I’ve been pouring over lots of weather data this morning, and the theme remains the same… that conditions should be ripe later today for a potentially significant outbreak of severe thunderstorms in the northeast and New England.  In fact, it’s fairly rare to have the Storm Prediction Center post a “moderate risk of severe thunderstorms ” for western New England, with RI/SE MA in a high end “slight risk”.  The main threats from any storms that develop continue to be damaging winds, large hail and flooding rains.  Here are some of the maps from the Storm Prediction Center’s latest update this morning.

It’s a tricky forecast… One of the biggest questions will be how much sun we see today.  There are quite a few clouds overhead this morning, which will limit the heating of the atmosphere and therefore, the instability.  However, if we break into partial hazy sun (as expected) then that will fuel the development of more widespread severe thunderstorms.

In the short term–we’re looking at a few showers this morning with the passage of a warm front.  The activity is not expected to be severe… just your average summer showers with an isolated rumble of thunder.  Most of the afternoon may end up rain-free… with some time to hit the beach or pool.  We’ll be on heightened alert for any developing storms late this afternoon… but the timing in our area will be after 5-6pm, and even more likely after 8pm.

What to Watch For This Evening/Tonight

CNBC bummed out Rhode Island for the second year in a row this month when the network ranked the state dead last in its business-friendliness rankings. In response, some of Rhode Island’s boosters pointed out that the state is blessed with abundant natural and manmade assets, and 1 million people live here.

Another ranking that never makes headlines in Rhode Island tries to take some of that into account: the Social Science Research Council’s American Human Development Index, which summarizes the well-being of each state based on health, education and income.

Connecticut and Massachusetts rank #1 and #2, while poor West Virginia is the Rhode Island of this list, coming in 50th. As for Rhode Island, the state places 11th on the Human Development Index, with a score of 5.56. (The national score was 5.17.)

In an email, Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis, co-directors of the council’s Measure of America project, told WPRI.com what makes Rhode Island above average:

As you’ve pointed out, while Rhode Island’s economic activity puts it in the exact middle of U.S. states (#25) in terms of its Gross State Product, it does far better than this on people’s well-being, ranking #11 on the American Human Development Index. This Index offers a fact-based look at how people are faring in three fundamental areas of life – health, access to knowledge, and living standards – using official government data.

This suggests that Rhode Island has done a better job of investing its economic resources in its people and their well-being than many other states with far higher levels of market activity. While many factors come together to make a state a success in terms of well-being and opportunity, the following observations likely figure as contributing factors.

HEALTH: A resident of Rhode Island can expect to live an average of eight months longer than the national life span. In two areas that are significant risk factors for premature death in the U.S. today, Rhode Island is well above the average. It has the fourth-lowest obesity rate, just after Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Obesity contributes significantly to diabetes, a leading cause of death. And deaths due to trauma – homicide, suicide and unintentional injury – are relatively rare in the Ocean State, just above half the national average.

EDUCATION: Rhode Island stands out in terms of educational outcomes and school enrollment. R.I. ranks 13th in the proportion of adults who have a bachelor’s degree and 11th in graduate or professional degrees. R.I. also has one of the highest preschool rates in the nation, with the 6th-highest proportion of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool. A quality preschool has been shown to be one of the most important interventions for improving educational outcomes and life chances later in life, including not only less dropout and grade repetition but also in terms of reduced incarceration and greater earnings in later life.

AN INTERESTING COMPARISON: North Carolina has a very similar level of Gross State Product per person to Rhode Island, both at about $36,000. But North Carolina ranks 40th on the American Human Development Index, in contrast to Rhode Island at 11th. Life expectancy in North Carolina is two years less than in Rhode Island, the share of North Carolina adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher is 4 percentage points less, and the typical North Carolina worker earns about $4,000 less than in Rhode Island in terms of median personal earnings. Where Rhode Island spends about $14,000 per year per K-12 student of public spending, North Carolina spends only $8,000.

Good Morning..

