"It's really calmed down. I'm going to take Ollie out for a walk," Carol announced. She was right. The sun was trying to come out, the day was brightening. "It could be the eye of the storm," I cautioned. "I knew you would say that," she answered. She more

For weeks, a supposed drama has been playing out over whether Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza would sign off on allowing State Police to help with patrols in Rhode Island's capital city. Thing is, the State Police have traditionally boosted the police more

Thank God for chatter. I'm not referring to the faulty brakes of a car or the mother-in-law who won't get off the phone. This chatter, as I can attest, is a lifesaver. It's the grooved strips that are now common on the sides of interstate highway lanes. more

It's a Sunday routine in preparation for the week ahead. First, turn on WCRB, the Boston classical station and hope for some Hayden, Mozart or the occasional Scott Joplin. Then, turn on the computer for an avalanche of emails. After weeding through more

I should have listened to Jack Clegg. "You need to get your notebook, you have enough stories here to fill a couple of columns." But I hadn't come armed with notebook to record the surprise 90th birthday party for Bill Riggs and the 60th party for his more

Mayor Jorge Elorza is urging the General Assembly to allow Providence to borrow, without voter approval, at least $750 million for a 25-year pension obligation bond (POB). Providence plans to invest the POB proceeds and reduce its $1.2 more

The recent census surprised many by showing Rhode Island gained about 45,000 inhabitants and that it would not lose a congressional seat. However, the 2020 census also showed that Rhode Island is still in danger of losing a seat. Rhode Island's second more

It takes a dog to understand the beauty of routine. I wish I had understood this sooner, but I'm a slow learner. Fortunately, Ollie is a patient teacher. A month didn't go by a couple of years ago without this column being devoted to the antics of our more

Every year, scores of people make impassioned arguments about gun-related bills under consideration at the General Assembly. There are marathon hearings like the one that started in the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday afternoon and ended around more

There was no counting of the rings when she came down, but my guess is that the maple was more than 100 years old. The core to the tree was gone. We were left with a stump, a ring of wood 6 to 8 inches around a hole that dropped 2 feet below the surface more

There's a huge delta between the best-case and worst-case scenarios for Rhode Island's health care landscape. If a big out-of-state firm swallowed a major Rhode Island hospital group, more care would likely migrate elsewhere, with negative implications more