Let’s maintain off on the Halloween stuff for now — it’s not even October. You possibly can observe me via the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Right here we go.
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1. STORY OF THE WEEK: Fallout from the assasination of Charlie Kirk in Utah final week continues to roil American politics, media and leisure. Essentially the most distinguished instance is ABC’s determination to droop late-night host Jimmy Kimmel “indefinitely” following conservative criticism for these remarks: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately attempting to characterize this child who murdered Charlie Kirk as something apart from considered one of them, and doing all the things they’ll to attain political factors from it.” Nearer to house, a Barrington teacher confronted conservative scorn for his remarks about Kirk, and the Faculty Committee appointed an out of doors lawyer to evaluate the matter. In a press release, the Rhode Island ACLU condemned political violence because it chills and erodes the First Modification. “On the identical time,” the civil liberties group added, “stifling controversial, and even offensive, speech in response to that violence additionally erodes these ideas.” Kirk has been cited as an exemplar of free speech — “Charlie Kirk was practising politics the fitting manner,” argued Ezra Klein – so the concept of suppressing speech in his reminiscence strikes some as ironic. President Trump continues to wage legal fights towards media organizations, even because the response of Trump’s FCC chair to Kimmel discomfited GOP senators. And large TV firms with native operations determine within the fallout; WPRI proprietor Nexstar (which is in search of FCC approval of a $6.2 billion deal) stated its ABC associates would preempt Kimmel’s show. Sinclair (which owns WJAR and not too long ago acquired the non-license operations of WLNE) went additional, calling on the FCC and ABC to take additional action after Kimmel’s suspension. Again within the Ocean State, the RI ACLU stated the probe of the Barrington instructor highlights the hazard of stifling speech: “Whereas speech immediately supposed to impress violence is just not protected by the First Modification, the flexibility to talk freely in a single’s non-public capability about public points — together with the fitting to criticize, problem, and denounce opposing political beliefs, nonetheless crudely — have to be safeguarded, particularly when that speech is taken into account unpopular or provocative. In any other case, everyone’s free speech is in danger, depending on the political tides.”
2. THE CHALLENGER: Helena Buonanno Foulkes sat down with me this week for a lengthy video interview. Listed here are some key highlights.
***Gov. Dan McKee’s marketing campaign has made clear that Foulkes’ position at CVS Well being shall be a key concern within the governor’s marketing campaign. Requested why the central declare made in a federal lawsuit towards CVS is flawed — that the corporate failed in its position as a gatekeeper of extremely addictive medication — Foulkes blamed the opioid disaster on Purdue Pharma and stated CVS was a frontrunner in responding. “We reduce off over 600 tablet mill docs. We did the most important drug takeback motion the nation’s ever seen. And I personally led an effort the place I acquired along with different chain drugstore leaders to ensure we advocated for laws to scale back the variety of tablets you possibly can get if you left minor surgical procedure,” she stated. CVS, WalMart and Walgreens have paid out hundreds of thousands in settlements associated to opioids, so ought to there have been extra skepticism about surging opioid prescriptions? “I feel it’s very easy to Monday morning quarterback,” Foulkes responded. She stated pharmacists tried their finest to evaluate whether or not sufferers had a official want for medicine.
***Throughout her marketing campaign announcement, Foulkes pledged to work energetically to develop jobs in Rhode Island. Her rhetoric on that sounded rather a lot like what Gina Raimondo stated when she ran in 2014. Knowledge from the St. Louis Federal Reserve reveals that Rhode Island’s labor participation price remained largely flat beneath Raimondo beneath the COVID pandemic. So why would issues be any totally different with Foulkes? She stated she would goal better-paying jobs.
***Requested if she might invite anybody to a cocktail party from all through the course of human historical past, Foulkes picked Rosa Parks, Nancy Pelosi, George Washington, Gandhi and one of many founders of Salve Regina College.
