$299,000 condos not selling; new RI laws; Henry’s Tree Farm closes: Top stories this week

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of Dec. 24, supported by your subscriptions.

• Foster and adoptive families face unique challenges, and who better to guide them than other parents who’ve taken that journey themselves? For seven years, The Village for Rhode Island Foster & Adoptive Families has offered mentoring, resources and help dealing with both practical and emotional challenges.
• What will be the top priorities for lawmakers when the Rhode Island General Assembly convenes its new session on Tuesday? Many of the issues will be familiar: housing, health care, gun legislation and the fiscal crisis facing the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority. But the state’s top general office-holders have a few new ideas on their wish lists.
• New Year’s Eve is a perfect time to take stock of the year’s news, from our top investigative pieces to the odder “only in Rhode Island” kind of stories. In the ever-evolving dining landscape, we mourned the restaurants that closed and welcomed more than 50 newcomers. And we’ve rounded up the most-read columns for Walking Rhode Island, Car Doctor and Ask the DMV.
• What were the top sports stories in Rhode Island in 2023? These grabbed the biggest headlines and these were among the most inspiring, but Eric Rueb and Bill Koch round out the list with some other picks, some of which might surprise you. Read more of our high school and college sports coverage at providencejournal.com/sports.

Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:

When the Mavis Street condos in Pawtucket went up for sale this summer, people flocked to the open-house showings.

At $299,000, the two-bedroom, 1½-bathroom condos with central air, a parking spot and a yard seem like a dream. During the summer, the added bonus of a 30-year mortgage at 5.75% seemed like a small incentive, but as interest rates hit 8% in October and declined just a bit to 7% now, it looks more enticing.

But six months after the condo complex was finished, only one of the five units is under contract, despite the ever-increasing cost of housing, to rent or buy. So, why haven’t they sold?

Two issues seem to be keeping the condos cool in what is an otherwise hot real estate market. Read on to find out more.

Housing: These new condos in Pawtucket cost only $299,000. Why haven’t they sold?

The 21 laws taking effect on Jan. 1 cover a lot of ground, including the creation of a new state holiday known as “Juneteenth National Freedom Day” on June 19 each year.

Rhode Island’s minimum wage will rise by $1 to a new high of $14 an hour, in the next-to-last step before reaching a long-sought $15 an hour in 2025.

Here’s what else will change in Rhode Island on New Year’s Day, including new protections for tenants and employees, changes in voting rules, measures to protect the environment, and the issuance of new state ID cards for undocumented residents.

Government: What new laws go into effect in RI on Jan. 1? From minimum wage to plastic bags, take a look

Don’t let his federal lawsuit against the project fool you: Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi says he supports plans to build a new $100 million cargo terminal at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport.

He just wants airport executives to guarantee their promises to shield residents from noise and truck traffic, and says he will drop the court action once those promises are in writing.

But his campaign to guarantee construction of a noise wall and a new access road at the airport has accumulated legal bills and may, some in Warwick speculate, have encouraged the Federal Aviation Administration to cancel $500,000 annual payments the city has received from the airport for decades.

Even if Picozzi gets the written guarantee he is looking for, will the legal fight prove to be a wise move in the long run?

Local news: Inside the legal standoff between Warwick Mayor Picozzi and T.F. Green Airport

A holiday tradition shared by generations of Rhode Islanders ended this season with the closing of Henry’s Christmas Tree Farm in Scituate.

Spread across 135 acres, the farm had more than 100,000 trees during its heyday and sold more Christmas trees over the last 60 years than owner David Henry can count.

Henry’s Christmas Tree Farm was among the first in Rhode Island that let customers wander the fields and tag their own trees. Many customers would return year after year, and then their children would bring their children.

Find out what motivated Henry to give up the business that brought him and so many others such joy over the years.

Business: A Rhode Island Christmas tradition stops growing as Henry’s Tree Farm closes

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