out the race? Nope.

Does Elorza endorse Smiley? Nope.

Does Elorza throw his support behind Smiley's chief opponent? Yup. 

With friends like Jorge, you don't certainly don't need enemies.

NOT

Naming Rights at Brown Go to Rich and Infamous

Brown University’s prized soon-to-open Performing Arts Center is named after the billionaire Lindemann family —  a family linked to one of Rhode Island’s worst cases of environmental contamination, the murder of a show horse, and most recently, a controversy tied to allegedly stolen art.

The late George Lindemann made his wealth in contact lenses, mobile phones, and the energy industry. It was the energy company that made news in Rhode Island and nationally. 

The most recent uproar is tied to Lindemann's daughter and her husband. 

Alleged Stolen Art

As The Art Newspaper reports, "A photoshoot of a $42M San Francisco mansion, dubbed the 'most beautiful house in America,' appears to have helped locate a number of ancient Khmer sculptures that the Cambodian government says match those looted years ago from one of the nation’s sacred sites."

The owners of the property are the glamour couple lawyer Sloan Lindemann Barnett, the daughter of George Lindemann, and her husband, Roger Barnett. She is a graduate of Brown.

The controversy all started with the bragger piece for Architectural Digest.

"One of the shots included in the Architectural Digest spread in January 2021 shows a two-story central courtyard populated by towering palms and, on one side, several empty plinths. However, it appeared the photograph had been doctored after reporters for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) discovered another version of the image online, which shows several stone artifacts of demon and god heads standing on the same plinths," adds the publication.

"According to the ICIJ, experts confirmed that the sculptures had indeed been airbrushed from the magazine photograph, though it is not clear by whom and why. Erin Kaplan, a spokesperson for Architectural Digest, told the ICIJ that the magazine published the image without the relics because of 'unresolved publication rights around select artworks,'" it reports.

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NOT

Wrong Direction - RI Life Expectancy Drops 1.3 Years

The life expectancy of Rhode Islanders has dropped 1.3 years, according to the CDC data track from 2019 to 2020.

Presently, the life expectancy for a Rhode Islander is 78.2 years. But, there is a significant difference between men and women.

Men, on average, now live just 75.5 years, and women 80.9 years.

Rhode Island ranks #1 in the United States for COVID cases and test per capita and #21 for deaths per capita.

The life expectancy decline of Rhode Islanders is not the worst in the country by far — Rhode Island now ranks 13th in the United States for life expectancy.

“COVID-19 was the nation’s third-leading cause of death in 2020, behind heart disease and cancer, and was the underlying cause in about 351,000 deaths, the figures showed. Increases in mortality from unintentional injuries—which include drug overdoses—as well heart disease, homicide and diabetes also decreased life expectancy," reports the Wall Street Journal.

Rhode Island ranks behind four other New England states for life expectancy. 

Massachusetts ranks 5th in the United States at 79 years now — down 1.4 years.

New Hampshire is #6 at 79 years, down 0.4 years.

Vermont #7 at 78.8 years, down one year.

Connecticut #10 at 78.4 years, down 1.9 years

NOT

Peloton's Ride May Be Over

YIKES.

Peloton posted a $1.2 billion loss in the most recent quarter.

"The once-hot maker of connected fitness equipment said Thursday that its quarterly revenue fell nearly 30% and warned it would spend more cash than it brings in for several more months. Peloton lost $2.8 billion in the year ended June 30, compared with a $189 million loss in the prior year," reports the WSJ.