Fixing Access to Internet as Tech Usage Surges Among Seniors During Pandemic

Published in Pawtucket Times on May 10, 2021

Over a year where a global pandemic has significantly reduced social interaction, technology becomes more important than ever, especially for home bound seniors. A newly released 39-page report from the Washington, DC-based AARP found that more older adults (44 percent) view tech more positively as a way to stay connected than they did before COVID-19. The findings indicate that 4 out of 5 adults age 50 and over-relied on technology to stay connected and in contact with family and friends.

Yet, the researchers found that the greater adoption and reliance on technology is uneven because 15 percent of adults 50 and over do not have access to any type of internet, and 60 percent say the cost of high-speed internet is a problem.

Pandemic Increases Use of Technology

“Technology-enabled older adults to better weather the isolation of the pandemic, from ordering groceries to telehealth visits to connecting with loved ones,” said Alison Bryant, Senior Vice President of Research at AARP in an April 21 statement announcing the release of the report, 2021 Tech Trends and the 50+: Top 10 Big Trends. “But it also exacerbated the divide. So much more is done online, and the 38 million disconnected older adults are being further left out,” she says. 

The report’s findings indicate that annual tech spending by those age 50 and over exponentially increased – from $394 to $1144. The top three tech purchases were smartphones, smart TVs, and earbuds/Bluetooth headsets. 

According to the researchers, using technology to connect with family and friends across multiple forms of communication has increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many say they are using video chats (45 percent), texting (37 percent), emailing (26 percent), and phone (29 percent) more now than before the pandemic’s onset. As of 2019, about half had never even used video chat, but one year later they did. Seventy percent have, with 1 in 3 using video chat weekly. Tech use among the age 50 plus community increased particularly in wearable devices – from 17 percent to 27 percent.

The AARP study’s findings indicate that the older participant’s use of smartphones increased dramatically, especially among the homebound. For instance, use for ordering groceries grew from just 6 percent to 24 percent; use for personal health increased from 28 percent to 40 percent for activities like telehealth visits, ordering prescriptions, or even making appointments; use for health and fitness information increased 25 percent to 44 percent and use for financial transactions increased 37 percent to 53 percent.

Weekly use of streaming increased to 58 percent from 44 percent, a significant shift in how the 50+ consume entertainment says the researchers.

Although the study’s researchers also found that half of the age 50 plus wanted to learn more about using tech (54 percent), cost (38 percent), awareness/lack of knowledge (37 percent), and privacy concerns (34 percent) were the top self-reported barriers holding them back from adopting and using the new technology.  

“Privacy concerns continue to be a factor when it comes to using tech, with 83 percent lacking confidence that what they do online remains private,” says the researchers.   

Bringing U.S. Broadband Networks to Millions of Americans

According to Washington, DC-based Free Press, a nonprofit group that is part of the media reform or media democracy movement, more than 77 million Americans lack adequate internet service at home, either because they do not have access or can’t afford it.  

Because of the “stark digital divide,” a much a higher percentage of white families use home broadband internet than Black or Latino families. The ongoing pandemic clearly showed these disparities, particularly for students who struggled to connect while learning remotely, compounding learning loss and social isolation for those students.

Although Congress has already included $3.2 billion in emergency funding for broadband access in the 2021 COVID-19 Stimulus Bill this year, President Biden has called for more funding to increase access to the nation’s U.S. Broadband Networks. Biden recently unveiled the American Jobs Plan Act of 2021, a $ 2.3 trillion infrastructure package, which includes $100 billion in funding to build affordable, reliable high-speed broadband infrastructure throughout the nation to reach 100 percent coverage, as a goal. It would also ensure that all Americans have lower costs for the internet.

