New MAGA merch

Why you let down your guard on ads when scrolling on social media

Don't click "BUY" until the following day

Matthew Pittman, University of Tennessee

Even a few seconds of scrolling will tire your brain
and make you more open to bold advertising claims.
Money Knack on Unsplash, CC BY

My wife stared at me in shock as I ripped opened the package. The FedEx driver hadn’t even made it back to his truck as I held the item up overhead like a trophy. Fumbling for words, she asked: “Why on earth did you buy a Speedo … with dinosaur tear-away trunks?”

Honestly, I couldn’t remember. Maybe it was for a social media skit? Maybe I was planning on making her laugh? Or maybe I was just a “victim” of an online ad that showed me the wrong message at the right time.

Scroll on social media for even 30 seconds, and your brain is already a little more tired than it was before. And in that mentally foggy state, you become more open to ads that just tell you what to buy – “The facts make it clear, we’re the best!” – than to ads that invite you to draw your own conclusion.

I’m a professor of advertising who has spent years studying how social media affects consumer behavior. And my recent research underscores how the mental tax of processing information, or “cognitive load,” changes the way people respond to product claims from brands.

President Lawson, Rep. Cotter bill to establish limits on grocery self-checkouts signed

Thank you, Megan!

Bill sponsors Senate President Valarie J. Lawson and Rep. Megan L. Cotter were joined by Governor Dan McKee for a ceremonial signing establishing limits on the use of self-checkout lanes at grocery stores in Rhode Island.

The legislation (2026-S 2342B, 2026-H 7290A) requires grocery stores with self-checkouts to have a minimum of one staffed checkout for every three self-checkouts operating, with at least one of the self-checkout stations meeting the accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It also requires that grocery store employees be relieved of all other duties, including operating a manual checkout station, while monitoring self-checkout stations.

President Lawson and Representative Cotter said they introduced the bill out of concern for those who work as cashiers, and for customers who struggle with frustrating self-checkout experiences, particularly elderly customers.

Definitely. Arrest Bezos

Get Fresh, Buy Local at RI Grown Farmers Markets

Love those fresh veggies!

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) kicks off the weekly 2026 RI Grown Farmers Market Season this weekend, running through early autumn. 

Starting this weekend, shoppers can visit the RI Grown farmers market at Goddard Memorial State Park, held every Friday from 9 AM – 1 PM through Oct. 9, or the RI Grown farmers market at Fishermen’s Memorial State Park, every Sunday from 8:30 AM to 12 PM through Oct. 11, for locally grown, fresh food. 

Early season offerings include plants, flowers, RI Seafood, spring vegetables, honey, and maple syrup. More vendors and summer crops will be added as the season progresses. 

Keep a lookout for the RI Grown label, which certifies that a product was grown right here in the Ocean State. Local is closer than you think – follow RI Grown on Facebook, on Instagram, and subscribe to our newsletter to find locally caught, grown, and made foods from RI farmers, fishers, and food producers.

Amazon drives up the prices you pay

Coercive Price Fixing

By Philip Mattera, director of the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First for the Dirt Diggers Digest

In its early days, Amazon.com cultivated a reputation for low prices, which helped put a lot of small booksellers out of business. That eventually gave way to a business model based on a wide product selection and speedy delivery. 

Its Prime subscription system was designed to make customers focus on the benefits of free shipping and overlook the fact that the prices of the products were not much of a bargain.

Now the giant e-retailer is facing allegations that it not only abandoned the low-cost approach but actually conspired to raise the prices charged on its own platform as well as those of its competitors.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta brought a price-fixing lawsuit against Amazon in February and has just provided new details of the alleged conspiracy in a motion filed in state court in San Francisco. 

The document claims that when a competing platform is offering a product at a price lower than it is charging, Amazon demands that the supplier intervene to get that price increased: “Vendors, cowed by Amazon’s overwhelming bargaining leverage and fearing punishment, comply—agreeing to raise prices on competitors’ websites (often with the awareness and cooperation of the competing retailer) or to remove products from competing websites altogether. The scheme is neither subtle nor complex. It is price fixing, and it should be immediately enjoined.”

