Rhode Island
Senate refuses yet again to allow a vote on banning of foie gras | Opinion
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Journal Staff
Time is running out for voters, ducks and geese. For the fourth year in a row, the Rhode Island Senate has refused to put SB403 ‒ a bill prohibiting the production and sale of foie gras ‒ up for a vote. Why? It’s certainly not because of public opposition. A 2022 Zogby poll found that 7 in 10 Rhode Islanders support the legislation. California banned the luxury product over 20 years ago, and retailers like Whole Foods discontinued foie gras sales in the 1990s. What’s stopping Rhode Island?
The ban would not impact local foie gras producers because there aren’t any. The Rhode Island Farm Bureau just acknowledged that no foie gras farms exist in the Ocean State. A Rhode Island chef said that this legislation would not negatively affect their business. And yet, Senate leadership continues to stall.
Some might argue that food lovers will protest the ban. If anything, failing to bring the bill up for a vote would be the real controversy. The vast majority of testimony was in favor of the bill, and Providence has already experienced protests in favor of banning foie gras.
So, what’s really happening here? Political gamesmanship. Senate leadership isn’t defending foie gras; they’re refusing to engage with the issue at all ‒ undermining democracy and shielding foie gras from public scrutiny. If senators believe foie gras should remain legal, they should have the courage to vote accordingly. If they don’t, they should stop standing in the way of the will of the people.
Let’s be clear about what foie gras is: French for fatty liver. This fatty liver is made by shoving a thick, foot-long pipe down birds’ throats and pumping grain into their fledgling stomachs. This torturous process causes a bird’s liver to engorge up to 10 times its average size.
That’s the process. Consider the lived experience: a duck is grabbed by the neck and a pipe is shoved violently down its throat. The bird, sick and bloated, has difficulty walking and even breathing as their oversized liver pushes against other internal organs. These ducks experience death rates 2000% greater than other farmed birds, a direct consequence of the extreme physical toll of force-feeding.
At Farm Sanctuary, we have seen the aftermath of this cruelty firsthand. Rescued ducks Monet and Matisse arrived at the sanctuary terrified of humans, their bodies injured and diseased with sores and broken feathers. They were lucky — they escaped. Most foie gras ducks do not.
If Senate leadership believes foie gras is worth defending, they should have the conviction to debate and vote on the bill in broad daylight. But they shouldn’t hide behind political maneuvering while workers, voters, and farm animals suffer the consequences.
There’s still time to act. Rhode Island residents: Contact Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone and Senate President Valarie Lawson. Tell them Rhode Island should finally take a stand against one of the most egregious forms of animal cruelty. Hopefully, this year, the Senate will finally do what’s right.
Robert Procaccianti is a lifelong Rhode Islander and vice chair of the Board of Directors of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization.
Rhode Island
Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball
WATCH: URI and Brown coaches speak postgame on Dec. 2, 2025
The Rhode Island Rams beat the Brown Bears on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.
PROVIDENCE — Rivalry week in Rhode Island continues.
It’s the best week of the year as the state’s college basketball teams play each other and no matchup is bigger than Rhode Island vs. Providence. The Providence Journal’s Jacob Rousseau and Bill Koch are downtown today to cover the day.
Tip is set for noon at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
It’s the 135th matchup between the in-state rivals with Providence leading the all-time series, 77-57. Rhode Island won last year’s game, 69-63, in Kingston. Rhode Island hasn’t won in Providence since Dec. 7, 2002, when it captured a 73-71 victory.
Follow along for live updates from the game!
Live updates from Rhode Island vs. Providence men’s basketball
11 a.m. — Both teams have taken the courts for warm ups now. Students have started to trickle into their sections in the AMP’s endzones. We’re just over an hour before tip in this rivalry matchup.
10:36 a.m. — Providence’s Duncan Powell is on the court warming up with a mask. The forward hasn’t played since Nov. 14 with a facial injury. Kim English said, after the Friars’ win vs. FDU, that Powell could be available today.
