Latest news with #NewEngland
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
WTA Aviation Class of 2025 called ‘future of aviation'
WESTFIELD — After welcoming everyone to the Aviation Maintenance Technology program graduation for the Class of 2025, department head Galen Wilson acknowledged fellow Aviation instructors Scott Hepburn, Christopher Chaves and Timothy Pfau and Aviation Advisory Board chair Kenneth Dromgold. 'Another great year, another great class. These students will have an impact on the aviation industry.' Wilson said the students had completed 1250 hours of training, tests, evaluations, projects, presentations and readings to make it through the only FAA-certified program in New England. 'It takes a special student to complete it. They have endured a lot. Bottom line, we did it!' Mayor Michael McCabe came to the podium, saying it was intimidating to speak with an F15 right in front of him. Hangar 2 at Westfield Barnes Airport had been mostly cleared of aircraft for the ceremony that were now parked on the landing strip along with a visiting F15 from the Air National Guard 104th. McCabe remarked on the 50% female composition of the Aviation Class of 2025 as he welcomed family and friends, representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, Gulfstream, and Westfield State University who he said were checking out the program. He then presented certificates from the City of Westfield to each member of the Class of 2025. 'This is one of my favorite days of the year. Being able to celebrate our kids as they move into the future is a blast,' McCabe said. Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski told the graduates, 'Aviation needs people like you,' He said the field requires precision, accountability and an unwavering commitment to safety, skills which he called impressive and essential. 'Thank you for choosing this path. Your future is not only bright, it's airborne.' 'I feel so indebted to and proud of this program,' said keynote speaker Senator John Velis, who is co-chair of the state Aviation Caucus. He said it coincides with his time in office, and he remembers walking from the hangar to Westfield Technical Academy with a plane at 3 a.m. in 2016 for the grand opening of the program. Velis said in the beginning, people were amazed that the program was happening in Massachusetts. 'Now, when we have this conversation, they say 'we know all about it.' We are proud — you should be proud, and I hope you are.' Velis' speech then paused for an emergency response to a medical emergency in the hangar that had a successful outcome. When he resumed, his message to the graduates shifted. 'Far more important than what we're doing today is your well-being,' Velis told the graduates. He said one of the things he knows as chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, is that the numbers are scary on the impact of mental health on young adults, which he said isn't talked about enough. 'If you find yourself at any point in the future or a friend finds themselves struggling, remember these three most important words — 'I need help.' Please get it. You're going to find in the not-too-distant future circumstances where you're going to fail at something — not a single person who hasn't. What separates those who push forward and who don't is your response,' he said. 'You make us so proud. Thank you for going down this path. Remember, you've got a lot of people in this room who want to help out,' Velis said. Wilson then introduced the Class of 2025 Distinguished Graduate Mason Jacquier of Southwick. In describing Jacquier he said he was a soccer captain, class treasurer, on the Student Council, in the National Technical Honor Society, 4H Club, Key Club, captain of the Aviation Explorers Post, flying, and 'oh yeah, not bad at motocross either,' in which he said Jacquier has won numerous awards. Jacquier will be attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida to study aerospace engineering. 'It's an honor to speak at our graduation. When we started as freshmen, we were intimidated … We were met with unwavering support, constant encouragement and guidance,' Jacquier said. He said over the four years they developed confidence, patience and pride, and were pushed out of their comfort zone and are on their way to becoming pilots, air traffic controllers and in the Air National Guard. After he spoke, pilot Ray Robidoux of the Westfield Aviation Museum located in Hangar 3 joined Jacquier at the podium to present him with a $2,000 scholarship. 'We present this scholarship as our way of saying thank you. The graduates today are the future of aviation,' Robidoux said. Scott Hepburn, instructor of the Class of 2025, thanked the other instructors for bringing the class over the finish line. He said it was a pleasure to have them for 3.5 years, 1911 hours total. He then awarded certificates to the FAA Program graduates and the non-FAA Aviation Program graduate, telling stories about each one before presenting them. The FAA Program graduates of the Class of 2025 include Savannah Chapman of Granville, who will be entering the Air National Guard 104th; Rielynn Cigal of Westfield, who will be going to Springfield Technical Community College for medical studies, and Hailey Dubiel of Westfield, who will go to CT AeroTech. Hepburn said Dubiel entered WTA 'bound and determined to get into aviation,' adding that she was one of the smartest students to ever come through, having only one test score less than 100 at a 97. Also graduating were Emma Fernandes of Westfield, who will go to Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Jason Harris of Westfield, headed