Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 7, 2025

HOT

Big Ideas

GoLocal offered 20 suggestions to advance Rhode Island and make it better.

1. More innovation — Rhode Island government at every level functionally looks exactly like it did 30 to 40 years ago, but nothing else in the world does.

2. Parents should demand excellence in the schools in their communities. To support this, the legislature should immediately pass the Education Bill of Rights, a protection that is long past due. 

3. Bob Whitcomb pointed out a ridiculous regulation that fails to serve the public or small businesses. It is time to name a smart group of non-bureaucrats who are not self-dealing to look at Rhode Island’s regulatory structure. We cannot afford or sustain the old models.

4. Consolidate school districts, police and fire departments, and other functions such as snow plowing. No layoffs are necessary, and it can be accomplished by restructuring over time. If staffing reductions make sense — do them through attrition.

5. Technology for all communities. Instead of a hodgepodge of bad city and town websites, build one top-tier platform and provide it to each of the cities and towns at no cost. Most Rhode Island governmental websites are a disaster.

6. Fire underperformers — See Peter Alviti.

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HOT

One of About 3,000 7-Footers in the World 

Jim Malachowski writes a great profile of URI's big man Javonte Brown:

When URI’s seven-foot center Javonte Brown was a ninth grader, his mom Felecia took him to work on a school-sponsored take your child to work day. When I asked her how it went, she smiled and said, “It scared him straight.” She then emphasized, “Yes, it did.”

Felecia Brown is the Superintendent of the Central North Correctional Centre in Ontario, Canada. It is a maximum-security prison with a 1,184-inmate capacity formally known as “The Superjail.”

When asked about the visit, Brown said, “I remember it like it was yesterday. I was very scared seeing all those inmates and never want to be in that situation.” Javonte is a straight shooter, not just with a basketball.

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HOT

Councilors John Tassoni, Tom Winfield, and Angelica Bovis

There are little twists and turns that help Rhode Island's economy.

On Thursday night, the Smithfield Town Council spent hours working to move forward with an agreement that, when finalized, will bring nearly two hundred biotech jobs into the town.

Organogenesis claims to be “a leading regenerative medicine company focused on the development, manufacture, and commercialization of product solutions for the 'Advanced Wound Care and Surgical & Sports Medicine' markets.”

The company will invest nearly $100 million into a facility in Smithfield.

There was not a big crowd in the audience for the Town Council meeting; there were about 20 people watching on the livestream, but Bovis, Winfield, and Tassoni (see photo) worked for hours to move an important project forward.

If Rhode Island is going to build a biotech industry, the state needs to be aggressive in building and attracting companies. Boston is a global hub with millions of square feet of vacant lab space.

Time to compete.

HOT

#1 

Kudos to the team at the Rhode Island Airport Corporation -

RI International Airport is now the fastest-growing airport in the United States. 

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USA, USA, USA

On Tuesday, Special Olympics Rhode Island hosted a sendoff event to honor three exceptional athletes—Kayla Edgar of Westerly, Brianna Puglia of Narragansett, and Ian Shepherd of Newport—as they embarked on a journey to the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, from March 8 to 16.

See those photos by Richard McCaffrey here. 

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Painter Munir D. Mohammed

Michael Rose has a great take on one of Rhode Island's super talents:

For local artist Munir D. Mohammed, a long career has meant a wide variety of experiences. A painter, Mohammed has done everything from craft billboards to illustrating children’s books. His practice shows off how many skills one artist can have and how enriching being a multi-faceted creative can be. Through March 27, a collection of career-spanning works by the artist is on view in Green Hall at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. They show off the work of an artist who has chosen to make the state his home for four decades.

Mohammed was born in Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana, West Africa. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Ghanatta College of Art and began his career as a sign and billboard painter. He soon opened his own studio and completed a variety of commissions across West Africa, including portraits of heads of state. His interest in representational figures, and his fine skill at capturing them, is something that comes across clearly in his showcase at URI.

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HOT

The Perfect Reuse - From Sunken Crane to Art

The story of recycling is often amorphous. One buys a can of soda and then throws it in a recycling bin and hopes it is reused.

But no one ever really knows.

This time, we know. The sunken barge and crane that has been recovered from the Providence River is being reused.

In collaboration with The Steel Yard, materials recovered from the crane and the barge’s hull will be transformed into art.

The removal project is funded by a grant of more than $1.5 million from the NOAA Marine Debris Program. The project removed an estimated 400,000 pounds of marine debris.

