This Just In: 2 inspiring stories to get your weekend started right
Good afternoon and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. It's always nice to see inspiring stories in the news, and we have a couple to get your weekend off to a good start.
Dilara Ozdemir moved to the United States from Turkey in eighth grade; her family was fearful of a government crackdown that followed an unsuccessful coup there. She's done OK for herself in her adoptive country. Last week, she was one of two students to receive the Student of the Year award from the Rhode Island Foreign Language Association. The East Providence High student, who plans to major in math when she gets to college, has taken classes in Latin, French, American Sign Language, Arabic and Spanish – in addition to learning English. Linda Borg tells her story.
Aria Mia Loberti, a Johnston native and URI graduate who is legally blind, will be making her acting debut in the lead role of a Netflix miniseries, "All the Light We Cannot See." The miniseries is based on a novel that tells the story of a blind girl in Nazi-occupied France. As Jack Perry writes, Loberti has been an advocate for people with disabilities for much of her life, and had three majors at URI.
The Rhode Island Department of Health reported 2,875 additional cases of COVID-19 along with 16,467 negative tests, for a 14.9% positive rate. Rhode Island has reported an average of 3,571 new cases a day over the last seven days, down 31% from a week ago. That's the relatively good news. The bad news is that, as cases appear to be on a rapid descent, deaths are continuing to rise. The Health Department today reported 16 more deaths, making 65 for the week, the most in any week since February 2021. Hospitalizations look like they may be decreasing from record highs: there were 505 COVID-positive hospital patients at last count, down from 532 reported yesterday, with 45 in intensive care.
In his latest podcast with health-care reporter G. Wayne Miller, Dr. Ashish Jha forecasts a much better February as omicron wanes, but warns that now is the time to prepare for the next disruptive variant.
Gov. Dan McKee has named a panel of health-care experts to help him pick the person who will replace Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott as director of the Health Department. That announcement came a day after Alexander-Scott's deputy, Thomas McCarthy, announced that he also is resigning from the department.
McKee has issued an executive order that suspends the state's new minimum-staffing law for nursing homes until mid-February. Nursing homes had said that warned that they would not be able to comply with the law as they struggle to fill hundreds of job vacancies.
Bucktown, the nationally acclaimed comfort-food destination in the West End of Providence, is turning to a crowd-funding campaign to help it get through this winter.
A day after he was rearrested in Glasgow, Scotland, Nick Alahverdian, the former Rhode Island man who is wanted in Utah and Ohio on rape and fraud charges, appeared in an Edinburgh court for a pre-extradition hearing. He denied being the international fugitive that authorities say he is, with his lawyers identifying him as Arthur Knight. He appeared in a wheelchair and covered his head with a towel for a portion of the proceedings. He was ordered held in prison without bail.
With temperatures in the teens, Providence city workers took down a small tent encampment where about 10 people had been living in Randall Square, in the Mt. Hope neighborhood. Katie Mulvaney spoke with some of the displaced people to see where they planned to go now.
Some East Side residents are ratcheting up their criticism of a planned multistory apartment complex on the former Route 195 land on the Providence River. The 195 Redevelopment Commission has not yet selected which of three different proposals will go forward, but critics worried about losing their water views are saying any of them would be a "crime" or an "atrocity."
As expected, the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees voted unanimously to revoke the honorary degrees given years ago to Michael Flynn and Rudolph Guiliani.
The Roger Williams Park Zoo says it set an all-time attendance record last year, as pandemic-weary families sought safe places to go.
Carr Pond in West Greenwich is this week's Walking RI destination.
I think if I ever tried knitting I would end up injuring myself, but some people find it a good way to reduce stress. Amy Russo is among them, and her latest New to RI column is about a visit to Knit One Quilt Too in Barrington.
Bob Driscoll, who completely transformed Providence College athletics in his 20 years as AD, is retiring in June.
Finally, The Journal's All-State high-school football team is out. Here's a look at the offense, and here's the defense.
Have a great weekend. And remember, if you enjoy This Just In, please encourage a friend to sign up.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: This Just In: 2 inspiring stories to get your weekend started right
