Neil Steinberg has resigned as the voluntary chairman of the Rhode Island Life Science Hub, as the fledgling sector seeks to build on initial successes in the state. While Rhode Island has long lagged Massachusetts in developing a life sciences sector, the effort took on more energy after becoming a priority of House Speaker Joe […]
Local
Posted inLocal, On Sports
Two Narragansett Boat Club crews win youth national championships
They came. They saw. They conquered. Never mind that they came from the smallest state and one of the smallest rowing centers in the nation. At the end of the day, having left some of America’s finest youth rowers in their wake, 10 young women from the Narragansett Boat Club in Providence stood atop the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, Metro Desk
Providence police explain their role in Sunday’s ICE arrest
After Providence police officers were filmed at the scene of an ICE arrest this weekend, the city’s police chief held a press conference on Monday to explain his department’s role in the incident. Col. Oscar Perez, the city’s police chief, said Providence police officers do not assist federal agents with immigration enforcement or share information […]
Posted inEducation, Local, Politics
R.I., Mass. among 25 states suing over Trump freeze in education funding
The attorneys general of Rhode Island and Massachusetts are among the plaintiffs charging that a Trump administration freeze on more than $6 billion in education funding is illegal. Without a detailed explanation, the U.S. Education Department on July 1 blocked the release of $6.8 billion in education grants for states. Twenty-three attorneys general and the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local, South Coast Bureau
9 dead, 30 injured after five-alarm fire at assisted living facility in Fall River
Nine people are dead and at least 30 injured after a five-alarm fire at an assisted living facility in Fall River on Sunday night, according to city officials. “This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a statement early Monday morning. […]
Posted inLocal, Politics, South Coast Bureau
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell announces ‘austerity measures’ in response to budget cuts
New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell announced a series of “austerity measures” on Friday. The moves are a response, he said, to the City Council recently cutting $10.2 million out of his proposed city budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Among the service reductions announced were a hiring freeze for non-public safety agencies for the first […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Local
Providence appeals decision to reinstate embattled police sergeant
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration asked a judge Thursday to allow the city to fire an embattled police sergeant who was filmed kicking and punching a handcuffed man five years ago. In June, a panel of law enforcement officers said Sgt. Joseph Hanley violated the city’s misconduct policy in the 2020 assault of Rishod Gore. […]
Posted inHealth, Labor, Local
Butler Hospital forced to close some psych units as strike grinds on
Two psychiatric units at Butler Hospital have temporarily closed as the strike at Rhode Island’s largest mental health facility grinds on, forcing patients to seek care in emergency rooms that struggle to provide the treatment they need. The hospital’s chief operating officer, Mary E. Marran, said the two-month strike has forced Butler to close about […]
Posted inBusiness, Local
Alan Hassenfeld, Rhode Island businessman and philanthropist, dies at 76
Rhode Island businessman and philanthropist Alan Hassenfeld has died at age 76. Hassenfeld spent 15 years as chief executive officer of Hasbro, the Pawtucket-based toymaker that was founded by his grandfather and grand-uncle. He later served as company chairman. Author and journalist G. Wayne Miller, who has written extensively about Hasbro over the years, says […]
Posted inLocal, Politics
Edward D. DiPrete, former governor of Rhode Island, dies at 91
Edward D. DiPrete, Rhode Island’s 70th governor and the first and only Rhode Island governor ever to go to jail, died this week. DiPrete had just celebrated his 91st birthday with family and friends. “He represented the end of an era,” said Philip West, the former executive director of the ethics watchdog Common Cause. West […]
