The latest financial disclosure forms filed by candidates vying for the Senate seat in Newport held until this Spring by M. Teresa Paiva Weed, has found all four Democrats in the race actively fundraising, indicating a wide range of support throughout the state’s Democratic party. Meanwhile, the Republican, Green Party and Independent candidates, in papers […]
Frank Prosnitz
Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also on WBLQ, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Prosnitz has twice won Best in Business Awards from the national Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), twice was named Media Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration, won an investigative reporter’s award from the New England Press Association, and newswriting award from the Rhode Island Press Association.
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
A Conversation with Christian McBride, Artistic Director of Newport Jazz Festival (Part 5 of 5)
The challenge of dwindling public funds to support the arts in school has inspired Christian McBride to join with his wife, Melissa Walker, founder of Jazz House Kids, to provide young musicians an opportunity to develop and grow as artists. And, with public funding for the arts in jeopardy, McBride believes musicians will not be […]
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
A Conversation with Christian McBride, Artistic Director of Newport Jazz Festival (Part 4)
You could say about Christian McBride that the bass was in his blood – and it was. From a father and great uncle who played bass, to Julliard in New York City to study classical bass, to the stages of the most significant jazz clubs and festivals in the world – that’s Christian McBride. He […]
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
A Conversation with Christian McBride, Artistic Director of Newport Jazz Festival (Part 3)
An amazing bass player, band leader and composer, Christian McBride, the Newport Jazz Festival’s new artistic director, brings profound respect for the festival, and a keen sense of those who should be playing at it. He’s also not afraid to showcase young talent. “Some of it you just get excited by something that you hear, […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A Conversation with Christian McBride, Artistic Director of Newport Jazz Festival (Part 2)
George Wein calls it artistry – that something special that sets musicians apart – that ingredient that Wein would look for when booking an act for the Newport Jazz Festival. Now it’s Christian McBride who is in search of that artistry, finding a balance, “the best of every branch of the tree of jazz.” Artistry, […]
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
A Conversation with Christian McBride, Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival (Part 1)
It was more than 25 years ago that Christian McBride played his first Newport Jazz Festival. Now, five Grammys later and considered among the best jazz bass players on the planet, McBride is taking on a huge challenge, following in the footsteps of festival founder George Wein and assuming the mantle as the festival’s Artistic […]
Posted inNews
Newport Polo Recap: USA vs Peru (June 3, 2017)
With its regular field at Glen Farm made unplayable by constant rains, and draining from the upper fields to the polo grounds, Newport Polo moved its playing field to the upper field for yesterday’s (Saturday) match against first-time visitors, Peru. While Newport Polo could move a field, it couldn’t budge a Peru team, all from […]
Posted inOpinion
Just My Opinion: ‘Send in the Clowns’
What I remember most of my one big day as a clown in Ringling Brothers was the look on the faces of the kids as I climbed into the seats at the old Washington Arena with Frosty, the boss clown. Wide eyes and broad smiles, the kids didn’t know I was just a one-day clown, […]
Posted inCity & Government
Campaign Fundraising Heats up in Race for Paiva Weed’s Seat
The race to replace Teresa Paiva Weed in the State Senate (District 13) is on, and if you’re scoring by money in the bank, Newport Councilman and businessman John Florez takes the early lead, and if you’re scoring by grassroots donors, the winner is lawyer Dawn Euer. That, according to the May 1 financial filings […]
Posted inNews
North Providence Mayor Promises Overhaul of Town’s Police Department
NORTH PROVIDENCE – Mayor Charles Lombardi is promising to seriously consider a reorganization of the town’s police department, after an investigation into accusations of sexual harassment found the claims legally “unfounded,” but that police officers regularly made vulgar comments and lewd jokes. Mayor Charles Lombardi “What we’ve uncovered is unfortunate, it’s embarrassing,” Lombardi said yesterday […]
Posted inNews
Two Rhode Island Employers are among finalist for prestigious Defense Department Employer Support Award
Two Rhode Island employers are among 30 finalists nationwide for the 2017 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the highest recognition given by the Defense Department to employers for their support of National Guard and Reserve members. Aspen Aerogels of East Providence and National Grid of Providence were selected as finalists from among more […]
