Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 18, 2022
Analysis
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 18, 2022
This week's list includes Charlestown's unwelcome mat, a RIC wrestler being the best in America, and Preppy “Gangstas,”
Now, we are expanding the list, the political perspectives, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTEmail GoLocal by midday on Thursday about anyone you think should be tapped as "HOT" or "NOT." Email us HERE.
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - March 18, 2022
HOT
Best of the Best
Rhode Island College junior Nathan Lackman is the best D-III wrestler at 157 lbs in America.
He scored a takedown 37 seconds into sudden victory overtime to win the Individual National Championship at 157 lbs. at the NCAA Div. III Wrestling National Championship last weekend.
HOT
Happy 150
In 1872, a portion of Roger Williams Park was officially designated as the Roger Williams Park Zoo. This year the zoo celebrates its 150th anniversary. The Zoo is the third oldest in the United States.
What started as a scattered collection of small animals purely for entertainment has today evolved into one of our region's foremost centers for conservation and environmental education. In 1986, Zoo became the first zoo in New England to earn accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In 2018, the Zoo was humane certified by American Humane.
HOT
Preppy “Gangstas”
Providence’s East Side, known for its colleges, coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques, is now home to "Preppygangstas."
The brainchild of Jason Cahill, the new showroom — an “atelier” — now located in Wayland Square features uniquely curated interior decorating, furniture sourcing, textiles, upholstery and more, and is cultivating a fast-growing following.
Cahill, who grew up splitting time between New York and North Carolina before moving to Europe after college, spoke with GoLocal about deciding with his husband to move to Providence over Boston, and after launching “Preppygangstas” in Cranston, opting to open up shop in Providence.
“I’ve been through a lot of incarnations, like Madonna,” said Cahill. “I’ve worn a suit, but I was also a club kid, where my nicknames were ‘J. Boy’ and ‘Preppy Gangsta’ — which, I thought if I opened a lifestyle company, why not call it that?”
Cahill in a wide-ranging interview discussed his design background and how he curates his atelier and works with clients to decorate their homes.
“I want it to be a lifestyle brand where everyone can be comfortable,” said Cahill. “Yes, it’s preppy, but it also incorporates skate and punk street style. Just because something’s ‘classic,’ it doesn’t have to look traditional — it’s been proven, everyone’s now doing collaborations with street brands.”
“If you don’t like something, it shouldn’t be in your house,” said Cahill of his approach. “That’s how I decorate. It’s your environment, and you should cultivate it.”
HOT
Dr. Tom
Dr. Thomas Hamilton is not your ordinary Rhode Island veterinarian.
“Dr. Tom” is a social media celebrity — counting over three million followers on TikTok — who has garnered a massive following for how he handles his “clients” — the pets that come to see him at the Rhode Island Animal Medical Center in Warwick.
And on Monday, he was featured on Good Morning America.
“You’ve probably seen this video on TikTok with Dr. Tom — it shows how he develops relationships with his pets,” says GMA in the two-and-a-half-minute segment.
“You can see their reaction with just some kindness,” says Hamilton, of his videos showing him interacting with the often-scared dogs that come in for appointments.
That trust started with animals at a young age.
HOT
March Madness
PC wins, defying "bracket-buster" prognosticators.
The St. Peter's PEACOCKS -- a #15 seed -- upset perennial college basketball power and #2 seed Kentucky.
It is the best sporting event going.
HOT
$120 Million
Cox Communications executives were in Newport on Tuesday to announce that the company will invest more than $120 million over the next three years to deliver multi-Gigabit symmetrical speeds over high-speed broadband connections to residents and businesses in Rhode Island.
More than $20 million of the committed funds will go towards 100% fiber-optic buildouts on the Aquidneck Island communities of Newport, Portsmouth, and Middletown, as well as Jamestown. To date, Cox has invested more than $160 million over the last 5 years in Rhode Island and was the first to make Gigabit service available to all customers in the market.
