Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - September 3, 2021

HOT

New Fun Spot in Rhode Island is "LowKey"

A new cocktail bar has arrived in East Greenwich.

As GoLocal reported this week, “LowKey,” which is officially launching this month, is bringing an intimate vibe — and creative cocktails, a tapas-themed small plate food menu, music, and dancing — to Main Street. 

GoLocal spoke with owner Zach Flanders about his vision for opening an establishment that he said hopes will complement — and not compete — with existing restaurants and bars in the town. 

About EG’s Newest Addition

Flanders, who hails from Rhode Island and spent time working in finance in New York before returning home, said his idea to open a cocktail bar came from his love of the industry. 

“I bartended for a while on Main Street. It was fun, even as a second job — I love to serve people and see the joy when they’re being entertained,” he said.

Flanders said he always knew he wanted to get into the restaurant industry — he was an originator of the entertainment and nightlife sites “Tonight in RI” and “Going Out in RI” — and when he saw that a gym on Main Street had been vacant for some time, he saw an opportunity.  READ MORE

HOT

Mac Jones

The Patriots' new QB is the talk of the town -- and the NFL -- after beating out Cam Newton for the starting position, who was released from the team this week. 

All eyes are on the rookie out of Alabama.

This is the biggest decision by Coach Bill Belichick since he replaced Drew Bledsoe with Tom Brady.

HOT

Move Over Pumpkin Spice -- Fall's Big Flavor is Maple at This RI Dairy Farm

It is not even autumn yet, but fall flavors are in full swing. 

And while pumpkin spice might get most of the attention, this Rhode Island dairy farm announced Monday a popular local favorite has returned. 

“Maple Milk is back for the season!” Wright’s Dairy Farm and Bakery, located in North Smithfield, let fans know.

A working dairy farm that has been selling fresh milk directly to the public since 1914, Wright’s partners up with another local Rhode Island farm to make the milk magic. 

“Sweetened with local maple syrup from Chepachet Farms in Glocester, RI,” Wright’s adds.

HOT

Watercolor Society Highlights National Artists

Providence Art Club Gallery Manager Michael Rose writes this week:

It is easy to misunderstand or underestimate watercolor. Although it is difficult to gain a technical mastery of this often temperamental medium, it is sometimes perceived as pedestrian. The reality is that watercolor, and associated media, have many of the same pitfalls as oil or sculpture or printmaking, and even the faintest slip with a wet brush can destroy a perfectly good painting.

One has only to look at the sensuous watercolors executed by John Singer Sargent on his European excursions, or to examine the romantically diaphanous pictures of JMW Turner to know just how potent water media can be. The nineteenth-century does not have a monopoly on great watercolors though. On view at the Rhode Island Watercolor Society through September 17, 2021, the organization’s National Show highlights some of the best of contemporary watercolors by artists from across the United States.

Housed in the historic Potter Casino within Pawtucket’s Slater Park, the Rhode Island Watercolor Society (RIWS) has been showing watercolors and other water-based media in the space since the mid 1980s. Their current exhibition draws from artists based around the country and was a competitive affair with well over 200 applicants. From this pool, less than half were chosen to be featured in an exhibition that tracks how artists are utilizing watercolor today.

READ MORE

NOT

Seth Magaziner

General Treasurer Seth Magaziner is using his office staff to send out press releases that scream of politics.

There is nothing wrong with criticizing Governor Dan McKee over the vaccination strategy by the state, but that is not under the job description of the General Treasurer -- who is all but running for Governor. 

When Gorbea criticized McKee on school masking, she issued the press release from her gubernatorial campaign.

Magaziner should do the same -- if and when he establishes his run. Taxpayers shouldn't fund his political ambitions. 

NOT

President Joe Biden

Not right, Mr. President.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Thirteen years ago, Afghan interpreter Mohammed helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden and two other senators stranded in a remote Afghanistan valley after their helicopter was forced to land in a snowstorm. Now, Mohammed is asking President Biden to save him.

“Hello Mr. President: Save me and my family,” Mohammed, who asked not to use his full name while in hiding, told The Wall Street Journal as the last Americans flew out of Kabul on Monday. “Don’t forget me here.”

Mohammed, his wife, and their four children are hiding from the Taliban after his yearslong attempt to get out of Afghanistan got tangled in the bureaucracy. They are among countless Afghan allies who were left behind when the U.S. ended its 20-year military campaign in Afghanistan on Monday.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki thanked the interpreter for his service Tuesday and said the U.S. remains committed to getting Afghan allies out of the country. “We will get you out,” Ms. Psaki said after a Wall Street Journal reporter read Mohammed’s message to the president. “We will honor your service.”

Mohammed was a 36-year-old interpreter for the U.S. Army in 2008 when two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters made an emergency landing in Afghanistan during a blinding snowstorm, according to Army veterans who worked with him at the time. On board were three U.S. senators: Mr. Biden (D., Del.), John Kerry (D., Mass.) and Chuck Hagel (R., Neb.).

NOT

Election Management

A two-month investigation by GoLocal into the management of overseas and military ballots exposed that 900 ballots were sent to the Board of Election from non-secure email accounts and servers.

Email voting has been considered to be unsafe — non-secure — and the most vulnerable form of voting by election officials and security experts across the country. Email voting is considered the easiest to manipulate.

“As far as I know no states allow voting by email.  At this point the security issues are simply too overwhelming,” said Elaine Kamarck, Senior Fellow in the Governance Studies at Brookings and the author of a major analysis of how each state managed the election.

GoLocal has learned via an Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request that 900 non-secure email votes were counted by the RI Board of Elections. The votes were cast by overseas and military personnel under The Uniformed And Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) - a federal law that ensures all, especially those serving in the military are provided an opportunity to vote from abroad.

READ MUCH MORE

NOT

Gov. Dan McKee's Management of the Tony Silva Situation

From the time that the Valley Breeze first reported concerns about McKee's Chief of Staff Tony Silva's effort to gain approval of land he had a financial interest in, to Silva's resignation was 6 weeks.

And, the AG has only now begun an investigation.

There is also a pending Ethics Commission complaint.