3. THE INCUMBENT: Gov. McKee, not surprisingly, seems to be aiming to raise his profile as we edge into marketing campaign season: He urged the Public Utilities Fee to ship at the very least $25 million in further vitality price reduction; McKee additionally directed the Workplace of Well being Insurance coverage Commissioner (OHIC) to make an aggressive evaluate of what’s driving medical health insurance premium will increase and determine methods to confront them. McKee introduced the provision of a further $500,000 to help RIPTA; he signed on with fellow governors in a joint letter urging Congress to assist scale back medical health insurance prices; McKee was interviewed for a PBS NewsHour piece on financial fallout from the Trump administration’s stop-work order on Revolution Wind.
4. THE SPEAKER: As he ponders his potential entry to the race for governor, Home Speaker Joe Shekarchi stated Hasbro was hellbent on leaving Pawtucket for the bauble of Boston’s Seaport District. “They weren’t ” in subsidies and land being supplied by native officers in Rhode Island, Shekarchi instructed the Law 401 podcast from Roger Williams College Faculty of Regulation. “They wished to maneuver for 2 causes [for things] that we don’t have round: they wished to go to a expertise pool, an employment pool, that had a whole lot of expertise in on-line gaming …. The opposite concern shifting to Boston, they wished to be close to Lego .… The handwriting was on the wall for Hasbro. They actually didn’t wish to keep right here.” That’s a distinction from Might when lawmakers made a change requested by FM to assist preserve the massive insurer in Rhode Island.
5. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL: Amid information that business well being premiums for near 175,000 Rhode Islanders will climb subsequent 12 months, AG Peter Neronha supplied this comment via Bluesky: “These will increase are awarded by the Well being Commissioner in a vacuum — with none appreciation of the general healthcare disaster in RI — and the place he has supplied little. Rhode Islanders have each proper to be upset with the Gov for ignoring the disaster that we’ve been talking about for thus lengthy.”
6. PVD: Windfall Mayor Brett Smiley has scaled the heights of state and metropolis authorities since he got here to Rhode Island to handle Charlie Fogarty’s gubernatorial marketing campaign manner again in 2006. For now, Smiley stays an odds-on favourite to win re-election subsequent 12 months. However state Rep. David Morales (D-Windfall) argues Smiley isn’t doing sufficient to deal with the capital metropolis’s affordability disaster and he announced his challenge to Smiley this week. “It’s time Metropolis Corridor labored for us,” Morales, 27, stated whereas unveiling his run by way of video this week. “For too lengthy, politicians like Brett Smiley have requested us to belief their expertise whereas working households are struggling to get by. The price of dwelling is crushing us.” (Smiley’s marketing campaign stated he’s centered on governing and touted the incumbent’s expertise in finance, administration and authorities.) Smiley has an enormous edge in marketing campaign fundraising, and he’s constructed his recognition and political relationships over time. Morales hopes to channel the paradigm-shift of Zohran Mamdani. Will or not it’s sufficient to construct a citywide coalition and chip away on the incumbent’s East Facet base? (You possibly can watch my recent interview with Morales to get a greater sense of him.) For now, it’s price noting how one of many candidates for an open Ward 2 seat, Jill Davidson, labored with Morales earlier than his latest departure from the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.
7. DISMAL SCIENCE: A number of financial notes ….
***With President Trump pursuing a remake of the Federal Reserve, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will keynote the Better Windfall Chamber of Commerce’s Financial Outlook Luncheon on midday Tuesday on the Crowne Plaza in Warwick.
***The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, per spokeswoman Sarah Sutton, “introduced the funding of $4 million in nondilutive funding to five firms both relocating to Rhode Island or constructing their companies within the state. With these most up-to-date awards, RILSH has now deployed a complete of $16M since its launch to RI-based firms.” Nevertheless, there are extra grim tidings about Boston’s “biotech winter,” as Kara Miller reports within the Globe.
***The variety of Rhode Island based mostly jobs rose by 500 from July to August, because the state’s unemployment price fell from 4.8 to 4.6%, per the RI Division of Labor and Coaching.
***Paige Parks from Rhode Island KIDS COUNT warns that higher efforts to deal with childhood poverty within the state are important “since youngsters who reside in poverty, particularly at a younger age, have worse outcomes as adults.”
