Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - July 19, 2024

HOT

Professional Tennis Returning to Newport for 2025 - Both Men & Women

Professional tennis will return to  Newport in 2025 as the International Tennis Hall of Fame (ITHF) announced a revamped Hall of Fame Open, including ATP Challenger 125 and WTA 125 level tournaments.

Scheduled for July 6-13, 2025, the Hall of Fame Open will become just the second combined men’s and women’s 125 level event in the United States. It will be the only grass court stop on the Hologic WTA Tour outside of Europe, and the first women’s professional tournament at the ITHF since the Virginia Slims of Newport concluded in 1990. Equal prize money will be awarded to both the men’s and women’s draws.

HOT

PC Super Fan

East Providence native Charlie O’Donnell is making the case that he is Providence College basketball’s biggest fan.

Earlier this month, O’Donnell got a large tattoo of the PC mascot — the Friar — on his arm, but it marks just the latest in his ties to the program over the years. 

“I wanted something that’s not going to change,” laughed O’Donnell of getting inked, in an interview with GoLocal. 

For O’Donnell, it was a confluence of events that led him to meet and forge friendships with a number of PC players during his college days, who he and his family even hosted over the holidays. 

“I’m very optimistic about the future,” said O’Donnell, of the Friars’ upcoming season. 

From Olds — to Riding in MarShon Brooks' Limo

“I graduated from East Providence [High School], and then I went to RIC for a year, where I met everybody that I could, and I ended up living with some basketball players on the RIC team,” said O’Donnell. “I lived with them for three years, and one of my roommates bartended at Olds on Douglas Avenue.”

“I’d go in there, and there’d be some basketball players from PC in there. They ran in the same circles, and they’d come over, and me and MarShon ended up hitting it off,” said O’Donnell, referring to former PC standout MarShon Brooks. 

A close friendship developed, and O’Donnell invited Brooks and former PC player Russ Permenter over to his family’s house one Thanksgiving when they were at PC. 

Read more here. 

HOT

URI Win

The University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy is now ranked among the top 10% in the nation in total research grant funding after securing more than $21 million in funds in fiscal 2023, the latest year for which numbers are available, claimed the University.

The total research funding beats the college’s three-year average of $19.1 million and places URI atop the list of all pharmacy schools in the northeast, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, which compiles the list. The College has consistently ranked among the best pharmacy schools in research funding, reaching as high as number 8 in the nation in 2020.

The funding fuels critical research in such areas as drug development, cancer treatment and prevention, health outcomes, neurological health and the use of natural ingredients like maple syrup in maintaining health. The College’s dynamic researchers will work to improve the influenza vaccine, find new treatments for cerebral palsy, investigate the damaging effects of microplastics on the body, and reduce incidences of HIV, among many other impactful projects.

“I am immensely proud of our faculty, staff, and students whose hard work and dedication have propelled us into the top 10 percent nationally for research funding,” said Dean Kerry LaPlante. “Securing more than $21 million in fiscal 2023 is a testament to our unwavering commitment to advancing pharmaceutical sciences and improving health. This achievement not only highlights the excellence of our research but also underscores the significant impact we are making in addressing critical health challenges. We are excited to continue our journey of innovation and discovery, driving forward the boundaries of what is possible.”

HOT

WOW

Michael Rose, GoLocal's art contributor, has a look at the work of artist Lara Henderson's show at AS220:

Bright colors beckon viewers into AS220’s galleries at 93 Mathewson Street in downtown Providence. The work on view highlights the multi-faceted production of printmaker, book artist, coder, and educator Lara Henderson, whose solo exhibition Bridges is on view through July 27. A maker who focuses on distinct patterns and eye-catching designs, Henderson is an artist to know and her show is a must-see.

Raised in Foxboro, Henderson has been active in the Rhode Island art scene for over a decade. A resident artist at AS220, she teaches at University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth and formerly taught at Brown and RISD as well as at local arts organizations.

A graduate of UMass Dartmouth, where she studied Graphic Design and Letterform, Henderson earned an MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking at The University of The Arts in Philadelphia. Her artist books have found their way into prominent collections, including those of the Philadelphia Free Library, Columbia University Library, RISD, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.

READ MORE

HOT

The Price of a Single Family Home in RI Hits $490,000

If you are a seller, the market is hot.

If you are an owner, you are building a lot of equity.

If you are a first-time buyer, the market is cold as ice.

READ MORE

NOT

Trumpmobile

If you own a Tesla, you are a financial supporter of Donald Trump's campaign. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a mega-supporter of the MAGAMAN.

As the Wall Street Journal first reported this week, Musk is giving $45 million a month to a pro-Trump PAC.

No word if Tesla owners get preferential treatment at Mar-a-Lago.

NOT

Reed and Whitehouse

Rhode Island Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse have for months refused to criticize fellow Democrat Senator Robert Menedez while he was under indictment.

Menedez was convicted on all counts by a federal jury on Tuesday.

The government proved that the Senator ran a scheme to sell his office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car, and bars of solid gold.

A jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted him on charges including honest services wire fraud, bribery, and extortion — 16 counts in all.

The verdict is historic —  Menendez is the seventh sitting U.S. senator to be convicted of a federal crime.

Mendez was found guilty of all 16 criminal counts he faced, including bribery, fraud and illegal foreign-agent offenses.  

“Federal prosecutors charged him with pocketing bribes in exchange for taking official actions to benefit three New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. During the nearly two-month trial, prosecution witnesses, including one of the businessmen who cooperated, painted a damning portrait of a crooked politician who hashed out illegal deals over cigars, ritzy dinners and bottles of wine. Jurors also got to hold a gold bar that prosecutors said was a bribe,” reports the Wall Street Journal.”

Are Reed and Whitehouse still withholding comment until his appeals are exhausted?

NOT

Wanted Poster Needed for the Barrington Planning Board

The Planning Board approved the design of the Chipotle in Barrington. Twenty years from now, people will curse their approval. 

In recent years, Barrington has gone from a New England village to a chain-layered retail area anywhere in the USA.

READ THE STORY

NOT

U.S. Secret Service

The director of the U.S. Secret Service admits that the agency had a major failure in its effort to protect former President Donald Trump.

It seems implausible that a 20-year-old high school grad who worked at a healthcare facility was able to conduct the assassination alone.