Top Stories | Cranston Herald

PARADE: The Tomorrow Fund’s Annual Stroll at Garden City Center saw over 1200 walkers across 62 teams raising over $80,000 to support kids fighting life threatening diseases. (Photos by Steve Popiel)

Walkers at Garden City Center raise tens of thousands for kids

Rhode Islanders laced up their walking shoes last weekend for the Tomorrow Fund’s Annual Stroll at Garden City. The event saw 1,250 attendees, in 62 teams who collectively raised $80,000 for … more

5/1/24

R.I. ethics panel votes to investigate nepotism complaint against Mayor Hopkins

The state ethics panel has launched an investigation into Cranston Mayor Kenneth J. Hopkins for alleged nepotism. The Rhode Island Ethics Commission’s 6-0 vote Tuesday comes in response to … more

By Nancy Lavin RHODE ISLAND CURRENT | 5/1/24

BEAUTIFYING: Wheelbarrows were essential at this spring’s cleanups of the historic cemetery which lies in the woods behind the Rhode Island Training School. Volunteers came equipped with plenty of yard equipment to give some dignity to those buried here, a century later. (Photo by Barbara Polichetti)

New lease on life for Cranston cemetery

For too long, woods reclaimed the historic cemetery behind the Rhode Island Training School (RITS) off Sockanosett Cross Road. The graveyard has rows and rows of small, rounded headstones … more

By BARBARA POLICHETTI | 5/1/24

Council passes budget, but is it legal?

Cranston City Council voted to approve an amended city budget at a special meeting Monday, with a 6-3 vote along party lines. However, what Council President Jessica Marino classifies as a … more

By KEVIN FITZPATRICK | 5/1/24

STUCK WITH AN ARROW: Torrie Aceto shared these photos of the injured swan on the Johnston Sun Rise Facebook page.

UPDATE: Two swans, one arrow

UPDATED: There’s a special place at the bottom of Oak Swamp Pond for someone with a bow and quiver full of black arrows with blue and white fletching. Rhode Island Environmental Police searched the … more

By RORY SCHULER | 4/24/24

AN UNUSUAL DOCTOR’S OFFICE: CCAP’s new medical van sits in the Pilgrim Senior Center parking lot this past Thursday for visitors and passersby to check out.

Doctors on wheels

The Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) is preparing to deliver medical care to those who may need it most. CCAP’s new medical van will travel to different locations throughout … more

By ADAM ZANGARI | 4/24/24

DOWN IN THE MUD: Leslie Eastman, Martha Iacetta, and Sarah Lee are among dozens of volunteers who dredged up dozens of bags worth of litter from Stillhouse Cove Saturday for their annual Earth Day cleanup. Members of Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Society and Save the Bay were there to attest to the vulnerability of the salt marsh due to flooding, and an influx of microplastics. Another cleanup will be going on May 4 from 9 - 11 a.m. (Photo by Kevin Fitzpatrick)

Cranston celebrates Earth Day

4/24/24

Announcement of open Cranston school committee seat

Cranston Public Schools announces the opening of the Ward 2 seat on the Cranston School Committee. The Cranston School Committee is made up of six members as well as a citywide chairperson. The … more

4/24/24

SO HELP ME GOD: Kristen Haroian takes the oath of office as Ward 2’s new City Councilwoman, following the resignation of former City Councilwoman Aniece Germain. (Photo by Kevin Fitzpatrick)

Ward 2 seat filled; investigations breed investigations in City Council

Cranston’s Ward 2 has a new city councilwoman. Following the resignation of former councilwoman Aniece Germain last week, Kristen E. Haroian, formerly the Ward 2 representative of the Cranston … more

By KEVIN FITZPATRICK | 4/24/24

Karen Santilli wants to move the YMCA past its COVID slump

There’s a room just off the lobby of the Kent County YMCA equipped with plenty of exercise balls and stationary bikes, and even a mirrored wall, complete with a ballet barre. Each hints at … more

By CHRISTOPHER GAVIN | 4/24/24

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha

AG: Johnston man sentenced to life in prison for 2021 nightclub murder

Prosecutors argued a Johnston man was in a scuffle outside a Providence club. He walked away from the fight, but “90 seconds later … returned with a gun.” Now he’ll likely … more

Staff Reports | 4/23/24

NEW EXIT: Construction crews started an access road to Belfield Drive off the shoulder of I-295 following January flooding. It served its purpose and has since been closed. Now funding has been allocated, mostly through the federal government, to buy homes and demolish them along Belfield Drive.

