Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - November 29, 2024

HOT

The Lives and Times Dennis Littky Changed

As GoLocal wrote in a Thanksgiving tribute:

Dennis Littky shakes things up. He causes trouble and maybe even chaos.

His mischief is legendary. They made a movie about his first efforts to reinvent education.

The White House has lauded his groundbreaking work.

His endeavors to shake up education led to hundreds of new schools across the country, a new way of thinking about college, and closer to home, the creation of the Met Center Schools.

If you have been to the school in South Providence you think you have walked onto the campus of a college. It is a school where those students who did not fit in anywhere else come together to create something extraordinary.

He came up with "bad" ideas that could never be achieved, and then they somehow turned into brilliant successes.

READ MORE

HOT

Painter Ricky Vasan

Michael Rose, GoLocal's art columnist, has a great take on artist Ricky Vasan:

Providence continues to be a city where rising talents get their start. At RISD, MFA student Ricky Vasan is crafting remarkable large-scale paintings that focus on figures, spaces, and stories. Personal and evocative, Vasan’s work is already earning praise and plaudits.

Originally from India, Vasan came to the United States to earn his BFA at MassArt and while in Boston was featured in Abigail Ogilvy Gallery’s Fresh Faces Exhibition and earned Best in Show in the Cambridge Art Association’s National Prize Show. He has exhibited his work throughout the Boston area as well as in Los Angeles and in India, where he is now represented by Gallery ISA in Mumbai.

Through December 3, he has a painting on view at Sol Koffler Gallery for RISD’s Graduate Painting Biennial.

READ MORE

HOT

Bally's Lincoln Gives Back to the Community

Bally's Lincoln Casino Resort continued its tradition of giving back to the community. On Monday, November 25, the casino donated 24 turkey baskets to the Town of Lincoln's Holiday Food Basket Program.

This initiative supports approximately 200 local families in need by providing a turkey and all the trimmings for their Thanksgiving meal. 

“We are committed to making a positive impact and are grateful for the opportunity to help those in need during this season of giving,” said Michael Monty, General Manager and Vice President. “Bally’s remains dedicated to uplifting our community and spreading goodwill.”

HOT

U.S. Attorney Cunha

U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha sat down with GoLocal. He has had some newsworthy cases and he says there are more in the pipeline, but with the election of Donald Trump as President, it is likely his days are numbered.

Cunha was appointed by President Joe Biden, and he serves at the pleasure of the president. 

Cunha discussed prosecuting fraud cases, federal action on the Washington Bridge, building a top prosecution team in the office, and taking Washington Trust to task for redlining. His office also entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Barletta Heavy Division relating to the 6/10 project, and one member of Barletta's team pled guilty to multiple crimes.

The big questions for Cunha are what can be completed before the Trump administration names a successor, and then what is next for his career.

“My MO for the present is full steam ahead, and as long as I'm in this chair, I'm doing the job,” said Cunha.

“If you're asking as I sit here right now, and I am coming up on three years in the job, what we've done and what I'm pleased that we're making progress on and have accomplished, I think it's a lot of things I think the office is in a very good place,” said Cunha.

READ MORE

NOT

GoLocal Investigation Unveils Untrackable Payments

The Rhode Island Department of Housing has confirmed that Governor Dan McKee’s selection to serve as the Secretary of Housing, Deborah Goddard, has been a paid consultant to the Department for three years.

The McKee administration did not previously disclose the consulting agreement, and the payments were made through a maze of other contractors to the agency that she is now poised to head.

Previously, a GoLocal investigation outlined Goddard's history as a top administrator in the City of New York. 

None of the business relationships are publicly visible, and they cannot be seen through the state’s Transparency Portal, which lists payments to vendors and contractors.

In less than two and a half years, Goddard received payments for consulting work for the Department of Housing totaling $173,201.86, but the payments traveled through a series of companies.

And none of the payments were made directly to her. There is no contract between Goddard and the Department of Housing, despite the payments.

After repeated requests for information about the business relationship between Goddard and the State, Emily Marshall, Chief of Information and Public Relations for Housing, wrote in an email to GoLocal, “DJ Goddard Consulting is operated as a sole proprietorship and is not required to be registered in the State of Massachusetts.”

“Deborah was engaged as a contractor with the department through IRG. IRG was contracted through Guidesoft/Knowledge Services, an entity that the state has a Master Price Agreement (MPA) with. Through that MPA, the state paid Guidesoft/Knowledge Services $173,201.86 for Deborah’s services,” wrote Marshall.

IRG is a Missouri-based technology firm, and Guidesoft/Knowledge Services is an Indiana-based technology firm. 

It is unclear why a Massachusett-based one-person housing consultancy would be billing and subcontracting to a series of tech firms.

NOT

Smiley's Truth Problem

A GoLocalProv editorial raises questions about Providence Mayor Brett Smiley's ability to manager the city's budget and to be honest with the City's residents:

Brett Smiley promised competency as Mayor of Providence.

That pledge is now unraveling.

Providence residents and businesses are going to get their second tax increase in three years, and this levy is poised to be very large.

Smiley won the mayor's race in the Democratic primary in 2022 with just 41.8% of the vote.

Just over 9,000 voted for him; the next highest vote-getter in the primary was Gonzalo Cuervo with over 7,900 votes.

Smiley faced no opposition in the general election.

The former Chief-of-Staff to Governor Gina Raimondo campaigned that he was the most qualified candidate and that Providence would be a well-run city under his leadership.

“Honestly, I feel like the best-prepared and best-experienced candidate in this race,” said in one press interview.

By the time he took office, he had upped the ante and claimed that Providence was the best-run city in the country. 

Well, Smiley’s management — especially the city’s financial management — has been far from competent and too many of his statements about the city’s fiscal situation are blatantly false.

There would have been nothing wrong for Smiley, when he entered office, to have reviewed the city’s finances and told Providence residents the severity of the city’s situation.

Smiley did not.

READ MORE

NOT

Macy's Says What?

Macy's delayed its third-quarter earnings, saying it is undertaking a forensic investigation into a single employee's concealment of more than $130 million in expenses.

Is it possible that a single employee could cause such chaos?

The company said Monday that the employee — who was responsible for small-package delivery expense accounting and no longer works at the company — intentionally hid between $132 and $154 million in expenses over the course of three years.

NOT

People Working in Providence Robbed at Gun and Knifepoint

In two separate incidents this past weekend, folks simply working at their jobs in the city were victims of crime. 

In one case, a man delivering pizza had juveniles threaten him at knifepoint before robbing him. 

In another, a man working at a convenience store had a gun pulled on him and was also threatened and robbed. 

Neither will ever be the same. Never.

But please, tell us more about how we should all be pleased that stats show "crime is down."