This time of year is better when the Sox and Yankees play each other in games that matter. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.
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1. STORY OF THE WEEK: The assasination of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk, 31, in Utah was roundly condemned by elected officials and political activists in Rhode Island. Local Young Republicans and Young Democrats put aside their differences to issue a joint statement. The murder of Kirk came just ahead of September 11 — the anniversary of a day, as speakers at memorial services across the state noted — when Americans were united by their common bonds and shared identity. But the attack also highlighted the specter of political violence in our country and sparked concern about where this is headed. In Rhode Island, three elected officials received what State Police called hoax threats, including state Senate President Val Lawson of East Providence and Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone of Providence. “Political violence in any form has no place in our democracy,” Lawson said in written comment. “As I stated in the statement I made this morning with the NEARI, I strongly condemn all violence, including the violence against Charlie Kirk, and my deepest condolences go out to his family. Let us all remember that we are Americans first, and we settle our differences at the ballot box.” Kirk emerged as “the youth whisperer” of the Trump era, galvanizing support for the president, and even people who disagreed with his views respected his embrace of discussion.
2. GOV RACE ‘26: The gloves came off quickly as Rhode Island’s latest battle for governor got underway Tuesday. Ahead of Helena Buonanno Foulkes’ campaign announcement, Gov. Dan McKee’s team unveiled a digital ad and website castigating Foulkes’ in connection with opioids during her time at CVS. The challenger offered her own take on the issue during her announcement at Roger Williams Park Casino, asserting that opioid sales fell by almost 40% when she was at CVS. Looming in the background is a federal civil lawsuit filed against the company and previous opioid settlements involving CVS, Wal-Mart and Walgreens. However, there’s also the possible blowback from invoking the name of a top hometown company; “It’s unfortunate and discouraging that candidate McKee would use such a serious topic as political fodder,” CVS said in a statement. For her part, Foulkes argued that state government needs to do a better job for Rhode Islanders — and she squarely took aim at the Washington Bridge. She vowed to make the state more affordable and to make progress on such issues as the crises in healthcare and housing (and, in a pitch aimed more to independent voters, to support creating an office of inspector general). After narrowly losing to McKee in a ‘22 primary, Foulkes 2.0 promises to be more aggressive in the slightly less than 12 months until the September 2026 primary. With the incumbent facing low poll ratings in recent months, this promises to be a negative and nasty campaign.
3. WHO’S OUT, WHO’S IN?: House Speaker Joe Shekarchi (with almost $4 million in his campaign account) has a couple of months to decide whether to jump into the race for governor or to bide his time while mulling another possible next step. Part of the equation is whether Foulkes would benefit by her out-of-government contrast from incumbents McKee and Shekarchi (and Rhode Island has a tradition of peas in a pod campaign ads). During her announcement, Foulkes criticized the state budget process — an appealing target considering the ballooning of state spending. “We can’t afford the same people trying the same old things,” she said, in a shot clearly aimed at Smith Hill, “and simply put, our current governor does not deserve a third term.” Back in 2002, Republican Don Carcieri elevated himself by running against the General Assembly — a savvy strategy given public skepticism about the legislature — and there were echoes of that in Foulkes’ delivery: “I know this race won’t be easy,” she said. “The insiders and the powers that be will never willingly let go of their power. So with your help, we’re just gonna take it back. We’re gonna take that power. We’re gonna take that power and we’re gonna give it back to the folks who deserve it, the hard-working men and women of Rhode Island.”
REALITY CHECK: Populist rhetoric aside, Foulkes is a Democratic insider in her own right. She’s the niece of former U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut (who was at her announcement) and a granddaughter of another former CT senator, Thomas J. Dodd. Nancy Pelosi was a roommate in college with Foulkes’ late mother. And while one of Foulkes’ greatest political assets is her ability to come across as a regular person, don’t be surprised if her rival(s) bring up her luxe compensation, which reportedly included a $1.6 million base salary at Hudson Bay Company and millions more in incentives and awards,
POST-SCRIPT: How long did it take Foulkes and Shekarchi to run into each other after her announcement? This is Rhode Island, so less than 24 hours. Both spoke at the East Greenwich Democratic Town Committee on Wednesday.
4. BYE-BYE HASBRO: The fate of Hasbro’s time in Rhode Island was sealed when Chris Cocks became the company’s CEO in 2022. That followed the 2021 death from cancer of Brian Goldner, who had stronger ties to former Gov. Gina Raimondo. Cocks didn’t have any love for Rhode Island and efforts to keep the iconic company in the Ocean State — including a $1 offer for riverfront land in Providence — proved in vain. Adding insult to injury, Bay State leaders began pursuing Hasbro around the time when efforts to keep the PawSox here broke down, as Globe business columnist Jon Chesto notes. Boston’s economic star continues to rise, and the attraction is understandable for someone like Cocks. But losing hundreds of jobs is a big bummer for Pawtucket and Rhode Island as a whole, even if the ongoing conversion of more mills into housing offers a bit of a silver lining for Samuel Slater’s old hangout.
