Rhode Island

Hope Scholarship shows promise at Rhode Island College

Published

1 year ago

August 9, 2024

Hope Scholarship shows promise at Rhode Island College

Horace Mann Hall, which was renovated with state funds in 2023, is seen on Rhode Island College’s campus. The building houses the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development, which offers some of the programs of study prioritized by the school’s Hope Scholarship program. (Courtesy of Rhode Island College)

The Hope Scholarship at Rhode Island College (RIC) seems to be living up to its title by producing small gains in the school’s lagging enrollment, the first annual review of the program shows.

Less than a year into the program, RIC has seen higher retainment rates among Hope-enrolled students, who have also taken more classes and more credits. Also on the rise: In-state gross deposits from eligible Hope scholars are up 74.3% from last year.

“The message about the game-changing potential of the Hope Scholarship is reaching Rhode Island students and their families,” said John Taraborelli, RIC spokesperson, in an emailed statement.

The scholarship pays for a student’s junior and senior years if they commit to RIC as a freshman. Fashioned into law during the 2023 legislative session, the scholarship is meant to increase the number of students who enroll and complete four-year degrees at the state school, with an emphasis on “high-need fields” in health care, nursing and the trades. (Students aren’t required to take those majors, however.)

The RIC website specifies that students declare a major by their junior year, and that they “commit to live, work or continue education in RI after graduation.”

The scholarship effectively competes with the similar Promise program at Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). Promise began in 2017 and was designed by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo to encompass two years of free tuition at RIC, CCRI and the University of Rhode Island (URI). Cost concerns led lawmakers to limit the free tuition program to CCRI, and lower enrollment numbers soon followed at RIC and URI.

The program’s annual review was prepared in June and the data it contains is still nascent: The scholarship program began in November 2023, so it has yet to complete a full enrollment cycle. Baseline enrollment numbers, the report noted, are expected in fall 2024 once registration is complete.

“We won’t begin to see true measurable results until the first cohort of graduating high school seniors enter college (Fall 2024) then complete their bachelor’s degree (Spring 2028),” the report noted. “We believe the real results of Hope have not yet been fully realized and we will begin to see the true impact once the program is fully implemented.”

But so far, so good: There were 876 more applications this year, a 15.6% increase, and in-state, Hope-eligible applications were up nearly 47%. The majority of the fall 2023 Hope students, 83%, attempted to take 15 or more credits, and 99% of Hope recipients earned all their fall credits. Compared to about 87% of non-Hope full-time students, nearly 98% of Hope students were retained from fall to spring semesters.

The report projected a 67% four-year graduation rate for Hope scholars — not all that low considering the four-year graduation rate for RIC first years averaged only 20% across 2014-2018. In that same period, the average graduation rate was 26% at comparable four-year state colleges.

Still, there are 69 Hope seniors who had not completed their coursework as of the report’s June publication. Three adult students had different eligibility rules, one student was on academic warning in spring 2024, and another student didn’t complete coursework for undisclosed “personal and/or medical challenges,” the report noted, but could appeal the decision and continue their studies.

As for the remaining 30% or so of these students, the report lumps them together, even though their reasons for not completing on time vary. Among these 64 students are double majors, and students enrolled in programs that need more than eight semesters to complete. There were also students who “were enrolled in the minimum full-time course load and did not have a plan for year-round learning,” according to the report, which means taking fewer than 15 credits a semester.

The report suggests that 62% of the non-graduating students are in the high-demand fields, like nursing and education, and students taking especially strenuous plans of study can be considered “on track to graduate” despite not finishing in exactly four years.

The Hope scholarship program cost the state a projected $2.2 million in fiscal year 2024, and will likely cost $3.9 million in fiscal 2025, according to the report.

But not all the Hope scholars actually need the program’s money. Taraborelli said there were 112 Hope-eligible students who “had enough other financial aid that they didn’t actually need to receive Hope funds…[but] still benefit[ted] from the program in terms of advising and targeted outreach, even if they don’t receive funds.”

A full-time program director was hired to help the program succeed on the RIC campus, but the report noted that additional promotions are needed to publicize Hope to Rhode Islanders.

“While we hosted a successful Hope-themed guidance counselor breakfast this past year, we have not yet done significant outreach to local high school teachers,” the report reads. “This is important as classroom teachers often have an influence on student’s decisions to attend college.”

The college also plans to increase its multilingual advertising, use student voices in its marketing, and create a student ambassador program, the report said.

The enhanced outreach could be helpful as the scholarship isn’t going away anytime soon: Gov. Dan McKee rallied for and successfully won increased support for the Hope Scholarship in his 2025 budget. The state legislature agreed and extended the pilot to 2030.

“The extension of the Hope Scholarship is a win for Rhode Islanders — now and for generations to come,” McKee said in a statement Thursday. “While we know that higher education is often the key to raising incomes for Rhode Island, we also understand the financial burden this can be.”

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Rhode Island

Meet the cast of ‘The Real Housewives of Rhode Island’

Published

20 minutes ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

Andy Cohen announced the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” cast — including a former local NBC news anchor, a URI alum, and a Cranston pizzeria co-owner.

Andy Cohen attends the PAC NYC Icons of Culture Gala at Perelman Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in New York. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

A former local news anchor. A pizzeria co-owner. Rhody’s “Cannabis Queen.”

