The Electromagnetic Pinball Museum is home to over 100 pinball machines, from the 1940s to today. Emily Rose and Michael Pare are two of the co-founders who started the museum when they found that they had too many pinball machines to fit in their home. Luis Hernandez visited the museum earlier this week.
Luis Hernandez
Luis helms the morning lineup. He is a 20-year public radio veteran, having joined The Public's Radio in 2022. That journey has taken him from the land of Gators at the University of Florida to WGCU in Fort Myers to KNPR in Las Vegas and then to WLRN in Miami.
Luis sees himself as a journalist and an entertainer, which is what drives him every morning—bringing more local news to the listeners and doing it in an interesting and sometimes fun way.
He also co-hosts Artscape and hosts The Weekly Catch. In his spare time, Luis is working on a couple of novels, a couple of podcasts and is getting back into painting.
Posted inLocal, South County Bureau
Narragansett Chief Sachem calls for scrutiny of Rhode Island land transfers
Late last year, Brown University transferred some 255 acres of land it owned in Bristol to a trust associated with the Pokanoket Tribe. That came after a separate land trust associated with another indigenous group, called Pocasset Wampanoag Tribe of the Pokanoket Nation, acquired land in Tiverton with help from a state open space grant. […]
Posted inEducation, Housing, The Weekly Catch
Mayor Smiley on plans for Providence schools, homelessness crisis
After more than five years under state control, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is asking state lawmakers to force the Department of Education to return the city’s schools to local control. Meanwhile, during the recent drop in temperatures, the Providence City Council opened its doors this week as an emergency warming center. We talk with the mayor about his plans for the city’s schools and the homelessness crisis. Plus, the Weird Island podcast delves into strange and little-known stories from Rhode Island history. We hear from the creator, Sara Corben. That and more on this week’s show.
Posted inArts And Culture, Local, South County Bureau
‘Soupy Fest’ returns to Westerly, celebrating spicy sausage and Italian heritage
Get out the crackers and cheese, and uncork a nice bottle of red wine, because ‘Soupy Fest’ is returning to Westerly. What’s soupy, you might be asking? Westerly soupy maker Joe Lombardo has your answer: “In simplest terms, it’s cured pork with spices,” Lombardo said in a recent interview. You could think of soupy as […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Politics, The Weekly Catch
Legislative session preview, LGBTQ rights under Trump, and more
Rhode Island lawmakers return to the capital on Tuesday for a new session. A massive budget deficit, continued troubles with the Washington Bridge, healthcare, and housing remain some of the top issues politicians face in the Ocean State. Our reporters roundtable shares what to watch this legislative session. Also, president-elect Trump has promised to roll back anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people, and restrict access to transgender health care. We hear what members of the LGBTQ community can do to prepare. And we look ahead to the year in local arts and culture, and share a few of the productions, concerts and exhibits we’re most excited about. That and more on this week’s show.
Posted inLocal, Politics
How can members of the local LGBTQ community prepare for a second Trump term?
As Donald Trump prepares for his second term in the White House, Sarah Austin, staff attorney with GLAD Law, spoke with Luis Hernandez about possible threats to LGBTQ rights, and what members of the local LGBTQ community can do to prepare. Interview highlights: On possible threats to LGBTQ rights: Sarah Austin: I think it’s very […]
Posted inArts And Culture, Artscape
What are we looking forward to in arts and culture for 2025?
This week, we’re looking ahead to the next few months in local arts and culture. Here to share what they’re most excited about for the winter and spring of 2025 are Artscape producer James Baumgartner, and Tracy MacDonald, arts and culture executive producer at Rhode Island PBS.
Posted inLocal, Politics, Technology
Jim Langevin on fallout from the RIBridges cyber attack
State officials are still navigating the fallout of a massive data breach that potentially compromised the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Rhode Islanders. An investigation is underway to determine what went wrong when hackers gained access to data kept in the R-I Bridges software system. And already a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the company that manages the database.
Posted inImmigration, Local
Local Syrian couple says ‘hopes are coming back’ after the fall of Assad regime
With the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, we wanted to hear from members of the local Syrian community to see what they think about the regime and the aftermath so far. We reached out to two Syrian-Americans we’ve spoken to before on the Public’s Radio, Amjad Kinjawi and Mayss Bajbouj-Kinjawi of North Attleboro. […]
Posted inThe Weekly Catch
A new strategy for overdose prevention, a bid to allow an illegal seawall, and more
Rhode Island is now home to the first state-sanctioned overdose prevention center in the country. Advocates hope the new facility will lead to fewer overdose-related deaths, and more people getting connected with drug treatment. And the Quidnessett Country Club is trying to get retroactive approval for an illegal sea wall that they *already* built. But they hit a hurdle this week with a subcommittee of the state Coastal Resources Management Council. Also, we hear about the centuries-old process of woodblock-printed wallpaper, from the curator of the RISD Museum’s exhibit, “The Art of French Wallpaper.” That and more on this week’s show.