Since January, contractors have been recovering the submerged barge and crane and offloading it to the Sims facility on Allens Avenue. The recovery is now complete.

"Sims Metal is pleased to assist RIDEM and the City of Providence in the removal of approximately 400,000 pounds of large marine debris from a sunken steel-hulled barge that has been in the river since 2017. This barge has presented a significant navigational hazard and environmental and safety risks for nearby residents,” said Mike Kiwanis, Director of Operations of the Providence facility. “We’re also proud to support the transfer of some of this metal to The Steel Yard, where materials recovered from the barge’s hull will be repurposed for community-informed art. In doing so, we fulfill our mission to recycle and reuse, working toward a world without waste."

Stay tuned to see finished art created at the Steel Yard in Providence.

HOT

Cunha to Nixon Peabody

Nixon Peabody LLP announced on Monday that Zachary A. Cunha, former United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, has joined the law firm as a partner in the Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense practice.

Cunha’s arrival to Nixon Peabody caps a 20-year career with the US Department of Justice (DOJ). As US Attorney, Zach led and managed a staff of federal prosecutors handling all criminal and civil litigation in Rhode Island, including violent crime, cybercrime, civil rights, and opioids. He oversaw and expanded a robust criminal and civil white-collar and healthcare fraud practice, including cases brought under the False Claims Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Controlled Substances Act. He also previously worked in the US Attorney’s Offices for Massachusetts and the Eastern District of New York.

Nixon Peabody said that based on his service with the DOJ and nearly a quarter-century of litigation experience, he brings a unique blend of experience to clients facing high-stakes government investigations, enforcement actions, and complex litigation matters. He has deep experience handling and supervising criminal and civil matters and investigations across multiple industries, including healthcare, defense, and construction contracting matters, as well as grand jury investigations, agency administrative inquiries, and civil investigative demands, among others. He also has extensive direct experience handling challenges to federal agency action, notably under the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Zach has had a stellar reputation among his peers and across the federal bench during his career in public service,” said Nixon Peabody partner Robert Fisher, leader of the firm’s Government Investigations & White-Collar Defense practice, which includes several former federal and state prosecutors. “His combination of leadership and managing investigations and cases ranging from civil RICO to civil and criminal government procurement, regulatory challenges, healthcare, and countless other types of federal litigation and enforcement distinguish Zach from many other attorneys shifting from the DOJ to private practice. We’re thrilled to welcome Zach to the firm and our practice.”

In January, GoLocal named Cunha Rhode Island's Man of the Year.

During his tenure as US Attorney, he was named to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, where he served alongside a small group of colleagues from across the nation who advised the DOJ’s senior leadership on policy matters. He also co-chaired the Steering Committee of the DOJ’s Opioid Epidemic Civil Litigation Task Force, where he helped devise and advance the DOJ’s strategy in multiple cases under the False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act. Before being named US Attorney, Zach served as a member of the prosecution team that recovered the largest healthcare fraud recovery in US history at that time, and was recognized with the DOJ’s highest honor, the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service.

“Zach is unique in our market as someone who can handle a wide range of government and civil investigations and civil enforcement actions,” said Armando Batastini, managing partner of Nixon Peabody’s Providence office. “He will be an immediate asset in our office, and his practice will benefit from our firm’s national platform.”

Cunha earned his JD from George Washington University Law School and his bachelor’s degree from Brown University.

NOT

FACT CHECK: Key McKee Reelection Claim Is False

Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee has announced his reelection bid and cites nearly 20 claims, but a number of those assertions are questionable, and one is simply false.

GoLocal fact-checked McKee's claim about how Rhode Island ranks for starting a new business.

McKee stated that Forbes ranked Rhode Island as the "15th best state to start a business," but that was not true.

In 2024, Rhode Island was ranked 23rd.

After repeated questions from GoLocal to the McKee and hours of delay, the McKee campaign finally admitted the claim was false.

Further, McKee fails to cite that Forbes ranks Rhode Island 41st for business.

In CNBC’s ranking for the best place for business, Rhode Island ranked #44.

And, WalletHub ranks Rhode Island 50th for starting a business.

GoLocal breaks down the governor's most questionable claims.

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NOT

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) has reported a net loss of $115 million for 2024 after "experiencing a nearly 20% increase in health care costs" over the past 18 months, the company announced Wednesday night.

The company also announced a 3% reduction in the workforce, which constitutes 30 employees.

Driven by a surge in both healthcare prices and utilization, pharmacy costs for BCBSRI members jumped 14% in 2024, while outpatient care grew more than 10% over the prior year, said BCBSRI.