Posted inNews
RI’s 30,000 Undocumented Immigrants are Living in Fear
With President Trump poised to issue another order banning travel from selected Muslim dominated Mideastern countries, and with heightened deportations nationwide, communities of undocumented immigrants are fearful of deportation back to sometimes hostile and oppressive societies. Many in Rhode Island’s undocumented immigrant communities are looking to friends to drive them to work, or school, or […]
Posted inNews
Poll: The News Media and President Trump
President Trump has called the media the “Enemy of the American People,” while the media fights back, emphatically saying that it is “not the enemy.” President Trump and those around him in the White House refer to any negative news as “Fake News,” while being called out for false representation of certain situations or making […]
Posted inNews
Poll Shows Strong Support for Pro-Choice Legislation
In a recent poll, WhatsUpNewp readers overwhelmingly showed their support for proposed legislation that would make Roe v. Wade, which upholds a woman’s constitutional right to abortion, the law in Rhode Island, even if overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. More than 84 percent of the nearly 400 readers responding to the poll, voted yes […]
Posted inNews
PawSox Ownership Exploring Stadium Options
Snow lines the banks of most roadways in New England, but pitchers and catchers are now in Florida. How far away can Spring really be? Only a few weeks, and while most baseball fans will be consumed by reports out of Spring Training, there are those in Rhode Island who are awaiting a definitive answer […]
Posted inNews
POLL: Are You In Favor of the Legalization of Abortion in Rhode Island?
In Washington, the mood of the country is changing. President Donald Trump has nominated a conservative to the U.S. Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, and the president has avowed his opposition to abortion, saying he would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. He has already taken certain steps: “… Donald Trump has withdrawn funding from the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A Conversation with George Wein: ‘You Have to Say You Did The Right Thing’ (Part 5)
A Conversation with George Wein: ‘…after all your life, and it is the last part of my life, to have reached that place. I guess, you have to say you did the right thing’ – Part 5 of 5 Throughout this five-part series, we’ve explored George Wein’s career from when he was working in what […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A Conversation with George Wein: ‘I’ve lived my own life on my own terms’ (Part 4)
Respect, not only for George Wein and what he’s accomplished, but mainly for jazz and the jazz musicians. That’s was George Wein hopes he’s achieving through his festivals. In this, part four of this five-part series, ‘A Conversation with George Wein,’ we learn about earning respect and trust, about the rise of young musicians, and […]
Posted inPeople & Profiles
A Conversation with George Wein: Artistry – the Festivals (Part 1)
For more than seven decades, George Wein has been making music, as a performer and as a promoter and producer. He’s elevated folk and jazz to new levels, through the festivals he founded and shaped for so many years. At 91, George Wein walks slower these days, but fills a room with his wisdom, his […]
Posted inPeople & Profiles
A Conversation with George Wein: Madam Chaloff, a Bucket of Blood, and Storyville (Part 2)
In part 2, George Wein takes us on his journey, from classical piano and lessons with Madam Chaloff, to the clubs at which he first played for two dollars a night, to the rise of his famed Boston Club, Storyville, where a visit from Louie Armstrong helped define Wein’s path in music. In case you […]
Posted inPeople & Profiles
A Conversation with George Wein: Motivation (Part 3)
Motivation. For decades George Wein has been a paramount figure in the development of the music, mostly jazz. It’s what he played, and it’s what he presented, in his Storyville Club, and at the festivals in Newport, New York, New Orleans, and around the globe. In this part three of our interview with George, we […]
Posted inNews
Updated: State Supreme Court ruling brings Breakers’ Welcome Center closer to reality
The Rhode Island Supreme Court today rejected an appeal by a neighborhood association, bringing closer the Newport Preservation Society’s plans to build a $5.2 million visitor center at the Breakers, a 70 – room mansion that has been called the “crown jewel” of Newport’s summer cottages. In a 15-page decision the Supreme Court saw no […]
Posted inNews
Innovate Newport Project Receives $2.1 million from Commerce Department
The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, through its Re-Build RI tax credit program, has awarded The Innovate Newport project $2.1 million, completing the capitalization stage and paving the way for final design and construction bidding, according to Scott A. Gibbs, president of The Economic Development Foundation of Rhode Island. Innovate Newport, Gibbs said, involves the rehabilitation […]