Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - October 17, 2025

HOT

1.5-Year-Old Providence-Based Company Raises $85 Million in New Capital

“HavocAI's $85 million in new funding is a huge vote of confidence from investors who have seen our autonomy in action,” announced the company. “To date, we have raised just shy of $100 million, and we're incredibly grateful for each investor's support.”

Not bad for the one-and-a-half-year-old company located in Providence.

The company was co-founded by Paul Lwin, the CEO, who is a U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of the Naval Academy, a flight officer, and a test pilot school graduate. He also has advanced degrees from Yale and Johns Hopkins.

The other co-founder, Joe Turner, COO, is also a Navy veteran. He was a surface warfare officer.

The company describes itself as “revolutionizing maritime autonomy. Founded in 2024, HavocAI is bringing scalable maritime autonomy solutions and our ultra-low cost, high-rate production ASVs (Autonomous Surface Vessels) to the defense and commercial markets at the speed of relevance.”

In announcing the funding, HavocAI said, “With it, we're already moving very fast to deliver the most advanced and complete autonomous maritime capabilities in the world. Our ability to put real collaborative autonomy in the water right now makes Havoc the ultimate strategic investment for notable venture capitalists who are counting on much more than a financial return.

HOT

Mark Curtis

The West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame inducted Mark Curtis and six others this week.

Mark is a wonderful talent.

He has been a contributor for GoLocal for about a decade.

Congrats and well earned.

HOT

Justice Champions

Justice Assistance initiated an annual award beginning in 1981 to honor individuals who have demonstrated dedication, service and citizen contributions to the justice profession and the public interest. In 1988, Justice Assistance renamed the award for Neil J. Houston, Jr. as a memorial to his outstanding achievements in the justice and philanthropic fields.

The 2025 Honorees, who were recognized on October 9, included:

Michelle Alves, Chief, Criminal Trial Division, Office of the Rhode Island Public Defender

Major David A. Lapatin, Investigative Division, Providence Police Department (See photo)

Christopher Gontarz, Esquire, President, Rhode Island Bar Association

Rhode Island Division of Sheriffs

Edward V. Healey, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: The Honorable Alice B. Gibney, Presiding Justice, Rhode Island Superior Court
 

HOT

New England Patriots

The team is now in first place in their division.

HOT

Nobel Prize

Brown University’s Peter Howitt, along with Joel Mokyr and Philippe Aghion, won the 2025 Nobel economics prize for "having explained innovation-driven economic growth", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Monday.

The prestigious award, formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the final prize to be given out this year.

The award is worth 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).

HOT

Michelin Keys

Four hotels in Newport have been named Michelin Key Hotels for 2025. 

Like a Michelin Star for restaurants, it is an honor from the industry-leading Michelin Guide that recognizes the country’s most outstanding hotels.

Two hotels received “Two Keys” - Castle Hill Inn and Resort and The Chanler at Cliff Walk.

Two received “One Key” - The Cliffside Inn and The Vanderbilt. 

HOT

Cape Verde

With a huge population of Cape Verdeans in Rhode Island, it is great to see the success of the tiny country's soccer team.

It is headed to the World Cup for the first time.

See the video celebration in Pawtucket.

NOT

University of Rhode Island economist Leonard Lardaro declared on Monday that Rhode Island is in a recession.

The time for my equivocation has now come to an end: RHODE ISLAND IS IN A RECESSION. While our economy has had its ups and downs over the last year or so, starting last December, we have been unable to attain or sustain any broadly based economic momentum. While some indicators have shown favorable values at times, and that is also true this month, as a group, this has not been the case, writes Lardaro in his monthly Current Condition Index (CCI) — a measure of the Rhode Island economy scored 0-100.

“Its value, 33, is yet another in a string of disappointments,” Lardaro writes.

Years ago, I designed the Current Conditions Index for the purpose of gauging Rhode Island’s cyclical economic momentum. Over the years, its track record has exceeded even my wildest expectations, as it leads going into recessions and is coincident with recoveries. The signal it is now providing is clearly one that Rhode Island is currently in a recession that likely began last December. It should be noted that there is no official definition of recessions at the state level,” said Lardaro.

“Even the national definition most people believe (two or more consecutive quarters with negative real GDP growth) is not correct. In the present situation, the CCI has been unable to move into the expansion range since last November, its values this year have consistently fallen below the values last year, and done so with largely contraction range values,” Lardaro adds.

NOT

Slashing

NBC News has massive layoffs underway.

The network has begun the process of laying off 150 employees, which accounts for about 7% of its staff. 

And others will have to reapply for positions.

Less news.

NOT

Trump Warns Boston Could Lose World Cup Games, Would Be Economic Blow to RI

President Donald Trump is threatening to pressure FIFA to remove the 2026 World Cup games from Boston and Gillette Stadium. 

It is not likely to happen, but if it did, it would be bad news for the Rhode Island economy.

Trump made the comments during a press event with Argentinian President Javier Milei on Tuesday.  Milei was visiting the White House for the announcement of a $20 billion bailout.

During the event, a reporter asked Trump about a recent “street takeover” in Boston that saw police officers attacked and a police car set on fire.

Two Rhode Island men were arrested as part of the incident.

The reporter also asked if Trump would work with Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, to address the issue of violence.

“We could take them away,” Trump said of the World Cup games, which are due to be held at Gillette Stadium. “Their mayor is not good … she’s radical left, and they’re taking over parts of Boston. That’s a pretty big statement, right?”

The World Cup games are expected to be an economic boon to Rhode Island. According to projections, Rhode Island could generate $100 million in economic activity from the games.

The 11 host U.S. cities -- plus three in Mexico and two in Canada -- are contracted with FIFA, which would face significant logistical and legal issues to make changes in the eight months before the June 11 kickoff.

"It's FIFA's tournament, FIFA's jurisdiction; FIFA makes those decisions," the soccer body's vice president Victor Montagliani said earlier this month at a sports business conference in London, according to ESPN.

PHOTO: Peter Glaser, Unsplash

NOT

Reality Numbers

In April of 2015, the median sales price of a single-family home increased 4% to $202,500. 

Since then, the median price of a home in Rhode Island has exploded 162%

In contrast, the median household income over that same time period has increased by about 48%.

Rhode Islanders are house poor, and many can't get in the game.