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The state says people should avoid contact with Lower Melville Pond, due to blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) blooms. A similar advisory is still in effect for the upper pond, now known as Thurston Gray Pond.

State: Avoid contact with Lower Melville Pond, Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — The R.I. Department of Health (RIDOH) and the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM) are advising people to avoid contact with Lower Melville Pond due to blue-green … more

9/22/23

Portsmouth Police charge man with child molestation

PORTSMOUTH — A 30-year-old man from Pennsylvania was charged by Portsmouth Police last week with two counts of second-degree child molestation. As a result of an investigation by the … more

4/15/24

Lee Silva of the Cosmopolitan team, with a Cosmo firmly in hand, prepares to throw the bag during Monday night’s cornhole championship at the VFW Post 5390 in Common Fence Point. “It’s the only sport where it’s legal to drink,” said league organizer Bob Dyl. “In fact, in most cases it’s encouraged.”

Taking their cornhole seriously in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — It was an epic battle between the Half in the Bags and Challengers teams inside the VFW Post 5390 hall in Common Fence Point Monday night. more

By Jim McGaw | 5/3/24

Portsmouth Town Council forum may not feature any Republicans

PORTSMOUTH — The Town Council candidate forum scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27, may be absent of any Republicans. more

By Jim McGaw | 10/25/22

Members of the Portsmouth High indoor track team cheer for Wake Zani as he runs the final leg of the 4x400 relay race during Friday’s meet. The team of Zani, Maciej Tabak, Nikolai Loyola, and Oliver Tibbetts came in first place with a time of 3:46.79.

Portsmouth boys’ indoor track team makes school history

PORTSMOUTH — With wins over Prout and Chariho Friday night, the Portsmouth High School boys’ indoor track team made school history by posting its first undefeated regular season in … more

1/22/23

Bay View selects Hall of Famer Scorpio as new athletic director

EAST PROVIDENCE — All Stater, player of the year, team captain, Hall of Famer, championship level coach and, now, athletic director. One of the most consequential student-athletes in the … more

7/14/23

Portsmouth High’s Ava Moore pivots away from a pair of Scituate defenders during Thursday’s Division I preliminary playoff game at home.

Portsmouth girls beat Scituate in preliminary playoff game

PORTSMOUTH — A win’s a win. The Portsmouth High girls’ basketball team edged Scituate, 57-53, at home Thursday night in the preliminary game of the Division I playoffs. … more

2/24/24

Portsmouth High’s Jack Casey fires a spike over the net during the first set of last Thursday’s home volleyball match against Scituate/Prout.

PHS boys’ volleyball team extends No. 1 squad to 5th set

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth High boys’ varsity volleyball team came oh so close to upsetting the top-ranked team in Division III Thursday night. more

5/3/24

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) announced on Sunday that the release of 10 million gallons of partially-treated stormwater and wastewater prompted the closing of two shellfishing zones, which includes waters in Warren and Bristol.

Fall River treatment plant sends 10 million gallons of wastewater into Mt. Hope Bay

A power failure that occurred early Sunday morning at a wastewater treatment facility in Fall River, Mass. was responsible for about 10 million gallons of partially treated wastewater and stormwater being released into Mt. Hope Bay. more

By Ethan Hartley | 4/24/23

Will Alves looks to drive to the basket during Portsmouth's win over Mt. Hope during a holiday tournament in Barrington.

Portsmouth and Mt., Hope hoops teams look to get on track

The Portsmouth basketball team trounced Mt. Hope 85-48 in the annual holiday tournament at Barrington High School on Wednesday afternoon. The win boosts the Patriots record to 2-3 in Division I, … more

Photos and story by Richard W. Dionne, Jr. | 12/29/23

Portsmouth High’s Tyler Hurd goes in for a layup while battling Narragansett in overtime Thursday night. The Patriots were victorious, 64-60, to advance to the Division I quarterfinals.

Conheeny’s hot shooting propels Portsmouth in OT victory

PORTSMOUTH — Adam Conheeny scored four 3-pointers in the final two and a half minutes of regulation — including one that tied the contest with less than a minute left — to … more

2/24/24

Portsmouth Town Council member Andrew Kelly is running for the District 11 Senate Seat in the R.I. General Assembly.

Portsmouth's Kelly running for District 11

PORTSMOUTH — On Monday, Town Council member Andrew V. Kelly became the third Democrat to declare his intention to run for the R.I. Senate District 11 seat which is being vacated by Sen. … more

6/27/22

Members of the Portsmouth Girls’ Senior softball team pose for a photo after winning the state title.

