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“Ron & Jen’s Great Escape” 9-15-2021 – Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien
by Ron St. Pierre & Jen Brien
The Feds Want Big Bucks From “Little Buddy”
No, not Gilligan, the Skipper’s little buddy… that’s our nickname for disgraced former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia. The federal government has finished up totaling his tab and they want him to pony up more than half a million dollars he swindled and extorted from his victims. Correia must repay $566,740 he grabbed illegally from investors he duped in his SnowOwl smartphone app plus people he strong armed to open marijuana businesses in Fall River. Last May, Little Buddy was found guilty of 21 counts of wire fraud, tax fraud, extortion and conspiracy conducted both before and during his time as mayor. The second of this one-two punch combination comes September 20th when he’s sentenced. Of course, he’s filed an appeal.
Laying It on The Line
With the NFL season underway, lots of fans will be bummed out when their team loses and many of them will also be lighter in the wallet. The American Gaming Association says more than 45.2 million Americans, that’s 18% of the U.S adult population, will be placing bets on NFL action this season. 21.7 MILLION Americans will place causal bets with friends, an increase of 31% from last year while 19.5 million will do their betting online either legally or illegally, a whopping 73% increase from a year ago.
NFL Season Can Be Costly
Even if you don’t gamble the NFL season can be costly for fans. A Lending Tree survey finds 67% of Americans will spend $ on at least one item for the football season. Food and drink for game watching parties is tops at 26%, with 22% saying they’ll spend at least a thousand bucks during the season on NFL “stuff.”
Macy’s Parade Back to Normal?
Well, maybe the newer normal. The annual event was a “TV only event” last season but this year, the 95th celebration through the streets of New York City will return the cherished tradition closer to its original form. Of course, there will be COVID 19 safety guidelines with workers and volunteers showing proof of vaccination and masking up. Strict social distancing rules will be enforced on the crowd. NBC will broadcast the event Thursday, November 25th.
No Peaceful, Easy Feeling
49 years ago, last week (September 9th, 1972) Ron attended a concert at the Palace Concert Theatre (That’s PPAC now, folks). The headline group was Boston’s own J Geils Band. The warm-up band? A fledgling group from California… The Eagles. They were booed off. Go figure.
Check out all of Ron & Jen’s columns here: https://rinewstoday.com/ron-st-pierre-jen-brien/
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Ron St. Pierre is a veteran broadcaster whose career has spanned over four decades. Ron has programmed, performed on and managed WHJJ, WPRO, WWRX, 790 The Score in Providence, as well as WBZT and WKGR in West Palm Beach and WABC in New York City. Ron also anchored sports on WPRI Ch 12 in Providence. He is a member of both the Rhode Island Radio and Television and the City of Pawtucket Halls of Fame. He was born and raised in Pawtucket.
Jen Brien has over 20 years of radio broadcast experience having hosted shows on WPRO and WHJJ with Ron as well as her own shows on WRKO and WBZ in Boston, WXTK on Cape Cod and WHAM in Rochester, New York. Jen was born and raised in Woonsocket and served six years in the Army MP Canine Unit.
Hazel, Ron’s dog, makes regular appearances.
“Ron and Jen’s Great Escape” podcast, a more lighthearted reaction to the events happening around us, can be found on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts, with new episodes premiering Mondays and Wednesdays.