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DeNucci & Verde Win at Cannes World Film Festival 

Rhode Island film director Tom DeNucci has earned top honors along with Rick Lazes for “Knock Out Blonde” at the Cannes World Film Festival. 

The film is the authorized documentary of Kellie Maloney — formerly Frank Maloney — the famous transgender boxing manager for Lennox Lewis. 

DeNucci, who directed the film produced by Rhode Island’s Chad Verdi, said he got the news they received the top honor for “Best Documentary Feature Film” on Sunday — while watching the Patriots on Sunday. 

“The Pats might have lost, but we won,” DeNucci told GoLocal. “I’ve never won a film festival before. To me though, it’s a team thing.”

“Most of all, this movie is all about Kellie,” said DeNucci, in a wide-ranging interview on Monday. 

Read more here. 

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Intergalatically Cool

NASA’s DART Mission, the world’s first-ever test of planetary defense, was an amazing success.

The DART spacecraft was intentionally crash into asteroid Dimorphos on Monday. It proved a kinetic force could change the asteroid's orbit.

The same technique could be used to deflect an Earth-threatening asteroid in the future, should one ever be discovered.

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Fracassa Field

It is hard to imagine that in the early 1970s Bishop Hendricken was poised to close due to dwindling enrollment. It looked to be another Catholic school on the chopping block, like a De La Salle in Newport or a St. Xavier's in Providence.

In 1971, the school’s football team finished a Class B season with only one victory.  And by 1972, Hendricken was competing in essentially the 4th division of Rhode Island high school football. In an era when large public high schools dominated the football landscape in the state’s top division, Hendricken was a small school petitioning the state to play in the lower football divisions to win a few games.   

In 1973, Ed Fracassa came to Hendricken as its varsity football coach — a decision that would change the fate of the school, hundreds of young men, and Fracassa himself.

Building a Dynasty

Over the next decade, Fracassa fueled the Hendricken transformation. By the mid-1980s, Sports Illustrated called the school the most dominant sports program in any state — winning nearly every single state championship.

According to Hendricken, "In only ten years after Fracassa’s hiring, Hendricken accumulated a 73-14 record (80-14 including non-league games) in Class A play and notched: 5 Class A Championships; 3 runner-up squads; 4 Super Bowl births; 3 consecutive Super Bowl appearances; 3 consecutive, undefeated regular seasons with 25 consecutive wins; a 1981 season in which only 3 touchdowns were scored against the Hawks and in which there were ten shutout victories including non-league contests (state record).

In the midst of this unprecedented success, Sports Illustrated featured Hendricken in 1981 stating that 'it would be hard to find another high school athletic program to match that of Bishop Hendricken High.'  Fracassa’s one condition to compete in the state’s top football division proved to bear fruit. The foundation was then set for continued growth, success, and broken records for decades to come."

READ MORE

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And More Hawks: Bishop Hendricken Grad School - The NBA

With the naming of Joe Mazzulla to serve as the new coach of the Boston Celtics for the 2022-2023 season, Bishop Hendricken High School can claim two NBA coaches.

Mazzulla will serve as the interim head coach, after the Boston Celtics announced Thursday night that the team has suspended Head Coach Ime Udoka for the 2022-23 season for violations of team policies.

A decision about Udoka's future with the Celtics beyond this season will be made at a later date. The suspension takes effect immediately. 

The Celtics lost in the NBA finals and are a frontrunner for the NBA finals for the 2022-2023 season.

Mazzulla was a star at Bishop Hendricken and then West Virginia before entering coaching.

Now Two Former Hawks Head Coaches in NBA

The other Hendricken player is Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, one of the top coaches in the Western Conference.

He attended Hendricken when his father Brendon Malone served as the head coach at URI in the mid-1980s — coaching stars Tommy Garrick, Silks Owens and Kenny Green, but after two seasons he joined the New York Knicks.

Mike Malone left Hendricken for Seton Hall Preparatory School and later attended prep school at Worcester Academy in the 1988–89 school year.

He then graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 1994 with a degree in history and played on the Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball team from 1989 to 1993.

