Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - May 13, 2022

HOT

Newport Classical Raises More Than $20,000 for Ukraine

Newport Classical, a performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences, has raised $20,000 for Ukraine. 

"Newport Classical is incredibly grateful to all those who made this benefit weekend a huge success - patrons, donors, musicians, staff, and volunteers," said the organization.

"We would like to extend a special thank you to those patrons who supported this important campaign with a contribution above and beyond," they added.

The group cited for their donations the following:

Faith Arter | Jonathan Bell | Miles and Carol Bidwell | Andrei Chtcherbina

Deanna Conheeny | Deirdre Driscoll-Lemoine | Elaine Edelberg

Sophie and Tom Fair | Larry and Alice Jacobs | Herbert Jeschke and

Erika Wallington | Rebecca and Randolph Johnson | Suzanna and John Laramee

Judith Levitt | Patricia Marti | Scott Nanfelt | Thomas Palka | Annette Pelletier

Debra and Armando Rodriguez | Cynthia Scheller | Cynthia A. Sinclair

Susan and Dwight Sipprelle | Masako Sparks | Paul Tobak | Dorothy Walsh

Linda D. and Richard Winslow | Kay Winston | Nina You

HOT

RI Wins Gold in Major Food Competition

A Rhode Island homegrown business -- Chi Kitchen -- has garnered national accolades. 

Its fermented sesame slaw won a GOLD Award in the Pickles & Olives category as part of the Specialty Food Association (SFA) 2022 Sofi Awards, a top honor in the $170.4 billion specialty food industry.

It was selected by a panel of specialty food experts from nearly 2,000 entries across 53 product categories. Products are judged on taste, including flavor, appearance, texture and aroma, ingredient quality, and innovation. All tastings are anonymous and are held at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center.

“We are honored that our Fermented Sesame Slaw has won a Gold Award,” says Minnie Luong, Founder and CHI-EO of CHI Kitchen. “To know that our product stands out from the crowd in a blind tasting gives us the confidence to continue innovating and growing in our category with our naturally probiotic-packed, gut-healthy fermented vegetables. This is one of the ultimate stamps of approval and we’re very grateful and excited for all the winners.”

Fermented Sesame Slaw can be found at Whole Foods North Atlantic, independent retail stores and food service establishments all throughout New England and online at www.chikitchen.com.

Chi Kitchen is a graduate of local business incubators and consultants Hope & Main and 10,000 Small Businesses. 

HOT

Brady's Future

Tom Brady is slated to join Fox Sports as its lead NFL analyst when his playing career is over, ESPN reported Tuesday. 

ESPN said Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced the news Tuesday during an earnings call. 

It is reported Brady will be paid $375 million over 10 years.

“The seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback will call games alongside lead play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and also will work as an ‘ambassador’ for Fox with a focus on ‘client and promotional initiatives,’” reported ESPN.

Latest for Brady 

Former New England Patriot Brady announced his retirement earlier this year.

He reversed course and announced in March he will be coming back to Tampa Bay to play in his 23rd season in the NFL. 

HOT

RI Black Business Association Gives Out $10,000 to Young Entrepreneurs 

This week, the Rhode Island Black Business Association (RIBBA), a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the business opportunities and vitality of Black-owned and minority businesses and professionals in RI, held a Young Adult Business Pitch Competition on April 30, 2022 at Sprout Co-Working in Providence.

Eight young adult entrepreneurs were invited to participate in the final pitch competition and were awarded $10,000. The competition was open to individuals who live in Rhode Island, are Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color, and are aged 18-30. 

Lisa Ranglin, CEO of RIBBA, announced that RIBBA would be increasing the winning funds to $5,000 and that any business that did not place in the top three would also leave with a $500 grant for their business – amounting to a total of $10,000 dispersed to participants. 

The following businesses received top recognition and between $2,000-$5,000 grants: 

1st Place: MUSE LLC - Toye Onikoyi and Larry Adigun 
2nd Place: MBKBeauty - Khamry Varfley 
3rd Place: Kerly Girl - Kerlyne Jean-Baptiste 

HOT

Reopening Pizza Joy

For many fans of one of Providence’s favorite pizzerias, there has been nervous waiting.

Waiting week after week to see if and when one of the most beloved pizzerias would reopen.

In February, the owners promised that the business would only be closed for a month while that facility was updated.

“We are temporarily closed for approximately four weeks beginning Monday, February 28th while we undergo renovations!” they posted to Facebook.

But then weeks turned into months.

Could they be the victim of the pandemic? Staffing? Or the supply chain?

Finally, this past weekend Fellini Pizzeria in Providence finally reopened. 

A collective sigh could be heard from the East Side through Fox Point and even points downtown when the tables returned to the sidewalk outside the Wickenden Street institution.

All is good in Providence -- pizza-wise.

NOT

Care New England

Care New England’s second-quarter numbers show that Rhode Island’s second-largest hospital group missed its financial forecast and is again pilling up millions of dollars of losses.

The hospital group, which owns Women & Infants, Kent, and Butler hospitals, has been in and out of significant financial trouble for the better part of a decade and has tried what seems like an endless number of failed mergers. 

