The old Chapman quarry sits as a monument to a past age on the south side of a hill overlooking the 163-acre Chapman Pond. Its mysterious stone foundations and granite rubble are becoming known to curious hikers who ply the trails laid out by the Westerly Land Trust in what is known as the R…
KINGSTON — The U.S. Navy has announced that a future Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship will be named in honor of University of Rhode Island alumnus and Professor of Oceanography Robert Ballard.
When she was a sophomore in high school, and sat sobbing in the nosebleed seats at the end of "Phantom of the Opera," Westerly native Jennifer Christina knew exactly what she was going to be when she grew up.
WESTERLY — The Economic Development Commission plans to start implementing Westerly’s Route 1 Corridor Study this year, one of several key goals the EDC discussed with the Town Council on Jan. 23.
WESTERLY — The Town Council has agreed to form ad-hoc committees to work on plans for the site of the former marina, affordable housing and a Bradford community center.
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The man charged with killing a 66-year-old Vietnam veteran and retired postal worker who was out for his morning run in a Rhode Island park nearly a decade ago has been found guilty by a judge who rejected the suspect’s mental illness defense. Michael Soares was convicted Friday of first-degree murder in the May 2013 stabbing and beating death of John “Jack” Fay, whose body was found in a trash barrel in Warwick City Park. DNA linked Soares to the crime scene in 2019. Soares originally pleaded not guilty, but changed his plea at the beginning of his jury-waived trial on Jan. 4 to not guilty by reason of insanity.
WESTERLY — Advocates hoping to preserve or expand public access to Rhode Island’s coastal waters heard Wednesday from legislators who have introduced a bill they say will better define where people have a right to use the state’s shores.
The deadline to apply for the 2024 Rhode Island State Police Training Academy Class is Saturday, Jan. 28.
A Rhode Island police officer who was off duty and out of uniform when he shot the 18-year-old driver of a car he had witnessed speeding past him on the highway has been acquitted by a jury. Pawtucket Officer Daniel Dolan was cleared Thursday of three counts of felony assault and one count of discharge of a firearm when committing a crime of violence in connection with the encounter in West Greenwich in June 23, 2021. Dolan said he thought the car was fleeing the scene of a crime and feared for his life. The driver said he did not think Dolan was a real police officer.
Toymaker Hasbro is cutting about 1,000 jobs as part of moves announced last year to save up to $300 million annually by 2025. The nearly century-old Rhode Island-based company behind Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony toys says the layoffs amount to 15% of its global full-time workforce. Hasbro also said its president and chief operating officer is leaving the company. CEO Chris Cocks said Hasbro’s consumer-products division performed poorly in the final three months of 2022 against the backdrop of a challenging holiday consumer environment.
WESTERLY — The cleanup of asbestos found in an old boiler room at the former Bradford Elementary School has added about four to six weeks and $108,000 to the cost of the building’s demolition.
A Texas woman who played a role in internet romance scams that cheated victims out of a total of about $2.6 million has been sentenced to over six years in prison on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors in Rhode Island say 31-year-old Dominique Golden, of Houston, personally collected nearly $1.3 million in cash, checks, money orders, and wire transfers from people across the U.S. in 2018 that was deposited into bank accounts opened under the names of fake people and businesses that she controlled. She pleaded guilty in September to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
WESTERLY — A state Department of Health survey for high school students about risky behavior among youth will not take place this year in Westerly, the School Committee has decided.
WESTERLY — A yearslong project to replace the grass at Augeri Field and the Westerly High School quad with artificial turf is accelerating, with designs almost done and fundraising picking up after the holidays.
PROVIDENCE — Anticipation of a spike in demand has led to a 10-cent increase in the price of gasoline over the past week.
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WESTERLY — State Sen. Victoria Gu and several Westerly Town Council members will hold a town hall event to discuss shoreline access on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at the Westerly Town Hall, 45 Broad St.
WESTERLY — The WARM Shelter will distribute $50,000 in emergency grants from the Rhode Island Foundation through a network of South County nonprofits, including the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, the Westerly Senior Center and Wood River Health, as well as via referrals from area churches.
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WESTERLY — The next step in the redevelopment of the former Westerly Marina property — an environmental study to look for possible contaminants — will be completed by mid-2023.
