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Rhode Map Live:Join us on Dec. 11 for a special live event in the ballroom of the Providence G about the future of the Rhode Island Foundation. You can register here. Providence is still searching for a new corporate sponsor for its downtown skating center, but it did attract – and reject – one high-profile offer:
The Cianci Educational Foundation.
That’s right. The nonprofit founded in the name of former Providence mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr. put in a bid for the naming rights to the skating rink for next five years. But the city turned down the offer of $200,000 over five years because it was below the $275,000 asking price.
Rick Simone, president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association and a longtime friend of the Cianci family, helped coordinate the bid. He noted that it was Cianci’s idea to build the skating rink.
Simone said the foundation would consider putting in another bid if the city decides to reduce the minimum bid.
The city has been searching for a new sponsor since BankNewport decided not to renew its naming rights. Previous sponsors have included Fleet, Bank of America, and Alex and Ani.
The rink offers some form of programming for 250 days a year, but skating and bumper cars on ice are its biggest draw, bringing in 50,000 customers each winter.
The bigger picture: The city is suddenly in need of cash wherever it can find it. Mayor Brett Smileythreatened a mid-year tax increase last week after a judge ruled that Providence owes millions of dollars to its school system. We’re expected to learn on Wednesday just how much the city owes.
Yes, but: The Cianci name is polarizing. Smiley literally ended his first campaign for mayor in 2014 and endorsed Jorge Elorza in a successful attempt to prevent Cianci from returning to City Hall. The mayor would likely face a lot of pushback from his East Side supporters if he allowed the skating rink to be named after a mayor who was twice forced to resign from office.
As for the Cianci foundation, it reported about $181,000 in assets as of June 2023, according to its most recent IRS filing. The foundation mostly gives out college scholarships and small donations to nonprofits.
🤔 So you think you're a Rhode Islander...
There's a fantastic documentary series on Max about which Brown University graduate who went on to found CNN? (You can find the answer below.)
Do you have the perfect question for Rhode Map readers? Don't forget to send the answer, too. Shoot me an email today.
The Globe in Rhode Island
⚓ Rhode Island FC will play for a USL championship in its first season, and fans are ecstatic. Read more.
⚓ With a $35 million overhaul of their five-story, Beaux-Arts-style theater underway, Trinity Rep leaders believe the company will be elevated to a new level — marked by what Artistic Director Curt Columbus calls “an incredibly broad reach and long-lasting impact.” Read more.
⚓ With New England’s lingering drought, there have been more than three dozen wildfires in Rhode Island since the start of October — more than nine times as many as last fall. Read more.
You can check out all of our coverage at Globe.com/RI
Also in the Globe
⚓ A Babe Ruth rookie card turned up after a Danvers yard sale. The memorabilia world is buzzing. Read more.
⚓ As Donald Trump prepares to take office in January, a new conservative higher education cognoscenti, espousing views long considered fringe by the liberal-leaning academic world, are ascendant. Read more.
⚓ It's still early in the season, but the Celtics have a big game tonight against the unbeaten Cavs. Read more.
⚓ The Newport School Committee is holding an organizational meeting to elect a new chairperson at its 5:30 p.m. meeting.
⚓ The state Board of Elections is holding its risk limiting audit of the 2024 general election at 9 a.m.
⚓ The East Providence City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Here's the agenda.
🏆 Pop quiz answer
Ted Turner graduated Brown in 1960.
RHODE ISLAND REPORT PODCAST Ed Fitzpatrick talks to Brown University student Khadija Nazari and Anne Sliney about a new nonprofit called Support for Afghan Girls’ Education (SAGE).
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