Still a lot of factors have to come together for strong to severe thunderstorms…so still some uncertainty, but here is what I think… The risk is low Thursday morning..increasing however by late Thursday afternoon and evening and lasting into Thursday Night.  Storms will approach from western Massachusetts and Connecticut very late in the day…it would not surprise me to see a tornado watch issued for western Connecticut and back thru New York City later in the day.  Storms need very warm to hot air to become severe…however clouds Thursday morning thru noon will initially keep the temperatures down, however by late afternoon and early evening, a strong influx of very warm humid air will move in.  Other factors will come into play by early Thursday evening which will promote stronger storms.  The map below shows where the highest tornado risk will be…west of Hartford.   That risk is only 75 miles from the Rhode Island border, so we will keep a close eye on these storms as they move eastward towards our area Thursday evening.   Tony Petrarca

Congressman David Cicilline isn’t going to return his campaign donations from political action committees, so his Republican opponent Brendan Doherty isn’t going to do so, either.

Cicilline’s allies slammed Doherty’s campaign this week for accepting $10,000 in February from the Citizens United Political Victory Fund, the PAC affiliated with the group behind the famous U.S. Supreme Court case striking down limits on campaign contributions.

Doherty’s campaign responded by offering to return the Citizens United money and the rest of his PAC cash – if Cicilline does so, too. Federal Election Commission records show Cicilline has collected $388,256 from PACs and other non-party groups, four times more than Doherty, who has gotten $92,000.

Cicilline spokeswoman Nicole Kayner didn’t respond directly to the proposal. ”This is more political double-speak from the Doherty campaign,” she told WPRI.com. “This is not about a group supporting one candidate or another. This is about whether or not we are going to allow secret, corporate money into our elections with no disclosure or limits.”

(more…)

Good Afternoon..

There is a risk of severe thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday…I am working on new data right now and will have more detailed blog shortly…the map below for Thursday, is an early guess as to where the greatest threat will be.  Stay tuned to further forecasts on this “potentail”….Tony Petrarca

With the aid of three different satellites, scientists have seen the surface ice on top of the ice sheet in Greenland shrink significantly.  This is all in just 4 days! This is the quickest this has been seen in 30 years of satellite observations.  Scientists with NASA have confirmed this.

Surface ice melt on Greenland’s ice sheet on July 8 (left) and July 12 (right). Courtesy: Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, SSAI/NASA GSFC, and Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory

In a LiveScience.com report, researcher Lora Koenig said, “Ice cores from Summit show that melting events of this type occur about once every 150 years on average. With the last one happening in 1889, this event is right on time,” Koenig said.

So, it sounds like this is a cycle that Greenland goes through…not a doomsday scenario.  Greenland sees an ice melt every summer.  In fact, about half of the surface ice melts every summer.  This is unprecedented though with nearly all of the surface ice disappearing.   On July 8th, 40% of the surface had melted and on July 12th, nearly 97% had melted! Unbelievable! This particular summer has been different because of weather patterns overhead.  Warm air settled over this world’s largest island this summer, and it could indeed be part of that 150 year cycle. 

With a surface area of 836,000 square miles and sitting close to the Arctic, Greenland has a lot of ice.  According to the  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if melted completely, the Greenland ice sheet could raise the global sea-level 23 feet! That is not what happened in Greenland this summer, but it is something to think about.  This is obviously very important to watch. Scientists have linked global warming to the polar ice melt and thus sea-level rise. 

Rhode Island’s coastline is being affected by polar ice melt.  Our local sea-level has risen about 10inches in the last century in Newport with an estimated additional rise of 3feet possible by 2100!!  This will have serious consequences on low-lying areas of Rhode Island. We’ve already seen this during storms when the ocean floods roadways and other low-lying areas.  Our climate is changing. 

What can we do? A large group of scientists believe that humans are to blame.  The addition of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is warming the planet.  About the only thing we can do is cut down on the burning of fossil fuels.    While it would be impossible to reverse this, slowing it down is possible. 

This is interesting:  According to a recent study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, if we were continue to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at current levels, Greenland could disappear in 2,000 years!  If we were to slow the release of green house gases, it could take 50,000 years. 

Something to think about.

-T.J. Del Santo
Meteorologist

Richard Bready

Boston magazine’s Jason Schwartz thinks so:

When I interviewed Schilling for my story on 38 Studios, he declined to speak on the record about who the investor was. But when I followed up via text shortly after, he replied that his name was, “Rick Brady.” Schilling added, “That was the investor who was willing and able to write the check as long as the gov permitted tax credits.”

Now, so far as I can tell, there aren’t any ridiculously wealthy Rick Brady’s hanging around Providence. But there is a very wealthy Rick Bready (pronounced “Brady”) and it would be a pretty safe bet that he’s the person Schilling was referring to.

