“Education is power.” It’s a phrase we hear often, but nowhere does it ring truer than in the realm of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Early detection isn’t just a medical advantage–it’s a pathway of ensuring the best quality of life and honoring a person’s wishes throughout the progression of the disease. It’s also about building […]
Environment & Health
Posted inEnvironment & Health, News
New England ocean warming slows but temperatures remain high
SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — The waters off New England had another warm year but didn’t heat up as fast as earlier this decade, bucking a trend of higher warming worldwide, said scientists who study the Atlantic Ocean near Maine. The Gulf of Maine, which touches three New England states and Canada, emerged as a test case for climate […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health, News
Department of Health: With flu and norovirus levels high, good health habits recommended
With rates of seasonal viruses, such as flu and norovirus, still elevated throughout Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is urging people to practice good health habits to help keep everyone healthy and safe. So far, more than 900 people in Rhode Island have been hospitalized with influenza this flu season, the […]
Posted inCity & Government
Department of Health unveils interactive map of lead drinking water pipes
As part of the process of replacing all lead service lines in Rhode Island’s public water systems by 2033, the Rhode Island Department of Health has launched a new, interactive map of drinking water service lines (pipes) in the state. This new dashboard shows if service lines are made of lead, non-lead, or unknown material. […]
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Helen Hames: Leadership Rhode Island Senior Fellows Program – Rethinking aging with possibility and purpose
In Rhode Island–and beyond–there exists a largely untapped group of individuals armed with life experience, wisdom and curiosity. These older adults offer a fresh perspective and potential to help tackle some big challenges we face at every stage of life. What if there were a dedicated outlet empowering them to examine, collaborate and solve some […]
Posted inCity & Government, Environment & Health
Jamestown to host workshop on sustainable beach design solutions
The University of Rhode Island is hosting a community workshop on sustainable design solutions for Mackerel Cove Beach and Sheffield Cove waterfront in Jamestown. The event, set for February 20, 2025, aims to get local residents’ input on ways to make the coast more resilient to climate change and storm damage. URI’s Landscape Architecture and […]
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Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about saying Covid was a lab accident
So we’ve had regime change, and the new party line is that Covid was a lab accident. The CIA, which may or may not have anybody working there by the time this is published, now says they think the Covid was caused by a lab leak — but that is a “low confidence” determination, which is bureaucratic-speak […]
Posted inCity & Government
Trump’s offshore wind energy freeze: What states lose if the executive order remains in place
Barbara Kates-Garnick, Tufts University A single wind turbine spinning off the U.S. Northeast coast today can power thousands of homes – without the pollution that comes from fossil fuel power plants. A dozen of those turbines together can produce enough electricity for an entire community. The opportunity to tap into such a powerful source of […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
A luxury house is close to tumbling into Cape Cod Bay. Will anyone stop it?
By ANDRE MUGGIATI Associated Press WELLFLEET, Mass. (AP) — The waters of Cape Cod Bay are coming for the big brown house perched on the edge of a sandy bluff high above the beach. It’s just a matter of when. Erosion has marched right up to the concrete footings of the multimillion-dollar home where it […]
Posted inCity & Government
Court restores protections for endangered whale species to prevent entanglement in fishing gear
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Commercial fishermen who hoped for a loosening of fishing regulations during President Donald Trump’s administration faced a setback when a federal appeals court reinstated rules meant to protect a dwindling whale species from getting entangled in fishing gear. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court’s decision […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health, News
Aging with Agency: Aquidneck Island Village empowering older adults
A literal light bulb moment occurred when, in her mid-50s, Mary Alice Smith of Newport, RI was living alone and attempted to change a lightbulb in a closet with a 10-foot-high ceiling. Balancing on a step stool, she hesitated. What had once been a simple task now felt uncertain. “If I wanted to remain in […]
Posted inCity & Government
State lawmakers are pushing for vaccine exemptions even as childhood vaccination rates fall
By SUSAN HAIGH and DEVI SHASTRI Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots. Many see a political opportunity to rewrite […]
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Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about answering the telephone
I’ve now tried twice to make an appointment for a colonoscopy with a gastroenterologist. I also had to call Blue Cross, got put on hold after having to enter a zillion numbers and pressing 2 for this and three for that, and then 25 minutes later got called back by a nice young human! These are the […]
Posted inCity & Government
DEM: Avian Flu detected in Rhode Island backyard flock
