Bill Bartholomew
The seeds were planted when Ben Mondor passed away in 2010, opening the door for a group of prominent businessmen to eventually acquire one of Rhode Island’s icons, the AAA affiliate of The Boston Red Sox, The Pawtucket Red Sox. Depending on who you ask, this past week’s announcement that the team will relocate to Worcester, MA beginning in 2021 is based largely on several factors: The State of Rhode Island’s inability to pass legislation to expand the public-private relationship between it has with the PawSox, and allow for the construction of a partially-publicly-financed new stadium at the location of the former Apex building off of interstate 95 in Pawtucket; Rhode Island taxpayers, who made it clear that they were largely unwilling to enter into a major public-private investment, still in the malaise of the horrendous 38 studios episode; or a ‘spiteful’ ownership group that wanted to embarrass House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello by pulling the ballclub out of Rhode Island just as political season is heating up in The Ocean State.
In any case, the departure of the Pawtucket Red Sox from Rhode Island is an example of the long term consequences of large ownership groups or corporations gobbling up local institutions.
At the end of the day, this past Friday, despite a fortyfive year history of baseball, entertainment, charity and local affection, PawSox ownership made it well-known that their bottom line far exceeded their commitment to the region and the bond the brand and the community had built together. While Capitalism in its natural state encourages the reassembly of control based on the wants and needs of The Market, The PawSox move to Worcester is an example of power and status far exceeding the importance of human and emotional elements that Capitalism was built to serve. Its an example of the importance of working to preserve or return local control to as many institutions as possible. The Providence Journal’s Mike Stanton offers tremendous insight into the Pawtucket Red Sox saga in this piece. FOO FEST as220's Foo Fest was Saturday, and I had a chance to go twice! Highlights included a packed indoor-stage, afternoon set from Providence’s Lookers, indie wrestling action from Ronald Ribera and company and a DELICIOUS (as always) vegan hot dog from Weenie Wizard. Pics on my Insta. Great work all around, especially considering the extreme thunderstorms that passed through Providence mid-afternoon. PRIMARY COVERAGE I will be in-studio covering the GOP gubernatorial debate this Friday Aug 31st at noon. The debate will be held on radio and Facebook Live via The John DePetro show. Follow along for my thoughts on my Twitter. Catch up with primary candidates Matt Brown, Giovanni Feroce, Joe Trillo, Luis-Daniel Munoz, Lt. Gov Dan McKee, Rep. Aaron Regunberg, Bob Flanders, Patricia Fontes, and Kobi Dennis on The Bartholomewtown Podcast. We will have more primary candidates for you as the days progress. Find the pod on Spotify, Alexa, Apple or wherever else you stream content. Did you miss an episode of Bartholomewtown Radio on 990wbob.com? Catch up on the past casts. Keep a look out for the next print edition of Motif Magazine, where I’ll have pieces on my recent conversations with Henry Rollins, Giovanni Feroce and more. LOVE LETTERS AND HATE MAIL: Josh in North Kingstown writes: I listened to your interview with (gubernatorial candidate) Anne Armstrong. Can I run for governor on the platform to do whatever is the opposite of what she thinks? BB: Josh, thanks for listening. If it weren’t too late to declare, I’d say, in a word, a resounding ‘yes’. Many candidates in this race seem to only be running as an opposition to another candidate without putting forth any ideas of their own, so you’d fit right inside that bracket, too! Based on our interview (PAST CAST LINK?) last week on Bartholomewtown Radio, Armstrong clearly has to work on articulating her positions in a digestible manner. Send you love letter or hate mail to: Bartholomewtown 669 Elmwood Ave Suite c5 Providence, RI 02907 Read More 990WBOB |
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An Independent Media Outlet.
The views opinions and thoughts expressed do not reflect those of 990WBOB, its management or its staff. All Rights Reserved 990WBOB.com 2007-2020
Contact WBOB HERE