After college, he coached high school and then landed a spot on the Providence College coaching staff from 1995 to 1998 under then-coach Pete Gillen.

When Gillen left for the University of Virginia. Malone went with him. And then, he left to join another former top Friar assistant Bobby Gonzalez at Manhattan.  And then, Malone went up the college ranks to the NBA and finally landed the head coaching job with the Sacramento Kings.

He hired his father as an assistant.

But after just a little more than a season, the Kings fired Malone. The next year he was picked up by Denver and he has been the head coach since 2015.

Mike Malone PHOTO: Twitter, Joe Mazzulla, PHOTO: Fairmont

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Rhode Island’s National Blue Ribbon Schools  

RI's Education Commissioner had some good news over the past couple of weeks.

"This month, the U.S. Department of Education named Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School in Foster, and Fort Barton Elementary School in Tiverton as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2022, honoring the three schools’ achievements in academic excellence.

Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School is recognized as an Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School, while Barrington High School and Fort Barton Elementary School are Exemplary High Performing Schools," said Angélica Infante-Green.  

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Brilliant

Michael Rose, GoLocal's art contributor, has a great look at one of the great photographers -- Rhode Island's own.

Artist A. Cemal Ekin has turned his photographic lens toward a variety of subjects throughout his career, from the architecture of Hagia Sophia to aerial views of local beaches.

On view through October 14, 2022, at the RI Center for Photographic Arts in Providence, viewers have a chance to see a suite of Ekin’s photographs which inspired the 2013 Festival Ballet performance titled “Orchis.” Graceful and elegant, the images in the Orchis series show off Ekin’s virtuosity as a photographer whose work provided crossover inspiration for peers in the performing arts.

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INVESTIGATION: Diossa’s Campaign Lied About Travel Charges

A GoLocal investigation, which began more than three months ago, uncovered 26 trips by then-Central Falls Mayor James Diossa — many of the trips were to exotic places.

Now, GoLocal has uncovered more than a dozen additional trips and an attempt by Diossa to cover up the true cost to taxpayers for his travel costs.

Diossa is running for general treasurer in Rhode Island, and if elected, he will be responsible for approximately $10 billion in retirees' pension funds.

In total, the travel paid by third parties, partially paid by third parties, and paid exclusively by the City of Central Falls total nearly 50 trips and cost more than $80,000.

Central Falls may be best known nationally for its 2011 bankruptcy, and it is Rhode Island's poorest city. Per capita income in Central Falls is just $15,910 a year.

Of the 26 trips GoLocal previously uncovered, ten of them were international, including East Timor, Malaysia, England, Mexico, Colombia, China, and multiple trips to Israel and Taiwan.

Diossa's campaign claimed that those 26 trips were paid for entirely by third parties.

But that claim by Diossa's team was a lie.

The false statement helped him get through a tough Democratic primary against Stefan Pryor.

Diossa won by 11,660 votes.

READ MORE

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Five Staggering Numbers -  The Costs to Live, Eat and Put a Roof Over Your Head in RI

The cost of living, eating, turning on the lights, or getting sick is increasing at a staggering rate in Rhode Island.

The federal government produces a dizzying array of data about the condition of the economy and the rate of inflation but too often it's a macro look dwarfed by data from states like California.  (If California were a sovereign nation in 2022, it would rank as the world's fifth largest economy, behind Germany and ahead of India.)

That hardly matters to the price of Del’s in Rhode Island. What does matter in Rhode Island is the price of Del’s -- and lots of other things we need for basic food and shelter.

Here are a few of the increases that are hitting or are soon coming to your wallet that will have a significant impact on how we live, save and enjoy a quality of life.

Roof Over Your Head

The median price cost of a single-family in April of 2015, was $202,500. In August of this year, the median price was $405,000 — a 100% increase.

This week, Kim Marion with Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International pointed out that the average mortgage payment is up 53% (and that was before this week's latest interest rate hike by the Fed.)

Rents in the Providence metro area are now $2,035, according to Realtors.com.  Renters pay 31.9% of their income  — the 9th highest in the U.S.

Rents increased 15% year over year in the Providence market.

