Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - April 14, 2023
Analysis
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - April 14, 2023
We have expanded the list, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
Over the past 12-plus years, more than 6,000 have been tagged as HOT or NOT.
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Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - April 14, 2023
HOT
Pizza, Pizza, Pizza
Providence Pizza Week, the much-anticipated celebration of one of Rhode Island’s favorite foods, is back.
The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB) said that following the success of last year’s inaugural pizza extravaganza, that it has rounded up more than 30 of the top pizza joints and restaurants in and around Providence this year to take part in Pizza Week starting April 16.
The culinary options and toppings range everything from fresh clams or lobster to calamari or mashed potato.
“Any way you slice it, Providence is a pizza hot spot - from wood-grilled, to Neopolitan, to the iconic pizza strip. Pizza Week celebrates pizza of all kinds, with local restaurants cooking up special menus and creative options,” said Kristen Adamo, President & CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“Pizza Week is a great time to hit up your neighborhood pizza shop or scout out some new favorites. From traditional cheese and pepperoni to pies that really go outside the (pizza) box, Pizza Week offers a taste for everyone,” Adamo added.
The celebration of the live runs through April 22. PWCVB also asks eaters to take a moment to vote for their favorites.
PHOTO: Pablo Pacheco, Unsplash
HOT
Boston Bruins
The Bs set the NHL record for most wins and most points.
The team now just needs the Stanley Cup.
HOT
RI Ranked 3rd Best State for Children’s Healthcare
A new study has Rhode Island as the third-best state in the country for children’s health care.
The rankings released this week by WalletHub has Rhode Island behind only Massachusetts — and the District of Columbia — for the categories of kids’ health and access to health care; kids' nutrition, physical activity and obesity; and kids’ oral health.
Rhode Island ranks 5th in the country for the lowest percentage of uninsured children.
In total, WalletHub evaluated these categories using 33 relevant metrics, and then determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order its sample.
PHOTO: Unsplash/OttoFindX5 Pro
HOT
Rhode Island's Best -- Each Week
GoLocal's art columnist Michael Rose repeatedly brings top talent to the forefront.
This week he does it again:
Rhode Island draws in artistic talent from throughout the region and around the country. This enhances the cultural scene in the state, making for a vibrant and ever-changing creative community.
Painter Elijah Trice came to the Ocean State from Baltimore, Maryland to attend graduate school at the Rhode Island School of Design. Although his education is primarily in the field of architecture, Trice has made a name for himself in Rhode Island as the painter of sensitive and inventive portraits. He is a young artist on the rise.
HOT
Raimondo Named to Time’s “100 Most Influential” List for 2023
U.S. Commerce Secretary -- and former Rhode Island Governor -- Gina Raimondo is on Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2023."
Senator Jack Reed wrote the glowing endorsement for the publication.
Raimondo made the list in the "leaders" section, which includes Joe Biden, Janet Yellen, Mitch McConnell, Cindy McCain, and Samuel Alito, among others.
Reed writes:
"In 1971, my mother had me visit our neighbors to congratulate them on the arrival of their new baby, Gina Marie Raimondo. I had no idea this tiny bundle from a working-class family would become Rhode Island’s first female governor and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Gina’s brilliance, skill, and work ethic fueled her meteoric rise, while her family keeps her grounded. She has always been a fierce competitor, unafraid to tackle thorny issues and willing to sacrifice her own political fortunes for the greater good.
NOT
America's National Security
The fact that a 21-year-old gamer has unvetted access to classified files regarding the Ukraine war makes you wonder about the quality of America's national security protections.
P.S. He passed out the documents to his gaming buddies months ago, and no one in the Pentagon knew.
YIKES.
NOT
“This Facility is Unregulated,” Says RI’s Top Environmental Official
The scene looks like a battlefield in Ukraine -- acres and acres spewed with discarded vehicles, metal, concrete, and waste tires. But the site is on Providence's waterfront at the head of Narragansett Bay.
For more than a decade, the Rhode Island Recycled Metals facility has been an environmental disaster — starting in 2012, state officials began to take action against the site, but over the years, the enforcement actions have been blocked by a complex legal action.
“Every time we find something on the site, we have to go back to court. That is the 100-plus times we have gone to court,” said Terry Gray, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
“Essentially, due to the travels of this case, the facility is unregulated,” said Gray.
“If you took this fresh and looked at these things from scratch, then it would be a significant enforcement case right as it sits today,” he added.
But it is not. Eight years ago, environmental officials tried to force the operations into meeting environmental laws.
In 2015, DEM and then-Attorney General Peter Kilmartin hit the company with a series of enforcement actions.
A complaint had been filed against Rhode Island Recycled Metals, LLC, and AARE, LLC, located on Allens Avenue in Providence, along with the property owner, and the onsite manager for RI Recycled Metals, Edward Sciaba, Sr. The complaint concerned violations of Rhode Island’s Oil Pollution Control Act and Water Pollution Act, and DEM's Water Quality Regulations, RI Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Regulations, and Oil Pollution Control Regulations.
NOT
Taking Their Mic and Going Home
WEEI is closing its Rhode Island operations. The Boston-based sports radio station has had a presence in Rhode Island for nearly two decades — now, no more.
Employees were told about the closure this week via email.
WEEI was located on Kilvert Sreet in Warwick.
Once the dominant sports radio station in New England, WEEI has fallen a distant second to the Sports Hub.
In the fall rating books, Sports Hub finished first overall in the Nielsen Audio ratings in the men 25-54 demographic with a 19.6 share.
WEEI in Rhode Island has been up and down. For a few years, it wrestled away the radio rights for Providence College Basketball, only to lose it back to Cumulus.
With both the Red Sox and Patriots down, ratings and advertising dollars have been impacted.
WEEI did not answer the phone in the Warwick office in an effort to get comment.
