Restaurant closings; saving Misquamicut Beach; Cliff Walk future: Top stories this week

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of June 2, supported by your subscriptions.

• Paris, New York, London, Providence. Sure, our state capital is known for its food scene and events like WaterFire, but to be listed among the best cities in the world may come as a surprise. Yet, Providence ranked 95th out of 1,000 cities from around the world in a new report, the “Global Cities Index” by Oxford Economics, a United Kingdom-based economic advisory company. This is the company’s first time releasing the report. How did it get there? Read the full story to find out.
• The idea of drive-in movie theaters evokes a certain nostalgia, and Rhode Island used to have its fair share of places where you could bring a carful of family or friends and settle into a big-screen treat. While most have been torn down, some still remain. This week’s What and Why RI looks back at the past and how to relive that fun now.
• The spring high school sports season is wrapping up, with championships on the line. For that, as well as the latest news from the college ranks, go to providencejournal.com/sports.

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

It was a rough week for Rhode Island’s restaurant scene. Journal food and dining editor Gail Ciampa reported that on Federal Hill, a trio of restaurants announced they would soon end service. Later in the week, Gail reported that closures and changes were coming to even more restaurants, while a South Kingstown favorite would be shut down after a devastating fire. Meanwhile, in Warwick, The Journal’s Wheeler Cowperthwaite reports that Hooters has closed. The reason? The Washington Bridge.

Dining: Service coming to an end for three restaurants on Federal Hill. What to know.

On a fine summer day, you can probably find Caswell Cooke on a stage near Westerly’s Misquamicut Beach wearing a sailor outfit and jamming with his band, Caswell & the Peel N’ Eats.

These days you can also find Cooke in slacks and a jacket in meeting rooms trying to persuade Westerly residents and city officials to save Misquamicut Beach from coastal erosion. In recent months, Cooke has made his case before the Misquamicut Business Association – over which he presides – Westerly’s Town Council – on which he once served – and the Misquamicut Fire District.

He cooked up a plan that involves dredging sand from the ocean floor onto the coast. It has been done in other coastal communities, perhaps most recently in Montauk, Long Island, in New York, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed 500,000 cubic yards of sand along 4,100 feet of coastline. The Montauk project cost $11.7 million and, thanks to favorable weather, was completed ahead of schedule.

Beaches: Winter storms are eroding Misquamicut. Could this sand restoration plan be the answer?

As more frequent and intense storms have battered Newport’s famous Cliff Walk, causing chunks to plunge into the waters below and sinkholes to appear without warning, millions of public dollars have gone into the trail, and almost as quickly, nature has wiped the repairs away.

It’s an issue that’s existed for nearly a century, but the accelerating storm threats of climate change are raising a new question: Is continued investment in the nationally recognized yet steadily crumbling trail the right decision for a city that’s already struggling with other, more pressing financial burdens?

And how exactly did the Cliff Walk, which is pieced together on a series of private properties, come to be? Take a look back at the history of the famed oceanside trail.

Attractions: The Cliff Walk continues to crumble into the sea. Are repairs worth Newport’s investment?

The anniversary of D-Day is always a big event in Normandy, France, but this year’s commemoration was expected to be especially meaningful, since it’s probably the last major anniversary that D-Day participants will attend, says Tim Gray, founder and president of the World War II Foundation.

“This year will be absolutely crazy,” said Gray, who’s been to Normandy 18 times and plans to be there this year. “They’re really rolling out the red carpet,” he said.

President Joe Biden, other heads of state and major television networks were expected to be in Normandy for the June 6 anniversary, according to Gray. Airlines flew World War II veterans to the ceremonies for free.

Surrounded by World War II artifacts, Gray was speaking from The International Museum of World War II he created on Main Street in South Kingstown. A former television sports reporter, Gray left that field to follow his passion for telling the stories of World War II veterans.

D-Day: For Museum of World War II founder, this D-Day anniversary might be the most important ever

BARRINGTON – A Rhode Island pediatrician has been sentenced to serve seven years in prison after admitting to molesting a 7-year-old girl. 

David S. Healey, 52, of Barrington, pleaded no contest to one count of second-degree child molestation. Superior Court Judge Linda Rekas Sloan sentenced Healey to 15 years, with seven to serve, and the remainder suspended with probation. He received credit for the time he has served since his arrest in March.

Courts: RI pediatrician sentenced after admitting to molesting 7-year-old