Friday, February 6th, 2026 | Edition #6
GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. Happy Friday! We are officially less than 48 hours away from the most sacred holiday on the American calendar — Super Bowl Sunday. Productivity is fake, diets are suspended, and every couch in America is about to clock hours and hours of overtime. At this point, the grocery stores are lawless and pizza delivery drivers are gearing up for combat. Let’s have ourselves a weekend.
Here's what's goin’ on in your city.
The Lead
The $50 Million Question
Well, that settles it. On Tuesday, Warwick voters gave a resounding "Nah" to an additional $50 million bond for the new Pilgrim and Toll Gate high schools by a margin of 57% to 43%. Final tally: 2,987 against, 2,239 in favor. Side note: There are nearly 70,000 voters on record in the city of Warwick, meaning around 8% of eligible city voters actually showed up to vote.
A rendering of the future Toll Gate High School campus prior to Tuesday’s vote
If you're just tuning in: voters approved a $350 million bond back in 2022 to build the schools, but construction costs ballooned — somewhere between $13 million and $23 million over budget, depending on who you ask. This additional $50 million bond was supposed to cover those sneaky inflation spikes and deck out the new schools with top-tier athletic digs—think tracks, courts, and lights that don't flicker like a bad horror movie.
Mayor Picozzi took to Facebook (as he always does) after all the votes were tallied: “While turnout was low, there were ample opportunities to vote, including early voting over multiple days. I respect the outcome of the election and the democratic process that brought us here.”
So what happens now? The schools get built. The athletic fields don't. Taxpayers protected their wallets. Kids lost their fields. Both sides have a point. But only in Warwick do we manage to build a brand-new high school and still leave the student-athletes practicing on a surface that looks like the moon.
The bottom line: Warwick's high school enrollment has been declining for years. Families are bouncing to Cranston, East Greenwich, charter schools — anywhere with newer facilities and programs that don't feel like a time capsule from 1987. Every student who leaves takes state funding with them — thousands of dollars per kid per year. That math gets ugly fast.
On the flip side, $50 million is $50 million. Property taxes in Warwick are already high enough to make your eyes water, and asking residents to pony up more during an economy that feels like it's held together with duct tape and good vibes isn't exactly a layup.
Either way, we might all agree that this whole thing smells like classic Warwick. Done once, but probably not done right…
Meanwhile in Apponaug….
Democracy, but make it dairy: a Warwick resident dressed as a “cash cow” protests the school bond in the Apponaug rotary
Yes, that’s a grown man dressed as a cow. A “Cash Cow,” in fact. In the days leading up to Tuesday's vote, one resident took his opposition to the next level — standing in the Apponaug rotary dressed in a full cow costume holding a sign that read "Picozzi thinks taxpayers are his cash cow." No word on whether the costume was rented or owned, but either way, that's commitment to the bit, and it seemingly worked out — and now that the bond didn’t pass, Mayor Picozzi might just have to install an even larger fleet of Robocop-style speed cameras around town to fund Pilgrim High School’s field goal posts.
Quahogs in the Frozen Section
Area E — the most productive quahogging grounds in the state located in the lower Providence River — officially opens to shellfishermen on Monday, February 9th. There's just one small problem: nobody can get to it.
The brutal cold snap has frozen over Warwick Cove, Apponaug Cove, East Greenwich Cove, and much of Greenwich Bay. Boats are stuck. Docks are iced in. And more than 150 quahoggers who make a living on the bay are watching their peak earning season slip away.
For now, the quahoggers wait. And the clams? They're just chilling. (Sorry.)
Super Bowl Countdown
The Pats take on the Seahawks at 6:30 p.m. on NBC — and Warwick has already done its part. The team flew out of T.F. Green on Sunday, where fans lined the airport fences in sub-zero temps to wave goodbye. CCRI culinary students got in on the action too, baking Drake Maye's wife's viral TikTok cookies (her "Bakemas" Candy Cane Chocolate Chip recipe) in a video cheering on the team. And if you still need snacks, Amore's Bakery on West Shore Road is stocked with Pats-themed cupcakes, cookies, and cakes.
Seattle is favored by 4.5 (too many!) points and the over/under on your uncle saying "they should run the ball more" is set at 5.5.
In Case You Missed It
✈️ Real ID Is Now Required to Fly: As of February 1st, your prior piece of personalized plastic is no good. All flying travelers need a Real ID (the one with the star) to get through airport security. Don't have one? You can use TSA's Confirm ID program at the checkpoint for $45 and about 15 minutes of your time. Only 69% of Rhode Island IDs are currently Real ID compliant — meaning roughly one-third of travelers are about to find out the hard way.
🦫Groundhog Day Results: PUNK-sutawney Phil emerged from his burrow at Gobbler's Knob on Monday and clocked his shadow under a crisp -3°F sky, and decreed six more weeks of winter hell. The only good that might come from it: 5 of the Patriots’ 6 Super Bowl victories in franchise history have occurred after Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow… at least he’s good for something…
🖋️Editor’s Note: Shoutout to the one eagle-eyed subscriber who DM'd about the glaring typo in our logo—To the other 99%: You’re like that friend that doesn’t tell you when there’s spinach in your teeth or a booger hanging from your schnoz. Or you’re just too nice to tell me I need to hire an editor. Don’t worry, logo is fixed!
Final Prediction: Patriots 23 | Seahawks 20
If that prediction is spot on, this newsletter subscription officially increases from Free-99 to $50 million so my future children have somewhere to spank Cranston Public Schools athletics. You’re welcome in advance.
That's it for today. Got a tip, an opinion, or a hunch on who’s winning Super Bowl MVP? Hit reply. See you Monday — Go Pats!
Stay warm, Warwick ☕
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