to CT Aero Tech, Mason Jacquier of Southwick, going to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Jason Jones of Westfield, who will be going to STCC. Thomas Knapik of Westfield will be the first graduate of the program to become an Air Traffic Controller through the FAA. In a presentation before the School Committee in November, Knapik said he first thought about becoming a pilot, but discovered through the program 'the infinite possibilities in aviation.' Hepburn said about Olivia Pease of Westhampton that she came in wanting to be a private pilot by graduation, and became one. She will be entering STCC in the fall, and has a goal of becoming a commercial pilot. Joshua Masse of Westfield will be going to work at Bombardier in Windsor Locks and Mark Poznyur and Maya Reyes will join Gulfstream at Westfield Barnes. Non-FAA Aviation Program graduate Andrew Reed of Southwick will be going to Atlantic Aviation as a line technician. Hepburn said you could ask him whatever you wanted to know about airplanes. 'He knew so much about our planes, and is an incredible photographer,' he said about Reed, whose extended family in Southwick and South Carolina came to the graduation to support him. 'It's time to push this program bigger,' Hepburn said. He said they can only accept 14 students per year out of the 80 to 100 that want aviation. 'I'd like to double this program in the next couple of years — some way, somehow.' Wilson also awarded numbers 21 and 22 of the 25 coins made to distinguish the first 25 students from the program to complete their FAA certification. Wilson, a 30-year veteran of the US Air Force called it a USAF tradition. 'It means that you are a member of an elite group of people.' Coin number 21 was presented to Brandon Laviolette and number 22 to Zachary Fedora. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
This Maine city was called a 'beautiful' and 'vibrant' place. Here's how to visit
Are you ready for a coastal summer in New England? Well, Islands, a travel publication that started in 1981, says this calm Maine spot right by Passagassawakeag River and Penobscot Bay is the place to go. "From the beautiful waterfront, where marinas full of pleasure boats and lobster boats bob happily, to the tidy streets of downtown," Islands said this Maine city is one people will want to visit. To inject some small-town New England joy into your life, the publication recommend heading to Belfast, Maine. Islands named Belfast as the best place to spend a relaxing and fun-filled waterfront vacation, full of good food and quality memories. What Islands said about it: "It's an unwritten law that when visiting a new Maine town, you'll need to find the best mouthwatering lobster roll restaurant. In Belfast, the most frequently recommended spot is Young's Lobster Pound, located right on the water but on the opposite shore, looking back at town. It's a classic waterfront, no-frills lobster pound with a 4.3-star rating on Tripadvisor. There are also dozens of fantastic restaurants, cafés, and bars along Main Street in the heart of town." Young's Lobster Pound can be found at 2 Fairview St. in Belfast. They also recommended downtown Belfast for its plethora of activities like the community arts center in the city and the Belfast Farmers' Market. There is also a chance to do some hiking if you prefer to bask in nature, the publication said. "There are also numerous hiking trailheads nearby, and the Rail Trail, which connects a 2.2-mile path north of town with the Armistice pedestrian bridge that crosses the Passagassawakeag River," the travel publication said. Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@ This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Looking to travel to Maine this summer? Consider this 'vibrant city
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Four queer business owners on Pride under Trump: ‘Our joy is resistance'
As the first Pride month under Donald Trump's second presidency approaches, LGBTQ+ businesses are stepping up, evolving quickly to meet the community's growing concerns. Since day one, Trump has signed executive orders targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the trans and gender non-comforming population. He aims to eradicate 'gender ideology' by enforcing a two-sex binary determined at conception, reinstating and expanding the military ban on transgender service members, and directing agencies to prevent gender-affirming care for youth. This leaves the LGBTQ+ community feeling apprehensive about losing further rights and protections. The Guardian spoke with four queer business owners, and one message was clear: queer businesses are here to support the community now more than ever and spread joy as resistance. Business is surging for New England-based wedding photographer Lindsey 'Lensy' Michelle as queer couples decide to take their vows, fearing the Trump administration will go after marriage equality. Michelle says she's only getting louder and even 'more queer'. 'I'm not changing anything about my business, no matter what the government says,' Michelle said. 'We elected a president who doesn't support this type of marriage, or at the very least doesn't care enough to try to protect it.' She is seeing queer couples accelerate their wedding plans in fear of Trump and the supreme court overturning 2015's ruling on Obergefell v Hodges, which recognized same-sex marriages. Michelle currently offers accessible pricing for queer couples. '[Pride] is a good time to remind wedding vendors to stop advertising to only brides or using very gendered language, or assuming that every couple has a bride and a groom,' she said. 