9:45 a.m. — We’re here bright and early at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Broadcast crew from TNT — operating as TruTV this afternoon — getting settled.
Officials for this matchup are Lamar Simpson, Greg Evans and Tim Clougherty. Simpson and Clougherty were on the whistle Friday night at Pizzitola Center, a 75-56 win for Brown over Bryant. Evans has been off since Wednesday night, a Sacred Heart road win at Mount St. Mary’s.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island fans celebrate 2026 World Cup draw at local watch party | ABC6
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WLNE) — Friday was one of the coldest days of the year, but much of Rhode Island was focused on warmer days and soccer.
Friday afternoon, fans learned which teams will be coming to New England for the 2026 World Cup group stage in June.
“I’ve been to World Cups in the past,” Newport resident Timmy May said. “I went to see soccer games in Mexico in ‘86. I saw games in 1990 in Italy.”
And now, May will have the chance to see the World Cup in his own backyard.
Months ahead of the first matches in June, Rhode Island soccer fans gathered at their home club’s stadium in Pawtucket.
RIFC hosted a watch party as FIFA announced which teams will be coming to the United States — and New England.
With Providence set to host at least one team, residents of the Capital City made their pitch to potential visitors.
“It’s a great culture, the food’s amazing,” Providence resident Jose Olivences said. “We’ve got every culture, very diverse internationally. When we go out of state, we don’t find any food that compares to Rhode Island.”
Brazil, England, and France are among the teams set to play at Gillette Stadium.
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group I: France, Senegal, Winner Play-off 2, Norway
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
“My parents are from Haiti,” Providence resident Akisch Lenus said. “So I’m excited. That country has been through so much, so to see them in the World Cup is amazing.”
Teams will now sort out where they’ll stay and practice when the World Cup arrives in June.
“I’m stoked. I’m super excited,” Pawtucket resident Jason McLaughlin said. “I can’t believe that it’s actually going to be at Gillette. That’s a big deal.”
Bryant University in Smithfield is one of the FIFA-approved options for base camps.
Rhode Island
Toy giant Hasbro accelerates Boston move, begins hiring for new office – The Boston Globe
The company — whose iconic brands include Monopoly, Scrabble, My Little Pony, Nerf, and Potato Head — had long been headquartered in Pawtucket, and will soon relocate operations to 400 Summer St. in Boston’s Seaport District, a 630,000 square-foot, 16-story laboratory building.
The new space will be home to at least 700 full-time employees, who are expected to fully transition from Rhode Island to Boston by the end of 2026.
A hiring push for the Boston office began in September, just after the toy maker announced it would leave its Pawtucket offices at 1027 Newport Ave. Some of the Boston postings were tagged as “company priority,” signaling urgency to fill those roles.
Hasbro’s relocation underscores the powerful allure of Boston’s vast talent pool and healthy corporate ecosystem. While Hasbro’s relocation will force Rhode Island to grapple with losing tax revenue, Pawtucket has long struggled to reinvent its downtown, which has plenty of vacant buildings, homelessness, and underperforming schools. Hasbro still owns its aging offices on Newport Avenue, and it’s unclear whether the company plans to lease or sell them, and when.
Andrea Snyder and Bertie Thomson, two spokespeople for Hasbro, could not be reached for comment. The company has not responded to state or city officials either.
“The State and City Commerce departments, in partnership with Governor [Dan] McKee’s office and Mayor [Don] Grebien’s office, have reached out to Hasbro numerous times – all calls, emails, and letters have gone unanswered,” said Grebien spokesperson Jennifer Almeida, in a statement to the Globe. “While we recognize that Hasbro is a private company and made the decision to leave, the lack of communication is frustrating.”
“We hope that Hasbro will work with us to ensure their employees are taken care of and that the property remains viable for future development,” Almeida said.
Hasbro has been located in Rhode Island since its founding in 1923 by the Hassenfeld family. One of the few publicly traded companies based in Rhode Island, it employs roughly 5,500 people worldwide.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
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