Bready retired last year after 36 years at Nortek, having led the company through a bankruptcy restructuring; a 2003 leveraged buyout left the company with a heavy debt load. It’s certainly plausible he had the cash: Bready’s seaside estate in Newport alone is assessed at $18.6 million, according to city records, and his annual salary was $3.5 million a year from 2008 to 2010. He’s also on Roger Williams University’s board.

Also, Schwartz will join us on Newsmakers this weekend to discuss his big 38 Studios article.

By Tim White

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (WPRI) – Rhode Island U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s 19-year-old son was arrested and charged with drunk driving early Wednesday morning by Middletown police, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.

Read the rest of this story »

Planning a vacation in Newport this summer? It’ll cost you.

The cost of renting a hotel in Newport this summer is higher than anywhere else in the country, according to a new survey released Wednesday by CheapHotels.org.

The least expensive double room in Newport costs an average of $319 per night this summer, significantly higher than the $287 in No. 2 Santa Monica, Calif., or the $285 in No. 3 Calistoga, Calif. Martha’s Vineyard, Cambridge, Provincetown and Boston all make the top 10, as well.

“The survey compared hotel rates for all destinations in the USA for the period of June through August 2012,” according to CheapHotels. “The rankings were determined based on the cost of each location’s cheapest available double room. As such, it reflects the minimum amount travelers will have to spend to stay at a certain destination, with only such hotels having a 2-star rating or higher being considered.”

Good Morning…

Yes it’s late here in the weather center… a little after midnight. Make the most of Today’s (Wednesday’s) beautiful weather.  The risk of scattered showers and thunderstorms returns for part of Thursday and Friday. Here is the set-up.

A boundary that we call a stationary front will be meandering back and forth Thursday and Friday. This front will be the dividing zone between hot and humid air to the south and mild, drier air to the north.  Usually along these boundaries of contrasting air masses, you can get showers and thunderstorms. The exact location of this front will determine the location, duration and strength of the showers and thunderstorms. Some storms Thursday Night into Friday may be locally severe. Seeing signs we will be on the hot side of this boundary on Friday with temperatures close to 90 degrees. Stay tuned to further forecasts to see how this all plays out….feel confident on chances of thunderstorms….its the location and timing each day, that is the tough part. Best advice is to keep the umbrella nearby both of those days.

By Ted Nesi and Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Curt Schilling’s video game company 38 Studios blew through more than $133 million before it collapsed into bankruptcy last month, according to documents newly obtained by WPRI.com.

The documents obtained by WPRI.com also raise new questions about whether 38 Studios executives were overoptimistic about the company’s prospects. Their business plan projected the company would take in $109 million in revenue over the course of this year.

Read the rest of this story »

38 Studios’ former CEO is selling her home in Providence.

Residential Properties is listing Jen MacLean’s Boylston Avenue house for $849,000. The 2,834-square-foot, four-bedroom home on the city’s East Side was built in 2009.

MacLean and her husband purchased the house on Nov. 15, 2010, for $855,000, city records show. 38 Studios moved its headquarters to Providence the following April in exchange for a $75 million taxpayer-guaranteed loan.

MacLean, whose husband worked for 38 Studios in Baltimore, didn’t respond to a message asking whether she plans to remain in Providence once the home is sold. She stepped down as CEO in May but dated her departure to March.

(photo: Residential Properties)

It was quite the wake up call this morning in RI and southeastern MA as a line of showers and thunderstorms pushed into our area between 4:30-6:30am.  The storms dumped a quick 1/4″ to 1/2″ of rain in about 15min  from Smithfield and Providence into New Bedford, MA and brought frequent lightning and gusty winds, too.  The storms quickly moved through, setting our area up for a hazy hot and humid day.

Rain Since Midnight

The combination of the high heat, high humidity and an approaching cold front will make southern New England a prime spot for additional showers and thunderstorms to develop from right after lunch through early evening.  The storms should be hit-or-miss, so not everyone see’s one.   However, any storms that do develop could be strong or severe.  The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has placed RI and southeastern MA under a “slight risk” for severe thunderstorms, with the main threat being damaging wind gusts (50mph+) and large hail (1″ diameter or more).

