Archive - News Article
March 28th, 2013
PROVIDENCE – You have probably received e-mails telling you that $1,000 or more is available to you today by making a phone call or clicking an Internet link. If you live in a low-income neighborhood, there may be a storefront nearby where similar “short-term” loans are offered.
So-called “payday lenders” offer you quick cash for emergencies or to help you make ends meet until your next paycheck. But that money comes at a high price.
March 27th
PAWTUCKET — A developer is proposing that the former St. Mary's School at 163 George St. and the adjacent brick building that once served as a convent be turned into an apartment complex, along with a new building to be constructed behind the two.
The city's Planning Commission recently held a public hearing on the proposal by I.D. Holdings LLC, whose principal owner is listed as Jeffrey Karll. Karll is a businessman and restauranteur who formerly operated the Cresta Ristorante in the Apex property on Main Street.
PAWTUCKET — Police are investigating an attempted bank robbery at the Bank of America at 1455 Newport Ave., which occurred at 11:30 Tuesday morning.
A male reportedly walked into the bank, gave the teller a note and attempted to rob the bank. The teller immediately stepped away from the bank window per bank procedure and the male fled the bank, police saod.
PAWTUCKET — A 24-year-old Providence man has been arrested as a suspect in the Monday night stabbing of a Pawtucket man.
On March 25, at around 7:30 p.m., Pawtucket Police responded to a report of a stabbing at an apartment on Darrow Street. When police arrived they found a male victim who was suffering from several stab wounds to his torso and neck area. The victim was identified as Shawn A. Whitfield, 42, of the Darrow Street address.
Whitfield was transported to Rhode Island Hospital where his injuries were determined to be not life threatening, Pawtucket Police said.
March 24th
Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien took part in the "Mayors for Wheels" meals delivery event on March 20 for Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island. Founded in 1969, Meals on Wheels delivers roughly 2,000 meals daily throughout the state to provide a reliable source of good nutrition and to help the elderly maintain a sense of independence. Pictured, from left, are Meals on Wheels volunteer Jeff Hartley, Fogarty Manor resident Roland Duffany, City Council President David Moran, and Mayor Grebien.
EAST PROVIDENCE — Get ready to celebrate the return of the herring to the Turner Reservoir.
The annual herring run at Hunts Mills Dam is expected to take place during the weekend of April 13-14 — at least that's the educated guess of expert Keith Gonsalves of the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, who has been invited to speak at the East Providence Historical Society's general meeting tonight at 7 in the Newman Church hall, Rumford.
March 23rd
PAWTUCKET — As Mayor Grebien is dealing with a pension funding crisis, contract negotiations, potholes, the budget and the numerous other pressing issues involved in operating a city, another well-known politician is watching, waiting, and all but confirming his desire to take on the top job.
CUMBERLAND – One day in 2002, Tonya Hurteau was working at her computer when she suddenly realized she couldn’t see.
“My eyes just kind of went black,” she recalls. “I was thinking somebody turned the lights out.”
No one did. She was blind – at least temporarily.
Doctors were able to restore her vision with powerful medication that left a taste in her mouth that reminded her of aluminum foil. But they also figured out the problem was merely a symptom of a much more serious malady. She was suffering from multiple sclerosis.
March 21st
Members of the Woonsocket Fire Department HazMat team are briefed by Central Falls Fire Chief Robert Bradley and members of the Central Falls Fire Department as an emergency situation unfolds in front of 428 Dexter St. in Central Falls Thursday afternoon.
PROVIDENCE — With the Senate the acknowledged battleground in the same-sex marriage debate this year, proponents and opponents started lining up at 9 a.m. Thursday for a Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled to start at about 5 p.m. By noon people were sitting on the floor along the wall in one long corridor in the Statehouse and the line already snaked around the corner.
PAWTUCKET — He's tackled such subjects as street people in New York City and three generations of Welfare recipients, and has done photo shoots with the likes of Henry Kissinger, Hilary Clinton, Norman Mailer and Bianca Jagger. Now, photojournalist Jesse Nemerofsky is focusing his lens on the city of Pawtucket.
March 20th
A lone horse grazes in the snow at Ballard's Farm in Lincoln after an overnight storm left a few inches.
Witnessing the investiture of Pope Francis at the Vatican was “one of the most exciting, moving, meaningful experiences I’ve ever had,” Congressman James Langevin said shortly after the rite ended on Tuesday.
PAWTUCKET — If it could be talked about in human terms, everyone involved acknowledges that the city's police and fire pension fund is sick...critical, in fact. And everyone is in agreement that life-saving measures must be taken. Yet, the way to go about restoring the plan to good health is being viewed differently by the various parties involved, although at some point, a consensus will have to be reached.
March 19th
Kayla Silva, of Zaccagnini's Pastry Shoppe at 546 Smithfield Ave. in Pawtucket, brings out another tray of fresh-made Zeppoles, which were selling like hot cakes on Saturday. They will be available through today — St. Joseph's Day. According to manager Rose Cabral, the store will sell 10,000 of the sweet custard treats. Zaccagnini's has another
location at 2339 Diamond Hill Rd. in Cumberland.
CUMBERLAND — The town council Wednesday will consider a resolution authorizing Mayor Daniel J. McKee to submit to the state a funding improvement plan for the town pension system. The council meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 45 Broad St.
The Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011 also requires that the town create a funding plan to improve the funded percentage of its pension fund to 60 percent within the next 20 years.
PAWTUCKET — As local apartment dwellers know all too well, the cost of renting these days is not in synch with the current job market, average wages and unemployment rate. According to a report released last week from the Low Income Housing Coalition, Rhode Island has the 17th highest rental costs in the U.S., which means that many renters, particularly those at the low end of the earning spectrum, are having difficulty finding affordable apartments.
March 17th
PAWTUCKET — The state Department of Transportation (RI DOT) will temporarily close Exit 27 (downtown) from I-95 southbound in Pawtucket for about six weeks beginning Monday.
This closure will allow for the demolition of the temporary exit ramp, as well as the transition to the permanent exit to downtown Pawtucket through the Pawtucket River Bridge Replacement Project.
Cumberland High School art students, from left, Lynn Nachampasak, Emily Feng and Lauren Riley copy a Monet painting of waterlilies onto the wall of the Art Department. Art teachers Betsy MacDonald and Lauren Scotto said they encouraged their students to do the painting as a way to promote art in the school. The three seniors are all accomplished artists and will leave a memorable work for their peers,
according to Scotto. The project has blossomed into creations of art in other areas of the school, including an Andy Warhol ‘Astronaut’ for a wall near the Science Department.
CUMBERLAND — On Friday, March 15, students at Cumberland High School had Aydan Nyberg in their hearts — and on their sleeves.
Aydan, an eight-year-old student of the Cumberland Hill Elementary School, has been battling cancer since age 3 and has inspired the high school to show support for him in a variety of ways, including wearing orange-colored clothing — because orange is his favorite color — and holding a number of fundraising projects.
