Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 25, 2022
Analysis
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 25, 2022
This week's list includes double Friar madness, making pasta -- not war, and Whitehouse's own rules.
Now, we are expanding the list, the political perspectives, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
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Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 25, 2022
HOT
Friar Madness Part I - The Team
No one is hotter than the Providence College Friars -- a squad with no superstars. No player made the Big East first team. No player expected to be an NBA draft pick.
Yet it was a record-setting year capped by winning the Big East regular season championship.
This year's team has been exactly what Rhode Island needed -- a feel-good team to rally around.
HOT
Friar Madness Part II - The Coach
PC head coach Ed Cooley has grown from far more than the local kid makes good.
Cooley is now legitimately the best coach in college basketball.
HOT
Brilliance
GoLocal's art writer Michael Rose has a wonderful profile on the amazingly talented Karen Harris:
Artists’ talents tend to find varied uses in their careers outside the studio. Few art-makers have leveraged their creative acumen on as many fronts as Karen Harris. She has held posts as art director and project manager in the graphic design field, she has created her own jewelry, she has served as a selection panelist, as an exhibition juror, and as a board member.
In all of her experiences, she has channeled her passion for art. As a working artist and an important community leader, Harris contributes to the local creative ecosystem in numerous ways.
“Make Pasta, Not War”
One Rhode Island small business — focused on making gluten-free pasta — wants to help feed those impacted by the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“Make Pasta, Not War” is the slogan of fundraising merchandise being produced by GF-Pasta, a growing Woonsocket-based specialty foods company.
“We’re donating 100% of the net profits to the World Central Kitchen — they’re actively operating on the ground at numerous border crossing locations,” said company founder Steven D’Andrea.
D’Andrea spoke with GoLocal about starting the company because he missed “really good pasta,” how it is now growing regionally — and nationally, and how it was his wife, Jess, who was the originator of the fundraiser.
HOT
17-Year-Old Star Emerging
Maddie Skeldon, a 17-year-old singer-songwriter from Burrillville, is releasing her second EP in the last fifteen months, featuring four original songs.
Skeldon is a junior at Beacon Charter High School for the Arts in Woonsocket. In her time at the school, she has written and performed a song used to honor the class of 2020 during their virtual commencement and composed and performed the entire score for Beacon’s 2021 production of “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen.
In 2021 and 2022, she was selected to the All-State Music Festival for Classical Guitar. After graduation next year, she plans to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
HOT
The Return of PVD Fest
City officials this week announced the details for 2022's PVDFest happening June 10-12.
This year’s festival marks the first time since 2019 that artists from city, state, and across the globe will meet in downtown Providence, coming together once again to celebrate the city’s artistic, cultural, and culinary communities.
Let's hope this year's event is safe for all.
NOT
Whitehouse Violated Conflict-of-Interest Law
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has violated a conflicts-of-interest law by disclosing two personal stock purchases past a federal deadline, according to financial records reviewed by Business Insider.
On January 28, Whitehouse purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of shares in both Target Corporation and Tesla Inc. Whitehouse's office acknowledged that the senator disclosed his trades on March 16 — after a federally mandated 45-day filing deadline.
Whitehouse serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works, which has jurisdiction over air pollution and environmental policy matters.
Whitehouses' office did not reply to a question about whether Whitehouse's investment in Tesla, which manufactures electric vehicles and solar panels, represents a conflict of interest.
Lawmakers who are late disclosing their stock trades — dozens have been tardy in recent months — face a $200 fine for an initial offense.
"The filing came two days late due to a staff transition in the office," Whitehouse spokesman Rich Davidson told Insider.
According to Insider and other news organizations, other members of the U.S. Senate have found in violation of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act's disclosure requirements include Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, Republican Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Republican Roger Marshall of Kansas, Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Republican Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
NOT
Convention Center Authority
Providence Police were called to the Rhode Island Convention Center parking garage last Saturday after a broken credit card machine caused a massive backup of vehicles — and “annoyed” patrons.
According to reports, police were required to let customers exit the facility without paying, due to the faulty equipment, backup, and public safety issue.
This weekend, the Convention Center hosted "Spirit Fest," expected to bring in over 17,000 visitors.
It marks the latest facility failure for the Convention Center Authority following the nationally televised game in February when the then #11 Providence College men's basketball team defeated the Xavier Musketeers, 99-92, in triple overtime — in a game that was further delayed by a wet court.
NOT
Brutal Week of Crime in Providence
A horrific domestic homicide...people terrorized by BB gun shootings...man jumped leaving Providence Place Mall...man stabbed at WaterPlace Park...bullet fired through hospital room...and youth football team bus torched.
What we are doing is not working.
NOT
Top 195 Commission Officials Not Knowing Regulations While Selecting Developer
Hundreds of pages of documents secured by GoLocalProv unveil that top officials of the 195 Commission were unaware of the basic regulations that affected the controversial Parcel 2 proposed project. Emails between Chair Robert Davis and Executive Director Caroline Skuncik unveil their lack of awareness of the regulations regarding height and other restrictions.
The formal process for selecting a developer for the highly sought-after Parcel 2 began months ago. The developers vying for the land adjacent to the Michael Van Leesten Bridge in the 195 District began in the summer and three finalists were selected in the fall.
By the beginning of 2022, the 195 Commission chaired by Davis — a Boston-based attorney who was appointed by Gina Raimondo in 2017 — was pushing to select the preferred developer.
Three finalists had all gone through formal presentations and proposed six-story projects. The proposals were heavily criticized by neighbors from College Hill, Fox Point and the Jewelry District as being “too big.”
Others including design experts, preservationists, and historians raised a battery of concerns. Elected officials for the area weighed in too.
Internal Email Show Confusion
After the 195 Commission had selected the three finalists and were moving towards select to select the finalist, documents showed confusion by 195 Commission officials.
NOT
Santander to Lay Off Nearly 200 in RI Next Month
Santander Bank is expected to lay off nearly 200 employees in Rhode Island next month.
According to the RI Department of Labor, Santander filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice that it would be laying off 198 employees in East Providence effective April 8, 2022.
The layoffs by Santander are global.
“What’s behind banking giant’s job cuts?” reported mortgage industry publication MPA in March. “It has discontinued its home originations segment.”
“We have discontinued residential mortgage and home equity originations as we continue to focus on investing in products that have scale and that leverage our core strengths,” company spokesperson Nancy E. Orlando told MPA in response to questions. “This move will allow us to unlock capital to fuel our growth. We remain committed to our clients, small businesses and the communities we serve and are ensuring that our current clients and those in our pipeline are not impacted.”
MPA previously reported that Santander Holdings USA, Inc. – a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain-based Banco Santander – notified state officials in Philadelphia of its plans to lay off 53 of its employees by April 08. The layoffs are expected to be permanent, according to the notice filed in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN) filed with Philadelphia Department of Labor and Industry.
In Rhode Island, the latest large-scale layoffs notified to the state occurred in May 2021.
In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic hit, over twenty Rhode Island businesses filed advance layoff notices with the RI DLT.
