Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - October 29, 2021

HOT

McKee's Vaccination Program

Governor Dan McKee's response to the pandemic has not been perfect, but the area he and his team deserve credit for is implementing a highly successful vaccination program.

Now, 90+% of eligible adults have received at least one shot of the vaccine.

When he assumed office, the state was ranked last in America.

HOT

Dr. Tony Affigne

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Affigne, a senior professor in the political science department and Black studies program at Providence College, has received the 2021 Adaljiza Sosa-Riddell Mentor Award for Exemplary Mentoring of Latino/a Undergraduate Students and Junior Faculty in Political Science. 

Affigne is also a visiting professor of international relations and public affairs at Brown University. His research on Latino, Black, and Asian American politics, environmental parties and policy, and the early history of political science, has been published in the U.S. and abroad.

He was nominated by six individuals for the award, including former students. Nominators stressed Affigne’s ability to foster inclusive learning environments and extensive mentorship that pushed them to envision new career trajectories.

An undergraduate student at Brown University shared, “Tony created a space where our own lives and experiences were honored and respected. He listened to our stories and perspectives and pushed us to think more deeply and broadly about our lives, la comunidad, and our own futures as Latina/o/x professionals.”

HOT

President Joe Manchin

Love him or hate him, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin is the most powerful member of Congress since LBJ was the Senate Majority Leader.

He is either the biggest obstacle to a more equitable America or the only fiscally responsible Democrat in America.

Whichever he is, he now dictates America's domestic policies.

HOT

A Billion Dollars - In Ten Months

In 2020, Residential Properties exceeded $1 billion in real estate transactions, a record in Rhode Island.

In 2021, the firm shattered that number by early October, with two-plus months still on the year. 

The new Rhode Island record speaks to the growth of the local real estate firm and the dynamic real estate market — which saw the median price of a single-family home jump to $390,000 in August of this year.

NOT

So Where Did You Get the Money?

Transparency for you but not for me.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Seth Magaziner is calling on the other candidates running for office to be transparent and disclose their five previous years' taxes. But, he is refusing to disclose the source of $800,000 that he lent his own campaign account. 

Magaziner made the demand for the release of tax returns on Monday. Magaziner is one of five prominent Democrats running for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022.

“Rhode Islanders deserve to have trust in their elected officials and we earn that trust by being transparent,” said Magaziner -- in talking about taxes.  “Candidates in Rhode Island should follow the long-accepted custom that President Trump broke when he refused to release his tax returns.  No one should ever have to guess who their elected officials are working for.”

However, Magaziner, who has served as Rhode Island’s General Treasurer and overseer of the $10 billion retirement fund, loaned his campaign $800,000 in the 2014 campaign and is refusing to disclose what was the source of those funds. His campaign still has an outstanding loan to back to Magaziner of more than $700,000.

NOT

College Enrollments Dropping in RI

Demographics, costs, the economy, and the pandemic caused a decrease in enrollment at colleges in America from 2019 to 2020.

Rhode Island colleges and universities were hit hard.

Of the eleven schools tracked, eight colleges in Rhode Island lost students -- and none was hit harder than Johnson & Wales which lost 18% of its enrollment, according to data from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Salve Regina in Newport lost 16% and RISD lost 14% of enrollment. 

Only Brown University and the University of Rhode Island gained enrollment and the Community College of Rhode Island was flat, according to the data.

In New England, overall enrollment at colleges and universities fell from 550,597 to 532,194, a 3.3% decrease.

According to the Chronicle, the data is preliminary, "The new data, some of which are for the 2020 fiscal year and some for the fall of 2020 — the first full semester after the pandemic began — are preliminary and were released 'as an exception' because of the 'high level of interest' in how the coronavirus affected higher education, according to a news release from the Institute of Education Sciences, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education."

NOT

WSJ

The Wall Street Journal's decision to publish an opinion piece by Donald Trump that was gobbledygook -- and riddled with false claims about the election results -- was a disservice to its readers and knowingly perpetuates false information to the public.

It was an embarrassment to the paper.

NOT

Rhode Island Schools 

The performance of Rhode Island's public schools was awful before the pandemic and they are now more awful as we emerge from the virus.

READ: RI RICAS Scores Drop Below 2019 Levels — Five Things to Know

There are no more excuses.