The pressure exerted by Amazon is said to be a part of a system called Can’t Realize a Profit, or CRaP, in which it cuts off orders from suppliers that don’t comply with the company’s demands.

What is notable about the California AG’s motion is that it include details on specific vendors that were said to have gotten caught up in the price fixing. For example, it quotes an email from GlobalOne Pet Products, a producer of premium pet treats, to the big pet supplies website Chewy urging it to coordinate a price increase with Amazon.

Starting April 17, Amazon will add a 3.5% delivery charge to pay for increased fuel costs due to Trump’s Iran War.

Along with big price increases for gas, diesel and heating oil, Trump’s War Tax continues to grow

Brad Reed for Common Dreams

Americans having been paying more for gasoline since the start of Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran, and now it seems the war’s costs are spreading to other areas of the economy.

Amazon announced on Thursday that, beginning April 17, it would add a “3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge” to vendors that use its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service in the US and Canada.

The company said that it needed to add the surcharge due to “elevated costs in fulfillment and logistics” that “have increased the cost of operating across the industry.”

“We have absorbed these increased costs so far,” Amazon said. “However, similar to other major carriers, when costs remain elevated, we implement temporary surcharges on our fulfillment fees to recover a portion of the actual cost increases we are experiencing.”

Should Drug Companies Be Advertising to Consumers?

TV ads push consumer demand for prescription meds

Paula Span 

Tamar Abrams had a lousy couple of years in 2022 and ’23. Both her parents died; a relationship ended; she retired from communications consulting. She moved from Arlington, Virginia, to Warren, Rhode Island, where she knew all of two people.

“I was kind of a mess,” recalled Abrams, 69. Trying to cope, “I was eating myself into oblivion.” As her weight hit 270 pounds and her blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels climbed, “I knew I was in trouble health-wise.”

What came to mind? “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic!” — the tuneful ditty from television commercials that promoted the GLP-1 medication for diabetes. The ads also pointed out that patients who took it lost weight.

Abrams remembered the commercials as “joyful” and sometimes found herself humming the jingle. They depicted Ozempic-takers cooking omelets, repairing bikes, playing pickleball — “doing everyday activities, but with verve,” she said. “These people were enjoying the hell out of life.”

So, just as such ads often urge, even though she had never been diagnosed with diabetes, she asked her doctor if Ozempic was right for her.

Small wonder Abrams recalled those ads. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, spent an estimated $180 million in direct-to-consumer advertising in 2022 and $189 million in 2023, according to MediaRadar, which monitors advertising.

By last year, the sum — including radio and TV commercials, billboards, and print and digital ads — had reached an estimated $201 million, and total spending on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs topped $9 billion, by MediaRadar’s calculations.

Novo Nordisk declined to address those numbers.

Should it be legal to market drugs directly to potential patients? This controversy, which has simmered for decades, has begun receiving renewed attention from both the Trump administration and legislators.

URI natural resources faculty offer screen-free suggestions for an active new year

Make a resolution to engage more with the natural world

Kristen Curry

Lots of Boomer kids (like PC's editor) got these
for Christmas

As youth social media time remains a worldwide topic, faculty in the University of Rhode Island College of the Environment and Life Sciences offer some last-minute shopping suggestions for family activities or pastimes that get children — and their family members — off devices and out of the house.

Mindful gift planning can build science literacy and future scientists as well as offer connection and benefits for adults looking to minimize their own screen time in the year ahead, say faculty members, drawing on not only professional expertise, but also their off-campus roles as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

“There are a number of ways to encourage science interests in young people from an early age,” said Becky Sartini, the college’s associate dean. “We don’t have to wait for kids to be in high school to give them opportunities to try science or explore.”

Looking at the world around you

Scott McWilliams, professor of natural resources science, says a simple pair of binoculars is a great idea for a holiday gift. “It changes the way kids see the world and also makes them feel like a real birder,” he said.

