As a candidate, Jorge Elorza promised that tax deals would not be given out unless Providence could profit from the deal in some way. Mayor Elorza, however, seems intent on perpetuating the kinds of bad practices that lead inevitably to higher tax rates for home owners.
When the RI Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) were in the process of interviewing candidates for Mayor of Providence in search of the group’s endorsement, they took the liberty of recording the interviews. One of the questions that the group posed to then candidate Elorza was about Tax Stabilization Agreements (TSAs) which are essentially massive tax breaks given by the city to what it considers to be worthy investments. The idea behind TSAs is that a company might want to build in Providence, and in order to lure the company here, a tax break is given. This might spur building and development, and if used properly, is arguably a good idea.
However, in practice, these tax breaks are not doled out in ways that might spur growth or development, but are given out to developers who have back room connections to City Hall. It’s cronyism at its worst, and it costs Providence home owners directly, as their taxes are raised to cover the breaks given to insiders.
According to the Progressive Democrats, “The deals pending before the city right now are even more egregious than usual. That’s because the development has already happened. There’s no question of encouraging development–the developers want their special tax deals to continue. This is just giving the city’s limited tax dollars to big developers. Pure and simple.”
Sam Bell, executive director of the RIPDA, said, “One of the things that really inspired us about Elorza when he was running was his commitment to crack down on the abusive culture of corporate welfare. It’s very sad to see him change his tune now that he’s won.”
You can watch Elorza answer the question about TSAs below.
See more here: Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties
When the Step-Up Coalition decided to attend Mayor Jorge Elorza’s second meeting with East Side citizens concerning what Commissioner Steven Paré called “a slight uptick” in crime, a certain amount of friction was to be expected. Members of the Step-Up Coalition, which includes DARE, PrYSM, the American Friends Service Committee and the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, have been clamoring for a meeting with Elorza for months, but Elorza has continually declined the coalition even as he met with the wealthier, whiter and more politically powerful East Side residents twice.
Nearly 100 people attended the Black Major Movement demonstration outside the Providence City Hall Monday afternoon. Organized by community activist Kobi Dennis, the point of the protest is to balance the lack of police officers of high rank in Providence. Currently a “black police officer of high rank is non-existent on of current police force,” says Dennis. The demonstrators are asking Mayor Jorge Elorza to appoint a veteran black police officer to the rank of major.
City Council President Luis Aponte stopped by in support of the demonstration, as did Councillors Mary Kay Harris and Wilbur Jennings, Jr. Jennings told me that he’s “definitely down with the idea behind the black major movement.”
Fifteen plastic sandwich bags containing racist and anti-semitic literature and weighed down with white rice were left on the doorsteps and sidewalks of East Side homes in Providence over night and discovered early Thursday morning by residents. Fire and police responded by cutting off access to Methyl St and part of Lorimer Ave. They were treating the material as a Level 1 hazard pending test results.
Participants and observers of the AIDS Walk RI opening ceremonies were given a treat when Ronald Lewis, activist poet and actor, spoke about the forgotten transgender, women of color origins of the 
This year’s theme for AIDS Walk RI was “Keeping Hope Alive” and despite the reality of nearly 100 new cases of HIV being diagnosed in our state every year, there is hope that one day HIV will be eradicated. Dr. Philip Chan, MD, from the Miriam Hospital’s Immunology Center said that giving a positive HIV diagnosis to a patient is the worst part of his job. He talked about the virtues of a new drug, PrEP, a pre-exposure prophylaxis that prevents the transmission of HIV.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH spoke of three foci at the RI Department of Health, where she is the director. “We want to continue to enhance partner services, making sure that people know how to stop their partners from getting infected by raising awareness. getting tested and letting them know about PEP ad PREP. We also want to highlight our ‘men who have sex with men communities’ that are disproportionately affected by HIV and syphilis and some of the other STDs… our third priority is also highlighting our youth and our communities of color, where there are higher rates of STDs as well as HIV.”
Members of Hope Harris‘ family gathered on stage to present the “Hope Harris Award.” Harris was a member of the AIDS Project RI board for the last part of her life. She was also a longtime receptionist for the late Senator John Chafee and also served in Senator Lincoln Chafee‘s office. She was known as a kind and deeply religious person who recognized the value of person, without regard to race, orientation or gender identity.
“This is an issue that starts here and ends here,” said Paul Doughty, the president of the 
More than 50 homeless and community advocates protested and confronted the police on Thursday afternoon in front of CVS near Kennedy Plaza within sight of Providence City Hall. At least 14 police officers were on hand, though no arrests were made. The protesters carried signs demanding an end to “a noticeable increase of harassment of homeless folks around the city.”
The police officers told Kurland that she was in violation of “failure to move,” a non-existent offense with “no legal basis in city ordinance or state statute,” that is often used to threaten and harass homeless people, according to RICH. When Kurland explained that there was no such law, she was arrested
The police were in fact ready with plastic handcuffs hanging from their belts and two “paddy wagons” parked on the opposite side of Kennedy Plaza. During the protest the police made a large show of force that included at least one officer videotaping the crowd, for reasons that are unclear. The Providence Police are often videotaping crowds at such events, but do not seem to have any policies in place regarding the use of such video.
RICH drew attention to a report from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which “details the ways in which criminalizing ordinances are damaging both to individuals experiencing homelessness and to the cities that enact them. It also found that, despite a lack of affordable housing and shelter space, cities across the country are essentially making it illegal to be homeless with laws that outlaw life-sustaining acts, such as eating and sleeping, in public spaces.”
RI famously passed a “
More than 400 people gathered inside the Grace Episcopal Church in Providence on Sunday afternoon for an interfaith memorial and prayer vigil for the victims of the racist murders that took place in Charleston more than a week ago. Though these events happened far from Rhode Island, our state is far from innocent. Ours is the state with the lowest percentage of Black home ownership. Our General Assembly ended the the legislative season unable to pass any laws banning guns from schools or keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
Mayor Jorge Elorza helped to unfurl the rainbow Pride flag on the steps of the Providence City Hall as a crowd of about 75 members and supporters of the Providence area LGBTQ community applauded.
There were more than 350 people in support of the 
On April 15th, Providence became one of over 200 cities to participate in a “National Day of Action to Fight for $15.”
The groups are also asking Mayor 
