By Ted Nesi and Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Congressman David Cicilline holds a slim lead over his Democratic primary opponent Anthony Gemma with less than four months to go before voters will decide which man should face Republican Brendan Doherty, an exclusive WPRI 12 poll released Wednesday evening shows.

Read the rest of this story »

The new WPRI 12 poll in the 1st Congressional District’s Democratic primary we’re releasing at 6 p.m. surveyed precisely 302 likely Democratic primary voters. You might think that means our esteemed longtime pollster, Joe Fleming, made 302 phone calls to get his results.

But it took many more calls than that to get a representative sample of the district’s voters – more than 5,000 calls when all was said and done, according to Fleming. “You need the right age groups,” he said. “At the end of it, you may be asking for a male or somebody who’s 18 to 39″ – that is, the people hardest to track down.

That’s important because any poll’s results are only as reliable as the people who took the survey. It’s especially tricky with a primary, where only about 25% of registered voters turn out to the polls, he said.

Luckily for us, nobody in Rhode Island has more experience getting polls right than Joe Fleming. He’s been with WPRI 12 since 1984, and still recalls making waves with bygone surveys such as one that put DiPrete and Sundlun in a dead heat.

I’m betting the results dropping at 6 p.m. will cause a similar stir when we release it on TV and online.

• Related: Exclusive WPRI 12 Poll: GOP’s Doherty has big lead over Cicilline (Feb. 27)

By WPRI Staff

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Former Red Sox ace Curt Schilling pleaded for additional state assistance on Wednesday morning at an emergency meeting of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation called to discuss its $75 million loan guarantee for 38 Studios, his video-game company.

Read the rest of this story »

Update: The EDC released a statement this afternoon – here it is – along with this fact sheet (PDF):

The RIEDC Board of Directors met in closed session to receive a presentation from representatives of 38 Studios as to the company’s confidential financial status and projections. Members of the Board asked many probing questions of the company. After representatives from 38 Studios concluded their presentation, the Board then engaged in extended discussion of confidential financial information. The Board did not take any vote. The company still has the option to cure the existing default by paying the $1,125,000 guaranty fee that is past due. In the meantime, we will continue to talk with 38 Studios and develop additional information, and will resume the Board meeting at our regularly scheduled meeting on May 21. The members of the Board may not discuss the confidential information received and discussed today.

By Tim White and Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Anthony Gemma says he’s hiring Christopher Nocera, a former staffer to Buddy Cianci and Patrick Kennedy, as the campaign manager for his Democratic primary bid in Rhode Island’s 1st Congressional District.

“At this point we have hired some top staffers,” Gemma told WPRI.com on Wednesday. “Chris Nocera will be the campaign manager and that will be announced shortly with a couple of other staffers that we have.”

Nocera, who currently works for the Providence Water Supply Board, told WPRI.com he has not accepted the offer from Gemma yet but is “seriously considering it.” He said he’s known Gemma his whole life and thinks he’d “make a great congressman” but the candidate jumped the gun by revealing his plans.

Nocera, the brother of New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, worked for Kennedy when he was a Rhode Island state representative after managing his first General Assembly campaign in 1988. He later worked for the Cianci administration and in 2011 got a job with newly elected mayor Angel Taveras after working on his campaign.

Read the rest of this entry »

Another unsettled day is on the way today… with numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms this morning.  Those storms should work their way off shore… with, overall, drier skies this afternoon.  However, an addition spot shower or t’storm possible into this evening–mostly for areas northwest of Providence.  It’s going to be another mild and muggy day with highs inland near 70-75.  Clouds may break for a few peeks of hazy sun inland, but clouds should hold firm along the coast.  A cold front will work it’s way through New England late day… there’s some concern that strong or severe thunderstorms could develop along the front in parts of New England.  In fact, the Storm Prediction Center has interior New England under a “slight risk” for severe thunderstorms…. gusty winds are the biggest risk.

Thunderstorm Outlook Today

Probability of Severe Winds >50kt

The Storm Prediction Center even has a very slight risk for a tornado.

Tornado Probability

While southeastern New England is not considered to be in the “at risk” area for severe t’storms…. we’ll have to watch to see how any of those storms to our northwest progress as the track east… “if” the storms were able to maintain the strength, then another gusty thunderstorm would be possible–mainly NW RI this evening.  Most of our computer models show the storms fizzling as they head east towards sunset.  We’ll of course keep you updated!

