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Kris Papi and Mark Papi have built the bar, decorated the space, set up their brewing system and brewed six different varieties of beer. All they need is a liquor license to open Six Pack Brewing.

Six Pack is ready to be Bristol’s next brewery

Mark Papi has some experience opening a brewery. A year ago, he was brewmaster helping open Bristol’s first-ever brewery, Twelve Guns, located off Metacom Avenue. About a mile away, he has … more

By Scott Pickering | 10/2/20

Bristol Police investigate a few backyard gatherings and loud neighbors

Bristol Police made no arrests from Sept. 21 to 27, though they did investigate the usual array of suspicious characters and loud backyard gatherings. Monday, Sept. 21 A resident on … more

10/2/20

Donna Wilson of the Bristol Senior Center delivers lunch on Tuesday, Sept. 19, to Frank Palumbo. For many Bristol seniors isolating during the pandemic, a brief interaction like this might be the only contact with another person they have all day.

The high cost of low transmission

Medical experts predicted it, anecdotal stories supported it, and now communities around the globe are experiencing the effects of long-term isolation of those at highest risk of COVID-19. While … more

By Christy Nadalin | 10/2/20

BCWA Executive Director Pamela Marchand addresses the public at a press conference held shortly after the discovery of a leak in the East Bay Pipeline in April 2019.

Marchand retiring as head of BCWA

Bristol County Water Authority Executive Director Pamela Marchand will retire when her current contract expires at the end of February. Ms. Marchand, a Providence water supply engineer who was … more

By Ted Hayes | 10/1/20

Mt. Hope boys' soccer team players work on a conditioning drill during a recent practice. Those students who are going into the building one day per week will soon be switching to two days per week.

Mt. Hope High switches schedules again

Mt. Hope High School students will be back in school two days a week, starting next Tuesday, after Bristol Warren Regional School District officials decided this week to switch to the Partial Hybrid … more

By Ted Hayes | 10/1/20

Bristol Council candidates talk taxes, spending and small business

In a Phoenix story a week ago, several candidates for Bristol Town Council warned voters to be wary that some of their opponents may not be fiscally responsible with town budgets and taxes. This week … more

By Scott Pickering | 10/1/20

Following a short parade of town vehicles with sirens and horns blaring, this was the first passenger car to pass north on the newly constructed Silver Creek Bridge.

Silver Creek Bridge reopens to traffic in both directions

As everyone knows, Bristol loves a parade. So how else would they reopen the Silver Creek Bridge after it was partially closed for more than seven months? In true Bristol fashion, a parade … more

9/25/20

Bristol Police: Arrests for domestic violence and indecent exposure

Bristol police officers arrested a juvenile for exposing himself to a woman near the bike path and broke up the usual array of noisy gatherings, during incidents from Sept. 14 to 20. Monday, Sept. … more

9/25/20

Tish Bodell Hopkins (left) and Barbara Materna are the team behind BABS + Tish, the newest face in Bristol’s downtown retail scene.

A colorful collaboration in downtown Bristol

Step inside BABS + Tish, and you’re welcomed with a cacophony of seasonal color (today, that’s early fall). Despite offering two separate product lines, handmade bags (by Babs) and … more

By Christy Nadalin | 9/25/20

Candidates want more trades and career programing for students

Bristol candidates for three open seats on the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee include Jamie Brooks, William O’Dell, Marjorie McBride, Brian Bradshaw, Andrew Benn, Corrie Daluz, Karen … more

By Christy Nadalin | 9/24/20

These maps show the four currently proposed routes to bring cyclists from south (above) to north (next slide). One would connect to the bike path at Colt State Park. Another would connect at Sip ’n Dip. Another would connect at either Sip ’n Dip or Independence Park. And the last would feed right into the terminus of the bike path at Independence Park. For a full description of each route, see below.

What’s the best way to bike from the park to the university?

The Town of Bristol is exploring ways to connect the popular East Bay Bike Path with the southern end of town, including Roger Williams University. It has hired a design team, funded by a state … more

9/24/20

Why is this Bristol Council race more important than ever?

