Top stories this week: Municipal pay; retirement gone wrong; Providence's missing hill

Here's a look at some of The Providence Journal's most-read stories for the week of April 30, supported by your subscriptions.

• Bishop Richard Henning officially took the reins of the Diocese of Providence on Monday upon the retirement of his predecessor, Bishop Thomas Tobin. He talks with The Journal's Katie Landeck about his hopes to revive the spiritual life of the diocese, his views on same-sex marriage and abortion, and "hard decisions" ahead regarding church infrastructure.

• Mother's Day is next Sunday, May 14. Consider our list of gifts made in Rhode Island by women-owned businesses.

• Check out our latest rankings of the state's best baseball and softball teams, along with other news on high school and college sports, including profiles of the 2023 Providence Journal All-State honorees. You'll find it all at providencejournal.com/sports.

• Did you keep up with the week's events? Take our news quiz.

Here are the week's top reads on providencejournal.com:

How much do they make? Rhode Island municipal and school salaries in 2022

How much did they make?

That's the question we hope to answer for Rhode Island's biggest municipalities, as well as their school departments. To do it, we have requested salary data from all the municipalities and schools.

Read the full story for insights and links to the breakdowns on municipal, state and school salaries we have compiled so far, along with databases so you can search the payroll yourself.

These stories are part of a series by The Providence Journal covering municipal payroll and school payroll in Providence, Warwick, Cranston, East Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket.

But it's not just municipalities, as we have stories on the top 100 state employees, the top 100 state pensions and the list of non-union state employees who received $3,000 bonuses in 2022 and their salaries.

Government: How much do they make? Rhode Island municipal and school salaries in 2022

She wanted a comfortable retirement and made all the right plans. How did it go so wrong?

Joan Lusk, a retired Brown University professor and dean, knew that she’d likely be aging on her own and had firm ideas about how she wanted to live a comfortable retirement. She paid for long-term care insurance, hired a lawyer to set up a trust, and saved up assets estimated to total $3.5 million — enough that she could stay in her home with full-time help for the rest of her life.

Yet despite all that, Lusk is now under a legal guardianship and living in an assisted living facility instead of the home on Providence's East Side where she wanted to remain for the rest of her life. She has no legal control over health care decisions, where she lives, with whom she associates, or her finances.

Lusk’s story shows how anyone can end up in a guardianship, even with careful planning.

Elder care: She wanted a comfortable retirement and made all the right plans. How did it go so wrong?

Mark Patinkin: A mother waits 50 years to hear 'I love you, Mom.'

Marie Johnston had her first child at age 20, a little girl named Lynn who did all the normal things babies do — sitting, crawling and speaking at the right time. At 13 months, her first words were, “Daddy’s away,” which was true. He wasn’t around much.

But soon after, Lynn’s speech began to fail. She began to decline physically as well. That was in 1973.

Lynn is still that way today, at age 51. Her mom, Marie, is 71. I met them at Rhode Island Hospital, where Lynn, the daughter, is suddenly facing a possible end-of-life challenge. But there’s also some hope from a new drug that just might help her speak for the first time in a half-century.

Mark Patinkin: A mother waits 50 years to hear 'I love you, Mom.'

Providence was built on 7 hills, now there are only 6. What happened?

Like Rome, Providence was built on seven hills.  But it didn’t stay that way.

A recent What and Why RI story on how Federal Hill was named mentioned the seven hills of Providence that were all still standing during the Confederation era of American history. This little nod caused a few people to write in.

“You created another question,” one reader wrote. “I only know of six hills.”

It's easy to only know of six hills, because that is how many there have been for the last 100 years or so. Here's what happened to the missing hill.

What and Why RI: Providence was built on 7 hills, now there are only 6. What happened?

Providence basketball announces that all season tickets for next season have sold out.

Providence College has sold out of men’s basketball season tickets for the 2023-24 season, the announcement coming six months before the opening tip in November.

The Friars have rallied since the official March announcement that head coach and Providence native Ed Cooley would leave for Georgetown. His latest NCAA Tournament appearance helped extend what had been building momentum around the program for the better part of the last decade. It will continue in the seats for the debut campaign under Kim English, who was hired away from George Mason and managed to retain the majority of the returning core.

Providence has established a waiting list for fans hoping to purchase tickets in the future.

Sports: Providence basketball announces that all season tickets for next season have sold out.

To read the full stories, go to providencejournal.com. Find out how to subscribe here.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal top stories: Municipal salaries; legal guardianship