Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 14, 2022

HOT

New Chamber Board Chair

John Houle, the President of JH Communications, is the new chair of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce.

John founded JH Communications in 2002 with the mission of offering small businesses access to high-quality, effective marketing and public relations services.  As a small business owner, John understands the importance of correctly identifying and marketing to consumers.

He has successfully managed numerous private and public sector campaigns, and presently represents over 50 clients across a wide spectrum of industries.

HOT

Dennis DeJesus

DeJesus, CEO of Special Olympics Rhode Island, announced this week he will retire with a target date of July 1, 2022.

“Choosing to retire is an exceedingly difficult decision to make, but I think now is the right time to step aside,” DeJesus said. “I’m honored to have been part of the Special Olympics movement and have been truly blessed in my life by all who have enriched it in so many ways.”

He has been a strong advocate for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities.

“Leading the organization for the past 12 years has been an incredible honor,” DeJesus continued. “I have been extremely fortunate to have had the privilege to work alongside the many talented and dedicated Board of Directors, staff, sponsors, coaches, volunteers and families that have contributed towards building the organization into what it is today. I am so proud of all that we have accomplished together.”

DeJesus shared that throughout the past 12 years, the driving motivation behind the joy of working in this position was the opportunity to meet and get to know the incredible athletes that Special Olympics serve. When the challenges of the job became a little too much, which it will do occasionally, the athletes are always there to lighten the load.

“I know that I can’t name everyone, but the opportunity to get to know so many of our athletes really helped me through the rough spots and kept me focused on the work that made a difference in their lives and so many more,” he said.

HOT

Warwick's Proposed Ice Rink

Providence, Woonsocket and Newport have done it.

Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi this week announced the city’s plan to build an outdoor ice skating rink on the land of the former Annex Building located behind City Hall.

“City Hall Plaza” will be an ice skating rink during the winter months, but, according to the city, "so much more."

Warwick says it will be a year-round event center, featuring roller skating, a splash pad, pickleball, farmers markets, mo4vie nights, dances, concerts and the list goes on.

City Hall Plaza will be the "central gathering place for Warwick residents to come and enjoy themselves."

The city plans on funding this project with an existing 3.5 million, unused recreation bond, along with potential federal grants to revitalize the grounds.

This project has been a vision of Mayor Picozzi since he was sworn into office.

According to his office, he is confident it will "greatly enhance the quality of life in Warwick."

HOT

Brown Gets a New Dean

A Brown grad has returned -- as a dean.

Tejal Desai, an "accomplished biomedical engineer and academic leader" who earned a bachelor’s degree with Brown’s Class of 1994, has been appointed the next dean of Brown University’s School of Engineering.

According to Brown, she is "an expert in applying micro and nanoscale technologies to create new ways to deliver medicine to targeted sites in the human body.

Desai is a professor and a former longtime chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at the University of California San Francisco, and inaugural director of UCSF’s Health Innovations Via Engineering (HIVE) initiative.

She has held academic leadership positions at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Boston University and UCSF and has served in recent years as a member of Brown’s biomedical engineering advisory board.

NOT

Airbnb - Gang HQs

The repeating trend in Providence in the past year where known gang members rent an Airbnb and then have fights or shootings is not hot -- especially when the city appears to do little enforcement of its own short-term rental ordinance. 

In the latest case at 216 Brown Street:

1. The property is not registered with the city as having the required permit for short-term rentals. 

2. The city ordinance requires the property to be owner-occupied for short-term rentals. The owners live in Cranston. 

3. The property is listed as a single-family residence. There are two separate units with separate entrances at the house. 
 

NOT

Inflation

U.S. inflation in 2021 was the highest since 1982, with December consumer prices up 7% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The announcement is bad news for consumers who are de facto taking a 7% wage cut.

Rhode Island economists have warned that this spiraling inflation is outpacing wage increases and has a detrimental impact on middle-class Rhode Islanders.

“There’s still a lot of scarcity in the economy. Consumers and businesses are in great financial shape, and they’re willing to pay up for more goods, more services and more labor,” said Sarah House, director and senior economist at Wells Fargo in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, pointing to reasons for the “blistering pace of inflation.”

Auto and durable goods price increases drove much of the numbers.

The Federal Reserve announced last month that is it looking for three increases to the prime rate in 2022 in an effort to stem inflation.

The Fed announced on December 15, “The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.

With progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen. The sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have improved in recent months but continue to be affected by COVID-19.”

“Job gains have been solid in recent months, and the unemployment rate has declined substantially. Supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have continued to contribute to elevated levels of inflation. Overall financial conditions remain accommodative, in part reflecting policy measures to support the economy and the flow of credit to U.S. households and businesses, added the Fed.

December jobs numbers were a disappointment — the economy only added 199,000 jobs — economists were projecting 400,000 new jobs in December.

NOT

Another Diner Closes

JP Spoonem's in Cranston was always hot -- sadly, its closing is not for patrons and the community. 

The announcement by the beloved breakfast-and-lunch landmark marks the latest in shutterings of popular institutions in Rhode Island.

Owners Joe and Pat Mangione said the closure is due to retirement -- but as GoLocal wrote in December, "RI’s Family Restaurants Are Dying By the Day." 

The announcement marks the latest diner closure in Rhode Island, which saw Laura’s Pleasant View Diner in Smithfield and Kip's in Pawtucket close in 2021.

"When a diner closes for good, which the Beacon Diner in East Greenwich is doing, a bit of a community’s spirit dies too," wrote GoLocal columnist Robert Whitcomb of another closing in December. "Diners are little informal community centers."

NOT

Djokovic’s Lies

Australia has canceled Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time, just days before the World’s No. 1 men’s tennis player was scheduled to appear in the Australian Open.

According to the Wall Street Journal, "Immigration minister Alex Hawke said Friday he was acting in the public interest when he made the decision to cancel the visa held by Djokovic, whose fight with the Australian government over his entry thrust him to the center of the global debate over Covid-19 vaccine mandates. With cases in the country surging, Hawke said authorities were committed to protecting Australia’s borders."

“Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

At the end of the day Djokovic not only did not get vaccinated, but he also repeatedly lied to officials.