Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - January 17, 2025

HOT

Brave Fight and Great Staff - One Man’s Story About Fighting Cancer at One of Rhode Island’s Bankrupt Hospitals

While much of the news about Roger Williams Hospital’s parent company has been about bankruptcy, deficits, and allegations of financial impropriety, the other story is about the role the hospital plays in treating thousands —  and especially cancer patients.

Roger Williams means life or death.

One Rhode Islander wanted to make sure people knew about what he says has been the tremendous care he has been receiving at the hospital for more than six years as he has been battling cancer.

W. Taylor Horridge spent his career as a cabinet maker, and one day, he went to check on his hip pain.

It wasn’t a hip injury.

“I thought there was something wrong with my hip. And I said, well, this happens to older people and everything like that. So, I need to get in and take a look at it," said Horridge.

"And so I said, I'm going to need a doctor. So, I went to Roger Williams' residence clinic. And I really did get great care there, because I actually had two doctors. So they said, well, we'll need to get a CAT scan. We'll see if you hit this bad or whatever. Well, I came to find out it wasn't my hip," said Horridge.

"It was my kidney. The kidney had, I guess, cancer eating it alive, and so it was there. And they had called me up one Saturday morning, the resident that I had. She calls me up on a, and she says, if it explodes, there's nothing we're gonna be able to do for you. You'll probably die from that, so get in the hospital. So I went in, and they took that kidney out," Horridge said.

"And, so I guess in that time period, the cancer had spread; it had gone on to go to my bladder. My lymph nodes. So I've been dealing with that ever since," he added.

READ MORE

HOT

Integrity

In an interview with 60 Minutes, outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray said the following:

"Our job as investigators at the FBI is to follow the facts wherever they lead no matter who likes it, and I add that last part because one of the things that I've seen over my seven and a half years as FBI director is that people often claim to be very interested in independence and objectivity until independence and objectivity lead to an outcome they don't like."
 

HOT

Preserve Rhode Island and Preservation Society of Newport County Complete Three Stone Wall Restorations Projects on Aquidneck Island

Kudos to Preserve Rhode Island and The Preservation Society of Newport County, who this week announced the completion of significant stone wall restoration projects at Miantonomi Park, the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and Glen Farm on Aquidneck Island.

These efforts, blending volunteer engagement and professional masonry, have revitalized key historic features.

The groups said:

The restoration projects are part of the broader Aquidneck Stone Wall Initiative, a collaborative effort  to protect and enhance Aquidneck Island’s scenic quality by preserving its historic stone walls. Aquidneck Island’s stone walls serve as visible reminders of the island’s agricultural history and contribute to its unique sense of place. Aquidneck Island’s historic landscapes, increasingly fragmented and threatened by development, benefit greatly from such initiatives.

By repairing stone walls at beloved and well-used public open spaces and parks, the initiative seeks to mend the landscape and preserve the island’s historic and scenic character.

- At Miantonomi Park, the restoration of a prominent stone wall along Girard Avenue enhances the entrance to one of Newport’s vital green spaces, contributing to the park’s historical and visual appeal. The restored wall now stands as a testament to the community’s commitment to preserving its shared heritage.

- The Norman Bird Sanctuary has seen over three years of dedicated work by volunteers and professionals, resulting in the restoration of approximately 1,000 feet of stone walls. This includes the main entryway wall and stretches along Third Beach Road. These efforts have transformed the sanctuary’s landscape, reinforcing its legacy as a hub for nature and education while significantly improving its scenic character.

- At Glen Farm in Portsmouth, identified in a 2017 survey as a priority site for restoration, the historic walls flanking Linden Lane were meticulously repaired over four volunteer seasons. With over 800 feet of walls restored, this project has preserved the park’s scenic entrance and strengthened a sense of community stewardship. Extensive work along Linden Lane has enhanced the park’s overall historic and aesthetic value, providing a warm welcome to all visitors.

Congrats to the pros and the volunteers.
 

HOT

This RI Native Is Second Most Winning Women’s College Basketball Coach

Kevin Stacom's great column about one of the greatest:

Native Rhode Islander and URI graduate Andy Yosinoff has been nominated for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for the second time. 

Typically, when you hear someone’s name that is nominated for a Hall of Fame induction in any major sport, there’s a good chance that there is some "fame" associated with that particular name being nominated. Not so much with Andy Yosinoff.              

A little background.                

Andy grew up in Pawtucket and attended Pawtucket West High School, where he graduated in 1966. Although he played on the basketball team, his main love and best sport was tennis. He was proficient enough at tennis, and after leading his high school team to the State Finals in 1966, he received a tennis scholarship from the University of Rhode Island. There, his athletic success continued as he anchored the only undefeated URI Tennis team in their history in 1970. After his team won the Yankee Conference Championship that year, all further NCAA competition was suspended due to all the societal demonstrations and upheaval due to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War.       

