Stories,photos,videos,specialsections,printissues,eeditions,packages,magazines,maps,polls,charts | EastBayRI.com - News, Opinion, Things to Do in the East Bay

Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll, shown speaking at prior year's event, is asking residents to do their civic duty and get vaccinated.

Council president: Getting vaccinated is your civic duty

Michael Carroll had not rehearsed the line or spent much time thinking about what exactly he would say. But in the midst of Monday night’s meeting, the Barrington Town Council president … more

By Josh Bickford | 5/6/21

Letter: Is anyone really worried that ‘CRT’ is undermining schools?

This fancy new anagram only serves to confuse the issue and obfuscate the problem. Suddenly after the fictional plague of QANON and the real plague of Covid 19, we are treated by the Phoenix to a new … more

5/6/21

Bristol begins property revaluation, expands research to 2019 sales

The Town of Bristol has begun a new cycle of updating property assessments, led by a team from Northeast Revaluation Group of Warwick. Northeast has done previous townwide assessments and currently … more

By Scott Pickering | 5/6/21

Bristol Warren district hires consultant to start fixing finances

Earlier this spring, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee received a sobering evaluation of the district’s financial leadership , policies and procedures from an outside evaluator. Last … more

By Scott Pickering | 5/6/21

Letter: Thanks to Phoenix for publishing a racist letter

Last week, the Phoenix published a letter to the editor regarding the recent cases of racist and hate filled stickers being placed in Bristol and Warren which was full of personal attacks on local … more

5/6/21

Bristol Fire Chief Michel DeMello gives instruction to EMS volunteers as the first day of vaccinations comes to an end back in December. Chief DeMello and Bristol Police Lt. Steven St. Pierre led an enormous team of town employees and volunteers in ramping up and executing vaccine distribution and testing centers for months.

Bristol's first-responders aced their COVID response test

Now that vaccination appointments are easy to obtain and the vaccine is moving through state clinics and local pharmacies, it’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago they were being … more

By Christy Nadalin | 5/6/21

Emily Slusarczyk is shown competing in a sprint event at a recent swim meet.

She swims, she runs, she studies, she excels (Video)

Emily Slusarczyk’s schedule involves swimming in the pool, running on the track and building in the studio. Emily is a senior, a captain on the Roger Williams University women’s … more

By Megan Julian | 5/6/21

Letter: Author’s attack on ‘Race Theory’ suffered from bad timing

When I read Michael Byrnes’ letter of last week, entitled “ Critical Race Theory – A Dystopian Pathology, ” it made me think of the old saying, “ Timing is … more

5/6/21

Back when things were “normal,” a large crowd turned out to watch Colby James and the Ramblers perform in the 2019 Bristol Fourth of July Concert Series at Independence Park beside Bristol Harbor. The series is expected to resume this year, but it will be moved to the Roger Williams University campus. Colby James is scheduled to perform once again.

Bristol Fourth concert series moves to Roger Williams

Technically, the 2020 Bristol Fourth of July concert series was never canceled. First, it was delayed until August while the Fourth of July Committee waited to see if COVID restrictions would allow … more

By Christy Nadalin | 5/6/21

The Ad Hoc Athletic Field Advisory Committee commissioned this plan for reconfigured athletic fields at Haines Park as part of their work. The plan is a draft and has not been formally recommended.

Barrington officials remain focused on athletic fields

Use of the new athletic fields at Barrington Middle School has been delayed. The fields were expected to be available this spring, but an official said that sports teams would not be allowed to … more

By Josh Bickford | 5/6/21

Letter: Welcome home, Mr. and Mrs. Osprey!

