This Just In: A man's life may depend on the kindness of a stranger
Good afternoon and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. Today's June 1, two years ago on this date, Rhode Island entered "phase two" of its COVID economic recovery plan, which included limited indoor dining and the reopening of gyms and salons, among other businesses.
The Department of Health today reported no new coronavirus-related deaths and 625 additional cases of COVID-19, along with 5,931 negative tests, for a 9.5% positive rate. There were 102 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, up from 79 reported yesterday, with six in intensive care. Rhode Island has reported an average of 502 new cases a day over the last seven days, down 26% from a week ago and down 39% from two weeks ago.
For six years, Jack Bresnahan has been on a waiting list for a liver donor, the result of an auto-immune disease and a more recent cancer diagnosis. While he's waited, so far in vain, for a suitable match, the 30-year-old elementary school teacher has been unable to work full-time, and his plans to marry his girlfriend have been put on hold. His doctors say Bresnahan's story is a snapshot of why it is so important for healthy people to make the difficult decision to volunteer to be living organ donors.
A federal jury has convicted a Providence man, Louis Coleman III, of kidnapping resulting in the death of Jassy Correia, who disappeared after celebrating her 23rd birthday in a Boston nightclub in 2019.
The state attorney general's office says it plans to retry Leron Porter, whose 2013 murder conviction was overturned on Tuesday by a federal appeals court. The court ruled that a prosecutor in the original trial improperly used race to disqualify a potential juror.
A second former student at North Kingstown High School is suing past and current school officials, alleging the failed to protect him from exploitation at the hands of former basketball coach Aaron Thomas.
Nearly a year after state regulators shot down a proposal to burn medical waste for energy, state legislators are moving to ease the way for similar facilities to use the same process to transform plastics into fuels and other substances.
In the latest project of Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza's "Great Streets Initiative," bike lanes and an "urban trail" will be added to a two-mile stretch of Broad Street. The city, though, has not provided data on how many people are using the bike lanes that have already been installed in other neighborhoods.
The full House of Representatives is set to vote tonight on allowing Providence to borrow up to $515 million to save its underfunded pension plan.
And the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation has scheduled a vote tonight on a $13-million tax credit for a company that wants to manufacture "sea gliders" here.
And finally, it's always fun to look ahead to the weekend when you're in the middle of the week, and this weekend means the return to Providence of Open Air Saturdays. Gail Ciampa tells you what there is to look forward to in a few days.
Have a great night. 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: Live transplant patient Louis Coleman verdict
