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3 sentenced to more than 2 years in prison for scamming older Rhode Islanders – The Boston Globe

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3 sentenced to more than 2 years in prison for scamming older Rhode Islanders – The Boston Globe


PROVIDENCE (AP) — Three males have been despatched to jail for his or her roles in a so-called grandparent rip-off that cheated greater than a dozen Rhode Island residents between the ages of 79 and 94 out of greater than $300,000 mixed, federal prosecutors stated.

The defendants contacted the victims and pretended to be a relative or an lawyer who wanted money to make bail funds for a member of the family, usually a grandchild, who had been arrested, US Lawyer for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha stated in a press release Monday.

The victims had been advised to offer the money to a courier who could be despatched to their dwelling. At the least 14 Rhode Island residents had been victimized.

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Diego Alarcon, 22, of Union Metropolis, New Jersey, was sentenced Friday to 2½ years in jail. Bryan Valdez-Espinosa, 22, of Union Metropolis, New Jersey, was sentenced to the identical time period earlier this month.

Jason Hatcher, 40, of New York, was sentenced in November to 2 years and 9 months in jail.

All three pleaded responsible to wire fraud costs. As well as, Hatcher pleaded responsible to aggravated id theft.

The boys had been additionally ordered to pay restitution.

Prosecutors beforehand stated the defendants had been caught solely after a member of the family intervened in one of many scams.

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Rhode Island

Endangered stone walls; Matunuck Oyster Bar; clam shack winner: Top stories this week

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Endangered stone walls; Matunuck Oyster Bar; clam shack winner: Top stories this week


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  • A UConn professor is advocating for the preservation of New England’s historic stone walls.
  • A visitors guide to Rhode Island’s 21 lighthouses.
  • Matunuck Oyster Bar reopened under a temporary tent after a fire, with plans for a full rebuild by May 2026.
  • Rhode Island restaurants share their coping strategies amid inflation, tariffs and other economic challenges.

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of June 30, supported by your subscriptions.

  • The Ocean State is naturally proud of the 21 lighthouses that dot its rocky shores, from its first – the 1749 Beavertail Lighthouse in Jamestown – to the sparkplug-style Plum Beach Lighthouse that graces one of Rhode Island’s specialty license plates. Here’s our guide to all 21, and how you can visit them – including one where you can stay overnight.
  • Film fans have been keeping tabs on Rhode Island’s latest brush with Hollywood: the shoots that have been popping up for M. Night Shyamalan’s supernatural romantic thriller “Remain,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor and Ashley Walters. Here’s a rundown of where it’s filmed so far, and what we know about the plot.
  • Terry Francona’s return to Fenway Park this week has been a wistful reminder of a better Red Sox era, says Journal sportswriter Bill Koch, who looks back at the heady time of curse-busting World Series wins and a fearless front office and asks: Is there hope to regain that winning culture? For that and more sports news, go to providencejournal.com/sports.

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

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New England once had 240,000 miles of stone walls, enough to wrap around the Earth 10 times. But these iconic structures, woven into the region’s history, environment and identity, are endangered, according to stone walls expert Robert Thorson, who spoke about them at a special program in Little Compton on July 2.

Thorson, an Earth Science professor at the University of Connecticut, said that stone walls reveal geology, provide habitat for plants and animals, and even have military significance, as New England Colonists used them for cover when fighting the British in the Revolutionary War. Yet they lack legal protections from those who would “strip mine” them for profit.

Read on to find out how Thorson is spreading the word as a “stump evangelist for stone wall conservation” and advising communities on what they can do to protect these threatened landmarks.

Local news: One man’s quiet war to save New England’s oldest landmarks

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SOUTH KINGSTOWN – With pomp and politicians, Matunuck Oyster Bar reopened under a tent on June 30, across from the scene of a devastating May fire on Succotash Road.

The new dining space, offers breezes from the water, as it is set on the channel between Point Judith and Potter Pond, in front of owner Perry Raso’s new shellfish hatchery. With a wood floor, tent lighting and service stations, it feels well thought out and more like a restaurant than one would imagine, says Journal food editor Gail Ciampa.

Gail was there for the opening and heard Raso talk publicly for the first time about the May 20 fire that destroyed the restaurant, and his plans for the rebuild, which he hopes will be ready to reopen by May 20, 2026.

Dining: Matunuck Oyster Bar raises a tent as it rises from ashes. Go inside the interim restaurant

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The restaurant industry is unlike any other when it comes to navigating razor-thin profit margins, bouncing back from a volatile economy and finding ways to keep people fed.

Restaurant patronage is still below pre-pandemic levels, and restaurants have a new battle to fight as well – inflation.

Since the late 2000s, the cost of dining out has risen faster than supermarket prices. In a recent survey of more than 500 U.S. restaurants, more than half of all respondents ranked food inflation as their top challenge.

We talk to the owners of several Rhode Island restaurants to find out how they’re adapting to keep customers fed and keep the lights on.

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Local news: Caught between inflation, tariffs and egg prices, how do RI’s restaurants survive?

What are Rhode Islanders’ favorite places to fly to?

The federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics keeps track of such things, so we checked to see what the 10 favorite nonstop destinations in the United States for flights originating from Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (excluding charters). 

Read the full story to check out our list of favorite destinations, including a couple that might surprise you.

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Travel: Is your favorite place among the Top 10 destinations for flights from T.F. Green?

Voters have spoken.

They overwhelmingly chose Roy Boy’s Clam Shack as the best clam shack in Rhode Island. The vote was 84.92% for Roy Boy’s over Champlin’s Seafood Deck, which received 16.02% of the vote in the final round.