Severe T’Storm Risk

Severe Wind (>50kt) Potential

Severe Hail (>1″) Potential

The threat of seeing any thunderstorms will quickly diminish after 8pm as a cold front sweeps through, skies clear and humidity levels will drop, giving us more comfortable sleeping conditions for tonight.

Penn State avoided the death penalty but that might have been a better option than getting drilled the way they did by the NCAA. Opinions have varied on whether or not the current crop of players and coaches deserves to take the brunt of what the NCAA considered an unprecedented lack of institutional control.

 I am personally OK with the Nittany Lion community as a whole getting burned to the core if it means Penn State fanatics can be jolted back to the reality that Joe Pa was not in fact God hiding behind large outdated spectacles. The thing I am having the hardest time wrapping my brain around is the vacating of 112 wins starting in 1998. I get it. The NCAA wants to dim the lights on the Paterno legacy inHappyValleyso why not wipe him off the top of the record book. The only problem is that the games really DID exist. To be honest I even have a hard time watching them take down banners from the Fab Five era at Michigan or taking trophies away from Reggie Bush for being on the take at USC.

 It’s a symbolic way of saying what you did during a said period of time, has no validation within the league in which you play. But I’m pretty sure people still showed up to cheer and players lined up to play the games and there was even a final score. Going back in time and pretending those games didn’t exist, for whatever reason, seems to fall flat.

Check out this tweet from former player Adam Taliaferro who suffered a career ending spinal injury while playing for the Nittany Lions in 2000.

            @Tali43: NCAA says games didn’t exist..I got the metal plate in my neck to prove it did..I almost died playing 4 PSU..punishment or healing?!? #WeAre

 Ichiro plays for the Yankees. Say that ten times and maybe it will start to sink in. The Mariners didn’t want to re-sign their icon after the season so the Yankees swooped in to offer relief. Great move by Brian Cashman. Look for Ichiro to find new energy in the Bronx and help the Yanks walk away with the AL East title.

What was Governor Carcieri thinking?

That and a lot of head-shaking will likely be most Rhode Islanders’ reactions to “End Game,” Boston magazine’s 5,000-word autopsy of what went wrong at 38 Studios, out this afternoon. Jason Schwartz uses a two-hour interview with Schilling, private Facebook messages and other sources to paint a vivid picture of a company that was never ready for prime time.

Schilling’s overconfidence and lavish spending, combined with dysfunctional management and – crucially – a high-risk business plan, created a situation that’s almost impossible to imagine ending well. The problems were already evident to one venture capitalist who vetted the firm before Carcieri and Schilling started talks in March 2010 and told Schwartz 38 Studios didn’t have “the ‘A’ team that I thought you’d want to see.”

Schilling estimated the game’s development would cost $50 million at most; the company had spent more than $100 million by the time it collapsed, partly because the EDC deal forced it to go on a “hiring binge.” The comments from one of 38 Studios’ potential partners are lukewarm, and Schilling himself declares that the game itself “wasn’t fun” – a worrying review considering the EDC wants to sell it to recoup some of taxpayers’ losses.

These paragraphs sum up the magazine’s findings well:

Given the warning signs flashing around 38 Studios, it remains difficult to understand why Rhode Island so freely handed over $75 million. But for Schilling, despite being a longtime proponent of small government, the guaranteed loan was a godsend. He’d get the cash without having to give up even the tiniest slice of ownership. And if everything went bust, it would be Rhode Island that was responsible for the money. …

Schilling, meanwhile, kept up his free-spending ways. This past Christmas, he personally bought every staffer a computer tote bag with the 38 Studios logo. Add in the company’s high staffing levels, frequent gratis lunches and dinners, and big travel budget, and it was easy to forget the whole thing was a startup. “We never had that sense of urgency or panic,” Schilling tells me. “I think there was a sense of invulnerability — I don’t want to say invulnerability, but I think we were comfortable.”

Read the rest here.

By Ted Nesi and Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Barry Hinckley gave a motivational speech in 2009 encouraging business leaders to run for office because it would get them free publicity, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.

Read the rest of this story »

By Tim White

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – A Providence police sergeant has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that he fell asleep on a detail and got into an altercation with a state worker, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.

