It’s that time of year when we start talking about dewpoints and the “mugginess” factor.  Dewpoints measure the amount of moisture in the atmosphere.  Generally, the higher the dewpoint, the more “sticky” it feels.  You will certainly notice the humidity today, especially because highs will reach the mid 80s inland.  On Sunday, the humidity will be much lower and it will feel much more refreshing.  The humidity creeps back up for Memorial Day on Monday.  A breakdown of the dewpoints is shown below.  Have a safe weekend! -Pete Mangione

Welcome to another edition of my weekend column. Keep sending your takes, tips and trial balloons to tnesi (at) wpri (dot) com and I may include them.

1. The politics of 38 Studios are getting complicated. Last week, Lincoln Chafee looked like the big winner – he was Rhode Island’s Cassandra, the one who tried and failed to warn his state off blowing $90 million on an ex-pitcher’s dreams of gaming glory. Now, though, tough questions are starting to be asked about whether Chafee made a bad situation even worse. The most damaging event was CVS executive Helena Foulkes‘ abrupt resignation from the EDC board on Thursday. Foulkes is one of the most respected business leaders in Rhode Island. She didn’t vote for the 38 Studios deal; Chafee himself put her on the board as his vice chair. (The governor is the chair.) Foulkes didn’t need to save face by fixing a botched deal she supported; the fact that she apparently had such significant disagreements with Chafee that she had to resign will make neutral parties more open to the criticisms of Treasurer Raimondo and others with an anti-Chafee axe to grind.

2. Raimondo, though, is walking a very fine line – claiming she’s above “politics as usual” while simultaneously using her political capital to not-so-subtly shift public blame from Carcieri, Schilling and Keith Stokes to Chafee. If she’s confident in her critique, she should just offer it forthrightly.

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By Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – 38 Studios defaulted on its agreement with Rhode Island for a second time this week when it laid off its entire work force without notifying the state government, Governor Chafee said Friday.

Read the rest of this story »

• Related: Ted Nesi talks 38 Studios on public radio’s “Marketplace” (May 25)

38 Studios isn’t the only organization having communication problems this week.

During a press conference on Friday, Governor Chafee told reporters his office organized a briefing on the company’s situation for the state’s four other general officers. He said the only general officer who didn’t send a staff member to the briefing was Treasurer Gina Raimondo.

That came as news to Raimondo’s spokeswoman, Joy Fox. ”We found out about yesterday’s general officers briefing from the media today,” she told WPRI.com on Friday night.

Last week Chafee’s office abruptly canceled a scheduled briefing for Raimondo after The Providence Journal previewed it, which led the governor’s spokeswoman to suggest the treasurer was only interested in “a press stunt.” Raimondo and Chafee are widely expected to square off in the 2014 gubernatorial race.

On Friday, though, Fox wasn’t taking the bait. “The treasurer’s office will continue to try to reschedule,” she said, declining to answer more questions.

Update: The governor’s team is just as surprised at what the treasurer’s office is saying.

“That’s obviously a mistake, since the treasurer and the governor spoke directly about a briefing to be held that day at a time to be determined,” Chafee spokeswoman Christine Hunsinger told WPRI.com on Friday night.

Chafee’s and Raimondo’s staff members spoke repeatedly in the late morning and early afternoon as they figured out what time the governor could hold the briefing, Hunsinger said. At one point they tentatively settled on 2:30 p.m., until it was found out that time didn’t work.

More phone calls followed, and the governor’s office finally told the treasurer’s office that the 38 Studios briefing would be held at 3 p.m. The treasurer’s office then informed the governor’s office that Raimondo could not attend at 3 p.m., Hunsinger said.

“The governor remains willing to brief the treasurer,” she added.

Good evening…

The weather feature we will be  watching this weekend is called a ” Stationary Front”.  It will be hovering around our area moving back and forth each day. The exact day to day position of this front will determine when and where showers and thunderstorms will develop for Sunday and Monday. Right now it still looks like there will be dry sunny periods both Sunday and Monday despite the shower risk…Below is what the weather map should look like…Tony Petrarca

Just some quick updates for now:

- 38 Studios is in default (again!) for not giving Rhode Island 30 days notice before the layoffs. It has 30 days to “cure the default” by taking other actions before it becomes an official event of default. The company is once again ineligible for state tax credits because it’s in default (if it was ever eligible at all).

- Communication between the state and 38 Studio still isn’t great but Jonathan Savage, the lawyer advising Chafee, was in touch with them last night and today.

