Rhode Island
GoLocalProv | News | Can Providence Clean Up This Storm?
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley PHOTO: GoLocal,
The snowstorm that hit Rhode Island on January 25-26 dropped about 16 inches on Providence.
Some of it is still blocking some corners, nearly a month later.
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s administration has been widely criticized by residents, small business owners, and members of the City Council for the poor response.
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Many, if not all, Providence streets were poorly plowed. Adding insult to injury, some business owners and homeowners failed to properly clear their sidewalks. While residents were fuming about the failed cleanup, Smiley left the City to attend a conference in Washington, D.C.
The city ordinance requires sidewalks to be cleared 36 inches so those with disabilities can pass. The city cites few for failure to clear sidewalks, issuing fewer than 80 citations.
Three Weeks Later
This week, the Rhode Island State Police escorted a person in a wheelchair who decided to use Route 6, because Providence streets and sidewalks were impassable three weeks after the storm.
“We received calls [about a wheelchair rider] on the highway. We basically gave them an escort off the highway and spoke with them about the dangers of being on the highway,” said Lt. Col. John Allen.
Police also spoke with the rider.
“They said they were concerned about being on the city streets with no place to go,” said Allen. “But again, we shared our concerns about them being on the highway, and that they should not do it again.”
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The Smiley administration was also criticized for dumping snow in South Providence on the site of the former Urban League.
This Coming Storm
The National Weather Service forecasts that Providence will receive 12-20 inches from late Sunday afternoon into Monday.
Rhode Island Energy warns that winds could gust to 60 MPH
With snow accumulation expected to begin Sundayevening, the City announced that a parking ban will go into effect at 3 PM on Sunday, February 22, until further notice.
The parking ban will prohibit parking on all snow routes and city streets to allow snowplows to clear roadways effectively. The ban will remain in effect until further notice, and violators may be subject to ticketing and towing. During a parking ban, residents, including those with an overnight parking permit, are not allowed to park on city streets. Parking in Providence Public School parking lots is prohibited during a parking ban.
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Rhode Island
Mott & Chace Sotheby’s Announces Listing of Narragansett Landmark “Broadmoor” After Extraordinary Relocation and Luxury Transformation – Newport Buzz
150 Boston Neck Road | Narragansett, RI | 6 Beds, 5 Full Baths, 3 Half Baths | 5,785 Sq Ft | 0.97 Acres | Offered by Janet Kermes of Mott & Chace Sotheby’s International Realty for $5,995,000.
At 150 Boston Neck Road, Broadmoor offers one of the most compelling preservation stories on the Rhode Island coast. Originally built circa 1896, the iconic shingle-style estate was carefully relocated in 2022, lifted onto steel beams and moved nearly 1,000 feet down the road in a remarkable effort to save it from demolition.
What followed was a full-scale transformation. Now set on a new foundation with entirely updated systems, the nearly 6,000-square-foot home blends historic character with the ease of modern construction. State-of-the-art HVAC, a high-efficiency furnace, and five-zone heating and cooling bring a level of comfort rarely found in a home of this era.
Inside, original wood floors and a grand central staircase anchor three light-filled levels. The residence includes six bedrooms, five full baths, and three half baths, with four ensuite bedrooms designed for hosting. A dramatic chef’s kitchen features a six-burner double-oven range, dual Sub-Zero refrigerators, three sinks, two dishwashers, and an oversized island, complemented by multiple living and entertaining spaces throughout.
Ocean views from nearly every room on the upper floors, along with a screened-in patio, second-floor deck, and bluestone fire pit patio, create a seamless connection to the coastal setting. Located directly across from the Dunes Club and just steps to Narragansett Town Beach, Broadmoor captures the best of the Pier lifestyle.
A rare offering that honors the past while living entirely in the present.
