This Just in from the Ocean State
Giona Picheco
Democrat Giona Picheco is running for State Representatives in District 14. She would be one of the first openly transgender state legislators in Rhode Island.
A US Navy veteran, Picheco served during Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. It was this experience that prompted her to enter politics, working at first to elect Democrats as well as protecting and expanding LGBTQ+ rights. Eventually, she made the decision to run for state rep herself and has been endorsed by the Rhode Island Working Families Party.
Picheco disagrees with many of the priorities of her opponent, the democratic deputy speaker of the House. They include voting against the Act on Climate, the Let Rhode Island Vote Act, and the high-capacity magazine ban.
“My motivation to run for this seat is that I’ve seen so many issues facing this community that haven’t been addressed,” Picheco told Uprise RI. “We have a lack of affordable housing, our schools are not adequately invested in and the accessibility of health care is inadequate. I did not see any of these issues being addressed by our current representation. I felt someone needed to bring a different voice.”
Priest removed
Priest Eric Silva was removed from two Rhode Island Catholic churches in early 2022, after parents alleged that Silva was asking inappropriate questions of children about their sexual orientation and sexual activity during confession.
Fr. Silva was asked to take a leave to reflect on his priestly responsibilities and to engage in additional formation. At Sunday Masses later that month, St. Luke Pastor Father Tim Reilly referred to Silva’s behaviors as “errors in pastoral judgment.”
Meanwhile, Silva has been assigned to another Rhode Island church, this time in Narragansett. Said Bishop Thomas Tobin, “Father Eric Silva is a fine priest and I am confident that he will serve his parish community very well.”
Monkeypox vaccine
As Rhode Island expands its monkeypox vaccination efforts upon receiving additional supply of vaccine, Open Door Health (ODH) announced on August 3 that it is accepting appointment requests on a first-come, first-served basis.
ODH is distributing the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine and, as the virus is disproportionately impacting gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, these individuals will be prioritized.
Due to the extraordinarily high volume of calls, online requests made via odhpvd.org are strongly encouraged. Individuals with a known exposure to the monkeypox virus or who are displaying symptoms should immediately call Open Door Health’s newly launched monkeypox hotline at 401-648-4700.
Twerking
Tiara Mack, who entered the Rhode Island legislature in January 2021 as the first openly LGBTQ Black person elected to the senate, posted a video of herself in July, on a beach, doing a headstand and twerking upside down. “Vote Senator Mack!” she said at the end of the eight-second clip—which went viral. While she received much praise for her post, (“Ignore the haters,” said one. “You are righteous and compassionate. I would love to have you as my senator; cheering you on from Connecticut,” she also received much criticism from such conservatives as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson and Georgia’s Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Mack’s response? “Damn. Twerking upside down really makes the conservative[s] … pop off on a Monday.” Not as amusing have been the death threats Mack has since received.
‘Inheritance’ at Trinity Rep
A Tony Award-winning play by Matthew López, “The Inheritance” was inspired by the 1910 novel “Howards End” by E.M. Forster. The play’s centered on a group of gay men trying to create a future for themselves in a turbulent time in America, decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic. Directed by Joe Wilson, Jr., the play is presented in two parts, the first of which runs Sept. 1–24. Part 2 will open Sept. 22 and run through Nov. 6 at Trinity Rep.
More: trinityrep.com
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