On Wednesday, GoLocal first reported that Care New England's CEO James Fanale is stepping down.

Now, the financial data shows the hospital group shows it is piling up more losses. And the group continues to struggle to sustain staffing and control staffing costs.

The group is now lobbying the General Assembly looking for bailout funds. But legislators are concerned that an appropriation to Care New England is just more good money after bad.

"Management is actively working with financial advisors, investment banks, the State of Rhode Island, Federal Government, and grant agencies to access all available resources to help fund ongoing operations during the COVID- 19 crisis," writes Care New England in its most recent financial report released in April. 

The company became the national poster child of a failing healthcare system when national media came to visit.

In January of this year, The Washington Post chronicled the Care New England’s Kent Hospital's struggle to care for patients.

The Washington Post wrote:

This is what a slow day looks like in a hospital emergency department overwhelmed by the coronavirus. On other days, healthcare workers have drawn blood from patients as they sat in their cars, set up intravenous drips in the packed waiting room or shunted patients to the overflow tent outside. There was simply no other choice, no other space — and far too few staff.

“Either I take care of someone in a car or I don’t get to take care of them at all. Either I take care of them in the waiting room, or they don’t get care at all,” said Laura Forman, director of Kent Hospital’s emergency department.

“Or they wait 10 hours for care. We have people wait 10 hours or 12 hours to be seen. And if you’re here for an emergency, that’s not tenable.”

What to know about the omicron variant of the coronavirus

The pandemic’s fifth surge is putting emergency departments under enormous stress. In March 2020, as the crisis began, doctors worried whether intensive care units would be able to handle the deluge of critically ill patients, whether they could scrounge up enough ventilators for all the people who would need them.

This time around, with a less deadly but vastly more contagious variant, the greatest damage is at the hospital system’s front door, where emergency rooms that turn away no one are trying to cope with an unprecedented tide of patients and too few staff to treat them.

“We are struggling, and at times failing, to take care of people who come through the door,” Forman said, “because of lack of staffing, because of lack of space, because of lack of resources.”

NOT

Neronha's Responsiveness?

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha’s office is refusing comment on a Rhode Island woman’s request to reopen an inquiry into her mother’s death. 

As GoLocal reported on May 6, “RI Woman Believes Mother’s Death Is Unsolved Homicide - Says New Info Should Reopen Case.”

Lauren Lee Malloy told GoLocal she is simply seeking justice for her mother Lori Lee “Sled Dog” Malloy, who died in 1993 — under conditions that the East Providence Police Department had deemed “suspicious.” 

Her mother's body had been found naked, with clumps of hair around her hands and feet, with water running in the bathroom sink, and the refrigerator in the kitchen unplugged. 

Malloy recently obtained an expert pathologist’s opinion that the original autopsy declaring her death natural was incorrect and the case should be reopened.

The Department of Health told GoLocal they deferred comment to Neronha’s office — who has refused multiple requests for comment. 

Conflicting Opinions 

A homicide investigation into Lori Lee Malloy’s death was closed by East Providence Police on December 28, 1993, after the autopsy deemed her passing was “natural.” 

In 2020, Lauren Malloy said she was approached by a woman saying she was a friend of her mother’s — and that her mother had a “secret” boyfriend who was visiting her at her apartment the weekend she died. Malloy said East Providence Police told her later that year that they would look into the case and try and locate original records. 

In March 2021, Malloy said she spoke with acting Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Alexander Chirkov, who refuted the original autopsy reports, and said the entire case needs to be redone and state involvement is necessary.

According to Malloy, that month, Steve Dambruch in the Attorney General’s office assigned the case to Assistant Attorney General Scott Erickson. 

East Providence police wrote at the time of Malloy's passing that it appeared suspicious.

Malloy says she spoke with Erickson, who advised her he would follow up with Chirkov and the East Providence Police Department. According to Malloy, in September 2021, Erickson told her Chirkov saw no sign of foul play, and that there was no basis to reopen the case. 

October 2021, Malloy said she met again with Chirkov, urging him that police need to reinvestigate the case and said modern forensic techniques could confirm final cause of death. In March 2022, Malloy reached out to independent pathologist, Dr. Zhongxue Hua, who reviewed the original 1993 autopsy and refuted the findings.  

Since then, Malloy said she has had no communication from the Attorney General’s office 

“Dr. Chirkov was the one who wanted me to get the AG's Office involved in the first place,” said Malloy. “He told me that my family needed state involvement, which is part of why it was so confusing the AG's Office said Dr. Chirkov didn't see signs of foul play warranting the case be reopened.”

Malloy noted she hasn’t heard from Erickson since last September and her calls to Neronha have not been returned. 

READ MORE HERE

NOT

1 Million Gone

The U.S. has surpassed 1 million deaths from COVID -- 3,548 in Rhode Island alone.

The cause was the disease -- additional factors were arrogance, politics, and false information.

Yes, there might have been underlying conditions in those who passed away.

But what ultimately caused the demise of so many loved ones, was, in fact, a pandemic.

It's a reality.

Get boosted.