Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - May 2, 2025

HOT

$60 Million Plus

A Rhode Island startup is growing up.

Providence-based Utilidata, a leader in edge AI technology, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $60.3 million in Series C funding.

The round was led by Renown Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on growth-stage technology companies helping to secure an efficient, affordable, and reliable energy system, with participation from Quanta, NVIDIA, and existing investor Keyframe Capital. Citigroup acted as sole placement agent to Utilidata on the transaction.

According to the announcement, “This funding will enable Utilidata to rapidly scale Karman, its distributed AI platform developed in collaboration with NVIDIA over the last four years. Built on a custom NVIDIA module based on the NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano edge AI platform, Karman can be embedded in any device connected to the energy system.”

HOT

Beacon Charter High School for the Arts Names Valedictorian and Salutatorian

One of our favorite schools in Rhode Island to check in on is the Beacon Charter High School for the Arts who this weeks announced the Valedictorian and Salutatorian for the Class of 2025. Hafsah Raja of Woonsocket holds Beacon’s highest rank, and Joshua Renaud, also of Woonsocket, is named Salutatorian of the class.

Both Hafsah and Joshua participated in the Running Start program, a dual enrollment initiative that allows high school seniors to take college-level courses. The program is designed for students who have demonstrated academic achievement and maturity, enabling them to earn college credits while completing their high school education. Both Hafsah and Joshua spent their senior year at Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI), where they both excelled academically and worked toward earning college credits while completing their high school education.

Despite not being on campus full-time during the academic year, Hafsah’s dedication to Beacon never wavered. She returned to campus in January to support the rollout of the school’s composting program, which she spearheaded as part of the Rhode Island Department of Education’s “Get the Foam Out” initiative. The project was designed to eliminate the use of styrofoam in school lunch programs. Hafsah identified the funding opportunity, helped draft the grant proposal, and played a pivotal role in securing approximately $25,000 to make the transition to eco-friendly alternatives possible.

Hafsah Raja—who was born in Kashmir, Pakistan and immigrated to the United States at the age of two—will attend the University of Rhode Island this fall to study Biology and pursue the pre-med track. Drawing from her own experiences, and her desire to help those affected by war, Hafsah aspires to provide medical care, resources, and access to education to children and families in areas of conflict. Hafsah reflected that she “Want(s) to help people survive, heal, and grow.”

Reflecting on what the honor of Valedictorian means to her, Hafsah said, “I’m incredibly grateful for my family. I’m the first woman in my immediate family to earn a high school education and go to college. Education is a privilege in Pakistan, especially for women. I never took this opportunity for granted.” When considering the countless hours of community service Hafsah completed during her time at Beacon, well beyond the required ten hours a year, it is no surprise that she took every opportunity to give back to her community in meaningful ways. 

Joshua Renaud, Beacon’s Salutatorian, has demonstrated resilience, academic focus, and an admirable work ethic. Joshua has shown immense strength in the face of personal tragedy, as he lost his father unexpectedly in 2021 when he was just 14. Despite this hardship, Joshua has maintained his commitment to his education, his family, and his future goals.

When asked what earning the title of Salutatorian meant to him, Joshua replied, “Hard work pays off. No matter how hard life gets, you still have to show up and do the work.” This sentiment reflects Joshua’s resilience and his unwavering dedication to both his personal growth and his community.

Joshua has not yet made a final decision about his next steps. He plans to complete his associate’s degree at CCRI and is considering a future in either veterinary school at Tufts or URI, or trade school to become a skilled laborer, such as an electrician. Joshua’s steady focus on his education, despite personal loss, exemplifies his character and commitment to building a strong future. Joshua reflected on his experience at Beacon by sharing that “Art forces you to take a step back and really make time for expressing yourself and appreciating the smaller, finer things in life. Art is like self-care, it helps us process, heal and be present. I will miss cooking, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and laughing in the kitchen with my classmates.”  

Both Hafsah and Joshua hope to be remembered for their positive contributions to the school community and for setting a high standard for themselves and their peers. 

HOT

The Comeback 

TwoTen Oyster Bar in South Kingstown has officially reopened.

The popular seafood-and-more restaurant was shuttered for renovations for almost a year after a devastating fire. 

HOT

Scott Pelley

On Sunday night, “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley called out CBS’s corporate parent, Paramount, in an unusual on-air rebuke. 

The move came after the program’s executive producer Bill Owens had announced his intent to resign this week. 