- DLT Director Fogarty says a small number of 38 Studios workers have applied for jobless benefits. He expects most will find new jobs quickly. The Verge reported 38 Studios may have never sold their houses after they relocated.

- Governor Chafee suggested he wants a forensic audit of 38 Studios’ finances. He refuses to say what he’s doing to secure documents but says he has “confidence” nothing will happen to the paperwork.

- Chafee asked AFL-CIO’s George Nee to resign from EDC board; Nee refused. But Nee and two others’ terms already expired in February and Chafee says he won’t reappoint them. He’s talking to potential replacements.

- Projo reported that well connected local law firms profited from doing the 38 Studios bond deal in 2010.

- Chafee said he doesn’t think any laws were broken in the 38 Studios deal, but the governor also said he isn’t ruling anything out until he gets more information.

38 Studios' Salvatore, Todd McFarlane and Schilling

Curt Schilling isn’t talking about 38 Studios, but one of his collaborators is.

R.A. Salvatore, the veteran fantasy writer who helped create the world of Amalur and the storylines for 38 Studios’ games, has taken to the liberal website Daily Kos to defend the company and express regret that the public hasn’t seen “Project Copernicus,” the game 38 Studios was developing with a $75 million taxpayer-guarnateed loan.

“This game is much further along than is being reported – I wish I could show you some of it – and the environments, the animations and the game-play would blow you away,” Salvatore wrote.

“The things they were doing with music and ambient sound took the entire concept of sound in a video game to another level,” he said. “I could go on all night, but I’d probably get sued.” His comments were first reported by Eurogamer.

Salvatore is due to receive $1.46 million from 38 Studios in October under the terms of a consulting agreement he signed with the company in 2007, according to a bond disclosure notice obtained by WPRI.com. He is also eligible to earn up to $5 million in royalties from net receipts of “Reckoning” and other 38 Studios products.

(more…)

There hasn’t been much in the way of new developments surrounding 38 Studios so far today – watch our noon newscast report for updates. But we are working new tips as they come into the WPRI 12 newsroom.

WPRI.com will stream Governor Chafee’s 4:30 p.m. news conference live on our website if you want to watch.

Also, I just taped an interview with Kay Ryssdal for tonight’s edition of “Marketplace” about the 38 Studios situation. That will air locally at 6:30 p.m. on Rhode Island Public Radio; you can listen live here.

Elsewhere, read Alexander Sliwinski’s Joystiq editorial about how 38 Studios employees apparently had no idea what was coming just last week. For a very different view from what people may be saying here right now, read this from Forbes: “Don’t Let 38 Studios Sour You: Video Games Are Good for Your State’s Economy.” And Timothy Loew of the Massachusetts Digital Games Institute argues the Bay State needs to avoid schadenfreude.

The Memorial Day weekend is finally upon us!  Whoohoo!  And much like your family BBQ, this weekend’s weather will feature a variety of offerings that will sizzle, satisfy.. and, possibly at times, soak your way into the summer season.

Today will be similar to the last few days… low clouds, fog this morning, even a spotty shower… then some breaks of sun developing inland for this afternoon.

More fog is expected tonight into dawn tomorrow, but it should thin out by 9am for most areas.  The temperatures will soar ahead of an approaching cold front on Saturday.  Inland areas are expected to climb into the mid to upper 80s with just a touch of humidity.  At the beaches–it’s a banner day!!–mostly sunny and warm afternoon temperatures 75-80.  By far, Saturday is the pick of the weekend.

Saturday 3pm Temperature Futurecast

The first full lighting of the Waterfire Season should feature some spectacular weather… warm and dry with increasing clouds through the evening and night.

Waterfire Futurecast

The forecast is a little trickier for Sunday and Monday.  The same cold front that will approach on Saturday will wobble over New England on Sunday and Monday.  The front will act as a focus for some scattered showers and thunderstorms.  Most of them should be diurnally driven…. meaning popping up in the  late afternoon and early evening as we reach the maximun heating for the day.  If that’s the case, it would just be a brief interruption in your day from a passing storm.  Because of the extra clouds, wind shifts and position of the cold front the temperatures will be cooler than Saturday.

Weekend Futurecast

The wrinkle in the forecast is a potential mesoscale convective system (MCS)… hinted at by a few computer models.  An MCS is a large cluster of thunderstorms and rain.  If an MCS rides along the front then the “brief interruption” from a passing thunderstorm could become a several hours long washout.  I’m not ready to cancel any of my outdoor plans–but it is something I’ll be watching closely for Sunday into Monday.   