LEARN MORE, SEE MORE PHOTOS, AND SCHEDULE A SHOWING
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Rhode Island
Obituary: Kathleen Mary Mosher (1962-2026) – Newport Buzz
Kathleen Mary Mosher (née Martin), age 63, passed away on January 22, 2026, in Valdosta, Georgia, after a courageous nearly two-year battle with cancer that she fought with remarkable strength and determination.
Kathleen was born on November 6, 1962, at the Newport Naval Base to Mary Del Chapels Martin and Herbert Arden Martin, both of whom preceded her in death. She grew up in Newport, Rhode Island, and graduated from Rogers High School in 1981.
Kathleen shared a lifelong love story with her husband, Richard Harvey Mosher, who also preceded her in death. The two were truly inseparable, rarely seen apart and always hand in hand. Kathleen had admired the boy next door for years, and when she turned eighteen she finally told him there were no more excuses and that he was hers. They were married on January 16, 1982, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Newport, beginning a marriage built on devotion, love, and partnership.
Kathleen spent much of her life caring for others. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, and friend who always put family first. While raising her children, she was a devoted stay-at-home mother until her youngest began school. She later worked as a teacher’s aide and eventually took over her own children’s Newport Daily News paper routes, continuing to deliver newspapers until the paper discontinued home carriers.
She was also a proud and active member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Newport, where she served and helped in many ways over the years. Her faith and dedication to her church community were an important part of her life.
Kathleen is survived by her loving children, Heather Johnson, Marydel Hall, and Richard Mosher II, as well as Tina Couture, whom she loved and treated as a third daughter. She also leaves behind her cherished grandchildren, Joshua, Gracelynn, Isabella, and bonus grandson Zavyair.
She is also survived by her siblings Sheila Robertson, Michael Martin, Terralinda Winchenbach, Sara Iafrate, and Butch Martin, along with many extended family members and friends who will miss her dearly.
Kathleen will be remembered for her strength, devotion to family, and the countless ways she cared for others throughout her life. She spent much of her time looking after the people she loved, and the kindness and love she shared will continue to live on through those whose lives she touched.
A memorial service will be held on March 22 at 3:00 PM at
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church
12 Marlborough Street
Newport, Rhode Island 02840
Family and friends are invited to gather following the service to celebrate Kathleen’s life and share memories.
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Rhode Island
A battle is underway over recreational cannabis stores in Rhode Island – The Boston Globe
“It’s the last thing I want to happen in the Rhode Island market,” said Edward Dow, chief executive of Solar Therapeutics, which has three dispensaries in Massachusetts and one in Rhode Island. “Don’t do what Massachusetts and every other state has done.”
Business owners who applied for Rhode Island’s 24 retail licenses last year are outraged by the potential about-face, arguing that should have been raised before they shelled out tens of thousands of dollars each to secure premises, hire lawyers, and pay nonrefundable application fees to the state.
“Massachusetts is light-years ahead of us,” said Karen Ballou, who has applied to open a store on Main Street in Richmond. She noted Massachusetts, which has hundreds of stores open, is now considering social consumption lounges. “They’re going to be rolling that out, and we still don’t have retail stores.”
Ballou said she’s been paying $6,000 a month in rent on the Richmond property since September, and estimated she’s spent at least $50,000 on legal, architectural, and other costs. The state required potential cannabis retailers to have a fully executed lease and zoning certificate before applying for a lottery for one of the 24 licenses. The deadline to apply was Dec. 29.
“We knew that it was a gamble,” Ballou said. But nearly four years since legalization, she asked: “Why isn’t the process moving faster?”
Michelle Reddish, the administrator of Rhode Island’s cannabis office, declined repeated requests for an interview about the upcoming lottery. Spokesperson Charon Rose said the state is aiming to hold it in June, but first has to finish reviewing applications and contend with other factors, including three federal lawsuits challenging a requirement stores be owned by Rhode Island residents.
Rose said no decision has been made on how many licenses will be issued at the lottery.
The Cannabis Control Commission is considering a phased-in approach, prompting alarm among those who already applied under the assumption that all 24 retail licenses are in play.
