Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - June 6, 2025

HOT

RI to The Met

"Few Rhode Islanders can say that they have work in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, but interdisciplinary maker Kate Blacklock is one of them. A visionary artist with an impressive career, she will be the subject of a solo exhibition at The WaterFire Arts Center from June 5 - July 6,"  writes GoLocalProv Art Columnist Michael Rose this week.

"This show, titled Inside Out, is an ideal opportunity to learn more about one of the state’s most talented creative minds and to see a remarkable series of her recent paintings."

READ MORE

HOT

Rife Says RI International Airport is Hot

Matt Rife is a big-time name in stand-up - who just so happened to move to Rhode Island recently.

For the popular comedian who boasts nearly 10 million followers on Instagram alone, he said had a number of reasons for coming to the Ocean State. 

In a recent podcast, Rife told his interviewers that he now lives in Rhode Island, to which they responded, “Wow - why?”

And Rife rattled off his criteria - including taking a shot at California first. 

“This city’s dead, dude,” said Rife, with a photo of the famed Hollywood sign behind him. “There’s no energy.”

Why RI? Fly RI!

Rife then said moving to Rhode Island met the three things on his “checklist.” 

“I wanted land…I wanted to get what I was actually f—king paying for,” said Rife. 

His next requirement?

“[It] needed to have some kind of comedy scene, and Providence has a Comedy Connection out there, it’s a great club," said Rife. 

And the kicker, for Rife, is the ease of flying.

“It’s convenient for travel,” said Rife. “Providence is like my Burbank airport, and Boston’s my LAX.”

PHOTO: Jesse DuFault

HOT

The Nature Conservancy’s Remarkable New Acquisition

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced that it has acquired two properties in central Hopkinton, boosting the protection of a large wildlife habitat conservation area near the Rhode Island-Connecticut border.

Rhode Island has a remarkable history of protecting open space — in the 1960s, then-Governor John Chafee launched the Green Acres program.

The program led to the acquisition of lands like the Colt property in Bristol — now Colt State Park. The legacy continues across Rhode Island.

TNC purchased the first property for $370,000, adding 25 acres to the Canonchet Brook Preserve’s north side. The RI Department of Environmental Management (DEM) contributed a $185,000 Open Space Grant from the 2022 Green Bond in exchange for a conservation easement, which provides further legal protection for the land. TNC matched the state’s funds with support from the Bafflin Foundation, the Thomas and Dorothy Ginty Memorial Endowment Fund and the William P. Wharton Trust. second property, an 18-acre wooded parcel, was donated by St. John’s Church of Providence, following the subdivision and removal of two small lots with frontage on Stubtown Road.

Both properties are forested with a diverse mix of oaks, tulip poplars and other hardwoods, with exposed bedrock ledges and dense thickets of mountain laurel. They also contain small headwater streams that feed Canonchet Brook, an important tributary of the Wood-Pawcatuck National Wild and Scenic River.

PHOTO: The Nature Conservancy

HOT

Tanner Out

Liz Tanner has “resigned” as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Secretary.

Finally, Governor Dan McKee takes action.

Tanner left the agency after three years as Secretary, leaving a legacy of senior staff turnover and few results.

A GoLocalProv report published in February of 2024 unveiled the chaos:

In just the past 24 months, multiple top-tier executives have resigned, and in some top positions, the job has been turned over multiple times. The turnover correlates with the last two years of Dan McKee’s governorship. And, much of the exodus has occurred since Liz Tanner took over as Secretary of Commerce beginning in June of 2022.

During the McKee and Tanner period, the position of Commerce Corporation president has been a revolving door.

The President’s position at Commerce was held by Jesse Saglio for seven years, and then he resigned in February of 2022. Hilary Fagan took over as President, and then she resigned in December of 2022. Since then, Bill Ash has served as “acting” president.

Then, he left.

In April 2024, Jim Bennett was named to the President’s position by McKee, which has brought some stability.

Bennett is credited with bringing Organogenesis to Rhode Island — a biotech company with hundreds of new jobs.

Tanner and Hasbro and Other Failures

One area in which Tanner came under criticism was her lack of relationships with both small and major businesses. The announcement of Hasbro looking to relocate to Boston in 2024, caught the McKee administration flatfooted.

In January, Rhode Island was ranked the worst state in America to start a business.

Other projects that have stalled or failed under Tanner include the Fane Tower, the Superman Building, and Providence Place Mall, which has gone into receivership.

HOT

Kevin Stacom: The Clutch Gene

A must-read column by Kevin Stacom:

As all college basketball programs across the country, including our local favorites, begin to settle down to assess their newly acquired NIL pieces, and plan how to incorporate them with existing players remaining in the program along with whatever new recruits obtained from the newly graduated high school ranks, the NBA playoffs have taken center stage for basketball fans.       

