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Bristol earns 'safest' town in RI rank for 5th consecutive year

It is also the fifth consecutive year South Kingstown has been named second safest. Cumberland and North Kingstown took the third and fourth slots, while East Providence climbed four spots to take the fifth spot and round out the top five safest cities in Rhode Island. more

By Christy Nadalin | 4/10/24

Home Improvement | Spring 2024

Home Improvement | Spring 2024 more

4/10/24

RIDEM stock ponds in anticipation of 2024 trout season

A rite of spring as much as any other, Opening Day of the 2024 trout season is set for Saturday, April 13, and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has stocked more than 100 … more

4/10/24

Students from Mt. Hope High School’s engineering CTE program, alongside instructors Zach Fenster, Ryan Garrity, and Lauren Enjetit, brought the house to the Rhode Island Home Show last Friday to present to a local girl fighting cancer.

Mt. Hope students design, build, decorate and deliver 'wish house' for local girl

A collaborative project between the school's CTE and arts programs, the house was designed in the style of Disney's "Encanto", and was delivered to a girl battling cancer. more

4/9/24

Local waterways stocked for Opening Day this Saturday

Opening Day of the freshwater fishing season in Rhode Island begins at 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 13. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) has stocked more than 60,000 brook, … more

By Capt. Dave Monti | 4/8/24

Investigative team starts digging for Washington Bridge answers

STORY OF THE WEEK: “We’re leaving no stone unturned as far as accountability,” Gov. Dan McKee said last Friday, as he unveiled Max Wistow and Jonathan Savage as the lawyers who will … more

By Ian Donnis | 4/8/24

The west-to-east side crossover on Interstate 195 towards the Washington Bridge will be moved closer to the span in an attempt to alleviate congestion.

RIDOT preps new lane configuration on east side of bridge

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation will shift the location of the crossover from the westbound side of Interstate 195 to the eastbound side and eventually over the Washington Bridge as … more

By Mike Rego | 4/8/24

Bristol PD: Police make five arrests, including three in one day

Police arrested three individuals on March 27 and made a variety of stops for reports of fraud and other concerns by residents between March 25 and April 1, 2024. more

4/5/24

Bristol Historical & Preservation Society librarian and historian Rei Battcher with Dan Barnes, who bought the home at 82 Thames St. and discovered the true history of the structure.

Thames Street homeowner learns house is over 320 years old

Dan Barnes bought a house on Thames Street in 2022 and wondered how old it really was. Turns out, he had purchased a property almost as old as the Town of Bristol itself. more

By Christy Nadalin | 4/5/24

Balcony, 'maker space' in the plans for Rogers Free Library following $1.75M grant

The Rogers Free Library is about to get a healthy infusion of cash in the form of a $1.75 million grant of federal funds that will be coming through the State more

By Christy Nadalin | 4/4/24

Letter: Only better pay will help police retention

There's only going to be one thing that's going to attract and retain quality employees, and that is money. more

4/4/24

Letter: 'Safe storage' bill comes from a place of dishonesty

How many of deaths were caused by a violation of our current safe storage law? more

4/4/24

Letter: Concerns about the Mt. Hope Bridge

The failure of the Washington Street Bridge has been extensively reported. It seems there may also be reasons to raise questions about the Mt. Hope Bridge. more

4/4/24

Editorial: APRA fight has government protecting government

Committees in both the Rhode Island House of Representatives and Rhode Island Senate have listened to testimony on a bill that would update and improve the state’s public records law. … more

4/4/24

Bristol Phoenix - Thursday, April 4, 2024

4/4/24

A note written by Dr. Halsey DeWolf, which reads, “Mary Howe wore these glasses and wanted them saved for the next total eclipse, so that she wouldn’t have to buy new ones. They cost 15 [cents].”

He witnessed a total solar eclipse nearly 100 years ago — here's what he saw

At a time when rigid airships still flew over Block Island, one prominent Bristol family went to Westerly to experience an event you're lucky to see more than once in a lifetime. Now you can read their own handwritten account of that day in 1925. more

By Ethan Hartley | 4/4/24

Eric Whipple of WhippleTree, points out an exit wound of an affected Ash Tree that had to be taken down in Bristol on Monday.

Another ash tree bites the dust in Bristol

The invasive Emerald Ash Borer claimed another victim this week, this time in a private yard on Woodlawn Avenue. more

By Ethan Hartley | 4/3/24

A candle bearing Owen Cameron’s image sits atop a skateboard at Channing Memorial Church in Newport Saturday night, when a vigil in his memory was held. Twenty people took to the microphone to share moving tributes to the Portsmouth High School junior, whose body was found in Middletown March 27, four days after he was last seen leaving his job on foot.

‘He was a light’

PORTSMOUTH — Ava McDermott said a simple act of kindness was all it took for her to realize how special Owen Cameron was. more

By Jim McGaw | 4/3/24

Ken Block has done a service to this country

Many readers will remember Ken Block as a two-time candidate for Rhode Island Governor and technology entrepreneur who helped the State of Texas save more than a billion dollars in food stamp fraud … more

By Arlene Violet, Esq. | 4/3/24

A class of Roger Williams University students, tasked with an assignment to come up with a hypothetical design plan for the Ocean State Job Lot plaza on Metacom Avenue in Warren, envisioned a multi-use parcel centered around a large auditorium and multiple mixed-use, commercial/residential buildings.

RWU students develop hypothetical re-design of Metacom Avenue plaza

The assignment was near and dear to professor Bob Rulli, who you may remember had a keen interest in trying to redesign the same parcel of land. more

By Ethan Hartley | 4/2/24

Casey Cord (left) and Cam Ruggieri (middle) celebrate they both score on a John Mass double in the sixth inning against Mt. Hope on Monday, as teammates Nick Spaner (mid-right) and Charlie Cord (right) look on.

Portsmouth wins home opener against Mt. Hope, 8-3

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth High School varsity baseball team started its season in fine fashion Monday, winning a home opener against Mt. Hope by a score of 8-3. The Patriots … more

4/2/24

The daughter of a poet genius was a genius in her own right

‘Enchantress of Numbers’ By Jennifer Chiaverini Anyone who has taken a course in British literature will be familiar with the most lionized of Romantic poets, Geroge Gordon, Lord … more

By Donna Bruno | 4/2/24

Capt. Monti with a spring striped bass caught when fishing with fresh Atlantic menhaden chucks on the channel pad or edge in front of Poppasquash Point, Bristol.

Ten favorite places to catch spring striped bass

The spring migration run of striped bass will soon be underway. The water temperatures off Narragansett at press time was 41 degrees. Traditionally 55 degrees is the temperature when the fish are … more

By Capt. Dave Monti | 4/2/24

Block’s book battles confirmation bias with facts

STORY OF THE WEEK: Add Ken Block to the lengthy list of people who’ve told Donald Trump or his campaign that his fake narrative about a stolen election in 2020 is a lot of baloney. In … more

4/2/24

Mason Conte drives to the basket in the first half of Mt. Hope's game against Barrington last Wednesday. The team is ready to learn and have some fun this season, according to head coach Tom Fullen.

Fun is the name of the game for Fullen and Huskies

Mt. Hope coach Tom Fullen smiled while talking about this season’s unified basketball team. “It’s the most fun that’d I have had coaching,” he said. “How can … more

Photos and story by Richard W. Dionne, Jr. | 4/2/24