“You can regret the rules that you set, you can wish that you made them different, you can change them for the next round, but you can’t move the goal posts after the game is over,” said David Rozen, who applied to open a dispensary in an old Pizza Hut on Reservoir Avenue in Cranston.
The new stores could reshape Rhode Island’s cannabis market. The original medical dispensaries were large facilities relegated mostly to industrial zones, far from the foot traffic of neighborhoods or busy commercial hubs.
Now, under more permissive zoning and changing attitudes toward cannabis, smaller stores could open on busy commercial strips such as Thames Street in Newport or in downtown Providence. They could squeeze in next to a bakery or yoga studio, becoming part of the fabric of everyday life.
There are eight dispensaries currently selling recreational cannabis in Rhode Island after lawmakers in 2022 allowed existing medical marijuana centers to get a hybrid license to sell recreational pot as a transitional measure until the Cannabis Control Commission could get up and running. They sold a combined $120 million worth of cannabis last year.
But new retailers were always the plan. They include special “social equity” licenses set aside for applicants who were disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition, as well as for worker cooperatives. The law also set a cap of four stores in each of six geographic zones. (Just 6 of 33 Rhode Island municipalities ban cannabis stores.)
Ambrose Dwyer told the Globe he “got arrested for a joint” in 1982, and again in 1991, felony convictions that ultimately destroyed his life, he said. He wants to open in a former dry cleaning business on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence under the social equity license.
“They’re scared of competition,” Dwyer said of the existing eight dispensaries. “They’ve got a monopoly, and they’ve got their prices through the roof.”
With far fewer stores per capita, Rhode Island prices are higher than Massachusetts, at $5.67 per gram compared to $4.17 per gram in Massachusetts, according to the cannabis commission.
As prices drop, some stores in Massachusetts have been closing.
“They should not allow dispensaries on top of dispensaries on top of dispensaries,” said Joe Pakuris, who owns the Mother Earth Wellness dispensary in Pawtucket, which is about 2.5 miles from the only one in Providence, the Slater Center, which opened in 2013.
Pakuris said rather than 24 licenses, the state should issue six to eight, and focus on areas that don’t have any stores, such as southern Rhode Island and the northwest corner of the state.
But a majority of applicants are concentrated around Providence and Newport, according to a Globe review of the submissions. In the northwest zone, where four licenses are available, only two applied.
The list of 97 applicants will likely be whittled down before the lottery. Around a dozen did not get zoning approvals by a March 2 deadline, and others could fail to meet requirements.
At most, the commission will issue 20 licenses, because not every license type received an application in each of the six geographic zones.
The state’s 57 cultivators who grow cannabis are also desperate for more stores. They cannot sell directly to consumers or to stores in other states, and many of the current dispensaries in Rhode Island also grow their own product.
“We can’t wait,” said Allan Fung, a former Cranston mayor and lawyer who is representing multiple retail applicants and cultivators. “We’re asking to have the CCC conduct the lottery as soon as possible, granting all of the licenses at the same time, and not having a phased-in approach.”
The commission, meanwhile, is down to two members after chair Kim Ahern left in October to run for attorney general. Governor Dan McKee has not nominated a replacement, and his office did not have an update this past week.
Robert Jacquard, one of the two remaining members, said he does not yet know how he will vote on the number of retail licenses.
“I’m keeping an open mind,” Jacquard said.
The other commissioner, Layi Oduyingbo, did not respond to requests for comment.
Marc Gertsacov, who wants to open a store on the first floor of the Merchants Bank building in Providence, said he, too, was “frustrated” by the delays and deliberation.
“I think that the state should let the market decide how much is too much,” Gertsacov said.
If selected, Gertsacov said he could open in a month or two. He picked the location because it could benefit from the foot traffic of tourists, college students, and workers in the city’s financial district who — for the first time in downtown Providence — could stop by after their 9-to-5.
“It’s a different version of a happy hour,” he said.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
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