Category: RI
The Power of Digital Storytelling
Over the course of this semester we learned the power of digital storytelling. This skill is very important to me personally because I consider myself a visual person. Our final assignment of the semester for Digital Journalism was to create a package on our beats, that have at least five aspects of digital media or interactivity. Right away we knew we wanted to use some ideas we got from class, when we heard the untold story of the USS Kirk from the Vietnam War via NPR.
The one thing I really took away from that piece was the idea that we could add different stories that we were not able to include in our package. For example, we had a really important interview with Scott Slater, the Rhode Island Representative that proposed the bill to legalize and tax the recreational use of marijuana in the Ocean State. We learned a really unique story about Slater’s father, and how he wrote the bill for medical marijuana that passed in 2006. Though this story was not very useful for the story we were telling in our package, we though this could add some human interest, so we added the soundbites from his story, and placed it strategically in our article.
Another aspect of interactivity that I thought would be useful was a poll. Since our article includes statistics on a recent poll in Rhode Island, where people were asked if they would be okay with legalization of marijuana if it were taxed similarly to alcohol, we decided to do a follow-up question to that poll.
Other that that, we incorporated lessons from this class, such as a ThingLink and we created our own Google Map. Both of these illustrations added a lot of visuals to our package. The Google Map was able to show where all the dispensaries are located in the state, and the ThingLike highlighted some important facts about marijuana. Other than that, our most important aspect of our final project was the video package, and i think we were pretty satisfied with how that came out! Overall, it’s been a great semester and the lessons I learned in this class will certainly stick with me in all of my journalism classes and future endeavors.
RI Lawmakers Spark Marijuana Conversation
Once again Rhode Island lawmakers spark the conversation that may just spark joints statewide. That’s right, the topic of legalization is back on the table, as many strongly believe the regulation of marijuana could bring a big boost in the economy.
There is new legislation that was introduced by Sen. Josh Miller and Rep. Scott Slater joined by members of Regulate Rhode Island. The goal is to end Rhode Island’s prohibition of marijuana and instead tax and regulate it like alcohol. The bill has been introduced three years earlier, but it currently has a lot of momentum.
The proposal would allow those who are 21 and older to possess and cultivate very limited amounts of cannabis. The Department of Business Regulation will have to license and regulate marijuana producers and at least 10 retail marijuana stores.
This approach to marijuana could create thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars of new revenue, as it has for Colorado. A report issued by OpenDoors estimates that the proposed Rhode Island model would generate between $21.5 and $82 million a year in a much needed new tax revenue.
In poll of 762 Rhode Island voters, 57 percent support the legalization and taxation of marijuana, in a manner that is similar to alcohol.
Today, Brown University will host a public forum with expert speakers to discuss both sides of the bill. Panel will talk about health issues, social justice, taxation, revenue, and social costs.
Photo by ૐ Didi ૐ / Flickr
Providence Food Trucks to a Street Near You
Providence is known to have dozens of different food trucks that drive around the city all season long. Summer is just around the corner, which means food trucks will be back on their wheels again to satisfy the stomach’s of Rhode Islanders.
If you ever wonder where to find your favorite food truck flavor, we compiled a list of food trucks in the city of Providence, and their primary location.
On Friday, May 1st the Eat Drink RI Festival will host Truck Stop to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.
Participating trucks include:
Acacia Cafe
Buddha Belly
Citizen Wing
Ellie’s Bakery
Flour Girls Baking Company LLC
Fugo Food Truck
Gilded Tomato Company
GottaQ BBQ Food Truck & Catering
Like No Udder
Mijos Tacos
Noble Knots
O’Crepe
Pat’s Pastured
Presto Strange O Coffee Truck
Rocket Fine Street Food
Tallulah’s Taqueria
Small Business Spotlight: Aquidneck Honey
Aquidneck Honey is located in Middletown, Rhode Island and owned and operated by Jeff Mello. They produce many different chemical-free honey products, including raw honey, honey combs and flavored honey.
