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RIPTA releases 2024 Community Site Visit schedule for the Reduced Fare Bus Pass Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) released the 2024 Community Site Visit Schedule for the Reduced Fare Bus Pass Program for Seniors and People with Disabilities on Thursday.  These site visits make learning about and applying for this program easier for Rhode Islanders, according to RIPTA. Every month, RIPTA’s Customer Service staff will travel […]

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Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island awarded $30k by SouthCoast Wind Fund

The SouthCoast Wind Fund has announced that it has distributed $500,000 in grants to 12 local organizations that are working to promote economic development, create jobs, and support the expansion of renewable energy, including offshore wind power. Oliver Hazard Perry Rhode Island, of Newport, RI, was awarded $30,000 for its Maritime Operations and Engineering Voyage […]

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Rhode Island Congressional Delegation advocates for more federal aid to mitigate the effects of flooding in the state

This week, heavy rain and snowmelt have caused significant flooding across Rhode Island.  Some residents were forced to evacuate by boats or with the assistance of firefighters and have been displaced into emergency evacuation facilities. With extreme flooding incidents impacting residents and neighborhoods in several communities, the state’s Congressional delegation is asking President Joe Biden […]

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11th Hour Racing provides support to nonprofit organizations in coastal communities

Newport-based 11th Hour Racing today announced its support of nine new U.S. grant recipients as part of its ongoing philanthropic efforts funded by the Schmidt Family Foundation. According to the organization, these nonprofit organizations lead initiatives at the crossroads of education and the environment in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico. Reinforcing its mission to support […]

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What’s Up in Newport: Thursday, January 11

This story was originally published as a What’sUpNewp newsletter. Join the 17,000+ who wake up to our newsletter in their inbox every weekday morning by signing up below. Good Morning! Today is Thursday, January 11, 2024. ⚓ Newport City Council’s Regular Meeting lasted just 45 minutes last night. During the meeting, Council approved special event […]

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2023’s billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record with 28 big weather and climate disasters amid Earth’s hottest year on record

Shuang-Ye Wu, University of Dayton National weather analysts released their 2023 billion-dollar disasters list on Jan. 9, just as 2024 was getting off to a ferocious start. A blizzard was sweeping across across the Plains and Midwest, and the South and East faced flood risks from extreme downpours. The U.S. set an unwelcome record for […]

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Online sports betting arrives in Vermont

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont sports fans can now wager online as mobile sports betting launched in the state on Thursday. DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook were selected to operate mobile sports betting platforms in Vermont, Republican Gov. Phil Scott said last month. He added that the regulated marketplace comes with important consumer protections and will generate […]

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Family shelter’s opening on hold

Some six weeks ago, Russ Partridge, executive director of the WARM Center, a homeless shelter in Washington County, was hopeful a new 12-family shelter would open near the University of Rhode Island campus in West Kingston. Six weeks later, Patridge is still waiting, still hopeful, and the building remains shuttered. That State Properties Committee meeting […]

Posted inCity & Government

Aquidneck Island, East Bay senators take part in White House event on investments in Rhode Island

Sen. Louis P. DiPalma, Sen. Dawn Euer, and Sen. Pamela J. Lauria traveled to Washington today to participate in a White House event highlighting the impacts of major federal investments in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The “Communities in Action: Building a Better Rhode Island and Connecticut” event was part of a White House series featuring […]

Posted inNews, Weather

Snow in the West and flooding in the East. Here’s how the US is coping with the massive storm

By KATHY McCORMACK and SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Drenching rains, flooding and fierce winds stranded vehicles, shuttered schools and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in the Northeast, the swan song of a bout of violent weather that battered most of the United States. Forecasters warned Wednesday that more misery […]

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Bill introduced to protect Sapowet Marsh Management Area from commercial development

A bill introduced by Rep. John Edwards would prohibit commercial development of the Sapowet Marsh Management Area, a 296-acre salt marsh in Tiverton. The bill (2024-H 7060) would designate the area as open space to be utilized only for passive outdoor recreation. The legislation would add Sapowet Cove — an area of water that runs […]

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Rhode Island takes aim at opioid crisis with $1.7 million in grants

Rhode Island’s Opioid Settlement Fund is awarding $1.7 million in grants to help combat the opioid epidemic. The grants are being administered by the Rhode Island Foundation and will be awarded in three categories: Family Supports, Basic Needs Supports, and Trauma Supports. The Family Supports category will receive $450,000 that will go toward programming by […]

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Portions of Narragansett Bay closed to shellfishing due to recent heavy rain

The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing that several shellfish areas in Narragansett Bay have been closed due to inundating rainfall throughout Rhode Island last night.  The following areas are subject to a 10-day closure and are scheduled to reopen to shellfishing on Friday, Jan. 20, at 12 PM: o  Upper Narragansett Bay Area A […]

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Climate change is shrinking snowpack in many places, study shows. And it will get worse

By SETH BORENSTEIN and BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press DENVER (AP) — River basins around the world that were once regularly snowbound are increasingly seeing their snowpack shrink and climate change is to blame, a new study found. “Many of the world’s most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,” concluded the study of […]

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Live: Rhode Island Power Outage Map

Rhode Island Energy’s interactive map is updated every 5 minutes and provides regional power restoration information. The estimated time of restoration are based on Rhode Island Energy’s latest damage analysis and reflects a general assessment of when the last customer in the specified area is expected to be returned to service. Visit Outage Map

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