The NBA playoffs are when the intensity and drama get ratcheted up as the stakes become higher with each ensuing game, and those players with that innate ability to shine in those moments come to the forefront.

After witnessing Tyrese Haliburton’s incredible game-tying, step-back jumper from the top of the key (which at first appeared it might have been a game-winning 3), culminating a 17-point comeback and sending game one of the Pacers-Knicks Eastern Conference Finals at MSG into overtime, it jarred an association and memory from long ago.

It was game 7 of the NBA Finals in 1969, Lakers vs. Celtics, which turned out to be Bill Russell’s 11th and final Championship. The LA Forum had the balloons already in place and set to descend when Don Nelson’s 17’ jumper hit the back of the rim and just like Haliburton’s went way up above the backboard before fortuitously falling through the hoop, giving Boston the cushion it needed to escape with a 108-106 win.

I texted Nellie’s son Donnie (who I worked for as a Dallas Mavericks scout when he was GM) after witnessing Haliburton’s shot, and he responded that he too was reminded of Nellie’s historic basket, seeing that shot go down in the manner that it did.

Watching such clutch performances in present time you can’t help but think what are the characteristics that comprise an individual player’s makeup that allow him to perform at such a high level in such key moments.

READ MORE

HOT

MA Is Hot - But RI Is Not

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is ranked as the best, having the best economy in the United States, according to a new report.

In contrast, Rhode Island ranks 33rd and has the second-worst economy in New England. Only Maine is ranked lower than RI—it is ranked 37th.

In order to determine America’s top economic performers, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from changes in GDP to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries.

"U.S. economic growth depends heavily on the performance of individual states. But some contribute more than others. California, for instance, has outranked Japan as the world’s fourth-largest economy in 2024, with a GDP of roughly $4.17 trillion. On the other hand, Vermont’s gross domestic product is around $45.7 billion, nearly 91 times smaller than California’s economic output," said WalletHub.

In order to determine which states are pulling the most weight even during this time of economic difficulty caused by inflation, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. Our data set ranges from GDP growth to startup activity to the share of jobs in high-tech industries.

Massachusetts' Strengths

Massachusetts has the best state economy, and it invests a lot more in both industry and academic R&D than most other states, which leads to big payoffs in economic growth. This has led to the state having the second-most invention patents per capita.

The Bay State has a lot of workers in industries that propel the economy forward, too. It has the highest share of jobs in high-tech industries and the third-highest share of STEM professionals.

In addition, Massachusetts has the highest percentage of firms that are listed on the Technology Fast 500 list.

“A strong state economy doesn’t guarantee success for the state’s residents, but it certainly makes financial success more attainable. Factors like a low unemployment rate and high average income help residents purchase property, pay down debt and save for the future. The best state economies also encourage growth by being friendly to new businesses and investing in new technology that will help the state deal with future challenges and become more efficient,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst.

HOT

Cool Innovation Working for RI's Children

Since October 2022 Family Service of Rhode Island and Tides Family Service have participated in a pilot funded by a federal grant to implement Mobile Response and Stabilization Service (MRSS).

This program responds to children and youth who are experiencing a mental health crisis and has been implemented statewide in other states such as New Jersey and Ohio with reportedly "great success."

Here is how it works:

Licensed clinicians and specialty-trained case managers respond in person to homes, schools, child care centers - (anywhere a child is in the community) - across the state within an hour and are available 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. These two child-serving organizations have responded to over 1,500 children with an astonishing 92% success rate of avoiding psychiatric hospitalization by supporting children and their families with research-designed, home-based, intensive mental health services. 

At a time when our state is experiencing a children’s mental health crisis, this program not only maximizes impact but minimizes cost. Ten days in a psychiatric hospital costs approximately $25,000, while families can receive an MRSS team response in their home with 30 days of home-based care for just $5,000. 

A little innovation goes a long way.

PHOTO: Jackie Hope, Unsplash
 

NOT

America’s Highest Paid CEOs With RI Connections

They are hot all the way to the bank, but the difference in income between more Rhode Islanders and these CEOs is obscene.

Most on the list don't even live in Rhode Island full-time. No sense in putting in a "millionaire tax" as most of these guys won't be touched. 

The Wall Street Journal released its annual list of the highest-paid CEOs of public corporations on Sunday.

“Overall, CEO pay set another record," the WSJ.com reported.

"Half the chief executives in The Wall Street Journal’s annual analysis made $17.1 million or more last year, up from $15.8 million for the same executives a year earlier, the analysis of pay data from MyLogIQ found,” WSJ continued.

Rhode Island in Focus

GoLocal broke down the list to those leading Rhode Island companies (or those who have substantial ties to Rhode Island).

Axon Enterprise CEO Rick Smith topped CEO pay in 2024 with $165 million, surpassing leaders of larger firms.

The company makes Tasers and police body camera systems.

READ MORE HERE.