Flo Jonic

It’s been a little over three weeks since Brown University philosophy major Sunil “Sunny” Tripathi disappeared. His family has posted an online video in hopes of reaching out to him.

The video, which will be posted on Facebook, contains messages of love from Sunny Tripathi’s family, who remain in Providence looking for him.  The missing man’s brother, Ravi Tripathi, says the hope is that Sunny will see it and come home.

Kids Count is out with its annual report on the health, education and safety of children in Rhode Island.

The report shows there are close to a quarter million children in the state. Nineteen percent live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level.

The good news, says Kids Count director Elizabeth Burke Bryant, is that they’re healthier than they once were.

Kids Count is out with its annual report on the health, education and safety of children in Rhode Island.

The report shows there are close to a quarter million children in the state. Nineteen percent live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level.

The good news, says Kids Count director Elizabeth Burke Bryant, is that they’re healthier than they once were.

The number two man at the Rhode Island State Police is retiring next week. Deputy Superintendent Raymond Studley is stepping down after 22 years on the job.

His future with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority is unclear.  Studley has been running RIPTA since last summer, when a camera was found covered over in a room where money is counted. 

RIPTA board chairman Scott Avedisian says no decision has been made on whether the agency will retain Studley. His title at RIPTA is interim CEO.

Rhode Island’s first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open two weeks from today. The state health department has approved the permit for the Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center. 

The facility plans to grow its own marijuana but the first batch of medicine will be purchased from growers who participate in the state’s medical marijuana program. That’s because Slater wasn’t allowed to have any marijuana on hand while it awaited its final permits.

Two other dispensaries – in Warwick and Portsmouth – are awaiting state approval.

Governor Lincoln Chafee says he’s relieved and grateful that no one was seriously injured yesterday at the University, where a report of an active shooter on campus proved to be unfounded. The campus was on lockdown for about two-and-a-half hours.

The governor said in a statement the state will review what happened. He said the incident provides a unique opportunity to review emergency operations and  how the situation was handled.

State police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who called the Warren Police Department two months ago threatening to kill a state trooper.

It happened on February 8th. A man called Warren police saying that a Rhode Island trooper would be assassinated within the next 72 hours. The caller was upset that police did not lodge criminal charges against the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident that claimed the life of a woman and her unborn child.

The call originated from a pay phone in Central Falls.

The pre-trial legal wrangling over accused killer Jason Pleau took on new dimensions Wednesday when his attorney told a federal judge the death penalty is unconstitutional and should be taken off the table in his case. Pleau is one of three people charged with the killing of Woonsocket gas station manager David Main in 2010. 

The image of a Johnston, Rhode Island boy being cradled and kissed by Pope Francis has brought people around the world to tears. Now, his parents are speaking out about the extraordinary encounter.

It happened Easter morning after Mass. Among the thousands of people who thronged St. Peter’s Square to see newly installed Pope Francis, the pontiff chose to stop his Popemobile to hug eight-year-old Dominic Gondreau of Johnston.

The Mediterranean diet. It’s all the rage now. Rich in olive oil, fruits and vegetables and low on meat, it’s said to promote cardiac health and weight loss. But researchers say it also helps stretch the food dollar.

Rhode Island food bank recipients who completed a six-week course in cooking Mediterranean-style decreased their total food spending, purchased healthier food items and improved their food security. That, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.