38 Studios laid off all its employees on Thursday, and in the subsequent coverage there’s been some confusion about how much cash the company actually got out of the $75 million loan Rhode Island’s EDC took out on its behalf. Here’s an outline of exactly when (and why) the EDC says it transferred the money to Curt Schilling and company.

• Nov. 2, 2010 … $10.9 million. “Upon delivery and the Date of Issuance of the Bonds AND after the date when [38 Studios], or a letter of credit bank selected by [38 Studios], presents reasonable documentary evidence to the [EDC] that the letter of credit required in connection with [38 Studios'] execution of that Lease dated Sept. 20, 2010 is to be issued subject only to the funding of a deposit account at such letter of credit.”

• Nov. 2, 2010 … $2.1 million. ”Collateralization for letter of credit that serves as the security deposit on Empire Street lease.”

(more…)

By Ted Nesi

Read the rest of this story »

I finally have a chance to sit and write. It’s been a busy week in the sports office with the Celtics allowing the 76ers to hang around like the annoying cousin you want to tell to get lost, but for some reason can’t muster up enough heart to inflict the necessary pain.

Speaking of hoops we taped our latest segment of our Hometown Hero Special. This month’s in studio guest is former St. Andrew’s star Joey Accaoui. He has instantly become one of my favorite Rhode Island athletes. Both of Joey’s parents are from Lebanon and he is candid about his experience playing for Sagesse in the Lebanese Basketball League. From how good the money is to the awesome living conditions to the religious tension in the stands, he is up front about how it is for an American making a living playing overseas.

I also had the opportunity to actually leave the office for a couple of hours last week. Dana Quigley was playing in a benefit tournament at Misquamicut and I wanted to see how the Champions Tour Pro is holding up. For those that don’t know, Dana’s son Devon was in a terrible car accident last winter and suffered brain injuries. It’s still too early in his recovery to tell how he’ll be affected long term but needless to say it’s been a long six months for the Quigley’s. Dana was emotional but happy to be on the golf course for a good cause. On a side note I had to laugh when Dana had this exchange with one of the guys in his group.

Guy: “How much ya wanna play for? $20 a hole?”

Dana: “$20? Sure”

Guy: “What’s your handicap?”

Dana: “Two, what’s yours?”

Guy: “18… how about $5 a hole?”

Somehow he didn’t know Dana was a former PGA golfer, classic.

I finally got around to touring the Sam Adams brewery in Boston. Good times had by all. I am not a huge fan of Sam Adams products (usually too hoppy for me) but the fresh Lager was quiet refreshing.

38 Studios laid off all its employees in Providence and Maryland this afternoon, several sources tell WPRI 12. Here is the text of the email the company sent workers:

The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary.

These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.

This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.

The company had 379 full-time employees at its two studios as of March 15. More details as they become available.

Update: Lots of live updates on my Twitter feed. I will have a complete, thorough article for you later tonight recapping everything that happened today with 38 Studios and the EDC. Check back tonight.

Update #2: Governor Chafee offered few major new details at his 5:30 press conference. For former 38 Studios employees, here’s where you apply for jobless benefits in Rhode Island.

A group of state lawmakers introduced a resolution on Thursday calling on Governor Chafee and the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s board of directors “to immediately release all records related to 38 Studios’ financial situation and its $75 million loan guarantee.”

The resolution [pdf] was put forward by state Reps. Charlene Lima, D-Cranston; Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich; Mary Messier, D-Pawtucket; Peter Palumbo, D-Cranston; and Lisa Tomasso, D-Coventry. The measure was referred to the House Finance Committee.

Larry Berman, a spokesman for House Speaker Gordon Fox, offered muted support for the move. “Speaker Fox shares Representative Lima’s concerns for the taxpayers in making the state-backed loan documents public as allowable under the open records’ laws,” Berman told WPRI.com.

The resolution’s text still lists Keith Stokes as the EDC’s executive director even though he resigned last week. It became public the same day Helena Foulkes, who was picked by Governor Chafee’s to serve as the EDC’s vice-chair, resigned from the board.

Governor Chafee, Treasurer Gina Raimondo and the state legislature’s top two Democrats have promised Moody’s Investors Service that state taxpayers will bail out investors who purchased bonds to finance 38 Studios, the rating agency disclosed Thursday.

“Gov. Chafee, Treasurer Raimondo, Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed and House Speaker Gordon Fox have recently expressed to us directly their support for the moral obligation commitment based on the state’s credit,” Moody’s analyst Marcia Van Wagner said in a research note.

