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In the News… updates on May 13, 2023
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
RI Child Advocate will investigate deaths in DCYF involvement in the past year
Sean Holley is now RI Equal Opportunity. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion director
Rhode Island Inno is now part of Providence Business First
Takeda Pharmaceutical, the state’s largest life sciences employer, will lay off 186 employees this summer in Cambridge, North Reading and Lexington.
Christmas Tree Shops’ locations at the Sagamore Bridge — yes, the big windmill one — and in Falmouth will close a
Farm Fresh Rhode Island received $812K to help streamline the processes allowing farms and farmers markets to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamp benefits, as well as Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
13% of Rhode Islanders receive SNAP
Guide to Newport here: https://www.flipsnack.com/discovernewport/newport-ri-destination-guide_2023/full-view.html
Sturdy Hospital is now Sturdy Health
Women & Infants Hospital will build a new birthing center for $40M
The RI Department of Human Services (DHS) has received approval to issue Summer P-EBT benefits to eligible children this summer. With USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approval of DHS’ Summer P-EBT plan, households will receive one lump sum issuance of $120 per eligible child for the months of July and August to help pay for nutritious meals when school is out of session. Students who were not eligible for free or reduced-priced meals through the NSLP but may be eligible now should complete a Meal Benefit application by June 30, 2023, to determine eligibility to receive Summer P-EBT. More info here: here.
For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. The grant provides more than $5 million over four years to New York University and Brown University to study two sites in New York City and one opening next year in Providence.Researchers hope to enroll 1,000 adult drug users to study the sites’ effects on overdoses, to estimate their costs and to gauge potential savings for the health care and criminal justice systems.
PVD Donuts has moved to Wickenden St.
Phase out sales of new gas-powered vehicles in RI by 2035. Here’s how they’ll do it.
Boots on the Ground set for May 26-29 at Fort Adams – by Operation Stand Down RI
Food Truck Fridays will be featured at Mulligan’s Island in Cranston from 4:30-8:30pm
90 homeless people will move from the Cranston St. Armory to the Motel 6 on Jefferson Blvd in Warwick, joining at least 50 others who have been there over the past year.
11th Hour Racing sailed into Newport as the winner of the 4th Leg of The Ocean Race
Pawtucket Police now wearing body cams
Drive arrested for DUI crashed into the Lincoln State Police barracks
NYC man, Begho, died from heat stroke complications after running his first marathon, the Providence ½ marathon last week. He had traveled to RI just to run the marathon. He was director of development for a film production company, Fat City.
A group of Rhode Island fishermen are preparing to sue state and federal agencies and a private wind developer over the construction of a 12-turbine offshore wind farm southeast of Block Island. They claim Orsted, which is co-developing the South Fork Wind Farm with Eversource Energy LLC, illegally expanded the no-fishing and no-travel zone in Rhode Island Sound around the area where it was laying cables last month.
There is an effort to have the Motel 6 sold to RI to be used as a homeless shelter permanently
Fulton St, Providence renamed Judge Selya Way
Zan, 3-year old Red Panda added to Roger Williams Park Zoo
Nirva LaFortune, who lost in her run for Providence city Council re-election is now the Executive Director of City Year.
Christopher Columbus statue purchased by Joe Paolino, Jr. will be installed for a Columbus Day unveiling at Johnston War Memorial Park in Johnston
Richard Charest, now head of BHDDH, was appointed by the Governor to head RI EOHHS
The Fisherman Advisory Board announces intent to sue the Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Orsted Offshore North America, and the Rhode Island Coastal Management Council for violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act relating to wind farms.
Operation Stand Down RI renovating a home in Woonsocket for female veterans in need
RI DCYF disclosed the near fatality of a 19-year-old youth on May 10th. The Department was active with the youth’s family at the time of the incident.
New England’s leading developer of offshore wind, Eversource Energy, is selling off its interests in the joint venture that is building massive power generation farms off the coasts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Long Island, saying they were “derisking the business.”
All colleges in RI are raising tuition except Rhode Island College
The Director of the National Sailing Hall of Fame and The Sailing Museum based in Newport is stepping down
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NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
At the Kentucky Derby, 4 horses died in the week ahead, then 5 horses pulled out the day of
COVID is now the 4th leading cause of death – with heart disease, cancer and injuries such as drug overdoses, motor vehicle fatalities and shootings taking higher rank. In 2020 and 2021, only heart disease and cancer were ahead of the coronavirus.
Rep. George Santos has been indicted on charges
Initial meeting between Speaker of the House & President was not fruitful, with the Speaker calling it a waste of time and the President going on national TV
Sen. Feinstein returned to the senate after being out for several months with shingles
Mammogram recommendations have been lowered from 50 to 40 for first mammogram and then every other year after that – ACS and ACR have recommended annually
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was this week
LinkedIn eliminates 716 jobs, closes China app
Because of restrictions on advertising, RI will come up $2 million short of the expected recreational marijuana revenue, with just enough to cover the $5.9 million startup costs.
RFK Jr. says the CIA was involved in the murder of his father
Mr. Lemon will now only open on the weekend.
Half-day Education Forum on May 17th. We look forward to sharing ideas and solutions to the most pressing issues affecting Rhode Island’s education system today. https://files.constantcontact.com/2a94b2d2301/3d6e7af4-b949-40cd-96c3-225e1e918c8c.pdf
The RI State Health Lab approved in RI, has yet to begin construction on the cleared land.
In 2016, 15% of women reported owning a gun, according to Gallup. That figure swelled to 22% in 2022.
New York Mayor Eric Adams is planning to bus asylum seekers from the NY city to upstate NY.
HS grad who got accepted at hundreds of colleges chooses… Cornell
600,000+ have had student loan debt forgiven if they have paid on time for 10 years and work in public service
Kroger moving weekly grocery store ads in newspapers to online (Fred Meyer, Ralph’s, etc.) – loss of millions in newspaper revenue – also impacts seniors, poor who may not have access to computer or smart phone
Buffets are up 125% in business as people are returning
At least 150K homeless are piled at the border in anticipation of lifting of Title 42.
Tucker Carlson has announced a new all-truth format or program will come to Twitter soon – he has been meeting with Elon Musk
MTV signs off the air permanently
A Petit Basset Griffon Vendean named Buddy Holly, won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Tucker Carlson says he will return with a show on Twitter
New Hampshire may be the only state not to have legalized marijuana
Wendy’s will test use of AI at drive-thrus
Opill, a new over-the-counter birth control pill may soon be available
LinkedIn to lay off 700 more
40-60 migrants per day in Boston seeking food and shelter, per Mayor Wu
Sen. Diane Feinstein returned to Congress in a wheelchair looking very frail
Bob Kraft announced that Tom Brady has been invited to come to the opening game of the Patriots
2 million Peloton bikes recalled
Judge strikes down age requirement of 18+ for purchase of guns
Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s veteran ad sales leader, has been named by Elon Musk as Twitter’s CEO
30 migrants have been bussed to Kamala Harris’ home in DC
Blood donors may now include gay and bisexual men and women in monogamous relationships under the same guidelines as all donors
Google will now place AI-generated search answers at the top of some search pages
Marine veteran, Daniel Penny, 24, who subdued, along with others, Jordan Neely, resulting in his death, was indicted and put in handcuffs prior to being arraigned on a charge of manslaughter
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PASSINGS
Heather Armstrong, 47, well known mommy blogger, Dooce, of suicide
Jaclyn Zeman, 70, famous for her role on “General Hospital” for more than 40 years has died of cancer