“We’re preparing for the next generation of internet uses in home and in business,” said Ross Nelson, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager for Cox Communications. “We are committed to being the internet provider customers can count on to have the speed they need now and in the future.
HOT
Old School
Is it the coolest license plate?
Let's go OLD SCHOOL design -- back to the 1930s
NOT
Charlestown
There was strong reaction to the story that GoLocal broke this week about the comments by Charlestown town official Kevin Gallup.
The near-silence by the town council may have been worse.
'NOT
Brown's Security
An email hack involving nearly 500,000 email addresses in a Brown University database took place over the weekend.
This marks the latest incident at the Ivy League institution, which came under cyberattack in the spring of 2021.
On Saturday night, John Spadaro, the Interim Chief Digital and Information Officer in Brown’s Office of Information Technology, sent the following email to the community.
“We are writing to individuals who may have received messages today, March 12, 2022, from a Brown ‘special events’ email address with images and comments reflecting political sentiments related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We regret any concern that these messages may have caused," he wrote.
Latest Hack
GoLocal was able to obtain a screengrab of the email that was sent on Saturday from “Special_Events@brown.edu” with the subject line “A new day.”
The body of the email states “You deets has been obtain by viper crewz” — followed by a URL (which has been redacted here).
According to members of the Brown community, the CSV file that the perpetrators linked to included nearly 500,000 emails.
Sources say the original email contained two memes; one was a picture of dog waste disposal labeled “Poo-Tin” reportedly containing an image of Vladimir Putin; the other was a political cartoon of Putin sitting on a tank holding the cannon — but the cannon was flaccid.
NOT
So Many Buyers, So Few Houses
Prices for Rhode Island homes have increased double digits each of the past two years, out-of-state buyers are flocking to the state, and interest rates are climbing, but those issues may pale in comparison to the emerging challenge — a record low level of inventory. There are nearly zero homes to buy.
Nelson Taylor of the Blackstone Team of Mott & Chace told GoLocal LIVE last week that on the highly sought-after East Side of Providence, there were currently only three homes for sale.
One is on the market for just under $1 million, one over $3 million, and one over $6.495 million. Providence's great estate will be auctioned by Concierge Auctions, the largest luxury real estate auction firm in the world.
Nationally, new listings for homes were down 3% and the overall number of active listings were down 26% for the week ending February 12, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from realtor.com. It’s yet another record low as America has fewer and fewer homes for sale.
NOT
Drama King
There is less drama around a junior high lunch table.
No one says look at me more than TB12™. The corporate Tom the Tampa Buccaneer says he is coming back.
The former New England Patriot Tweeted Sunday night said that he has “unfinished business” with Tampa Bay — and “LFG.”
That, of course, means “Let’s F—king Go.”
The return of Brady will put tremendous pressure on the Buc's salary cap.
No one is happier than sports radio and TMZ, the Brady faithful, and of course, Brady.
NOT
Stolen Valor
A Warwick woman who is alleged to have fraudulently claimed to be a wounded United States Marine Corps (USMC) veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart and Bronze Star, and schemed to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in veteran benefits and charitable contributions, was arrested today by federal agents.
Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, made her initial appearance in federal court in Providence, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
It is charged by way of a federal criminal complaint Cavanaugh forged or counterfeited military discharge certificates, wire fraud, fraudulently holding herself out to be a medal recipient with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, and aggravated identity theft.
Charging documents allege the following:
Cavanaugh used the personal identifying information of an actual Marine, and falsely claimed that she served in the USMC from 2009-2016; was honorably discharged; achieved the rank of Corporal; and was wounded in action in Iraq/Afghanistan.
Cavanaugh used an official Veterans Administration (VA) email account, which was issued to her as a VA employee, to purchase and later display on a Marine uniform a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. She had not been awarded either award. In fact, a search of the Defense Personnel Records Information Retrieval System, a database containing military-service records, provided no records or information pertaining to Cavanaugh.
