Erica Ricci

2 months ago | wpri.com | Olivia Ray |Erica Ricci |Leah Crowley

BOSTON (WWLP/WPRI) - A new bill aims to allow public school sports coaches to forfeit games if a player on the opposing team is of the opposite sex. The bill was born out of an incident during a field hockey game in 2023. A Dighton-Rehoboth athlete suffered significant facial and dental injuries after she was hit by a ball in a match against Swampscott. The player that made the shot was a boy.

Jan 24, 2025 | wpri.com | Melanie DaSilva |Erica Ricci

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - R.I. House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi is proposing legislation that would permit cities and towns to house those without a place to stay, without being restricted by building codes. He said recent weather-related events had him thinking that the bill he filed could be useful beyond addressing the current homelessness problem. The bill would create a new category for building and fire safety codes for temporary housing like pallet shelters.

Jan 1, 2025 | wpri.com | Erica Ricci

BOSTON (WPRI) - The academies that train all police officers in Massachusetts need some improvement, according to a recent state audit. The Office of the State Auditor conducted the probe into the Municipal Police Training Committee (MPTC), looking between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022. It found that the academies need to improve record-keeping and create a level playing field for all individuals.

Dec 26, 2024 | wpri.com | Erica Ricci

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A mother and her young son were among the tenants who lost everything after a fire ripped through their Providence home right before the holidays. The same first responders who knocked down the flames stepped up to help once again, donating to the families who lived in the Elmwood Avenue home that was deemed a total loss. The first responders went one step further for nine-year-old Andre Mannillo, crossing off his entire Amazon wish list.

Dec 2, 2024 | wpri.com | Melanie DaSilva |Erica Ricci

WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) - Sept. 5, 2011, is a day Mike Barber will remember forever. "I should have been dead. I really should have been dead," the Warwick man explained. Barber was 23 years old when he crashed his motorcycle on Old Warwick Avenue less than a mile from his house. Police previously said he wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the crash and pointed to speed as a factor, but 13 years later, he is sharing the rest of the story. "I was bar hopping.