To some, bees are pesky little insects that give you a sharp shooting sting when you get in their way. For others they are used to make delicious sweet honey. But what people tend to not realize is that those bees are actually vital to our society, specifically because of their role in our food chain.
Jeff Mello is the owner of Aquidneck Honey, and though he is deathly allergic to bees, that does not stop his passion for bee farming. He takes care of his bees properly and keeps chemicals far away from his hives.
He also is on-call for situations where there are dangerous hives in public areas. He will safely remove the hive, and then restore the bees to bring them to safety. Alternatively, If he didn’t do that, the bees would be killed. He also helps people who want to start their own hives.
Not only does his work help populate the bee community, he also helps the human population. Bees are the most important pollinator of food crops. In fact, more than 80% of US crops are said to rely on honey bees.
“We all eat plants, vegetables, animals. Animals eat plants and other animals. Bees are at the very beginning of our food cycle. The very beginning. Without bees we will cease to exist,” said Mello.
Crowdfunding Helps Start Up Businesses
Photo by Rocio Lara / Flickr
Once again the Internet has proved to change the way the world operates. Now, crowdfunding has become a viable option for those trying to start up a business.
This concept is very new, and some are still unsure how it works. Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project by raising money from a large number of people, by means of the Internet. This can be used to fund service trips, hospital bills, and now it is helping small businesses raise enough money to get through the start up phase.
Companies like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and GoFundMe are all similar funding platforms that attract people in need of monetary donations. Social media websites are being used to share and advertise these campaigns, and it has proved to be successful.
With this new dynamic in the digital realm, the Internet has once again proved to be an extremely powerful tool. Powerful enough to help fuel the economy, and the current state of the Rhode Island can use all the help it can get.
RWU Professor Defines Small Business
Jerry Dautrive is a Professor of Economics and the Director of Business Engagement at Roger Williams University. In this audio slide show he defines what a small business is, and it’s role in our small state economy, as well as on the national scale.
Rhode Island Lawmakers Consider Raise in Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers
Brad Fagan / Flickr
In a move that could hurt small restaurants in Rhode Island, lawmakers consider a raise in the minimum wage for tipped workers. The current rate now is $2.89 an hour, which Representative Aaron Regunberg proposed it be raised to $4.50 in 2016.
Regunberg acknowledges that the state has not changed this rate in almost 20 years, and other states such as New York and Massachusetts have recently arranged to make similar adjustments.
The Providence Democrat proposes not just that is raises in 2016, but also that it would reach $9 in 2019, and be equivalent to the regular minimum wage by 2020.
More than 150 people went to the statehouse to voice their opinions on this bill. As expected, this faced some backlash but also some praise.
Some restaurant owners argue that this bill is unnecessary due to the circumstances that the tipped worker does not earn the state’s minimum wage of $9 per hour, than the restaurant has to compensate them for the balance.
However tipped workers would agree that the salary they are working on right now is tight and sometimes not enough to support a family. The current rate in Rhode Island is lower than surrounding states, with a rate of $4.58 an hour in Vermont and $3 an hour in Massachusetts, which is also considering similar legislation to eventually eliminate the two-tiered wage system.
Nearly 70 percent of Rhode Island’s tipped workers are women, and they are more likely than workers in other sectors to live in poverty and use food stamps, according to Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which advocates for the nation’s restaurant workforce.
Governor Gina Raimondo recently approved of a bill to raise the actual minimum wage from $9 to $10.10, and has directed the state’s Department of Labor and Training to study how tipped workers are paid and measures of the existing law.
There will be much more research and discussion on this matter before any official changes are made, but it is definitely an issue that could make it or break it for small restaurants in the state.
Providence’s Superman Building: State’s Tallest Reminder of Economic Decline
The Providence Superman Building is an iconic part of the Providence skyline. In fact, it’s the tallest building in the state of Rhode Island, and the 28th tallest in New England.
