News | EastBayRI.com - News, Opinion, Things to Do in the East Bay

Barrington resident Ruth Oppenheim (third from left) heads back to her car after discovering she was not able to register for a vaccination on Friday morning.

Barrington seniors brave cold weather, hope to register for vaccine

Ruth Oppenheim pushed through a bitterly cold wind as she made her way to the front door of Barrington Town Hall early Friday morning. The 93-year-old Barrington resident was hoping to register to … more

By Josh Bickford | 1/29/21

Norm Menard, of Barrington EMS, gives instruction while checking someone in at Quinta Gamelin Recreation Center, where health workers and first responders can get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Warren flooded with calls from vaccine seekers

Phones have been ringing off the hook at Warren Town Hall since early Thursday, when local officials learned they would soon be receiving 50 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to distribute to elderly … more

By Ted Hayes | 1/29/21

This house, on a 2.18-acre swatch of Metacom Avenue land slated for development, was once owned by Cool Moose Party founder and well-known local attorney Robert Healey.

Apartments planned for former Cool Moose property in Warren

A Metacom Avenue property formerly owned by Cool Moose Party founder Robert Healey could soon be the site of an 18-unit apartment complex, and an engineer said it is possible that more apartments … more

By Ted Hayes | 1/29/21

Roger Williams University junior Samantha L’Esperance is a dedicated arts student who would like to make a career of it. Between COVID-19 impacts and the loss of the university’s ceramics studio, she feels like her ambitions are “slowly going down the drain.”

University studios are packed up and put on hold

For the past four years, Roger Williams University maintained two fully equipped art studios for its visual arts students. Today those studios sit inside a storage facility. The … more

By Samantha Tavares | 1/29/21

Veteran Karl Antonevich stands before the Memorial Garden, a place of reverence for Bristol veterans and citizens.

A place of honor for the Bristol veterans

They’ve had to pack up and move a lot of times over the years, but the Bristol Veterans Council may have finally found their forever home. According to Veterans Council Vice President Karl … more

By Christy Nadalin | 1/28/21

Members of the United Veterans Council of Barrington stand in opposition to the town manager’s decision to raise the Black Lives Matter flag on the town hall flag pole last year. The group is calling for a non-political flag policy.

Barrington's proposed flag policy challenged

The president of the Barrington United Veterans Council is making a hard push to have the Barrington Town Council adopt a non-political flag policy. On Thursday morning, Jan. 28, Paul Dulchinos … more

By Josh Bickford | 1/28/21

Town officials have been pressuring Shineharmony LLC, the owners of the property, to secure the vacant buildings, which have become an inviting target to vandals.

Violation notice upheld, vacant property's owner facing fines

The Barrington Building Board of Review has voted to uphold a notice of violation issued to the owner of the former Zion Bible College property. During a meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 26, members of … more

By Josh Bickford | 1/28/21

Isabel, a freshman from Rockland, N.Y., swabs her nose as part of the coronavirus test.

Roger Williams welcomes students back to campus

By all accounts, Roger Williams University did an excellent job managing COVID within its community over the course of the fall term. They are looking forward to a repeat of that success beginning … more

1/28/21

Barrington Police: Resident reports confederate flag-waving dirt-bike rider; partying in Y’s buses?

Barrington police responded to a variety of incidents last week: • On Saturday, Jan. 23, a Western Avenue resident called police to report that a man had been riding a dirt bike around nearby … more

1/27/21

Aaron Ley was one of two Bristol town councilors in favor of forming a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, but he was in the minority, during a meeting held on Zoom Jan. 20.

Bristol denies diversity group’s request for formal committee

Bristol resident Rob Hancock and many others spoke at length at last Wednesday night’s Bristol Town Council meeting regarding the establishment of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee … more

By Christy Nadalin | 1/27/21

Annmarie Gower was an All-American runner in college and beloved track and cross-country coach for more than 30 years at Barrington High School. She stepped down recently, stating “The last couple of years with COVID and the school time change the day became really long. I couldn’t start my practices until 3:45. Personally for me it became difficult as is the case for any coach who is a teacher.”

Start-time change a factor for retiring BHS coach

Perhaps Barrington High School Director of Athletics George Finn best expressed how important Annmarie Gower has been to the school’s girls’ cross country team, indoor track team and … more

BY MIKE SCANDURA | 1/27/21

Metacom Avenue's hodge podge of styles, large parking lots and overall aesthetic are being targeted by a sweeping town revitalization effort.