Biden’s proposal would build “future proof” broadband infrastructure in unserved (rural and tribal lands) and underserved areas to reach 100 percent high-speed broadband coverage. It calls for reducing the cost of broadband to allow anyone who wants high-quality and reliable broadband internet to afford it and to promote widespread adoption. It funds the building of high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach 100 percent coverage, bringing access to unserved and underserved areas across the nation. It would also promote price transparency and competition among internet providers. This would be accomplished by lifting barriers that prevent municipally owned or affiliated providers and rural electric co-ops from competing on an even playing field with private providers, and requiring internet providers to clearly disclose the prices they charge.

The internet item falls within a broader “infrastructure proposal”. Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline calls for the passage of Biden’s infrastructure proposal, stating: “I’m especially pleased that President Biden’s American Jobs Plan addresses some of our most pressing priorities here in Rhode Island. It will rebuild our national transportation infrastructure by modernizing 20,000 miles of roads and doubling federal support for public transit. It will put us on track towards a more sustainable future by electrifying our transportation system and building a network of half a million electric vehicle charging stations. It will ensure every American has access to clean drinking water by replacing lead service lines and pipes that still serve up to ten million homes in our country. It will double the number of registered apprenticeships so that more Americans can take advantage of the jobs this plan creates.” 

It’s Time to Seriously Negotiate

GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. and GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, along with members of their Caucuses, are united in their opposition to the passage of Biden’s infrastructure proposal. An insurmountable wedge was created by the bill’s expansive definition of infrastructure, to includes major funding investments for transportation, housing, eldercare workforce development, and access to broadband, to name a few. It even includes climate change policies, too. GOP lawmakers have a very narrow definition. Simply put, they say just include funding to fix roads, bridges, ports and waterways, and expanding broadband.  

Ultimately, another deal-breaker is how the costly legislative proposal is paid for. Biden calls for the costs to be offset by a corporate tax increase while Republicans see user fees such as road-related taxes and unspent COVID-19 relief funding, to cover costs.

Speaking recently at a press conference at the University of Louisville, McConnell said Democrats should expect “zero” support from the GOP for Biden’s big-ticket infrastructure and social spending proposal. He called on Democrats to support a Senate GOP counteroffer to Biden’s costly infrastructure proposal, costing a mere $568 billion (for roads and bridges, ports, waterways and expanded broadband).

There are many provisions of Biden’s American Jobs Plan of 2021 that both Republicans and Democrats agree on, including investing in roads, bridges, rail lines, ports electricity grid improvements, and increasing access to broadband. Biden says “he’s prepared to negotiate” the cost of the package and how it is paid for. 

So, it’s now time for McCarthy and McConnell to step up to the negotiating table to address their political and philosophical differences over Biden’s definition of infrastructure and funding.

It’s time to send a bipartisan infrastructure bill to Biden to sign.

·For more details about AARP’s Tech Study, go to https://press.aarp.org/2021-4-21-Tech-Usage-Among-Older-Adults-Skyrockets-During-Pandemic.

Cicilline Moves to Re-Establish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging

Published in RINewsToday on April 30, 2021

Congressman David Cicilline is poised to offer a resolution to re-establish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging, whose work came to an end in early January 1993, at the conclusion of the 102nd Congress.

The Washington, DC-based Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCAO), a coalition of 69 aging organization, has recently called on the House to support Cicilline’s measure when introduced, “which focuses on the well-being of America’s older population and is committed to representing their interests in the policy-making arena”.

“Now is the opportune time to reestablish the House Aging Committee,” says LCAO Chair, Max Richtman, who serves as President and CEO of the National Committee to Protect Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM), in an endorsement letter sent to the Rhode Island Congressman on March 30, 2021, detailing the graying of America. 

“Every day, 12,000 Americans turn 60. By 2030, nearly 75 million people in the U.S.—or 20 percent of the country—will be age 65 or older. As America grows older, the need for support and services provided under programs like Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act also increases,” he said, stressing the importance of this select committee.

