Rhode Island
Schartner greenhouse; Trinity Brewhouse sale; best pizza in RI: Top stories this week
RI protesters join 50 Protests, 50 States movement against President Donald Trump
Hundreds of Rhode Islanders joined a movement of 50 protests across all 50 states on Wednesday demonstrating against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of Feb. 2,supported by your subscriptions.
- Three decades ago, Rhode Island hatched an ambitious plan to reroute Interstate 195 south of downtown Providence, freeing up 35 acres of prime waterfront land for redevelopment. More than a decade after the project broke ground in the midst of the Great Recession, have the results lived up to expectations? The Journal’s Patrick Anderson looks at where the I-195 redevelopment succeeded, where it stalled, and whether the state’s approach could work elsewhere in Rhode Island.
- President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration is causing great anxiety for Rhode Island’s immigrants, some of whom shared their stories with The Journal. While there is no reliable count of how many undocumented people are living here, the numbers that are available indicate that they are just a tiny slice of those who are getting Rhode Island benefits.
- Which are the state’s best high school sports programs? Check out our picks for the top 10, and then let the debate begin. For that, as well as the latest college and high school sports news, go to providencejournal.com/sports.
- Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Before the big game, check out the red carpet coverage led by Rhode Island’s own Olivia Culpo. And Tom Brady will have a whole new type of Super Bowl experience, providing color commentary as part of the Fox Sports broadcast team.
Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:
Farmer Tim Schartner and his gargantuan, 25-acre greenhouse project in Exeter averted disaster last week when his financial backers agreed to assume the existing debt on several parcels of property owned by his father, he said, heading off a foreclosure auction set for Friday.
Under the arrangement, the project’s banks and private investors will absorb about $6 million in debt that Schartner’s father, Richard, owes on several pieces of property, including the landmark farm on the Exeter/North Kingstown line where the greenhouse is being built.
The plan not only stops Friday’s auction but frees up a $25.8-million loan in private investment money through the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.
Read the full story to see what’s next for this eye-popping project that has been in the planning stages since 2019.
Business: Schartner’s mall-sized tomato greenhouse was on the brink of disaster. Here’s what happened next.
PROVIDENCE – Former state Sen. Josh Miller has listed the iconic Trinity Brewhouse for sale for $2.25 million.
Miller has no plans to sell the hugely popular Hot Club he co-owns along the Providence waterfront. But he told The Journal that, as the sole owner of the Trinity Brewhouse, he felt the time was right to pull out of the daily demands of owning a restaurant.
“The main reason is I’m 70 and I’m a very active owner where I show up and work every day and I want to be free of that day-to-day activity. I’ve had a business downtown since 1975. I’m still very positive about downtown. I’ve just gotten old enough to want to be less active,” he said.
Business: Trinity Brewhouse listed for sale at $2.25 million. Why it’s on the market.
PROVIDENCE — In the search for its new football coach, La Salle wasn’t trying to win a press conference. They were searching for someone who could win games and, more importantly, help their athletes grow on and off the field.
The school managed to do both.
After winning two Super Bowls – the NFL kind – with the New England Patriots, Dan Koppen is a name people in Rhode Island know.
Read the full story to see how and why a Patriots pro was drawn to coach a high school team, and what La Salle’s program stands to gain from his experience at the sport’s highest level.
High school sports: This former New England Patriot will lead La Salle football. Who is it?
Craving pizza? No problem. Rhode Island’s offerings abound, with both the old and the new. Longtime favorites are popular as ever even as newcomers are staking their claim, too.
What’s on the menu? Neapolitan, Sicilian or New York-style? Wood-fired, grilled or baked? Sourdough crust or gluten-free? Artisanal? Always.
You can have it all from Providence to Westerly.
The National Day calendar has declared Feb. 9 as National Pizza Day. Food editor Gail Ciampa helps you get started with the best pies the Ocean State has to offer, and what better day to sample them than Super Bowl Sunday?
Dining: Pizza comes in many styles. To get the best in RI start with these gems
Twenty-two years after a horse reunited with its trainer during a break in the Super Bowl action and took the top spot in the 2013 USA TODAY Ad Meter ratings, the NFL’s grand finale arrives back on the doorstep of New Orleans and the Superdome.
With that, a lineup of mini blockbusters will look to grab the attention of a massive audience that topped 123 million in 2024 (re: The Taylor Swift Bowl) and become the latest marketing maestro among the competitive and creative crowd.
Super Bowl commercial fans — welcome to the 2025 USA TODAY Ad Meter!
We’re kicking off the 37th edition of the commercial ratings that have been the benchmark for gauging consumers’ opinions about the game’s most prominent ads since 1989. And we’re excited you’re here to lend a viewpoint about the Super Bowl 59 national block of commercials.
Check out the full story to see how you can rate your favorite commercials during the big game.
Super Bowl LIX: Let the Super Bowl commercial rush begin: Welcome to USA TODAY Ad Meter 2025
To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here.
PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Blood Center’s blood supply was low before Saturday’s mass shooting at Brown University, and it is immediately stepping up blood drives to meet the need, an official said Sunday.
“We were definitely dealing with some issues with inventory going into the incident,” Executive Director of Blood Operations Nicole Pineault said.