Portsmouth Girls’ Senior Softball team heading to regionals

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Girls’ Senior Little League Softball team defeated Cranston Western to capture the Rhode Island state title on Thursday, July 14. The team will move on to play … more

7/19/22

Kelsey Perry, Mayflower Wind’s community liaison coordinator, and Tim Reiher, the developer’s offshore cables package manager (left), speak to residents at the drop-in session on Dec. 7 inside Ragged Island Brewing Company’s Brewery Barn. Another session was held the previous night at the Portsmouth Free Public Library.

Mayflower Wind: ‘People still have a lot of questions’

PORTSMOUTH — What will the cables look like? Why come up the Sakonnet River? What’s in it for Portsmouth? Will recreational and commercial fishing be impacted? more

By Jim McGaw | 12/15/22

Windsurfers cut across the water on a perfectly windy afternoon.

High-stakes racing on Mt. Hope Bay

Many of the best youth sailors in the world spent this week zipping across the waters of Mount Hope Bay, off the shore from Roger Williams University. The university and U.S. Sailing hosted the U.S. … more

6/30/23

Aiden Echevarria and Gabriella Humes, Portsmouth High School’s 2023 Homecoming king and queen, wave to the crowd from their perch in a convertible during the Homecoming Parade on Saturday.

Portsmouth High celebrates school spirit at Homecoming

PORTSMOUTH — On an unseasonably balmy day with temperatures reaching into the 80s, Portsmouth High School showed off its school spirit for Homecoming. more

10/31/23

Members of the Portsmouth District 2 Major All-Stars pose for a team picture after beating Bristol/Warren for the championship on Saturday.

Portsmouth Major All-Stars advance to states (photos)

BRISTOL — The Portsmouth Major Little League All-Stars are going to the state tournament. They beat Bristol/Warren 8-4 on Saturday in Bristol for the District 2 Major All-Star … more

7/19/22

Portsmouth water mains to be flushed starting Oct. 2

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth Water and Fire District will be flushing water mains from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. per the following schedule: • Monday, Oct. 2: East Main Road from Pine Tree … more

9/25/23

So many residents turned out to Monday’s Town Council meeting that at least 40 couldn’t get inside the chambers. Due to fire code regulations, discussion on the transfer station and state improvements to East Main Road was continued to a special council meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, in the Portsmouth High School auditorium.

Trash, East Main rotary get Portsmouth residents fired up

Once again, the Town Council has had to delay discussion on a controversial issue due to overcrowding at a meeting. more

By Jim McGaw | 11/29/23

This relatively large electric bicycle would be banned from the East Bay Bike Path and other state bike paths if a current Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management bill becomes law this spring.

E-bikes bill allows some, bans others

The State of Rhode Island recently moved one step closer to a law that would regulate electric bicycles on all state properties, including bike paths. Passed by the full House of Representatives two … more

By Scott Pickering | 5/15/24

Virus cases continue to rise in RI: April 2 town-by-town numbers

On a day that saw 91 new coronavirus cases in Rhode Island, for a total of 657, cases in East Bay towns continue to rise as well. The Thursday, April 2, town-by town numbers, as reported by the RI … more

4/2/20

The Portsmouth Free Public Library recently donated this little library, which can be found at the entrance to the Island Park Playground on Ormerod Avenue. It was built by Paul Shoenbucher and installed by the Department of Public Works.

More ‘little libraries’ popping up around Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — Is there a little free library near you? Portsmouth has a small but growing number of these tiny free lending libraries — basically free-standing cupboards that are … more

By Jim McGaw | 5/27/22

Portsmouth High running back Tyler Hurd and his teammates celebrate his five-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Neal Tullson against the Islanders in the annual Thanksgiving Day game. The Patriots won, 20-0.

Portsmouth blanks Middletown in Thanksgiving game

PORTSMOUTH — In a matchup of two Super Bowl finalists, the Portsmouth Patriots proved to be the superior team with a 20-0 shutout of island rival Middletown in the annual Thanksgiving Day … more

11/25/22

Jimmy Buffett laughs between numbers during his surprise set at Sunset Cove on Park Avenue on Sunday. The show was billed as a concert featuring his Coral Reefer Band mate, guitarist Mac McAnally, but Buffett snuck onto the stage just three songs in.

Jimmy Buffett surprises ‘Parrotheads’ in Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH — Mike MacFarlane certainly knows how to throw himself a 50th birthday party. The owner of Sunset Cove in Island Park had a few hundred people on his restaurant’s … more

By Jim McGaw | 7/3/23

Portsmouth High’s Sean Gray came in second place among the boys in the Class B Cross-Country Championship at Ponaganset High School on Saturday. He ran the five-kilometer course in a time of 16:23.54 and was the youngest competitor to finish in the top 15.

Portsmouth High boys take 2nd in Class B championship

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth High cross-country teams made a strong showing at Saturday’s Class B Championship at Ponaganset High School. more

10/31/23