Pelley accused Paramount of meddling in the show's content, as it seeks approval from the Trump Administration for a merger with Skydance Media. 

“He was our boss. Bill was with CBS News nearly 40 years; 26 years at 60 Minutes. He covered the world, covered combat, the White House; his was a quest to open minds, not close them. If you've ever worked hard for a boss because you admired him then you understand what we've enjoyed here,” said Pelly. 

"Bill resigned on Tuesday. It was hard on him and hard on us but he did it for us - and you. Stories we pursued for 57 years are often controversial; lately, the Israel-Gaza war and the Trump administration. Bill made sure they were accurate and fair; he was tough that way," he added.

Pelley then questioned Paramount's motives. 

“But our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways. None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires,” said Pelley. “No one here is happy about it.”

“But in resigning Bill proved one thing,” said Pelley. “He was the right person to lead 60 Minutes.”

HOT

Patriots in the NFL Draft

Many of the prognosticators have positive things to say about the New England Patriots' NFL draft selections.

The 20 years of dominance were certainly way more fun than the last three years of ugly losing.

NOT

Rhode Island Ranks Worst in U.S for Homebuilding and Affordability

Not good numbers.

Rhode Island is ranked the worst state in the country for homebuilding and affordability, according to a new report from Realtor.com.

"We know that the housing supply gap is not evenly distributed across the country," says Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner.

“Based on numerical score, Rhode Island ranks lowest on the report card. As the smallest state, Rhode Island might suffer from a lack of available land on which to build,” reports Realtors.

“However, the second-smallest state, Delaware, ranked above the national average with a grade of C+, suggesting that land availability might not be the only issue at play in Rhode Island,” it adds.

NOT

If the Goal Is to Win, Then It's Trouble on College Hill

College sports are a billion-dollar industry, and players, coaches, and, now, even athletic directors are making more than a million dollars a year.

It has been five years since Brown University President Christina Paxson promised to improve the performance of varsity athletics at the school. During her first eight years as president, Brown sports had declined from the top half of the Ivy League to the bottom half.

But since then, the results for the top men’s sports programs have been even worse than before Paxson's shake-up.

Men’s sports at Brown are the worst in the Ivy League, despite making the unprecedented move of hiring an athletic director with a compensation package of more than $1 million a year.

Not one of the six major men's teams had a winning record in the Ivy League this academic year. 

PHOTO: Athletic Director Grace Calhoun PHOTOS: iPhone, Unsplash, Tyler_Lastovich, Grace Calhoun Brown

NOT

"Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory" 

All Sheldon Whitehouse had to do was just show up and point upwards, and the Democrats could have scored their first legislative congressional victory.

Whitehouse would have been the deciding vote.

He was missing from the vote opposing President Trump’s tariff policies, leaving supporters of the resolution one vote short of a majority.

Despite three Republicans voting with the Democrats, the resolution failed in a 49-49 tie.

Three Republicans joined Democrats in rejecting the tariffs: Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Whitehouse was absent because he was returning from a conference in South Korea.

A prolific tweeter, Whitehouse did not address missing the vote on X. But he did post, "Headed back from the 10th Our Ocean Conference, where I was the sole US official."

NOT

Trump's Numbers

On Wednesday morning, the U.S. economy got more bad news.

The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of 2025, as businesses rushed to stock up on imports ahead of new tariffs and consumers slowed their spending pace.

The numbers are sobering.

“The Commerce Department said U.S. gross domestic product—the value of all goods and services produced across the economy—fell at a seasonally and inflation-adjusted 0.3% annual rate in the first quarter. That was the steepest decline since the first quarter of 2022. The decline in GDP in the first quarter reflected front-running ahead of tariffs that began to come into effect during the first three months of the year and were dramatically increased in the current, second quarter. Imports rose at a 41.3% pace. Exports rose more slowly, at a 1.8% pace in the first quarter,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

On Tuesday, it was announced that consumer attitudes about both the present and near future dimmed again in April, as tariffs dented sentiment and confidence in employment hit levels last seen around the global financial crisis.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to the lowest reading in nearly five years.

The U.S. stock market just recorded its worst first 100 days of any presidential term since President Gerald Ford assumed office in 1974.

“Given the ongoing uncertainty around US trade policy and the economic outlook more broadly, we suspect the going will get tougher from here,” said Jonas Goltermann, deputy chief markets economist at Capital Economics, in a Monday note cited by CNN.