Dee DeQuattro: Pulse on Politics - Inside Baseball

Dee DeQuattro

Pawtucket is a big loser this week as the new owners of the PawSox announced its intention to move the team from Pawtucket to Providence -- possibly on the vacant 195 land.  This move has the potential to devastate the already depressed city of Pawtucket.

Meanwhile, Providence stands to make huge gains. Not only will it bring people to the city but it will encourage the development of the I-195 land, which has remained vacant for more than two years.  Now, Pawtucket will be left with an empty stadium and less visitors to the city. 

Please don't leave me

Meanwhile Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien says he hope to convince them to stay. In a nicely worded letter submitted to the Valley Breeze, Grebien discussed the Mondor family’s vision for the team and how important the team has been to the city. He even reached out to House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed. As the tug-of-war match between Pawtucket and Providence over one of Rhode Island’s staples, the PawSox, continues it will be interesting to see how it will affect the relationship of both cities moving forward.

This rendering (not to scale) shows what the propose d waterfront baseball stadium in Providence may look like, using Charlotte's brand new BB&T Ballpark as an example.

Outside Providence

The fact that Providence may need to take the PawSox from Pawtucket to help its own vitality really indicates how bad things in Rhode Island have gotten. It’s not even a fair playing field. If you were the owners of the PawSox where would you rather be? In Providence where there is potential to have activities and amenities around the stadium or Pawtucket where there is basically nothing to do other than stop by the local diner after the game or drive over to Providence for dinner.

And it’s sad too. It shows Rhode Island is changing and even the token staples hat we all expect to always be around are not so permanent.

Fine and dandy

Things are not so fine at the Department of Health (sorry couldn’t resist) as Dr. Michael Fine announced he will be resigning at the end of March. Fine will leave his post as the Director of Public Health to pursue other opportunities. Isn’t that just the politically correct way of saying, “I’m being forced out”? 

Instead of burning bridges or looking as silly as Craig Stenning when he was forced from the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals and then tried to sneak into the DCYF, Fine bowed out gracefully. Who will replace him? Well, it has not yet been announced. 

Why not ask Ashoka Mukpo, the Rhode Island cameraman who contracted the Ebola virus and instantly became Rhode Island’s leading authority on Ebola? All joking aside, Dr. Fine will be just fine in the private sector after serving 4 years as the Director of the Department of Health.

Ms. Raimondo goes to Washington

I guess everything isn’t so perfect. It's no longer sunshine and rainbows with Rhode Island’s new leadership. Just last month we saw Governor Gina Raimondo standing side by side with House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello discussing how they will work as a team and there will be no more "business as usual" in Rhode Island. This week, the two had their first public feud over the Rhode Island State Budget. 

On Friday, Raimondo made some remarks in Washington D.C. at Politico’s annual State Solutions Conference about how in the past the General Assembly has hacked up the governor’s budget in the dead of night with the help of lobbyists. Speaker Mattiello responded to the remarks earlier this week, referring to them as disappointing and inaccurate. 

Don’t worry though, the story has a happy ending.  Raimondo reached out Mattiello on Tuesday and met with him on Wednesday. The speaker assures us that the working relationship is now back on track. You have to give Raimonod some credit -- she said what a lot of Rhode Islanders are thinking, she just needed to get out of Rhode Island to say it. Once she came back she had some sucking up to do though, after all we all know that the Speaker of the House is the one who holds the real power in Rhode Island.

There's holes in them there streets!

Meanwhile, Providence is on pothole patrol again. Mayor Elorza is already taking heat about his handling of the snow, so for his sake he should hope he gets on top of the Pothole Patrol. Thursday marks the first day of the pot hole plugging. People with pothole problem can contact the city at (401) 421-2489. Let just hope the city is better at patching holes then they are at plowing snow.

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