Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - September 10, 2021

HOT

Ruth Harvey

Michael Rose has a great feature on AS220's Ruth Harvey and the impact she has had on RI:

Arts institutions rely on administrative staff with many areas of expertise. At AS220, one of Providence’s anchor cultural organizations, Development Director Ruth Harvey is a  multi-talented individual who has contributed greatly to the local arts community. Originally from New Zealand, Harvey recently announced that she would be leaving her post to return home. Her remarkable influence both within and beyond her workplace deserves recognition.

Harvey first visited AS220 a decade ago and was, in her words, “wowed” by the organization’s incredible range of activities. Offering everything from artistic programs for youth to affordable housing at their downtown campus, Harvey says that AS220 “was totally unlike anything I’d ever seen before.” Her tenure with the organization has spanned over seven years and her impact is undeniable.

During her time at AS220 she has grown individual giving, and was integral to the fundraising necessary to renovate the group’s Empire Street facility. This is the type of work one expects from a Development Director, but Harvey has consistently gone beyond a traditional role. She has taught in the organization’s Practice//Practice professional development program and can often be found working as a welcoming greeter at AS220 events. She is also part of the organization’s Leadership Team with Co-Executive Directors Anjel Newmann and Shauna Duffy, who she says she’s been honored to serve alongside. READ THE REST HERE

HOT

Kelly Bates

The meteorologist is now a free agent.

Bates may be one of the most beloved people in the Rhode Island media market.

WJAR said Bates chose not to "renew" her contract. The terms of what Bates made before -- and what she was offered -- have not been disclosed. 

After the announced departure WJAR soon learned that the outpouring of support for Bates was overwhelming.

HOT

Providence Police Officers Performing Duties Under Pressure

Shortly around 7:30 PM on Monday, Providence police officers working in the West End section of the city responded to a call for a suicidal male locked inside a mobile camper on Wendell Street. 

According to the officers responding, they made several verbal attempts to convince the emotionally disturbed person to exit; however, the situation began to escalate when the man reportedly began lighting objects on fire within the camper, while also soaking the interior in kerosene and spraying butane gas. 

These officers, upon entering the camper, encountered the man who was found to be in possession of a knife. 

Under heavy smoke from a small fire -- which police extinguished -- the man, armed with the knife, refused to drop it after loud verbal commands. Officers were required to use a taser at this point, and said the man still refused to comply with orders and resisted all efforts to remove him from the hazardous interior of the camper. 

The officers then physically wrestled him out of the narrow camper door while breathing in a heavy amount of smoke and butane gas.  

GoLocal has learned the Patrolmen were John Najarian, Guillermo Vargas, and Irvin Torres. 

HOT

Design Winners

DESIGNxRI has announced is RI Design Hall of Fame honorees for 2021. 

The winners include a design advisor to NASA, creator of new photovoltaic systems with U.S. Department of Energy, elevating social equity through design, shifting land with 10,000 Suns, and a Providence City Commission for Art.

Award Winners

The 2021 RI Design Hall of Fame inductees in the Lifetime Achievement category are: 

Mickey Ackerman -- industrial designer, human-centered designer, advisor
Laura Briggs -- architect, principal BriggsKnowles, critic RISD
Rene Payne -- graphic designer, founder FAVOR (pictured)

The 2021 Emerging Designers are:

Adam Anderson -- landscape architect, founder Design Under Sky
Lois Harada -- printmaker, lead designer DWRI Letterpress

On Wednesday, September 29, 2021, the honorees will be celebrated at an event at Farm Fresh RI, located at 10 Sims Avenue in Providence from 6:00-9:00pm. 

HOT

President Joe Biden

It has been a rough few weeks for the President, but his executive order requiring federal employees to be vaccinated is pro-public health and pro-economic recovery.

NOT

Elorza and Pare's "Major" Mistake

Confusion continues to dominate City Hall. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and Public Safety Steven Pare came up with the idea of diversifying the leadership of the Providence Police Department command structure.

That sounds like a good idea.

But, in execution, they named a recreation director to the rank of "Major." It is not working out very well.

NOT

State Representative Arthur "Doc" Corvese

The longtime state legislator is leading the fight to block the requirement that healthcare professionals get vaccinated. 

It seems impossible that at this stage of the pandemic with nearly 2,800 dead, tens of thousands unemployed, and hundreds of businesses destroyed in Rhode Island that a doctor would be so ill-informed to puff his chest in an attempt to hinder the state's effort to require vaccinations of healthcare workers.

According to the professional oath of an optometrist, "I AFFIRM that the health of my patient will be my first consideration."

Nowhere in the professional oath is a reference to political pandering.

Corvese is anti-business, anti-science, and pro-politicization.

Read about the others who signed the letter.

NOT

Providence Pension Fund Blunder...Continues

The officers of one of the largest investments by the underfunded Providence pension fund have been hit with the largest penalty in the history of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The hedge fund — Renaissance Technologies, LLC— has been a favorite investment by the Providence Board of Investment Commissioners, which is chaired by Mayor Jorge Elorza.

This is just the latest hit to the hedge fund and correspondingly has a potential for even more losses for Providence's workers' retirement future.

Earlier this year, GoLocal unveiled in a series of reports that the Providence pension fund had 12% of its investments in hedge funds, and the vast majority of it was invested in one of the companies' funds,

Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund. Providence’s beleaguered pension lost millions in that one investment in 2020 and for months institutional investors have been pulling billions from the fund.

While the S&P 500 gained more than 18.4% in 2020, Providence’s pension fund grew by just 6.4%. The underperformance Providence pension fund was heavily tied to the losses by Renaissance.

The Providence pension fund is managed by Wainwright Investment Counsel, LLC.

The Exodus Has Continued by Investors

Renaissance Technologies has suffered an $11 billion outflow of client funds in seven months as investors have tired of its poor performance, Bloomberg reported in June, citing investor documents.

The city of Providence has cut its investment from 9% to 4.4% over the past few months. Wainwright refused to answer questions from GoLocal as to why the City of Providence was not exiting the fund. The Elorza administration said, "The Board of Investment Commissioners actively oversees the Providence Pension Fund's management and will continue to reassess investments in any underperforming funds."