While home prices have exploded, wages have increased at a fraction of the rate — between 3% and 5% per year over the past five years.

Eat

A Black Pearl lobster sandwich cost $22.00 in 2020 at the Newport restrauant — now, $34.00 — a 54% increase in two years.

Turning on the Lights

On Friday, the Public Utilities Commission approved a rate increase for RI Energy of 47%. The impact on average will be hundreds of dollars for the average Rhode Island home, but for some who heat with electric heat, it will be thousands -- a staggering increase for customers on a fixed income.

Turning on the Heat

The majority of Rhode Islanders heat with natural gas — RI Energy has filed with the PUC to increase the cost of natural gas by 15% this winter.

Cost of Healthcare

This week the Rhode Island Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC) approved rate increases for the cost of health insurance -- the increases ranged from 3.1% to 9.7%.

The highest rate increase was the 9.7% approved for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island for small businesses.

According to data provided to GoLocal by OHIC, the total cost of the approved rate increases is in excess of $83 million for a blended over rate increase of over 7%.

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Brown Destruction

A massive tailgate in the Brown University parking and tailgate area just outside the Brown Football Stadium is being investigated after a half-dozen rented vehicles were damaged.

Representatives of U-Haul have confirmed that the trucks and pick-up trucks had to be retrieved from the lot on Elmgrove Avenue.

The damage to the vehicles included smashed windows, dents, and damaged roofs.

According to sources, the tailgate party was hosted by members of the Brown University men’s lacrosse team.

Last academic year, two members of the team were accused of two separate allegations sexual assaults. Both of those cases ended up in federal court.

According to Brown University Spokesperson Brian Clark, "While students abide by Brown’s community standards and Code of Student Conduct the vast majority of the time, we have detailed procedures in place to investigate alleged violations, adjudicate them and implement sanctions if students are found responsible."

"When we receive information from Brown’s police department or other law enforcement agencies about alleged violations, we follow up in all cases to seek information and determine next steps. While federal law prevents us from sharing information on conduct outcomes related to specific students, we can and do hold students accountable when they are found responsible for code violations," he added. 

The area of the tailgate was in the Brown parking lot -- on the other side of the fence is a residential neighborhood.

"Those procedures are now guiding our actions in regard to what was clearly unacceptable behavior by attendees outside of Brown Stadium on Saturday. Officers from Brown’s Department of Public Safety assisted to de-escalate on site, protect the safety of football game attendees and remind students of their responsibilities and of the University community’s standards and expectations," said Clark. 

Attendance was reported at less than 10,000

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RIPTA Slashing Service Due to “Historic Workforce Shortage”

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) announced Thursday that it will temporarily reduce service across the state frequencies beginning Saturday, October 22.

While RIPTA regularly makes service adjustments three times a year in response to seasonal changes and/or passenger use, this round of changes is "directly related to the agency’s struggle to competitively recruit new drivers in the current marketplace," said the quasi-public agency.   

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Market on Hope Street Vandalized — Due to Opposition to Bike Lanes

A small business on Hope Street on the East Side of Providence was vandalized — due to its opposition to bike lanes in the commercial area. 

Bubbie’s Market and Deli, which first opened in 2021 and features a Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah menu, made the assertion on Thursday.

“Our store was mildly vandalized yesterday because of a sign we have on our door.  Not a political sign supporting any party's agenda...not a rainbow or anything about abortion...A sign stating our view on the city's agenda to add a bike lane on our street.  A street that lacks parking as it is and a proposal to remove 130 parking spaces in a mixed-use business district,” said the store. 

In a letter sent to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza in August, more than 20 small business owners urged the proposed "urban trail" trial on Hope Street to be canceled.

“Still reeling from COVID losses, we fear an unnecessary interruption of business in the short-term, and have serious concerns about the project in general. We are strongly opposed to both the upcoming trial and the plan itself,” the businesses wrote.

“Please come out and show your support for the Hope Street Merchants from 10/1-10/8.  Be prepared to search a little for parking.  Feel free to use our parking lot located on the north side of Braman Street behind our store.  Shana Tova and thank you,” they continued.