This Just In: What happens to those who die alone in Rhode Island?
Good evening and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. It's another prime-time version of the newsletter, as I took a little break today to watch some high-school basketball.
For years, Calvin Jackson Jr. would search the streets of Washington, D.C., looking for his uncle, Michael Black. Jackson didn't realize that Black, who was once a lawyer in West Virginia, was not actually living on the streets of Washington, but in a boarding house in Cranston. When Black died last year, the state of Rhode Island was unable to locate family members, and he was buried in West Greenwich with no loved ones present. That doesn't sit well with Jackson, but sadly, Black's case is not unique. Noble Brigham writes that over the last five years, nearly 300 people in Rhode Island have been buried at taxpayer expense because, for a variety of reasons, no one claimed their bodies.
The Rhode Island Department of Health today reported 13 coronavirus-related deaths and 1,912 additional cases of COVID-19, along with 16,486 negative tests, for a 10.4% positive rate. There were 441 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, down from 479 reported yesterday. Rhode Island has reported an average of 2,191 new cases a day over the last seven days, down 45% from a week ago and down 58% from two weeks ago. Deaths, however, remain elevated: there have been 64 over the last seven days, or an average of 9.1 per day, up from 7.3 per day two weeks ago.
Dr. James McDonald will serve as interim director of the Department of Health while a search is underway to replace Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, whose last day as director was today. Appearing at a news conference with Gov. Dan McKee, McDonald would not say whether he would take the job on a permanent basis if it were offered to him.
A majority of parents of students in Rhode Island K-12 schools are concerned that their students have fallen behind academically because of the pandemic, according to a poll conducted by Bryant University's Hassenfeld Institute.
Lawmakers are debating a proposal to replace Rhode Island's partisan primary system and move to runoff elections.
A Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of the Central Falls Zoning Board in a case involving an oil recycling company's bid to add 35-foot-tall, 30,000-gallon above-ground storage tanks near a residential neighborhood.
For the third time, former Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia has succeeded in delaying the start of his prison sentence.
What was Rhode Island's snowiest day on record? You might think it was in 1978, but you'd be wrong. And there's at least a chance that we might break the record on Saturday.
Bertucci's goes way back in New England, but the chain has struggled at times to reinvent itself in recent years as the market for specialty pizzerias became crowded. But Gail Ciampa writes that the company is now talking about an expansion, and it has partnered with a celebrity chef to generate some buzz.
Finally, it really is starting to look like a special season for the PC Friars. They're now 17-2, off to the best in-conference start in their history, and last night will probably rank as one of their most memorable wins.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: This Just In: What happens to those who die alone in Rhode Island?