The supply was especially low for Type 0 positive and negative, which are often needed for mass casualty incidents, she said. Type 0 negative is considered the “universal” red blood donor, because it can be safely given to patients of any blood type.
Pineault attributed the low supply to weather, illness, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. With more people working from home, blood drives at office buildings are smaller, and young people — including college students — are not donating blood at the same rate as they did in the past, she said.
“There are a lot challenges,” she said.
But people can help by donating blood this week, Pineault said, suggesting they go to ribc.org or contact the Rhode Island Blood Center at (401) 453-8383 or (800) 283-8385.
The donor room at 405 Promenade St. in Providence is open seven days a week, Pineault said. Blood drives were already scheduled for this week at South Street Landing in Providence and at Brown Physicians, and the blood center is looking to add more blood drives in the Providence area this week, she said.
“It breaks my heart,” Pineault said of the shooting. “It’s a terrible tragedy. We run blood dives regularly on the Brown campus. Our heart goes out to all of the victims and the staff. We want to work with them to get the victims what they need.”
She said she cannot recall a similar mass shooting in Rhode Island.
“In moments of tragedy, it’s a reminder to the community how important the blood supply really is,” Pineault said. “It’s an easy way to give back, to help your neighbors, and be ready in unfortunate situations like this.”
The Rhode Island Blood Center has donor centers in Providence, Warwick, Middletown, Narragansett, and Woonsocket, and it has mobile blood drives, she noted.
On Sunday, the center’s website said “Donors urgently needed. Hours extended at some donor centers, 12/14.”
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.
Authorities said two people were killed and eight more were injured in a mass shooting at Brown University, an Ivy League school in Rhode Island. Authorities said students were on campus for the second day of final exams.
Posted
A Rhode Island school superintendent has resigned amid an investigation into alleged antisemitic hazing in the district, NBC affiliate WJAR-TV reports.
Smithfield Superintendent Dr. Dawn Bartz announced her resignation in a letter addressed to the school community. Bartz has been on leave since November after a report of hazing at Smithfield High School.
The Jewish Alliance of Rhode Island said five high school football players locked a freshman student in a bathroom, sprayed Lysol at the student and yelled antisemitic slurs.
In her resignation letter, Bartz focused on her successes surrounding academic outcomes, special education and STEM opportunities and other positives for the district, and thanked the community.
“As Smithfield moves forward, I am confident the district will continue to build on this progress
and momentum. I wish all our students, staff, and families continued success in the years ahead,” she wrote.
The letter did not specify a reason for the resignation.
WJAR-TV first reported on the situation on October, when the Bartz released a statement on its investigation.
“The investigation confirmed inappropriate conduct among a small number of students,” Superintendent Dawn Bartz said in a provided statement. “Disciplinary action has been taken in accordance with district policy, and several student-athletes will not participate for the remainder of the season.”
The statement went on to say that there would be mandated training and education in response. However, the involved players were back at practice, which didn’t sit well with the victim’s family. His parents said his son walked into practice and found himself face-to-face with his alleged assailants.
Five football players were initially removed from the team for the remainder of the season but were later reinstated. When asked about the reversal in October, Bartz issued a one-sentence statement saying, “The disciplinary process has concluded and we will not be discussing details involving students.”
Smithfield Town Council President John Tassoni said the situation has deeply divided the community.
“It’s a long time coming,” Tassoni said of Bartz’s resignation. “A lot of people are angry about what happened. A lot of people don’t know the truth of what happened, nor do I.”
An investigation is underway by the school committee’s attorney and a report is expected to be delivered to the school committee sometime next year, Tassoni added. However, some people have concerns about transparency and have floated the possibility of hiring an independent investigator.
The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island said they want the focus to be on student safety.
“While we can’t speculate on the specific reasons behind the superintendent’s decision to resign, we remain focused on what matters most: that Smithfield schools become a place where Jewish students and all students feel safe, valued, and protected from bias and harassment,” President and CEO Adam Greenman wrote in an email.
Sunday Puzzle: Major U.S. cities
You need to listen to Sudan Archives’ violin opus for the club
US and Ukraine target 1,000-vessel ‘dark fleet’ smuggling sanctioned oil worldwide
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Nutrient deficiency linked to heart disease risk for millions, new study warns
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Small Business Administration unveils new initiative to roll back federal regulations
Analysis: Trump’s policies set to widen EU-US innovation gap
With federal relief on the horizon, Black farmers worry it won’t come soon enough
Trump’s election win filled Hamas with ‘fear,’ hostage held like ‘slave’ for 505 days recounts
In Khartoum, exhumation of makeshift graves reawakens families’ grief
-
Alaska1 week agoHowling Mat-Su winds leave thousands without power
-
Texas1 week agoTexas Tech football vs BYU live updates, start time, TV channel for Big 12 title
-
Washington5 days agoLIVE UPDATES: Mudslide, road closures across Western Washington
-
Iowa1 week agoMatt Campbell reportedly bringing longtime Iowa State staffer to Penn State as 1st hire
-
Miami, FL1 week agoUrban Meyer, Brady Quinn get in heated exchange during Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami CFP discussion
-
Iowa1 day agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Cleveland, OH1 week agoMan shot, killed at downtown Cleveland nightclub: EMS
-
World7 days ago
Chiefs’ offensive line woes deepen as Wanya Morris exits with knee injury against Texans
