Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - February 5, 2021

HOT

U. S. Senator Jack Reed 

Senator Reed is now Chairman Reed. Now in his fifth-term as a U.S. Senator, Reed gets the slot he has always wanted -- Chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee.

Previous chairs have included Andrew Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Strom Thurmond, John Tower, Sam Nunn, and John McCain.

Let's see what Jack's got.

HOT

Matos and Smiley

It is the beginning of a long two years.

Providence City Council President Sabina Matos currently has the biggest war chest for the 2022 race for mayor of Providence, according to state finance reports. 

She loaned her campaign $100,000 in the last quarter, a clear signal she is looking to make a concerted run for Mayor in 2022.

However, it was former 2014 Mayoral hopeful Brett Smiley -- who went on to work for Mayor Jorge Elorza and then Governor Gina Raimondo -- who notched the biggest fundraising haul of the fourth quarter

Smiley, who started the quarter with no cash on hand, raised over $167,000 from individuals and $3,000 from PACs. 

Read more here. 

HOT

Jo Eva Gaines

Gaines' testimony in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday was epic. 

Senators Ryan Pearson and Sandra Cano wanted to chest pump and try to intimidate Gaines and chide her for expanding seats for poor children in Providence and Central Falls -- who are begging to get into high performing charters, rather than suffering in low performing public schools.

“That vote [for the expansion of charter schools] was born out of frustration. The lack of frustration in those schools Providence and Central falls in particular,” said Gaines.

She cited failed efforts to improve these urban schools going for more than 35 years. And while Providence and Central Falls schools get all the press - negative press -- Pawtucket schools perform equally poorly.

“There have been three generations of students since I first went on the board of education [in 1985] who had a hit or miss education and the reports indicate that the majority of those students had a missed opportunity,” said Gaines.

“We can’t continue on the path. We have to do better. The status quo will not improve anything,” added Gaines. 

HOT

Expansion of Pre-K

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) announced new federal funding to expand Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) in the 2021-2022 school year.

Presently, the state's Pre-K program provides free education to 1,848 four-year-old children in 16 Rhode Island communities.     

“Pre-K is an incredibly powerful tool for student success and Rhode Island continues to be a national leader in early learning and high-quality early childhood education,” said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green.

“The pandemic has set back our children’s learning and development, especially our youngest learners who are at a fragile developmental stage. We are grateful to our Federal Delegation for advocating for funding to support children during this difficult time and to Governor Raimondo for awarding these funds to RIDE to expand a program proven to increase equity in our education system,” she added.

HOT

Nellie Gorbea

Surprise, surprise. Nellie Gorbea beat out millionaire Seth Magaziner and Governor to be Dan McKee in the latest fundraising report.

Secretary of State Gorbea generated the most small donors in the fourth quarter of 2020. In total, Gorbea showed the largest number of donors -- nearly 350.

Some now whisper in a three-man, one-woman race, she could very well be the front runner in the Democratic race for governor in 2022.

4th Quarter Total: $103,422

Individuals $99,672 

Political Action Committees $ 3,750

Total Cash of Hand: $415,351.82

NOT

INVERSTIGATION: Controversial Chemical Used in Oil Spills, Banned in Many Countries, Can Be Used in Narragansett Bay

A chemical dispersant that is linked to making thousands of members of the Coast Guard as well as clean-up workers sick in the Gulf oil spill of 2010 is authorized to be used in Narragansett Bay.

The chemical dispersant called COREXIT is banned in nearly two dozen countries including the United Kingdom and Sweden.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster was the largest U.S. oil spill and second-largest overall oil spill in world history. COREXIT 9500 and 9527’s became a global controversy during the BP oil spill and cleanup in the Gulf Coast in 2010.

“The nearly 2,000 Coast Guard members who reported exposure to oil dispersants suffered a range of illnesses -- lung irritation, skin rash, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea -- at higher rates than members who were not exposed to the chemicals or were exposed to oil alone, according to research by the Uniformed Services University, a Maryland health sciences and medical school run by the federal government,” reported NOLA.com in 2018.

"With increased levels of exposure there was a higher prevalence of reporting cough and shortness of breath, and more reporting of wheeze than non-exposed people," said Jennifer Rusiecki, a USU researcher involved in two recent studies on the health of Coast Guard personnel who responded to the disaster. READ THE FULL STORY HERE

NOT

Dangers of Variants

Scientist and former pharmaceutical executive Nick Landekic's examination of the threats from variants of the coronavirus is chilling.

It is a MUST-READ

NOT

College Basketball in RI

Fatt Russell is hurt. David Duke had 6 points on Wednesday night. 

URI has lost its last two games.

PC has lost its last two games

Bryant has lost its last two games and is now in a shutdown due to COVID and won't play until February 17.

Dark days for RI college men's BB. 

NOT

Senator Sandra Cano

The Pawtucket Senator was crowing that she served on the Pawtucket School Committee. Now, she is the chair of the Senate Education Committee.

Pawtucket schools rank similarly poorly -- and in some cases below -- Providence schools, known as an "education horror show" by the Wall Street Journal. 

At Pawtucket’s Slater Middle School, only 6% of English Language Arts (ELA) students meet expectations in tests and 7% for math.

Less than 1% on each test exceed expectations.

At Pawtucket’s Joseph Jenks Middle School just 8% meet expectations for ELA and just 6% for math. Again, less than 1% of either test exceed expectations.

Cano is against providing parents with the opportunity to decide where to send their children to school.