RHODE ISLAND (5-5-2, 2-2-0 A-10) at DAYTON (9-3-0, 3-1 A-10)
Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:00 p.m.
Baujan Field (Dayton, Ohio)
Live Stream | Live Stats | Game Notes
 

RHODE ISLAND VS. DAYTON- SERIES NOTES

• Rhode Island travels to Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio to face their  fifth Atlantic 10 opponent. 
• Rhody comes off a big win over Richmond on Thursday, beating the Spiders 6-0 at home on Breast Cancer Awareness Night to improve their record to 5-5-2.
• Historically, Dayton has a significant edge on the Rams with a series record of 19-3-1, with Rhode Island’s last win dating back to November 2nd, 2006 (3-2).
• In their last ten games against the Flyers, Rhode Island is 0-1-9 while being outscored 27-4.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS

• The Flyers enter Sunday’s match on a three-game win streak.
• Last time out, Dayton beat Duquesne 2-1.
• The Flyers are 3-1 in conference play, with their lone loss against Loyola (1-0).
• In four A-10 games, Dayton has outscored its opponent 9-2. In its 12 games on the year, 34-13.
• The Flyers are 5-1 at home.
• 11 different players have scored a goal for Dayton this season.
• The Flyers are led by Noel Blain, who has recorded 23 points in 12 games on nine goals and five assists. The 23 points is first in the league and tied for sixth nationally. 
• Between the posts for Dayton is junior Batoul Reda. Reda has spent every minute in goal for the Flyers this season, collecting 31 saves and posting six shutouts.  

RAMS SURPASS WIN TOTAL FROM 2023

• Rhode Island’s win over Richmond last time out was the fifth win of the season, surpassing the four wins from a year ago. 
• It’s the first time the Rams have collected five wins since the 2021 season. That year, the Rams were 6-9-2 and had their first appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship in five seasons. 
• It’s the second 5+ win season for Rhody under head coach Megan Jessee. 
• A year ago, all four of Rhody’s wins came in the league slate.
• The Rams finished 3-3-2 in the non-conference portion of the schedule this season.

RHODE BATTLE

• Rhode Island has struggled on the road this season. A win Sunday would be the Ram’s first victory away from Kingston.
• This year, Rhody is 0-4-2 on the road.
• Last season, head coach Megan Jessee led the Rams to 3-2-4 away from Kingston. It was the best record on the road since the 2016 season when Rhody was 3-5-2 under Michael Needham.

If you’re looking to book a fishing trip out of Rhode Island, consider Narragansett.

Narragansett, which has a long history as a fishing community, is the best fishing town in Rhode Island, according to a recent ranking from FishingBooker.

As the world’s largest platform for booking fishing trips, FishingBooker based their rankings of the best fishing towns in each state on booking and reviewing data from their website over the last year. Each town was given a score from 1-10 in the following six categories:

• Number of available fishing charters
• Average review score
• Average recommended score
• Number of guides with the Angler’s Choice Award
• Number of bookings
• Minimum price of a fishing trip

Out of the six categories, Narragansett received a perfect 10 in four, winning the No. 1 spot by over 20 points.

Why is Narragansett good for fishing?

Originally settled around 1675, the coastal fishing town of Narragansett has access to both the bay and the open waters of the Atlantic. It encompasses some of the historic fishing villages in the state, such as Galilee and Point Judith.

Galilee has maintained its fishing heritage. Galilee is home to the largest fishing fleet in Rhode Island, according to the Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association. It’s also the fourth-highest-value fishing port on the East Coast as of 2021, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.  

Common fish species caught in Narragansett include striped bass, bluefish and flounder.

According to FishingBooker, Narragansett won due to its high number of Angler’s Choice winning captains, amount of bookings and recommendation scores, adding up to 55 out of 60 possible points.

More: How did Jerusalem and Galilee, Rhode Island, get their names? We asked around.

Their website recommends 76 fishing charters to book trips with, the most of any Rhode Island town. Many of the charters have received top awards and guest recommendations.

What other RI destinations made the list?

Here is the full list of the top fishing towns in Rhode Island, according to FishingBooker:

1. Narragansett
2. Portsmouth
3. Warwick 
4. Newport
5. South Kingstown
6. Westerly
7. North Kingstown

The Rhode Island Cannabis Control Commission may finally be ready as early as the end of the month to decide how it will define who qualifies as a “social equity applicant” for one of a half dozen cannabis retail licenses.

The agenda for the three-member panel’s meeting Friday afternoon called for a potential vote on the regulations meant to clarify who would qualify as a social equity applicant, generally meant for those who were adversely affected by the war on drugs. 

But no vote happened, which led to some whispered grumbling from the nearly dozen cannabis industry workers in the audience. 

“It takes time to think about this,” said Chairperson Kimberly Ahern.

The commission must narrow down the definition of what constitutes a community that has been disproportionately impacted by the federal government’s crackdown on illegal drug use dating back to 1971 when President Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one.” In the early 1980s, the Reagan administration expanded the reach of the drug war and criminal punishment, leading to an increase in incarcerations for nonviolent drug offenses.

Regulators have sought to refine the defnition since last November through the use of data from state and federal agencies — which the panel reviewed during Friday’s meeting.

What will social equity in cannabis look like? Regulators need data to answer that

Under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, social equity status can be determined by federal poverty level, unemployment rate, the number of kids in a free lunch program, and historic arrest rates in any given census tract. But advocates say these criteria are open to interpretation and filled with loopholes that can be exploited by those who didn’t actually interact with the criminal justice system.

Of the state’s 39 municipalities, only three met the criteria for a social equity zone set in Rhode Island’s legalization act: Central Falls, Providence and Woonsocket. That presents a slight challenge in the licensing distribution system, as retail licenses must be spread throughout six geographic zones — one of which is reserved for social equity applicants.

Under state law, the commission is empowered to grant 24 licenses to recreational dispensaries, with six reserved for social equity applicants and another six are reserved for worker-owned cooperatives.

To keep things fair, regulators plan to randomly select which applicants will get a license, though Commissioner Robert Jacquard said he would prefer to see a solely merit-based approval for the few social equity licenses available.

“I don’t think the selection process is going to be overwhelming,” he said.

Social equity measures are likely to be conditionally approved by the commission “possibly at the end of October or early November,” Ahern told Rhode Island Current after the meeting.

Assistance for social equity applicants

The panel also heard a presentation from the Policy Liaison Carla Aveledo on the Social Equity Assistance Program and Fund established under the Rhode Island Cannabis Act.

 The law states social equity applicants can receive some assistance from a program “for business assistance and license application benefits” from the designated fund. As of Friday, the fund sat at $1.5 million — none of which can be accessed until final regulations are set up.

Over the summer, draft regulations such as labeling requirements and how licenses will be awarded have been conditionally approved in a piecemeal fashion, which Ahern said “is more digestible” for staff rather than one big package. The commission has previously indicated its intention to finalize the full list of regulations by the end of the year.

Ahern gave some preliminary thoughts — namely that licensees shouldn’t rely on the fund for too long.

“The goal being you become a fully operational business over the first couple of years,” she said.

Regulators also intend to give out provisional licenses that allow the state to perform thorough inspections on a business’ plan before offering an official license, according to the presentation.