HOT

Callan “Cal” Duquette

Seven-year-old Callan “Cal” Duquette — who is battling leukemia — was surprised at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence on Tuesday by members of the Rhode Island Shotokan Karate Dojo, who recognized Duquette as “Student of the Month” to encourage him in his battle against cancer. 

“I’ve been in martial arts for 22 years, and with [Shotokan] Master Linc for nearly 18 of the years,” said Cal’s mother Alli Duquette. “The dojo is like a family. While Cal hasn't started officially training with Master Linc, he is part of the family.”

Duquette was talking about Professor Larry “Linc” Martin at R.I.Shotokan Karate-do Shoju-kempo ryu Hombu Dojo HQ. 

“[Master Linc] said we have to do everything we can to keep Cal’s spirit up, to help him battle through this. We're very fortunate that we have two dojo families. My kids also train with Jacob Rainville,” said Duquette, who noted that earlier on Tuesday, Cal had received a spinal tap for his chemotherapy. “So we have two masters that have gone above and beyond to keep him physically stay strong, which his team [at Hasbro] feels is a great thing.”

HOT

Rocco Baldelli

Rhode Island native Rocco Baldelli will be named the next manager of the MLB’s Minnesota Twins, according to ESPN.

He will replace Paul Molitor, who went 305-343 in four seasons in Minnesota with one playoff appearance.

Baldelli, now 37, will become the youngest manager in the majors.

Baldelli is from Woonsocket and is a graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School.

Baldelli was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the first round of the 2000 MLB draft and signed with them for $2,250,000.

In 2003, his first season in the majors, Baldelli finished in third place in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year.

However, in 2005, Baldelli’s career was derailed by a metabolic/muscu

HOT

PriMedia and Nail

Warwick-based PriMedia’s work for the Rhode Island Blood Center has captured silver and bronze at the 2018 International ECHO Awards recognizing the world’s best marketing campaigns.

PriMedia Inc. and the Rhode Island Blood Center traveled to Las Vegas recently to accept the award.

PriMedia and NAIL Communications were awarded a silver ECHO award in the “Not-For-Profit” category and a bronze ECHO in the “Campaign for Social Good” category for RIBC’s Help “Someone Else” (Become a Blood Donor) marketing campaign.

HOT

NAACP Award Winners

NAACP Providence Branch President Jim Vincent joined GoLocal News Editor on GoLocal LIVE ahead of the 105th Freedom Fund Awards Gala on Friday, October 26 at the Providence Marriott on Orms Street.

CNN Political Commentator Tara Setmayer will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will honor the following individuals along with Cliff Monteiro, who will receive a lifetime achievement award. 

Kyle Bennett — Martin Luther King, Jr. Award 
Denise DeBarros — George S. Lima Award
Diana Garlington — Ida B. Wells Award
Charlie Holliday — Medgar Evers Award
Barbara Thurman — Joseph LeCount Award
Henriette White Holder — Rosa Parks Award

HOT

RI Hockey Community

Andy Calcione and Howie Rosenblatt joined GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle on GoLocal LIVE to talk about the third annual “Play for a Cause” hockey game and family day on Saturday, October 27 at Providence College’s Schneider Arena.

The game rallies in support of Artie Saran, a local retired professional hockey player who played for LaSalle at the RI Saints, and in the CHL before being diagnosed with ALS. 

Featured players and refs include Bryan Berard, Mark Eaton, David Capuano, Billy Tibbetts, Paul Stewart, and more.

Doors open at 11 a.m.; youth hockey games are a noon, and 1 p.m. player introductions and warm-ups begin before the puck drop at 2 p.m.. 

NOT

Sheldon Whitehouse

Why? You are up by 20 points, but you have to produce a false ad?

U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s ads are rated "four Pinocchios" by the Washington Post fact checker.

Four Pinocchios is the Washington Post's highest mark for untruthfulness. 

According to the Post, Whitehouse "has no evidence to support his incendiary campaign claim that Republicans want to eliminate these programs. It’s especially bad that the senator makes this claim himself in an ad."

"Senator Whitehouse seems to have a tenuous relationship with the truth. It is clear that Senator Whitehouse is recognizing the growing momentum behind our campaign and is becoming ever more desperate with his blatantly false attacks. You'd think with the millions of dollars he's spent on these ads, he'd at least be able to hire a fact checker. But he instead has decided that telling his Big Lies over and over again will fool enough people to make it worth his while. For Shame Sheldon! Pull these false ads now and apologize to Rhode Islanders for your lies,” said Bob Flanders, GOP challenger for the United States Senate seat.

NOT

More Financial Distress for Diocese

New documents secured by GoLocalProv show that the Diocese of Providence’s financial situation continues to deteriorate and the Diocese is now dramatically increasing the contribution of teachers and employees to their health benefits.

Employees of the Diocese who have family healthcare plans will have to pay $2,000 annually more.

This comes just weeks after the Diocese made cuts to the Lay Person Retirement Fund. The church slashed benefits and cut some teachers and staff out of the plan despite their schools making thousands of dollars of contributions to the fund on their behalf.

In addition, documents show that the value of the retirement fund is decreasing by the year. From 2014 to 2017, the fund has decreased in value from $103.8 million to $92.9 million. During this period, La Salle Academy left the Diocese’s fund. According to sources. La Salle made a one-time payment to the retirement fund in order to leave the fund.

NOT

Schilling and Red Sox

The Red Sox snubbed Curt Schilling for Wednesday night’s pre-game celebration of the 2004 World Series Champs.

Schilling’s wife Shondra took to Facebook to criticize the snub.

She wrote, “As much as we did for the Red Sox on and off the field. I just don’t have words I can say that would still make me look like a lady.”

It is all a mess.

NOT

Notorious Developer 

The Pawtucket mill that partially collapsed during rehab on Monday is owned by controversial California developer Lance Robbins, who has been tagged as one of the worst slumlords in Los Angeles history.

Three people were injured - one critically - when a floor in the mill on Esten Avenue collapsed. The incident and the contractor working for Robbins, Metric Corporation, is being investigated by state and federal officials.

In September 2016, GoLocalProv unveiled that Governor Gina Raimondo and the Board of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation voted to provide Urban Smart Growth — which is run by Robbins — up to a maximum of $3,569,657 in Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credits.

But Robbins history is tied to a series of controversies in Rhode Island and across the country. 

One of the top advocacy lawyers in the country, Lauren Saunders, told GoLocalProv.com in 2016 that “Robbins was one of the most dishonest and unscrupulous people I have come across in my career working for vulnerable tenants and consumers. I cannot imagine entrusting any (public) money to him.”

Saunders, who is Associate Director of the National Consumer Law Center in Washington, DC, had battled with Robbins when she represented tenants in Los Angeles, CA where Robbins operated before relocating to Rhode Island.

The National Consumer Law Center, whose mission is "serving low-income consumers," states that it is "committed to supporting and advancing diversity inside and outside the organization." Saunders clarified that her comments on Robbins were hers, and not of the center's.

“Lance Robbins was the worst slumlord in L.A. history. The city's Slum Housing Task Force prosecuted him numerous times for horrible conditions at his buildings. He also ran up huge water bills at his buildings that he refused to pay, and the city was reluctant to shut off the water for fear of harming the tenants. I filed a False Claims Act case against him and he was forced to pay $1 million in back water bills," Saunders told GoLocal.

Robbins’ company also owns the Hope Artiste complex and was criticized by former tenants. Lee Forbes of Nosh previously told GoLocal how she opened in 2014, but by 2015 was fighting Robbins to try and stay in the mill space, despite having always paid rent on time, she claims.