Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - September 2, 2022

HOT

Creative Power Couple

GoLocal's Michael Rose has the profile this week of one of the state's super couples:

In the art world, it is not unheard of for peer artists to become romantic partners. Painter Lee Krasner was also the better half of Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe was muse and later wife to Alred Stiegliz, and so on.

Locally, popular Rhode Island photographers Marlisse Payamps and Rafael Medina are parallel artmakers as well as partners.

Payamps and Medina are likely better known by their respective Instagram monikers, @shotxlisse and @rafeakspvd.

On social media, they share their unique photographic visions, which occasionally overlap but mostly cover differing territories.

READ MORE

HOT

LaFortune's Education Idea

Councilor Nirva LaFortune, who is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Providence, launched an extensive education plan this week.

She proposes:

Within my first term, we will create a city-wide Teacher Residency Program, to establish a culture of teacher preparation and raise the bar for teacher effectiveness.

This will be an equity-focused training program that ensures that teachers are highly trained, supported, and effective and will begin at Mt. Pleasant High School teacher academy, developed in partnership with Rhode Island College and other local institutions, to position PPSD high school students and Providence residents to become certified to teach in Providence Public Schools upon graduation from college.
 

PHOTO: LaFortune campaign

HOT

Grants for Nonprofit Cultural Art Organizations

The City of Providence on Tuesday announced a new Cultural Facilities Grant Program to help local 501c(3) nonprofit cultural art institutions cover capital repairs and renovations to existing facilities and the construction of new ones. 

Additionally, funds will be made available to nonprofit cultural organizations for cash match-related costs related to Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA) awarded State Cultural Facilities Grants.

Through the Providence American Rescue Plan Act, $2.5 million is being allocated to this grant program via a Notice of Funds Available (NOFA). 

Awards will be made on a rolling basis and applications will be reviewed while funds are available.

Direct payments of up to $750,000 will be made by the end of 2022 to qualifying and awarded organizations.

HOT

Serena

Like Ali and Pele, the GOAT -- Serena -- is transforming into a one-name iconic athlete.

This week she took over the U.S. Open and made the world cheer, as she has said her professional career is nearing an end. 

PHOTO: Bumble

NOT

RI's Winter of Misery

In July, Rhode Island Energy announced it was seeking a 47% rate increase in the residential electricity rate.

But, the other shoe has yet to drop. How much will natural gas costs increase could be the bigger question.

There are numerous signs that the cost to heat and light a house in Rhode Island this coming season will be more than a proverbial winter of discontent. 

The sale of National Grid to PPL -- who rebranded it as Rhode Island Energy -- was finalized this past May. 

The global gas market is in turmoil and so is the domestic.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week, “The 14-year highs reached this week by U.S. natural-gas futures show the unceasing demand for U.S. shale gas across the Atlantic—and likely point to rising prices and market volatility ahead.

The latest price spike came in response to Russia’s plans to shut down one of Europe’s main fuel arteries for a few days at the end of the month. The closure announced Friday is either the latest episode of unplanned maintenance along the vital Nord Stream gas pipeline or an act of economic warfare on Russia’s part in retaliation for Western Europe’s support for Ukraine.”

Last Friday, Britain’s government sent shock waves. Energy prices paid by most British households are set to rise 80% this fall as regulators increased the cap on how much natural energy companies can charge.

Ofgem, the government’s energy regulator, approved a hike on electricity and natural gas cost that allows would rise to £3,549 (about $4,200) from the current £1,971.

And, the war in Ukraine is sparking dramatic action by the Russians.

“Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas, according to analysis shared with BBC News. They say the plant, near the border with Finland, is burning an estimated $10 million (£8.4m) worth of gas every day. Experts say the gas would previously have been exported to Germany.

Germany's ambassador to the UK told BBC News that Russia was burning the gas because they couldn't sell it elsewhere,” reports the BBC.

NOT

Blame it on the Intern

Providence City Councilor John Goncalves plagiarized a portion of his response to a questionnaire submitted to all the candidates running for office in Providence. He says it was done by a “university student doing research.”

The questionnaire issued by Providence Streets Coalition asked candidates about their positions on a number of environmental issues.

In response to a question about pollution from vehicles, Goncalves response, in part, stated, “We plan to install fast-charging stations on city-owned property and install curbside level 2 chargers in conjunction with con edison in order to increase the number of public chargers across the city.”

