🌱 Local Chef To Compete Nationally + RI Liquor Stores Open NYD

Kathleen Stoddart
Updated ·4 min read
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Good morning, neighbors! It's me again, Kathleen Stoddart, your host of the Woonsocket Daily.

First, today's weather: Partly sunny. High: 35 Low: 29.

Your weather forecast for the week ahead: (Woonsocket Patch)

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. High 43, low 36

Wednesday: Cloudy, High 40, low 38

Thursday: Milder; a little p.m. rain, High 49, low 35

Here are the top five stories in Woonsocket today:

  1. Gary Marandola talks about how he got started as a social media star, making culinary videos with humor that’s as sharp as his steak knives. This Woonsocket resident has more than 1.6 million followers on the TikTok app. He operates on TikTok and Instagram under the handle garythebbqchef. Marandola pretty much uses the f-bomb in every sentence as he barks out recipe instructions to his followers. He's a high-energy, shaggy-bearded cook and takes the humor, chaos, and mess to the next level. Marandola will appear on the Jan. 2 premiere of the Fox network cooking contest hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey. Competitors want to be "the food world's newest superstar." Good luck to our own Woonsocket chef! (Woonsocket Call)

  2. With COVID cases rising in the state and the nation's coronavirus death toll topping 800,000, it’s clear that many families who are eligible for COVID funeral reimbursement, have yet to take advantage of the funeral benefit. To be eligible for reimbursement, death certificates for those who died after May 16, 2020, must indicate that the death was attributed to COVID-19. Many families may simply be unaware of the benefit. Expenses covered under the FEMA program include funeral services, cremation, and interment, as well as the costs for caskets or urns, burial plots or cremation niches, markers or headstones, transportation or transfer of remains, clergy or officiant services, and the use of funeral home equipment or staff up to $9,000. (Woonsocket Call)

  3. Rhode Islanders in need of the monoclonal antibody treatment are struggling to find appointments as COVID cases continue to surge. Monoclonal antibodies are an IV treatment that doctors say can lessen the symptoms of COVID-19. (ABC6)

  4. In an email accompanying a letter, Acting Executive Director Vasiliki Milios informed Michael Marcello his firm’s contract was being terminated “for the convenience of the Woonsocket Housing Authority.” The acting executive director has the authority to terminate any vendor contracts without approval from the board and should be free to operate without the board micromanaging procurement activities. Milios was appointed to the position in October after former Executive Director Robert Moreau and two other top officials at the agency were placed on leave pending the results of an investigation. With the investigation still ongoing, other board members said last Thursday they had expected Milios to keep the organization running without any major changes until the investigation is resolved. (Valley Breeze)

  5. New legislation that has passed may deliver a small boost for some Rhode Island businesses as they begin 2022. Effective in time for next weekend, Rhode Island liquor stores can now open on New Year's Day.(WJAR)

Today's Woonsocket Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013)

Today in Woonsocket: Make your returns, clean up the wrapping paper, eat leftovers, and get back to work (sigh).

From my notebook:

  • 2 New Woonsocket Houses For Sale:

    • 220 Knollwood Drive: Price: $319,900 Size: 1,554 sq. ft., 3 beds, and 1 bath

    • 20 Cold Spring Pl.: Price: $329,900 Size: 3,555 sq. ft, 5 beds, and 2 baths (Woonsocket Patch)

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You're officially in the loop for today! See you all tomorrow for another update.

This article originally appeared on the Woonsocket Patch