John Howell

1 week ago | warwickonline.com | John Howell

While holding out hope that additional funding may become available, the School Committee by a vote of 4 to 1 abstention approved the layoff of 20 full-time equivalent teacher positions Tuesday evening. The action still leaves the district $1.9 million shy of the $198.2-million budget the committee approved in April.

1 week ago | warwickonline.com | John Howell

With a snip here and a tack on there – a bit of tweaking – plus an adjustment adding almost $2 million to schools, the City Council approved a $380-million budget Thursday night. The changes, which Mayor Frank Picozzi supports, will mean a residential tax rate of $13.34 and a commercial rate of $25.45 per $1,000 of property valuation.

1 week ago | warwickonline.com | John Howell

This is Erin Flynn’s second time around as president of the Gaspee Days Committee, but she still gets a wonderful feeling when people tell her the arts and crafts festival is the beginning of summer for them. It’s a time for the whole family to come together, walk Narragansett Parkway, meet friends and look over and buy the wares of more than 150 vendors. From early forecasts, however, it looked like the festival could be a washout.

1 week ago | warwickonline.com | John Howell

The mayor and president of the Warwick Neck Improvement Association, who cooperatively worked on an application to assume city ownership of Warwick Light with its spectacular view of Narragansett Bay, were surprised and disappointed last week that the government will auction off the 1.3-acre property. The city’s hope was to save the property from private development and make it accessible to the public, although the details of that had not been worked out.

1 week ago | warwickonline.com | John Howell

A man who regularly attends City Council meetings and frequently questions council actions announced recently at a meeting that it would likely be his last budget hearing. Barry Cook, 78, who is retired and living on Social Security, said he and his wife have their house for sale and will probably move out of Warwick. “What’s happening in this city is that we’re going to get taxed out of this city,” he said.