Johnston News

Thieves with a lot of brass ripped copper ground wire from a National Grid substation, causing power problems in North Providence earlier this week and leading to the shutdown of electricity to 5,000 customers in four communities after the company discovered the damage Thursday and scrambled to make repairs.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation will host Rhode Island Recycles Day this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the Central Landfill at 65 Shun Pike in Johnston.

Frank J. Williams, the retired chief justice of the state Supreme Court, launched a media blitz Thursday to squash rumors of impropriety with his former driver and explain in his words his role in the driver's family and how he became her daughter's godfather.

The town could save at least $635,000 by rewriting firefighters' health and pension benefits, according to Town Solicitor William J. Conley.

Wa terFire, bocce, oh my! The rebirth of downtown Providence has been the stuff of breathless travel writing for more than a decade now.

Soil from backyards in the north end of Tiverton is so contaminated that residents haven't allowed their kids to play outside for seven years, but it is good enough to cap the state landfill in Johnston.

A redevelopment plan, part of an $8.4-million public financing proposal for the revitalization of blighted properties on Hartford Avenue, won unanimous approval from the Town Council Monday night.

The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person who abandoned a dog last week in Johnston.

If you are wondering whether it's a bad idea to keep buying bottled water, you might want to stop by Brown University on Tuesday night for the screening of a new documentary called "Tapped." It may dampen your enthusiasm for the popular product.

The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is offering a $1,000 reward in a dog abandonment case.

It's difficult to track how many people are arrested for driving on suspended or otherwise inactive licenses -- and even more difficult to learn how many multiple offenders are out there because the state Department of Motor Vehicles' computer database is old and not easily searchable for such data.

The former driver for former Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams returned to court on Monday to seek payments from her estranged husband to help pay expenses for their 6-year-old daughter.

" A Rhode Island company will receive up to $15 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to construct and operate a landfill gas-to-electricity power plant at the state's central landfill in Johnston.

The townwide School Building Committee has unanimously approved a proposal for installing a solar-heating system at the Brown Avenue School, if the town can get federal money to pay the project's $350,000 estimated cost.

John Jalowy wonders if the local building official has made a bad call, but contesting the inspector's zoning decision will cost $2,000. The fee for that type of appeal ranges from $125 to $300 in five nearby communities.

Rhode Island health officials will begin school-based H1N1 flu clinics on Monday.

Four Providence men have been arrested on charges they broke into several houses in Johnston, or tried to, the police said.

Hipolito E. Fontes says his life never has been as hectic as it is now. In fact, he sat at his kitchen table inside his family's third-floor apartment at 93 Sacred Heart Ave.

Frank J. Williams, the former chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, approved the hiring of the teenage cousin of his 6-year-old godchild to work at the court as an administrative assistant for three summers before the girl went to college.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Sept. 30 to celebrate the completion of Briarcliffe Gardens Assisted Living, in Johnston, R.I. built by Norwell, Mass.-based Acella Construction.