Cliff Wood, Providence Journal letter to the editor

Your Nov. 24 editorial (Don’t stand in the way, Mayor), in favor of a proposed development on former 195 land, gratuitously referred to our capital city as “to a great extent a ward of the state.” It is time to put this false and detrimental notion to rest. The Rhode Island economy is critically reliant on the vitality of Providence. According to the 2018 Department of Labor & Statistics’ State of the State: A Statistical Profile of Rhode Island’s Cities and Towns:

Providence establishments employ the largest number of private sector workers in the state and more than the next three municipalities combined.

Since 2016 Providence has added more population than anywhere else in Rhode Island.

Since the recession market sectors clustered in Providence (e.g., health care, education, arts & entertainment) have seen some of the strongest employment growth in the state.

A recent piece in the Boston Herald extolled our capital’s virtues, lauding our arts and culture, architecture, food, live music and special events, concluding, “Providence is truly world-class.” No longer should it require others to remind us of that fact.

The was originally published in The Providence Journal on December 4, 2018. See original.