The phone rang a few days ago, and when I answered, a plaintive voice on the other end implored, “Grandpa, I need to talk to you.” My response was instant: “Do you want me to report this call to the police now, or would like to finish your spiel first? Let me guess, you’ve been […]
Columns
A look at What’sUpNewp’s latest columns.
Posted inFood & Drink
What’s in Season: In August, find eggplant, peppers, ground cherries, and donut peaches at the Jamestown Farmer’s Market
August 4-10 marked the 25th annual National Farmers Market Week. Marked by a proclamation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) each year, National Farmers Market Week celebrates the role of local farms and farmers markets in the United States food system. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) acknowledged the celebratory […]
Posted inColumns
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about your doctor not coming to see you in the hospital anymore
I met a recently retired Massachusetts pediatrician at the eightieth birthday party of an honored physician-writer, colleague, and friend. The pediatrician, also a writer, and I talked for a few minutes about his practice and his retirement. He’d built a great practice, he told me, that did what great pediatrics practices always do – they saw kids when […]
Posted inColumns
What’s in Season: Sweet corn and tomatoes from Fales Farm are classic end-of-summer staples
Crunchy, juicy, sweet, and acidic, corn and tomatoes are must-haves for a stocked summer pantry. Barbeque might come to mind first with this combination – thick slices of tomatoes stacked on a juicy burger, corn on the cob on the side. Corn cobs might be used in Cajun-style seafood boils, or, for those who have […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: Mum’s the word on what’s driving GOP lackeys
Many decades ago, when I was a college student convinced I knew everything there was to know, in a conversation with my father I labelled someone a hypocrite. Dad stopped me in my tracks. “That is a very loaded word,” he said. “Take care how you use it.” Ever since, I’ve been wary of rushing […]
Posted inCOVID-19
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy is that Covid is back
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But like Freddy Kreuger, Covid is back for a midsummer surge. It’s worse out west and in England, but what happens there will spread here before long. So here we go again. You know the drill. Just a cold for most people and almost no risk for […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: From Trump, some vitriolic talking points
Of all the hideous traits that darken the soul of Donald Trump, his continuing delight in mocking physical disabilities, including President Biden’s lifelong struggle with a stutter, is among the creepiest. Not to mention that by implication he has mocked some three million other Americans who contend with the same problem, succeeding in life despite […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Gerry Goldstein: Dancing deer, in barter for apples, offer food for thought
Intruders abound here at Shalom Acres, the hobby farm in Greenville’s Apple Valley that we allege belongs to us. Calling the cops would do no good, since the interlopers aren’t your garden variety housebreakers – but what we grow is indeed high on their list of priorities. Most of the critters at Shalom Acres are […]
Posted inColumns
What’s in Season: From bulbs to herbs to salad greens, Long Lane Farm in Warren offers a full summer bounty at their local farm stand
Traveling to farmer’s markets is an excellent way to support small, local farms while getting fresh, in-season produce. The bigger the farmer’s market, the larger the variety of fruits and vegetables available. But traveling to markets is not always feasible for everyone. Other ways to achieve the same results are signing up for CSA programs […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Fact-checking – critical in what will be a challenging election year
In years past, voters in this country, and this state could count on a robust media to fact check those politicians’ seeking offices from school board to the presidency. But the media has changed, and where once there were robust print publications, there are now stripped-down versions, if at all. Staffs that numbered in the […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about hospitals in Rhode Island this week
Lots of hospital-related news in Rhode Island this week. The Rhode Island Department of Health and the Attorney General approved the sale of Our Lady of Fatima and Roger Williams aka Charter Care, to something called The Centurion Foundation, a Georgia based non-profit, which I don’t know anything about. The seller is Prospect Medical Holdings, but with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Review: Ben Platt pulls out all the stops at PPAC
Until yesterday, I thought Ben Platt was a Broadway performer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I knew him as the performer who originated the lead role in “Dear Evan Hansen” which earned him a Tony Award. I knew he’d recently played the lead in “Parade” on Broadway, and that he’d just wrapped up […]
Posted inColumns
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about eye ointment
Eye ointment? Yes, eye ointment. You see, in late April, the CDC announced there was a shortage of erythromycin eye ointment, which turned out to be a big deal. What? Isn’t erythromycin one of the oldest antibiotics that exist? Aren’t there a hundred or a thousand other eye ointments? Who cares about one old medicine? In fact, erythromycin was discovered in […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: Ageless thoughts on growing old
The actress Bette Davis once said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies.” As a practicing octogenarian I can attest to this, while also appreciating advice on staying young from 19th Century President James A. Garfield: “If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Comic – Sour Grapes: Excuses
Here’s this week’s Sour Grapes; enjoy! Tim will be at http://www.rianimecon.com this coming weekend, June 15-16, at the RI Convention Center, Providence. Stop by and say hi!
Posted inColumns
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s not that crazy about making sure pharmacists are part of the primary care team
On these pages, an Op-Ed (Let Rhode Island Pharmacists Close the Primary Care Gap) by a number of trusted colleagues argued that allowing pharmacists to bill insurance directly for clinical services might close the primary care gap. I’m not sure where I stand on letting pharmacists bill insurance directly. On the one hand, pharmacists are critical […]
Posted inColumns
Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about letting business people and lawyers control health care
What I am about to tell you is a true story. One that is happening now in a Rhode Island hospital. An 81-year-old man who still worked ten hours a day and was as strong as a bull was hit by a car as he crossed the street from the restaurant where he worked to his […]
Posted inColumns
Gerry Goldstein: A protest derailed, in different times
The recent demonstrations on college campuses produced varying opinions on how administrators can respect freedom of speech while keeping protesters from trampling the rights of others. The issue was more straightforward decades ago, when as a crusading student newspaper editor I tested the waters of protest at our state university in Kingston. It did not […]