'Performative allyship is really dangerous, and for businesses June can be a time of greater reflection on how they can be more clear and inclusive.' According to Michelle, there is an emerging trend for queer couples to distinguish legal marriage from a wedding ceremony. Many of her clients explained that they are registering their marriage now out of an 'abundance of caution' because they don't feel like 'their rights will be protected', she said. 'It's a privilege when you're able to celebrate instead of protest and queerness is always rebellious,' she said. 'You protest when things aren't welcoming to begin with and you celebrate when you're able to but I think also you have to do both. Otherwise, it becomes quite sad.' After noticing an uptick in demand, she created an LGBTQ+ wedding directory of more than 130 businesses. She didn't stop there: Michelle then teamed up with five other vendors to throw a queer mass wedding ball for six lucky couples on 5 January. 'We don't really feel like celebrating. We feel like crying and we feel helpless and all we're trying to do is get married,' Michelle said. 'We just wanted to throw a party. This event is coming out of the time of fear and uncertainty, but that's always been the queer story.' The team behind the wedding ball are 'open to the idea' of hosting a similar event in other states, particularly in Republican-led ones. Nine states are urging the supreme court to reverse Obergefell v Hodges. 'We're scared, and I don't put that lightly,' Michelle said. In Decatur, Georgia, Charis Books & More aim to alleviate the fears the queer and trans community are experiencing. 'My job is to support young people and those with children and to say: 'Look, we have spent most of our history as queer and trans people as outlaws and we can be outlaws again. But, we will survive, we are very creative and we'll figure out how to get through this time,'' said Errol Anderson, the executive director of Charis Books & More's non-profit arm, Charis Circle. Charis Circle hosts events like story time and offers support groups, especially for the trans community. They have four support groups for trans and gender non-conforming individuals across ages. Georgians in less welcoming parts of the state see Charis 'as a beacon', according to Anderson. 'We're seeing these particularly aggressive attacks on trans people for the past couple years now being mirrored in national legislation and it's very scary,' Anderson said. 'A lot of people right now feel very hopeless, but we need to remember we do actually have a lot of power to speak up for what we believe in and our voices do matter.' New York's 34-year-old queer bar Henrietta Hudson is returning to its roots as a political activist space, especially as Pride approaches. 'Acutely since the inauguration, but really since the election, there's a different tone to how people come to [the bar]. It feels more necessary,' Hutch Hutchinson said. 'People are craving to be around other queer people and to be in a safer space. We have to buckle down for the family we have here.' Hutchinson, who uses he/they pronouns, is the director of operations at Henrietta Hudson. He said Pride is already in the air as the bar has seen a surge in energy and purpose. '[Pride] often does feel like a protest and we call our Pride as occupying Hudson, a very definitive statement on us taking up space in the West Village,' he said. 'The general feeling at Henrietta Hudson is that we've just become more political. This place has been through so many eras of queer resistance and uprising. We are relighting that fire.' They lend their bar to vetted non-profits and local grassroots organizations for events giving back to the LGBTQ+ community, such as a Pride Week fundraiser benefiting the BTFA Collective for Black trans femme artists and the annual NYC Dyke March. Hutchinson explained that the bar will always take explicit stances to protect and support the community. It posted a message on their Instagram, calling out the 'immoral', 'dangerous' and 'unlawful' attacks by Trump's administration. 'We talk, as a [staff] about, what does resistance look like? Sure, resistance is showing up to rallies and supporting the ACLU, learning your rights, marching and protesting,' he added. 'But it's so important for us to dance and to see each other smile and laugh and sing. Our joy is resistance.' Down in St Louis, Missouri, art collective Swan Meadow plans to be a safe third space for the community where members can 'simply exist as who they are'. Partners Fern and Mellody Meadow, who both use they/them pronouns, emptied their savings to open the collective last fall after a close presidential election. 'We are always trying to craft events and spaces for people to come to and to sit with complicated emotions and thoughts and to talk to people about them,' Fern said. 'It can be isolating and so frustrating to know that things are wrong that are outside of our control, but when you come together as a community, so much positive change can happen.' They open their workshop multiple times a month for free community-focused events such as 'crafternoons'. Some events act as fundraisers for local mutual aid organizations like the Community Closet, which distributes free household, cleaning and hygiene items. The collective also offers branding, photography and printing services. The Meadows envision Swan Meadow taking on a larger role in political advocacy for the community. 'As pushback becomes more prevalent and discrimination becomes more normal, being visible is more important than ever,' Mellody said. 'I'm tired of living through history.'
