This Just In: How RI gun fatalities compare with those in other states
Good afternoon and welcome to This Just In. I'm Mike McDermott, managing editor of The Providence Journal. Today is June 2; two years ago on this date, in the early-morning hours, a demonstration outside Providence Place mall turned into a riot that resulted in widespread property damage and more than 60 arrests.
Gun-rights supporters are expected to descend on the State House this afternoon and evening, as gun-control bills appear to have gained new traction in the aftermath of the massacre at a Texas elementary school. Rhode Island is a state with relatively strong gun-control laws, so how do gun fatalities here compare with those in other states? In 2020, the most recent year for which state-by-state data are available, Rhode Island had the fourth-lowest firearm mortality rate in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only Hawaii, Massachusetts and New Jersey had lower rates of firearm deaths.
And that wasn't a fluke. Rhode Island's firearm mortality rate was fifth-lowest in 2019, the very lowest in 2018, third-lowest in 2017, second-lowest in 2016, fourth-lowest in 2015 and second-lowest in 2014.
Where were firearm deaths the highest? In 2020, the five states with the highest rates were Mississippi, Louisiana, Wyoming, Missouri and Alabama – in each of these states the rate was more than four times higher than it was in Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Department of Health is losing its leader for the second time in less than a year. Dr. James McDonald, who took over leadership of the department after Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott resigned in January, is leaving the state later this month. In a letter to the governor, McDonald cited the declining health of his mother, who lives in upstate New York.
The Health Department reported one new coronavirus-related death and 473 additional cases of COVID-19, along with 9,159 negative tests, for a 4.9% positive rate. There were 97 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, down from 102 reported yesterday, with five in intensive care. Rhode Island has reported an average of 464 new cases a day over the last seven days, down 27% from a week ago and down 44% from two weeks ago.
And a third piece of news from the Health Department: Officials are warning of an uptick in drug overdoses in the East Bay as well as the northeastern part of the state.
Will inflation take a bite out of summer tourism in Rhode Island? Tourism officials across the state say that despite rising prices, they are expecting a banner year due to pent-up demand – and the possibility that people from nearby Northeast locales might see Rhode Island as an attractive option at a time of skyrocketing gas prices. But that's not to say it's going to be easy on businesses that cater to travelers, as Wheeler Cowperthwaite reports.
Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza is calling for the firing of the Nathanael Greene Middle School Principal Demetri Sermons amid reports that Sermons did not promptly notify police about concerns that a student may have had a gun in school last week.
A bitter feud over dead fish, toxic blue-green algae and grounded pontoon boats has made its way from Coventry to Smith Hill. People who live along Johnson's Pond are trying to restrict a private company from raising or lowering the water levels, and their efforts have generated support in the House and the Senate.
We've all got to appreciate the small victories, and for Mark Patinkin, that's Hasbro bringing the thimble back to Monopoly.
The Community College of Rhode Island is seeing enrollments rebound after they fell off a cliff during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Marijuana may now be legal in Rhode Island, but not at the U.S. Naval Station in Newport.
After leaving Channel 10 amid a much-publicized contract dispute, meteorologist Kelly Bates is about to return to the Rhode Island airwaves.
And finally, it seems like ages ago that the Celtics last played, but the NBA Finals are finally here. It's a chance for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to establish themselves as two of the true greats in the history of the franchise. And it all gets started some time after 9 o'clock (yuck) on ABC.
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: How RI gun fatalities compare with those in other states