Read the rest of this story »

More than two dozen General Assembly races are already over before a single ballot is cast because only one candidate filed for the seat. Here’s who is currently listed as running unopposed and therefore won’t have to campaign this fall, according to the secretary of state:

1. Sen. Maryellen Goodwin (D), District 1
2. Sen. Walter Felag (D), District 10
3. Sen. Chris Ottiano (R), District 11
4. Sen. Lou DiPalma (D), District 12
5. William Conley (D), Senate District 18
6. Sen. Roger Picard (D), District 20
7. Sen. Erin Lynch (D), District 31
8. Sen. David Bates (R), District 32
9. Sen. Dennis Algiere (R), District 38

1. Rep. Maria Cimini (D), District 7
2. Rep. Anastasia Williams (D), District 9
3. Rep. John Carnevale (D), District 13
4. Rep. Charlene Lima (D), District 14
5. Rep. Joseph McNamara (D), District 19
6. Rep. David Bennett (D), District 20
7. Rep. Eileen Naughton (D), District 21
8. Rep. Frank Ferri (D), District 22
9. Rep. Joe Trillo (R), District 24
10. Rep. Jared Nunes (D), District 25
11. Rep. Samuel Azzinaro (D), District 37
12. Rep. Stephen Ucci (D), District 42
13. Rep. Arthur Corvese (D), District 55
14. Rep. James McLaughlin (D), District 57
15. Rep. Elaine Coderre (D), District 60
16. Rep. Raymond Johnston (D), District 61
17. Rep. Mary Duffy Messier (D), District 62
18. Rep. Helio Melo (D), District 64
19. Rep. Raymond Gallison (D), District 69
20. Dennis Canario (D), House District 71
21. Rep. Peter Martin (D), District 75

Among the most surprising names on this list is Rep. Carnevale, who survived calls for his resignation last fall when he was charged with sexual assault; the case against him was dismissed after the alleged victim died. Also lucky are Democrats William Conley (Senate District 18) and Dennis Canario (House District 71), who aren’t even incumbents but don’t face opposition. Canario is actually a pickup for Democrats, since that seat was previously Dan Gordon’s and John Loughlin’s; Republicans couldn’t get someone on the ballot this time.

Governor Chafee isn’t the only one who remains deeply touched by the legacy of Rhode Island founding father Roger Williams, who died 329 years ago. Martha Nussbaum, the prominent University of Chicago law professor, invokes Williams in her new book (emphasis mine):

Finally, there is the need for “sympathetic imagination” on the part of citizens. Here the United States has long taken the lead, cultivating respect for religious differences since the 17th century, when Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, the “first colony (anywhere in the world, it seems) in which genuine religious liberty obtained for all.” Nussbaum is particularly impressed with Williams’s respectful treatment of the Narragansett Indians, whose language and culture he struggled to understand at a time when most of the colonists thought of them as beasts or devils.

Quite a legacy. (What would Williams have thought about the Narragansetts’ casino frustrations?)

• Related: WSJ, NYT look at ‘exasperatingly admirable’ Roger Williams (Dec. 30)

After a picture perfect weekend, a return to hotter, more humid weather is in the cards for today and tomorrow.  As we transition back to the more uncomfortable air, a few showers and isolated thunderstorms have erupted this morning.  Because the air is so moisture-laden, any storms or showers have the potential to include some briefly heavy downpours.  We’ll keep a shower or thunderstorm in the forecast for this afternoon, too… though there will be dry time, too. 

In terms of any severe weather…. the threat will mostly be focused to our north and west…. over northern New England and New York State… however, gusty winds and small hail are possible in any storms today. 

An approaching cold front on Tuesday, will be the cause of another round of showers and thunderstorms…. followed by drier and less humid conditions for Wednesday.

Frank Phillips reports for The Boston Globe:

The already frayed relationship between Vicki Kennedy and her late husband’s children is at the breaking point, with the two sons growing increasingly convinced that she is jeopardizing the senator’s legacy and mishandling the creation of the $71 million institute that bears his name.

Much of the conflict centers around the construction and governance of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, a project that faces potential cost overruns, according to a close family friend who was authorized by some family members to speak on their behalf, but who declined to be named.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. and Patrick Kennedy, the senator’s children, believe their father’s widow is badly bungling the efforts to create what their father had hoped would be a monument to his storied career in the US Senate, said the friend, whose account was confirmed by another close family associate.

Patrick signed a fundraising pitch for the new Edward M. Kennedy Institute just last December.

