Brian Amaral

May 8, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Brian Amaral

PROVIDENCE — He swept through town like a Portuguese rock star, leaving fans reporting sightings and chefs sharing selfies and bakeries posting grainy security footage just to prove it really happened: Emeril Lagasse had been there. The famed chef, TV host, and cookbook author recently took a swing through Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts on a fact-finding mission as he prepares to do something he’s never done before in his long years in the limelight: open a Portuguese restaurant.

May 7, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Brian Amaral

Voters will go to an annual meeting in late June to have their say on various pieces of district business, including who serves on the governing council. And, to the dismay of one faction in town, the district says it will let people vote even if they don’t actually live there, so long as they own a certain amount of property. That includes people, and even corporate entities, who own cabanas or locker units at the Bonnet Shores Beach Club.

May 6, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Brian Amaral

PROVIDENCE — The estimated cost to demolish and replace the Washington Bridge has already increased by more than $100 million, the McKee administration acknowledged Monday. In announcing that the westbound bridge had to be replaced almost two months ago, the McKee administration had estimated it would cost $250 million to $300 million to demolish the old one and buld a new one. That cost is now estimated to surpass $400 million.

May 3, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Brian Amaral

Growing up in Westerly, William Sisson could tell there was a hierarchy in the world of anglers. The ones on top tended to be a little secretive, introverted, maybe even a little gruff. They were blue-collar, unless they were rich. They’d fish from shore, unless they used a boat; at night, unless they could skip work during the day. And they shared an obsession, even if it meant strains on backs and hands and marriages and families: the striped bass, Rhode Island’s iconic fish.

Apr 30, 2024 | bostonglobe.com | Steph Machado |Brian Amaral

PROVIDENCE — A dozen contractors who have worked on the Washington Bridge on Interstate 195 West have been sent letters from the lawyer preparing a lawsuit over the structure’s failure, inviting the firms to inspect the bridge and warning them not to destroy any records that might become evidence in the case.