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This site is a living/changing/growing site for the clients, partners and friends of Duffy & Shanley. Duffy & Shanley is an advertising, public relations and marketing firm based in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence, Rhode Island, is located 50 minutes south of Boston and is New England’s second largest city. Cities are incorporated municipal centers with high concentrations of residents. The Residents are a seminal performance-art band from San Francisco who made waves with their parody of the Beatles.

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Wind power, brainpower and moving an entire highway to make way for our new office. Kinda. Welcome to Rhode Island: The Optimistic-as-all-hell State. Put it on the license plate. Let’s go!
by Jon Duffy, President

As you may have gathered from our aptly titled “Sweet P” section, we’re big boosters of the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island. It’s a unique home we have here, with so much to offer in terms of quality of life — great theater, restaurants, magnificent architecture, a colorful history, ocean views — most all of it affordable, and all within an easy drive of both Boston and NYC.

The thing is, both Rhode Island and the city of Providence have suffered greatly during our current economic downturn. Our unemployment rate is 13% — third highest in the nation. Our tax structure is among the highest in the country, which is hurting our business environment. And our state budget deficit has been described as “catastrophic” by Pew.

Now as many of you know, I’m an optimist at heart. So you might raise an eyebrow at what I’m about to say, but stay with me here. I am truly bullish on Rhode Island’s future, and the several game-changing initiatives underway. Rhode Island was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and today, we have a chance to reinvent ourselves once again.

The first game-changer is the development of North America’s first offshore wind farm. Our Governor has mandated that RI utilize 15% of our energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. The offshore wind projects will allow us to deliver on this aggressive mandate. Not only will Rhode Island be taking the lead role in our country’s development of renewable energy, we’ll be developing our own green economy. The wind farm projects will produce hundreds of green collar manufacturing jobs at a time when our manufacturing jobs are declining at a double-digit pace. Even more exciting is the opportunity for the offshore wind industry supply chain to move to Quonset Point. With all current offshore manufacturing coming out of Europe, North America will need a home for the supply chain, and Rhode Island is the place. This could result in thousands of needed jobs for Rhode Islanders in a growing and exciting industry. Jobs. Pride. Renewable energy. Good stuff.

Yes, I’m optimistic. I truly believe that when we put our minds to it, we can move mountains, not to mention rivers and highways. Which brings me my second game-changer: The relocation of Interstate 195. In the ‘80s, we moved rivers to revitalize downtown Providence. This time we’ve moved a highway. Interstate 195 used to run through the middle of Providence, dividing the financial area from the Jewelry District and the hospitals. The New York Times recently highlighted the uniqueness of this opportunity. No other major urban area in the U.S. has this exciting an opportunity. A chance to remake itself. Now located south of the city, the new “I-Way” is opening up of over 30 acres in the heart of the Sweet P which will serve as the epicenter of our 21st Century economy — a Knowledge-Based Economy.

And that’s my final game-changer: Our big brains. We are home to some of the greatest institutions of higher education in the nation — Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence College, University of Rhode Island, Johnson & Wales University. And then there are the leading healthcare institutions like Lifespan’s Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital and Women & Infants.

Together, our efforts toward building a knowledge-based economy are taking off with a $500 million federal appropriation request submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriation Committee. On November 13th, House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wisconsin) toured the new Knowledge District here in Providence. His trip represented his due diligence on our funding request that’ll be considered for the fiscal 2011 budget. U.S. Congressmen Patrick Kennedy (D-District 1 Rhode Island) is a member of the House appropriations committee and is spearheading this task, which would support research efforts proposed by Lifespan hospitals, Brown University and the University of Rhode Island. This appropriation would act as both a catalyst and proof-point to our new knowledge-based economy.

And remember all that land opened up by the I-195 I-Way project? A whole lot of smart, creative, innovative thinkers will soon be calling the Knowledge District home. Take Duffy & Shanley, for instance.

It’s no wonder I’m such an optimist.