HOT

We Are #2

Rhode Island is one of the national leaders in vaccinations.

The state is #2 and second only to Massachusetts.

Vaccines prevent 4 to 5 million deaths worldwide per year, according to the WHO.

Rhode Island ranks number one for the share of teenagers aged 13-17 for up-to-date HPV vaccination.

Also, Rhode Island is tops for flu vaccination rate for adults.

To find out which states vaccinate most, WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics, ranging from the share of vaccinated children to the share of people without health insurance to the flu vaccination rate among adults.

Vaccination in Rhode Island (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

3rd – Influenza Vaccination Rate in Children Aged 6 Months to 17 Years Old
1st – Share of Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Up-To-Date HPV Vaccination
12th – Share of Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Men ACWY Vaccination
1st – Flu Vaccination Coverage Rate Among Adults
22nd – Share of Adults with Tetanus Vaccination
22nd – Share of Adults Aged 60 and Older with Zoster Vaccination
6th – Share of Children 19-35 Months old Living in Poverty with Combined 7-Vaccine Series
5th – Share of Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population without Health Insurance Coverage
20th – Share of Children Under 6 Years Old Participating in an Immunization Information System

HOT

Cold Stuffed Lobster

It’s on most seafood restaurants’ menus in Rhode Island — and New England.

Baked stuffed lobster, that is. 

But have you had cold stuffed lobster?

Jimmy’s Port Side in Galilee this week announced it has launched just that, and thinks it could be a fall hit. 

“Yes I finally launched it and it will surely please, -- great for events, parties or family gatherings. 

We do all sizes -- this is the 1.5 lbs lobster. We open the middle and stuff it with 1.5 lbs of lobster salad. This will fill 10-12 heavy finger rolls.

Throw this beauty on a platter and surround it with finger rolls and watch it disappear, then the lucky person still gets the claws and tail meat!!!”

While ChatGPT insists when asked it can’t name who invented the baked stuffed lobster — Boone’s Fish House in Maine says the restaurant’s namesake, Alexander Boone, is the originator of the dish.

HOT

Brilliant Glass

Michael Rose, GoLocal's art columnist, has a wonderful exploration of a leading glass shop.

In a city that defines itself by its creative clout, long-standing art purveyors are a great asset on the cultural scene. Gallery Belleau, a fixture on Wickenden Street for nearly two decades, offers the glass creations of artist Christopher Belleau and much more. The artist behind the shop has brought his unique artistic vision to Providence and his gallery is a glittering emporium for glassblowing.

Belleau came to Rhode Island from his home of Wisconsin in 1987. Originally a potter, who apprenticed starting at age 13 with a craftsman in his hometown, Belleau eventually came to focus on blown glass, which is now his medium of choice.

Today, he creates his work with a tight knit team of assistants and collaborators in a studio he owns in East Providence. He then displays the finished products in his attractive storefront on the corner of Wickenden and East Streets in Providence. Gallery Belleau has been a fixture of the neighborhood for years and will celebrate its twentieth anniversary in just a few months. Recently, Belleau signed a lease renewal that will keep the gallery in place for the foreseeable future.

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HOT

Providence Preservation Society Gets a New Boss

Warren Jagger, President of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS) Board of Trustees, announces the appointment of the Society's new Executive Director, Marisa Angell Brown. Brown comes to PPS most recently from Rhode Island School of Design's Center for Complexity, where she has served as Associate Director since 2022.

Prior to her work at RISD, Brown was at the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage at Brown University, where she taught courses on preservation and heritage practice and led the Center’s academic and public programs. 

NOT

Reaction to PVDFest

PVDFest, under Mayor Brett Smiley and Joe Wilson, had its set of challenges this past weekend.

But according to those who participated — and those who didn’t — there were “failures” that could have been prevented, as backlash was swift and severe online. 

The event was scheduled by Wilson who was named by Smiley to serve as Director of Art, Culture and Tourism for the city of Providence. He formerly was an actor at Trinity Rep.

GoLocal saw small crowds on Saturday and some musicians performing in front of no audiences.

Masa Taqueria food truck owner Jonathan Kirk took to Instagram to offer a nearly ten-minute scathing takedown of the event, placing the blame squarely on Smiley’s shoulders.

“Mayor Elorza gave you this amazing festival; he gave you the keys, all you had to do was copy and paste. You decided, let’s move this over to this bridge — where there’s no shade and no businesses,” said Kirk.

“When it rained, people could go into downtown businesses [at previous festivals] to take shelter. Then they would spend money. Instead, you decided to have people shelter in place in parking garages. That’s time wasted where businesses aren’t making money and tax revenue isn’t being generated. It’s clear you don’t have what it takes to be the mayor,” said Kirk.

Top local musical and producer Joe Bruce also took to social media to call out the Mayor as well.

“Brett Smiley — this year’s PVDFest was sad and disrespectful. The Creative Capital where city officials can’t be creative enough to hide their disdain for the event. Now that attendance is abysmal, you think it will be easy to kill it off.

Why I declined to perform at this year's event and why I will refuse indefinitely: You kept the name PVDFest and stripped it of its essence. PVDFest doesn’t happen in September, it happens in June. We don’t hide stages around the city we shut the streets down and give the people a memorable weekend. This isn’t aversion to change, this is awareness of political maneuvering.”

NOT

CVS Is Having a Rough Couple of Months

Rhode Island's largest private employer appears to be stumbling.

The company, which is laying off thousands across the country and hundreds in Rhode Island, was hoping to see a stock boost for the cutbacks—no such luck. The stock has been stuck.

Now, this week, the company received a warning letter from the FDA about marketing an unsafe product.

NOT

WPRI Exodus Continues

The competition from streaming is putting tremendous pressure on corporate TV conglomerates like Sinclair and WPRI's owner, Nexstar -- headquartered in Irving, Texas.

The latest to announce their departure this week was reporter Amanda Pitts.

Last month, WPRI 12 Sports Director Morey Hershgordon announced he was leaving.

In February, it was Meteorologist Michelle Muscatello who left.

At the end of 2022, Danielle North and Michaela Johnson departed.

NOT

Trouble in the Neighborhood

John Goncalves, the Fox Point City Councilor, had a tough day on primary day. He finished eighth in the Democratic primary — he received just a little more than 1,100 votes in his run for Congress.

During the course of the race, his record took a grilling and it exposed flip-flopping on issues, an ever-changing resume, and an incident of plagiarism. 

Goncalves looks more like George Santos, the disgraced Republican House member, than the future of the Democratic party in Rhode Island.

A look inside the numbers shows that Goncalves seemingly always changing positions on issues and his own bio may have caught up with him.

Poor Performance in His Own Ward

Goncalves performed poorly among those who knew him best.

At the Temple Beth El polling location, Goncalves received just 45 votes, finishing fourth.

At his home precinct — Fox Point Boys and Girls Club —Goncalves finished third with just 140 votes.

At Brown’s voting district — Brown RISD Hillel, despite claiming two degrees from the school — he received just two votes.

But, Goncalves is resolute in defending his poor performance. "The number of candidates also contributed to voter confusion and made the election overwhelming for many, especially over the summer. Finally, in what was seemingly a tight race for the two top voter-getters, folks didn’t want to waste their vote on more down-ballot candidates," said Goncalves.

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NOT

Weekend Love

The wedding party in Newport which brawled with a bouncer and then the police have a lot of explaining to do.

SEE THE VIDEOS HERE