The resolution to approve the House Aging Committee was passed on October 8, 1974, by a 299–44 margin in the House. Its legislative duties expired during the 103rd Congress, as the House leadership was under pressure to reduce its internal costs and to streamline the legislative process. Initially, the House panel had 35 members, but would later grow to 65 members.

Those opposing reauthorizing the House Aging Committee would say that its elimination would slash wasteful spending, after all, the chamber already had 12 standing committees with jurisdiction over aging issues. On the other hand, advocates warned that the staff of these committees did not have time to broadly examine aging issues as the select committee did.

In a March 31, 1993 article published in the St. Petersburg Times, reporter Rebecca H. Patterson reported that Staff Director Brian Lutz, of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Retirement Income and Employment, stated that “during its 18 years of existence the House Aging Committee had been responsible for about 1,000 hearings and reports.”

The Fourth Time “Hopefully” is the Charm…

Over 28 years after the House Democratic Leadership’s belt-tightening efforts to save $1.5 million resulted in the termination of the House Aging Committee, Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline is poised to reintroduce legislation to reestablish the House Aging panel, active from 1974 until 1993.

More than five years ago, Cicilline had introduced H. Res. 758 during the 114th Congress to reestablish the House Aging Committee. Rhode Island Congressman Langevin and 27 Democratic lawmakers out of 435 House members became cosponsors. But it caught the eye of the co-chairs of the Seniors Task Force (later renamed the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging & Families), Congresswomen Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The lawmakers also signed onto supporting this resolution.

Correspondence penned by Cicilline urged House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House GOP leadership to support House Res. 758. Ultimately, Ryan blocked the resolution from being considered and no legislative action was taken in the GOP-controlled House chamber. 

With House Speaker Ryan still retaining the control of the House during the 115th Congress, Cicilline’s H. Res.160 would not gain traction. At that time only 27 Democratic lawmakers stepped forward to become cosponsors, the resolution attracting no support from House GOP lawmakers.  

For the third time, during the 116th Congress, Cicilline would again introduce H. Res. 821 to reestablish the House Aging Committee. Even with the Democrats retaking the House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking control of the chamber’s legislative agenda, the resolution would not get a committee vote, again blocking it from reaching the floor for a vote.

During the 117th Congress, Cicilline is not taking “no” for an answer, and continues his push to bring back the House Aging Committee.  Once his resolution is thrown into the legislative hopper, it will be referred to the House Committee on Rules for mark-up and if passed will be considered by the full House. It’s expected to be just 245 words like the previous ones introduced during the last three Congresses.  

The Resolution: Short and Sweet

Cicilline’s resolution would reestablish a House Aging Committee without having legislative jurisdiction, this being no different than when the select committee previously existed. It would be authorized to conduct a continuing comprehensive study and review of aging issues, such as income maintenance, poverty, housing, health (including medical research), welfare, employment, education, recreation, and long-term care. These efforts impacted legislation taken up by standing committees.

According to the Congressional Research Service, it is relatively simple to create an ad hoc (temporary) select committee by approving a simple resolution that contains language establishing the committee—giving a purpose, defining membership, and detailing other issues that need to be address.  Salaries and expenses of standing committees, special and select, are authorized through the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill.

This resolution would also authorize the House Aging Committee to study the use of all practicable means and methods of encouraging the development of public and private programs and policies which will assist seniors in taking a full part in national life and which will encourage the utilization of the knowledge, skills, special aptitudes, and abilities of seniors to contribute to a better quality of life for all Americans.

It would also allow the House Aging Committee to develop policies that would encourage the coordination of both governmental and private programs designed to deal with problems of aging and to review any recommendations made by the President or by the White House Conference on Aging in relation to programs or policies affecting seniors.

“After a lifetime of working hard and playing by the rules, Rhode Island seniors should be able to enjoy their retirement years with dignity and peace of mind. Re-establishing the House Aging Committee will help make this goal a reality. From protecting Social Security and Medicare to lower the costs of housing and prescription drugs, this Committee will help ensure we can deliver better results for seniors here in Rhode Island and across America,” says Cicilline.