Rhode Island has confirmed a new case of avian flu in a domestic bird flock, the state’s second H5N1 infection in noncommercial birds since 2022. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) reports the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in a noncommercial farm flock in southern Washington County. To prevent the spread of the […]
Posted inCity & Government
Environmentalists say Trump’s energy order would subvert the Endangered Species Act
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Environmental groups concerned about loss of protections for vanishing animals see one of President Donald Trump’s early executive orders as a method of subverting the Endangered Species Act in the name of fossil fuel extraction and corporate interests. Trump declared an energy emergency via executive order earlier this week amid a promise to “drill, baby, […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
How the oil industry and growing political divides turned climate change into a partisan issue
Joe Árvai, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences After four years of U.S. progress on efforts to deal with climate change under Joe Biden, Donald Trump’s return to the White House is swiftly swinging the pendulum in the opposite direction. On his first day back, Trump declared a national energy emergency, directing agencies […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Brown University Health brings back mask rules, including at Newport Hospital
Brown University Health is putting mask requirements back in place at its Rhode Island facilities, including Newport Hospital, due to high levels of respiratory viruses in the community. Starting January 22, patients, visitors, and staff must wear Level 2 surgical masks during direct patient care at all Brown University Health locations in Rhode Island. A […]
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Helen Hames: Mission Possible – What Martin Luther King Jr. teaches us about aging
Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 95 on January 20, 2025. Considered a Renaissance man and a leader ahead of his time, we continue to learn from his teachings and leadership. This year’s theme for the King Center’s annual Martin Luther King observance is “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy in the Spirit […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The results are in for the 25th annual Rhode Island BioBlitz
The RI Natural History Survey presented its initial findings on the twenty-fifth annual Rhode Island BioBlitz at Middletown Town Hall on Thursday night. This BioBlitz, which took place on June 7-8, 2024, surveyed the biodiversity at the Norman Bird Sanctuary, making the Middletown sanctum one of two repeat locations a BioBlitz has been held (the […]
Posted inCity & Government
Prescribed burn planned for Prudence Island’s south end on Friday
A controlled burn is planned for January 17, 2025, on Prudence Island’s South End in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Research Reserve. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) says access to the area might be restricted before, during, and after the burn. The specific areas to be treated will depend on the weather that […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Trumps tasks congressman with writing executive order he could issue to halt offshore wind
President-elect Donald Trump tasked a New Jersey congressman and vocal critic of offshore wind with writing an executive order he could issue to halt wind energy projects. Offshore wind is a major part of transitioning to an electric grid powered entirely by sources that don’t emit carbon dioxide when generating electricity. The power sector is responsible for […]
Posted inCity & Government
NUWC Division Newport biologist presents the science behind marine mammal collisions at Australian conference
By NUWC Division Newport Public Affairs A marine mammal biologist at Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport traveled to Perth, Australia, in November to present the findings of a research project at the world’s largest marine mammal conference. Monica DeAngelis, a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island and an employee in NUWC Division Newport’s Corporate […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Biden administration withdraws rules to save endangered whales from collisions
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government is withdrawing a proposal that would require more ships to slow down in East Coast waters to try to save a vanishing species of whale, officials said Wednesday. The move in the waning days of the Biden administration will leave the endangered North Atlantic right whale vulnerable to extinction as […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
2024’s extreme ocean heat breaks records again, leaving 2 mysteries to solve
The oceans are heating up as the planet warms. This past year, 2024, was the warmest ever measured for the global ocean, following a record-breaking 2023. In fact, every decade since 1984, when satellite recordkeeping of ocean temperatures started, has been warmer than the previous one. A warmer ocean means increased evaporation, which in turn […]
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Dr. Michael Fine: What’s crazy about killing managed care executives in the street
Full disclosure: I hate United Health Care and have hated them for thirty-five years since they bought out Ocean State Physicians Health Plan and became the second-largest health insurer in Rhode Island in the late 1980s. I think they are predatory and manipulative and leverage market power inappropriately in pursuit of profit, making a critical public […]