News

Vietnam veterans were honored at a Statehouse ceremony marking the 52nd anniversary of the start of the war. One unit was singled out for recognition.

During the Vietnam War only a handful of National Guard troops were called up to serve in combat roles.  Rhode Island National Guard’s 107th Signal Company was one of them.  Warner Dauphinee of Scituate remembers the 12 month tour of duty this way:

“I didn’t want to be there. It was hot, uncomfortable,” said Dauphinee, “not a place I’d ever vacation that’s for sure.”

Twenty businesses in Rhode Island received grants from the state to help pay for employee training.

The Governor’s Workforce Board doled out $60,000 worth of matching grants to help businesses pay for training. Employers can either match the $5,000 grants or provide an approved internship to cut their match in half.

This round of grants will help pay for training in such areas as medical billing, software training and welding technology. The governor calls the grants ideal for small businesses.

The Portsmouth town Council will get an update tonight on its broken wind turbine. The turbine has stood motionless for almost a year.

Rhode Island hasn’t had enough to celebrate lately. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay brings us an anniversary all Rhode Islanders can take pride in next month.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Rhode Island struck a blow that would reverberate around the globe when England granted the colony a charter that for the first time in the modern world put in place a government that granted absolute religious freedom to its people.

In today's podcast, revisiting Westerly's beaches as the first tourist season begins since Superstorm Sandy, and Rhode Island is ranked among the lowest in workplace fatalities.

Plus commentary from Rhode Island Public Radio's political analyst, Scott MacKay on Roger Williams and the Ocean State's upcoming anniversary.

This will be one of the last Mondays in which advocates accompany victims of domestic violence to court.  The domestic violence court advocacy program is closing on Mondays because of state budget cuts.  State support for victims of domestic violence has been on the decline for six years.

Rhode Island comes up short on a lot of state ranking studies, but here’s one where we excel. According to the AFL-CIO, a Rhode Islander’s chances of dying on the job are lower than practically anywhere in the country.

The Chronicle of Higher Education finds University of Rhode Island President David Dooley is 134th in the country when it comes to his compensation package.

The town of Westerly is close to fulfilling its promise to rebuild the Misquamicut Beach area by Memorial Day.  The town has made great strides since Superstorm Sandy left a path of destruction last fall.

It’s not perfect yet, but Misquamicut Beach looks a lot better than it did six-and-a-half months ago. Tons of sand the storm dumped on Atlantic Avenue have been put back on the beach, sand dunes have been restored and shopkeepers are making repairs. Jennifer Cordier of Hartford, Connecticut visited the beach Sunday and was pleasantly surprised.

Rhode Island hasn’t had enough to celebrate lately. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay brings us an anniversary all Rhode Islanders can take pride in next month.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Rhode Island struck a blow that would reverberate around the globe when England granted the colony a charter that for the first time in the modern world put in place a government that granted absolute religious freedom to its people.