Their flock of babies had finally flew the nest, with the exception of one recalcitrant sibling who was rudely tossed out by Dad. So, Mr. and Mrs. Osprey flew out to their winter home south of the … more

5/5/21

Millions of dollars on the way to Barrington

What would you do with $4.7 million? Wait, there is a caveat. What would you do with $4.7 million if you had to spend it on the town? A newly-formed Barrington Ad Hoc American Rescue … more

By Josh Bickford | 5/5/21

East Bay vaccination pod now accepts walk-in clients

EAST PROVIDENCE — The Rhode Island Department of Health last week announced the East Bay COVID-19 vaccination pod located in city at the Shoppers Town Plaza, 589 Taunton Ave., would going … more

By Mike Rego | 5/5/21

Barrington High School nationally ranked, again

The U.S. News and World Report recently released its rankings for Best High Schools in the country, and once again, Barrington High School was near the top. The report ranked BHS number 289 in … more

5/5/21

The Eagles celebrate a second quarter touchdown during the Division II semifinals, against Tolman, Friday.

Super Bowl-bound Eagles top Tigers

A howling wind and tough Tolman defense was not enough to keep the Barrington High School football team from advancing to the Division II State Championship. The Eagles defeated the Tigers 31-6 … more

By Josh Bickford | 5/4/21

Editorial: Good news, bad news for BMS project

Here is the good news: The Barrington Middle School construction project is 99.99 percent complete, and the contractor is finishing under budget by $4.3 million. Just a few years ago, … more

4/30/21

Bristol Chief of Police Kevin Lynch swears in Brody (yes, he was sleeping on the chief's desk), assisted by his partner, School Resource Officer Keith Medeiros, last April.

Pandemic reduces crime, as Bristol police step up their game

The pandemic can take credit for having one positive impact on Bristol. It significantly reduced crime. According to statistics released by the Bristol Police Department, arrests, citations and … more

By Scott Pickering | 4/30/21

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is proposing a detour plan that calls for widening of the pedestrian path on the Barrington and Warren river bridges.

Barrington official decries proposed bike path detour plan

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha does not support the new detour proposed for the East Bay Bike Path bridges. He said that while the proposed changes might be better than the current … more

By Josh Bickford | 4/30/21

Officers break up college party, cite three for providing alcohol

Among the numerous noise complaints and calls about sickly animals, Bristol police officers broke up a college party and cited three young men for providing alcohol to minors. Monday, April 19 … more

4/30/21

Chris Iseleib and his wife, Ann Marie, moved from the Washington, D.C. area to Barrington, buying a million-dollar house that they saw only on Zoom. Located off Nayatt Road and close to the water, it is more than 100 years old and comes with a unique stone gazebo.

Urban buyers have been moving out to the 'country'

It’s been just over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, shaking up lives around the globe. One phenomenon now becoming a trend is the mass exodus from cities to more rural … more

By Joan D. Warren | 4/30/21

Luke Daniel shows off his winning design in the 2021 Bristol Fourth of July button contest.

Young artist designs Fourth button for second year in a row

For the second year in a row, middle school student Luke Daniel has designed the official Bristol Fourth of July button. The Fourth of July Committee sorted through 39 entries for this year’s … more

4/30/21

Letter: Thanks to Rotary for support of dialer program

I extend my sincerest thanks to the Bristol Rotary Charities Foundation for its continued financial support of Bristol’s Emergency Dialer program. In 2020, 97 emergency calls were made using … more

4/30/21

Brian Devolve can get obsessive about making sure his cars (or this customer’s) look perfect. The disabled veteran is known for his attention to details — and his inspirational social media posts.

For this veteran, salvation is in the details

As a student at Portsmouth High School in the late 1990s, Brian Devolve loved his car — a 1985 Monte Carlo — and looked forward to what he hoped would be a long, decorated military … more

By Christy Nadalin | 4/29/21

Letter: DOT needs to repair bike path bridges immediately

Experienced and inexperienced bicyclists are all welcome on the East Bay Bike Path. It is one of Rhode Island’s popular calling cards for tourism. The two bicycle bridges in Warren and … more

4/29/21

Letter: Here’s a compromise for the de-leveling dilemma

To the editor: I've been observing the ongoing debate in town regarding the planned changes to the ninth and tenth grade English classes and wanted to share a suggestion on how we might resolve … more

4/29/21