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Catch of the day: rare gold lobster saved by attentive cook in Rhode Island
Being one in a million may sound nice, but being one in 30m recently saved an exceptionally rare, gold lobster from being cooked and served as dinner at a New England restaurant, according to those who had a hand in the animal's reprieve. As the manager of the Nordic Lodge Restaurant in Charlestown, Rhode Island, tells it, one of the eatery's cooks noticed the crustacean in question buried under a bunch of other lobsters after they were delivered to the business. The lobster, since named Calvin, was in a basket ready to be cooked and presented as a meal alongside a number of his brethren when the employee pulled him out and set him aside, manager Jake Dolbey told the Guardian. The cook evidently realized Calvin had a genetic mutation that only occurs in about one in 30 million lobsters that prevents all the colors in that type of creature from showing up on their shells except for a yellowish-orange hue that is classified as gold. That particular mutation is much rarer than the well-known one which makes the exoskeleton of roughly one from every 2 million lobsters appear blue. So the restaurant called the Biomes Marine Biology Center in nearby North Kingstown on Tuesday with an offer to donate the gold lobster. Within an hour of the Nordic's phoning up the Biomes center, restaurant bartender Joel Humphries had driven it to the hands-on aquarium so that Calvin could be displayed there, as Rhode Island's Providence Journal first reported. Dolbey said Humphries happened to be a former volunteer and employee of the aquarium, which educationally showcases marine animals from Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Mark Hall, the Biomes center director, said that it took a sharp eye to pick out Calvin as unique. Gold lobsters are often confused with slightly more common ones that are a slightly darker orange color. Had Calvin been boiled, Hall continued, he would have turned the same color all lobsters do when they are cooked in that manner: red. Hall said that is because lobsters carry a mixture of color pigments. The color that shows comes down to genetics, and the only one that can withstand heat is red, Hall said. 'When you boil them, you destroy all the pigments except red,' Hall said. 'And the same thing would have happened here.' Yet, instead, within two days of being brought from the Nordic to the Biomes center, Calvin was reportedly impressing about 50 fourth grades who were visiting the aquarium. Hall suggested to the Guardian that he understood the interest in the clemency shown to Calvin, which gained notice in parts of the internet dedicated to finding feelgood news stories. But he said he wanted the public to know he had encountered about 10 gold lobsters, despite the slim odds of coming across even one. He said that illustrates the 'huge, huge numbers of lobsters that are caught' – remarks he made years after the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries expressed concern that the stock of lobster in a region encompassing Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island had been depleted 'due to environmental factors and fishing pressure'. 'For me to see 10 of these in my life, that's a lot of lobsters being caught,' Hall said. 'It makes it so that it's just a matter of time before one of these comes up.' Some social media users went to a Facebook post from the Nordic about Calvin to praise them for how they handled the gold lobster. 'Good brains! Good job!' read one such comment. Another added: 'Thank you for sparing him!'