The reference to “con edison” is to the main energy company in New York City — the "RI Energy" of that market.

That copy and other elements were also published by New York officials. 

NOT

Bed, Bath and Maybe Nothing Beyond

In January, Bed, Bath & Beyond announced the closure of 37 stores.

On Wednesday, the company announced that 150 more stores are being shuttered in a desperate effort to keep the retailer from closing.

NOT

So Much for Transparency

State House lobbyist Matt Jerzyk -- who also serves as the City Solicitor for the City of Central Falls -- has delayed a GoLocalProv request for public records relating to James Diossa's travel costs during his tenure as Mayor of Central Falls.

Jerzyk was appointed to the Central Falls solicitor’s office by Diossa and has remained in the position under Mayor Maria Riveria.

Diossa, as Mayor of Central Falls, reported on his Ethics Financial Disclosure Statement that he traveled twenty-six times that were paid for by third parties. 

Those filings were improperly filed, according to his campaign spokesperson, who said in a radio interview on WPRO-AM, "It was a simple oversight.”

Diossa is a Democratic candidate for General Treasurer.

According to Diossa's 2020 Financial Disclosure, his travel for 2020 included 26 trips to locations ranging from China, England, Colombia, Israel, and one of the poorest countries in the world — East Timor. Ten of the trips were international.

Diossa improperly filled out the Ethics Commission Financial Disclosure Statement and reported many of the trips in 2020, but some of those trips took place in earlier years. The 2020 Financial Disclosure Statement should only list those trips which occurred that year.

But, the amounts reported appear to be incomplete. The funding by the third parties appears to be less than the total cost of the trip. As an example, Diossa reported a trip to Taiwan was subsidized by a cultural organization and reportedly cost just $1,950. 

And in the radio interview on August 11, Diossa’s campaign spokesperson said, “No taxpayer funds were spent on any of these trips.”

On August 12, GoLocal filed an Access to Public Records Act request with the City of Central Falls requesting any travel costs Diossa incurred during his time in office.

By law, Central Fall has ten working days to produce the documents, but on Friday, August 26,  Jerzyk did not produce the pubic travel documents, but instead sent a letter to GoLocal delaying the production of the travel costs for an additional twenty working days.

“The City of Central Falls received your request for copies of certain public records on August 12, 2022.  Due to the extensive amount of research pertaining to your request, the City has good cause to extend the ten (10) day time period by an additional twenty (20) days.  Please note this is not a denial of your request to review the requested documentation.  Thank you for your time and cooperation,” wrote Jerzyk.   

The extension by Jerzyk, allowed by law for requests that are extensive, pushes the release of the travel costs to late September, after the Democratic primary.

NOT

RI's Growth - Not 50th, But Not Good Enough

U.S. News and World Report has released a new report, ranking states by growth.

“Growth measures the economic future of a state, and can be a strong indicator of up-and-coming locations for businesses and entrepreneurs – as well as areas that may struggle in coming years,” states the study.

The growth rate is comprised of three measures: GDP Growth, Growth of Young Population, and Net Migration -- see the definition of each below.

Overall, Idaho was ranked the best state for growth. Washington placed second, followed by Utah, Arizona, and Colorado rounding out the top five.

Each of the top-ranked states are big western states with lots of room for growth.

But it is not just big western states that performed well in this study. Four of the six New England states made the top 20.

New Hampshire #15, Massachusetts #16, Maine #17, and Vermont #20 all made the top twenty highest ranked states for growth. 

Rhode Island’s Rank

Over the years, there has been much discussion about the performance of Rhode Island’s growth. The state surprised the country when it performed well in the census count and was able to retain both Congressional seats.

But, the U.S. News study finds Rhode Island ranks last in New England and 41st overall for growth.

For GDP growth rate, Rhode Island ranks 49th, trailing only Alaska.

A critical measure to an economy is the ability to grow its population of “young people.” De facto, the ability to fight off the brain drain. Rhode Island per capita has among the most college students, but keeping them in the state is critical.

In a separate study by American School and University, Rhode Island ranks 8th in the U.S. for college students per capita at 6.56% of the population, ahead of Massachusetts.

The U.S. News ranking scores Rhode Island 36th for growth of the young population

For net migration, Rhode Island ranks 31st in the country, and only Connecticut in New England ranks worse. Connecticut ranks 39th.

NOT

There Are Front Pages, and Then There Are NY Post Front Pages

Not much more needs to be said.