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“He’s there.”
Sure enough just as Carol told me, the sparrow that befriended us was looking in the dining room window. Between perching on the windowsill, he would flutter up, …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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5/15/25
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Yet another charming and venerable homestead at Old Buttonwoods is about to bite the dust. Built in 1896 by the family of Hope Austin, our one-time neighbor, the Elsbree-Austin Cottage is not long …
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By RICHARD and JO-ANN LANGSETH
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5/15/25
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After Val Lawson won election last Tuesday as the new president of the Rhode Island Senate, she faced a battery of reporters’ questions about her dual role as head of that chamber and president …
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By IAN DONNIS
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5/8/25
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As a kid I never really thought too much about time. It seemed limitless.
Then school came along and you had to be there on time and, of course, get homework done on time. Time became both an …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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5/7/25
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The Warwick Center for the Arts was packed Saturday night. A huge display of fruits, cheeses, meats, crackers and hot hors d’oeuvres that were being replenished from the kitchen …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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5/1/25
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The unexpected death of Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio at age 76 a week ago Monday marks the end of an era in more ways than one.
Ruggerio, widely revered by his members, was …
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4/30/25
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There’s no slowing Marcia Beagan down.
Whether it’s the Hendricken graduation, a wedding, a chorus concert or a church service, she’s there at her electric piano. She never …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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4/23/25
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If the sine qua non of President Donald Trump is about pushing boundaries, the apex of that tendency is coming front and center. The showdown over Kilmar Abrego Garcia in particular, and federal …
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4/22/25
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Notices have appeared faithfully in my email around the first of every month for years from Nathaniel Nazareth under the heading “Gorton Lunch.” In reality, Nat is forwarding messages …
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4/17/25
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“Do you know why schools are so expensive?”
I was all ears, waiting for Joe Crowley to give me the answer.
I should have expected such a question following Saturday morning …
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4/10/25
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I spotted the “coffee and donut man” as soon as I entered the Green Airport terminal about 5:20 a.m. Sunday. I hadn’t expected it to be so easy.
The place was packed. A …
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4/3/25
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There was no way of missing Gloria.
She made a point of standing out wherever she went in her bright orange bug with a bouquet of plastic flowers on the roof. And if you didn’t see her …
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3/27/25
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How can you measure hope?
I found myself asking the question after talking with Mike and Angelica “Gel” Penta at Mayor Frank Picozzi’s fundraiser Wednesday.
Mike and Gel …
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3/20/25
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Retired [and that word is used loosely] Providence Fire Chief George Farrell is always looking to raise money and to get a good deal. That’s why I figured he had come up with something when he …
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3/13/25
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Rats!
Is an expletive I used occasionally when things weren’t going the way I liked and the use of other four-letter words just wasn’t me. But now the word evokes a sense of …
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3/6/25
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My sister, Claire, always carries dog treats with her. It’s her way of preventing petty crimes.
I’ve never thought of curbing theft by handing out rewards, but apparently she’s …
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2/27/25
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I know I’m dating myself, but do you recall the gasoline shortage of 1973-74, when cars jammed Apponaug Four Corners long before Mayor Joe Walsh implemented one-way traffic in front of City …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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2/20/25
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Weather alert!
The warning appeared on multiple stations when I turned on the tube to catch the news Saturday. We were going to get hit with a storm expected to deliver 5 to 7 inches of snow. …
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2/13/25
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Minus 9 degrees was the forecast for Sunday morning, and that’s what we got in Springfield Center, New York.
The scene looking out on Lake Otsego was mostly white. Two to three inches of …
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By JOHN HOWELL
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2/6/25
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Get sick.
Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not suggesting you catch a cold. That’s just too mundane. Have an exotic episode like...
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By JOHN HOWELL
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1/30/25
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