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Much of Providence was paralyzed today by one of those promotions for a rich company that cities and towns get suckered into. Today's collection of races, called "Cox Providence Rhode Races'' after the media company, closes streets, hurts many local businesses and gets in the way of rescue vehicles so that a lot of people (presumably a lot of Cox "volunteers'') can run, or, more commonly, barely walk (because they're so out of shape) along many Providence streets.

Much of the city grinds to a halt in the process, with big macro-economic losses.

Like the giving away of public streets to rich private universities, which Providence has famously done, it's more erosion of the idea that public space is for the public, not for private interests, including corporate promotion.