Wow look at this morning’s low temperatures….50′s and even 40′s just after sunrise!!! High pressure is controlling our weather and with high pressure we sometimes get calm winds, clear skies and dry air.  That’s what we got this morning and the end result was some chilly temps as yesterday’s warmth was lost into the atmosphere.

Low temperatures Sunday morning

The picture perfect weather on Saturday will be followed up with more perfect weather for our Sunday.  High pressure will  continue controlling our weather, keeping things quiet.  Enjoy!

Weater map for Sunday showing High pressure giving us more nice weather.

We’ll get lots of sunshine today, but as a cold front approaches on Sunday

It was nice to wake up this morning to sunshine and dry air after the dreary day on Friday.  High pressure has finally made it’s way into southern New England, bringing low humidity, storm-free weather and seasonable temperatures for both today and tomorrow.

Weekend Futurecast

If you’re planning on heading to the a beach along the south coast the weather will be fantastic!  Lots of sun with highs in the upper 70s…. you do need to be careful in the waters though. There will be an elevated risk of rip currents as seas remain a little choppy and wave heights will be around2-4ft.

Beach Futurecast

You can get more beach information here: NWS Coastal Forecast.

Welcome to another edition of my weekend column – as always, send your takes, tips and trial balloons to tnesi (at) wpri (dot) com.

1. After five and a half years it’s getting hard to find new things to say about Rhode Island’s dismal job market. Rhode Island’s 10.9% jobless rate in June was second-highest in the country and by far the highest in New England, with Connecticut second at 8.1%. Somewhat surprisingly, the Great Recession wasn’t even the worst downturn most of the region’s states have experienced – new unemployment records were set only in Rhode Island (11.9% in January 2010) and Connecticut (9.4% in December 2010). Thus, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is still above the highest one ever recorded in Connecticut. As for Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont, they’ve never topped the levels of joblessness they experienced in 1976-77. It’s all deeply depressing – though apparently not that depressing, considering 26% of state lawmakers are running unopposed this year.

2. Mark your calendars: WPRI 12 will host a live televised Democratic primary debate the evening of Aug. 28 between David Cicilline and Anthony Gemma, who are competing again for the party’s 1st Congressional District nomination. You won’t want to miss it.

(more…)

This is interesting. With interest rates down to their lowest levels in at least 50 years, savers are desperately looking for the highest yields they can get. It turns out the situation is particularly grim for Rhode Islanders:

An analysis of more than 8,300 banks and credit unions conducted for The Wall Street Journal shows that smaller banks often offer better rates than giant banks, while bigger credit unions often beat smaller ones. Online banks, meanwhile, are most competitive in savings and money-market accounts. And location can make a big difference in the rates savers get.  …

In Iowa, where lots of small lenders are vying for customer money, yields on three-year CDs average 1.11%, or 0.2 percentage point better than the national average, according to the analysis. Ninety-seven percent of Iowa banks have less than $1 billion in assets, according to the FDIC. …

The pickings are far slimmer in Rhode Island, where rates on three-year CDs average 0.74% and only 64% of banks have less than $1 billion in assets.

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Newsmakers: If you’re interested in the topics covered here, you’ll want to catch every Newsmakers episode on WPRI.com or on TV Sundays at 10 a.m. on Fox Providence.

Executive Suite: Our new business talk show airs Sundays at 6 p.m. on myRITV. It also airs Sundays at 6 a.m. on Fox Providence for those who don’t get myRITV. (Set your DVRs – and call your cable company.)

Tips: Send them to tnesi (at) wpri (dot) com, leave them in comments, tweet them – just send them!

By Tim White

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (WPRI) – The former boss of the New England mob has been moved out of the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls and is on his way to another prison to serve out the rest of his sentence, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.

Read the rest of this story »

Rain has tracked farther north today than we thought it would.   Our computers models had us mostly on the northeastern edge of this weather disturbance for today, with most of our computer guidance bringing little more than a few sprinkles to our south coast.  However, the rain has tracked just far enough to the north that most of RI along with parts of Bristol County, MA have been getting light rain.

The rain should wind down by by 3-4pm, and outdoor evening plans are looking good for most… there may be some lingering light showers along the immediate south coast.  The trend overnight will be for clearing skies and cooler temperatures, with lows falling into the 50s in many areas by dawn Saturday.  Mainly sunny skies are slated for both weekend days.