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Pixie, a white and gray cat, weathered Rhode Island’s historic blizzard — stuck 50 feet up in the tree for nearly two full days. But, with three feet of snow on the ground, a local man climbed up and brought her back down to safety.
“She wanted to be safe. She was just petrified, overall freezing. Couldn’t stop shaking,” Matthew Lyons told Boston.com about the rescue. “For about half the climb down, I put her in my sweatshirt and let her head peek out so she could breathe.”
Heather MacKinnon, of East Providence, first noticed her neighbor’s cat Pixie high up in a tree in the shared backyard on Monday evening, as the hurricane-like winds blew and the snow piled quickly. The cat’s owner had been trying to get Pixie to come down from the tree since Sunday evening.
“This went on for hours. We tried everything that we could,” MacKinnon said, adding that they tried to help the cat with a two-by-four, stacking plastic chairs, and rolling over old tires left in the backyard.
Ultimately, the neighbors went to sleep Monday evening without getting the cat down, MacKinnon said. Police, fire, and animal control all said they couldn’t help, she said, advising the neighbors to instead reach out to tree services.
“I’m admitting defeat around like 10 o’clock that night, and everyone went back inside, and I’m just like, oh my god, what am I gonna do?” MacKinnon recalled. She called her aunt, who suggested sharing the situation on the Nextdoor app, a hyperlocal social media app that connects neighbors.
Lyons, a member of Ironworkers Local 37, and his sister saw the post on Tuesday.
“We were actually out shoveling and just decided to go see what we could do about it,” Lyons said. His sister saw the post on Nextdoor, and “if she can go out and help a person or an animal, she will,” Lyons said.
With loaders working to clear unplowed roads, it was difficult to get to the cat, Lyons said, but eventually they got to the tree, buried in snow. Using a nearby chicken wire fence, Lyons said he got to the low limbs nearly 10 feet off the ground.
“I’m confident with free climbing and all that stuff, and climbing that tree was really nothing,” Lyons said about what he estimated was 40 to 50 feet.
Once he got to the top, he put Pixie in his sweatshirt to begin his descent. When he was closer to the bottom, the neighbors congregating threw him a backpack to put Pixie in for him to safely climb down.
“It was crazy to watch,” MacKinnon said. “It was really incredible.”
Lyons said the neighbors almost seemed in shock, including the owner. Pixie is now back with her owner and doing well, MacKinnon said.
“They were very happy and relieved that the cat was down,” Lyons said. “They almost couldn’t believe it.”
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JAMESTOWN, R.I. (WJAR) — It was just a normal day at a home on Sloop Street in Jamestown until Stephen Santoro happened to glance up.
“I looked up at the peak and saw a very large nest of bees,” Santoro said.
Thousands of them.
“Well, I don’t mind honeybees, but just not that many,” he said.
That’s when he knew he had to call the Jamestown Swarm Chaser, Jim Turenne.
NBC 10’s Patrice Wood reports on the unique talents of the Jamestown Swarm Chaser.
Turenne is a beekeeper and member of the Rhode Island Beekeepers Association.
You can often find Turenne collecting honey at the Godena Farm, Conanicut Island Land Trust.
“They’ve actually been considered to be the most important species on the planet. They pollinate about one-third of the food we eat,” Turenne said.
But when someone needs help, the Swarm Chaser jumps into action, climbing up the side of the house on Sloop Street.
“The swarm basically had moved into the person’s house here,” Turenne said.
Turenne removed those on the outside and another beekeeper cut into the house to get the rest.
“That was one of the biggest clusters I’ve ever seen. That had probably 20,000 to 30,000 bees,” he said.
The homeowner was relieved.
“Oh, I’m extremely grateful,” Santoro said.
Swarm-catching is a unique talent.
Turenne has had 14 swarm rescues so far this year, all volunteer.
Nominate someone in your community volunteering to make our community better by filling out the short nomination form for “Community Treasures”
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Providence Mayor Brett Smiley called on city councilors to take action so the city can launch the RENT fund program.
According to city officials, Rental and Essential Needs Transition (RENT) would provide one-time grants of up to $3,000 per household to prevent eviction during times of financial crisis.
At a Wednesday press conference, Smiley called on the Providence City Council to approve the ordinance before its summer recess so the program can launch in July.
“I am incredibly disappointed that the city council is blocking the final approval to launch the RENT fund. Providence families are struggling to stay in their homes. They need help now more than they need delays,” Smiley said. “This act by the council can’t be viewed as anything other than a baseless political ploy aimed at obstructing progress during an election year, while our neighbors are the ones that have to pay a price for it.”
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley called on city councilors to take action so the city can launch the RENT fund program. (WJAR)
In a statement, City Council members said they have not yet approved the RENT fund ordinance because it does not include enough protections for tenants.
“The Council supports direct rental assistance—we already approved $1 million to fund it. But after vetoing rent stabilization, Mayor Smiley wants us to pass a program that sends public money directly to landlords without requiring them to limit rent increases or halt evictions. A landlord could take a $3,000 check from the City on Friday and raise the rent or evict the tenant on Monday. We are not going to be pressured into yet another Brett Smiley landlord giveaway. The Council will take the time necessary to put real tenant protections into this ordinance so that taxpayer dollars actually provide stability for neighbors in crisis,” Councilor Miguel Sanchez said.
Council members also said that they will continue working through the recess to strengthen the proposal.
Mayor Smiley disputed that claim, saying the organization selected to run the program, Community Action Partnership of Providence (CAP), would help protect tenants.
According to Smiley, the agreement with CAP includes tenant protections, such as ensuring tenants remain housed after receiving assistance and requiring landlords to fulfill their lease obligations.
Smiley also said the city would take action if a landlord violated those obligations.
“If they had an issue with the ordinance, they’ve had multiple opportunities to fix this. This has been in their hands for months. We got a letter flagging these concerns last night,” Smiley said. “We believe these concerns have already been addressed in the agreement with CAP, and if they had these concerns, they should’ve asked in the last four months.”
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 14, 2026, results for each game:
02-04-10-48-56, Mega Ball: 22
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Midday: 2-0-6-9
Evening: 4-2-7-2
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
12-28-29-32-33, Extra: 25
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
12-13-15-16-41, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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