Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - May 24, 2024

HOT

The South County RI Trolls by Thomas Dambo 

According to the South County Tourism Council, there have been over 6,300 visitors in the first eight days for the trolls. 

"Wow what a great project. We felt really welcomed in Rhode Island and managed to make two great recycled sculptures in Ninigret Park. I know they can be a little bit hard to find, but that is on purpose so you can have a fun time searching for them. There are clues you will see that feel trolly, and that's how you know you are on the right path," said Dambo. 

It's a great, fun new exhibit — get more details here. 

PHOTO: Tandem for South County Tourism Council.

HOT

Fantastic Addition to the Art Community

Michael Rose, GoLocal's art columnist, has a wonderful feature on the latest addition to the vibrant Rhode Island arts community:

Providence is sorely in need of more spaces to see art close up and in person. Thanks to the hard work of the team at Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA), a new gallery space has opened to celebrate local Latinx artists. This exciting venue is La Galería del Barrio and can be found inside the Southside Cultural Center on Broad Street.

The first show in the space, titled A Soulful Sazón, was organized by RILA’s Marta V. Martínez with support from SCC’s David Sánchez. It features works by Afro-Latino artists Eva Jimenez, René Gómez, María Payano, Rafael Trinidad, Niko Tolentino, and Danielle Ozuna.

The works on view range in content and technique, while exemplifying diverse viewpoints and experiences. Where an artist like Trinidad is exhibiting expressive and richly painted works that verge on total abstraction, Gómez is showing off crisp pop-inspired artworks. Payano is showing colorful paintings while Ozuna is sharing quiet drawings. Tolentino’s contributions are a series of brushy paintings inspired by the seasons that incorporate bold figures, and works by Jimenez commemorate the Mirabel sisters.

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HOT

Transformation of RI's Economy

Breeze Airways is making a record commitment to Rhode Island International Airport.

Breeze, the three-year-old airline founded by arguably the industry's most successful CEO, David Neeleman, is expanding its presence at the airport to a record level.

Neeleman has founded five commercial airlines: Morris Air, WestJet, JetBlue Airways, Azul Brazilian Airlines, and Breeze Airways. Along with Humberto Pedrosa and Aigle Azur, he owned 45% of another commercial airline in Europe, TAP Air Portugal.

Now, under the new agreement, Breeze will be basing 12 planes at PVD — more than twice as many airplanes that have ever been based at the airport in its history.

In addition, the number of destinations Breeze flies to will grow to 35.

In 2017, the airport had only 17 direct flights, which was the cumulative number of all the airlines.

The number of Breeze employees located in Rhode Island will jump from 205 to 400.

And Breeze’s annual passenger count will jump from 278,000 to an estimated one million.

HOT

Mark Cutler's Musical Contributions

Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame member Mark Cutler has released a new album. 

“I’m head over heels to announce the release of The Same Thing Project’s latest album, ‘Seasons of Hope,’” Cutler announced. 

According to Cutler, The Same Thing Project — which he founded in 2016 —  is a “community songwriting workshop for people from all walks of life. Musicians, artists, students, teachers, retired folks, neurodiverse, differently-abled, blue and white-collar workers participate every week in writing a song. The Same Thing Project provides a place where you don’t have to be skilled at a musical instrument in order to be musical. It’s a space where you can be part of a creative community that is open, nonjudgmental and encouraging.  Connection is created and isolation is reduced.”

“I’m proud to be part of this group of folks from literally all walks of life. We made something so human, real, pure and beautiful,” said Cutler. 

The album is available on Spotify and YouTube.

NOT

An Ugly 24 Hours

The understaffed Providence police department spent Tuesday into Wednesday running from violent crime to violent crime.

Whatever our strategy is —  it is not working.

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NOT

Commercial Real Estate - Avoiding the Doom Loop

The most valuable office building in Providence was devalued by 40%, according to a new appraisal of the building.

The report by the real estate data firm Trepp, secured by GoLocal, unveils a dramatic decrease in the value of 100 Westminster Street — the preeminent Class A office building in the city. 

The gleaming glass tower owned by Paolino Properties was valued at $65.3 million in an appraisal in 2013.

Now, the building’s value has been dramatically downgraded to $38.3 million — a decrease of more than 40%.

The implications are significant to downtown Providence and the city's tax structure.

The building is the 8th highest taxpayer in the city — paying nearly half of one percent of Providence’s real estate taxes. The annual tax bill is $1.8 million.