Looking Back

According to NCPSSM’s Richtman, who served as staff director for the Senate Special Committee on Aging from 1987 to 1989, the House Aging Committee historically served as a select committee that fostered bipartisan debate from various political and philosophical viewpoints to promote political consensus that, in turn, impacted the legislation that was taken up in authorizing committees. This select committee would have an opportunity to more fully explore a range of aging issues and innovations that cross Committee jurisdiction, while holding field hearings, convening remote hearings, engaging communities and promoting understanding and dialogue.

While seeing the value of the House Aging Committee, Richtman speculates that regardless of which party is in the majority, the challenge of re-establishing the select committee is that the Legislative Branch appropriation would require that existing House standing committees forgo some funding and staff to create a budget and staff for the Aging Committee. Given that the Aging Committee could have no legislative jurisdiction; the authorizing committees would not lose legislative power.

Robert Blancato, president of Matz, Blancato, and Associates, who was the longest-serving staff person on the original House Aging Committee, from 1977 to 1993, sees the need to bring back the House Aging Committee. “It provided a deeper examination of issues affecting older adults through hearings, investigations, and reports. Every member of the committee was also a member of a standing committee and could take their expertise to into that work,” he noted.

Blancato, who served with three chairs — Will Randall (D-MO), Claude Pepper (D-FL) and Edward Roybal (D-CA), warns that a “floodgate problem” may well derail Cicilline’s efforts to get his resolution passed. “You create one and there will be pressure to create more,” says Blancato. But, bringing back the House Aging Committee is extremely important because there is no “stated expertise in any current standing committee [to investigate] on aging issues,” he adds.

America’s aging population warrants reestablishing the House Aging Committee, says Professor Fernando Torres-Gil, M.S.W., Ph.D., Social Welfare and Public Policy Director, Center for Policy Research on Aging at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. “By 2029, all 80-plus individuals born between l946 and l964 will be 65 years of age and over. These so-called “aging baby boomers” will create challenges and opportunities that the Congress must examine, understand and respond to with legislation, oversight and partnerships with government, stakeholders and advocates,” says Torres Gill, who served as the select committee’s staff director from 1985 to 1987.

Under the Chairmanship of Congressmen Roybal and the partnership with the ranking minority member, Congressman Rinaldi (R-TX), Torres-Gil saw first-hand the tremendous influence that this select committee had on influencing and motivating House members to promote thoughtful responses to the needs of older Americans, “It served as one of the few venues for bi-partisanship and long-term planning on complex issues facing older persons,” he stated.

According to Torres-Gil, the complexities of an aging society will increase given the pandemic, the growing voices of immigrants, ethnic and minority groups and the challenges for ensuring the financial viability of legacy entitlement programs: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Older Americans Act.  “Now is the time to bring back this vital congressional “thought leader” on legislative action for the aging and diversity of the United States,” he says.

To illustrate the importance of the House Aging Committee, Bill Benson, Staff Director of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests from 1987 to 1990, (chaired by Congressmen Don Bonker (D-WA) and later James Florio (D-NJ), points to his subcommittee’s work on housing issues. “Both before, during, and after my tenure with the subcommittee, we were able to dig deeply into a multitude of significant housing-related programs and problems facing older Americans. During my tenure alone we conducted at least a dozen hearings just on housing, addressing affordability, quality and appropriateness, contributing significantly to legislative action,” he said.

“I am certain that in just that over two-year period we held far more hearings on housing and aging than have been conducted, in total, in the nearly three decades since. During this interum, there has been almost no congressional attention to housing for the elderly. It is no surprise that today we see homelessness among older adults increasing rapidly, among many other housing problems facing older Americans,” adds Benson, stressing that resurrecting the House Aging Committee is crucial to housing policy for the elderly, along with so many other crucial issues.

