Flags at half-mast at Casa Diablo and black mourning mantillas over Phillipe and Jorge’s heads on learning of the death of Ben Mondor Sunday at his home in Warwick Neck at age 85.
As everyone who is a true-blue resident of the Biggest Little knows, Ben was the beloved owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox, one of the most successful — and storybook — franchises in baseball history (and that is not an exaggeration). Ben bought what was then the Rhode Island Red Sox in 1977. At the time the club was a struggling minor league franchise with a neglected stadium, its floors sticky from spilled beer and its atmosphere distinctly morgue-like. He turned it topsy-turvy, by renovating the famed but peeling Wall of Fame mural that wrapped around the stadium; hiring talented front office executives who have not only won Minor League Executive of the Year awards, but stayed put in the Bucket out of love and loyalty; and creating a family-friendly atmosphere that became famous nationally. Oh, and there was that little sidelight business — nurturing dozens of future stars for the parent club at Fenway.
P+J came to know Ben over the years, and McCoy Stadium is where Jorge once sang the national anthem and Phillipe threw out the first pitch on a Memorial Day years back. A more gregarious, cheery, generous, and wonderful soul never lived. We are saddened, but have so many joyous memories of the man and what he created that we can only say thank you for enriching so many lives. (And we want that new Route 95 bridge over the Blackstone River named for him when it is finally built. It’s the least he deserves.)
GREEN? ONLY IF IT IS THE COLOR OF MONEY
P+J are absolutely appalled by reports of the performance put on by our gubernatorial candidates at the recent environmental debate held at Providence College. And we are not alone.
By all accounts, the Environment Council of Rhode Island-sponsored showcase revealed that none of the candidates see the direct link between state economic issues and the environment. In fact, there were insinuations by some of further cuts at the already bleeding-to-death Department of Environmental Management. This is preposterous, just plain ill-informed, and stupid. Reducing staff and gutting regulations for the candidates’ developer cronies will not help the economy recover. It is throwing away the state’s natural resources with not even a thought about what this state will look like for future generations.
How many times do we have to say that Narragansett Bay is the state’s largest environmental and economic resource before these bozos understand? And that this beautiful place should be a competitive advantage, not some irrelevant afterthought to undercut at every turn? These governor wannabes stood up there lying about their economic recovery plans, and moaning about the lack of available funding and looming cuts in various services they are too spineless to name up front. Is tourism economic development? Are marine trades? Obviously the answer to those questions from the candidates is “no.” Absolutely wrong, boyos.