New England, meet your Real Housewives.

Executive producer/dedicated Deadhead/Anderson Cooper’s BFF Andy Cohen revealed the cast and trailer for the first-ever New England-based “Housewives” Nov. 16 at BravoCon.

Bravo announced the Rhody-set show in May. “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island” will premiere in 2026, with no specific date given. But, ’26 marks the 20th anniversary of the Real Housewives franchise.

The new trailer packages the Ocean State as a tiny, everybody-knows-everybody state full of secrets and drama. “Smallest state with the biggest attitude,” one cast member says in the official trailer, which debuted this weekend.

Rhode Island is “teeny. It’s a blip. But to us, it’s the center of the universe,” another cast member says.

The trailer is packed with all the shots you might expect— Newport mansions, polo games, tony beach shorelines, Adirondack chairs, sailboats in a harbor.

“Welcome to Rhode Island where nobody tells anybody the truth,” says a cast member, as we see, presumably, a Newport polo match. “Everybody just lies to each other’s faces and talks s*** behind their back.”

“It’s Rhode Island!” one cast member exclaims. “When someone says something, we all hear it!”

“You may not know Rhode Island, but here, secrets don’t stay buried for very long.”

It’s interspersed with classic Housewives drama and gossip (“Her husband’s a foot doctor, but I think he’s doing more than rubbing foot.”)

So pop the popcorn and grab coffee milk, reality fans. This looks juicier than a Del’s lemonade. (And yes, you’ll notice a shot of one cast member drinking a can of Narragansett’s Del’s Shandy.)

Meet the cast for the “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” premiere season:

— Early risers may recognize Rosie DiMare, a former local “news anchor/reporter.” A scroll through her Instagram shows her with NBC 10’s Mario Hilario with the caption, “It’s like we’re real professionals or something.” Looks like she was part of Turn to 10’s “Sunrise Crew.”

She’s “not afraid to call people out,” we’re told. We then see her on pink bouncing sneakers gossiping about someone’s affair.

— Alicia Carmody: “Welcome to Rhode Island, b****, this is how we roll,” she says from an Adirondack chair, talking to someone off-camera in the trailer. Carmondy and her fiancé, Billy Kitsilis, run his restaurant, Pizza Mamma in Cranston.
— Liz McGraw: the “dominant figurehead here,” we’re told in the trailer, as we see her in black leather boots driving a boat. (“I’m scary,” she tells the camera. “Boo.”) Per Bravo, McGraw is “Rhode Island royalty… the state’s very own Cannabis Queen.” With her husband, Gerry, she owns and operates The Slater Center, a pot dispensary in Providence.
—Ashley Iaconetti: she’s “not from here,” we’re told. “This is not the kind of people I’m usually around,” she says in the trailer. Iaconetti married Warwick, R.I. native Jared Haibon, on “Bachelor in Paradise,” and is now “acclimating to her new life in her husband’s home state,” per Bravo.
— Jo-Ellen Tiberi, who we’re told in the trailer “knows everything.” Per Bravo, “Self-proclaimed town gossip Jo-Ellen knows everyone and everything worth knowing in Cranston.” The “aesthetic practice development manager … juggles a busy career with family life” with her husband Gary and their three kids, per Bravo.
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— Rulla Nehme Pontarelli: “She’s a boss,” we’re told in the trailer. Per Bravo, Pontarelli “helms a financial empire as a Certified Financial Planner and Wealth Manager to some of the East Coast’s most distinguished families.”
“I opened my own branch office, Royal One Financial Group, in the historic downtown area of Providence,” she says, per her website.
— Kelsey Swanson says in the trailer she’s not with a sugar daddy: “My boyfriend is, like, actually attractive. The money’s just a plus.” The former Miss Rhode Island and University of Rhode Island alum is now a makeup artist, her Bravo bio says.
“Kelsey has been in a 10-year relationship with one of Rhode Island’s most notable figures, enjoying the lap of luxury while keeping her social calendar full,” the bio notes, without naming her boyfriend.
Watch the full trailer here.
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Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.

Lauren Daley is a longtime culture journalist. As a regular contributor to Boston.com, she interviews A-list musicians, actors, authors and other major artists.

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Rhode Island

RI Lottery Lucky For Life, Numbers Midday winning numbers for Nov. 16, 2025

Published

19 hours ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 16, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

03-11-26-32-45, Lucky Ball: 02

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

Midday: 9-5-9-1

Evening: 8-1-4-7

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Nov. 16 drawing

01-04-09-12-25, Extra: 19

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Rhode Island

Police ID man hit, killed by car in Cranston

Published

2 days ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Police ID man hit, killed by car in Cranston

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — Cranston police have identified the man who was hit and killed by a car on Atwood Avenue Friday evening.

Major Todd Patalano said the man was 80-year-old Richard Viti, of Cranston.

Police were called Friday evening to the area of 700 Atwood Avenue for reports of a pedestrian who was hit by a car. Investigators say Viti was crossing the street to get to the San Bernardo Society.

The driver, who has not yet been identified, faces charges of operating on a suspended license and operating an unregistered vehicle, according to Patalano.

There may be more charges the driver is facing as the investigation is still in its early stages, Patalano explained.

Viti was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Patalano said the driver is cooperating with authorities.

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