The Amazing Legacy of Fiery Senior Advocate Claude Pepper

Kathleen Gardner served as Claude Pepper’s staff director of the Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care, from 1984 until his death in 1989, and continued to serve Pepper’s successor, Edward Roybal, until the House Aging Committee was abolished.  She was the last surviving member of the Subcommittee, boxing up and archiving its papers for delivery to the Tallahassee, Florida-based Claude Pepper Foundation.   

According to Gardner, few know that it was Pepper who was largely responsible for sponsoring or cosponsoring legislation to establish the majority of the Institutes of Health (including the National Heart and Cancer Institutes, the Deafness and Arthritis Institutes, the National Institute of Mental Health and six other Institutes). “One of his last legislative improvements to the National Institutes of Health was the establishment of the National Center for Biotechnology Information at the National Library of Medicine – without which the mapping of the human genome – which will unlock so many of the mysteries of disease — would not have been possible, she adds. 

Between 1982 to 1990, Melanie Modlin served as a Professional Staff Member for the full Committee and ultimately became Gardner’s Deputy Director for the Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care.  She remembered how the House Aging Committee investigated “Diploma mills,” by setting up its own diploma mill, then a phony accreditation to give the investigators credence.  The select committee also held one of the first hearings on Alzheimer’s disease, which was just beginning to become a household word. 

Modlin recalled that her Subcommittee was tasked with creating a universal health care bill. “Once more, Pepper and the House Aging Committee was a step ahead of the curve,” she says, noting that this debate has come back to Congress.

As newspapers in communities across the nation curtail or jettison their investigative teams, the House Aging Committee has a proven track record and reputation of investigating aging issues is a sound reason as to why the Select committee should be reactivated, says Modlin, especially with the rapid growth of America’s aging population.  

Robert S. Weiner, President, Robert Weiner Associates News, who was a close friend and confidant of Pepper, clearly knew the importance and impact of Pepper’s House Aging Committee on the daily quality of life of seniors. Weiner, who served as Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Health and Long-term care from 1975 to 1977 and Chief of Staff of the full Aging Committee, from 1976 to 1980, remembered, “I was thunderbolt struck when [GOP House Speaker] Newt Gingrich abolished the Aging Committee – the Senate wisely kept theirs.”

“Congressman Claude Pepper used the House Aging Committee as a force for the elderly. Bringing it back would be of immeasurable help regardless of which party has the White House in assuring the best health care programs possible, stopping any raiding of the Social Security Trust Fund, and protecting seniors,” says Weiner.

The House Aging Committee prodded Congress to act in abolishing forced retirement, investigating nursing home abuses, monitoring breast screening for older women, improving elderly housing, and bringing attention to elder abuse by publishing a number of reports, including “Elder Abuse: An Examination of a Hidden Problem and Elder Abuse: A National Disgrace,” and “Elder Abuse: A Decade of Shame and Inaction.” The Committee’s work would also lead to increased home care benefits for the aging and establishing research and care centers for Alzheimer’s Disease.

“One of the best known aging accomplishments of Claude Pepper was to end mandatory retirement by amending the Age Discrimination provision in the Employment Act, remembered Weiner, noting that this would get him the cover of Time Magazine with the tag line the “Spokesman for the Elderly.” 

Kentucky Fried Chicken King makes his mark

It was Pepper’s idea to bring in Col. Harland Sanders as a witness. Many still remember the 81-year-old Kentucky Fried Chicken King, wearing his trademark spotless white suit and black string tie, and testifying against mandatory retirement in federal jobs,” said Weiner, noting that a few years later it would end up also in the private sector, and the bill would pass 359 to 2 in the House and 89 to 10 in the Senate, with President Carter signing the bill despite strong opposition of the Business Roundtable and big labor, he said.

