STORY OF THE WEEK: The biggest election race in Rhode Island next month will assess the extent to which Cranston voters want change or to maintain the status quo. During a debate at Cranston West last week, Mayor Ken Hopkins argued that things are going well in the city – and will get better if he wins a second term. Challenger Robert Ferri contended that Hopkins hasn’t delivered as promised, and he said voters deserve better. The scrum was sponsored by The Public’s Radio, the Cranston Herald and Rhode Island PBS. One subtext is whether the higher number of votes in a presidential election – typically 35,000 to 40,000 in Cranston – will offer a boost to Ferri as the Democrat tries to wrest control of City Hall. However, in contrast to the statewide struggles of the GOP, Republicans have typically maintained control of the mayor’s office in Cranston (and fwiw, municipal politics tends to be less partisan). When I asked the candidates to name the current RI official they most admire, Hopkins cited Gov. Dan McKee and Ferri named U.S. Sen. Jack Reed. The RI Current’s Alexander Castro and the Globe’s Ed Fitzpatrick have detailed recaps of the debate as does the Cranston Herald. One question to ponder is whether the primary – when Hopkins scored a 17-point victory over fellow Republican Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung – points to satisfaction with the incumbent or offers an opening for the challenger, since 41% of primary voters picked a rival candidate.

NOW & THEN: Peter Neronha hasn’t been shy about flexing his role as attorney general on issues including healthcare and the environment. The approach seems to resonate with Rhode Islanders, judging by how he had the best approval rating (41%) among state officials in a recent Pell Center poll. That’s why it’s worth noting how one of Neronha’s predecessors, former AG Patrick Lynch – who cut short his 2010 run for governor and now has a lucrative private practice – fared better on approval rating in a series of bygone Brown University polls: 48% (June 2005); 44% (September 2005); 48% (June 2006); 51% (September 2006); 40% (January 2007); and 48% (September 2007). 

NEWPORT: Hannah Levintova has a zesty read in Mother Jones about how Stephen Schwarzman, 77, the CEO of private equity giant Blackstone, is aggravating homeowners in an exclusive section of the city. Excerpt: “It’s not only the roar of helicopter blades irritating Schwarzman’s neighbors: His massive renovation at Miramar has incensed local residents, not for its opulence—this town is used to the wild construction demands of wealthy out-of-towners—but for its Marie Antoinette level of disregard for the community. And as the drama of his Petit Versailles has irked Schwarzman’s neighbors, it has also offered a window into what happens when he throws his might and fortune behind a goal—be it a Rhode Island palace or a potential president.”

SHOT: Good question from Ted Nesi – has social media been more of a net positive or negative for society?

CHASER: Via the sagacious Jack Shafer, in 2013: “Our political ignorance is as enduring as it is pervasive.”

GOP THUNDER: With three of nine Republican state representatives not seeking re-election in the Rhode Island House of Representatives, does it make sense for Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-West Warwick), a durable vote-getter in her district, to make a longshot bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse? Asked about this during an interview on Political Roundtable, Morgan responded, “I think our country’s in trouble. I think the last four years have put a lot of challenges on Rhode Island families. And I think they’re ready to have the kind of representation that they need in Congress. When I was looking at it this year, I just felt, as hard as I was fighting in the General Assembly for what I call the little guys, everyday Rhode Islanders, that most of the really bad policies were coming from the federal level. And so, that’s where I think I should be. That’s where I should be, so that I can affect those larger policies that are really crumbling the financial security of so many people here in Rhode Island.”

DIVESTMENT: The governing board of Brown University has voted against divesting from 10 companies that student activists said facilitate “the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.” An advisory panel found that “Brown has no direct investments in any of the companies targeted for divestment and that any indirect exposure for Brown in these companies is so small that it could not be directly responsible for social harm,” according to an open letter from top university officials. Student activists are meeting to consider their next step. Pew has findings on American views of the conflict one year after Oct. 7.

COMING UP: Brown President Christina Paxson will take part in a featured conversation during the annual meeting of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce at the Rhode Island Convention Center on Nov. 25.

OVERDOSES: Via Lynn Arditi: “Nearly three-quarters of the country reported declines in fatal opioid overdoses in the second half of last year, but in Rhode Island they increased 7%, according to a new report by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. The reason: More people 65 and older in Rhode Island died of opioid overdoses.”

HOSPITALS: The Centurion Foundation has been largely silent, publicly at least, since AG Neronha imposed a host of conditions in June on its proposed purchase of CharterCARE, owner of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. The state Department of Health filed notice this week that it is beginning another step in the process, the proposed change of effective control. The deadline for public comments is Nov. 6.

ETHICS: Gov. Dan McKee recently appointed Michael Browner Jr., principal of the Frank E. Thompson Middle School in Newport, to serve on the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, filling out the last vacant spot on the panel. Under the leadership of Kent Willever, and more recently, Jason Gramitt, the commission has come a long way from a meltdown more than 20 years ago when the commission gutted a zero-tolerance gift ban for public officials, fired a director when he hired an out-of-state lawyer to investigate complaints against three commissioners and, in the view of critics, sidestepped a complaint against a sitting House speaker.

HOUSING: The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council is out with a new report analyzing Rhode Island’s spending on housing. RIPEC makes the following recommendations: “The state should expand its range of investments to include more middle-income and market-rate housing; Rhode Island needs greater state investment in housing through a dedicated revenue source; The state should explore mechanisms to improve returns on the state’s investment of housing dollars; The state should seek to reduce the complexity of its housing programs; The state should develop innovative programs to tackle its overall housing shortage.”

SHORT TAKES: 

– Ken Block, author of “Disproven: My Unbiased Search for Voter Fraud for the Trump Campaign, the Data that Shows Why He Lost, and How We Can Improve Our Elections,” recently appeared on C-SPAN to discuss his research into Donald Trump’s claims about voter fraud in 2020.

– Providence County is a top destination for people leaving Massachusetts, reports Axios.

– RI House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale of Foster, state Rep. David Morales (D-Providence), and Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller and I took part in a spirited hour-long discussion Thursday at the Providence Athenaeum on national and state politics. It will be broadcast on The Public’s Radio (89.3 FM) on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m.

– James Baumgartner has the story of how the new Community MusicWorks Center in Providence is more than a place for making music. 

– Ben Berke reports on the story behind the rise of the first female police chief in Fall River.

– The Conservation Law Foundation has notified Sims Metal, one of the largest scrap metal companies in the U.S., of its intent to sue for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at facilities in Rhode Island and other states.

KICKER: Although I was a Mets fan as a kid in New Jersey, it was hard not to cheer for the Sox – and Luis Tiant – as they went up against the Big Red Machine in the 1975 World Series. Tiant captivated fans with his signature motion, turning toward the outfield before delivering a pitch, and he left it all on the field, although the Reds went on to win the Fall Classic, one of the best ever. (Years later, I had the chance to chat with El Tiante at spring training and he was a delight.) Mike Szostak has a fine tribute to the Sox legend, who died this week at age 83, noting how he completed almost 40% of his career starts. Mike reports that Tiant lived to compete in big games: “Carl Yastrzemski once said: “If you wanted one pitcher to start a big game, it would be Luis Tiant. Nobody was a tougher competitor or a better teammate.”