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.
Rhode Island
R.I. leading multi-state lawsuit against Trump administration housing policy – The Boston Globe
Rhode Island and other states had recently won a ruling against HUD’s attempt to overhaul a federal homelessness grant program in fiscal year 2025.
US District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy found that HUD acted arbitrarily and capriciously in imposing illegal conditions on billions of dollars in funding for the Continuum of Care program, through which HUD distributes billions of dollars to state, local, and nonprofit agencies to support housing and services for people facing homelessness.
For more than two decades, HUD had followed a “Housing First” model, which prioritizes rapid placement in permanent housing without requiring people to first meet conditions such as sobriety or a minimum income threshold.
However, on June 1, the Trump administration moved forward with new rules for fiscal year 2026 that seek to re-implement a cap on permanent housing. The new Notices of Funding Opportunity will set aside $1.3 billion for transitional housing and supportive service-only grants — which the coalition of states say will have the effect of capping permanent housing projects at about 68 percent of the funds.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the new terms on June 1, saying the old model didn’t work.
“The ‘housing first’ experiment failed Americans by warehousing the vulnerable without results. This ideology promised to end homelessness. Instead, billions of taxpayer dollars were spent while homelessness increased to record levels,” Turner said in a statement. “Housing alone will not solve a crisis driven by addiction and mental illness. Under President Trump’s leadership, HUD is making necessary reforms to put recovery first.”
HUD said that the new Notice of Funding Opportunity for $4.04 billion through the Continuum of Care homelessness assistance program would support organizations that facilitate treatment and recovery and “prohibit funding the widespread use of illicit drugs and distribution of paraphernalia.”
The lawsuit alleges that the new conditions will mean a large number of permanent housing projects funded by the Continuum of Care program will lose funding, which will lead to people being evicted, placing further strain on state and local governments.
“Instead of investing in programs that help people stay safe and housed, the Trump Administration has embraced policies that risk trapping people in poverty and punishing them for being poor,” the 44-page lawsuit alleges.
The shift threatens housing for at least 97,000 residents of CoC-funded permanent housing across the country according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
The states argue that HUD’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act for failing to proceed with notice-and-comment rulemaking, and for being arbitrary and capricious. They ask the court to declare that the challenged conditions are illegal and to block HUD from implementing them.
Along with Neronha, attorneys general from all New England states except for New Hampshire have joined the lawsuit. The coalition also includes attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.
(WJAR) — Thirty-two years ago was the commissioning of a Navy submarine named after the Ocean State.
Maria Stephanos was on board the USS Rhode Island on July 9, 1994.
Rhode Island was the Navy’s 15th Trident class ballistic submarine.
It was commissioned in Newport and was the first to be christened in its namesake state.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — They come from all walks of life, including many professionals in the community, taking time out of their busy days to welcome students to school with enthusiasm and handshakes.
“We learn a lot of new handshakes, too,” Kobi Dennis said. “High-fives. Pounds with an explosion. We get a little bit of everything.”
It’s the Handshake Initiative, the brainchild of now Central Falls Police Chief Anthony Roberson.
Everybody can use some encouragement, and students in Rhode Island get that the minute they head toward the school building.
Initially, the students and parents didn’t know what to think.
“I was confused because I thought it was going to be a normal day,” said one student.
“Their parents were getting out of their cars trying to see what’s going on,” Reservoir Avenue School Principal Cynthia Torres said.
But now, they crave it.
“It makes me feel motivated,” another student said.
Dennis adds in an etiquette component.
“Teaching the kids how to shake hands, look one another in the eyes with a firm grip — girl or guy — firm grip and say ‘hello’ and introduce yourself, that’s part of the initiative as well,” Dennis said.
Providence school superintendent Dr. Javier Montañez said it sends a strong message.
“We hear you, we see you, and we’re here for you,” Montañez said.
Torres strategically uses them on standardized test days.
“They say, ‘I’m going to do really good today,’” she said.
“It makes me feel encouraged to do better in school,” a student said.
They’ve connected with thousands of students across Rhode Island.
“It’s about shaking hands and building relationships, but it’s also about letting young people know that there are professionals in the community cheering for them every single day,” Dennis said.
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