Weiner also noted that among the House Aging Committee’s other accomplishments under Pepper’s Chairmanship was legislation creating standards for supplemental insurance and holding hearings to expose cancer insurance duplication. “Witnesses were literally forced to wear paper bags over their heads to avoid harassment by the insurance companies. That legislation became law,” he said.

As a long-time Washington insider, Weiner sees the best avenue of bringing the House Aging Committee back from the dead is to get House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her leadership team, Congressmen Steny Hoyer (D-MD and James E. Clyburn (D-SC), to support Cicilline’s resolution.  “It’s not just a matter of ‘getting them to say ok – it’s using the right way to do it that works. While you can get groups to support your efforts to bring back the House Aging Committee, you must verbally make the case to House leadership,” says Weiner.  Looking back, “that’s how Pepper always did it – he’d pull people to a place on the floor and talk with them.”

“If he gets those three, or even one or two, and they tell the other two – done deal – it goes to the floor of the caucus for a vote,” notes Weiner.

In Summary…

Over thirty years after the death of Claude Pepper (D-FL) in 1989, no national advocate has emerged to take the place of the former Chairman of the House Aging Committee, who served as its chair for six years. As a result, House Democratic lawmakers and aging advocates are forced every new session of Congress to fend off proposals to cut aging programs, Social Security, and Medicare. 

Gardner believes that Cicilline’s efforts to reestablish this needed Select Committee would be a salute to Pepper, the nation’s most visible spokesperson for seniors, and more importantly to his desire to establish a “legislative voice” for our nation’s most vulnerable population – our senior citizens.”   

Hopefully House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will agree with Gardner’s assessment.  If only for the sake of the nation’s seniors.

For details about the Claude Pepper Foundation, go to https://claudepepperfoundation.org/about/claude-pepper-center/. 

Ron St. Pierre back on-air. “Ron & Jen’s Great Escape” A Positive Podcast

Published in RINewsToday on April 23, 2021

One might say his career has come full circle from its early beginnings on a small radio station in Woonsocket, to programming and performing on air at popular Rhode Island radio stations, to serving as a sports anchor on television, as well. A familiar morning voice to many listeners, this ‘seasoned pro’ was heard on the local airwaves for years in various capacities – but this past December that sound went silent. But a new venture is about to launch to bring Ron’s voice – and that of Jen Brien – back to his listeners.

The new podcast will be called “Ron and Jen’s Great Escape”, and it is set to launch on Monday, May 3rd. You can listen live on Facebook and wherever you get your podcast.  

Reflecting on his time in the past “pandemic” year, St Pierre reflects on how he had to move his radio show on WHJJ into his home, affectionately called “Chez St. Pierre”, with his yellow lab, Hazel, nearby. He would share the daily news and local happenings oftentimes flavored with some Rhode Island humor or memories, which made his style unique and comforting, subtly (or sometimes not so subtly), reminding us of days gone by. But on December 31, 2020, St. Pierre’s radio contract ended, and i-Heart Broadcasting chose not to renew.

After decades spent in the radio and television business, this seasoned pro knew this was an all-too-familiar story in the field. He used the time to think about his next steps and new mountains to climb, and set his sight on hosting a podcast. St. Pierre understood that with time being a valuable commodity and people becoming busier, podcasts are becoming extremely popular. Audio content, like radio, allowed the listener to multitask.

Brandastic, a media marketing company, estimates that since 2005, more than 700,000 podcasts have been created, with over 30 million episodes of content – most of them for free. They say about 24 percent of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast, with over 155 million people listening to a podcast every week.

St. Pierre says about the impact of podcasts,  “AdAge.com says that podcasts are able to engage listeners in a way that traditional media can’t. When podcasters speak in a listener’s ear, it feels as if they’re being spoken to more directly,” he said.

St. Pierre will host the newly created podcast with Woonsocket native and longtime good friend Jen Brien, who has co-hosted shows with him on both WPRO and WHJJ. Brien brings years of talk show hosting to the new podcast. She has hosted talk shows on WRKO and WBZ in Boston and Cape Cod’s WXTK.

