Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - July 25, 2025
Analysis
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - July 25, 2025
We have expanded the list, and we are going to a GoLocal team approach while encouraging readers to suggest nominees for who is "HOT" and who is "NOT."
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Over the past 14-plus years, more than 7,000 have been tagged as HOT or NOT.
Email GoLocal by midday on Thursday about anyone you think should be tapped as "HOT" or "NOT." Email us HERE.
Side of the Rhode: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not? - July 25, 2025
HOT
Pope Leo XIV Declares ‘Miracle’ in Rhode Island
Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States, recently recognized the first miracle of his pontificate. Marking another "first," the incident is also the only Vatican-approved miracle to have occurred in Rhode Island - as GoLocal was first to report here.
The declaration came as part of a June 20 decree that named 174 new martyrs, mostly victims of 20th-century authoritarian regimes. The decree also approved the reported 2007 healing of a premature infant at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, attributing the healing to the intercession of a 19th-century Spanish priest.
According to a report from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, a boy identified only as "Tyquan" was born prematurely after doctors induced labor due to an abnormally low fetal heart rate. After delivery, the infant's heart rate continued to drop and he was unable to breathe on his own; hospital staff followed neonatal resuscitation protocols for an hour, at which point the nurse reported that the child no longer had a detectable pulse.
HOT
A RI Sandwich Institution Unveils New Look - And Hopes to Franchise
A Rhode Island sandwich shop that has been a community staple for over 50 years has unveiled a new look — and now, hopes to expand.
This week, Miller’s Famous Sandwiches in East Providence, which opened in 1972, rolled out a newly remodeled interior.
Miller’s newest family-owned location opened in Attleboro in 2010, and now the business says it hopes it can attract people interested in franchise opportunities.
“We really wanted to make it a ‘prototype’ store,” Miller’s VP - and third-generation owner - Roger Graham told GoLocal on Wednesday, of the revamped East Providence location.
Graham said that while there are a number of varieties of roast beef sandwiches across New England, Miller’s holds a unique - and time-honored - space.
“We call ours ‘New England-style’ roast beef, which is a warm roast beef sandwich. Not hot, but warm,” said Graham.
And with the updates, Graham hopes the restaurant can continue to serve its current customers, and more, in the years to come.
“Now, people can really see it. We’ve had renderings of what a new store could look like, but investing in actually doing it, making those renderings real, can really show a prospective franchisee,” said Graham.
“They can say, hey, this is what my store, or my stores could really look like, rather than just seeing it on paper," he added.
HOT
Providence Honors Unsung Former Public Servant, Rita Murphy
She wasn’t an elected public official. She wasn’t an appointed Department Director. She wasn’t brought in from another city. But in her 41 years of public service in Providence, Rita Murphy got things done for thousands of constituents, and in the process made elected officials and department directors look good.
On Saturday, July 19th, city officials recognized the decades of work of Rita Murphy by naming a section of Rounds Avenue in the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood of Providence, Rita Murphy Way. Organized by Councilman Jim Taylor, Ward 8 Councilman, and emceed by Mayor Brett Smiley, Saturday’s event was attended by scores of neighbors, friends, former City department directors, ten current and former city councilors and former Mayor and Congressman David Cicilline.
Murphy lived on Rounds Avenue with her family for many decades while she served in the Providence City Council in many roles from 1982 to 2002, as the Deputy Chief of Staff in Mayor David Cicilline’s office from 2003 to 2011, and then as the Director of Constituent Affairs for Congressman Cicilline from 2011 to 2023.
While in the Providence City Council Office and the Mayor’s Office, she served thousands of Providence neighborhood constituents. For many Providence residents, determining who to contact to solve a problem can be challenging. Naturally, the first person many residents think of calling is their city councilor or the Mayor. When they reached out to the City Council Office or later at the Mayor’s Office, they would be connected to Rita Murphy. The questions and issues were many. “Who can I call to unclog the drain on my street? My neighbor’s dog barks all night. My street still hasn’t been plowed.”
HOT
Rhode Island in Filmmaking Focus - Once Again
Hollywood is reportedly looking to revisit Newport's von Bülows.
Deadline reported this week, "Apple is in early development on a limited series about Claus von Bülow, the socialite who was accused in 1981 of attempting to murder his wife Sunny. Adolescence creator Jack Thorne is attached to write and executive produce."
"The project, which attracted multiple bidders, is produced by Story Syndicate through its deal with Tomorrow Studios (an ITV Studios partner). Tomorrow Studios will produce and serve as studio. Pressman Film will also produce," Deadline continued.
Claus von Bülow passed away at the age of 92 in 2019.
He had been charged with the attempted murder of his wife, Sunny von Bülow in 1979 at her Newport mansion, which left her in a coma; in the trial, he was convicted for the attempted murder of his wife by administering an insulin overdose in 1980, which left her in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.
The conviction was overturned. In a 1985 retrial, von Bülow was acquitted, largely due to expert testimony challenging the prosecution’s medical evidence.
NOT
Hunter Biden - Brat Attack
The spoiled, pardoned, failure of a son, Hunter Biden, went on a rant blaming everyone for his father's ouster.
Suggestion: Look in the mirror.
PHOTO: Flickr CC: 2.0 Ben Stansfield
NOT
The Queen
Providence City Council President Rachel Miller has given the city in recent weeks a Palestinian flag controversy, a near-record tax increase, and just killed a charter school project that would have given Providence students the opportunity for a better education.
There are 16,000 kids in Rhode Island on charter school waiting lists.
But Rachel knows best.
NOT
Seth, Daddy, and Jeff
United States House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is highly critical of the Trump administration for refusing to release the Department of Justice files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jeffries posted, “Donald Trump and House Republicans have the power to release the Epstein files today. They refuse to do it. What are they hiding from the American people?” Watch his comments below.
Trump has faltered under pressure to release the Epstein files. His administration had previously promised to release all documents related to the matter.
As Jeffries has been blasting the Trump administration, fellow Democrat, Rhode Island Congressman Seth Magaziner, is refusing to answer questions. Magaziner has not posted on social media, and has not issued any press releases.
GoLocal reached out to Magaziner’s office and asked if the Congressman had any comment on the Epstein investigation.
PHOTOS: ICANN History Project Interview with Ira Magaziner CC:3.0; Jeffrey Epstein mug shot, public domain
NOT
No Federal Funds to Replenish Beach Sand in RI
Rhode Island, like the rest of the nation, will receive zero federal funding to restore beach sand when storms sweep it away.
In recent years, the damage done has been severe. And the impact has been costly. Sometimes the bill has been in the millions.
Since 1996, Congress has allocated between $100 and $200 million a year for beach replenishment initiatives — projects that dredge sand from the ocean floor or other places and deposit it onto coastal beaches to combat erosion or replace the sand.
Rhode Island historically uses a mix of federal and state funds for beach replenishment and restoration.
But, the big beautiful budget bill sweeps those funds away and Rhode Island taxpayers alone will have to pay the full bill.
