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    Snowplows clear heavy snow near a Rhode Island waterfront during winter storm conditions.

    Rhode Island Says Cities and Towns May Use Waterways for Snow Disposal

    Charlene Traynum, Ray Malone, Gianna Merritt, Jereck Cardona, Pauline Perkins-Moye, Jeremiah Weeden, and Orlando Peace

    Buzzing Around Newport: NAACP Honors Dr. King with Service, Song and Scholarship

    Dr. Joshua C. Brown, new Medical Director of Newport Mental Health

    Newport Mental Health Names Dr. Joshua C. Brown as Medical Director

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    Snowplows clear heavy snow near a Rhode Island waterfront during winter storm conditions.

    Rhode Island Says Cities and Towns May Use Waterways for Snow Disposal

    Charlene Traynum, Ray Malone, Gianna Merritt, Jereck Cardona, Pauline Perkins-Moye, Jeremiah Weeden, and Orlando Peace

    Buzzing Around Newport: NAACP Honors Dr. King with Service, Song and Scholarship

    Tow truck removing vehicle during Newport Rhode Island mandatory snow emergency parking ban.

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    Obituary: P. Michael Murphy (1954-2026)

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    Tow truck removing vehicle during Newport Rhode Island mandatory snow emergency parking ban.

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As Rhode Island digs out from the Blizzard of ’26, As Rhode Island digs out from the Blizzard of ’26, the Department of Environmental Management is telling cities and towns that — under “extraordinary conditions” — they may dump snow into waterways.

Yes, into the water.

Let’s be clear: under normal conditions, snow is supposed to be stored in upland areas, nowhere near rivers, ponds, wetlands or reservoirs. But when those sites are “exhausted,” the guidance says waterways can be used as a last resort — provided officials call DEM first and follow a list of conditions.

Dispose of snow in open water with “adequate flow.”
Prefer salt water in coastal communities.
Don’t dump in wetlands, eelgrass beds, shellfish areas, drinking water reservoirs or Well Head Protection Areas.
Don’t cause shoreline erosion.
Don’t create a visible sheen.

In other words: go ahead — but don’t make a mess.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: plowed snow isn’t just fluffy white powder. It’s loaded with road salt, sand, oil residue, trash and whatever else has been ground into it by thousands of cars. And now, in a pinch, we’re talking about pushing it into the very bays, coves and rivers that define us.

We are the Ocean State. Our brand, our economy, our identity — all tied to clean water. Shellfishing, tourism, boating, beaches. And yet when things get tight, the fallback plan is to use the water itself as a dumping ground.

DEM stresses this does not constitute a Clean Water Act permit and says it’s unlikely to pursue enforcement if governmental entities follow the conditions in an emergency. Mechanical snow melters are another option — but even those come with a laundry list of restrictions, including filtration requirements and bans on direct discharges into waterbodies.

No one questions the need to clear roads for safety. But how did we get to a point where the solution to too much snow is to threaten our most precious resource?

If we can’t protect the water in the Ocean State, what exactly are we protecting?

#blizzard2026 #rhodeisland #newportbuzz
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is often described as a Martin Luther King Jr. Day is often described as a day on, not a day off, and that spirit was on full display January 19 when the Newport County Branch of the NAACP hosted a day of programs beginning with a morning Torch Run from Portsmouth to Thompson Middle School.

A luncheon at Green Valley Country Club was well attended and featured musical selections by Brenda Delassanta and three generations of Ermino P. Lisbon’s family presenting a scholarship to Bryanna Pierre, a first-year student at Salve Regina University. Barbara Lisbon took a moment to thank Victoria Johnson for her constant support and guidance, prompting a standing ovation for a woman who “never takes a day off.”

Newport City Councilor Lynn Ceglie served as Mistress of Ceremony, acknowledging the progress made since Dr. King’s time while emphasizing democracy always demands more. She reminded those gathered that the responsibility now rests with everyone in the room, encouraging them to continue to “speak up and show up.”

Local NAACP President Jimmy Winters posed the question, “Is the dream fading?” before urging the audience to continue working hand in hand to ensure it does not. Guest speaker Dr. Michael Browner reflected on the sacrifices of those who came before and spoke of how the Lord often sends others ahead to fight one’s battles.

Browner eloquently wove the stories of civil rights icons Ruby Bridges and Vivian Malone into his remarks, while also honoring a Newport educator who shaped his own life, Pauline Hudson Barge, a Selma native who moved to Newport in 1968. He shared how they remained connected from his first day of school as a student to his first day as a social studies teacher, when he invited Barge to help organize and decorate his classroom. Browner described her influence as “heritage, legacy, and the Black experience in America.”

“All I ever want is for students to think for themselves and look out for others,” Browner declared, before challenging everyone in attendance, especially the younger generation, to focus on “working on their dash and making an everlasting difference in the lives of others.”

#buzzingaroundnewport #newportri #newportbuzz
The Rhode Island prosecutor caught on bodycam vide The Rhode Island prosecutor caught on bodycam video repeatedly telling police “I’m an AG” during her arrest last summer is back on the job — just not in the same role.

@nbc10wjar, which first confirmed the development, reports that Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Hogan Flanagan returned to work Monday after serving a six-month unpaid suspension.

Hogan Flanagan went viral in August after Newport police released body-camera footage showing her arguing with officers outside the Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf. Restaurant staff had called police, saying she and a friend refused to leave.

On the video, Hogan Flanagan can be heard repeatedly invoking her title — “I’m an AG” — and warning officers, “You’re gonna regret this,” as they placed her in handcuffs and into the back of a cruiser.

She was charged with trespassing and pleaded no contest a week later.

Attorney General Peter Neronha suspended her without pay on Aug. 25, blasting her conduct at the time.

“Special Assistant Attorney General Devon Flanagan mistreated the Newport Police Department and embarrassed herself, the office, and frankly me,” Neronha said then. “We hold our attorneys to the highest personal and professional standards, and Ms. Flanagan plainly did not meet those standards here.”

NBC 10 confirms Hogan Flanagan’s title remains the same, but she has been reassigned from the Appellate Unit to the Providence County Superior Court Daily Calendar.

She has worked in the Attorney General’s Office for about seven years and was ordered not to return to the Clarke Cooke House following the Aug. 14 incident.

#imanag #rhodeisland #newportbuzz
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