8. HOUSING: Home GOP Chief Michael Chippendale (R-Foster) led the cost this week in asserting that RIHousing, the state’s housing finance company, spends too much on administration and not enough on developing housing. He stated there must be an audit to dig deeper. The quasi-public company rejects Chippendale’s criticism.
9. RI PEOPLE IN THE NEWS: Jim Rosenberg, aka Jim Martin, longtime spokesman for the U.S. legal professional’s workplace in Rhode Island, longtime former Boston Bruins PA announcer and a former WJAR staffer, is retiring. Jim is a category act and we want him nicely …. Andrew Roos, a former chief of employees throughout Gina Raimondo’s time as governor, was named this week as the brand new head of the Staff Retirement System of Rhode Island. Roos beforehand labored for 2 Rhode Island common treasurers, for Google and he pursued a doctorate in philosophy at Brown. Roos takes on the position previously held by the esteemed Frank Karpinski. In a press release, he stated, “It’s an honor to return to public service for the subsequent stage of my profession and to have the chance to work with the nice workers at ERSRI and accomplice intently with the overall treasurer’s workplace to ensure we’re offering the very best, most clear and responsive expertise to our companions that’s potential.” …. The Rhode Island Airport Corp. accepted a three-year contract extension for airport President/CEO Iftikhar Ahmed, who’s starting his tenth 12 months on the job. In line with a RIAC information launch, his tenure has coincided with a rise to 37 continuous routes, from 17, almost $1 billion in capital investments on the airport, and monetary enhancements …. Whereas she stays undecided on one other run for public workplace, Ashley Kalus likes being a part of the dialog, as seen by a collection of latest appearances on WPRO.
10. SHORE ENOUGH: A standing room-only crowd crammed into Westerly City Corridor this week to weigh in on whether or not the state ought to restore a contested public proper to a pristine 1.7 mile stretch of shoreline close to Weekapaug Inn. My colleague David Wright has the story.
11. NEWS AROUND TOWN: Ted Nesi reports on how Brown Well being paid its former CEO $3.3 million in severance over two years …. Alexa Gagosz has deets on buyouts at public media in RI …. Nancy Lavin outlines how court docket filings argue that Revolution Wind didn’t wish to reply questions from federal regulators …. Mark Patinkin describes how Rhode Island treasure Johanne Killeen, co-founder of Al Forno, continues to be saucy. Her zest for all times was abundantly clear once I profiled Johanne and her husband George Germon (who died in 2015) manner again in 2000.
12. MEDIA NOTES: Globe RI is internet hosting a dialogue on the CIC on the future of local media. It’s on for Tuesday, Sept. 30, with a panel consisting of Lylah Alphonse from the Globe, Tim White from WPRI, Lynne Sullivan from the ProJo and a few man named Dan McGowan; free, however registration required … Additionally price testing: Philip Eil will focus on news media in the disinformation age. It’s on for six pm Monday, Sept. 29 at Knight Memorial Library in Windfall.
13. CITY HAUL: In the latest episode of The Bubblah, I requested individuals what was on their thoughts whereas visiting the pedestrian bridge in Windfall.
14. KICKER: Robert Redford, who died this week at age 89, was one of the greats — a dynamic actor, director and a number one drive for unbiased cinema. Because the Instances noted, “With a distaste for Hollywood’s dumb-it-down method to moviemaking, Mr. Redford usually demanded that his movies carry cultural weight, in lots of circumstances making critical subjects like grief (familial, societal) and political corruption resonate with audiences, in no small half due to his immense star energy.” There’s a beautiful Rhode Island connection to considered one of his finest films, The Sting. As quahog.org notes, “The pretend tip ‘Blue Word within the fourth race at Narragansett’ helps arrange the massive con. Narragansett Park, opened in 1934, was a horse racing venue positioned in Pawtucket. It closed in 1978. From about 1989 to 2013 low cost closeout retailer Building 19 1/9 occupied the grandstand constructing the place racing fanatics as soon as positioned bets.” [Building 19 went out of business in 2013.]
