Rhode Island, Providence | featured news

PROVIDENCE — A new organization offering outpatient mental-health, substance-abuse and related services opened this week.Located at 110 Elmwood Ave., the privately owned VICTA offers drug screenings, primary care and suboxone and methadone treatment for opioid users, according to a media release from the company.“VICTA is in an excellent position to help our substance-abuse population with treatment for mental-health disorders and physical health problems,” [...]

PROVIDENCE -- Police are continuing to investigate the shooting of a teenager and a toddler in the city Tuesday night.The child, a 2½-year-old boy, was shot in the foot, suffering injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening, police said. He was treated at Hasbro Children's Hospital.An 18-year-old was in stable condition as of late Tuesday night and underwent surgery after the shooting, which police believe took place around Pleasant Valley Parkway and Dean [...]

WARWICK -- A Warwick prosecutor on Wednesday dismissed charges against a Providence police lieutenant who had been accused of assaulting his girlfriend.The dismissal of the domestic violence case against Lt. Joseph Donnelly, a 27-year veteran of the Providence police force, came at a brief hearing before Judge Mary McCaffrey in Warwick District Court Wednesday.Donnelly has been on leave from the Providence Police Department since his arrest in early February. [...]

BEAUREGARD, Ala. (AP) — Rescuers tore through rubble and wreckage Monday in a search for survivors amid homes torn from foundations, shredded metal dangling from battered trees and dead animals lying among debris after a powerful tornado ripped through southeast Alabama and killed at least 23 people, including children.The trail of destruction from the Sunday tornado was at least half a mile wide and overwhelmed rural Lee County's coroners' office, forcing it to call in help [...]

 National Grid is reported 2,084 power outages as of 9:15 a.m. Monday, a tally has fallen from as many as 10,000 as a wet winter storm rolls through. Cranston and Providence each had more than 800 outages as of 9:15 a.m., National Grid said. Thousands of other customers in Pawtucket, Warwick and Hopkinton had their power restored by mid-morning. [...]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A publicist for Luke Perry says the "Riverdale" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" star has died. He was 52.Publicist Arnold Robinson said that Perry died Monday after suffering a massive stroke.Robinson says Perry's family and friends were with him when he died. Among them were his children, siblings, fiancée and former wife.The actor had been hospitalized since last week. Robinson said no further details would be released at this time.The [...]

PROVIDENCE -- Gas prices in Rhode Island held steady over the past week, AAA Northeast says.The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.369 per gallon at self-service pumps in the Ocean State, according to AAA's weekly survey.A year ago, Rhode Island drivers were paying 20 cents more, $2.569.The current Rhode Island price is six cents lower than the national average of $2.429. In Massachusets, the average price is the same as in [...]

PROVIDENCE -- Another lifetime seat opened on the state's main trial court with the retirement last week of Superior Court Judge Bennett R. Gallo.Gallo, 74, notified Governor Gina Raimondo that he would be retiring Feb. 28, after 11 years on the bench."As a lawyer, it is an honor to serve as a justice of our Superior Court and I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve the people of this state in that capacity," he wrote.Gallo started as a [...]

The public school district in Seekonk, Massachusetts, found a memorable way to announce a snow day Monday: with a rap that rhymes phrases like “snowflakes fallin’ our way” and “do what your parents say.” The one-minute, 18-second song was uploaded to superintendent (and Rhode Islander) Rich Drolet’s YouTube account, his debut track as the schools chief there. It quickly racked up more than 2,000 views, and some [...]

PROVIDENCE -- A wave of cold air is set to move into the region after a late-winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of Southern New England.Rhode Islanders will get some time this afternoon to clear slush from their driveways and walkways, as the temperature should climb to 39 degrees in Providence, but then it will plummet to 16 degrees tonight, and the cold will stick around for  several days.Falling at a rate of 1 to 2 inches overnight and into early [...]