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nesi's Notes: May 31
Happy Saturday! Here's another edition of my weekend column for — as always, send your takes, tips and trial balloons to tnesi@ and follow me on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 1. For Dan McKee, there's no sugarcoating the new UNH poll; a 19% job approval rating is dismal. But it's also much worse than the 43% approval rating McKee scored in a survey conducted last winter by Morning Consult, or the 36% he had in a YouGov survey in March. Could UNH be an outlier? It's possible. But our political analyst Joe Fleming says even if that's the case, McKee should be worried: 'Being between 19% and 43% is not good if you're an incumbent running for reelection.' At 19%, McKee would be in the same disastrous range once tested by Lincoln Chafee, who polled as low as 22% during his term. Chafee abandoned his reelection bid a year before the primary — which would be a few months from now in McKee's case. But there are other analogues, too. Bruce Sundlun's job approval was at 26% in a Brown poll a year out from his 1994 reelection bid, but Sundlun stayed in to the bitter end, losing that year's Democratic primary to Myrth York 57% to 28%. McKee supporters often cite his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, as a more hopeful case — she regularly polled in the 30s, yet won another term fairly easily in 2018. Fleming says it's a useful reminder that polls surveying the general public only tell you so much about what will happen in the next election. In McKee's case, his team is focused on the much smaller subset of voters who will vote in a Democratic primary pitting him against Helena Foulkes. Even there, though, UNH gives cause for alarm. Among registered Democrats, just 16% think McKee deserves to be reelected, while 45% are already open to Foulkes and many more haven't formed an opinion about her yet. 2. That said, it would be a mistake to focus solely on a Dan McKee–Helena Foulkes rematch as the only scenario that could play out next year. If McKee decides to retire, other Democrats are sure to consider a run for the open seat — House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Secretary of State Gregg Amore spring right to mind, but don't rule out others in such an altered landscape. Attorney General Peter Neronha continues to publicly mull a run, too, saying on this week's Newsmakers that he will make a final decision over the summer. As Joe Fleming noted to me, a multi-candidate primary field could be a boon to McKee if he decides to stay in; the multiplicity of candidates was the reason McKee only needed 33% of the vote to secure the Democratic nomination and a glide path to a full term in 2022. But other potential candidates are well aware of that dynamic, and with Foulkes likely to run no matter what, it would likely give them pause. All of this is already being avidly discussed by political insiders behind the scenes, and those conversations will only heat up once the legislative session comes to an end. 3. Gina Raimondo may want to run for president, but skeptics now have a fresh data point to make the case against her: the UNH poll has 77% of Rhode Island voters saying they definitely or probably don't want Raimondo to return as governor. 4. Other interesting findings from UNH … Senator Reed looks like a safe bet for another term, with 54% of voters saying he deserves reelection; only 33% of Massachusetts voters say the same about Senator Markey … opinions of President Trump are so locked in that his job approval rating has barely budged … one in four Rhode Island voters say no issue is more important than the housing crisis … just 15% say their household finances are better off compared with 12 months ago … there is majority support for 'banning the sale and manufacture of firearms with military-style features.' 5. AG Neronha's big health policy rollout on Wednesday had a number of interesting pieces, from a lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers like CVS to a bill that would let him put financially distressed hospitals into receivership. But no part of the plan is getting more attention than his call for Rhode Island lawmakers to immediately raise the state Medicaid program's payment rates for primary care to equal what Medicare pays at the federal level. Neronha says a conservative estimate of the cost in state dollars is $50 million — not exactly Washington Bridge money, but still a big ask in a tight budget year. Under current rates, Neronha says, a commercial insurer in Rhode Island pays $200 for a PCP visit, while Medicare pays $100 and Medicaid pays just $37. 'Fixing it is not optional, so when we budget — even if it means going back to the drawing board — we've got to find this money for primary care in particular now or our system will fail. It will fail,' Neronha said on Newsmakers. 6. If AG Neronha's proposal to boost in Medicaid rates is the most immediate fix on offer to address Rhode Island's primary care crisis, the Senate's idea of establishing a public medical school at URI is the most long-term. A draft report was released Friday, laying out how much it could cost to get such a school up and running ($225 million) and how soon the first graduates might have their degrees (about a decade from now). More details in this story. 7. The push for a big investment in primary care goes on the list of issues to watch in the final weeks of the Assembly session. Lawmakers are currently a little behind last year's pace, when the House budget bill came out on May 31, but that's fairly typical for a non-election year when Assembly leaders aren't in as much of a rush to adjourn. There are signs things are moving, though. A revised version of the year's most high-profile bill, the Rhode Island Assault Weapons Ban Act, just got posted for a Tuesday vote in the House Judiciary Committee. And Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone's bill to expand online sports gambling options is up for a vote Monday. A fierce battle is being waged over the 'bottle bill' to create a deposit system for recycling, with a group called the Coalition for High Performance Recycling starting radio ads Monday urging lawmakers to pair it with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a policy opposed by some industry players. House Republicans are making a late push to repeal some energy mandates. Then there's the budget, with progressive groups putting on a full-court press to get lawmakers to raise taxes on upper-income earners to bring in some extra revenue. Speaker Shekarchi has been floating the possibility of having lawmakers come back in the fall if the tax hike doesn't make the budget and more money is needed. Lots to watch. 