Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - August 2, 2019

HOT

Wine Lovers

Seven Rhode Island restaurants have been recognized by Wine Spectator as part of their 2019 restaurant awards.

See the RI Restaurants

“We’re pleased to shine a spotlight on the destinations around the world that show devotion to their wine program, while also creating a comprehensive global dining guide for our readers to enjoy. Both novice wine lovers and seasoned sommeliers alike actively seek and frequent restaurants with exciting, well-curated wine lists. Bravo to all the 2019 recipients—we raise a glass to you,” said Marvin R. Shanken, Editor and Publisher, Wine Spectator.

Photo: White Horse Tavern 

HOT

Mohegan Bluffs

What is the most beautiful spot in Rhode Island? One publication has made the claim that it knows.

24/7 Wall Street’s sister publication 24/7 Tempo has “created a list of the most beautiful natural wonders in every state after reviewing dozens of travel guides, encyclopedia articles, and photography collections.”

Did they come to Rhode Island and travel around, that we cannot answer, but they have named the most beautiful spots in each state.

In Hawaii, they selected the Na Pali Coast and it South Dakota it is the Badlands.

For Rhode Island:

"The Mohegan Bluffs on Block Island are a series of 200-foot-high coastal cliffs that span over two miles. A beach at the base of the bluffs is accessible by a steep trail from the top, and the overlooks offers views reaching as far as Montauk on Long Island."

HOT

Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, Hozier, Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow -- you name them, they were at last weekend's Folk Festival. 

Oh, did we mention Kermit the Frog performed?

Now, get ready for this weekend's Newport Jazz Fest.

It's pretty hard to get hotter than summer in Rhode Island. 

NOT

RI's Sports Betting

If you are looking for a sure bet then wager against the state of Rhode Island to be able to estimate revenue for sports betting.

The program rammed through by Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration that promised to deliver $23.5 million to the state coffers was a bust in its first year. In November, the state had even downgraded its expected take, saying that it would realize $11 million

Total revenue in fiscal year 2019 was just $6,867,769 or 29 percent of what was promised.

In neighboring Massachusetts passage of a sports betting program was not adopted this legislative session, but Governor Charlie Baker has predicted the Commonwealth will adopt a program in early 2020. A Massachusetts program would adversely impact RI's revenues.

I mean, it was my hope that we would get this done by the end of the summer so that it would be open and available here in Massachusetts for the football season in the fall. But I have a feeling it’s going to slide into next calendar year,” said Baker in an interview with WEEI this week.

NOT

The Cost of Fixing Providence Schools

It starts with a "B."

Nearly all of the Providence schools are old, past life-cycle and broken down. The cost to make them just “safe, warm and dry” but not modern, technologically functioning and state-of-the-art is more than $400 to $500 million, according to a blue-ribbon report.

The cost to have a modern collection of buildings is in the billions.

The $400 million number is just the beginning. The strategy of making schools meet just a minimum standard may be just throwing good money after bad, in many cases.

SEE THE SCHOOL BY SCHOOL COSTS HERE

As an example, Mount Pleasant High School’s repair cost is $31,070,239 according to the data developed in 2017. Since then, construction material costs have risen 20 percent, according to multiple developers GoLocal spoke with.

Rehabbing Mount Pleasant High School — a building constructed in 1931 by the Public Works Administration — may be less expensive than building a new structure, but after making the building “safe, warm and dry” the building will nearly 90 years old.

The "Schoolhouses Report" found that replacing Mount Pleasant High School would cost $107,352,000, but that too may be an underestimation.  In Fall River, Massachusetts, the cost of replacing Durfee High Schools is estimated to exceed $263 million.

NOT

Safe Beaches?

A North Providence resident is saying she was told she contracted cellulitis -- a bacterial skin infection -- after swimming at Rhode Island beaches.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Now, Donna Pezza is warning others, and looking for answers, after the state has closed, and re-opened, multiple beaches throughout the state over the last two weeks. 

"I am in such pain -- I can't even move my neck," Pezza told GoLocalProv.com -- but said she "couldn't pinpoint" which beach might have caused it.

On Wednesday, Donna Pezza took to Facebook to write the following. 

"I just came home from the hospital — I got Cellulitis bacteria infection from the dirty ocean here in R.I. Please stay out of the ocean…it is full of bacteria which can cause this or vomiting and diarrhea or even skin rash…R.I. Department of Recreation is not reporting what could happen to you and they should stop people from any swimming at all beaches until all is 100% clean."

NOT

RIDOT

Get ready. A new plan by the Rhode Island Department of Transformation will take two of the Providence’s biggest traffic bottlenecks and combine them into one. 

The new plan calls for the demolition of the Gano Street exit -- yes, the Gano Street exit that has been closed for more than a year undergoing millions of dollars of reconstruction -- and shift the traffic to the Henderson Bridge that enters the East Side of Providence onto the already-congested Angell Street.

De facto all the traffic that enters Providence by exiting on the Gano Street exit would be diverted to the one and two-lane Angell Street. 

The project will begin in 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in 2024, according to a RIDOT plan.

A new off-ramp in East Providence is planned as part of the project.

Concerns Raised -- Public Meetings Urged

The new plan has sparked the concerns of residents. 

“We are very concerned about how this plan to remove one of the primary means of accessing the East Side has progressed without input from residents who will be permanently affected by this change. We urge RIDOT to hold public meetings where different options can be discussed,” Josh Eisen, President of the College Hill Neighborhood Association, told GoLocal.

NOT

Boston Red Sox

Those three wins against the Yankees were sweet.

But since then, the Red Sox are not hot. 

To add insult to injury, the Red Sox did nothing at the trade deadline.