Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not - June 5, 2026

HOT

Deer Tick Kicks Off National Tour in RI

Providence alt-rock legends, Deer Tick, will be embarking on their extensive North American tour this summer in support of their new album, Coin-O-Matic, out June 5 via ATO, and will be playing South Kingstown on June 5, 6, and 7. 

“Recorded at Deer Tick’s home studio, Coin-O-Matic marks their first self-produced album in their two-decade-plus lifespan and features guest musicians like Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin (on baritone saxophone) and former Deer Tick member Rob Crowell (on organ). The album frequently brings a live-wire immediacy to their finespun storytelling,” said the band in its announcement.

“We’ve never been so comfortable making a record, and I think you can feel that in the performances,” says Dennis, who engineered the LP. “We weren’t beholden to anyone else’s idea of what Deer Tick sounds like, and because of that this album feels like an unfettered capturing of who we are as a band.” 

PHOTO: Richard McCaffrey

HOT

EXCLUSIVE: Superman Building Clears Critical USDOT Review — Moves Closer to Financing

The developers of the Superman building received positive news from the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) in support of their effort to secure a federal loan exceeding $200 million.

The Superman Building is owned by High Rock Development.

This week, Michael K. Crossen, who took over the leadership of High Rock after the death of David Sweeter, received a critical email from the staff at USDOT’s Build America Bureau announcing a critical approval.

The message to Crossen from USDOT reads in part:

Dear Mike,

I am pleased to share that the 111 Westminster Street project successfully passed the vote for the Creditworthiness Review phase.

READ MORE

HOT

Providence Fire Department

A horrible fire on Carpenter Street in Providence devastated one home and could have spread in multiple directions. The Providence Fire Department deserves credit for keeping the blaze from spreading.

PHOTO: Bob McMahon

HOT

Fantastic Beauty

A video of two whales off the coast of Block Island was deemed a “cool sighting” by an expert - who provided more insight into the encounter.

On Tuesday, Cesin Curi - who along with his brothers, owns Los Andes and Brasa and Chifa restaurants - was fishing south of Block Island when they encountered the whales.

Curi shared the video with GoLocal, which then spoke with experts.

New England Aquarium

“It's two fin whales lunge feeding on their sides,” Amy Warren with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium told GoLocal. “The big ‘fin’ at the end is half of the whale's tail, while it's still laying on its side.”

According to Warren, fin whales are “2-3x the size of orcas.”

“That said, it's rare to see fin whales feeding at the surface, so it's still a very cool sighting,” she added.

NOT

Rhode Island Economy

It is hard to imagine that the two abutting states have such differing economic conditions, but Rhode Island and Massachusetts have polar-opposite economies, according to a new study released on Monday.

In the United States, California, Texas, New York, and Florida have economies so large that if they were countries, they would rank in the top 20 in the world. To determine America’s top economic performers across a variety of metrics, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on 2026’s Best & Worst State Economies.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 28 key indicators of economic performance and strength. The data set ranges from GDP growth and the unemployment rate to startup activity and the share of jobs in high-tech industries.

Massachusetts is ranked first in the U.S., and Rhode Island is ranked 47th.

NOT

Trump's Rough Week

The President had a brutal week:

- He had to withdraw his $1.8B criminal defense fund

- His name has to be removed from the Kennedy Center

- His efforts to end the Iranian war were rejected again

- The 250 Celebration has been canceled by nearly all of the artists

NOT

Democrats Should Not Get Too Excited. 

Their efforts to take the United States Senate may rest on a candidate with an SS tattoo, who allegedly roughed up at least one woman and faces multiple other accusations.  

Democrat Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner looks to be facing a lot of hard questions.

NOT

Pay to Play?

As the House leadership was putting the final touches on the State’s FY 2027 budget, Speaker of the House Chris Blazejewski and Majority Leader Katherine Kazarian had a joint fundraiser. The passage of the budget is one of the closing salvos to the end of the legislative session. With this year being an election year, the legislative leaders are racing to end the session.

To attend the event, lobbyists needed to stroke checks for both leaders — $200 to Blazejewski and another $150 to Kazarian.

The joint event was held at the Carpionato Group’s Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick — the owners of the property have been in the news recently.  A GoLocal report that unveiled a federal investigation.

Never before has a legislative leader held a major fundraiser so close to the end of the legislative session.

When GoLocal asked whether the timing of the fundraiser created a perception of pay-to-play, Blazewski ignored the core question.

“We have to fundraise all year long,” said Blazejewski. “We need the resources to get our message out.”

When asked if it created a perception problem or why the fundraiser could not take place after the budget, Blazejewski glossed over the question, repeating that he needed to raise money to get his message out.

As of March 31, 2026, Blazejewski had $458,019.78 cash on hand.

Kazarian reported $138,048.15 for the same time period.