5. A MODEST (LG) PROPOSAL: After running an aggressive effort against Gov. McKee, Republican Ashley Kalus lost to the Democrat on a 57.9% to 38.9% margin in 2022. Kalus has remained non-committal about her plans for 2026. Republicans have struggled to win the governor’s office in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in recent history. But voters in both states used to elect GOP governors, seemingly with the idea of countering Democratic-controlled legislatures. Rhode Island voters tend to put less stock in the lieutenant governor’s office, so perhaps that could be an appealing target for Kalus and a platform, maybe, for a run for higher office. She isn’t ruling an LG run out, telling me, “My passion is helping institutions enact public policy that improves lives. Titles don’t matter — service does. Sometimes the greatest service requires a title, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll serve wherever I can do the most good for Rhode Islanders.” Then again, Kalus likes Speaker Shekarchi, although she’s clearly not a fan of McKee or Helena Foulkes, so the appeal of an LG run may involve other factors.
6. GAMBLING MATTERS: In revenue-challenged Rhode Island, gambling has long been an important part of state revenue. But on the day when news emerged about Hasbro leaving, we also heard about problems with the mobile app for sports betting in Rhode Island.
7. TEAM HOFFMANN: Strategist and message guru Tad Devine is working with Keith Hoffmann’s campaign for attorney general. Hoffmann was formerly chief of policy for AG Peter Neronha. He’s part of a Democratic field expected to be joined relatively soon by House Judiciary Chair Robert Craven of North Kingstown and Rep. Jason Knight of Barrington. Also working on Hoffman’s bid: Tricia Kammerer as finance director, Harvard Law student Kaylah Paras on comms, sister Mariah Paras he;ping with graphic design/social media, Tom Kane doing coordination, Edward and Brendan Galvin on compliance, and Sue Bowler, a dear friend of Hoffmann’s mom, as all-star volunteer. It takes a village, right?
8. MEDIA NOTES:
1) More than a century of experience walked out of the Providence Journal on Monday when crackerjack reporter Tom Mooney (39 years), ace photographer Kris Craig (40 years) and sports copy editor Mark Castonguay (51 years) left via buyouts. These gents started their work when the statewide daily had a lot of swagger and a lot of employees. Mooney did a lot of great stories. One that sticks out for me came in 2011, about how a retirement board once dominated by unions compounded Providence’s pension woes. An unsigned response by Gannett Corporate Communications and Public Relations did not say whether anyone will be hired to make up for the losses; it said the company presented employees with what it called a “voluntary severance offer.”
2) Speaking of buyouts, those signing off from The Public’s Radio include afternoon host Dave Fallon and health reporter Lynn Arditi. Dave spent almost two decades with the station, as part of a 60-year broadcasting career in Providence and Boston. He plans to spend more time near salt water. Lynn filed her last story on the latest about the Covid vaccine. She joined us in 2017 after many years on the ProJo. “I’m grateful to my colleagues at the Providence Journal and The Public’s Radio who continue to do the critical work of covering local news during this challenging time,” Lynn told me. “I plan to continue to contribute to covering public health, so stay tuned!” Also leaving is Chief Content Officer Sally Eisele, who led our newsroom for roughly the last eight years. I’ll miss Sally’s wonderful smile, her sense of humor and her knack for making a long story better. A number of staffers at Rhode Island PBS are also taking buyouts, following a move by Congress to claw back previously allocated funding.
3) The parent of WJAR-TV, Channel 10, has bought the non-license operations for WLNE-TV, Channel 6, via Nancy Lavin at The Rhode Island Current. Channel 6 has struggled to compete with WJAR and WPRI for a long time. “Good grief! It happened again!!” Kelly Bates wrote on her Facebook page, attracting 712 comments. “A number of us ABC6 folks are now looking for work. If a resume crosses your desk from someone at ABC6, do yourself a favor and hire them. They are the finest humans I have worked with. They are resourceful beyond measure and dedicated to excellence. They are magic makers who can make so much happen with so little. It was an honor to work with them. It was a gift and a blessing to be part of the team.”
9. CITY HAUL: As state Rep. David Morales appears to edge closer to a run for mayor of Providence, you can learn all about him via my recent long-form interview.
10: REAL ROCK: I got to know artist and musician Brian Chippendale almost 25 years ago while reporting on the demise of the old mill building that housed the fabled live-work performance space Fort Thunder. Brian has a lot to say about music, his adopted hometown, Providence, Buddy Cianci and gentrification. Check out our longform interview here.
11. MARKET MADNESS: The Demoulas story — involving the control of a beloved supermarket chain based in Massachusetts — is so crazy that it’s hard not to believe it’s not happening in Rhode Island. The board of the company this week fired CEO Arthur T. Demoulas. Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos has focused on supermarkets as she gears up to seek re-election. Here’s part of her statement on the saga: “I am hopeful that, despite the change in leadership, Market Basket will not make the mistake of allowing private equity a foot in the door to harm the Rhode Islanders who shop and work at their stores. I am committed to bringing foods costs down in Rhode Island through my Fair Price Grocery Agenda, which would help local, independent groceries in our state compete on a level playing field with superstores. This saga also highlights the importance of succession planning for every business, big or small. Over half the businesses in our state are owned by a Rhode Islander over 55 years of age.6 We need to do more to support business owners in exploring their available paths to successfully exit a business without shuttering it or selling it to a billionaire, such as employee ownership.”
12 KICKER: Did you see where Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is talking about using state pension funds to buy a minority stake in the CT Sun, the WNBA team owned by the Mohegan Tribe? That sparked memories of how Buddy Cianci once schemed — “more fantasy than fact” — to buy his main journalistic nemesis, The Providence Journal, as I reported back in 2003. One version of the tale involved leveraging a large union pension fund. Ultimately, though, the concept proved more of a pipe dream than anything else.