In all, the North Kingstown restaurant bested 15 other clam shacks in The Journal’s bracket voting, which began June 11. Along the way, Roy Boy’s defeated some of Rhode Island’s best clam shacks, chosen for their locations, menus and specialties.

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It was a real roller-coaster ride for Roy Boy’s upset win. Read on for more on this relative newcomer, which opened only three years ago.

Seafood: Roy Boy’s Clam Shack wins bragging rights as RI’s best clam shack. How they got there

To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here.



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Democrats assail federal budget bill, but what will it really mean for RI? What we know.

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Democrats assail federal budget bill, but what will it really mean for RI? What we know.


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  • A sweeping federal budget bill passed by Congress includes major changes to taxation and social programs, with some effects taking place immediately and others delayed until 2028.
  • The bill includes tax cuts for businesses and individuals, restrictions on public benefits, and spending cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food assistance.
  • Rhode Island’s Democratic leaders oppose the bill, citing concerns about reduced access to food assistance and health care, while Republicans praise the tax cuts and spending reductions.
  • The bill’s impact on Rhode Island’s budget is uncertain, and state agencies are analyzing potential effects on health care, taxes and federal grants.

The sweeping federal budget bill passed by Congress and expected to be signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 calls for major changes to taxation and social programs, but the impact on Rhode Island could take years to determine.

The bill’s tax cuts for businesses and individuals will, in general, take effect imminently, including an increase in the standard deduction, no taxes on tips and an increase in deductions for state and local tax payments.

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New restrictions on public benefits − including work requirements for food stamps and health insurance − phase in this year and next.

And spending cuts feared by state officials in both red and blue states − including reductions in federal Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) − will not take effect until 2028, after the 2026 elections.

Will a special fall session of the General Assembly be needed?

In debate about the just-enacted $14.3 billion Rhode Island budget, General Assembly leaders said they might be forced to hold a special fall session to respond to any federal cuts or policy changes that would throw state plans out of whack.

The delayed effective dates for the Medicaid and SNAP cuts make a special session less likely, but Assembly leaders on July 3 would not rule anything out and said they would need “a thoughtful review and formal information-sharing on the possible short- and long-term impacts of federal government action.”

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RI’s Democratic leaders assail reduced access to food assistance, Medicaid

All four members of Rhode Island’s all-Democratic congressional delegation voted against the bill, and the ruling State House triumvirate of governor, speaker and Senate president all opposed the GOP bill.

“For many of our neighbors, this budget reduces access to supports like SNAP food assistance. It puts health insurance for thousands of Rhode Islanders in jeopardy, breaking President Trump’s empty promise to protect Medicaid,” Gov. Dan McKee said in a video.

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson said in a joint statement that they would work to pass policies that “protect access to health care like we did in this year’s state budget.”

“We believe it is cruel for Republicans in Washington to pay for large tax breaks for billionaires by stripping Medicaid from vulnerable residents, which will potentially destabilize health care systems at the state level,” Shekarchi and Lawson’s statement said.

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RI GOP: Bill delivers ‘massive tax relief,’ cuts to ‘reckless’ spending

Rhode Island Republicans, on the other hand, hailed the new budget bill.

“This bill delivers exactly what President Trump and Republicans promised, massive tax relief for the middle class, real border security to protect our communities, and deep cuts to reckless Washington spending,” state GOP Chairman Joe Powers said. “Democrats in both chambers had the chance to stand with working Americans, and instead, they stood in lockstep with their radical base. Make no mistake – Rhode Islanders won’t forget who fought for them, and who sold them out.”

The just-passed state budget requires the McKee administration to convene a series of advisory groups to analyze the state impacts of the new federal budget. Separate reports from these groups are due to the legislature by Oct. 31 on potential changes to federal grants, state tax revenue and Medicaid.

Biggest impact on RI: Health care

Provisions in the bill expected to sock the state budget include a reduction in “State Directed” payments to hospitals and forced reductions to health care provider taxes that states charge hospitals to leverage additional federal Medicaid dollars.

McKee spokeswoman Laura Hart said state agencies “have been meeting bi-weekly since February to review potential impacts of the various versions of the budget bill” and are currently identifying people to be on the different working groups required by the Assembly.

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The budget bill also targets the state’s Affordable Care Act-created health benefits exchange by shortening the enrollment period, narrowing subsidy eligibility, and requiring additional paperwork to enroll or renew.

Loss of enrollment due to the changes is projected to result in premium increases across health insurance plans on the exchange due to a smaller covered population.

“Simply put, the bill makes health coverage harder to get, more difficult to keep and far too expensive to afford,” HealthSource RI Director Lindsay Lang said in a news release. “The effects of the bill will compound each year, likely resulting in significant rate increases for anyone still left in the market.”

Reactions from RI’s congressional delegation

The Rhode Island congressional delegation weighed in with a range of criticism of the budget bill.

Sen. Jack Reed said, “Republicans structured the bill so the ultra-wealthy can cash out right away while the little guy and average taxpayers will get stuck paying the bill for years to come.”

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said, “Trump’s Big, Beautiful-for-Billionaires Bill” was “cooked in back rooms” and “saddles our children and grandchildren with trillions and trillions of dollars in debt.”

U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner said the bill “represents the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the ultra-wealthy in U.S. history.”

And U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo said the bill will make Americans “poorer, sicker, hungrier, and further away from economic opportunity.”



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Second Rhode Island CAVA location opens up in Warwick

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Second Rhode Island CAVA location opens up in Warwick


A popular Mediterranean restaurant has opened its second Ocean State location in Warwick this weekend.

On Friday, Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new CAVA location on Centerville Road.

The new restaurant was built on the same spot TGI Friday’s used to occupy.

The state’s other CAVA is located off of Putnam Pike in Smithfield.

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There are 16 CAVA locations in Massachusetts, including one in Mansfield.



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