Separately, Helen Foulkes announced her resignation as vice chair of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s board. Foulkes, a well-respected executive vice president at CVS Caremark, was put on the board by Chafee after she served on his transition team.

(more…)

Two more largely unknown subsidiaries that 38 Studios established are not incorporated in Rhode Island, casting further doubt on whether the company is eligible for millions of dollars in tax credits it needs from the state.

In November 2009, Curt Schilling’s embattled video game company apparently incorporated two limited liability companies under Delaware law, records show: Mercury Project LLC and Precision Jobs LLC. Neither company was registered in Rhode Island.

WPRI 12 reported Wednesday evening that 38 Studios’ failure to incorporate in Rhode Island could make it ineligible for more than $8 million in state tax credits it’s seeking to avoid insolvency. The governor’s office says officials are looking into the question of 38 Studios’ corporate residency.

(more…)

Curt Schilling has apparently confirmed the authenticity of leaked artwork from “Project Copernicus,” the game his company 38 Studios is developing with a $75 million loan guarantee from Rhode Island taxpayers.

“You guys deserve this” is the headline on a post put up Wednesday night on the fan site 38Watch.com by a user called AlynShir. “38 isn’t dead yet. …  Amalur is worth fighting for. Spread the fire.”

Schilling linked to AlynShir’s post on his Facebook and Twitter accounts just after noon on Thursday.

(more…)

Michael McDonald reports for Bloomberg News on pension woes in Providence and elsewhere:

It has been more than 20 years since Gilbert McLaughlin ran the fire department in Providence. Yet the former chief stands to be biggest loser as the capital of the smallest U.S. state flirts with insolvency.

McLaughlin hung up the phone when Bloomberg called him at his home in Warwick to ask about his pension. Also, I wonder where Paul Doughty learned McLaughlin will get more than $700,000 at age 100?

Curt Schilling will have at least a part-time job even if 38 Studios goes under.

ESPN hired Schilling as an analyst for its “Baseball Tonight” program in April 2010, at the same time that the former Red Sox ace was starting intensive talks with Rhode Island officials about moving his game company here in exchange for a $75 million loan guarantee.

Schilling has kept the ESPN job for the last two years while serving as 38 Studios’ chairman and recently began his third baseball season with the network. He is still an active “Baseball Tonight” analyst as of this week, ESPN spokesman Ben Cafardo told WPRI.com.

There’s been “no change in his status,” according to Cafardo. Schilling has also contributed to ESPN Radio and ESPNBoston.com since joining the network.

“While the look is different, the manner is the same,” Chad Finn, The Boston Globe’s sports media critic, wrote in March. “Schilling has opinions as always, he’s being compensated well for them, and he’s sure as heck going to share them.”

Schilling joined reporters on an ESPN call as recently as March 28 to preview the upcoming baseball season. Asked about 49-year-old Rockies pitcher Jamie Moyer’s longevity, Schilling said: “I could not be more impressed. You know, right now my life at 45, the challenge for me is getting out of bed in the morning.”

(photo: ESPN)

By Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – David Pontarelli, a Providence Department of Public Works administrator who was the focus of a Target 12 investigation, has been terminated by the city.

Read the rest of this story »

The fog horns were blowing this morning as locally dense fog rolled in from the coastal waters into much of RI… bringing visibilities below 1mile for the morning commute and leading to another murky start for much of the area.

Downtown Providence at 8:30am

Much like yesterday… conditions should improve as the day goes on… with fog thinning to a mix of hazy sun and clouds after 10am… especially in inland areas.  In fact, the view from Providence should look something like this for the afternoon:

Providence This Afternoon

At the coastline, a southeast wind will continue to bring humid and warmer air over the cooler ocean waters where the fog and low clouds may linger for much of the daye.  The temperatures may never make it out of the 60s.

Narragansett This Afternoon

Even if the skies do brighten a bit at the coast it will likely be short-lived…  Fog and low clouds will thicken again late evening and night… so tomorrow morning’s commute should look much like today’s.

.

By Ted Nesi

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Curt Schilling’s embattled video game company 38 Studios LLC could be ineligible for millions of dollars in state tax credits it desperately needs because the firm isn’t incorporated in Rhode Island, a requirement under state law.

Read the rest of this story »

Update: Curt Schilling took issue Wednesday night with Governor Chafee’s characterization of 38 Studios’ first game, “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,” as a flop. The governor made his comments at a news conference.

