The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing that the emergency closure of certain shellfishing areas in Narragansett Bay ended at sunrise today. DEM put the emergency closures in place after more than 8 inches of rain fell on the Providence metropolitan area Sept. 5-6. Specifically, Upper Narragansett Bay shellfish Area B, West Middle […]
Rhode Island
What to watch in last multistate primaries of midterm season
By HOLLY RAMER and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Delaware will host the final multistate primary elections of the 2022 midterm season Tuesday, with contests to select candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. Because of their late primaries, the winners of Tuesday’s races will have a mere eight weeks to […]
URI’s efforts to study plastic pollution get federal boost
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Researchers at the University of Rhode Island are getting some federal assistance for their efforts to better understand plastic pollution and the threat it poses to the ocean. The university is set to receive $1 million in grant funding dedicated to studying how plastics spread through the environment as well as […]
Travel Advisory: RIDOT to Begin Removing Temporary Arches at Division Street Bridge
Starting Sunday, September 11, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) will begin a series of night time closures of Route 4 to remove the temporary arches at the Division Street Bridge on the East Greenwich/Warwick line. All the closures will take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The southbound lanes of Route 4 will be the first set of closures and will occur as follows:
Sunday, September 11; Monday, September 12; Tuesday, September 13
During these closures, motorists on I-95 south who wish to take Route 4 south should follow a detour using exit 8 to Route 2/South County Trail and Division Street to access the Route 4 south on-ramp just after the East Greenwich Square shopping center. Police details will keep traffic moving through the traffic signals along the detour route.
The northbound lanes of Route 4 closures will occur as follows:
Wednesday, September 14; Thursday, September 15
For traffic wishing to get to I-95 north, all traffic will use exit 9A toward East Greenwich and then get back on I-95 north using the ramp at the next traffic signal. For traffic wishing to get to Route 2 and I-95 south, follow the detour above using I-95 north to exit 10 to reverse direction onto I-95 south. Police details will be on site along the route.
In order to accommodate traffic on the Route 4 north detour, all traffic on Division Street eastbound will need to use the on-ramp to Route 4 south. Take exit 7A to Frenchtown Road and follow the detour to get onto Route 4 north, then take exit 9A toward East Greenwich.
The demolition schedule will be updated daily dependent on the amount of work completed the night before.
The Division Street Bridge is a $22.9 million project to replace a 55-year-old bridge which carries 14,000 vehicles daily.
The Division Street Bridge project is made possible by RhodeWorks and the Bipartisan Infrastructure and Improvement Act [r20.rs6.net]. RIDOT is committed to bringing Rhode Island’s infrastructure into a state of good repair while respecting the environment and striving to improve it. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.
Swim Across America Rhode Island will make waves to fight cancer on September 10
By Swim Across America Rhode Island Rhode Island residents will be making a big splash on Saturday, September 10, at the 13th annual Swim Across America Rhode Island open water swim. This swim raises funds for crucial cancer research for the swim’s local beneficiary Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, which focuses on supportinggynecological and breast cancer research. Since […]
Limo business, boat hauling company, and other businesses for sale right now in Rhode Island
The latest listings on BizBuySell and LoopNet show all kinds of businesses currently for sale in Rhode Island. Reasons for selling, when provided, typically do not mention economic hardship, but more often involve the owner retiring or not having time to actively run the business. The names and locations are generally left out, but there are occasional exceptions. Here […]
Highest-rated brunch restaurants in Providence, according to Tripadvisor
Brunch—the portmanteau combining the words “breakfast” and “lunch”—is the best of both worlds. An event as much as a meal, brunches are weekend affairs, where a large meal is served in the late morning and into the early afternoon, featuring not just coffee but drinks like bloody marys and mimosas alongside waffles, pancakes, french toast, […]
One month until Ocean Road 10K Race to benefit Narragansett Historical Society
On October 2nd, runners and walkers will participate in the ninth annual Ocean Road 10K, a 6.2-mile road race hosted each year in Narragansett, Rhode Island. A portion of each registration fee will be donated to the Narragansett Historical Society. The event, which has been popular with local and visiting participants alike, and is is […]
