Month: September 2020

Jazz Insights: Billy Lipson

Providence’s Billy Lipson, born in 1911, was blessed with a terrific jazz singing voice. Billy sang with several large orchestras in greater Providence.His renditions often sounded like Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby. Billy had a loyal group of followers who regularly cheered him on, and many a local woman swooned over his romantic deliveries. His torch songs […]

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Ceremony Re-Reimagined: The Thayer Street hot spot gets even more creative

The “People’s Choice” winner of RI Food Fights Iced Coffee challenge came from an unexpected spot this year: Ceremony, a café on Thayer street best known for its tea ceremonies. When Ceremony first opened its doors, just before COVID struck Rhode Island, owner Michelle Cheng talked to Motif Magazine about her vision for her business […]

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The Scoop on French Onion Soup: We rounded up the best options on offer in PVD

The colder months are ahead, and nothing warms bodies like a steamy serving of French onion soup. So our French onion enthusiasts rounded up a variety of some of the yummiest choices around. We restricted our research to Providence restaurants that serve this tasty concoction year-round, though you can find it off-and-on in many other […]

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College Outbreaks Put RI on Travel Restriction Lists: A summary of the governor’s September 23 press conference

Governor Gina Raimondo, DOH director Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott and RIDE Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green gave the weekly COVID press briefing today at 1pm. Today’s data is as follows: There are 121 new cases of COVID-19 and 86 people are hospitalized. Nine are in intensive care units and five people are on ventilators. Hospitalizations are trending downward […]

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Tardy Tests: K-12 testing delay keeps teacher out of work

Natalie Andrus Fleming is a school psychologist based at the Asa Messer Elementary school in Providence. On Wednesday, September 16, the third day after schools partially reopened in Providence, one of two cities in RI that were not approved for full in-person reopening due to high COVID-19 rates, Fleming said she was directed to stop […]

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Strongmen by Ruth Ben-Ghiat: Book review

Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a rare example of the fortunate academic whose subject matter, through no actions of her own, becomes of intense public interest. What she spent a career studying was the rise of Benito Mussolini, the early 20th Century radical who subverted the institutions of democracy to turn Italy into a dictatorship – and […]

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In Providence: Trinity Rep

Last week, Trinity Repertory Company announced that it would not produce in-person theater until late next year. While all of us have watched the hoped-for timelines for live entertainment get pushed further and further back, many theater organizations are still anticipating a safe window in winter or spring to begin performances again. Other theaters around […]

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