Locally, is this 2020 election uniquely significant or distinctive in any way? And if so, how should Bristol voters decide who gets their vote? All eight candidates for Bristol Town Council faced … more

By Scott Pickering | 9/24/20

English class sparks debate over 'morality' lessons in Bristol Warren

Social justice and the question of morality lessons in the classroom turned into a hot political discussion in Warren and Bristol this week, following an online post last week by a school committee … more

By Ted Hayes | 9/23/20

Kristin Amaral shows off Rogers Free Library’s new augmented reality globe, which works with a phone app and lets users learn about various cities and countries when they point to a location on the sphere.

Pandemic influences the new tech at Bristol library

From Dewey Decimal to digital, the local library is a center for literacy and learning. For Rogers Free Library tech guru Kristin Amaral — as much as she loves books — much of her focus … more

By Christy Nadalin | 9/19/20

Bristol Police: Residents complain of noise, drones, and ‘large gatherings’

Bristol Police received a relatively large volume of "noise" calls last week, with neighbors reporting neighbors being loud, playing loud music, partying and gathering in large groups. There were … more

9/18/20

Bristol Police nab ‘Mr. Victor’ for buying booze for minors

Bristol Police learned from a father in Little Compton that a man in Bristol was allegedly buying alcohol for minors. According to the Little Compton man, he found alcohol in his son’s room and … more

9/18/20

Dustin Reynolds is back in Bristol for a bit, pausing on his around-the-world journey, before setting off south, with an eye on the Atlantic hurricane season.

Double-amputee sailor is in the final stretch

For someone who has spent the past few years sailing solo around the world, you wouldn’t think loneliness would be an issue. But for circumnavigating, double-amputee solo sailor Dustin … more

By Christy Nadalin | 9/18/20

Bristol liquor stores and restaurants cited for serving minors

Six Bristol businesses were cited for liquor law violations after reportedly selling or serving alcohol to minors during an undercover police operation last Thursday, Sept. 10. Bristol Sgt. Paul … more

9/17/20

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jonathan Brice tells the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee and hundreds of teachers and parents why Mt. Hope High School can accommodate only 25 percent of students in the building at the same time, during a four-hour public meeting on Zoom last week.

Why did Mt. Hope scale back to one day per week?

In July, the Bristol Warren Regional School District unveiled a school reopening plan that would have Mt. Hope High School students back in the building half the time, and learning from home half the … more

By Scott Pickering | 9/17/20

A voter (left) checks in to vote during the 2018 Bristol Primary Election. The town has lost about 75 percent of its experienced poll workers and is looking for help.

Bristol needs poll workers for General Election

It’s a long day but a short-term commitment, and the election couldn’t happen without them. “The town requires about 100 people for this task,” said Town Clerk Lou Cirillo … more

9/17/20

Workers are in the final stages of getting both the Silver Creek Bridge and the approaches on both sides ready to reopen fully to traffic.

DOT says Silver Creek Bridge will be fully open again soon

Only about eight months ago, long before 2020 opened showed its real face, the high-season closure of the northbound route into town was Bristol’s biggest headache. The Rhode Island … more

9/16/20

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jonathan Brice answers a question during a Sept. 9 meeting that lasted nearly five hours for school committee members and administrators.

Bristol Warren district changes reopening plans for two schools

Bristol’s Colt Andrews Elementary School will open on Monday with no students in the buildings, and Mt. Hope High School students have lost 50 percent of their in-person classroom time for the … more

By Scott Pickering | 9/10/20

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jonathan Brice said they could use another week before opening schools, but the school board decided to forge ahead.

Divided school board OKs Sept. 14 Bristol Warren re-opening

In a 5-3 split vote, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee voted Thursday night to approve the Monday, Sept. 14 re-opening of schools, despite a request from the superintendent and some … more

By Ted Hayes | 9/4/20

Colt teacher tests positive, co-workers placed in quarantine

A Colt Andrews Elementary School teacher tested positive Thursday for the Covid-19 virus, and several staff members at the Bristol elementary school are currently in quarantine for 14 … more

By Ted Hayes | 9/4/20

Dyer Street residents Tomasz Krawczak and Patty Sylvia and King Philip Ave. resident Jim Lawton (left to right) talk about the challenges of living next to off-campus student homes on King Philip Avenue. The two homes that had a spike in activity and “problems” last spring are shown behind.

Bristol residents hoping to coexist with college kids next door

For the neighbors of two Roger Williams University student rentals on King Philip Avenue, it was a long spring. COVID-19 closed campus, leaving the students living off-campus without much to do. … more

By Christy Nadalin | 9/3/20