When COVID-19 began to spread across the country, the impacts on Rhode Island’s commercial fishing and shellfish industries were immediate and devastating.
A rapid virus testing site opened in Rhode Island on Monday and the state is launching a new federal jobless benefits program while shuttering more courthouses.
RICHMOND — Firefighters on Sunday morning doused a blaze that erupted in a car parked at the Preserve Club & Residences on Kingstown Road.
Former Rhode Island governor and U.S. senator Lincoln Chafee has ended his run for president as a Libertarian.
PROVIDENCE (AP) — A Rhode Island woman who stole nearly $5 million from close friends and family is requesting that she be released from prison to home confinement until the coronavirus pandemic “has subsided,” according to court filings.
From the Department of Environmental Management:
LEICESTER, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts are searching for a woman who they say sprayed a Walmart employee in the eyes with Lysol disinfectant.
BOSTON (AP) — Endangered North Atlantic right whales are beginning their annual migration to New England's waters, aquarium officials in Boston said Monday.
The new state restrictions on restaurants and bars to fight the coronavirus pandemic have prevented local residents from going out to eat. But many South County establishments are still serving via curbside takeout and delivery. Find out the status of your favorite local eatery by clicking o…
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, pretty much everything to do around the region has been canceled. Until this public health crisis passes, here’s a list of local social service agencies, venues and organizations and their statuses.
From the Governor's Office:
WESTERLY — Kristen Ullrich sat alone in her Westerly studio Wednesday morning, balanced herself on a mat, looked into the camera and urged her students to inhale, exhale, and breathe.
BOSTON (AP) — Maine and New Hampshire join the ranks of states approved for federal disaster relief and New England's death toll from the pandemic continues to climb.
HARTFORD — The president of submarine builder Electric Boat, which has major production plants in Connecticut and Rhode Island, told employees on Saturday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
BRISTOL, R.I. (AP) — Two teams of college students from Rhode Island have swept the top two spots in a national business competition.
WAKEFIELD — The Women’s Club of South County, GFWC is accepting applications through Monday, June 1, for its scholarships. The scholarships range from hundreds to thousands of dollars to selected applicants who are enrolled in, or accepted in, an accredited educational program leading to a d…
WESTERLY — The Westerly College Club is now accepting applications for its 2020-21 scholarships.
WESTERLY
Rhode Island residents should consider wearing cloth-based coverings on their faces when in public to help curb the spread of coronavirus, the state’s top health care official said Friday.
BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker announced a new contact tracing program Friday that he said will help the state limit the further spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts.
WESTERLY — Municipal staff would be reduced by the equivalent of 3.5 positions and other personnel reorganizations would occur under four options for the 2020-21 municipal and schools budget under consideration by the Town Council.
RICHMOND — The Richmond bar and restaurant, Alaina’s Ale House, will hold a “community drive thru dinner” Sunday afternoon.
PROVIDENCE — The Easter Bunny is essential.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. nuclear plants will be allowed to keep workers on longer shifts to deal with staffing problems in the coronavirus pandemic, raising worries among watchdogs and some families living near reactors that employee exhaustion will increase the risks of accidents.
BOSTON — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday the state could see between 47,000 and 172,000 COVID-19 cases during the current outbreak. That’s between .7 and 2.5% of the state’s population.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Thomas Duffy, a longtime judge who presided over three major New York terrorism trials in the 1990s, has died of the coronavirus. He was 87.
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Thirteen people were taken to the hospital Thursday after an ammonia leak at a Rhode Island food-processing plant, officials said.
From the state of Rhode Island:
RICHMOND — Richmond’s elderly residents are an independent bunch, but Senior Center Director Dennis McGinnity wants to make sure that anyone who needs help during the COVID-19 pandemic will get it.
Social service agencies in the region say they are seeing a slight increase in demand for services but are preparing for a spike in requests as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens. Some of the organizations are already experiencing a decline in revenue due to the public health crisis.
PROVIDENCE (AP) — Rhode Island has nearly 600 cases of the coronavirus, up about 80 from Tuesday, state officials said Wednesday.
BOSTON (AP) — Two residents of another veterans care center in Massachusetts have died of COVID-19, officials said Wednesday.
PROVIDENCE (AP) — Rhode Island transportation officials have canceled plans to close a well-traveled highway exit as part of a major bridge project.
FALMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A hospital on Cape Cod is closing its maternity and inpatient pediatric units and making the space available for a potential surge of coronavirus patients, a hospital official said.
PROVIDENCE — The COVID-19 crisis is presenting serious challenges for everyone, but for people with emotional and behavioral health issues, anxiety and social isolation can exacerbate mental illnesses and addiction.
Rhode Island is looking to bolster its ranks of frontline responders to the coronavirus pandemic.
BOSTON (AP) — The number of residents of a Massachusetts veterans home who have recently died is now 13, and six of those tested positive for the coronavirus, state authorities said Tuesday.
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — A contract with all three Rhode Island electric utilities to purchase power from a Connecticut solar project has received state regulatory approval.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — One of the motorcyclists in a crash that killed him and six fellow bikers on a north woods highway was drunk and actually was the one who hit a pickup and caused the accident, the lawyer for the truck driver charged with homicide said in a document made public Tuesday.
The state courts tomorrow, April 1, will shut down two county courthouses in response to the COVID-19 public health crisis.
A Norwich man was announced as the Uncas Health District's first COVID-19 fatality this morning. Here's the agency's statement:
As the United States faces its worst public health crisis in a century, we want you to know we are here for you — and with you.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — School children in Rhode Island will continue distance learning through at least the end of April as the state grapples with the growing coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Monday.
BOSTON (AP) — The superintendent of a Massachusetts veteran's home was removed from his duties Monday after 11 residents died, including at least five who had tested positive for coronavirus and another five whose results are pending.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The cost of a gallon of gasoline in Rhode Island continues to nosedive as residents out of a job or working from home amid the coronavirus pandemic have little need to drive.
WESTERLY — A new web page created by the Ocean Community Chamber of Commerce Foundation is being used to assist business owners, workers, local nonprofits, and health care organizations as the effects of the COVID-19 crisis mount.
A look at developments related to the coronavirus around New England:
BOSTON (AP) — Two colleges in Boston are marking the end of Women's History Month with an open event to update and enhance the Wikipedia entries of several female activists.
BERKLEY, Mass. (AP) — Two teenagers died and a third was injured in a fiery car crash in Massachusetts, officials said.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — A look at developments related to the new coronavirus around New England:
Senior Docket
PROVIDENCE — At her Saturday media briefing, Gov. Gina Raimondo said that with only about half of Rhode Islanders complying with social distancing directives, it was time to crack down.
WESTERLY — Officials detailed the town's efforts to encourage people from New York in town to take shelter from the COVID-19 outbreak in their second homes to self-quarantine for 14 days and the steps being taken to slow the virus' spread during a news conference at Town Hall Friday afternoon.
PROVIDENCE (AP) — While Rhode Island's response to the outbreak has been solid, the state is unprepared for a huge surge in cases such as experienced in New York and New Orleans, Raimondo said.