“I wanted to clear up some misinformation around 38 Studios first product, Reckoning,” Schilling wrote on Facebook around 9:20 p.m. “Sales of Reckoning OUTPERFORMED EA’s expectations and sold more than 1.2 million units in the game’s first 90 days in the market.” (EA is Electronic Arts, distributor of “Reckoning.”)

Joystiq reports 38 Studios employees haven’t been paid since May 1 and will lose health insurance Thursday.

Scott Kirsner, The Boston Globe’s well-sourced veteran innovation columnist, spoke with game industry executives and venture capitalists familiar with the industry to get a sense of what might happen next for 38 Studios. He came up with three main scenarios:

Scenario #1. A bigger game studio or media company comes in and offers to take the 38 Studios assets for nothing. They keep developing 38′s forthcoming game “Project Copernicus.” …

Scenario #2. Someone acquires 38 for their division in Maryland, formerly known as Big Huge Games, as well as the game that group launched earlier this year, “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.” … An acquirer in this scenario would probably get the assets related to “Copernicus,” but may or may not decide to invest in finishing that game. …

Scenario #3. … 38 eventually shuts down and files for bankruptcy, and sells its revenue-generating product, “Kingdoms of Amalur,” to another game company. Office furniture and computers get sold cheap, and it’s likely that “Copernicus” never sees the light of day.

Read the rest here. This quote that one VC gave Scott is particularly damning in view of how Governor Carcieri and Keith Stokes sold the idea locally: “You want a team that’s in a center of excellence that you can build around. Providence is a great place, but it’s just not there as far as game development.”

Additionally, check out CNET’s Jim Kerstetter explaining why the 38 Studios loan was always “tremendously risky” and lambasting Schilling for “hypocrisy on top of bad business.” And RIPR’s Ian Donnis reports that the fiasco is adding to the tension between Governor Chafee and Treasurer Raimondo.

Update: Appearing Wednesday on WPRO’s Dan Yorke program, Raimondo said she wants to avoid “politics as usual” but is pretty clearly trying to put the blame on Chafee.

“Six or eight months ago, if we had been brought in, perhaps we could have been helpful,” she said. “The time for panic was six to eight months ago.” (Six to eight months ago, of course, is when the State House was consumed by the pension debate Raimondo instigated.)

Raimondo also subtly shifted the blame from former Governor Carcieri, who pushed the deal through, to Chafee, who won office the day it was finalized. “I think the strategy here is a good strategy,” she said, referring to the EDC’s focus on innovative businesses. “What happened here was a failure of execution.”

Asked last Monday whether Raimondo’s office knew anything about what was happening with the 38 Studios deal, her spokeswoman emphasized that it was an EDC situation and that the treasurer had no involvement.

Two of 38 Studios’ top executives have apparently left the struggling company.

38 Studios CEO Jen MacLean, who’s been on maternity leave for the past two months, removed the title of chief executive from her LinkedIn profile on Wednesday and listed the date of her departure from the video game company as March.

John Blakely, 38 Studios’ senior vice president of product development, also revised his LinkedIn profile to show that he left the company this month, describing his work there in the past tense: “I was responsible for leading the 38 Studios development teams in Baltimore, MD and Providence, RI.”

MacLean and Blakely did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Blakely was still with the company as recently as Monday evening, when he joined Curt Schilling at a meeting of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation board to discuss the company’s cash crisis. He joined the firm in January.

(more…)

Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter tells Joystiq he’s not optimistic about how much money Rhode Island could raise by selling off 38 Studios’ intellectual property if the company goes under:

“Nobody is buying MMOs after Star Wars fizzled. I think value is low, probably $20 million or so,” Pachter said. “There is just no demand for game assets right now, as THQ proved when it tried to sell the Warhammer MMO. I think [Electronic Arts] could step in, since they are the publisher, so you might see some alternative way to get 38 some bridge financing.”

An Electronic Arts spokesman offered no indication to Joystiq that the company which distributed “Reckoning” is planning to step in as 38 Studios’ savior. On the other hand, Pachter’s comments are a reminder that Rhode Island won’t be stuck with nothing if 38 Studios collapses.

Principal and interest payments due on the 38 Studios bonds total $112.6 million through 2020. Subtract the $23.4 million set aside from the initial proceeds to pay the bonds, add another $20 million in proceeds from selling 38 Studios’ assets, and Rhode Island taxpayers’ total tab could be reduced to roughly $69.2 million.

