Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - September 16, 2022

HOT

Nearly Decade-Long Effort

Brett Smiley started his effort to become Mayor of Providence in 2013.

He first ran for the office in 2014 and then dropped out and endorsed Jorge Elorza.

In January 2023, he will be sworn in as Mayor.

HOT

Life Imitating Art, Seafood Imitating Pizza, Pizza and Seafood Hanging Out Together

Can’t decide between seafood and pizza?

Now, you can have the best of both worlds at this Providence restaurant. 

Pizza Marvin on Wickenden Street in Fox Point announced their new collaboration — featuring locally sourced ingredients — that was available this week, and for a limited monthly appearance moving forward. 

Pizza Marvin unveiled the following last Saturday 

“'Unleash the Crustacean!' We’ve made a monster here, folks, but we couldn’t be more excited to present our newest creation - the Crustacean! This total Frankenstein of a dish combines the luxury of a seafood tower with the comfort of our famous pizza. 

Featuring local oysters, littlenecks, rock crab, lobster salad, tuna tartar, w/ all the fixin’s and topped with a classic House Cheese pizza, we’re bringing you the best of both worlds (you can add a tin of caviar too if you’re feeling fancy)! 

Going forward, we’ll be offering this just one night a month, so reserve yours today and stop by on Tuesday to be one of the first to try the Crustacean! Your taste buds and your Instagram will thank us…"

HOT

Brilliant

Michael Rose's review of Jeffrey Yoo Warren's brilliant new exhibit is a must.

One of art’s purposes is to crystalize and capture moments for history. Conversely, art can also be used to probe and explore historic individuals, events, and places. For multi-talented artist and community scientist Jeffrey Yoo Warren, the practice of making art has enabled him to give the public an opportunity to explore a part of Providence that no longer exists.

In an exhibition on view through September 24 at AS220, Warren takes viewers back in time to experience Providence’s thriving Chinatown that existed on Empire Street before it was uprooted more than a century ago.

Seeing Providence Chinatown, on view in AS220’s Aborn Gallery at 95 Empire Street, is an in-depth exploration of the historic Chinatown community, which has at its heart a 3D reconstruction of now demolished buildings. It is a show that is full of information and Warren is not a creator who works alone.

Much of his practice is about connecting people and his current show builds on the work of the RI Chinese History project organized by Angela Yuanyuan Feng, Julieanne Fontana, John Eng-Wong and others.

READ MORE

HOT

Big News at Providence College

Providence College announced on Monday that it is officially launching a new School of Nursing and Health Sciences (SNHS). 

The new school will see the introduction of two new degree programs at PC, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences. 

PC’s existing Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Management will also become part of the new school.

“Programs like nursing, which focus on the care of others, respect for the dignity of every person, and the importance of service to God and neighbor, flow naturally from and support the Catholic and Dominican mission of Providence College," said Fr. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. Sicard, who took office as PC’s 13th president on July 1, 2020. 

About Program 

PC received formal approval to proceed with the new bachelor’s degree program in nursing from the Rhode Island Board of Nurse Registration and Nursing Education on September 12. 

That came after the College’s Faculty Senate voted to approve the establishment of the new school and its two new degree programs prior to the end of the 2022 spring semester. PC’s Board of Trustees also voiced its approval to move forward with the establishment of the new school and its degree programs.

The new nursing program will be the first such bachelor’s degree program established in Rhode Island in ten years.

Sicard also noted that both nursing and health sciences are a natural fit with the College’s liberal arts identity, adding that both require the study of science and the mastery of critical thinking skills -- and both also are springboards to other careers in the healthcare industry at a time when, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of healthcare workers in Rhode Island and the United States has reached a critical stage.

NOT

Corporate Titans Who Made Their Fortunes in RI, Moved to Florida, and Want to Continue to Try and Control the State

The latest is Tom Ryan. The former CEO of CVS made hundreds of millions. Good for him.

He protected his fortune and move to Florida to avoid paying Rhode Island taxes.

His choice.

Now, he and others want to weigh back into Rhode Island politics and dictate who the elected officials should be along with the state's policies.

No. 

And no.

If you don't want to continue to be a resident, please save your political views for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

NOT

Senator's Stock Wheeling and Dealing

A major investigation by The New Times released this week finds that U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is one of the members of Congress who traded stock in public companies that came before the committees in which they serve. 

This is the second time in recent months that Whitehouse's stock trading has come under scrutiny.

“U.S. lawmakers are not banned from investing in any company, including those that could be affected by their decisions. But the trading patterns uncovered by the Times analysis underscore longstanding concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest or use of inside information by members of Congress, government ethics experts say,” the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the Times, between 2019 and 2021, the timeframe the publication studied, Whitehouse and his wife Sandra conducted trades in 35 companies with four with potential conflicts, including CVS.

The Whitehouses have not placed their investments in a blind trust but told the Time the investments are handled by a broker.

Whitehouse Failed to Report Properly in 2022

This is not Whitehouse’s only stock trading issue.

Business Insider and several other news organizations have identified 72 members of Congress, that includes Whitehouse, who've recently failed to properly report their financial trades as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK Act.

Whitehouse violated a conflicts-of-interest law by disclosing two personal stock purchases past a federal deadline, according to financial records reviewed by Insider.

On January 28, Whitehouse purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of shares in both Target Corporation and Tesla Inc.

Whitehouse's office acknowledged that the senator disclosed his trades on March 16 — after a federally mandated 45-day filing deadline. 

Whitehouse's office did not respond to questions about the multiple stock trading issues from GoLocal prior to publication.

NOT

Supremes' Decline

Pew Research Reports, "Americans’ ratings of the Supreme Court are now as negative as – and more politically polarized than – at any point in more than three decades of polling on the nation’s highest court."

"Following a term which saw the Dobbs v. Jackson ruling ending the federal guarantee of the right to abortion along with several other high profile cases that often split the justices along largely ideological lines, this shift in views of the court has been driven by a transformation in Democrats’ views," writes Pew.

And, "Just 28% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents now view the court favorably, down 18 percentage points since January and nearly 40 points since 2020. Positive views of the court among Republicans and Republican leaners have increased modestly since the start of the year (73% now, 65% then)."

The new national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted among 7,647 adults from Aug. 1 to 14, finds the public overall is split in its views of the Supreme Court: 48% of the public holds a favorable view of the court, while a similar share (49%) holds an unfavorable view.

NOT

The "Paper of Record"

The Providence Journal on Wednesday did not publish the results of the key races for Tuesday's primaries.

All the major races were finalized before 11 PM.