Subscribe!
In the News… a recap of news of the week, ending April 19th
RHODE ISLAND & VICINITY
Call & Times will switch from a newspaper with traditional home delivery to distribution by mail
Bishop Lewandowski is fluent in Spanish – and Portuguese
SafeWise named these cities/towns as RI’s safest, in order: Bristol – South Kingstown – Cumberland – North Kingstown -Smithfield
Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers and wheelchair athlete pioneer Bob Hall will serve as the grand marshals of the 2025 Boston Marathon
RWPZ Dinosaur animatronics are back until Aug 10th
Bryant Univ. Healthcare Summit will be held on May 2nd – “Transforming Healthcare Throughh AI: Innovation, Ethics and Impact
Primary care crisis in the Berkshires – said to be because young practitioners can’t afford to live in the area
A neighborhood in Rockport, MA is inundated by woodpeckers attacking car mirrors and glass – people are wrapping and covering those parts as best they can so they can’t see their reflection
Waterfire schedule announced
NicoBella’s announced its closing in downtown Providence, saying it is overwhelmed with debt after pandemic funding no longer happening – and that they “believed downtown Providence would come back”, but they say “during the week it is a ghost town” and people don’t want to spend money.
Pell Awards to honor Tina Fey
Newport Jazz Festival runs Aug. 1-3
New England Institute of Technology’s opened a new state-of-the-art welding training lab.
A man in a gas mask armed with pepper spray canisters stormed the lobby of a Massachusetts courthouse, struggled with a court officer, spraying him – he was them tackled by security with a stungun – he and the court officer were taken to the hospital after the court was evacuated
4 juveniles slashed adults who told them to quiet down at Warwick movie theater
Brookdale Sakonnet Bay and South Kingstown’s Brightview Commons each recognized as best for independent living in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Senior Living communities in the nation.
Harvard may lose its tax exemption for not agreeing to federal guidelines
Boston public schools will cancel bus transportation for students who don’t consistently attend and use the bus
Patients who have been treated at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton protested outside of the facility Wednesday to draw attention to staff’s continued use of electric shock devices,
Tidewater Landing will add 600 housing units, commercial space, and public amenities (300-unit building east of the Seekonk River, followed by a 250-unit building with commercial space on the west side)
Steamship Authority, which runs ferries among the Massachusetts mainland, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, will further explore alternatives to diesel-powered ferries, like electric-powered boats
2025 WaterFire schedule:
- Thursday, May 15 Starts at Sunset Lighting, Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge
- Saturday, May 31 Full Lighting
- Thursday, June 19 Partial Lighting, Waterplace Basin
- Friday, July 4 Full Lighting
- Thursday, July 17 Starts at Sunset Lighting, Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge
- Saturday, Aug. 9 Full Lighting
- Monday, Aug. 18 Partial Lighting, Waterplace Basin
- Saturday, Sept. 27 Full Lighting
- Saturday, Oct. 4 Full Lighting
- Thursday, Oct. 30 Starts at Sunset Lighting, Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge
- Saturday, Nov. 1 Full Lighting
- Wednesday, Dec. 31 Starts at Sunset Lighting, Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge.
Effective Jan. 1, 2026, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will stop covering a popular class of prescription drugs for weight loss, citing rapidly rising costs that are burdening insurers and employers.
The Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that the SNAP Connect pilot launched on April 21, 2025, for beneficiaries who live in Pawtucket. SNAP Connect is a new on-demand service that allows SNAP beneficiaries to choose the ideal date and time for their interviews, helping reduce wait times and better accommodate the schedules of customers.
Pat’s Italian leased a 5,000-square-foot lobby space at the former Wyndham Hotel in Warwick – the hotel will become “workforce” housing
Brandeis University has announced the launch of a transformational campus development project: a new state-of-the-art residence hall that will add 631 beds to the university’s housing portfolio.
Six recently reported cases of benign brain tumors among nurses at Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s fifth-floor maternity – investigation is expanding
Moving Rhode Island’s minimum security inmates into a segregated building within the state prison’s medium security by next January has been dropped because of projected high costs
The RI Lottery has put up new digital billboards that accommodate the higher winning amounts
Westerly construction blasting rocks in a quarry sent them flying into residential yards and homes
Former President Biden asks $300K for a speaking opportunity – and is having problems booking events
Monday is the 129th Boston Marathon
Warwick woman who died of a fentanyl laced marijuana incident in a local motel now determined to not be fentanyl – more investigation will take place to determine cause of death
Chick-fil-A will open another restaurant in Warwick
___
NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL
Most electronics will be excluded from tariffs – items such as phones, TVs, etc.
50,000 non-citizens are being removed from Arizona voter roles
NYC helicopter that crashed was said to have mechanical issues just week before
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro may undergo a new surgery, which would be his fifth since being stabbed while campaigning in 2018
Arson sets fire to PA Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home on the 1st night of Passover – damage to the home as the family was evacuated at 2am – a suspect is in custody
NY plane crash kills 6 – including members of Karenna Goff, 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year’s family
The Sanctuary city of Chicago canceled its annual Cinco de Mayo parade to protect all the criminal illegal aliens from being arrested and deported by Trump ICE raids.
Jelly Roll says he has lost 180 pounds
Pres. of El Salvador says the question about returning their citizen who the US deported there is preposterous and he won’t do it
Temporary head of the IRS – Gary Shapley – has been terminated
5.2 Earthquake in San Diego area – elephants at the zoo joined together in a protective circle
Forever stamp to go up to 78 cents
CNN reporter questions if US will become a “nation of cobblers” again, when discussing why sneakers should be made here in US
VP Vance drops Ohio State championship trophy at the White House when he picks it up and the 3 pieces had not been secured together
Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick and Dan Caldwell removed for leaking critical information
Nividia announced $500B investment to make all items here
American Airlines to offer free wi-fi on flights next year
Average age of homebuyers in America – 38
1 arrested at headquarters of United Healthcare for threatening behavior
NY AG Letitia James accused of mortgage fraud
Harvard says it will not comply with US demands to have funds begin again – $2B now frozen
NYC Helicopter Tours closes permanently
$24 billion is missing from the California homeless fund – IRS and FBI are assisting in an investigation
Shooting at Wilma Hutchins, a Texas high school – 4 injured, 3 were shot – shooter in custody – another shooting 1 year ago in the same school – school had metal detectors
Pres. Biden speaks for the first time about social security
Maryland Senator and others travel to El Salvador to try to retrieve the illegal immigrant
Starbucks requires baristas to wear a black top and black pants with their green apron
Panama City Beach, FL asking spring breakers not to come, may close down beach
Organ Donation Month is April
Burger King franchise with 57 stores in Florida and Georgia declared bankruptcy
UK Supreme Court defines woman as “based in biological sex”
Viola Davis gets a wax likeness at Trousseau gallery
Keystone Pipeline running again
At least 22,000 IRS workers have taken early retirement option
US Army will now control 60 miles of southern border as the govt takes off federal land for 3 years
Fyre Festival 2 postponed
Indy 500 grand marshal is Rob Gronkowski
Free tax filing service offered by IRS may be on the chopping block
Shooter on the campus on FSU – 2 killed, 6 injured. Shooter was son of a sheriff, using her old service weapon. He was also a school resource officer
US threatens to pull out of peace agreements between Ukraine and Russia if neither side is serious about an end to war
SCOTUS will decide on birthright citizenship
SCOTUS blocked, for now, the deportations of Venezuelans held in the Bluebonner Detenction Center in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law “until further order of the court”.
___
PASSINGS
Wink Martindale, 91, iconic game show host
Gretchen Dow Simpson, 86, RI based artist