More than $5 million committed to Belfield Drive home buyout program

Johnston Mayor Joseph M. Polisena Jr.’s office announced more than $5 million in funding for home buyouts on Belfield Drive, the site of “persistent flooding issues.” Now … more

By RORY SCHULER | 4/22/24

POLITICAL ACCESS: On March 17, of last year, Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. announced on Twitter that he had toured the Amazon construction site with US Sen. Jack Reed. He released four photos from the tour. (Photos courtesy Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr.)

Amazon’s first ‘help wanted’ signs in Johnston

Can you operate with “significant autonomy and discretion,” “work all shifts, including nights, weekends, and holidays” and “some overnight shifts as necessary”? … more

By RORY SCHULER | 4/17/24

DON’T STOP BELIEVIN: A selfie by Glyn Morgan while at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, March 2013.

Cranston resident has his own vision on how to beat cancer

There are very few words more life shattering to hear than “you have cancer”. But, for Cranston’s Glyn Morgan, that is what happened to him in 2013. “My connection … more

By PAM SCHIFF | 4/17/24

Dragons everywhere

And you thought Roger Williams Park Zoo was the only place to find dragons at this time of year. Well, Peter Legg who was watching the sunset at Fort Getty in Jamestown Sunday, grabbed this shot of … more

4/17/24

Councilwoman resigns suddenly

Editor’s note: On the morning of publication of this paper, evidence was brought to light of potential misconduct by Hope and Change for Haiti, which lost its 501-C3 status in 2022. The … more

By RAYMOND BACCARI | 4/17/24

PACKAGE DELAYED: These images of the Amazon construction site in Johnston, after sunset, were captured by a drone piloted by Trevor Bryan, an FAA Licensed and insured drone pilot, the owner and operator of New England Aerial Services, on Sept. 21, 2022. The illuminated project has been taking shape on the Hartford Avenue hill overlooking Johnston, but its opening date has now been pushed to late 2024.

Amazon renegotiates tax deal with Johnston

Since Amazon has not yet opened for business in Johnston, the mega-retailer has invoked a costly construction clause in its contract with the town. Over the past few months, the company … more

By RORY SCHULER | 4/10/24

Déjà 42: Kelsey Coletta, Dennis Cardillo Jr., and state Rep. Edward Cardillo Jr. are competing in the Democratic primary rematch this September. They also ran against each other in 2022 (Ed Cardillo narrowly won that race).

Déjà 42: District 42 Democratic primary is repeat performance

Voters in Rhode Island House District 42, which contains parts of Johnston and Cranston, will likely see a 2022 Democratic primary rematch this September. All three candidates who ran last election, … more

By RAYMOND BACCARI | 4/10/24

OUT OF THIS WORLD: Planetary was the wardrobe theme for West Warwick Library staff. (Photo by Barbara Polichetti)

Getting a ‘safe’ peek of solar show

The solar eclipse was the main event Monday, with day turning to dusk as the moon slid between the earth and the sun in a rare astronomical event which will not … more

By BARBARA POLICHETTI | 4/10/24

GLOBETROTTING: Cranston East student Liam DeRosa will be performing around North and South America this summer with the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra. (Photo provided by Cranston Public Schools)

Student musician inducted into national youth orchestra

One of Cranston’s own will be crossing hemispheres this summer as a viola player in one of the country’s most prestigious youth orchestras. Liam DeRosa, a junior at Cranston East and … more

By KEVIN FITZPATRICK | 4/10/24

May 1, 2024