GoLocalProv | Politics | Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? – February 16, 2024

HOT

Something About This Team

This year’s Providence College men’s basketball team may not make the Big Dance, but you have to love this group. Despite losing Bryce Hopkins early in the season, the Friars have found a way to compete.

The emerging story is that Josh Oduro, the grad student playing on the team, is married, and he and his wife just welcomed their first child. 

It is hard not to like PC this season. 

HOT

50 Year Run

Radio host Giovanni is leaving WPRO. 

He made the announcement Thursday morning on air. 

It marks the latest departure after his former on-air partner Kim Zandy announced in 2023 that she had been let go.

Bekah Berger then made the move from Hot 106 to 92 PRO FM that summer. 

WPRO shared Giovanni’s announcement on Facebook on Thursday.

“A couple of years ago my mom got sick….I asked himself, ‘Why am I still doing what I’m doing…maybe it’s time to move on,” he said. 

“Management said, Gio — you can stay here as long as you want,” he said. “I said really…are you crazy?”

“I said I think I want to bow out of PRO-FM…on its birthday,” he said, of his now upcoming departure date on April 29. 

“So I’m going to still be here for a little while…you can still kick me around a bit here and there,” he added. 

PHOTO: WPRO PROMO

HOT

Providence Snow Removal

This storm was not the 10-12 inches that was forecasted, but it was a mess.

After a couple of misses, the Smiley administration bounced back and did a solid job plowing the streets.

Let’s give the city a solid A-.

HOT

Organized Influence — The Series

A GoLocal multi-part investigation unveils how political donations, golf games, and bullying help to drive the power of the Laborers’ International influence in Rhode Island, impacting everything from who runs the State House to who builds Rhode Island’s roads and bridges.

This series is about more than the broken bridge that impacts hundreds of thousands each day or the dumping of contaminated material in the poorest neighborhood in the state — so much more.

The investigation follows the money. GoLocal interviewed more than 25 individuals for this series — and more than 15 of them were willing to go on the record.

READ PART ONE HERE

HOT

Emerging Star

GoLocal arts columnist Michael Rose has a look at an emerging star in Rhode Island’s art community – Andrea Pascual.

The worlds of fashion and the visual arts have always enjoyed a special connection. Crossovers between these two disciplines often produce exciting work and for emerging artist Andrea Pascual, the creation of wearable art is central to her practice. A hardworking creator whose hands are constantly at work crafting items for her brand Make Me Feel Better, Pascual is a young artist to know.

Pascual’s preferred medium is crochet and using a variety of hooks she crafts items like bags, sweaters, dresses, and more. She initially developed an interest in the practice during the pandemic and learned both from her sister as well as from teaching herself utilizing tutorials online. While her sister helped get Pascual interested in crochet, she also cites her mother as a key inspiration in the development of her practice, stating that her mom’s entrepreneurial acumen and skill in the clothing industry propelled her forward.

READ MORE

PHOTO: Michael Rose

NOT

A Quote Too Close to the Heart

The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona tweeted on Wednesday:

“Two American traditions like no other — football and mass shootings.”

NOT

The Decline of a Once Great Rhode Island Company

RI-based global toy company Hasbro reported a decline of 20% to its fourth-quarter revenue and issued a downbeat 2024 forecast on Tuesday.

GoLocal previously reported there have been massive layoffs.

More pain is coming.

The company now expects to cut $750 million in costs by the end of 2025, up from a previous target of $350 million to $400 million.

In December, the toymaker laid off 1,100 employees after it had already cut 15% of its workforce earlier in the year.

The company also announced that it is abandoning its Providence campus by January 2025.

According to CNBC, Hasbro performed in the fourth quarter compared to estimates:

        Earnings per share: 38 cents vs. 66 cents expected
        Revenue: $1.29 billion vs. $1.36 billion expected

For the last three months of 2023, Hasbro lost $1.06 billion, or $7.64 per share, drastically wider than losses of $128.9 million, or 93 cents, a year earlier.

NOT

Not Exactly the Watergate Hearings

For the most part, the oversight hearing of the RIDOT failed Washington Bridge was simply embarrassing. 

The joint House and Senate committees seemed ill-prepared. They have no dedicated staff, issued no subpoenas, and conducted no formal interview prior to the public hearing.

One legislator actually asked about bike paths. 

PHOTO: Taken by the official Senate photographer, a government employee – L-R Fred Thompson, Senator Howard Baker and Senator Sam Ervin