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Breaking Point: A tale of two Rhode Island cities – TPR: The Public's Radio

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Breaking Point: A tale of two Rhode Island cities – TPR: The Public's Radio


Hospitality businesses are a more than $5-billion-dollar industry in Rhode Island. But the closure of the westbound Washington Bridge has commerce as well as commuters in a jam.

According to an economic impact study conducted earlier this year by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association and Salve Regina University, the greatest impact was on Providence County, accounting for some $56 million in total revenue loss.

Watch the Rhode Island PBS Weekly segment here.

The hospitality industry includes restaurants, hotels, wineries, breweries, amusements and tourism.

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That includes shops like the Frog and Toad, which sell many Rhode Island souvenirs at two locations in Providence.

Owner Asher Schofield says the initial ramifications of the bridge closure were rough.

“When it first happened that December of 2023, immediately our business fell off a cliff.”

After some time, he said, business improved. “Things stabilized. And since then, we haven’t seen any drop-offs per se.”

Asher believes some businesses are hurting because people are less willing to drive to and through Providence.

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“We’re provincial, we don’t have to go too far and be too inconvenienced. We live in the smallest state and it should be easy to get to the store or the mall or what have you,” said Schofield.

The consequences of the bridge have not been an entirely negative experience for one part of Rhode Island.

Bristol County Bucks the Trend: Uptick in Business After Bridge Debacle. Credit: Rhode Island PBS Weekly

The same study found a reverse trend in Bristol County, where the hospitality business realized a more than two percent gain. That translates to $6.6 million in revenue.

“I was a little surprised, not shocked,” said Andy Arruda, Chairman of the East Bay Chamber of Commerce.

“But it does make a little bit of sense because we are insulated from the bridge.”

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The Chamber includes Bristol, Warren and Barrington.

Why the uptick in Bristol County? “A lot of it would be restaurants. Our restaurants are really strong in the East Bay. I think that brings people to town,” said Arruda.

“There are new people coming every day. We have the best 4th of July party in the country. It’s a good community. You’re on the water, but you’re not paying Newport prices,” said Richard Corrente, owner of two Bristol restaurants, Portside Tavern and Roberto’s Cafe.

And no matter what is coming down the road, business owners on both sides of the bridge cite the resiliency of Rhode Islanders.

“I always like to think that when you’re smaller, you’re nimble,” said Frog and Toad owner Schofield.

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“We’re pretty good, even though we might be grouchy about it and have plenty of complaints. I think we’re pretty good about weathering the storm and soldiering on as a citizenry.”

This story is part of Breaking Point: The Washington Bridge, a community-centered project from Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio.

Do you have a question or a story about the Washington Bridge? Tell us here.

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Rhode Island

Authorities ID man killed in Thanksgiving crash on Mass. highway near Rhode Island

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Authorities ID man killed in Thanksgiving crash on Mass. highway near Rhode Island


Authorities have identified the person who died in a crash involving a vehicle and a tractor trailer on a Massachusetts highway on Thanksgiving morning.

Carlos Chavez Martinez, 28, of Providence, Rhode Island was killed in the crash that happened on Interstate 95 near North Attleborough on Thursday, Nov. 27, according to the office of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.

At 2:30 a.m., state troopers responded to the crash involving a tractor trailer and a motor vehicle on I-95 south near mile marker 9.2 in North Attleborough, Quinn’s office said.

Officers found a white Audi sedan on the right side of the highway. The sedan had collided with a tractor trailer that was parked in a rest area. The Audi had “catastrophic damage on top of a guardrail and adjacent to the rear wheels of the trailer,” according to Quinn’s office.

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The Audi’s driver, later identified as Chavez Martinez, was found unresponsive and still in the driver’s seat. Paramedics pronounced him dead at around 2:40 a.m.

The tractor trailer was driven by a 40-year-old man who did not appear to be injured, according to Quinn’s office.

The crash remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office along with the Massachusetts State Police.



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Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency’s alert system down after cybersecurity incident

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Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency’s alert system down after cybersecurity incident


Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency said its CodeRED notification system is down after a national cybersecurity incident.

According to officials, the OnSolve CodeRED emergency notification platform was involved in a cybersecurity incident recently.

The platform, which is provided by the vendor Crisis24, remains unavailable.

“Because RIEMA utilizes additional alert and warning systems beyond CodeRED, at no time during this incident did the state lose the capability to alert and warn the public,” RIEMA said in a statement.

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RIEMA said CodeRED alert system can store the name, address, email addresses, phone numbers and passwords of users that signed up to receive the alerts.

The company told NBC 10 News’ sister station in Seattle, “We confirm that data potentially associated with the legacy OnSolve CodeRED platform has been published online following a targeted attack by an organized cybercriminal group. The attack also resulted in damage to the OnSolve CodeRED environment.”

Agency officials said state and local communities will use additional messaging platforms to issue emergency alerts.

CodeRED advised users to update their passwords if they’ve reused the same one on other accounts.

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“The vendor is working to expedite the migration of users to their new CodeRED product, which has undergone enhanced security hardening,” RIEMA said in a statement.



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Rhode Island secures 90-75 win against Temple

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Rhode Island secures 90-75 win against Temple


ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jonah Hinton’s 25 points helped Rhode Island defeat Temple 90-75 in a consolation game of the ESPN Events Invitational Adventure Bracket on Wednesday.

Hinton shot 8 for 11, including 7 for 10 from beyond the arc for the Rams (6-2). Tyler Cochran scored 20 points and added nine rebounds and three steals. Jahmere Tripp shot 5 of 7 from the field, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 4 from the line to finish with 14 points, while adding six rebounds.

The Owls (4-3) were led in scoring by AJ Smith, who finished with 18 points. Temple also got 11 points and seven rebounds from Derrian Ford. Masiah Gilyard finished with 11 points.

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The game was close heading into the half, as Rhode Island held a two-point lead, 41-39. Hinton paced their team in scoring through the first half with 14 points. Rhode Island took a nine-point lead in the second half thanks to a 9-0 scoring run. Hinton led the Rams in second-half scoring with 11 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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