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Taylor Swift in RI; Atlantic Mills sale; rebuilding Republicans: Top stories this week

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Taylor Swift in RI; Atlantic Mills sale; rebuilding Republicans: Top stories this week


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Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of Aug. 25, supported by your subscriptions.

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

WESTERLY – Rhode Island’s most famous part-time resident spent time this week at her Watch Hill home, along with her football star boyfriend, at least according to People magazine and TMZ.

Both outlets report that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce – along with pals Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Bradley Cooper – were in Rhode Island this week, as the singer takes a break from her Eras tour, which resumes in October, and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end prepares for his Sept. 5 season opener against the Ravens.

Read on for more details on the celebrity sightings around Swift’s Watch Hill mansion, dubbed the “Holiday House.”

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Entertainment: Taylor Swift is in Rhode Island this weekend (and she brought some famous friends with her)

PROVIDENCE − The owner of the Atlantic Mills in Olneyville has put the giant mill building up for sale after backing out of a deal with the city and the Providence Redevelopment Agency to buy the sprawling property.

Those who work in the building say they are worried about being kicked out of one of the cheapest manufacturing, warehouse and office spaces in the city, which could mean the end of business for some of them. 

Unlike downtown Providence, where offices have remained empty since the pandemic, the Atlantic Mills is almost full, with an estimated 88% of its occupiable space leased. Tenant businesses say that alternative spaces elsewhere in the city are far too expensive and lack the sense of community they prize at their current location.

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“We call this a hidden gem,” said tenant Mike McNulty, who runs a woodshop there.

Real estate: ‘Hidden gem’: Pending sale of Atlantic Mills leaves tenants worried about their future

All summer long, American Mussel Harvesters’ 8-acre oyster farm south of the Jamestown Bridge sat idle.

The problem wasn’t the oysters. It was the 90-minute voyage to get there. And Adam Silkes, who oversees the operation, just couldn’t justify burning all that time and fuel.

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Until a few years ago, American Mussel Harvesters kept its boats at a marina near the company’s Quonset headquarters, so shellfish only had a five-minute trip from dock to cooler. Then, according to Silkes, the cost of dock space more than doubled.

“It’s reaching crisis proportions, honestly,” said Bob Rheault, executive director of both the Ocean State Aquaculture Association and East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. If you can’t access your farm, he said, “it’s a death knell.”

Read the full story to learn what’s causing the shortage of affordable dock space, and what solutions are being proposed to protect the state’s aquaculture industry.

Local news: Rising prices leave oyster farmers, quahoggers searching for places to dock their boats

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“It just makes sense to be a Republican in Rhode Island!” proclaims a whiteboard in the unassuming headquarters of the Rhode Island GOP.

GOP chairman Joe Powers, who came up with the slogan, argues that people are “sick and tired” after almost 90 years of Democratic rule. But when asked about the main obstacles that he faces when trying to enlist candidates, he answers bluntly: “Being a Republican in Rhode Island.”

Rhode Island voters have gone nearly two decades without electing a Republican to any of the state’s top offices or to Congress. And GOP members are shut out of many of the positions that typically serve as a pipeline to political advancement.

Political Scene explores how Powers and the state GOP’s new executive director, 22-year-old Aidan Carey, are trying to build the party’s bench and chip away at Democrats’ supermajority.

Political Scene: Is there a path for Republicans in RI? Inside the party’s effort to build its bench.

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Journal columnist Mark Patinkin was scrolling through Instagram one day when he came across a post with stunning aerial nighttime footage of Providence, backed by classical music.

Curious about the person behind the page captured.by.marc, he tracked down Marc Bontemps, a Montreal native now living in Providence who wanted to show off the beauty of his adopted city. Bontemps became a licensed drone pilot, capturing images ranging from WaterFire to tugboats on Narragansett Bay, and he displayed his craft while being interviewed on Providence’s pedestrian bridge.

Mark Patinkin: Drone pilot’s videos hold Providence in the highest regard. How he works his aerial magic

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

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Rhode Island GOP chairman Joe Powers to step down Jan. 15

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Rhode Island GOP chairman Joe Powers to step down Jan. 15


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Rhode Island Republican Party chairman Joe Powers will resign effective Jan. 15, the party announced on Saturday, Jan. 3.

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“Chairman Powers is stepping down due to the increased demands of his professional workload and an extensive travel schedule that no longer allow him to give the Chairmanship the full attention the position requires,” the party said in a news release. “The role of Chairman demands constant focus, and daily engagement especially moving into an election year, neither of which Chairman Powers can provide at this time.”

Powers a, real estate agent and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for a Cranston Senate seat, was elected to lead the state’s Republican Party in March 2023. He was reelected to a second two-year term in March.

During his tenure, Powers “oversaw meaningful organizational progress, including the successful update of the Party’s ByLaws and the full staffing of Party committees for the first time in over 20 years, establishing a strong and durable foundation heading into the next election cycle,” the GOP news release said.

Powers will remain on the GOP’s state Central Committee as chairman emeritus and will “continue to support Rhode Island Republicans in a smaller capacity,” the release said, thanking him “for his leadership and service.”



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RI Lottery Lucky For Life, Numbers Midday winning numbers for Dec. 28, 2025

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The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 28, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

12-17-25-34-42, Lucky Ball: 09

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Numbers numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

Midday: 5-2-7-6

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Evening: 9-5-9-8

Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Wild Money numbers from Dec. 28 drawing

01-13-20-24-34, Extra: 16

Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

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Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

  • Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
  • Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
  • Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.

When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
  • Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
  • Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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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Will RI’s housing stock improve by 2050? Claudia Wack is optimistic.

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Will RI’s housing stock improve by 2050? Claudia Wack is optimistic.


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Predicting the future isn’t easy. Back in 2000, who would have thought that by 2025 the Pawtucket Red Sox would no longer exist, or Rhode Island’s first female governor would be telling people to “knock it off” as a pandemic shut down the state?

Now, as we embark on the second quarter of the 21st century, what could Rhode Island look like in 2050? The staff at The Providence Journal asked leaders in their field for their thoughts on what Rhode Island will look like in 2050. Here’s what they had to say.

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Name: Claudia Wack

Hometown: Providence

Title: President, Neighbors Welcome! RI, a housing advocacy group

What will Rhode Island look like in 2050?

“My optimistic vision is I think Rhode Island will actually do a good job, eventually over the next 25 years, of getting back to our roots and really allowing more housing and more vibrant walkable neighborhoods in village centers and city centers,” she said.

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“I think we will actually infill some of the city and village centers that maybe people don’t realize the extent to which some of these areas have actually been depopulated compared to what they used to be. You know, the city of Providence has a smaller population now than it did historically.”

“There’s neighborhoods that, when you think about zoning, you couldn’t replicate today under modern zoning,” she continued. “And so to some extent, I think the 2050 vision that is possible is actually a return to our roots in some ways of allowing that infill in central areas.”

On a slightly more “pessimistic note,” Wack said that she anticipates the state having to grapple with a “managed retreat” in coastal areas that will be affected by sea level rise, erosion and increased hurricane risks.

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“I think we will see less housing being built in certain coastal areas, if only because it’s going to be harder and harder to insure housing in those areas,” she said. “I think in certain communities we will see shifts in where housing is being built and seeing housing production sort of migrate away from at-risk areas and toward areas where it’s going to be more sustainable.”



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