Joe Paolino, the former Mayor of Providence and the managing partner of Paolino Properties said, “The building is now worth less than half of what I purchased it for.”

“The impact to the city is significant because as the value of the building goes down, so does the tax revenue,” said Paolino. “This is going to have a domino effect on other office buildings.”

He added, “Every major office building owner is facing this challenge. The lack of a five-day work week has made many companies reduce their office space."

According to Trepp, 100 Westminster has seen a significant decline in occupancy.

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NOT

PR BS

Last week, GoLocal received a press release claiming that offshore wind projects could adversely impact outdoor dining views in Rhode Island.

“With offshore wind development increasing off Rhode Island's coasts, some outdoor restaurants may find their views affected as well as audible sound from the turbines affecting their ambiance, and more. This raises questions about how this development might impact the thriving outdoor dining business. Green Oceans, a non-partisan group of Rhode Island community members focused on combating climate change while protecting biodiversity and ocean health, is concerned about the potential economic consequences for coastal businesses,” wrote Erin O’Dell, an associate account executive at Steinreich Communications Group, Inc. in Hackensack, New Jersey.

O’Dell made the pitch on behalf of Dr. Elizabeth Quattrocki Knight, president and co-founder of Green Oceans — a group comprised primarily of wealthy homeowners in Little Compton who have opposed offshore wind.

The PR firm Steinreich Communications claims offices in Dubai, London, and Washington, to name a few.

“As we approach outdoor dining season and witness the progress of offshore wind construction, I thought you might be interested in a conversation with Dr. Elizabeth Quattrocki Knight, president and co-founder of Green Oceans, regarding offshore wind and its economic implications for Rhode Island,” wrote O’Dell who according to her LinkedIn profile has only been with the New Jersey PR firm for five months.

GoLocal requested from the PR firm, “Do you have any specific locations that would be impacted? Have you done any renderings or mock-ups to scale to show the impact?”

For a number of days, O’Dell did not respond.

Then, after repeated requests.

O’Dell responded, “As per my pitch, Green Oceans expressed economic concern in the region regarding this issue and did not claim that this will definitely impact local outdoor dining."

Then, O'Dell cited one location that may be impacted — one of Aquidneck Island's most exclusive private member clubs. 

“However, the Clambake Club of Newport in Middletown [Rhode Island] and the location of the establishment would be in line with offshore wind development. While we cannot speak on behalf of the club, we recommend reaching out to one of their representatives to discuss this matter further. If more potential locations are disclosed, I will be sure to pass along,” O’Dell added.

The private and exclusive Clambake Club has a membership that includes some of the country's wealthiest.

According to a 1995 filing for designation to include the club on the Historic Register, “Located in Middletown, the Clambake Club of Newport was founded by some of Newport's most prominent members of society in attempt to escape the pretensions and formalities of the Bellevue Avenue social scene. While the original members sought a country setting away from the busy streets of Newport for their leisure activities, the name that they chose makes their association with this prominent city quite clear. Some of the early members of the Clambake Club of Newport included Maximillian Agassiz, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Robert Goelet."

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has been a member of the Clambake Club.

GoLocal asked what energy companies the firm represents, and O’Dell said, “As for our firm’s energy clients, we are unable to disclose that information due to client confidentiality.”

The CEO of the PR firm, Stan Steinreich, claims in his bio that he has represented Royal Dutch Shell.

NOT

Maybe They Should Write a Check for Wasting the Court's Time

After two-plus years of charges and counter-charges between members of the late billionaire Malcolm “Kim” Chace’s family, the warring cousins have settled.

The legal battle that has eaten up the court's time with claims of misuse of funds is all to be forgotten.

At the center of the dispute is the lawsuit brought by Malcolm Chace that alleges misuse of tens of millions of dollars in trust monies by Arnold “Buff Chace,” his cousin.

Malcolm Chace is the son of the late billionaire Kim Chace -- a man who made in excess of a billion dollars through ownership of Berkshire Hathaway stock. The lawsuit was first filed in early 2022.

Last Friday, in a joint statement, the two cousins issued a statement claiming all is fine.

The statement said the terms will remain confidential.

This settlement does not impact ongoing litigation between Malcolm Chace and his stepmother, Elizabeth Chace.

NOT

A Sad Fact

Pew Research reports:

9.2 million is the number of U.S. adults who have both a mental illness and a substance use disorder.