Mayor Taveras at 38 Studios' HQ

It’s pretty clear at this point what happened to 38 Studios over the past two weeks that caused such consternation.

For some reason – likely a shortage of cash, though we don’t know for sure – 38 Studios failed to make a $1.125 million payment to the R.I. Economic Development Corporation that was due on May 1. That put the company in technical default of its bond agreement, sending the company scrambling to find other sources of funds.

As I explained Tuesday, the $1.125 million is an “Annual Guaranty Fee” (based on the percentage of the outstanding loan) that 38 Studios is supposed to pay the EDC annually on May 1. Based on EDC documents, it doesn’t look like the fee is to cover bond payments or anything like that; it’s just money the EDC gets to keep.

That raises the question of why the EDC is charging such a fee at all, and especially how it ever expected 38 Studios to have $1.125 million lying around before the game it’s funding has even been released. Startups are notoriously short of cash, almost by definition - they’re spending money but not making it (yet). Expecting 38 Studios to have more than $1 million available without “Copernicus” on sale was always a recipe for trouble.

Still, if 38 Studios has burned through all of the nearly $50 million it’s gotten from the $75 million loan without “Copernicus” anywhere near ready for release, it raises serious questions about whether the company is undercapitalized. Now the EDC board must decide if Rhode Island doubles down to salvage its original investment.

Update: Just before noon – three hours after the EDC board meeting began – Governor Chafee’s spokeswoman confirmed that the group was “ordering lunch and settling in.” Schilling and 38 Studios executives are at the meeting to brief them about the situation.

(photo: city of Providence)

For what it’s worth, at least one source thinks 38 Studios has sold more than a million copies of its first game.

VGChartz, a website that tracks industry sales, estimates “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” has sold 750,000 units in North America, 250,000 units in Europe and 120,000 units in the rest of the world outside Japan. As a comparison, NPD Group estimates “Reckoning” has sold at least 410,000 units in North America.

It would seem like good news for the cash-strapped studio if “Reckoning” sales are already above 1 million – but are VGChartz’s numbers reliable? The Boston Globe cited the site on Tuesday, but back in 2008 Gamasutra’s Simon Carless warned about serious problems with its methodology.

For the moment, then, caveat emptor on this statistic.

(h/t: Patrick Laverty)

• Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade were at their best again yesterday morning during the annual CVS Caremark Charity Classic pre-tourney press conference. Aside from the usual comic relief the two Rhode Island pro golfers announced another strong field. Truth is that this June is a really tough month for the PGA guys to get away so they stacked the women’s roster. I am personally looking forward to the chance to meet Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam. One of the most consistent golfers to ever pick up a club Annika also “gets” it when it comes to playing in a charity event. Expect her to be competitive while keeping it light for the fans and media
• The Ball for Action kick ball team held its first practice/scrimmage on Saturday. I hadn’t played in about 25 years so I was a bit rusty but I quickly picked up the concept of kicking a ball and running around the bases. Trust me it is no more complicated than that. Time will tell how we will do against many of the “pro’s” that are as dedicated to the PKL as Tom Brady is to the NFL. They kept saying things like “you couldn’t do that if we were playing Brooklyn rules” and “use the shelf” when describing how to catch the ball. We may struggle to win but my early goal is to make the all-star game (yes there is an all-star game)
• I want to say thank you to anyone that stops by The Cheap Seats for a quick read but I don’t want to hear it if you are a member of the grammar police. I write scripts for a living not novels. The great Ted Nesi has set high standards for this website so I can understand your frustration in my lack of writing skills. Just know that even as a man approaching his mid 50’s it’s still a work in progress for me.

Good Evening…

The jet stream is the storm track….a  river of air high up in the sky that circles the globe and determines our weather. The shape, location and strength of the jet is responsible for our day to day weather. The dips in the jet are called “troughs”.…the humps are called “ridges”. Usually in between the troughs and the ridges are where clouds and precipitation can be found….especially right near the trough. The map below is how the jet steam will set up next several days. Here in New England, this kind of jet structure promotes mild and dry weather and why I am forecasting nice conditions Thursday thru the weekend…….Tony Petrarca