“Our goal is to provide an escape from the negativity that can overtake conversation about the day’s hot topics…an escape from the banal repetition all too often associated with talk radio. Our goal is a positive approach to news and lifestyle topics with an infusion of humor across the board,” says St. Pierre.

Hosting a podcast will give St. Pierre greater flexibility with his time and give him more freedom and creativity, he says, noting that “Podcasters are by far, the most loyal and engaged audience of any medium out there.”

Over Four Decades of Achievements for St. Pierre

After 43 years in the radio business, St. Pierre, who grew up in the Darlington area of Pawtucket has been a longtime fixture in the Rhode Island broadcast community.

One of his proudest professional achievements was being inducted into the Rhode Island Radio and Television Hall of Fame in 2010.

In 2017, St. Pierre’s home town embraced his broadcasting accomplishments by inducting him into the Pawtucket Hall of Fame at the Pawtucket Armory Arts Center. This award was given to him for going “above and beyond” in his achievements as the Pawtucket Hall of Fame Committee recognized his outstanding contributions and by “shining a positive light on the community.”

Radio started early for St. Pierre, beginning while a student at Rhode Island College, where he learned the ropes of TV production as a weekend cameraman for WJAR TV10 in Providence. In 1977, he began his radio career at WNRI in Woonsocket. His first major position was as Program Director for 920 WHJJ AM from 1982 to 1988, now known as NewsRadio 920. He was also part of The WHJJ Morning Show at that time, eventually serving as Program Director for both 920 WHJJ AM and its sister station, 94 HJY FM during the last year of this tenure.

During his time at WHJJ, St Pierre literally helped revolutionize talk radio in Rhode Island in terms of listenership and ratings. He recruited then-Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci for his first stint as a talk-show host at this time, while working with other local radio stalwarts such as Sherm Strickhouser and Steve Kass. His unassuming, authentic style and natural quick wit were enjoyed daily by tens of thousands of radio listeners in Rhode Island and neighboring Southeastern New England.

In 1988, Cap Cities-ABC hired St. Pierre to “flip” 630 WPRO from a music station to a Newstalk format and take on WHJJ. WPRO passed WHJJ in the Newstalk radio war in less than a year. St. Pierre eventually rose from Program Director to President and General Manager.

In his “spare” time, St. Pierre served as a weekend sports anchor for WPRI TV-12. During the early and mid-1990s, he managed several stations in Providence, before taking a series of management positions in West Palm Beach and the legendary WABC in New York City. He returned to Rhode Island radio in 1997.

He had a highly successful on-air and program-management tenure at WPRO 630 AM, enabling the station to rise to the apex of listenership and ratings in our state’s highly competitive radio market. The station’s hosts at that time included the legendary Salty Brine, along with the return of Buddy Cianci to the airwaves — with whom he co-hosted a highly successful afternoon drive-time show.

 Memories from St. Raphael Academy

Anyone who knew St. Pierre during the days he attended Pawtucket-based Saint Raphael Academy were sure he would end up in the broadcasting business. With his personality, wit and intelligence, his peers believed he would most likely end up in front of a microphone.

“In his high school yearbook profile, at St. Raphael Academy in 1973, Ron said his life’s goal was to become a sportscaster. So that career in the broadcast was always in his mind, but he opened it up a lot wider than any of us could have imagined,” says Ron Fournier, an advertising copywriter, who has known St. Pierre for over 40 years. “Ron is a virtual encyclopedia of comedy who has studied all the greats — from the Marx Brothers to the present day,” Fournier added. “That’s where his quick wit comes from. On the air, you never know what kind of quip or one-liner is coming next. But you know it’ll be a classic in his trademark. tongue-in-cheek style of humor.”

St. Pierre lives in East Greenwich with his wife, Patti, and their dog, Hazel.