RhodyBeat

CLOSE QUARTERS: Every square inch of the boat has a purpose. There’s even a place for Marie’s spreadsheets and charts that have been carefully highlighted with stickers to remind the two of them places and people they want to see on their trip.

Marie Ahlert and her husband, Rick, both love the water and boating. But she had no idea what he was talking about when he said he wanted to do the loop. Rick gave the simple explanation: … more

By JOHN HOWELL | 6/11/21

CELEBRATING HISTORY: The Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival, typically held Memorial Day weekend, will instead take place in September this year. In 2022, Gaspee Days marks its 250th anniversary.

Moments in the sun

Rhode Islanders have never been so ready for summer. More than a year after the pandemic shutdown, a return to “normal” life has largely, finally, arrived. Most COVID-related business … more

By DANIEL KITTREDGE | 6/4/21

PAST AND PRESENT: After moving from Pennsylvania to work in Rhode Island as a young reporter, Lu Anne Stewart wrote first for what was then called the Pawtuxet Valley Daily Times in West Warwick. She later worked at the Warwick Beacon from 1982 to 1985. Today, she lives in Florida, having retired from her journalism career in 2018.

Fact and fiction

Meg Sullivan, a fresh-faced journalism school graduate, has just arrived at her first job in the business – crime reporter for a small-town daily in the imagined town of West Wicklow, Rhode … more

By DIANE NEWBERRY | 5/27/21

Best foot forward

Tyler Rose, founder and owner of CleanCo 401, has taken his passion and love for collecting sneakers and turned it into a thriving business. The sneaker culture came to be in the 1980s with the … more

By ROBERT ALTOMARI, Special to Beacon Communications | 5/20/21

Natural resource

When does a simple walk through the woods become something more? Perhaps you come across an interesting plant with a unique flower that you’ve never seen before. Maybe you catch a glimpse of … more

5/13/21

Saving masks and lives

CharterCare ER nurse Timothy Aurelio was working a shift in the COVID-19 unit last July when he noticed a security guard with a brown paper bag intertwined with his belt loop. Joking with the man, … more

By JACOB MARROCO | 4/29/21

‘BEFORE ALL OF THIS’ As a nursing student University of Rhode Island junior Katherine Blake spends much of her time at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence – and as a result, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a particularly anxious time for her. She looks forward to enjoying a concert at an outdoor venue near her home in upstate New York. “I can’t wait to go there because it feels like home, and it reminds me of what we knew before all of this,” she says.

‘I miss being together’

Paige Chakouian turned 21 six months ago and is still waiting to celebrate her birthday. The University of Rhode Island junior always imagined her coming-of-age celebration would involve her not … more

By KATE LeBANC | 4/22/21

Madeline, seen here at the Narragansett Breachway, experienced her first panic attack at age 9.

Finding peace in panic

I was 9 years old when I had my first panic attack. It was a hot August day, and I was sitting in a cramped Italian restaurant in New York City. Family was visiting from out of town, so we took … more

By MADELINE BATAILLE | 4/15/21

MOBILE GUIDE: The Brewery Passport app helps people discover new local breweries and plan routes to visit multiple spots. It’s a helpful way to keep track of where you’ve been.

A thirst for exploration

After a long winter, spring has sprung. And local Rhode Island breweries are embracing the warmer weather by opening their outdoor seating – and brewing up a storm. Now, with the help of … more

By OLENA KAGUI | 4/8/21

Easter emergence

In a year when seeing loved ones has been a difficult and often dangerous endeavor, family was never more important. The coronavirus pandemic has gripped the nation for more than a year, as … more

By JACOB MARROCCO | 4/1/21