A young Rhode Island girl has finally figured out how to determine if Santa Claus is real — DNA. Cumberland police Chief Matthew Benson said Friday that the local girl sent a partially eaten cookie as well as a couple of gnawed-on carrot sticks to the police department to ask if they can be tested for DNA. Her name and age were not disclosed. Benson forwarded the evidence to the state’s Department of Health-Forensic Sciences unit for analysis. The charge? Failure to finish snacks. Results are pending. Benson praised the girl for her “keen sense for truth and the investigative process.”
WESTERLY — The Rhode Island Airport Corporation reiterated Wednesday that work it plans to do at Westerly State Airport is designed to keep existing flight paths safe and that residential land below them would not be stripped bare of vegetation.
Rhode Island’s governor submitted a $13.75 billion state budget plan to the General Assembly on Thursday that seeks to invest in schools, provide tax relief to residents and repair roads and bridges. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee says he wants to demonstrate a commitment to education at all levels, so Rhode Island students will do as well as Massachusetts students on standardized tests by 2030. McKee’s proposal for fiscal year 2024 is an increase of $930 million over last year’s proposal, and an increase of about $150 million, or 1.1%, from the enacted budget for the 2023 fiscal year. In the budget plan, McKee keeps the campaign promise he made to expand the 2019 state law that enshrined abortion protections.
A prosecutor says the husband of a Massachusetts woman who's been missing since New Year’s Day went online to look up ways to dismember and dispose of a body, and clothes and other items belonging to the woman were found at a trash processing facility. The details were given Wednesday at his arraignment on murder and other charges. Not guilty pleas were entered on behalf of 47-year-old Brian Walshe. He was held without bail in Quincy District Court at Wednesday's arraignment. He did not speak except to tell the judge he understood the charges. His attorney did not contest bail but in the past has said her client has cooperated with investigators.
WESTERLY — The School Committee has started its work on Westerly’s proposed education budget for the coming fiscal year, and staffing levels are already proving to be a challenge.
Rhode Island’s governor said in his State of the State address Tuesday that he will propose broad tax relief in his forthcoming budget plan. Democratic Gov. Dan McKee laid out his administration’s legislative plans and budget priorities in the address to the General Assembly. McKee said in his prepared remarks the budget he will submit to the General Assembly this week will propose a broad tax relief plan to help Rhode Island residents navigate inflationary pressures and make the state a more competitive place to do business. McKee wants to reduce the state sales tax from 7% to 6.85%, which equates to about $35 million annually in taxes.
WAKEFIELD — The sexual assault case against former longtime Westerly Democratic Town Committee Chairman Robert Ritacco remains in a pretrial phase with the next conference not scheduled until May.
WESTERLY — The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Office of Land Revitalization and Sustainable Materials Management’s Targeted Brownfield Assessment (TBA) Program will hold a public meeting about the Westerly Marina property at 6 p.m. Jan. 19 in Town Council chambers.
WESTERLY — The Planning Board has extended its deadline to decide on the master plan for housing at the former St. Pius X School to Feb. 21.
WESTERLY — The president of the Town Council has asked local leaders to consider putting a solar power array on Westerly’s closed landfill.
WESTERLY — A Texas man has pleaded guilty to taking part in an online-based scam that laundered more than $1.6 million in proceeds from seniors in at least 11 states, including a resident of Westerly.
PROVIDENCE — The average price for a gallon of gas is no longer in decline, with prices rising 1 cent in Rhode Island over the past week.
Ohio's restrictive new election law significantly shortens the window for mailed ballots to be received — despite no evidence that the extended timeline has led to fraud or any other problems — and that change is angering active-duty members of the military and their families because of its …
WESTERLY — Rose Serra and Lana Gunn stood before a mural full of giant-sized oranges, blueberries, beets, lemons and bananas one December morning, adding a colorful, tropical touch to an otherwise dreary winter's day.
Masonicare Hospice is seeking volunteers for Westerly and all of Connecticut.
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WESTERLY — A hike of almost 9 percent in Social Security payments set to take effect this month is weighing on proposed changes to tax exemptions for Westerly’s senior citizens.
PROVIDENCE — Sen. Victoria Gu (D-Dist. 38, Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown) will serve on the Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Government, the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture, and the Senate Committee on Commerce.
The Department of Environmental Management is extending the renewal period of commercial fishing licenses, previously set to expire Jan. 13, until Jan. 31. DEM is experiencing a license renewal backlog as it continues to transition from combining several outdated licensing systems into one m…
WESTERLY — Town Council members were taken aback Monday by a new estimate that it would cost up to $46.8 million — or more — to upgrade Westerly’s wastewater treatment plant.