Warren envisions improved Metacom Avenue

Warren's sprawling and in many places dated and drab Metacom Avenue could be transformed to a trendy business and residential area, with condos, small shops and green spaces, under a sweeping series of proposed regulations released this week by the town's planning department. more

By Ted Hayes | 1/26/21

Candace Breen was one of a handful of residents who recently received a letter from another resident telling them to remove Biden and Black Lives Matter signs from their yards.

Letter to Barrington residents: Remove Biden and BLM signs

Candace Breen was having a wonderful day. The Barrington resident was watching President Biden’s inauguration on television last Wednesday when she heard the mail truck pull in front of her … more

By Josh Bickford | 1/26/21

Police provided this photograph of some of the marijuana plants allegedly seized in the raid of a Market Street apartment Friday evening.

Warren police raid yields marijuana, guns and cash

A Warren man faces several felony charges after a police raid at his home Friday, Jan. 22 uncovered dozens of marijuana plants and more than a pound of prepared marijuana, eight weapons and several … more

By Ted Hayes | 1/25/21

Examples of signs that were erected in front of a Bristol Ferry home by local resident Michael DiPaola, and which were the target of a notice of violation from the Town of Portsmouth. The ACLU has now filed a lawsuit against the town, challenging the zoning ordinance.

Portsmouth: Notice of violation doesn't target signs’ content

PORTSMOUTH — The Town of Portsmouth did not use its local sign ordinance to ban the posting of “political” signs by a local man on residential property, the town stated in a … more

1/24/21

Members of the RI National Guard set up the asymptomatic rapid testing site in the Barrington Shopping Center.

Barrington testing site extended two more weeks

Barrington officials announced recently that the pop-up asymptomatic Covid-19 testing site in town will remain open for an additional two weeks. The testing site, which is located in the former … more

1/22/21

Barrington Police: Lawn signs stolen, window broken, and more

Barrington police responded to a variety of different incidents last week: • On Friday, Jan. 15, a Barrington resident stopped into the station to file a report for missing lawn signs. … more

1/22/21

Three homes destroyed in devastating fire on Prudence Island

PRUDENCE ISLAND — Three homes were completely destroyed by a late-night fire on Prudence Island Thursday. One woman managed to escape safely from the home at which the fire apparently … more

By Jim McGaw | 1/22/21

ACLU sues Town of Portsmouth over violation notice on signs

PORTSMOUTH — No doubt you’ve seen the signs while driving up and down Bristol Ferry Road, although perhaps the wording was difficult to make out from a moving vehicle. more

By Jim McGaw | 1/22/21

Members of the Barrington High School girls indoor track team run through a practice session on the outdoor track on Monday morning, Jan. 18. Pictured are (from left to right) Kyle Keough, Lindsay Turgeon, Jane Bryant, Virginia Sanderson, Maeve Murphy and Tosca Barako taking a warm-up lap before the start of the work-out.

Barrington teams excited to start winter sports season

Barrington High School’s winter sports teams will begin playing regular season games this weekend, after the state gave the green light to interscholastic league competition earlier this … more

By Josh Bickford | 1/22/21

Bristol Warren school chief steps aside temporarily to be with family

Bristol Warren's school superintendent is stepping away from the job for five weeks to be with his family and provide support to his mother, who is facing health problems. Superintendent Dr. … more

By Ted Hayes | 1/22/21

Barrington revaluation underway, assessments on the way

Notices for the recent town-wide revaluation could be mailed to residents as soon as February. Barrington’s new tax assessor, Ken Mallette, told members of the town council earlier this … more

1/22/21

The new bike route would include a network of downtown streets, all with street markings and signage to improve safety and allow versatility for cyclists.

Bristol bike path engineers decide to go with the flow

The plan to extend the East Bay Bike Path through downtown Bristol to the base of the Mt. Hope Bridge has undergone a significant revision. After spending much of 2020 studying possible bike routes … more

By Scott Pickering | 1/22/21

Paddle board teammates Peter Maloney and Eileen Malloy, both of Bristol, return the ball back over the net during a pickle ball match on the Town Common on Tuesday.

Pickleball on the Common — a ‘winter lifesaver’

Peter Maloney and his teammate Eileen Malloy celebrated after he whacked the softball-sized plastic yellow ball over the net, sending it whistling by his opponents, Cathy Winston and David Schwartz, … more

By Richard W. Dionne, Jr. | 1/21/21

Two Barrington schools offering Covid-19 testing

All students and staff at Barrington High School and Barrington Middle School are now being offered testing for Covid-19 through a special program that will run through the end of the school year. The program was made … more

1/21/21