While at URI, Yosinoff received his degree in Physical Education, interning at Narragansett Middle School and the Ladd School, which operated until 1993 as a place specializing in the care of people with disabilities. After graduating from URI, Yosinoff went to the University of Miami, Ohio, where he earned a Master's in Education.  

I should also mention at this point as a portend to the future that Yosinoff mentioned that he acquired his initial basketball coaching experience coaching the Phi Mu Delta intramural team - he must have had some ringers since he relayed to me that they went undefeated all three years he coached them.           

In 1973, Yosinoff embarked on his long career in public education in the City of Boston, where he taught Physical Ed for 10 years in a number of inner-city middle and high schools before landing in the more demanding, specialized field of Adaptive Physical Education for the most challenged segment of high school students, those with disabilities. He stayed in that part of Boston’s school department from 1982 until 2008. 

Along the way, in 1977, Andy responded to a notice put out by Emmanuel College, which was in the process of fielding interviews for a tennis coaching vacancy. He showed up for the interview only to be told by the Athletic Director that I’m sorry to tell you but we just hired someone for that position. He was just about to leave when something possessed him to ask, "Do you need a basketball coach?” The AD responded, “Well, yes.” That serendipitous meeting was the beginning of a very successful and long 48 years of coaching women’s college basketball.          

READ MORE

NOT

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass

The New York Times reports:

After the first rally in her campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 2021, Karen Bass spoke candidly about what she saw as a potential drawback to the job — a lack of world travel and involvement in global affairs.

Ms. Bass was accustomed to circling the globe as a Democratic member of Congress and of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and had spent decades working on U.S.-Africa relations. It was one of the most absorbing parts of her political career, she told The New York Times in an interview on Oct. 17, 2021, at her home in the Baldwin Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles.

“I went to Africa every couple of months, all the time,” she said, adding, “The idea of leaving that, especially the international work and the Africa work, I was like, ‘Mmm, I don’t think I want to do that.’”

She ultimately decided that she did, telling The Times that if she was elected mayor, “not only would I of course live here, but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be D.C., Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to L.A.”

That pledge has been spectacularly broken.

When a cascade of deadly and destructive wildfires erupted across the Los Angeles region on Tuesday, the mayor was on her way home from Ghana in West Africa, where she had attended the inauguration of a new president.

It was not her first trip abroad as mayor. A review of her public daily schedule for the past year shows that Ms. Bass has traveled out of the country at city expense at least four other times in recent months before the Ghana visit — once to Mexico for the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum and three times to France for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Her broken promise to cut off overseas travel and her busy international schedule since becoming mayor in December 2022 scarcely registered with the public before the wildfires, and Los Angeles voters accepted — and in some cases even welcomed — the mayor’s identity not just as a municipal leader but also as a Washington-style global player. Now, though, her decision to leave the country at a time when the National Weather Service was warning of “extreme fire weather conditions” has set off a political crisis for Ms. Bass.

NOT

McKee's Dismal State of the State

As a speech, it was incoherent.

Its presentation was dreadful. 

McKee's blocking of the public and journalists was abhorrent.

Maybe it is time for news organizations to ignore McKee's press conferences and speeches.

NOT

The Death of the Old Canteen

The last meals are scheduled to be served this weekend at the Old Canteen.

It is as painful a restaurant closing as has ever been recorded in Rhode Island.

NOT

East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva

Mayor, do you ever go out at night?

As GoLocal reported, the City of East Providence announced on Sunday afternoon that it was closing its “extreme weather”  shelter effective immediately.

“...will close our temporary extreme weather overnight warming shelter at the Robert E. Rock Senior Center tonight, Sunday, January 12, 2024,” said the city in a press release.

GoLocal asked why the shelter was being closed; Mayor Bob Silva’s spokesperson, Matthew Paddock, said, “The temporary extreme weather warming shelter, a pop-up shelter in our senior center, is closed for tonight and will reopen during periods of extreme cold temperatures.”

The National Weather Service forecasts that the overnight temperature in East Providence will be a low of 24 degrees.

GoLocal asked Paddock what the criteria is for closing the shelter, and what defines “extreme weather.”

Paddock said, "The City of East Providence is defining extreme temperature as 20 degrees or below over an extended period of time, which would prompt us to open the temporary extreme weather shelter. The city’s intention is to operate a temporary, popup extreme weather shelter in order to address the needs of our unhoused East Providence community. The temporary extreme temperature warming shelter has been staffed by both the City of East Providence employees and community volunteers."

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, "For homeless individuals, a dangerous temperature for hypothermia risk can be considered as low as the mid-40s Fahrenheit (around 4°C), especially when combined with wet conditions or inadequate clothing, as even temperatures above freezing can lead to hypothermia if someone is not properly protected from the cold."

Monday night's low is expected to be 24 degrees.

Temperatures are expected to be lower than 20 degrees on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, according to the National Weather Service. Wednesday's overnight low in East Providence is expected to be 14 degrees.