Governor, DEM announce opening of 180-acre shellfishing area in Greenwich Bay to conditionally approved
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is announcing that it is upgrading about 180 acres of shellfishing grounds in the Nausauket area of Greenwich Bay in Warwick from prohibited to conditionally approved harvesting status starting at sunrise on Friday, Sept. 2. The opening represents a 10 percent increase in the area of the bay […]
RIPTA: Service will operate on a holiday schedule on Monday; Providence-Newport Ferry switches to fall schedule on Tuesday
The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) today announced that it will run a Sunday/Holiday service schedule on Monday, September 5, 2022, in honor of Labor Day. All RIPTA offices, except for the Newport Transportation Center, will be closed on Monday, September 5, 2022, in celebration of the holiday. Newport Ferry Shuttle The Providence Shuttle […]
Silver lining: Northeast drought benefits some businesses
BOSTON (AP) — There is a silver lining to the drought affecting the northeastern U.S. that has frustrated farmers, dried up rivers and reservoirs, and brought water use restrictions and brush fires to the region. The arid conditions have benefited amusement parks, minor league baseball teams, construction contractors and other businesses that need warm, dry weather to […]
Low vaccine booster rates are now a key factor in COVID-19 deaths – and racial disparities in booster rates persist
Andrew Stokes, Boston University; Dielle Lundberg, Boston University; Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, University of Minnesota, and Rafeya Raquib, Boston University More than 450 people are dying of COVID-19 in the U.S. each day as of late August 2022. When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, public officials, community organizations and policymakers mobilized to get shots into arms. These […]
Grey Sail launches beer to support Childhood Cancer Research
By Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island Grey Sail Brewing of Rhode Island is proud to announce its fifth year of partnering with Brewing Funds the Cure to support pediatric cancer. On Thursday, September 1st, Grey Sail will release Rising Hope Hazy Peach IPA at a release party at their Taproom from 12-8pm. The beer will also be available […]
DEM lifts fire ban at all state campgrounds and parks
The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) today announced that it has lifted the ban on outdoor fires at all state campgrounds, parks, and management areas that went into effect on August 19. In a press release, DEM stresses that although precipitation amounts from recent storms have reduced both the number and risk of wildfires in […]
Comic – Sour Grapes: Principal
Here’s this week’s Sour Grapes, enjoy! Tim Jones is the creator, artist and writer of the widely popular, self-syndicated comic strip, “SOUR GRAPES”; a comic about “Aesop”, a miserable flying dog and his odd friends, all living in a problematic and troubled world. Sour Grapes is currently published in multiple newspapers in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, […]
Travel Advisory Update: RIDOT Starts I-95 Mile-Marker Numbering Program
I-95 is the last highway segment to be changed
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) last night started its highway renumbering project, changing exit numbers on I-95 from the Massachusetts border in Pawtucket to the Connecticut border in Hopkinton. The new exit numbers are part of a multi-year federal program to update highway numbering for Interstates and other limited-access highways. I-95 is the last highway for RIDOT to renumber.
Last night RIDOT renumbered three exits on I-95 South in Pawtucket. Exits 30, 29 and 27 are now Exits 43, 42, and 41, respectively. Work will continue for about one month on Sunday-Thursday nights, with no work on weekends or holidays. RIDOT will change approximately three exits at a time, taking two nights for each set of three exits before moving on to another set.
The new exit numbers are keyed to mile markers – a system used throughout the country for many years. Rhode Island and some neighboring New England states are among the last to change to this method which is required by the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways. The highway exit numbers traditionally were assigned sequentially.
A mile-marker exit number system lets drivers know how far they need to travel to reach their desired off-ramp. It also allows for easier expansion for future interchanges since the entire highway would not have to be renumbered to accommodate a new exit number. RIDOT will install temporary signs indicating the old exit number and will leave them up for an extended period of time.
For more information on the renumbering project, including a list of new and old exit numbers, visit www.ridot.net/ExitNumbers.
All construction projects are subject to changes in schedule and scope depending on needs, circumstances, findings, and weather.