McWilliams, an expert in birds and their migratory patterns, says the first foray into birding can start in one’s own backyard. He likes the bird feeders that come with a camera so children (“and adults that behave like kids”) can see their feathered friends up close. Likewise, he says a dissecting microscope can open up a whole new world for a young person. He also is a fan of collection display cases; future geologists might use them to store rocks — McWilliams’ grandson uses one for bugs. Bug boxes are fun to get or give, too.

Other gift suggestions from faculty include microscopes, mineral kits, a bird field guide, nature journal, a plant or tree ID guide, a lupe magnifying tool, nature notebook, or a plant press to start a dried plant collection (heavy books and old newspapers can also be used).

Michelle Peach, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Natural Resources Science, enjoyed many outdoor activities with her own children and says that nets make a fun gift for younger kids to catch insects or frogs. Children might also find the idea of a butterfly garden appealing, she says, and can learn about which plants attract butterflies by contacting the University’s Cooperative Extension Gardening Hotline at gardener@uri.edu.

Faculty members also suggested ways for Rhode Island families to be more active or set adventures in the year ahead that don’t require shopping.

The next time you buy from Amazon...

How To Have a Plastic-Free Holiday Season

Some suggestions

By Sonali Kolhatkar

Our world is awash in plastic. From single-use water bottles and food packaging to synthetic clothes, shoes, and even nail polish, our overreliance on plastic is spreading a toxic, chemical-laden material all over the planet — including in our own bodies.

Most Americans are sick of plastic use, but manufacturers continue to push the product on us. This holiday season, is it possible to have a plastic-free celebration?

There’s no substitute for systemic policy change to regulate plastic use, but individual actions on a mass scale can have an impact. They can also be a dinner table conversation, potentially spurring cultural shifts and inspiring local activism.

“None of us voted for more plastic,” says Judith Enck, founder and president of Beyond Plastics. Enck, who served as regional administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency in 2009, adds that “the reason we have so much plastic is because there is a glut of fracked gas on the market.”

Enck says it’s entirely possible to have a plastic-free holiday season. She suggests forgoing disposable dinnerware for your Christmas, Hannukah, or Kwanzaa meal. “You can rent glassware and plates and beautiful reusable tablecloths and napkins from local vendors,” she says.

Tariffs 101: What they are, who pays them, and why they matter now

Understanding Trump's new national sales tax

Kent Jones, Babson College

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing a case to determine whether Donald Trump’s global tariffs are legal.

Until recently, tariffs rarely made headlines. Yet today, they play a major role in U.S. economic policy, affecting the prices of everything from groceries to autos to holiday gifts, as well as the outlook for unemployment, inflation and even recession.

I’m an economist who studies trade policy, and I’ve found that many people have questions about tariffs. This primer explains what they are, what effects they have, and why governments impose them.

What are tariffs, and who pays them?

Tariffs are taxes on imports of goods, usually for purposes of protecting particular domestic industries from import competition. When an American business imports goods, U.S. Customs and Border Protection sends it a tariff bill that the company must pay before the merchandise can enter the country.

Because tariffs raise costs for U.S. importers, those companies usually pass the expense on to their customers by raising prices. Sometimes, importers choose to absorb part of the tariff’s cost so consumers don’t switch to more affordable competing products. However, firms with low profit margins may risk going out of business if they do that for very long. In general, the longer tariffs are in place, the more likely companies are to pass the costs on to customers.

HopArts for the holidays...that's REALLY buying local

Native art sale at Quonnie Grange, December 6

Charlestown Gallery opens doors for Charlestown Ramble

Special event prices

The Charlestown Gallery invites you to join us for the Annual Charlestown Holiday Ramble on Friday, December 5th from 3pm to 9pm and Saturday, December 6th between 10am and 7pm.  You can find us at 5000 South County Trail in Charlestown, Rhode Island. 

We have collected over 100 original art works priced at $500 and below for this event. You will not be disappointed.  Friday night raffle 50% off one original work of your choice (limit applies) and Saturday night raffle 1 free workshop of your choice.  Sip a hot beverage and mingle while you tackle some holiday shopping. Exquisite original paintings, sculptures, furniture, books, ornaments, jewelry, and pottery will make memorable gifts.  You might even find something for yourself if you dare.  

