Friday, February 13th, 2026 | Edition #8
GOOD MORNING, WARWICK. It’s Friday, Friday, and if that song is now stuck in your head, you're welcome. Rebecca Black's gloriously chaotic banger, "Friday," turns 15 this week—which means we're all officially old enough to feel weird about it. The internet absolutely roasted the then-13-year-old when the video dropped, but joke's on us: the thing has racked up over 178 million views and cemented itself as one of the most quotable pieces of pop culture from the 2010s. Anyway, pour one out for anyone in Warwick named Rebecca Black. I’m sure they’ve been hearing the same joke since the Obama administration.
Here’s what’s goin’ on in the wack.
Happy Valentine’s Eve
If you haven't ordered the roses or grabbed a box of Sweenor's chocolates yet, you are officially 24 hours away from skating on extremely thin ice. Get your act together.
Valentine's Day has a way of separating the planners from the panickers. Based on local trends and extremely questionable accurate data, here's what tomorrow holds:
The vast majority of couples who previously declared "we're not really doing gifts this year" will panic-order flowers and pay the "you waited too long" surcharge at Stop & Shop
At least one proposal will take place at Oakland Beach in 34-degree weather. She'll say yes. The ring won't fit over her frozen, cracked winter hands. An argument will ensue. They'll end up at Iggy's splitting a cup of chowder in silence. By the time the clam cakes arrive, all will be forgiven
Restaurant owners around town will overhear at least one argument per location that begins with, "Wait… I thought you made the reservation."
CVS will sell out of cards by 3:00PM, leaving three desperate husbands staring at the "For My Granddaughter" section wondering if they can make it work
If you're reading this thinking "I'm not THAT guy"… you might be that guy.
Quorum? Never Met Her
Following last week's defeat of the $50 million bond to finish the city's two high schools, about 50 people packed into Tuesday's School Budget Review Commission meeting expecting answers. What they got instead? A canceled meeting. The reason: not enough commission members showed up to form a quorum. Again, typical Warwick outcome.
Still, School Committee Chairman Shaun Galligan addressed the crowd anyway, sharing that the administration and committee are close to finalizing a five-year deficit-reduction plan. The commission panel is nearly done with its work but is waiting on the schools to wrap up their FY2025 audit. The early numbers point to a roughly $5 million shortfall for last fiscal year, while this year's projected gap sits around $2.1 million — which Mayor Picozzi has said the city will cover.
The commission expects to meet again the week after next. Fingers crossed everyone checks their calendars this time.
Fields Dismissed
While the committees figure out how to make the math work on paper, actual construction is moving forward — slowly. Toll Gate is in decent shape with steel up and structure enclosed. Pilgrim? They bought the steel. That's… about it.
Oh, and they found contamination at the Pilgrim football field. Turns out the old cinder track from the 1980s was made with coal byproduct. Hot spots everywhere. If you've ever wondered why this newsletter isn't the sharpest, it's because the writer walked that track every day for four years. Currently Googling "can you detox from coal?"
Both schools will get football fields, but baseball diamonds, soccer fields, and tennis courts got axed to keep costs from spiraling. So if your kid plays anything other than football — figure it out, I guess. The projects are 20% complete, bids for the athletic fields expire in June, and if everything goes perfectly the final shortfall lands around $9 million.
Nobody's holding their breath. Especially not me. My lungs have been through enough.
Quahogs on Lockdown
The U.S. Coast Guard played hero this week, breaking a channel up Warwick Cove so local quahoggers could actually get to work. Unfortunately, the bay didn't get the memo.
Oakland Beach quahogger Jody King managed to move his boat to Pleasure Marina before the January 25th snowstorm and deep freeze, thinking he'd be back in business soon. Think again. King says it could be weeks before quahogging returns to normal — even if temps warm up — because there's still too much ice out there.
How bad is it? When Area E opened for shellfishing Monday, only six quahoggers made it out. That's Area E — the crown jewel of Narragansett Bay that produces about 60% of all quahogs harvested there. The 1,900-acre stretch north of Conimicut Point only reopened six years ago after being closed for 75 years, and now you can only work it one day a week from 8:00AM to 10:00AM. during winter. Two hours. One day. And this week, six guys.
The area opens again Monday — assuming it doesn't rain. Because apparently we can't catch a break.
Athletics Fields: DENIED | Bumper Cars: APPROVED
After Monday night's City Council meeting, Warwick is officially in the bumper car business.
Bumper cars are coming to Greenwood Credit Union Plaza Rink
The council voted 6-3 to drop $123,590 on 14 doughnut-shaped electric bumper cars for the Greenwood Credit Union City Hall Plaza rink. Why? Because Mayor Picozzi doesn't ice skate, and he really wants to get out there before winter ends. Chief of Staff William Facente called it "a very high priority for the mayor." We're not making this up.
The cars come from the only bumper car vendor in the country — Ice Bumper Cars International out of Colorado — and more than 70 rinks already have them. The city thinks they'll bring in $225,000 a year, though several council members called that math "miscalculated" since it doesn't account for maintenance, staff, electricity, or days when it's too cold to operate. You know, like most of this winter.
Speaking of timing: some residents pointed out that voters just rejected a $50 million school construction bond last week, making this an awkward moment to splurge on ice bumper cars. Councilman Rob Cote called the whole discussion "ludicrous." Finance Committee Chair Ed Ladouceur voted no, saying the timing is just wrong.
But hey, at least we finally found a socially acceptable way to ram into strangers in Apponaug. Bump away!
QUICK HITTERS
❄️ Winter Won’t Quit — If it feels like this snow has been here forever, that's because it basically has. According to WPRI, this is the second-longest stretch in Rhode Island history with more than 10 inches of snow on the ground — 18 straight days from January 25th through February 11th. Melting is technically underway, but these frigid temps are dragging it out. And with 38 more days of winter to go, don't expect to have your yard back anytime soon.
🐶 Puppy Problems — Speaking of yards: if your dog has been acting anxious or frantic trying to find a place to do their business, shovel them a little patch down to the grass. A puppy without a place to pop a squat in the yard is like a Dave's Marketplace regular staring at an empty coffee bar — confused, desperate, and about to make a scene.
⛸️ Cops on Ice — The Warwick Police Department is hosting its first-ever "Skating with a Cop" event at the Greenwood Credit Union City Hall Plaza Skating Rink on Presidents' Day, 10:30AM-1:30PM. Ice time is free, and skate rentals are free for kids 12 and under. If you need something to keep the kids busy during February vacation, or you just want to get on the po-po's good side before your next traffic stop, this one's for you.
One final thing — Pitchers and catchers reported this week. That means baseball is back, spring is coming, and this frozen hellscape we've been living in has an expiration date. Hold the line, Warwick. We're so close.
That's it for today. Got a tip, a complaint, or a story suggestion? Hit reply. See you Monday.
Stay warm, Warwick ☕
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