More than half the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation board members who are now scrambling to save 38 Studios backed the $75 million loan guarantee for the company less than two years ago.

Seven of the 13 board members who took their seats during the Carcieri administration supported the former governor and his EDC executive director, Keith Stokes, when they proposed committing 60% of the loan resources in the new Job Creation Guaranty Program to Curt Schilling’s video game company.

The seven EDC directors currently serving who approved the 38 Studios deal are:

• Timothy Babineau, president and CEO of Rhode Island Hospital;
• David Dooley, president of the University of Rhode Island;
• Stephen Lane, chairman and chief venture officer of medical device firm Ximedica;
• George Nee, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO;
• J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, president of the Providence Performing Arts Center;
• Cheryl Watkins Snead, president and CEO of supply-chain manager Banneker Industries;
• and Dan Sullivan Jr., president and CEO of Collette Vacations.

Babineau missed the meeting and could not cast a vote, but he submitted a statement saying: “I believe that the time is now for Rhode Island and the EDC to take bold and decisive action to demonstrate its commitment to our knowledge economy. … 38 Studios presents such an opportunity. Hopefully it will be the first of many to come.”

An eighth EDC board holdover from the Carcieri administration – Karl Wadensten, president of industrial vibrator manufacturer VIBCO – was the only director who voted against approving the 38 Studios deal in 2010. The Senate voted to confirm them and Stokes in February 2010 in the wake of a critical report on the agency.

The directors serve staggered terms, with Dooley, Singleton and Snead appointed through February 2013 and Lane and Wadensten appointed through February 2014. The terms of Babineau, Nee and Sullivan expired last February, but Governor Chafee hasn’t nominated successors so they remain in place.

The Job Creation Guaranty Program authorizes the EDC board to approve up to $125 million in loan guarantees for companies with intangible assets. It now has $44.5 million available after the board approved guarantees for 38 Studios, NuLabel Technologies and The Corporate Marketplace, a spokeswoman said.

• Related: No hard feelings toward Chafee from EDC board (Nov. 3, 2010)

An earlier version of this story said Timothy Babineau voted in favor of the 38 Studios deal; Babineau missed the meeting and did not cast a vote but did submit a statement expressing support for the deal.

(photo: Sean Daly/WPRI)

Okay… so the weather won’t be the perfect today—no crystal clear blue skies, no ultra-dry air—but it will be an improvement over the last few days.  Clouds are already breaking for peeks of sun, temperatures this afternoon will climb into the 70s.. and any showers that develop should be spotty and brief. A front is stalled to our west and that will act as the focus for additional showers today… Notice on the second map  how the green–the predicted rain areas–in the northeast line up near the stalled front.

Surface Map TodayRainfall Today

The front will dissipate tonight as high pressure strengthens to our east.  Fog returns overnight with high humidity and mild temperatures.  Partial sun again on Thursday…. afternoon highs in the mid to upper 70s.

By Walt Buteau

PROVIDENCE, RI (WPRI) – Several applicants who said they were employed by 38 Studios attended a Providence recruiting event held by Turbine Inc., said to be the largest creator and operator of video games in New England.

Read the rest of this story »

And you thought Woonsocket had problems at the State House?

Last Thursday, the R.I. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution “supporting the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s efforts to develop as a free and independent nation.” House Speaker Gordon Fox himself was the lead sponsor and 33 Democrats and Republicans seconded the motion; nobody objected.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a breakaway region of Azerbaijan with a mostly Armenian population that experienced a brutal civil war in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan – a key U.S. military ally – wants the region back but Armenia isn’t budging, and peace talks are stalled.

Rhode Island has a sizable Armenian population, and Congressman David Cicilline is among the politicians who’ve taken an active interest in their concerns. But the Azerbaijani government is apparently less pleased with local lawmakers’ meddling.

(more…)

Good Evening…

Advection Fog??  Well the ingredients and process is simple. Take mild and very humid air and have it move over (advect) the cooler ocean waters. That humidity  is then chilled and condenses into low clouds and fog. This process will occur each late night and early morning thru Friday. Sometimes we see this on a warm, humid summer day while sipping a cool drink…but on a much smaller “micro” scale.  Take a cold glass of ice water and let it sit outside for a few minutes. The ice will start to cool the glass surface. Now as the humid air comes in contact with the cool glass surface, the air condenses into droplets of water on the outside of the glass.

Here is an example below of the same process, but on a much larger scale…the mild humid air passing over a colder surface (the ocean)…..Tony Petrarca