Chef Bryan Chavez Food Truck Curbside Creperie will be on site Friday and his Farm to Sandwich Truck on Saturday.  Gather around the fire pit while you meet the artists and your Charlestown neighbors while supporting small local artists and businesses this holiday season.  Make a lasting difference in our community.  

Holiday greens and help send kids to camp

Rhody grown: Real trees support local farmers

Tips and trends when picking out this year’s Christmas tree

Kristen Curry 

Local choices can have a big impact: Real trees support local farmers.

It’s that time: One of the particular joys of the season is heading outdoors to pick out a Christmas tree.

Some good news for tree shoppers this season: If you are buying from a big-box store or pop-up lot where the trees are likely shipped from Canada—live trees imported from our northern neighbor are exempt from tariffs.

However, a better option might be to buy local, advises URI forestry extension specialist Christopher Riely. He will be heading to a local tree farm to make his selection, keeping his decorative dollars in the local economy. Plus, it’s a magical experience.

“It can be a fun expedition to pick out a Rhody-grown tree,” says Riely.

Riely likes to vary the type of tree he puts up from year to year. He enjoys buying fresh-cut trees from local farms, and in recent years has been drawn to “character” trees that are far from the perfect conical shape but unique in appearance (and also offer a good value). Last year, he brought home a white fir.

Supporting Christmas tree farmers helps ensure the continued economic viability of local agriculture and reduces the likelihood that productive open space will be developed or converted for another use.

Who wins and who loses as the US retires the penny

It's a toss-up for consumers

Nancy Forster-Holt, University of Rhode Island

The Charlestown Citizens Alliance features
rusty pennies in its budget postings

By now, Americans know the strange math of minting: Each penny costs about 4 cents to make. Chances are you have some in a jar, or scattered among pockets, purses and car ashtrays.

As small as it is, the penny punches above its weight culturally. If it ever disappeared, so too might the simple kindness of “take a penny, leave a penny,” alongside timeless classics like penny loafers and the tradition of tossing a penny in a fountain.

But the penny’s days are indeed numbered. The U.S. Mint pressed the last 1-cent coin on Nov. 12, 2025, following a directive from the White House. While pennies will remain legal tender, old ones will gradually be taken out of circulation.

The impact of this change will reach beyond coin jars. Its ripples will be felt as small, cash-reliant Main Street merchants face another test of adaptability in a system that increasingly favors scale, technology and plastic. It will also be felt by people who rely on cash – often people without bank accounts who have the least room to absorb even tiny shifts in price.

My interest comes from my former lives as the chief financial officer of a large credit union and as a small-business owner. Now, I bridge theory and practice as a professor – or “prac-ademic,” as I like to say – studying the challenges facing Main Street businesses.

When the penny goes away, some will win, some will lose – and for some, it’ll be a coin toss.

Forget Black Friday

Bad toys!

Choking hazards, toxic resin and unfiltered AI teddy bears, oh my!

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current

(NY Public Interest Research Group)

A teddy bear. Colorful beads. A Disney princess jewelry kit.

They were displayed on a table at a downtown Providence shop Friday afternoon in a collection of popular toys families might be considering purchasing for their kids this holiday season. 

But they’re also among the most dangerous, according to the latest “Trouble in Toyland” report recently published by the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a Denver-based consumer rights nonprofit. 

It’s the 40th year the group has published its annual list of toys that could be dangerous to children, Henry Welch, a campaign associate for the Rhode Island chapter, told reporters gathered outside Craftland Friday afternoon.

In the past, Welch said the biggest dangers with toys were choking hazards and lead.

“A lot of the toys that we found that were dangerous are no longer available,” Welch said. “However, some of these dangers are still out there, including some toys that seemed like a dystopian science fiction of the past that are now available.”

Exhibit A among those dystopian toys is that teddy bear on the table. 

Sold for $99 by Singapore-based FoloToy, “Kumma Bear” uses OpenAI models to hold “both friendly chats and deep conversations to stimulate curiosity and learning,” according to its now-gone product page.

But the PIRG report found Kumma’s programming had very few guardrails in place.