Bradly VanDerStad

Rorschach State: Taking a look at gerry-meandering districts

Every ten years, the US Census Bureau is responsible for counting everyone in America. And every ten years, America’s cantankerous cartographers dust off their credentials and get their hands dirty creating house and senate district maps that are relatively even in population, so that no one representative in government has more constituents than their colleagues. […]

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Single, but Not Ready to Mingle: Why RI sucks for dating

It’s February, and we all know what that means: long walks down supermarket aisles filled with heart candies, liking your friends’ long tributes to their partners and engagement announcements on social media, and asking your Bumble Boo / Tinderella to make plans, realizing it’s Valentine’s Day, and rescheduling, because that would be weird.  Some of […]

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Playing on Thick Ice: Ocean State Curlers are a stone’s throw away

“Alright, so basically, curling is shuffleboard on ice,” Dave Rosler says. “If you’ve ever done a lunge, you’ll be great at curling. Also, if you’ve never done a lunge, you’ll be great at curling.”  Rosler is the President of the Ocean State Curling Club, and he’s giving his introductory talk at the club’s monthly “Learn […]

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Going Bananas for Bananagrams: a word game with special RI a-peel

When Rhode Islanders think of a local game company, they think of Hasbro. But there are other Providence-based game companies that have ripened to international stature. That’s right, we are talking Bananagrams.  “Bananagrams stemmed from my family’s passion for games,” said Rena Nathanson, CEO & Co-Inventor. “At the time we developed it, in the mid-2000s, […]

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Still an RI Institution, Even After “Knock It Off”: Frog and Toad continues to impress

In 2001, Erin Piorek Schofield and Asher Schofield found some retail space on Hope Street in PVD which they made their own to pursue Erin’s dream of being an entrepreneur. They chose the name due to their childhood admiration for Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad books; the shop, they decided, should aim to mimic Lobel’s […]

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Big Trouble in Little Rhody: RI’s classic rivalry never tasted so good

Chip Samson, owner of Shaidzon Beer Co., is a huge fan of the URI Rams. Mike Delehanty, Operating Partner at Union Station Brewing, loves all things Providence, including the PC Friars. The two college basketball fans decided that they’d make a collaboration brew in whichever town hosted the matchup, and this year, on 12/4, the […]

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Give the Gift of the Green Stuff: Jordan’s Jungle has great gifts for plant enthusiasts

Plant parents have one thing in common: They always get excited about adding more greenery to their collection. In a time when saving the environment is a top priority for so many Earth-conscious individuals, a plant is often the perfect gift.  Jordan’s Jungle in Pawtucket describes itself as a 10,000-square-foot “tropical oasis for all plant […]

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