Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read stories for the week of Jan. 5,supported by your subscriptions.
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Two years after Rhode Island legalized the recreational sale and limited home growing of cannabis, police say they are still contending with a thriving illegal marijuana market that could be responsible for half, if not more, of all the pot consumed in the state. The Journal’s Tom Mooney explores the reasons why, and what authorities say might help remedy the situation.
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The Rhode Island General Assembly got back to business this week in what’s expected to be a very challenging year, with a budget deficit and the demolition and rebuilding of the Washington Bridge. See what happened on opening day, including continued debate about Senate President Dominick Ruggerio’s ability to perform his leadership role amid his health challenges.
Here are the week’s top reads on providencejournal.com:
From left: Adel Arruda, Danielle Arruda and Felix Arruda, who police said were slain by Nicholas Arruda last week.
WEST GREENWICH − A 39-year-old West Greenwich man last week shot and killed his pregnant wife and his two children and then died by suicide, police said Wednesday morning.
Nicholas Arruda shot and killed 39-year-old Danielle Arruda, their 5-year-old daughter and their 2-year-old son, according to West Greenwich Police Chief Richard N. Ramsay.
Danielle Arruda was seven months pregnant with the couple’s third child, bringing the total number of deaths to five, Ramsay said.
The shooting happened between 8 p.m. on New Year’s Day and 5:20 a.m. on Jan. 2 inside the family’s home on Cheyenne Trail.
“I wish there could be an explanation to help you make sense of this horrific act,” Ramsay said. “But the truth is we may never know why it happened.”
For more details, including the earlier felony domestic violence arrest of Nicholas Arruda, read the full story.
Crime: ‘We may never know why’: Police release more details in West Greenwich murder
The troubled westbound span of the Washington Bridge.
PROVIDENCE – Contractors accused of doing shoddy work on the Washington Bridge are relying on flawed legal arguments in hopes of getting the lawsuit against them dismissed, according to a response filed by the state on Tuesday.
The filing does not shed new light on what caused the bridge to fail, but it reiterates the state’s argument that the companies that inspected the bridge before its emergency closure were negligent and failed to flag “critical deficiencies,” as did those hired to work on the repair project that was underway when the problems were found.
AECOM Technical Services, the Barletta-Aetna Washington Bridge Joint Venture, Commonwealth Engineers and Jacobs Engineering, who are among more than a dozen companies named as defendants, each filed separate motions to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this winter. For a breakdown of the state’s response to those motions, read on.
Local news: Washington Bridge contractors want the lawsuit against them dismissed. Here’s the state’s response.
Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
PROVIDENCE – In an effort to increase their pay and improve working conditions and patient care, resident physicians and fellows at Rhode Island Hospital have voted to join a union, making them the first doctors in Rhode Island to unionize.
The vote by secret mail ballot passed, 464-27, doctors who’ve led the effort announced Tuesday night.
The doctors voted to join the Committee of Interns and Residents for the purpose of collective bargaining with their employer, Brown University Health, formerly Lifespan. The Committee of Interns and Residents is the largest such union in the country, with more than 34,000 members.
After the vote result was announced, Brown Health said in a statement: “Brown University Health is grateful to our residents, interns, and fellows for their important contributions to delivering high-quality care with empathy and kindness. We appreciate all who made their voices heard through this election and look forward to working with CIR in good faith while best serving our patients and communities.”
Health care: Residents, interns at Rhode Island Hospital are first doctors in RI to join a union
The Rhode Island Convention Center, on Sabin Street in Providence.
PROVIDENCE − In what has become a tradition, the private company that manages operations for the heavily taxpayer-subsidized Rhode Island Convention Center Authority has awarded end-of-year bonuses of up to $40,541 to top staff.
Putting the bonuses in perspective, taxpayers were required to pay $24.9 million to the Convention Center this year to cover debt and operating costs, according to Daniel McConaghy, executive director of the authority.
The largest end-of-year bonus – totaling $40,541 – went once again to general manager Larry Lepore, on top of his $191,231 salary. See who else got a big payday by reading the full story.
Local news: RI Convention Center staff reap 5-figure bonuses. Here’s who got how much.
The problem-plagued intersection of Phillips Street, Boston Neck Road and Brown Street in North Kingstown’s Wickford village, seen through a shop window of Buttercup Flower and Wine Bar.
There’s one thing most residents of Wickford seem to agree on when it comes to the intersection of Phillips Street, Boston Neck Road and Brown Street: It needs work.
Phillips Street has a stop sign, Boston Neck Road a yield sign and Brown Street no sign at all. The result is “confusion, anxiety and panic” when people come to the intersection, says Lauren Scowcroft, owner of Buttercup Flower and Wine Bar, which looks out at the intersection.
What no one seems to agree on, however, is a solution. Some have suggested traffic lights while others think simply installing stop signs would solve the issue.
A 2020 traffic safety study commissioned by the state Department of Transportation concluded that a single-lane “mini roundabout” would have the least impact on traffic at the intersection. But many Wickford residents are balking at the idea.
Read the full story to find out why.
Infrastructure: Wickford residents protest installation of proposed roundabout.
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: West Greenwich killings; Washington Bridge lawsuit; RI doctors union