8. One smart Smith Hill observer on Friday pointed out to me a new dynamic when it comes to the timing of the end of session: the establishment of Juneteenth as a state holiday means there is now one fewer weekday in June to wrap up legislative business. 9. For all the talk about Rhode Island's (very real) fiscal challenges, the Wall Street rating agencies have strong faith in the state's ability and willingness to pay its bills. Fitch Ratings on Wednesday upgraded the state's bond rating, which the firm said 'reflects Rhode Island's declining long-term liability burden as a share of personal income, supported by improvements in debt management and growing financial relief from pension changes enacted more than a decade ago.' (S&P and Moody's have also maintained the state's credit rating.) A spokesperson for Governor McKee argued the move by Fitch vindicates 'the McKee administration's cautious and disciplined fiscal management, improved long-term liability outlook, and consistent use of conservative budgeting with strong spending controls.' That approach will be tested in the coming years, as deficits get worse and the pension fund's improving health increases pressure to boost retirement benefits. 10. There is always so much chatter about Peter Neronha's own political future that it can overshadow another big race involving the AG — next year's contest to succeed him. State Rep. Jason Knight, state Sen. Dawn Euer and state Rep. Bob Craven are all frequently mentioned as potential Democratic candidates. Neronha himself could influence the race if he decides to endorse a successor, though he said on Newsmakers he hasn't made up his mind about whether to do so, partly because he doesn't know who will run. Neronha did name two people he'd endorse 'in a heartbeat' if they jumped into the race — former U.S. Attorney Zach Cunha or Deputy AG Adi Goldstein — but so far neither one has indicated plans to jump in. 11. The field is set in the special election to replace the late Dominick Ruggerio representing Senate District 4 in North Providence and Providence. Our Ray Baccari has a breakdown here of the six candidates who filed by Friday's deadline. The primary election is July 8 and the special election is Aug. 5. 12. The House's 55-17 approval of the bill to let Providence raise taxes above the state limit suggests Mayor Smiley should eventually be able to get the measure through the Senate, too, though the slow timing in the upper chamber could jeopardize tax bills getting out on time. Meantime, if you think Providence's proposed 7.5% tax hike is high, Little Compton is seeking permission for an increase of 12%. 13 Next Friday is going to be a big day in the Washington Bridge saga. 14. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell — a newly minted South Coast resident since her move to Dartmouth — will hold a campaign fundraiser on Tuesday in New Bedford, per an invitation passed along by a Nesi's Notes tipster. A spokesperson didn't respond to inquiries about the event, but Campbell is up for reelection next year. Any effort to deepen her political ties in the region adds a little more intrigue to speculation that Campbell might someday be a candidate to succeed Congressman Keating. 15. They say there's always a Rhode Island angle, and that includes New Jersey's upcoming gubernatorial primary on June 10. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill appears to be the favorite to win the Democratic nomination, but one of her chief rivals, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, owns a $4 million oceanfront home in Narragansett (his wife's hometown). But Fulop isn't just another out-of-stater with a summer residence here like Taylor Swift. He made headlines in 2021 when The Boston Globe reported that he'd lambasted a member of the Town Council during a virtual meeting as Narragansett officials were considering whether to allow more public parking near his home. 16. People in the news … Brown University President Christina Paxson has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep her at the helm into 2028 … Congressman Auchincloss will be on 'Fox News Sunday' this weekend … Bob Rapoza has been nominated to the R.I. Board of Elections; he was previously the board's executive director … New Bridges for Haitian Success founder Bernard Georges has been nominated to the RIPTA board … the American Hotel & Lodging Association's Sarah Bratko has been nominated to the R.I. Convention Center Authority … former One Neighborhood Builders CEO Jennifer Hawkins will be the new chief executive of Avesta Housing in Maine … condolences to the family and friends of Belvoir Properties CEO Jim Winoker, who has died at age 93. 17. Weekend reads … Ellen Liberman on the problems facing Rhode Island nursing homes … Michelle San Miguel and Jeremy Bernfeld on fresh questions about inspections of the Washington Bridge … Patrick Anderson on the Superman Building state of play … Christopher Allen on the state's tourism strategy … Sam Graham-Felsen on the challenge of male friendship. 18. Fire up 12+ on your smart TV or set your DVRs: This week on Newsmakers — AG Neronha. Watch Sunday at 5:30 a.m. on WPRI 12 and 10 a.m. on Fox Providence, or listen on the radio Sunday at 6 p.m. on WPRO. You can also subscribe to Newsmakers as a podcast via Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. See you back here next Saturday. Ted Nesi (tnesi@ is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesi's Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook. Prefer your Newsmakers on the go?Subscribe to our podcast!Apple | Spotify Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