Girls Who Code and Raytheon Technologies launch Pilot Leadership Academy for STEM College Students
Raytheon Technologies today announced that it is partnering with Girls Who Code (GWC) to launch GWC’s Leadership Academy, a semester-long program for over 100 U.S. college students. Program participants will join GWC advisors and Raytheon Technologies mentors to build their leadership, technical and professional skills while growing their network of peers studying STEM fields. The program, which targets […]
Nellie Gorbea will join What’sUpNewp for a live virtual conversation on Monday
Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea, among five candidates vying for the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial nomination, joins What’sUpNewp tomorrow (Monday) for a 3 p.m. videocast. The gubernatorial race has been hotly contested, with Gorbea and Gov. Daniel McKee the front runners in recent polls, with former CVS executive Helena Buonanno Foulkes gaining in the polls, and […]
Court to rule on truck tolls in September
A federal court decision in the American Trucking Association’s lawsuit against the state of Rhode Island for what it claims are unconstitutional truck-only tolls for out-of-state tractor trailers is expected in September, according to Christopher Maxwell, executive director of the Rhode Island Trucking Association. The decision by Judge William Smith will come four years after […]
RIDOH seeking public comment on intent to issue a categorical exclusion for Stone Bridge Fire District
Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is seeking public comment on intent to issue a Categorical Exclusion.
The Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health has reviewed for approval the request by the Stone Bridge Fire District for a Categorical Exclusion determination for proposed improvements to their public water system. The improvements consist of upgrading the existing 8″ cast iron pipe on Riverside Drive and installing new service connections with curb stops and roadway resurfacing in the town of Tiverton, Rhode Island.
Under authority of Chapter 46.12-8 of the General Laws of Rhode Island, it has been determined that there are no environmental impacts associated with this project. Therefore, the Director of RIDOH is hereby giving notice of intent to issue a Categorical Exclusion for the proposed project pursuant to the requirements and authority set forth in Chapter 46-12.8 of the General Laws of Rhode Island and the “Drinking Water State Revolving Fund” Regulations (216-RICR-50-05-6).
Copies of the Categorical Exclusion supporting documentation can be obtained by calling 401- 222-6867 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or by writing to the Center for Drinking Water Quality, Three Capitol Hill, Room 209, Providence, RI 02908. All material submitted for review is available for public inspection during these hours at the above location. Written comments on the Categorical Exclusion should be sent to the Center for Drinking Water Quality at the address above or emailed to DOH.RIDWQ@health.ri.gov within thirty (30) days of the date of this notice. Individuals requesting communication assistance may call Rhode Island Relay (TTY) at 711 or 800-745-5555 at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance.
A public hearing on the Categorical Exclusion will be held if RIDOH receives such requests from twenty-five (25) people, a governmental agency or subdivision, or an association having twenty-five (25) members or more. If a public hearing is held, a public notice will be published announcing the date, time, and place of such hearing. A stenographic record of the hearing will be made, and the public record will be kept open for seven (7) days following the conclusion of the public hearing to allow additional time for the submission of written comments. Interpreter services for people with hearing impairment and audiotapes for people with vision impairment will be made available. RIDOH is handicap accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Rhode Island ranked 45th in a state-by-state breakdown of crashes involving large trucks
In 2020, there were 54,272 fatal crashes reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Many of these crashes involved passenger vehicles—sedans, SUVs, or relatively small trucks; however, thousands of fatal crashes involved another type of vehicle: large trucks. In fact, large trucks—commercial and non-commercial trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds—were involved in almost 5,000 fatal […]
More than 800 local Scouts honored for achieving Eagle Scout rank
Over 800 Scouts from the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America were recognized for achieving Scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, at this year’s Eagle Scout Recognition Dinner. The event was held Wednesday, August 24th, at Farm Fresh RI in Providence. Eagle Scouts from the classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022 were honored at the first in person ceremony […]
2 men indicted in drive-by shooting death of woman
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Two men have been indicted on murder charges in a drive-by shooting that killed a woman in Providence last year. Miya Brophy-Baermann, 24, of Warwick, Rhode Island, was shot and killed while talking with a friend on a city street in the early morning of Aug. 1, 2021. Police have said […]
Rhode Report: Schedule of lane closures and road construction projects (Aug. 27 – Sept. 3)
The following road and lane closure notices have been scheduled by the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) and Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA). All schedules are weather-dependent and subject to change. RITBA Weekly Lane Closure Updates August 28 – September 3, 2022 Newport Claiborne Pell BridgeEastbound Right Lane Closure- 8/29 to 9/1- […]
Top stories this week on What’sUpNewp
Here’s a look at what What’sUpNewp readers were reading this week, August 21 – 27. Bristol Ferry Lighthouse hits the market for $750,000Kenny Chesney to perform at Gillette Stadium on Friday and SaturdayJamestown woman claims $50,000 Powerball ticketBova seeks to delay regionalization voteWhat’s Up Interview: Jim Weider of The Weight Band, playing Jane Pickens Thursday, […]
