Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s - November 21, 2025

HOT

PPAC Transition

Joseph Walsh, Chair of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) Board of Directors, announced on Tuesday that, as of December 31, 2025, long-time President and CEO J.L. “Lynn” Singleton will leave that position and as of January 1, 2026, General Manager Alan J. Chille will take the helm as President and CEO of PPAC.

Singleton not only helped to reinvent PPAC but also saved downtown Providence.

Walsh said, “Our Board of Directors wishes to acknowledge Lynn’s outstanding vision and leadership, which paved the way for PPAC to build on its previous foundation to become the highly respected world-class venue that it is today.”

L-R Chile, Walsh and Singleton  PHOTO: PPAC

HOT

Anthony Tarro

The Siena Empire is expanding.

Anthony Tarro confirmed with GoLocal that he is opening a new location of the popular Italian eatery, currently in East Greenwich and Smithfield. 

On Wednesday, Tarro and an investor purchased the former Coastal Cabin in Narragansett at auction for $950,000. 

“I’ve been looking to expand the company for the last several years. I have a desire to be in South County,” said Tarrro. “I see Narragansett as being a great area for us to expand our brand.”

Vision and Time Frame

Known for its elevated Tuscan cuisine, Tarro says he has a specific “casual upscale” vision for the new location. 

“My plans are to build out a more casual theme restaurant under the Siena Brand providing a more ‘casual’ experience for the locals, residents and seasonal renters and tourists,” said Tarro. “We would still provide a high level of quality and consistency while still providing value.”

And there might be a twist.

“I’m considering calling it Siena-by-the-Sea,” said Tarro. 

Tarro says as far as time frame, there is some “work to be done.”

“It's going to take us coming up with and developing a plan for the property in the building based on what the restaurant needs are going to be and what we can cooperatively obtain by working together closely with the Town of Narragansett,” said Tarro. 

“In my heart of hearts, you know, if I could be open by the summer…that would be maybe Herculean," laughed Tarro. “But it would certainly be something that I would love to do.”

Stay tuned for an opening timeline.

HOT

3 STEAM Teachers

Three Rhode Island teachers have received the 2025 RI STEAM Educator Award.

The award is presented to one elementary educator (grades K-5), one middle school educator (grades 6-8), and one high school educator (grades 9-12) whose innovative and engaging lessons spark curiosity and creativity in their students.

Rhode Island’s 2025 STEAM Educator Awardees are:

- Erin Giuliano, Park Elementary School in Warwick
- Christopher Colson, Goff Middle School, Pawtucket
- Tiffany Risch, Coventry High School

STEAM education integrates Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics into a cohesive learning approach that "encourages students to think critically, solve problems creatively, and make meaningful connections across disciplines. By blending analytical skills with creativity, STEAM helps students understand not just how things work, but why they matter."

The Rhode Island STEAM Educator Awards are presented in memory of Dr. Carol Giuriceo, who served as the RI STEAM Center’s director from 2013-2021.

Each of the awardees receives a $1,000 grant to use in their classrooms, along with a $500 personal award, funded by PPL Foundation/RI Energy.

PHOTO: Vitaly Garley, Unsplash

HOT

3 From Brown University Awarded Rhodes Scholarships

Brown University seniors Keidy Palma Ramirez and Xuanjie (Coco) Huang and Class of 2025 alumnus Nicholas Sanzi were elected to the Rhodes Scholar Class of 2026. 

Palma Ramirez and Sanzi were named two of the United States’ Rhodes Scholars, while Huang was named an international Rhodes Scholar. In addition to the 32 U.S.-based scholars, the Rhodes Trust awards roughly 70 Rhodes Scholarships to citizens of dozens of countries across the globe. Huang is one of four Chinese citizens to be awarded the scholarship this year. 

The Rhodes Scholarship, widely considered to be one of the most prestigious academic awards available to undergraduate students, provides recipients funding to cover all expenses for two or three years of graduate study at the University of Oxford in England. 

Oxford University PHOTO: Ben Seymour

HOT

Jon Stewart on the Real Housewives of Rhode Island

The Daily Show, hosted by Jon Stewart, featured Rhode Island in a big way.

In the opening monologue, Stewart cites the biggest news in Rhode Island. Take a look. It is right at the beginning of the show.

And, the other Rhode Island connection on Monday night’s show was an interview with University of Rhode Island grad and CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour.  

HOT

Eugenio Fernandez, Founder and CEO, Asthenis 

Providence star Eugenio Fernandez, MPH ’16, is featured in Harvard's School of Public Health publication:

When Eugenio Fernandez returned to the Providence neighborhood where he grew up, he brought a new vision: combine public health services with pharmacy access directly where people live.

As founder of Asthenis, a public health hub located within affordable housing in Providence’s West End, he’s proving that innovative approaches can reach communities traditional healthcare often misses.  

NOT

No Credibility. No Maintenance.

Ken Block wrote an insightful guest MINDSETTER™ this week about the ongoing embarrassment of the McKee administration:

Lower than a turtle’s behind. Those were my expectations for RIDOT Director Peter Alviti’s testimony, under oath, to the RI legislature’s joint oversight committee about the failed Washington Bridge. They were not met.

Alviti placed 100% of the blame for the bridge failure on contractors hired over the last decade to inspect it, claiming they failed to detect the bridge’s deteriorating condition. RIDOT is suing those contractors. He had no answers for many questions, but the biggest one was this: The inspection contractors who allegedly dropped the ball and doomed the Washington Bridge are inspecting other bridges around the state. How can we know those inspectors aren't missing big problems on other bridges?

Incredibly, Alviti stated that RIDOT somehow knows all of the other inspections are just fine. Just the Washington Bridge inspections were bad. He says this while admitting that RIDOT is not supervising or monitoring the inspection work. This is not credible.

The reality is that the inspection reports weren’t deficient. RIDOT was, and is. READ MORE

NOT

Opioid Maker Purdue Pharma’s 6-Year Bankruptcy Ends, Questions Remain for Foulkes’ Ties

OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma won court approval on Friday for an opioid-related settlement plan to pay approximately $7.4 billion.

Purdue Pharma is considered the company that, through its marketing and products, fueled the opioid crisis.

Sackler Money Poured into Foulkes' Family Center - Campaign Donations From Their Lobbyist

Purdue Pharma was owned and managed by the Sackler family. The Sacklers have had close ties to Rhode Island gubernatorial candidates Helena Foulkes and her family.

The Sacklers were major donors to Foulkes’ family center — the Dodd Center. Foulkes' uncle is former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd. He was a strong defender of Purdue Pharma and repelled investigations into the company's practices.

For more than a decade, while Foulkes served on and chaired the board and other handpicked board members were Jonathan Sackler, Vice President of Purdue Pharma and a powerful Purdue Pharma lobbyist.  Jonathan's parents  — Raymond and Beverly Sackler — underwrote the “Raymond and Beverly Distinguished Lecture Series” at the Dodd Center.

The drug money poured into the Dodd Center.

Raymond Sackler was one of the three brothers who created the massive Purdue Pharma empire. He and his wife pumped millions into the Dodd Center and UConn as a whole — a reported $4.5 million. UConn refused to release the details of the Sacklers' donations.

And that Sackler lobbyist and Foulkes family friend, Steve Kinney, also served on the board under Foulkes.

Kinney is a longstanding Purdue Pharma lobbyist, a former staffer and close confidant to Senator Dodd, and a repeated donor to Foulkes’ gubernatorial campaign. Kinney was the vice chair of the Dodd Center board as Foulkes was chair. READ MORE