HOT

Women of the Year - The Protectors

For the most endangered, vulnerable, and needy, these three women in Rhode Island are protectors.

The abused, forgotten, homeless, and parentless often find help and compassion due to these community leaders. 

This year, GoLocal selected three women who stand out for their tireless work — they are relentless in their efforts to assist Rhode Islanders who find themselves at risk. 

The three - Amos House's Eileen Hayes, Family Services' Margaret Holland McDuff and Sojourner House's Vanessa Volz.

READ MORE

HOT

RI’s Man of the Year - Barrier Breaker

Smash. One of the biggest barriers in Rhode Island was knocked over.

For more than two hundred years, serving in Congress was an exclusive club made up of white men and just one white woman. 

Some were talented and did big things, others not so much.

For folks of color in Rhode Island, there often seemed to be an inherent “need not apply” sign, but things have changed.

Gabe Amo, a former political advisor to a range of Democrats, including then-Governor Gina Raimondo and now President Joe Biden, won a crowded special election Democratic primary.

He then went on to win the general election, becoming Rhode Island’s first Black man and first minority ever to be elected to Congress in Rhode Island.

This was long overdue.

In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Edward Brooke was elected to the United States Senate more than 50 years earlier.

Amo’s victory was made possible by his own talent and effort, but also due to those that came before him who also deserved the opportunity, but were denied the chance due to racism.

READ MORE

HOT

Bill Belichick

It may not have been the storybook ending, but Belichick was the greatest coach in the history of American team sports.

He dominated the NFL for 20 years during a period of free agency and the salary cap.

HOT

YUM

Providence Restaurant Weeks are back.

The promotion runs through January 20 and nearly 70 dining options from Providence, Cranston, Warwick and beyond are taking part. 

The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB) oversees the event that features new restaurants and includes prix fixe menus and special offers for lunch and dinner - plus signature cocktails and more.

“Providence Restaurants Weeks showcases one of Rhode Island’s shining stars - its food scene - and we are proud to be able to present it twice each year,” said Kristen Adamo, president and CEO of the PWCVB. “Kick off the new year by supporting the local restaurants that make Rhode Island great - whether it’s at your favorite neighborhood spot or at one of our area’s brand new restaurants, like Bar’Lino or Gift Horse."

"From vegan offerings to fine dining to family-friendly restaurants, there is truly something for everyone during Providence Restaurant Weeks," added Adamo. 

Guests are encouraged to share photos of their dishes on social media with #PVDEats and #PRW. A comprehensive list of all participating restaurants, along with their Restaurant Weeks menus, can be found at ProvidenceRestaurantWeeks.com. 

HOT

Martha Stewart's "Chocolate Bitch"

Award-winning master chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt has an eye-popping pedigree. 

Born and raised in Denmark, where he received his culinary degree, Knipschildt came to the United States more than twenty years ago to cut his teeth in the New York restaurant scene. 

It was his chocolate confections, however, where he truly shined — and garnered the attention of celebrities. 

“I started my chocolate company when I was 24,” said Knipschildt, who now resides in Connecticut. “Back then — this was 25 years ago — there was limited artisan chocolate in the U.S. I got a lot of press considering I didn’t have money for marketing. People tasted them and thought they were incredible.” 

He counted among his early fans Oprah Winfrey (“I was in her magazine multiple times,” said Knipschildt) and Martha Stewart.

“Martha Stewart got a peek of my chocolates, and after that, I was pretty much her chocolate bitch,” laughed Knipschildt, who appeared on Stewart's show and in her catalog. 

Fast forward twenty years, and a chance meeting at a dinner between Knipschildt and Rhode Islander Chris Morgan that led to his newest creation — “Fritzzerland.”

Morgan, along with longtime friend Matt Resnick, had already established the CBD Center of Rhode Island, and were eyeing the THC market and the full-scale legalization of cannabis in the state and region. 

This week, GoLocal spoke with Knipschildt and Resnick about the new edible cannabis match — made in chocolate. 

READ MORE

NOT

WWE, Coastal Version

Politics in Newport turns full contact.

A hot mic caught former Mayor Jeanne Marie Napolitano ripping fellow Democrats.

Then, the city decided to delete the hot mic comments to try and cover up the incident.

And, when asked if she should stand by the comments, she doubled down, and there was even more.

Welcome to worldwide wrestling politics.

READ THE MOST RECENT ARTICLE HERE

NOT

Providence’s Premier School - Classical - Falls From 5 Stars to 2 Stars Under State Control

The Rhode Island Department of Education has released its Report Card on the performance of schools in the state.

As part of the assessment, each school is given a star "accountability" ranking, with 5 stars being the best. 

And, no school's ranking was more significant than the collapse of Classical High School, which was considered the gem of the Providence School system and often tapped as the best school in Rhode Island on national lists.

Before the State of Rhode Island’s takeover of Providence schools and COVID, Classical was a 5-star school. 

According to the RIDE Report Card, “As required by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Rhode Island assigns a Star Rating to every public school, ranging from 1 to 5 stars.”

In the Monday assessment release, Classical has fallen to a 2-star school.

According to the RIDE ranking, Classical falls to the second lowest tier and is a school that needs to improve its performance.

READ MORE

NOT

Brown’s New Language - Antisemitism Is Now “Biased-Related”

A GoLocal editorial takes on the newest machination by Brown University (and Donald Trump).

Welcome to the new word order.

Safe words.

Comforting words.

Meaningless euphemisms.

Brown, like many other Ivy League schools, is under the microscope for its actions or inactions related to protests and antisemitism on campus and so Brown has come up with a solution.

Picking up on the claim that words have meaning, Brown has decided to change the words.

When Brown students living off campus were the reported victims of antisemitism in December, a Brown Vice President sent out an email to the Brown community omitting the word antisemitism and replaced it with “biased-related.”

On Tuesday, December 12th, at approximately 7:05 pm, the Brown University Department of Public Safety was notified of a biased-related crime that took place on Lloyd Avenue near Hope Street. Two community members stated that person(s) unknown entered their apartment without permission and left a note that contained a biased-related threat.

The Providence Police called the incident antisemitic.

The police report cited that a note left for the Jewish student was antisemitic.

But, the Brown VP never included antisemitism — he called it “bias-related.”

One can only think that Brown will no longer call those guys with the matching white outfits the KKK, but maybe a safer term like those “who wear white out of season top to bottom.”

Another word choice might be to call Nazi SS stormtroopers who managed the death camps  — “those tall young blond men in dashing black uniforms."

And clearly, former President Donald Trump has added one of his own, recently calling the domestic terrorists who broke into the U.S. Capitol and assaulted members of law enforcement “hostages.”

From Brown President Christina Paxson to Trump, let’s just call it as it is — antisemitism is antisemitism, and those who tried to overthrow the government are criminals.

NOT

Growing List of Lawsuits Against RI’s High Profile “Dream Team” Couple

Last week, the Rhode Island State Police charged Ann-Marie Goddard with multiple fraud-related charges tied to her and her husband Christopher’s construction company.

But the couple who owns a series of high-profile construction and design firms are accused by more than a half dozen families and companies of taking the hundreds of thousands of dollars and failing to do the construction work promised — the damages may exceed a million dollars.

The Goddards played up their experience and expertise, but according to a growing list of lawsuits, they took multiple families' money and never delivered on construction services to build promised dream homes or complete the design and construction projects.

Marketing Led the Way

In promotional magazine ads and on TV spots, the Goddards claimed to be the “dream team” — she knew design, and he knew construction.

Now, however, there is a growing list of families and businesses that claim the two took tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars and didn’t do the work. 

READ MORE