The Republican caucus of the House of Representatives at the state Legislature needs to get its act together.
Just when you thought things would quiet down at the State House, with a budget passed and summer in full swing, House Republicans have engaged in an ugly political battle – with themselves.
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In recent weeks, six out of the 15 House GOP members have broken from the ranks, going as far as to ask House Speaker William J. Murphy, a Democrat, if he could find them separate office space.
Rep. Bruce Long, a Middletown Republican who has served in the General Assembly for 26 years, is among the dissidents. He and five other House Republicans have criticized the leadership style of House Minority Leader Robert A. Watson, an East Greenwich Republican. During the past couple of years, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican, has gone out of his way to drum up support for his party – recruiting candidates to run for legislative seats and, in some cases, campaigning directly for them. His efforts have been modestly successful, at best.
Growing the numbers of Republicans in the state Legislature has long ago proven to be a difficult task. At least Carcieri is trying.
This internal squabbling on the part of the House members does the governor – who needs more legislative support for his initiatives – no good.
Fifteen House members is not a formidable group to begin with – a split of six in one camp and nine in the other will be far less effective. A true two-party system at the General Assembly would be best for everyone. Now, instead of getting closer to that, the Republicans have ensured that we are farther from it than ever.
It seems to us that Rep. Watson and Rep. Long need to iron out their differences for the good of the party.
Providence is fortunate to have Hotel Providence
Stanley Weiss, the downtown property owner and developer, displayed long ago a dogged determination to realize his dream of brining an upscale hotel to Downcity. Weiss’ Hotel Providence was a decade in the works, but just last January it opened.
The hotel transformed two aging downtown properties – the Lederer Building on Mathewson Street and the former Bell Hall dormitory on Westminster Street. The 77-room boutique hotel opened to rave reviews for its elegance – its rooms reminiscent of a traditional upscale New York City hotel.
More recently, Hotel Providence added to its cache when the restaurant L’Epicureo, so popular on Federal Hill for many years, moved into the hotel’s lower level.
Now, Weiss and the management team he assembled, is getting the recognition they so richly deserve. Last week, Hotel Providence received a AAA Four Diamond rating – only the second hotel in the city, along with The Westin, to receive such an honor.
The AAA Four Diamond designation will bring Hotel Providence attention from all over the country – from all over the world, for that matter. It will help attract visitors to Downcity.
Providence is fortunate that people like Stanley Weiss and so many others continue to fuel its renaissance. Because, had he given up at any point during that decade, that property at the corner of Mathewson and Westminster – so beautiful today – might still be vacant. And it wouldn’t be attracting any visitors at all.