Almost two years ago that building went dark, and it became the largest reminder of the state’s economic decline over the past several years.
Restoring this 26-story building, located in an ideal location at the center of downtown Providence, could be a huge step toward fueling the state’s economy.
Recently there has been talks of Citizens Bank looking at the building as a possibility for their headquarters. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has said that filling the large space on 111 Westminister Street, the east end of Kennedy Plaza is a priority of his administration.
Former Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr. believes that city and state leaders need to create a plan to entice Citizen’s Bank to move it’s headquarters into that building.
“Citizens would be the savior of Providence, of Rhode Island, when it comes to commercial property if they ever consolidated everybody to go there,” Paolino said on WPRI’s Executive Suite.
The bank currently has about 5,370 employees in Rhode Island, and Paolino estimates that they could move about 4,000 employees into that location.
According to an appraisal conducted last year by Providence-based appraiser Scotti and Associates, it would cost between $60 million and $100 million to rehabilitate.
If all goes smoothly, this 428 foot skyscraper just may light up the city once again.
Tony Kent / Flickr
RI Local Startup Companies
Picture by Brad Fagan
Rhode Island has had a declining economy for years. Local small businesses may be the key to stimulating this suffering economy, especially when local dollars are being locally spent.
Over the course of the next semester I will be researching many local small businesses that are in the start up phase. I hope to experience a local company transition out of the start up phase and begin the journey to maximizing their business to the full potential.
My group members and I shot stills at Hope & Main in Warren, R.I. and in the downtown business districts of Warren, R.I. and Barrington, R.I. I thought this would be a good location to begin with, as Hope & Main has become the local source for small businesses in their grassroots phase.
Hope & Main was an abandoned elementary school that was eventually taken over and transformed into a culinary business incubator. Though this business has been successful, this was not the owners original plan.
Lisa Raiola needed to start eating locally, but didn’t know any local companies to turn to. After doing a lot of research and finding little results, she started planing to open her own local food business. She then lacked another resource, someone to help kickstart her business.
She discovered the abandoned school and immediately realized the space would serve as an ideal incubator, where many small business and entrepreneurs could seek proper assistance. She recognized the demand, and created a supply for it.
Hope & Main now has up to thirty companies that is has supported throughout their start up phases. Businesses like this have the power to add hundreds of jobs and kickstart many small businesses in Rhode Island. Just one idea could add significant growth to the state’s economy.
Rhode Island to Raise Minimum Wage in 2016
In three years, Rhode Island has seen the minimum wage climb from $7.25 to $8 per hour. It just recently went up to $9 at the start of 2015. Now, state legislators will raise the minimum wage again, to $10.10 per hour effective Jan. 1, 2016.
Rep. David Bennett introduced the bill that would raise the current hourly minimum by $1.10, because he believes it is difficult to live off $9 an hour. He also argues that by boosting the minimum wage, they are hoping that will translate to more local money spent, which will help stimulate the economy.
“Now is a good time to give them another boost in their wages. As we come out of the recession, they’ll fare as well as everyone else,” said Bennett.
Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis, a Coventry Democrat, also supports an increase of minimum wage, but proposes that it be relative to the Consumer Price Index, and caps increases at 50 cents per year.
Though Gina Raimondo is in favor of raising the minimum wage, that decision was not unanimous. At the hearing on the bill, smaller businesses and organizations opposed the bill, saying it would be very difficult to afford
Rhode Island is taking the lead for raising minimum wage in New England with this action, however Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts are also planning future raises.
Could this change help reduce the unemployment rate in Rhode Island, which is one of the worst in the country? It could add incentive for the many college students in the state to stay in the state after graduation. The job creation that could come from this may finally fuel the state’s brain drain that it has struggled with for years.
Picture obtained via domenic.izzi on Flickr
Note: The content of this article has changed to support that this bill has passed
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