Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - July 15, 2022

HOT

Bob Whitcomb's Take on Mail Carriers

From his Sunday column:

Postal Prince

We love our mail carriers, and especially Rob Lynch.

A lady came running down a street near us last Wednesday in a panic. She told my wife, who had been visiting a neighbor, that she had accidentally locked herself out of her first-floor apartment, with her two very young children inside. My wife called 911.

Meanwhile, the lady spotted the estimable Mr. Lynch, who was delivering stuff nearby, and told him about the emergency. He quickly wheeled over a garbage bin to stand on to reach the height of a window in the apartment, got it open and dove into the house, head and arms first,  and unlocked the door for the hugely relieved mother. My wife then canceled the 911 call, to forestall further drama on that narrow street, which isn’t much more than a lane.

Of course, mail carriers across America perform acts of kindness every day. They’re part of the glue that holds our country together.

HOT

North Providence Police Chief Alfredo Ruggiero Jr.

The 17-hour standoff in North Providence was handled with great care and patience.

North Providence's chief deserves credit.

HOT

Gilded Age

HBO’s “The Gilded Age” — which has been filmed in Newport — has received an Emmy nomination for “Production Design.” 

The production was touted for its latest recognition from the Rhode Island Film & Television Office on Tuesday. 

“Warm congratulations to Bob Shaw and his team for their well-deserved Emmy nomination for Production Design of HBO’s THE GILDED AGE,” said Steve Feinberg with the RI Film Office. “Bravo!  Bravo!”

You can see the list of this year's Emmy nominations in the link in the article. 

HOT

Gas Prices Are Down

Some good economic news.

Rhode Island’s average gas price is down 10 cents from last week ($4.81), averaging $4.71 per gallon, AAA announced on Monday.

Monday's price is 30 cents lower than a month ago ($5.01), and $1.68 higher than July 11, 2021 ($3.03). Rhode Island’s average gas price is 4 cents higher than the national average.

The decrease in the average for a gallon of gas occurred despite a slight rise in demand, likely due to robust July 4th holiday automobile travel, according to AAA, who forecasted that 42 million people would hit the roads for the holiday weekend, a new record.

“Usually, more people buying gas would lead to higher pump prices,” said Lloyd Albert, Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for AAA Northeast. “But the price for oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has fallen and is hovering around $100 a barrel. Less expensive oil usually means less expensive gas.” 

HOT

New Executive Director at State’s Arts Agency

Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) have announced Lynne McCormack of Cranston as Executive Director of RISCA.

“Throughout Lynne’s career, time and time again she has proven her passion and commitment to the arts and culture community in Providence, our state and nationally,” said McKee. “Under her leadership and with her experience, diligence, passion and consistency, our State’s Arts Council will continue to thrive and grow. On behalf of Rhode Island, I welcome Lynne to her new role.”

McCormack is a veteran arts, culture and community development leader having served as the National Program Director of Creative Placemaking for Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit community development financial institution that supports community development initiatives throughout the country.

Prior to joining LISC, McCormack was Director of Art, Culture + Tourism in the City of Providence, serving five mayors and taking charge of the city’s first comprehensive cultural plan in 2009. During her tenure with Providence, she forged partnerships throughout government that resulted in a summer youth workforce development program; planning and zoning policy changes and increased funding for artists; designers and organizations through CDBG, HUD, transit and economic development funds.

“I am thrilled to return to service to Rhode Island’s arts and culture community. I recognize the incredible work that the staff of RISCA has done throughout the pandemic, and it will be a pleasure to work alongside such a wonderful team. I am grateful to the Council and search committee for the community engaged and thoughtful process, which they used during the search,” said McCormack. “Rhode Island’s arts community is among the most diverse and connected in the nation. I am looking forward to serving Rhode Island in this leadership position.”

HOT

Will Morgan's Big Idea for More Providence Housing

By nearly all estimates RI needs 25,000 housing units.

GoLocal's architectural critic Will Morgan has a big idea to bengin to address the issue:

The housing crisis in Providence is not new, but it has reached a crisis point. But what better time to ask how the City of Providence will address the issue than an election year. It is time to be worthy of the Creative Capital moniker by underwriting affordable shelter for our citizens, gathering market forces, government muscle, and responsible design into smart, innovative, yet practical solutions. Let’s start with a commitment to new housing on North Main Street.

The 195 Commission has clearly demonstrated how not to develop an innovation district, much less provide real-life housing. The Fane Tower is not the answer to affordable housing, nor are luxury apartments, not to mention the proliferation of student tenements masquerading as responsible real estate development. The affluent aside, Providence needs workforce housing. Rhode Island has earmarked $250 million from the American Rescue Plan for housing, but with the median price for a single-family home here at more than $400,000, one wonders how far the $30 million allocated for down payment assistance will go. It is time for a bolder approach than subsidies. Why not designate a targeted new housing zone with achievable goals that could be a template for the rest of the city?

The logical place for the city’s new housing makeover is North Main Street, the slightly more than a mile section from Cypress Street to the Pawtucket Line, from KFC to Gregg’s. Here is a neglected edge area that is screaming for development, and while admittedly down at the heels, it is close to downtown and to the rest of the fabled East Side. Mostly, it is near a lot of businesses and institutions–hospitals, medical offices, colleges, state government–that are staffed by the very worker bees who would like to live where the rents or mortgages were not prohibitive, and close to their jobs.

READ MORE HERE

NOT

Value of Providence Pension Fund

Providence pension fund documents secured by GoLocalProv show the embattled retirement fund has lost nearly a quarter of its value from July 1, 2021, thru June 16, 2022 this fiscal year.

The final numbers won't be known until later this month.

This is devastating news for city workers, retirees, and taxpayers.

As of July 1, 2021 -- the start of the fiscal year --  the balance of the Providence pension fund was $410,173,908 — and the pension fund, even at that level, was underfunded by more than 70%.

But in the past 11-and-a-half months, the pension fund balance has decreased by more than 23% and fallen by more than $94 million in value, according to City of Providence documents.

Now, according to pension fund documents, the value of the fund has fallen to $315,775,033.

READ MORE

NOT

Police in Uvalde, Texas

The recently released video unveiling the lack of actions by the Uvalde police department is horrifying.

The lack of action and pathetic response destroys the myth that all you need to defeat a bad guy is a good guy with a gun.

NOT

The Raimondo Legacy

In 2015 — the last year of then-Governor Lincoln Chafee, Rhode Island received high rankings in two categories — quality of life (#12) and education (#13), but overall Rhode Island was only trailed by West Virginia and Hawaii.

According to CNBC, Gina Raimondo in her last year, Rhode Island received the following grades:

Workforce D+

Infrastructure F

Cost of Business D-

Economy D-

Life, Health & Inclusion C+

Tech & Innovation D+

Business Friendliness D

Access to Capital C-

Cost of Living F

More on the missed opportunities here.