But one question that has not been asked, and which should be, is whether this issue was the real cause of the public ouster of RIC President Nancy Carriuolo several months ago. The President, who was subjected to a negative publicity blitz following the publication of a letter signed by several current and former members of the College community with ties to the administration of President Emeritus John Nazarian, announced she would step down after May 2016 this past December.
Yet there is something here that, for those who understood the situation intimately, seems amiss. Sources indicate that the President knew early on that she was facing an uphill battle with key players on Smith Hill and that, try as she might, she was unable to sway these background personages. Indeed, the public behavior of people like Dr. Mark Motte and Jane Fusco was considered an augury of a larger party whose identities were never revealed but could be guessed due to the sound of silence.
For instance, President Emeritus Nazarian, who spent the better part of his life in the College community and who always worked to boost its reputation, was strangely mum during the entire Carriuolo ouster, a news story that reached international headlines and certainly impacted its reputation. Another voice not heard during the entire affair was Governor Raimondo, who might have provided a lifesaving boost to the female executive of the College as the first woman to sit in the executive office on Smith Hill. And just as Dr. Carriuolo is neutralized, an out-of-the-ordinary state official with problematic financing appears from nowhere?
Sources have indicated that there were issues arising with Dr. Carriuolo being involved with affairs on campus that some would call domineering. But if the individual whose major task is to fund raise for the College and its affiliated charities has to be dealing with something like this recent move, why not be on guard? One thing that can be said with some certainty is that, as someone who is connected to Rhode Island by marriage rather than upbringing and hails from New York, she is not by nature attenuated to the crony culture of Smith Hill and the type of back room deals that someone like Dr. Nazarian came to naturally.
This is all speculation at this point; Dr. Carriuolo has for the entirety of the affair surrounding her ouster given no comment to the press and it is doubtful other parties might come forward from the other side of this discussion. But Sen. Jabour and Attorney General Kilmartin might be able to loosen some tongues.
]]>Among the protesters was Randall Rose of Occupy Providence, Dr. Peter Nightingale of the University of Rhode Island, independent film maker Robert Malin, and Green Party activist Greg Geritt. They were offering their protest in solidarity with fasting environmental activists in Washington DC who are staging their action simultaneous with the arrival of Pope Francis. The Catholic leader has made climate change a major focus is his recent encyclical, LAUDATO SI, and is expected to raise the issue during his visit to America and the United Nations this week. The Pope just recently visited Cuba, a country that converted to a sustainable energy power grid and green infrastructure after the fall of the Soviet Union collapsed their petroleum import markets in the early 1990’s.
During her opening remarks, Governor Raimondo emphasized the cultural and economic ties between Rhode Island and Cape Verde. Cape Verde has begun rolling out a sustainable energy program in the past several years, such as opening a solar panel energy park last month that Prime Minister Neves attended. The nation, made up of a chain of islands, stands to sustain extreme damage should the oceans rise significantly due to climate change’s melting of the polar ice caps. A significant portion of the population lives beside the ocean in housing whose foundations would be threatened by erosion. Some of the islands would be completely submerged. Beginning in 2011, the island began an expected nine year program to convert the power grid to renewable resources.
Protestors outside the room hosting the Prime Minister of Cape Verde.
]]>“This business, [with] 17, 18 employees, this is the lifeblood of Rhode Island’s economy. Most Rhode Islanders work for companies just like this, [with] 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 employees,” Raimondo said. “So, as governor, I am very focused on making it easier to do business, less expensive to do business.”
Some of the initiatives that Raimondo spoke about were big parts of the state budget, like the elimination of the sales tax on energy for businesses, as well as decreasing the corporate minimum tax from $500 to $450. Raimondo also took the time to highlight other parts of her jobs plan, such as the streetscape improvement fund, a small business assistance program run by the Commerce Corporation, and a program for “innovation vouchers.”
“Think of it as a coupon,” Raimondo said. “You can come to the Commerce Corporation, get a coupon, and then redeem your coupon at one of our local universities to get access to R&D. If you have a new technology you want to investigate, if you’re a healthcare company, if one of your clients is a healthcare company, a lot of the times they want access to a research team at URI or Brown or RISD or Johnson & Wales. Get the coupon from the Commerce Corporation, check it in with the university, and have special access. We’re trying to promote more innovation.”
Silva, who has owned and operated Graphic Ink since 1997, said that he was very excited for the governor to come visit his shop, and expressed support for her jobs plan.
“I think her plan that she’s launching is right on point with where small businesses need to be, and small businesses are the backbone of the state in my opinion,” Silva said. “It’s very exciting to hear that she is really encouraging to support small businesses.”
Silva said initiatives like the energy sales tax elimination and the roadside improvements continue to make it easier for his business, and businesses like his, to keep employing people, and therefore invest in the local community. He even said that he believes that, because the state is on an economic upturn, that Rhode Islanders are more likely to invest in small businesses.
“I believe she has recharged the state in a way that, there are many people, companies, organizations, colleges, that have a lot of activity going on. We are an event-based business. We produce things for events. There are lots of things going on, which in turn makes us a busy shop,” he said.
According to Silva, this increase in activity, and reinvestment in small businesses, has opened up a lot of jobs in the community, which is looking for skilled workers. In his opinion, now that the economy is beginning to heal, the next logical step is to work on getting vocational education programs out there for students to become trained laborers right out of high school, or in college. Silva said that he is always willing to train an employee on site, but some positions do require skilled labor, such as graphics or design.
With all of these changes, Silva envisions a bright future for small businesses in Rhode Island.
“I see small business, in my case, [becoming] stronger and stronger, as the owners and employees are willing to put some effort into it. As long as we put some effort into it and work hard, hard work pays off.”
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