Ocean State Media in Motion is our effort to tour all 39 cities and towns in Rhode Island. Our goal is to bring people together, spark thoughtful dialogue, and gather real insight that helps shape our reporting.
Last week, Ocean State Media staff were in Portsmouth. And one of the reporters on the ground was Pamela Watts. She hosts “The Bubblah,” our series where we check in on the water cooler conversation.
Interview highlights:
What did you hear when you talked to people in Portsmouth for “The Bubblah”?
You think the Washington Bridge is a headache? People there are just crazed by the work that’s going on on the Mount Hope Bridge. Here’s a major multi-million dollar construction project with repairs to the cables that suspend this bridge and also the road surface. So, essential stuff. But people say they’re being held hostage. They can’t get over the bridge. They can’t go out to Bristol, and people coming the other way to the East Bay and to Portsmouth are having a tough time if they’re commuting over the Mount Hope Bridge.
There’s also a free speech issue going on. It has to do with a man who has a beef with local government. He’s put up some very vulgar signs and symbols, and people are complaining that their children are seeing it, and people said, “We look away.” And we had other people say, “This is America. It’s freedom of speech. Let him do it. We just don’t have to look.”
The other interesting thing and fun thing that happened at the Sunset Cafe (in Portsmouth) was that it had a major moment with Jimmy Buffett. Only eight weeks before he died (in 2023), he wanted to play one more concert, and he just surprised them. He knew somebody in the band that was playing that day, and he came on during “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” and they said, “What would Jimmy Buffett do?” And he walked on stage and said, “I’d play a tune for you.” We talk to people who were actually there in that moment, and (on “The Bubblah”)you’ll find out more about what they’re doing to commemorate that moment.
Ocean State Media runs the five public access studios across the state, and one of them is in Portsmouth. What did you do at the PEG access studios, and later at an evening screening of clips from ‘Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast’?
So during the day, we hosted an open house, and we met with some great people who produce shows on the Portsmouth public access channel. And then at night we hosted a screening of clips from our ongoing TV series “Ocean State: Rhode Island’s Wild Coast.” It’s all about marine life in Rhode Island waters, and the screening there was just an engaging panel discussion with several coastal experts from our region. One of the big things that came out of that was that there is a campaign asking people to install rain gardens on their lawns. The idea is to filter rainwater before it hits the storm drains and then carries pollution into freshwater streams in Narragansett Bay. So there’s something that individuals can do to protect our critical waterways.
Where is Ocean State Media in Motion heading next?
We’ll be in Exeter in the middle of the month (May 19), and we’re going to have reporters fanning out all across town. So if you live in Exeter, just keep an eye out for where we’ll be, and come tell us what you think is important about your town. We are all ears. We are looking to tell your story.
