Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - April 5, 2024

HOT

Kas R. DeCarvalho, Esq., Nominated to the Rhode Island District Court

Kas DeCarvalho will fill a vacancy left by Judge Christopher K. Smith.

DeCarvalho is a partner at Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC and a member of the firm’s Corporate & Business Team, representing a wide range of clients, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, municipalities and governments, and private individuals with business and enterprise needs, and various regulatory, licensing and other governmental needs. 

With more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and business leader in Rhode Island, DeCarvalho's core areas of expertise are general corporate and business advising, domestic and international transactions, financing/mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, intellectual property matters, business ethics and compliance, arts, and entertainment law and education law.

DeCarvalho is also an active community volunteer and has served on the boards of multiple organizations such as the Rhode Island Judicial Tenure and Discipline Commission, Quonset Development Corporation, the Providence Economic Development Partnership, the Providence Retirement Board, Thurgood Marshall Law Society, United Way of Rhode Island, the Greater Providence YMCA, the Providence Public Library, Community Works RI, Oasis International, and Progresso Latino.

He earned both a B.A. and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

HOT

Stern Is an Artist to Know

GoLocal's Michael Rose has a great profile of one of Rhode Island's emerging artistic stars.

An inventive and passionate artist and educator, Maya Stern is an artist to know.

Raised in the state, Stern earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Rhode Island and went on to obtain her Master of Fine Arts from Syracuse University. A young artist, Stern has already achieved acclaim. In 2021, her work was the subject of a solo exhibition titled You Were There at Gallery 7 at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In 2022 she was awarded Best in Show at the competitive Four Rivers Print Biennial in Carbondale, Illinois. Her work is already in the collections of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Zuckerman Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas, the Syracuse University Museum of Art, as well as Finland’s Jyväskylä Art Museum.

From her studio in Providence’s Valley District, Stern creates works that probe family history and specifically the distortions of memory that can occur over generations. In printmaking that employs archival materials and contemporary methods, Stern has assembled a vocabulary of intimate poignancy. In one series, blue faces of her forebears look out from cyanotypes that explore the realities of lost, misplaced, or destroyed images of loved ones in the digital age.

READ MORE

HOT

RI's James Beard Finalist 

In January 2024, ten Rhode Island restaurants and chefs were tapped as James Beard Semifinalists (see that list here). 

This week, the list was whittled down to finalists -- and Chef Maria Meza at Dolores in Providence moved through for "Best Chef, Northeast."

PHOTO: CC: 3.0 Cullen328

HOT

Caitlin Clark

If you saw her performance against a very talented LSU, you saw one of the greatest NCAA basketball performances of ALL-TIME.

PHOTO: University of Iowa 

HOT

Hot Angelo's Celebration Weekend

Angelo’s Civita Farnese on Federal Hill is turning 100 next month — and has a big weekend of celebrations planned.

The Italian restaurant on Atwells Avenue and its owner, Jamie Antignano, have now shared the plans for three days of festivities starting on April 5. 

Friday, the official birthday kickoff begins at noon, followed by live Italian music and cigar rolling. 

Then, on Saturday, there is more music - and grape stomping during the afternoon. 

Finally, on Sunday, the restaurant will host a pasta-making station starting at noon. 

And birthday cake will be served all three days. 

NOT

McKee Misses Deadline of “Day of Reckoning” on Washington Bridge 

At a press two weeks ago, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee claimed that he was angry and that the “Day of Reckoning” was coming for those responsible for the failure of the Washington Bridge.

“…and the day of reckoning for those who are responsible for those who are responsible for the position that we are in. The position that the people in the State of Rhode Island are in. That day is coming, and it is coming very soon.”  said McKee.

Later his office told the media that the "reckoning" would be within two weeks.

Now, the deadline for McKee’s “Day of Reckoning” has come and gone.

Late on Tuesday afternoon, McKee’s press office sent out a message to the media trying to reset expectations and downplay McKee’s previous promise.

NOT

RI’s DUI Problem - Ten State Police Arrests in Two Days

In a two-day period, the Rhode Island State Police have made ten arrests for driving under the influence. READ MORE

It seems like nearly weekly there is a prominent Rhode Islander getting charged.

In an age of Uber and Lyft, there is no excuse.

NOT

Rhode Island Has the 10th Highest Tax Burden in the U.S.

Another day, another poor economic ranking for Rhode Island.

Rhode Island ranks as having the 10th highest tax burden in the United States, according to a new study.

In comparison, neighboring Massachusetts residents enjoy a far lower burden — the Commonwealth ranks 20th.

The study was completed by WalletHub and released on Tuesday.

“To determine the residents with the biggest tax burdens, WalletHub compared the 50 states based on the cost of three types of taxes — property taxes, individual income taxes, and sales and excise taxes — as a share of total personal income in the state,” reported the study.