After this year’s elections there are a great many things for Liberals, that’s right, I said, “Liberals”, to be thankful for and I’m going to list some here. First and foremost, I’m grateful that Americans as a people saw through the corporate-backed and top 1% agenda put forth by the Republican Party in the form of Mitt Romney as a candidate for president. I’m grateful that across this country, voters turned out even though there were spirited attempts to disenfranchise wholesale communities. Everyone should be grateful that voters elected more progressive candidates to the US House and Senate and that there are fewer Blue Dogs than the last Congress. And most importantly, I’m grateful that in the next four years, any Supreme Court vacancies will be filled by a Democratic president.

Here in Rhode Island, we should be grateful that voters saw through the spate of negative television advertising by Barry Hinckley, Michael Riley and Brendan Doherty, and their surrogates, and re-elected the most Liberal federal delegation in the country. I’m thankful for the coalition built to send a more progressive group to the State House this session. The ground game of progressive groups made the difference this election cycle, showed the opposition how it’s done and left a blueprint for how to discard less progressive elements within a party that might just let the tent get a little too big, allowing Republicans to masquerade as Democrats.

I’m thankful that Speaker Gordon Fox has made a commitment to come back to the left, already stating he’s looking to push for marriage equality, that he’ll reexamine Voter ID, and listen to average Rhode Islanders when they cry out for a more equitable tax burden for all citizens of the Ocean State.

Thankfully, Rhode Island voters realized that with interest rates at historic lows, it was time to invest in infrastructure improvements at Rhode Island College, The Rhode island Veterans’ Home, Rhode island Housing and the Narragansett Bay Commission and that voters approved expansion at Twin River, protecting our greatest source of revenue at a time when Massachusetts is set to open casinos across our borders. And by doing so, create many jobs in the construction and entertainment industries.

And most importantly, I’m grateful to have two healthy and extremely intelligent sons who study hard and make a difference; and to have a job I love and colleagues who see the importance of sticking up for the working class and making this state and country a better place to live for average citizens.

In a dramatic comeback victory, the Rhode Island Baseball Club Under 14 AAU team took the title at an international competition, the Cooperstown Baseball World Tournament, this week with an 8-7 win in the bottom of the seventh inning against a team from Indiana.

After a scoreless first inning and giving up seven runs in the top of the second inning, the Rhode Island team got shutdown pitching from reliever Andrew Frey (two innings), and eventual game-winner Ryan Quirk; while chipping away at the 7-0 lead and tying it in the bottom of the fourth. Then in the bottom of the seventh, the RI team loaded the bases with three straight singles by Kyle Barbato, Nick Pietrantozzi and Andrew Frey before MJ Notorianni stepped up to the plate and hit a walkoff single, scoring Barbato and giving his team the championship.

In the first round of pool play, the Rhode Island team went 4-1, beating Israel 3-2 on a walkoff single by Jimmy Gianquitti in extra innings; losing to Colorado 4-1 in extra innings, and then beating New York 14-4, and Ohio 10-0 on a no-hitter by Liam Vetter, before ending pool play against Indiana with a 3-2 win.

By virtue of their 4-1 record, the Rhody team was the top seed and earned a bye in the first round before having to face the team they lost to in pool play, Colorado. However, they were up to the task, defeating the Coloradans 7-4 with Ryan Quirk earning the win in a game that Matt Sweeney started and starred offensively by knocking in three runs.

The team is made up of middle and high school players from throughout Rhode Island, Matt Sweeney, Matt O’Rourke and PJ Hazian from Western Hills Middle School, MJ Notorianni and Andrew Frey from Immaculate Conception, Tyler DiPetrillo and Jimmy Gianquitti from Bishop Hendricken, Kyle Barbato from Toll Gate, Ryan Quirk from La Salle, Liam Vetter from Portsmouth and Nick Pietrantozzi from Scituate. The team is managed by Mark Cahill with coaching assistance from Tom O’Rourke and Brendan Barbato.

HOME TO INTELLIGENT CIVL DIALOGUE CALLING FOR ACTION & KNOWN THE WORLD OVER

Providence (and Rhode Island) is becoming home to a number of events which serve three distinct purposes–

1. Coalescing positive elements (and by elements I mean people, who have created pockets of positive ecosystems here). Being positive in a place where cynicism has ruled the roost for so many years takes a lot of energy, time and commitment. Positive individuals NEED to have outlets to be around similarly positive people to gain support, recharge their psychic batteries and share their ideas and thoughts on improving our local community, and the world as a whole;
2. Having events which engage and welcome our student community is extremely important as we look for more of them to stay here upon graduation; and
3. TEDx Providence is now part of a growing list of exciting events which attract not only locals but which are also attracting individuals from around the world to come to Rhode Island (e.g., A Better World by Design, BIF Summit on Collaborative Innovation, MakerFaireRI, Social Venture Partners-Rhode Island SEEED Summit, our state’s eight film festivals, the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, Bryant University’s World Trade Day, etc.) to learn, network and dream big! Why is that important? Engaging with the world means just that, but first starts with welcoming individuals here. Not to sell them on our locale, but rather to show them them the talent that resides here and how we can help them achieve great success with our talent pool (and vice versa); that is the very essence of what engagement means.

ACKNOWLEDGING, HIGHLIGHTING AND LEVERAGING OUR WORLD CLASS TALENT IS ESSENTIAL

If you look at who presented at the inaugural TEDx Providence event…..I mean look at them–their life experiences, professional achievements and the impact they have had on the community….I can assure you of this–any community in the WORLD would love to have these individuals residing and working there. They represent the tip of the iceberg, but what sort of talent resides here! Professors who are great mentors; entrepreneurs who have contributed beyond the launch of their own ventures and work far beyond our borders; new arrivals to the state; new ideas being implemented that other communities around the world can learn from; and artists who exemplify innovation!

So, continue to watch out for such activities right here in your own backyard and get engaged!

When the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) announced their Grant Awards for 2011; a $5,000 grant was awarded to Southeastern Massachusetts Arts Collaborative (SMARTS) to support the script development phase of a documentary film, being directed by (former venerable Green Party political candidate) Jeff Toste, on the oldest operating American diner on wheels, downtown Providence’s Haven Brothers Diner.

http://www.havenbrothersmovie.com/

 Correction: An earlier version of this story indicated the movie was being produced by David Bettencourt, which it isn’t. Also, an earlier version listed a fundraiser, which has been canceled.

Here’s more:

“Get Made Monthly!” Drinks and demos meet-up for Rhode Island Makers who design and build for fun or profit.

Monday, April 2nd
7pm-10pm
Lucie Way, Providence RI
Free!

Featured demo from local open hardware manufacturer, kippkitts, LLC “Making Disco Lights for the Superman building!” using Arduino & xBee, plus Q&A from 7:30pm-8:00pm